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The Stories of Scott D. Southard

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  • Man Behind the Curtain
  • June 20, 2013

    Taking on the Princesses. Me vs. My Two-Year Old Daughter’s Heroes

    ScoutFor years I dreamed of Scout.

    That is how I used to imagine my future daughter. Smart, inquisitive, able to stand up in a fight and not playing with dolls, finally growing into a person like Harper Lee. Inventive. Creative. Empowered.

    That is not to say I envisioned myself as an Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird. I’m not that great, and when I do heart-to-hearts with my kids they are never that lyrical or profound. Usually, it seems to me, that my big parental moments are always about the importance of sharing and taking turns (from toys to parents). Ah, the life of a father with two little ones.

    Whatever the case, my daughter is over two now, almost two and a half, and all of the popular girl trends I hoped to avoid with my daughter have taken over and laid waste to my Scout dreams. Where there should be overalls, there are pink leggings, where the toys should be educational and gender-neutral, her likes lean towards the pink aisle of the toy store, the one boys avoid like the cooties.

    Yes, my daughter is a full-on little girl, surrounded by Care Bears, babies that need rocking, a lot of pink, and I am at a loss… and then there are the princesses. (more…)

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  • June 16, 2013

    Thank you readers! I hope you enjoy Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare!

    Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, CoverLast night the free eBook promotion for my new book Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare came to an end. I am happy to report that 544 readers decided to take a gamble on my crazy new adventure. I could not be more pleased.

    Thank you readers! I hope you each enjoy my book.

    If you do dig my new book why not consider…

    • Checking out one of my other novels? The reviews have all been phenomenal for the new A Jane Austen Daydream and the eBook is only 3.99. It can be found on amazon here. There are also eBooks available for My Problem With Doors and Megan, both can be found via Good Play here.
    • Writing a review or a blog post about the work.
    • Buying one of my books for a friend or family member.
    • Including it in your local book club (the print version is only around 10 dollars and also on amazon).
    • Telling your local library.

    In today’s over-congested writing world it is all about word of mouth. (And, honestly, there is only so far a writer can shout from their blog or twitter account.) One reader telling another reader who tells another reader… We are all part of that chain.

    I hope you enjoy your visit to the strange McGregor Castle!

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  • June 14, 2013

    Free eBook, New Reviews, a Guest Post, and a New Book!

    This has been a really fun week. With the release of my new novel Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, there has been a lot going on. Let’s star with new Max news, before Austen…

    Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare

    Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, CoverFor only a little longer, Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare is a FREE eBook on amazon.com. This is not just for the US Amazon, but also Canada and the UK! So if you are interested, this is the best time. The special ends on June 15 (where it will return to the low price of 3.99 for eBook and about $10 for print). You can find it on amazon here: http://amzn.com/B00CXSDEBE

    Now those who read my blog could probably sense I was a little nervous about how people would react to this book. I use the word “experimental” and I mean it. I am doing something very unique here. Well, the first reader review has emerged on GoodReads. And to my great relief it is 5-stars! Here is a quote from it:

    It is beautifully written. It reminded of these old fashion books I read as a child, that I used to read hiding from my parents and books that I understood without understanding them. Complicated I know but it is how I felt when I finished The Case of the Dangerous Dare (and dangerous, it was, believe me).

    And remember you can read an excerpt from the book as well as learn about it via my posts on the Max page (here). I hope you will check it out.

    A Jane Austen Daydream

    A Jane Austen DaydreamOver the last day a new 5-star review has come out on amazon for A Jane Austen Daydream. I love this review. It is the kind that can make an author smile for days. Here are some excerpts:

    Mr. Southard is an expert at writing in such a fashion as to induce feelings of hate, love, joy, sadness, and righteous fury. I wept, I laughed (out loud, scaring my cats, no doubt), I talked back at the characters making foolish decisions, I railed (in my mind) against those standing in the way of Jane’s happiness…In short, this author is a king at character development and mood setting… this book just might become a classic.

    I had a guest post on The Undercover Soundtrack on the music inspiration around A Jane Austen Daydream, Belle and Sebastian. You can read my post here.

    A Jane Austen Daydream is available via amazon.com where you can find it in print for just $13.85 in print and only $3.99 for the eBook. Here is the link: http://amzn.com/0983671923

    Thanks for reading everyone!

