"Don't Mess With Bunnies" by Craig Crawford

1/9/2026

Multi-genre, multi-volume author Craig L Crawford introduces us to his horror short story, "Don't Mess With Bunnies":
Avery is your average teenager with the usual teenage problems...until a seemingly mundane creature gets into her head. This meek and defenseless-looking animal reveals to her the startling cost for the abuse of its kind. Avery quickly learns that this mysterious animal means business, and that the punishment it metes out is no joke! "Don't Mess with Bunnies" is a Mannison Minibook by Mannison Press.

Bunnies are so cute. I had a pet bunny when I was a boy. It got away from me and became food for a predator.
I enjoyed this story. It had a cute beginning, but the tension started to rise almost immediately. I am committed to not spoiling a story for another person. I will say the ending is very dramatic with an unexpected twist.

10 Comments

Craig Crawford link

1/12/2026 10:01:08 am

Hi Mark,

Seems like we just talked (insert halo emoji...). I love talking about this writing process and we always seem to get into great conversations so why not start up another?!

Mark

1/12/2026 12:13:58 pm

I think that is a capital idea! It's great to be talking about your books and adventures as an independent author who is published by a small press instead of self-publishing.

A note to our visitors, this interview is picking up from where we last talked in the previous promotion of "Closing Dark Doors." The link is just above. In fact, Craig and I have been chatting for several years. I think we are on the third time through my list of questions. My list has changed much over the years; I have added, subtracted and changed questions as seemed good to me.

First questions.

Is using X, previously known as Twitter, and other social media part of your marketing strategy?

How much time do you spend in a week marketing or promoting your books on social media?

1/12/2026 12:56:09 pm

Hi Mark, even though we've chatted many times before, I always get new insights into my own processes and the how's and why's of my writing.

For marketing, I am using social media to push my stories. I have run a few ads on Twitter/X, and while I've gotten many impressions on ads, it hasn't translated into actual sales. Honestly, the marketing you and I do here, and especially your Twitter blitzes for the week we talk have more impact than any ads I've run myself on Twitter/X.

I have started running ads on Instagram even though I don't have much of a presence there. Since Meta bought Instagram, it means getting advertising on Facebook as well as Instagram. I've been getting lots of hits and views, as in thousands, so I am going to continue building ads and releasing them on Instagram.

As for marketing time. It depends from week to week, but I'm finding I'm spending a few hours, which is a juggling act with my writing. Now that can include submitting short stories, getting involved in events like these, going to horror conventions as well as strategizing and planning for my next endeavor.

The bottom line is, as an Indie author I am spending a chunk of my free time trying to get the word out about my books and stories.

I will add that Red Cape Publishing is my primary press (though Don't Mess With Bunnies and a couple of other books have been published by Mannison Press!). Red Cape does marketing on my behalf too. They've gotten my Project Threshold books into at least one book store on the far shore and they peddle my books at conventions they attend. They are also a great sounding board for my own marketing efforts.

1/12/2026 02:33:11 pm

I am happy that my efforts for your books have paid off. That's icing on the cake. The best part is chatting about your books and such.

Marketing on large social media platforms is not easy, from what I have heard. Many clicks don't always translate into sales. Exposure is a long-term game, and it takes lots of exposures to land in the top place of someone's mind.

That is good news about Instagram. I hope it spills over into Facebook.

A few hours every week does not surprise me. I have recommended to many authors that they allot 1 - 2 hours every week for marketing, at a minimum. It takes time and planning to see any fruit.

Red Cape does more than many other publishers I have heard of. Good on them.

New questions.

How do you convince readers to write a book review?

What are your thoughts on bad book reviews?

1/12/2026 05:04:07 pm

I agree. Lots of "impressions" and "views" does not equal sales. I have taken note of how I personally respond to ads I view in order to get a better idea of the marketing game. The thing I noticed really early is that I rarely respond to the first ad I see for anything. Unless it's the exact perfect thing, I never buy with one viewing. It takes multiple reminders, and I am extrapolating but I am guessing most other people react the same way.

So that's how I am approaching it too. I am about to start running ads repeatedly. I experimented at Christmas with a few single ads to get an idea of where people might be viewing, and am going to go back and run repeat ads in the next few weeks. I'll be running ads for the bulk of the winter and spring months to see where it gets me.

And yes, in thinking about the marketing time spent, I am probably devoting more like 4+ hours a week to it now. Some research but also ad creation, analyzing my horror market and trying to decide where to best put my meager marketing budget.

