Book Giveaway: Gallow (19/12/2013)

I didn’t go a giveaway last week because Reasons. I’ve been working on the edits for The Splintered Gods for a couple of weeks now and likely will be working on them for a couple more. And then there was the whole thing about authors commenting on websites that talk about their books. I say *thing* because I’d like to say debate, but what it actually turned out to be was people posting their opinions, throwing insults and accusations, oozing snide but slyly unspecific  contempt and apparently culminating in threats of sexual violence against at least two bloggers who posted their own personal (and quite different) opinions. Which is something to not keep quite about and between the two things I never got around to giving away any books last week and have also been pretty crap at getting things posted (sorry Paul – it’s good to go now…)

This week’s giveaway is a complete copy of the Gallow series by Nathan Hawke (i.e. me with the letters rearranged). No words, no title, no name, just Angry Man With Axe, which is pretty much how I feel about the internet right now.

cover lo-res

Cold Redemption Cover

cold redemption cover lo-res

The Last Bastion cover

Cover artwork lo-res

Usual deal – comment on this post before September 28th  and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy.

This week I’d like to hear your stories about crappy behavior on the internet. No names, please, and to enter the competition, you don’t have to tell a story, you can just say hi; but if you want to get something off your chest, here’s a safe place to do it (Note – Vent anything you like but I’ll not tolerate any comments on comments that attempt, in my arbitrary and biased view, to start a debate, nor the explicit naming of anyone for being a jerk. My intolerance will manifest as deleting or editing comments. This week is about having a bit of a rant, not debates or potential libel. Thought if you just want to get it off your chest about, say THE LIVING DISASTER OF JACKASS LANE-DISCIPLINE AT THE MIAMI ROUNCDABOUT IN CHELMSFORD, then you should be fine).

You can enter as may times as you like but I’ll count the first two entries – the rest are just for fun and showing off.  Extra points for humour and originality and I’ve still got the Angry Dragons mug if you make me laugh, smirk or otherwise amuse me.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far.

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20 Responses to “Book Giveaway: Gallow (19/12/2013)”

  1. Loerwyn says:

    Well…

    There was that time I told a reviewer his review came across as homophobic because he lumped m/m content in with paedophilia, etc. as things he found made him uncomfortable in a book. He eventually corrected it, but I got jumped on by a few of his friends and blocked. Yippee.

    There was also someone who I talked to who was accepting of what I am, and then threw it in my face randomly (and as a result, I’ve got a pretty strong boycott going).

    Um… Oh, there’ve been people on forums, etc. who’ve told me that getting offended at transphobia is just being politically correct, and also that certain words aren’t offensive.

    Yeah. People are good and stuff.

  2. Fred says:

    My comment was such a classic rant about Trolls it got flagged as spam…..how ironic!

  3. Romeo Kennedy says:

    It was a while ago, on mine and my wifes wedding anniversary. I posted a tweet about how amazing my wife is and then some jumped up little gob-shite started berating me and asking me things like “why is she amazing? What’s she done that’s so amazing!” And pretty much making an absolute twat of themselves. I was very calm (even though I wanted to Hulk-out) and I replied politely until said person ronked off back under his bridge.

  4. Laura says:

    I admire these gorgeous-looking books every time I go into Waterstones, and they’re currently sitting near the top of my Christmas list . . . it would be nice is Christmas came early this year. ;-)

    On the subject of the recent “thing”: I think it’s gotten way too overblown, although I can see why there’s been indignation on both sides. Personally I welcome the idea of authors joining in with debates about their books, so long as they’re respectful of the readers’ rights to interpret fiction in any way they choose (and, of course, as long as the readers are respectful of the author’s right to participate in free speech within public forums).

  5. Melissa (My World...in words and pages) says:

    I try to avoid the drama on the internet, it reminds me to much of popular kids and geeky kids in school. Only thing…they don’t all know they are ALL geeky!

    It drives me nuts how bloggers want to interact with authors, but only on their terms. Now, authors who comment with nasty remarks and threats back, yea I would avoid that. But Bloggers don’t need to be nasty in their reviews either nor attack authors in the reviews.

    I’ve come to think, it doesn’t matter where in life, but there are ALWAYS people who want to stir up the pot. So much for that peace between us all. *sigh*

    Now, on to something rather important… how the heck have I missed seeing these books!?! And that this is also you? Geez, I have no idea what rock I’ve been living under. Oh yea, the one that I’ve been hiding behind to avoid all the internet crazy.

    Thank you!

