#pleasebuymycrap

[the-dude-of-hyrule]

What You Wish For: A Sneak Peek

So this book is actually published. It is on Amazon right now. Don’t believe me?

https://www.amazon.com/What-You-Wish-Gino-Holland-ebook/dp/B0777GSRDB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519349651&sr=8-1&keywords=gino+holland

Ha! So there. Anyway, my experience with this publisher was a bit sub-par. Yes, Light Switch Press did put my book out there for all to see. They put it on Amazon. They did this all for free. What didn’t they do? Well first they didn’t communicate with me one bit between me submitting my book and them publishing it. They didn’t edit, nor offer any editing. And when I suggested a cover in my first submission, they only loosely took the idea (the birthday candle was supposed to be stuck in chili cheese fries)

Despite all of this, when it first came out, I was shocked. I was at work and was checking my email looking for something completely different when I saw this. I immediately texted April to verify that I wasn’t having a hallucination of some sort. So then she saw the Amazon page and sent me a picture of it.

Not lying. I cried. It was my book, with my name on it, on one of the biggest shopping pages on the internet. Of course, I was told I had to do my own advertising, and that it was only available as an e-book until I sold 100 copies. That was roughly November 8th. As of right now, I have sold 15 copies.

I am still thrilled to death about only that. I also am thrilled that I have three 5 Star reviews on Amazon. However, I have to spread the word somehow. I tell anyone that seems remotely interested. So I guess that’s what I’m doing right now. But this way, I can also give people a glimpse into the story so they can do more than just read my pathetic begging.

So here is an excerpt from What You Wish For when Mickie is in the hospital chapel, praying her parents will survive surgery following a car accident.

She dialed and tried to hold back more tears.

“Hello?”

“Deej?” she said softly.

“I’m on a train right now. I should be there in a couple of hours.”

“They’re gone.”

“They’re what?” She could hear the panic in his voice.

“They couldn’t do anything. The doctors lost them.” The tears started to come again.

“They’re dead?”

“They tried everything.”

“They’re dead?” She could hear the tears in his voice now.

“Deej, they’re gone. I’m scared.”

“This is a joke, right? Someone’s playing a trick on us.” He knew that wasn’t true, that this was a knee-jerk reaction.

“No. The last thing I felt for them was anger at forgetting. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I don’t know… What do I do?”

“I’m coming home. We’ll do this together.”

“Yeah. Did mom and dad have wills? Was there a lawyer we’re supposed to call?”

“I don’t know.” Their parents never talked about things like this. Who would want to, honestly? They would have talked about it maybe ten years from now when they were starting to get close to retirement age.

“I’m going to call uncle Gus again. He’ll know what to do, right?”

“Maybe.” His voice was starting to sound fuzzy. He was probably going into an area with bad or no cell service.

“I’ll hang up now. Please be careful. I can’t lose you too. Call me when you’re close.”

“I promise. If it looks like the train is going to derail, I’ll jump off, I swear.” He was joking, she knew, but it was his style.

She hung up and dialed her uncle once again. He picked up on the third ring.

“Hello?”

“What am I supposed to do if they don’t make it?” She was getting ready to cry again, and while she hadn’t started, it was very evident in her voice she was going to.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. They will.” His voice sounded just like when a parent was trying to reassure someone about something that couldn’t possibly go wrong.

“They didn’t.”

“What?” That shut down his condescension quick.

“They didn’t make it. What am I supposed to do? Who do I call?”

“Listen, I’ll be there in about eight hours. Go home and get some rest. We’ll handle this together.” Now he was beginning to panic. Mickie thought the possibility of him having to bury his baby brother never occurred to him.

“I don’t want to be alone. The house is empty.”

“Do you have some friends that can stay with you?” Now the concern in his voice was genuine.

“I don’t know. I can ask. Is there a lawyer or someone I’m supposed to tell?”

“I know they had life insurance and I know they had a will. I just don’t know the name of their lawyer.” They had a will. Even if a copy of it wasn’t at home, Mickie would probably find all of the necessary information in the home office. There was a filing cabinet full of stuff that she never looked in.

She said her goodbyes, giving the same cautions to her uncle that she did to her brother, and just stood there for a moment. She still didn’t know exactly what to do. She knew she should go home and sleep, but she wasn’t sure if she could. While she knew her friends would be more than willing to stand with her, she also knew they didn’t have any better idea of what to do than she did.

“So, you’ve been struck by tragedy.” Said a voice. When she looked, she saw the chaplain.

“God took them.” At the moment, she was mad at God. No, she wasn’t mad, she was flaming pissed off. How dare God take her parents on her eighteenth birthday! Her dad would never walk her down the aisle. Her mother would never be able to give her parenting tips. They would never be able to have another Christmas together. She wasn’t worried about her immediate future, like paying the bills. She was worried about the lost memories to come.

“You have my deepest sympathies, my dear. But remember, God does not give you what you cannot handle, and if you cannot handle it yourself, he makes sure you have people willing and able to help you shoulder the burden. I believe I saw you with three people in the waiting room, and you have family coming to your aid. They will all shoulder the burden with you.”

“I know, but it was just a cruel day to do it on.”

“I know. You said it was your birthday. I know it isn’t much, but please accept this as a consolation.”

The chaplain gave her a small cupcake with a single candle in it. He quickly lit it. “May all your wishes come true.”

He walked away without another word.

That was weird she thought. She blew out the candle and took a bite of the cupcake. It was yellow. She liked yellow cake, but she was extremely depressed right now.

“I wish you were chocolate.” She said. Then she watched in amazement as the yellow cupcake slowly turned into a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. Even the candle turned brownish. She pulled the candle out and sniffed it. Chocolate. She actually took a nibble off the bottom end. The whole thing was a chocolate stick. She had actually wished the cupcake to become chocolate and it did.

Oh my God. What just happened? She thought.

“Probably just stress. It was probably chocolate all along.” She finished the cupcake and went in search of her friends.

[sarahmargaretgirl]

Yard sales are fun on a hot day... This the first one I have ever put on. Lots of work. Lots of books. Lots of hot. Learning lots about people. Some are gross and some are awesome. Trying to wish them all success even if they tried to screw me over. #ihopeweallsucceed #pleasebuymycrap

[evososlowly]

Sidewalk sale #pleasebuymycrap #stolengoods #ineedmoneyforcrack