Steve Umstead

Author's details

Name: Steve Umstead
Date registered: December 17, 2012

Biography

Steve Umstead has been the owner of a Caribbean & Mexico travel company for the past ten+ years, but never forgot his lifelong dream of becoming an author. After a successful stab at National Novel Writing Month, he decided to pursue his dream more vigorously…but hasn’t given up the traveling. Steve lives in scenic (tongue-in-cheek) New Jersey with his wife, two kids, and several bookshelves full of other authors’ science fiction novels. Gabriel’s Redemption was his debut novel, published in February of 2011.

Latest posts

  1. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment performs…INSIDE the Rock — April 24, 2013
  2. First time traveling without a Mac. My plan is as follows: — April 19, 2013
  3. Welcoming back Robert Swartwood to the Author’s Cafe with his new release, Walk The Sky (and a book giveaway) — April 17, 2013
  4. My son and Philadelphia Boys Choir are performing at Carnegie Hall today. Yes, THAT CARNEGIE HALL — April 11, 2013
  5. Kicking off “Author’s Cafe” on the blog with an interview with Leah Petersen, author of Cascade Effect — April 8, 2013

Most commented posts

  1. Are books worth more than gas station coffee? — 40 comments
  2. My thoughts on the impersonal side of Twitter — 39 comments
  3. Typos, spelling errors, plot holes, oh my! Gabriel’s Redemption takes two shots to the chin — 39 comments
  4. Using profanity in writing – is it necessary, or even missed? — 32 comments
  5. The Taleist survey is out: “Half of self-pub authors earn less than $500″. I ask, so what? — 32 comments

Author's posts listings

Apr 24

The Royal Gibraltar Regiment performs…INSIDE the Rock

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An absolutely stunning show last night in Gibraltar. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment performed in St. Michael’s Cave INSIDE the Rock, surrounded by stalagtites, stalagmites, and dripping water through the limestone above. Easily the highlight of the trip so far. Just…stunning. Hope my quick iPhone pics do it justice.

Apr 19

First time traveling without a Mac. My plan is as follows:

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Those of you who “know” me (inasmuch as anyone knows anyone online – I could be an 85 year old great-grandmother of seven, for all you really know), know that I’ve been a diehard Mac/iDevice user for quite some time. And while that’s still the case (I live in, and will always live in, a …

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Apr 17

Welcoming back Robert Swartwood to the Author’s Cafe with his new release, Walk The Sky (and a book giveaway)

How about a little Western to spice up your work week? I’m happy to “reintroduce” a good friend who has been here before (though before I had that cool little bookstore/cafe image above), Robert Swartwood. Author of horror, suspense, and thrillers (including one of my favorite reads, No Shelter, with the butt-kicking Holly Lin) has …

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Apr 11

My son and Philadelphia Boys Choir are performing at Carnegie Hall today. Yes, THAT CARNEGIE HALL

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UPDATE: Photo (actual one, not the stock photo of a piano I found on Google) at the bottom! Another in a long line of Proud Dad posts. My son is boarding the bus, along with 60+ other Red Blazered young men, on their way to Carnegie Hall for a performance today. (Before you ask, yes …

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Apr 08

Kicking off “Author’s Cafe” on the blog with an interview with Leah Petersen, author of Cascade Effect

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I’m proud to introduce a good friend (though that may be presumptuous of me – she may hate my guts for all I know…) I’ve had the rare privilege of meeting in person. Yes, real flesh and bones in a world of bits and bytes. Leah Petersen is a talented author, an outspoken supporter of …

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Apr 06

And NOW baseball season has begun (a Proud Dad post)

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Thought I’d put up a quick post about the true start of baseball season for me: my son Evan’s opening day. (Plus I wanted to try the WordPress app on the phone). I hustled him out of his Philadelphia Boys Choir practice (yes, another Proud Dad plug) just in time for the game. His pitching …

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Apr 06

My TweetDeck filters – some sanity and organization reclaimed

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Though I bounce between TweetDeck, HootSuite, and even the Twitter app on my desktop, some new filters I’ve implemented on TweetDeck (not available on the other two) have made it much easier for me to stay sane and clean up my lists. Without further ado: I’ve eliminated most of the #ff listings on Fridays (though …

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Mar 25

Kindle Quality Notice, eh?

Happy Monday morning to me – here’s the first thing I see in my Inbox: Hello, We’re writing to let you know that at least one of your readers has reported some problems within your book, Gabriel’s Journey (Evan Gabriel Series). There are typos in your book. You can find examples of this error at …

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Mar 17

An excerpt from Gabriel’s Return – some jungle combat to brighten your day

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A snippet from a scene out of Gabriel’s Return, book 2 in the scifi adventure series. Though I’d love for you to take a look at this story (which I think has the best action out of all three, but that’s just me), you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not actually starting with book …

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Mar 11

A visible example of why LinkedIn doesn’t matter (at least for me)

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Yes, back in the heyday of social media, when I was young and foolish (okay, not that young), I did what everyone else did: sign up for each and every possible social media outlet, program, site, etc. in the hopes of ‘getting my name out there.’ They’ve come and gone. I’ve churned and burned Klout …

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Mar 10

Daylight savings time just caught up to me…

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Thought I was fine earlier, but yeah – I’m missing the extra hour. And tomorrow is going to be even worse, because someone named it Monday. Can’t we do this hour sucking overnight Friday?  

Mar 07

My view on authors tweeting/retweeting – you may not like this…

Big time preface – YMMV. Everyone’s does. There are authors that do nothing but tweet book links, and they do fine. There are authors who aren’t even on Twitter, and do fine. And the converse – authors doing nothing but tweeting book links not selling a lick, and authors who aren’t tweeting aren’t selling. Before …

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Feb 27

Quickie price reduction on Gabriel’s Redemption in conjunction with a mailer promo

I’ve got a promo going out tomorrow with a book mailer for Gabriel’s Redemption, so I figured I’d give everyone here a heads up. You know, before you come storming the castle with torches and pitchforks, wondering why I’m keeping it a secret. The mailer will be sent tomorrow but due to the vagaries of …

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Feb 25

My live Oscars tweeting from the FUTURE was spot on – 3 for 3, baby…

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Yes, I admit – I watched the Oscars. Not for the idiocy, or the gowns, or the self-congratulatory atmosphere, but for the movies themselves. It’s the only awards I’ll ever (or have ever) watch. I’m a movie fan, so deep down I dig watching clips of the best of the best, seeing the actors outside …

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Feb 19

New lower price on Gabriel’s Redemption, book 1 of the scifi trilogy – $2.99/£1.99/€2.99

[Insert witty and entertaining comment here] ‘Nuff said – now Gabriel’s Redemption is $2.99 (£1.99, €2.99 in most non-US) for the major e-reader platforms. Maybe it’s permanent, maybe not…gamble if you must. If gambling’s not your thing, pick it up now at the following fine retailers: Kindle US Kindle UK Nook iBookstore Kobo Pray that …

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