As to your question, book reviews are still an enigma. I have tried many things. I've gotten a few friends to review, and on social media I've mailed out books to people in return for reviews. I've solicited free books and merchandise in my newsletter in return for reviews and when I've sold books at conventions, I tuck in cards for my website and reminders to submit reviews.

Of everything I've had the best luck when I mail out books to people and then gently remind them to leave a review.

Having said that, it's a hard game getting people to review books. It is literally the pulling of teeth. For me, being an Indie author, I do review every book I read because I know how important they are and how much they mean for rankings. Even if it's not my favorite book, I'll review it and be honest. And even if I hated a book, I will at least offer something positive in the review, because no matter the writer, there are always good things they are doing as an author, even if they haven't mastered the craft yet. Even beginners.

And the dreaded "bad" review? I haven't encountered much of that yet, but I also look at it this way. I could be the best writer in the world and there are people who are just not going to gel with my writing style, or the way I unfold a story.

According to the internet (take that how you will), there are 1.5 billion people who read for pleasure. Horror is a niche genre but say even 10% of that total reads horror (just to keep neat numbers), that's 150 million readers. If even 10% of that could find my books that would leave 15 million readers. If 10% of those could actually get and read my books that would be 1.5 million. Take that down to 10% again who might actually review and we're already down to 150,000 (and obviously it's much lower than that...) Chances are, a chunk of those are NOT going to like my books because of a variety of reasons.

So, I'm going to get negative reviews. The key is to not take that personally. Think about how you react to movies. For myself, I have movies that I adore! Could watch them over and over. However, I run into others who watch that same movie and react lukewarm to it, or don't like it. Happens all the time.

Everyone's tastes are different so there are going to be plenty of people who will read my stories and not get anything out of them or maybe even hate them for some reason specific to them.

And that's okay. Their opinions are valid.

I choose to pay attention to the bulk of the reviews and listen to the criticism, good and bad to see if I'm doing my job as a writer. If I have more positive reviews outweighing the bad, then I'm doing something right. It's akin to running ads to see what's catching people's attention and what's falling flat.

My advice to other writers is--read the bad review. Did they leave that because of something you really did wrong with the story (plot hole you didn't catch, goofed up a character, etc.) or was it because of some personal thing with them. Either way, you come up with an answer you can deal with...

1/12/2026 07:02:15 pm

Very few leave reviews; every author frets about that. The situation might be worse than I thought. I asked X's Grok how many readers leave reviews online. Here is a portion of the answer:
On Amazon specifically, the figure is around 1–2% for products overall, with some variation (e.g., slightly higher for certain categories).
For books specifically (e.g., on Amazon, Goodreads, or other platforms), the rate is similarly low: often 0.1–2% leave written reviews, while 1–5% might leave a simple rating (stars only). Self-published authors and forum discussions frequently report ratios like 1 review per 100–1,000 sales, or around 0.25–1.5% for ratings and even lower (e.g., 0.25%) for full written reviews.

No joy in that answer for authors. There is a disconnect for a lot of readers, I think. They choose a book based upon reviews most of the time but they forget to leave one themselves.

You make a good point about readers' tastes, each are unique in some combination. It's impossible to write a book that will be universally acclaimed. There will always be the curmudgeon that detests the popular flavor of the day.

Trolls. The first rule of troll reviews is don't feed the troll. Trolls crave attention and they are happiest when they can make another person cry. Ignore them. They don't read the book much of the time and their review is obviously ignorant of the story and written with malign intent. Don't feed the trolls.

New questions.

Have you thought about doing an audiobook?

Who would you pick to do the audiobook?

1/12/2026 09:22:57 pm

Yes, so why do we worry about reviews? Because people do pay attention. I shame Amazon, B&N and GoodReads on that front. They have the same statistics so they know reviews don't necessarily mean good books. For good or ill, they started that framework but it ought to be adjusted for books. People do seem to rate other products better than they rate books....not sure why.

On the other hand, I do look at reviews for certain products. Books, I give more weight to reading samples. I really need to like the voice and the story telling to really get into a book. It makes all the difference. And, as I said, I review every book I read now.

I completely agree with your statements on trolls. Same as on social media. I don't interact and more often than not, I block them straight out. Obviously you can't do that with a book review, but if you have one or two trolls leaving bad reviews but you have a bunch of other good reviews, then people are going to figure it out.

As to your question, we have done an audio book for Project Threshold Season One: Wading into Darkness. It was fun. I got to talk with the narrator and if we do another for Season 2, I hope Anthony gets to work with us again.

If I had carte blanche to hire hire anyone to read my stories for an audio book....hmmmmnnn....