  6. arzvi says:

    If you write anything in the internet it doesn’t have fences. Authors are in the open domain to comment although they are required to follow decency and stop at informative or clarification rants.
    Saying the authors can’t get involved is like posting a compromised photo and require ur family to stay out of yr life :-p

  7. Stephen says:

    The internetz. A place where people can openly voice their opinions, safe in the knowledge that someone out there will want to ram a spatula up their arse for having the audacity to speak…

    Me, I’m still sore about this:
    http://www.stephendeas.com/a-parting-of-ways-3182010/

  8. Robin Carter says:

    Amazon trolls…what is it with people who go on thereand just add hate reviews, add crappy comments for no reason and click no a review is not helpful but never write their own or comment when they click no. Basically why dont they get involved, and if they cant be bothered, they why dont they just leave it alone… aggghh… but whats worse is when you get to the top 120, all of a sudden people start voting every review down, 1 review per day per book… same person!!?? the one just ahead of you in the ranking ..grrrrrr! … amazon rant over.

  9. Robert says:

    I’ve given reviews here and there when I have felt strongly about a subject matter or a book. Now, unfotunately, it has to be something that I’m downright passionate about before I’ll set myself up for the inevitable lambasting that ensues. I’m thinking (or hoping) that those people must go home to a psychopathic wife that beats them within an inch of their lives. (thanks PF). They’re lucky there isn’t a Dial “M” for murder app on my phone. Thank you for the rant space.

  10. Ade Couper says:

    There are a number of issues getting my goat with t’internet at the moment: firstly, this whole “should authors comment on blog posts?” thing has got way out of hand, with some pretty unpleasant comments flying about: also, the amount of transphobia I’m seeing, particularly on Twitter, is frankly upsetting.

    Why can’t we just be nice to each other….?

    Thanks for letting me vent

  11. paul says:

    Rather than ficus on the negatives we should remember how great most bloggers and or authors are . And thanks for remembering that I’d win that book . nearly forgot myself

  12. Lisa says:

    I think if I got started on my rant I’d never stop–suffice to say, I’ve had my life threatened by ninjas.

  13. Matt says:

    Every online community I have ever been a part of has always had that one moment that makes you seriously question human kind in general – at this point the saddest thing about it all is that it is no longer shocking when it happens.

  14. Brandon Boss says:

    I try to avoid angry internet things if I can, but things like free books make definitely don’t make me angry.

  15. Laura says:

    Ohmy, where do I start…

    Got bitched at for considering literacy important for children. Apparently it doesn’t matter if they can read, write or spell. So long as they have fun….

    Posted a comment that made my atheist status quite obvious. Was inundated with Christians telling me I am doomed to hell, I am a filthy sinner and I must worship the devil and eat babies. Very bizarre.

    Basically the internet is full of people who don’t share my opinion and think I have to share theirs, I am not afraid to defend my ideas and opinions, usually with facts from reliable sources (not the daily fail or facebook!) If someone wants to refute me, I would suggest they use facts and are willing to provide sources to back them up.

    A good debate is healthy. Being the target of an idiot with a keyboard is not.

  16. Mango Heroics says:

    The Internet makes it possible for us to “follow” and maybe interact with people all
    over the globe (planet, not periodical), which is beyond wonderful, but it also makes us want things we cannot have. Or things we cannot get easily. To wit (always wanted to use that, however incorrectly), books published and readily available in the UK but not in the US (in my case). So, if I were to be lucky enough to win this draw, I would need only The Last Bastion to complete the trilogy.
    For my next topic, I will explain why from now on I will wait to read trilogies until all 3 books are out and in my possession. Hint: Because I forget things! That’s what’s so exciting about Gallow. We get all 3 so close together. Or, that’s what I thought. To be continued.

  17. Will Bryan says:

    I try to avoid any sort of negativity on the internet if at all possible (I know, sorta like avoiding the sun at the beach) so I don’t really have anything to post about that…but I sure would love to get a complete set of the Gallow’s novels, I have been wanting to read these since I first read the Crimson Shield excerpt on io9.com a few months back.

  18. Laura C says:

    Not an internet thing… but after telling my landlady she hadn’t given me enough notice (20hours) and she may want to rearrange a visit from a surveyor… she came into my house anyway, moved all my stuff (such as putting coffee and sugar in the frdge) opened all of the windows, left, then turned up 2 and a half hours earlier than she said with a surveyor! All while I was at work, expecting I wouldn’t find out (luckily my other half went home for lunch that day which is how we found out). We are both fuming!

  19. Shawn says:

    Well, it has nothing to do with books… I’m a graphic designer, and my rant is about online design competitions. I almost don’t worry about them at all anymore (which limits my exposure) because they all end up as popularity contests–people just get their friends/family to vote for their work multiple times–instead of being judged by the contest maker or actual professionals. Anyone that throws a piece of clipart on something automatically considers themselves a designer… *sigh. Okay, well that’s that. Thanks!

  20. Stephen Deas says:

    The Gods of random choose Matt, which probably gives a few of the rest of you something to rant about…

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