As a continuation of my post about the digital publishing revolution, I’m dedicating this post to eBook pricing.  One reason:  I’ve decided that the emphasis in my future participation in this revolution will be on eBooks.  While my main motivation for this decision is control—my control—over the publishing process, there are many others.  I touched on some of those reasons for all self-publishing options in that previous post.  One aspect of that control, of course, is determining the pricing for your eBook.

Barry Eisler’s new John Rain thriller, The Detachment, is priced at $5.99 for a Kindle download.  That price is right in the middle of the standard Amazon range of $2.99 to $9.99.  OK, for purists, the middle would be $6.50, give or take a few cents, so, if you take dollar steps from $2.99, it could be $5.99 or $6.99.  Don’t ask me why the used car salesperson’s 99 is present—why not $6.50?  This is all part of the craziness—and the fun!  Will you be more likely to buy a book at $5.99 than $6.50?  For one of my books, maybe.  For Barry Eisler, the price might not matter much.

(more…)

I wrote my first novel during the summer I turned thirteen.  It was terrible but not unlike the movie City of Angels (the angel was a woman in my story—yeah, I know, they’re supposed to be sexless creatures, but the movie got it wrong too).  I’m a born story-teller and should have bitten the bullet and become a writer, journalist, or something similar, but I decided to take advantage of the Sputnik panic (read:  $$$$ for studying) and become a scientist.  No regrets there.  It put a lot more PB&J sandwiches on the table for my kids (better said, arepas, empenadas, sobrebarriga, papas criollas, yucca and maduros—we were living in South America for a long stretch of time).

Nope, no regrets.  I kept writing and reading and recording my experiences and now I am, finally, a full-time writer who incorporates that life-time of experiences into his writing (I often wonder about young MFAs who have none).  I’ve been writing full-time long enough that I thought it might be appropriate that I write about some of my experiences with this new digital publishing paradigm shift that has revolutionized the world of publishing.  Since I’m opinionated, this is in my free wheelin’ op-ed blog to allow others to comment (all part of the fun).  Here we go, a summary of what works for me.

(more…)

Writers’ Digest publishes its list of recommended websites every year.  Mine is different…and much shorter.  Last week I just added it to “Steve’s Writing” page here on this website.  In this post, I’ll divulge the reasons for my choices—all personal, all subjective.  All sites on “Steve’s Writing” are linked to the corresponding website—just double-click to open up a separate window.

(more…)

(Carolyn J. Rose, An Uncertain Refuge, ISBN 9780983735908)

Don’t miss this book!  It’s a thriller, full of action and suspense.  Moreover, the underlying theme, spouse abuse and exploitation of women, points out inconvenient social ills in our society—indeed, in the world.  Ms. Rose’s prose is riveting and her characters sparkle with authenticity.  None of the story seems contrived.  I couldn’t put it down.

First, the story:  Kate Dalton manages an Arkansan domestic violence shelter, a place where abused women go as a last recourse when the prehistoric system of restraining orders fails, as it usually does.  Amanda Blake’s double ex—one ex for angry ex-husband and the other for violent ex-con—shows up at the shelter and tries to kill her.  Kate steps in with a few martial arts skills and ex-hubby dies by his own knife.  The governing board of the shelter, led by a sleazy misogynist lawyer, decides it wants to take advantage of the publicity, but Kate doesn’t, so the board fires Kate.  She heads out of town but is detoured by the recovering Amanda who cons Kate into being her son’s guardian while, like a mother bird leading the cat away from the nestlings, takes the ex-husband’s equally violent brother on a wild goose chase.

Kate seeks and finds comfort in menial labor while running a motel located on the Oregon shore.  She and Amanda’s son (the kid is a hoot) are befriended by two of the motel workers, the chamber maid and the handyman; an older woman running an animal shelter; and a sheriff who prefers fishing in solitude but is ready to help.  She begins a process of bonding with Amanda’s son.  But all along the brother is hot on Kate’s trail.  After killing Amanda in Ohio, he makes it to Oregon.  The confrontation with Kate turns into a confrontation with the handyman, but I won’t spoil the ending for you.

(more…)