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Rock festivals are something different

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Let’s take a break from writing for a moment. I don’t attend too many rock/metal shows and that’s a huuuge mistake.   I had a charity event in my city, where a few local bands played a concert. Of course I couldn’t miss it, since rock/metal shows in my city are a very rare thing. And you know what? My jaw dropped. It’s awesome to see how people are passionate about this music. A few guys in my dad’s age enter the scene and keep rocking as if they were 20-30 years younger. And when you feel bass vibrations in your whole body, you just can’t stand still. Maybe your ears and neck hurt the next day, but that’s just a minor inconvenience. However, it was the kids that stole the show. A group of 3-4 girls (around 5-7 years old) sneaks into the corner of the scene and just… dances. No shame, no fear, no insecurity, they just enjoy the show. I think adults could only learn from them…   There’s also a downside that made me worried a bit. Around 90% of the audience were middle-aged people and th
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Plans for this year but I hate making plans

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New year, old me, but at least I have some new plans. The 1st thing I wanted to accomplish this year was finishing “part 2” of “Apex Predator” somewhere around 10.01… but I was sick and everything went out the window. I also want to find a better job, so I may have a bit less time to do everything. And when I get this job, I would love to buy some camping equipment and travel a bit. This time I will list my plans more generally: finish this damned “part 2” with hope I won’t get sick again. Anyway, each part tells a story of certain character(s), and the 1st part was about Charon Antares and his unit. “Part 2” is about Devi Kali (this angry old lady in a giant power armour) and her warriors (the younger angry guys in giant power armours) then write “part 3” and “4”. No spoilers but “part 3” is the reason why I called this book “Apex Predator“ publish the whole “Apex Predator” book (The Core of Rage sequel) maybe publish a short story (related to “The Vanquisher of Kings” series ). I
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Why I gave up on social media as a writer

I wasn’t a big fan of social media since I decided to be a broadly defined artist around 2017 (writer, metal musician, digital painter, writer again). Whenever I googled “how to promote your [ insert your art type here ]“, the 1st tip I got was “ YOU MUST USE SOCIAL MEDIA!!! “ As a little, young and stupid kid, I followed this advice… and that didn’t end up too well. While I’m not trying to tell that all SM always suck for everyone, I would like to explain why I completely gave up on them. Before I start my flood of complaints, I will highlight a few positive things about using SM and a few of my mistakes: yes, you can find your new fans on SM (at least around 2021). I sold about 3 copies of my epic metal EP when I used Instagram (but I had to spend 2h per day on promotion and got around 500 real followers. Does it sound good?) it all is determined by your target audience. Some time ago I saw a post by some author who sold 5000 paperbacks through TikTok. Before you decide to use any sp
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My favourite military sci-fi books - collab with shepherd.com

Some time ago shepherd.com published a short list of my favourite military sci-fi books. Check it out HERE and feel free to comment your ideas. shepherd.com publishes lists of books on various themes, so your "to-read" list wil never be empty!
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A few fun facts about the origins of Halloween (in Poland)

The first quarter of my new book entered its second-to-last phase: I’m filling the gaps or rewriting some sentences and… that’s soooo damn hard. At least the days are colder and darker, what helps me focus and relax. The time between October and November is special for one more reason: Halloween! Or, for me and other people who don’t like its Americanized, commercialized and/or christianized version: Dziady, Samhain or maybe even Divali. Here, in Poland, Halloween is a quite controversial topic. People complain about borrowing American trends, “worshipping“ demons by dressing-ups, and other stuff. However, they forget about one thing: we have our own Slavic version of it. Me, and the other people who appreciate the older local traditions, prefer this version of Halloween. How does it look like? Even though each region had its own customs, they have many common features: huge feasts and offering food and drinks to the souls of the ancestors. What’s the catch? You have to be calm and qu
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Top free and paid book promotions sites - are they really that good? A huge review of sites to advertise your novel

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I guess some people may relate to this scenario: you publish a book, then you sell absolutely nothing for the next few months, you get frustrated and you google: Best websites to promote your book And then you see huuuuge lists of book promo sites that tempt you with incredible promises. Since your budget is quite limited, you begin to wonder: Are these websites worth it?  And this is where I come with help. Here I compare the most popular book promo sites (I also added newsletter builders as a little bonus). Please note that all these promos were for 0.99$ book (except Best Book Monkey in the 5th category).   A few things about my books (to give you some background and context) my genre: adult dark military space opera, without romance. Maybe it's a bit niche but nothing too obscure. preferred audience: adult (25+), 60-70% men, English-speaking (I think B1 level is enough to understand my books). stats (book 1): Bloodstained Skies: The Core of Rage Reviews: 2-6, around 4.5 stars
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Big scary Goodreads scammers - why you shouldn't trust paid "reviewers" from Goodreads

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Do you get tons of spam about book reviews too? Some "Mary", "Cheryl" and others began to spam my mailbox so I had a nice idea to have some fun in my boring life. Whenever they send me anyhitng, I just respond "yes but only if it's free." Usually they shut up, but I got this one day: Scary, right? Well, not exactly, because when I blocked the sender, I didn't get any new mails like this. How am I supposed to believe in their hacker skills if they can't ever spam me to death properly? Lol   This is their "website": https://cherylreviews65.wordpress.com
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