The Judas Syndrome – Ebook Giveaway

Congratulations to C.A. Sizemore! His copy of Fire In The Blood will go out today.

Today’s book is The Judas Syndrome by Michael Poeltl.

Joel and his friends are on the verge of graduation and excited and optimistic about their futures. But when they return from a camping trip in the remote woodlands to find themselves faced with a post-apocalyptic world, their daily lives acquire burdens and terrors hitherto unexperienced.

The Judas Syndrome is an unforgettable portrait of survival against the odds. Joel, the protagonist, is a troubled youth whose dreams of entering college in the fall have disintegrated with the rest of the civilized world. Experiencing a barrage of sinister premonitions prior to a camping trip, Joel struggles to shrug them off as nothing more than anxiety over the newest cyber-terror, the Grimm Reaper. For months the Reaper has been inundating the airwaves with threats of mass destruction if world governments do not adhere to his plethora of ridiculous demands. Finally, he does more than just threaten.

The deed done, the Reaper’s threats now realized, Joel and his small band of friends find themselves alone in a dying world. Their families are all dead and gone, and Joel’s family home is now their stronghold. Faith and faithlessness are investigated as his ongoing visions prepare Joel for the realization that the worst is far from over. Prisoners to a darkened sky and toxic earth, the group fights to survive. Through battles staged on their hallowed ground, through loss and victory, the group meets the Pilate to their Judas, unwittingly setting in motion- the Judas Syndrome.

This is a stark cover for what sounds like a stark book. How much does a book’s cover influence your decision to buy? Drop a comment and let me know!

I plan on giving away a book a week this year, but none of them will be my own. Why? Well, I believe in helping introduce people to new authors and nothing does that like FREE! The contests will be as simple as leaving a comment on the blog, or showing me that you’ve left a review on Amazon or Smashwords of books you’ve picked up in the past. I’ll try and change things up to keep them interesting, but by and large you won’t have to work hard.

If you’re an author and you’d like to pitch your hat into the ring, let me know. I’m not asking you to give me anything for free. I plan on buying your e-book from Amazon/Smashwords as a gift for the winner. So in addition to you getting your name out there, you’ll also get a sale for the contest. The most I can budget per week is $2.99, so if you have a book in the $.99-$2.99 price range let me know. I reserve the right to turn you down, but I will try and do so gently. I’d like to have a variety of genres represented.

If you have a free book and would like me to just get the word out I can do that, but you won’t be part of my contest. If your book is more expensive and you would like to donate a copy, that works too.

Shoot me an e-mail, a DM, or leave me a comment to enter your book.

9 thoughts on “The Judas Syndrome – Ebook Giveaway”

  1. For me, it’s very simple: in general the cover is a reflection of the quality and interest level of the book, a window into the book if you will. Being a designer, I view the cover as the skin and first impression personality of the book, an indication of what the book is about and the first glimpse as to what I should expect once I actually get into the words. While it is a generalization, from what I’ve seen the cover quality typically goes hand in hand with the story quality. I find this to be true in all the design projects I do as well: i will provide only the highest quality in the visuals I design because I refuse to be the determining factor that prevents someone from delving into the product. For me, it doesn’t matter if it’s an eBook, a Podiobook, or a treeware book: the cover is what makes me even bother looking at it (unless I’ve had resounding reviews from friends and those I respect in such matters). Without a good/interesting cover, I may not give it a second look.

    1. I think that’s more than fair. It’s why I try harder with each passing project to make sure that my covers are interesting and well put together. Many of my older covers suffer from a lack of time/attention. I think I’m getting better at designing them myself, but for “bigger” projects I will always try and hire someone.

  2. Yeah, thought the old phrase of “don’t judge a book by its cover” has truth in it, we can’t help but do that. It’s our first real exposure to the story, and like all first impressions, it’s important. The book you’ve posted here sounds cool, but that stark cover doesn’t make me want to pick it up, because I worry that it reflects the words behind it. For good or ill, covers matter.

  3. A cover definitely has something to say about what’s going on inside. Here’s hoping this book proves the exception.

  4. As someone that has designed some covers for my brother Justin Macumber (including his novel “Haywire”, which is available on Amazon) I believe that a cover is the same as a nice outfit on someone. Are you more likely to talk to someone dressed nicely or someone who is shoddy looking? We are visual beings and always bring how something looks to bear on how we feel about something.

    I like the idea of a stark cover, but the image above looks more like the title page inside the book rather than a cover. Stark is good, but for interest you still need a little color, IMHO. And some interesting shapes. The single shape above needs something else, or an obvious reason why it’s alone …

  5. I recently posted something pertinent to this discussion on my blog:

    I have covered the first two steps by writing a (hopefully) entertaining story, hiring and working with a first-rate editor, and hiring a cover artist and formatting company to wrap the product up in an attractive package. I’m now working on the third step, and my job is to get my product in front of as many of my target audience as I can, to see if it’s something they would be interested in buying. I think we can all agree that if they never see it, the odds of purchasing go down considerably.

    If the cover doesn’t rate more than a glance by your potential buyer, then how will you ever convince them to become “actual” buyers?

    1. Thanks for the comment Jeff. I agree that your cover should be eye-catching and convey certain information to your audience. I’ll check out your blog!

  6. The cover of a book does influence me. At a glance I will skip the “cozy or chic lit” books. I love Sci-Fi but if a cover looks to technical I will pass on by because I will think the author loves pages of schematics. I just want a good read. I will buy a “book one in a series” if I know the author. Otherwise I wonder why the author can’t tell a good story and build a world I will want to revisit without being left on the edge of a cliff. The cover above is almost to stark. In an E-Book world I wonder if that matters as much as recommendations or the cover blurb.

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