Denzel Washington. He's an awesome actor--one of my favorites. His voice is softer but strong and clear. Yeah, that would be great!

If I chose a female celebrity to read my stories...Emma Stone. I really like the sound of her voice :) :) :)

1/13/2026 10:45:38 am

Good thoughts about reviews. Around 8 years ago, Amazon was flooded with fake reviews, people on Fiverr were selling reviews and charging per star, in some cases. Authors were trading reviews also. I clarified the language on my website after Goodreads kicked me off their platform because someone accused me of selling reviews. I don't sell reviews, I sell promotion of books. I still had to start a new account on GoodReads. Review-gate must have been hurting Amazon because they removed a lot of accounts from their platform. People who were banned lost access to books on their Kindle, books and/or reviews were removed, and in some cases authors lost unpaid royalties. Any platform credits were lost also. It was a mess. Some authors were able to get reinstated. Amazon instituted a new rule that cut down on trolls. If you didn't buy at least $50.00 in product of any kind each year you could not review anything. I give Amazon props for that.

Celebrity voices. Denzel is a great choice! Emma also. At this time, an author should be able to find a narrator that offers celebrity voices. It will cost extra and most likely be done by AI trained for those voices. Even with the licensing fees it would be cheaper than the actual celebrity doing the work.

I am assumiong that Red Cape is handling the audiobook.

New questions.

How do you relax when you're not writing?

What is your favorite motivational phrase that keeps you going?

1/13/2026 12:12:49 pm

Yes, I know reviews are a conundrum all to themselves. While I'd love to have everyone who reads my books review them, there is reality :) It's one of those things where I prod and encourage people to review without being too pushy.

The entire correlation between reviews and visibility feels broken to me, but what are you gonna do?

Relaxing...that's a fun question :) Growing up, my dad basically had three jobs. He worked as a mailman for our local school system. He also worked part time security for a private group. 3rd, he was in a band. The man was one of those people who was rarely content to sit idle watching the world go by. For good or ill, I inherited that from him. I think it's partly why I jibe so well with writing as a side career.

I work full time but I'm often writing or dealing with some aspect of writing or marketing when I get home. I'm honestly content being "busy" vs sitting around doing nothing. And by "nothing" I mean simple distractions like reading or watching movies. I always seem to be "busy" doing something.

So for me, relaxing is doing something. I relax taking walks, occasionally watching a movie (horror being my favorite genre), or even listening to podcasts. I relax by getting together with friends and hanging out having some food and a couple of beers.

There are days I truly wish I could sit on a porch and just watch the clouds for hours, but I get fidgety after about 15 minutes and then have to be involved in something. I guess I do multitask--we have a puzzle going in our living room so I may watch TV but I like working on it while something's on. Either that or I'm on my phone or doing something else :)

It's probably a bad thing, but I have a really hard time just sitting idle.

Motivational phrases....I have a couple.

I ran across one and I cannot find the actual author. I also can't remember the exact wording. I have a small poster on my wall at home but basically it says, "It's not up to the author to decide what his art means. Once he finishes it, it's up to the audience to make that determination."

It really applies to any art and not just books, but I like the principle idea, and it really is true. An author writes his book, it gets published and sent into the world, but it really is up to the interpretation of the audience as far as what it means. The author, by unleashing his story into the world, much like a parent with a child, no longer has control over what it will ultimately become.

It's that idea that once I publish a story or book, it's no longer mine to control or dictate, and I think it rings true. And I'm okay with that.

My other favorite quote or motivation, I do know the original person who said it :) It was Confucius and he said, "No matter where you're going, there you are."

Always makes me laugh but it also punctuates for me that you're doing your thing so just do it and don't worry about the where of what you want or where you want to be. Just be there on the journey and keep going. That quote I have on my own website just to remind myself to focus on that...and not to take this journey of life too seriously...

1/13/2026 03:26:49 pm

My favorite activity is reading. I engage completely with the story and shut out most of the world ever since my school days. Reading on a school bus filled with other children is good training to focus and a touch of ADD/ADHD doesn't hurt either. I think that is part of what makes me so good at proofreading.

I love that first quote: "It's not up to the author to decide what his art means. Once he finishes it, it's up to the audience to make that determination." I have repeated the following maxim more than once, that every person who reads the same book actually reads a different book because they read it through their filters and life experiences.

The last time I recall hearing that quote from Confucius was in Kung-Fu Panda. True and funny, nonetheless.

New questions.

Which famous person, living or dead, would you like to meet?

Which famous author?

"Don't Mess With Bunnies" by Craig Crawford

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