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  • June 12, 2013

    “Belle & Sebastian Meets Jane Austen” A Guest Post on the Undercover Soundtrack

    Belle and SebastianToday I have a guest post up on The Undercover Soundtrack. For those that don’t know, it is a unique writing blog where writers share the music that influenced and inspired their writing. My post is on the music of Belle & Sebastian (one of my favorite bands) and how it impacted my new novel A Jane Austen Daydream. Here is the beginning of the article:

    There is usually nothing more important to me than the music I have playing while writing a book.  Music can inspire me, engage me, keep my energy up when I need it to be up. It sets the mood for me, and the right song can pull the right levers to get me to go from point A to point B in a plot. It has also been known to drive the people that live with me crazy since while I am writing I may play a CD a few too many times (Just ask my wife about the writing of My Problem With Doors and my nonstop playing of O by Damien Rice; an album I am forbidden to play in her presence again). But what I used for A Jane Austen Daydream was something surprisingly contemporary. This was not something for Liz Bennet to dance to (but she might if given the chance).

    You can read the rest of the article here, where I go into details on how Belle & Sebastian (especially their CD The Life Pursuit) changed my version of a certain famous novelist.

    A Jane Austen DaydreamA Jane Austen Daydream is available via amazon.com where you can find it in print for just $13.85 in print and only $3.99 for the eBook. Here is the link: http://amzn.com/0983671923

    And remember, my new experimental gothic novel Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare is a free eBook on amazon until June 15! You can check it out here.

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  • June 11, 2013

    “…good fortune to land upon Mr. Southard’s writing.” Three New Reviews for A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM

    From Pride and PrejudiceI have three new reviews to share today for my novel A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM. On the website “Deanne’s Writing World” run by author Deanne Wilstead, she writes in her review:

    I read A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM eager for a story of romance resembling hers in tone and style. And, while I definitely found this, I ended up enjoying Mr. Southard’s story for so much more. There is a depth and perceptiveness to his writing which actually had me in tears at one point….

    You can read the rest of her review here.

    A Jane Austen DaydreamThere are also two new reader reviews on Good Reads; where the reviewers said about my novel:

    • “Charming and Magical.”
    • “As I read this wonderful book, I not only felt captivated by the characters, but also by the art of Scott D. Southard’s storytelling. It has inspired me to work harder on improving my own writing so I can tell a story just as well.”

    You can find the rest of those on Good Reads here.

    A Jane Austen Daydream is available via amazon.com where you can find it in print for just $13.85 in print and only $3.99 for the eBook. Here is the link: http://amzn.com/0983671923

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  • June 11, 2013

    Free eBook! My new novel MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE is out!

    Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, Cover

    I’m proud to announce that my new novel MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE is now available! And to celebrate, it is being offered as a FREE EBOOK for a limited time (June 11 through June 15). You can get the free eBook from amazon.com here- http://amzn.com/B00CXSDEBE

    It is also available as a paperback for the low price of $10.71, which you can find on amazon as well (http://amzn.com/1484034287). The book is also available via amazon in other countries, many also taking part in this one-time deal.

    If you have ever enjoyed my blog or my writing or have ever been curious about my novels I hope you will take this opportunity to discover my fiction with this surprising new book. Also, I ask that you please tell other readers. I would love for more people to discover my work, especially during this special limited deal. Here is the back cover description for the book:

    “For now, let me warn you of the morbid and sad tale ahead of you. This is a tale filled with horror, dark passages, ghostly apparitions, and deaths I would give my last shilling to forget.”

    The cursed and foreboding McGregor Castle is the most terrifying and haunted location in all of the British Empire. Only a brave (or foolish) soul would consider visiting it, let alone staying within its walls for five days. In other words, a perfect dare for a man like Maximilian Standforth!

    Maximilian Standforth, famed playboy aristocrat and private detective, is a genius with dangerous tastes. With Bob (his trusty carriage driver, biographer, and bodyguard) and Maggie Collins (actress, spy, and maid) by his side, Maximilian will experience horrors and madness unlike any seen before. For it is at McGregor Castle that the team will discover more than they ever could imagine in this very experimental and genre-breaking thriller.

    I hope you enjoy my new, surprising, and unpredictable novel!

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  • June 10, 2013

    “Funny and poignant. Very Jane Austen.” Rabid Readers Reviews A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM

    A Jane Austen DaydreamRabid Readers has just reviewed A Jane Austen Daydream! It is a fun review, and it’s not often that someone mentions your looks in a review. Ha! You will have to see what I mean by clicking here. But for a snippet, here is a bit about the book:

    A Jane Austen Daydream is a wonderfully fun novel that is a must read for fans of Jane Austen. If you’re not a fan, give this book a shot and I’m willing to bet you will come away a convert… Cleverly written and well plotted, A Jane Austen Daydream should make any summer reading list. Pick it up and then let me know what you think.

