It’s one of those things you do when you’re scared as hell and figure you don’t have much of a chance. You step up, thrust out your chest, face the monster or bully or disease or dark room or Lucifer or the abyss or whomever or whatever, then you spit in its face and say GO AHEAD AND TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT ‘CAUSE I’M NOT LEAVING. You coil your fists ready to unload and hope the scary thing hasn’t noticed you’ve just wet your pants. Then you wait for it to make its move.

That’s how this novelist dealt with fear of the unknown. Small press Drollerie Press put my debut novel out there as an eBook in December (SCARS ON THE FACE OF GOD: THE DEVIL’S BIBLE, a horror novel by C. G. Bauer), will release it in paperback later this year. An aging church custodian/ex-con confronts an orphaned child who may or may not be the anti-Christ. The novel exploits the real life existence of the Devil’s Bible, a massive surviving 13th century religious manuscript with legendary origins that include the Devil as co-author, Satan having allegedly helped a monk complete it in one night. Google it if you get a chance.

Four excellent book reviews later (no dissenters), Amazon customer reviews all at 5 stars (fine, there’s only five of them but three of them are from people the author didn’t actually already know) and a mention in Publisher’s Lunch as an Amazon-for-Kindle-Top-Mover-&-Shaker (#3) for the week ending March 7, all this is telling one increasingly boastful author that this thing just may have some legs.

“If you build it, they will come.”

Book reviewers? I await your engagement, pdf available now for your reviewing pleasure, paperback ARC April-May. Bloggers who review books? Ditto. Readers who want to leave reviews? Only way to go there is for you to get it into your hands the old fashioned way (except as noted below): amazon.com, fictionwise.com, mobipocket.com, booksonboard.com, and of course through the publisher, drolleriepress.com. You can email the author at cntbauer101 at yahoo dot com.

Yes, I am afraid, but I will not cower. Read the novel then unload your thoughts in whatever venue you got. I’m a big boy and I can take it, but I also like my chances.

One more thing. Check out the blog “Book Talk with J&J” (booksbypickles.com) April 25-26. My first interview. If you play your cards right, there’s a free eBook in it for you.

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