    You can read the rest of the great review here.

    A Jane Austen Daydream is available via amazon.com where you can find it in print for just $13.85 in print and only $3.99 for the eBook. Here is the link: http://amzn.com/0983671923

    Thanks for reading!

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  • June 10, 2013

    “Nightmares first take breath.” An Excerpt from MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE

    Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, CoverI’m proud to announce that my new novel MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE is now available!

    You can get the eBook from amazon.com for just $3.99 (http://amzn.com/B00CXSDEBE) or as a a paperback for the low price of$10.71  (http://amzn.com/1484034287). The book is also available via amazon in other countries.

    This excerpt is from Chapter 7 (and depicts much of what you see in the great cover art), when our heroes and two questionable individuals arrive at the dreaded McGregor Castle. Enjoy! 

    –

    Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare

    From Chapter 7. The Gothic Landscape

    Darkness.

    Even in that cloudless and starless night, it seemed to win out against the sky’s eternity, surpassing it in black, the darkest and heaviest black.

    All the stories Blackberry tried to tell us on the train, all the fear that McGregor showed at our departure could not match, could only hint at, the vision of horror in front of us. It looked like the kind of place you would believe was built in the center of hell, not to keep evil out, but to keep the evil in.

    No words exist to express the horror of its peaks, the gothic nature of its shape and structure, the grimness of its design. I wish I could properly convey the feeling of terror it generated in all of us, dear reader. I wish I knew words that would fill you with the same dread we felt, the same repulsion, the same desire to escape, to run.

    I do not. (more…)

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  • June 6, 2013

    Two Book Giveaways and New Reviews: A Writing Update

    How I lookThis is a busy and tiring time right now for me. With A Jane Austen Daydream out in the real world making new friends left and right and Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare about to be released. (Whoa!)

    Here is a quick update on what you may have missed around my books and the opportunities out there on the internets to learn/read more:

    • On Indie Jane (a fun website for Jane Austen readers and writers) there is a book giveaway going on which ends on Sunday. One lucky recipient will win an ebook copy of A Jane Austen Daydream. I have also written a guest post for the site on the creation of the book called “Finding Jane’s Voice.” You can find the book giveaway and post via this link.
    • Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, CoverTo celebrate the upcoming release of Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare I am having a book giveaway for it on Good Reads. Two good readers will win a signed print copy of the book! This bookgiveaway goes through Tuesday and you can enter it here.
    • Maximilian Standforth… will be officially released on amazon.com on June 11. On Monday, I will be sharing an excerpt from this creepy and unpredictable book. It will be available in print and eBook. I hope you will check it out.
    • This week A Jane Austen Daydream received three new 5-star reviews on amazon.com. “I loved this book.” “I couldn’t put it down.” “By the end of the novel you will, if you have a heart, feel for the characters, and you will be happy that you gave Scott Southard’s A Jane Austen Daydream a try.” You can read those and all of the reviews here.

    A Jane Austen DaydreamA Jane Austen Daydream is available via amazon.com where you can find it in print for just $13.85 in print and only $3.99 for the eBook.

    Here is the link: http://amzn.com/0983671923

    Thanks for reading!

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  • June 5, 2013

    Re-post- To Watch or Not to Watch: The Conundrum of Season 3 of Game of Thrones

    I don’t want to say “I told you so” to fellow Game of Thrones fans who didn’t read the books… But… “I told you so.” Everyone right now is talking about the Red Wedding and how brutal and cruel it was. In this post, I talk about how the event impacted my reading of the series. Honesty, I feel like it created problems with the series that have yet to be fixed.

    Scott D. Southard's avatarThe Stories of Scott D. Southard

    Game of Thrones_Season ThreeMassive spoilers are ahead the size of the dragon Drogon for those who have not read the series by George R.R. Martin or watched the HBO series. You’ve been warned.

    I am fan of the shadow of Game of Thrones.

    What that means is I love the show and books in spirit, but in actual execution it is all a little bit more… well… shadowy. Imagine me as Peter Pan racing up the wall trying to get me hands on my shadow but it is just out of my reach and very dark. But I have to have it! It might complete me!

    Now before you judge me, I’ve paid my Westeros dues (in Gold Dragons, of course). I’ve read all the books, I’ve seen the first two seasons of the show. Heck, I even own the first two seasons of the show on Blu-Ray (ordering both before they were actually…

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