Come join the party! You know, those parties where the guests scoot around town to find clues and finally reach something worthwhile at the end. In this case, the treasure is five large gems (modesty aside), and the clues are a bit obscure.

I’m referring to the five novels in the “Esther Brookstone Art Detective” series. Unlike the related “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco” series, all novels published by Carrick Publishing (#1 even has a paper version), the novels in Esther’s series have been published in three different ways, mostly because of circumstances beyond my control.

The first two novels, Rembrandt’s Angel and Son of Thunder, were published by Penmore Press; the third. Death on the Danube, by Carrick Publishing; and the last two, Palettes, Patriots, and Prats and Leonardo and the Quantum Code, by Draft2Digital (D2D). As far as the publishing history goes, the only commonality for all five books is that I’m their author!

I apologize. This treasure hunt won’t be easy for readers. Penmore and I parted ways on friendly terms; I suppose they had good business reasons for making the changes they made, and I certainly had mine for finally deciding I could do without them. Carrick Publishing has published many of my books and done a bang-up job doing it, but I was impatient to get my Covid backlog of manuscripts published, so I turned to D2D for the last two novels to avoid their queue. (Apologies are in order for Carrick Publishing too.)

The first three novels all have print versions; the last two don’t because (1) my attendance at live book events has diminished (where I “exhibit” print versions), and (2) I firmly believe that print versions’ days are numbered (the only publishers that are sustaining them are the Big Five, and only because they come out with print versions long before ebooks to make more money, which makes no sense because they charge almost as much for the ebooks!)

The last two novels aren’t on Amazon. I’ve explained in this blog why that’s so in several posts, and you can find part of that explanation on my website too, but I’m boycotting that retail giant for now. (There are also reasons beyond how they treat publishers and authors.)

In any case, there you have the treasure hunt, whether you believe the treasure is worthwhile or not. It’s not that difficult, though. Most online retailers sell all the ebooks. Exceptions are Amazon and Smashwords for the last two novels, but all can be found at iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc. Print versions are only available on Amazon and at your favorite local brick-and-mortar bookstore (if they don’t have them, ask for them); you’ll have to be satisfied with novels one through three, though. You could consider those novels a trilogy, I suppose, but you won’t know what happens to Esther and Bastiann beyond their honeymoon trip down the Danube!

While you might not think so, I really do consider these five novels my gems. They represent the pinnacle of my storytelling, in particular, the last novel, Leonardo and the Quantum Code, which combines all my genres in one novel in a way. (You’ll have to read it to see why.)

Like all my series, though, you can sample these gems in any order. While I refer to previous events in each successive novel (especially #5, which depends a lot on #3 and #4), I always provide a short explanation of each event so each novel can stand alone. (In all my series, I mention those previous events primarily as a reward for those readers who read the series in order. They’re not that necessary because everyone knows a series exists because an author is reusing some of his previous characters.)

However, rest assured, I never intended to create a treasure hunt for you to follow the adventures of Esther and Bastiann, only to create more stories about that Christie-like duo, Esther (Miss Marple) and Bastiann (Hercule Poirot), for your enjoyment. Again, I apologize.

***

Comments are always welcome.

Leonardo and the Quantum Code. Trouble again finds Esther Brookstone on her home turf. An old friend from her Oxford days is developing encoding and decoding algorithms that involve entangled quantum states and quantum computers, all motivated by some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s ideas found in a newly discovered notebook of the artist. His project is financed by MI5, but both the Americans and Russians want his results…and so does a mysterious stranger. Cloak-and-dagger suspense abound in this fifth novel of the “Esther Brookstone Art Detective” series. Soon available wherever quality ebooks are sold (but not on Amazon).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

I’m not a famous sci-fi author (some would argue I’m not even an author!), but I share at least one thing in common with the three most famous ones, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein. (Many so-called sci-fi addicts haven’t read their stories, though. They’re from my generation or earlier, but no more recent ones are as good…including me!) What do we have in common? They were all scientists, and so was I. Asimov was a biochemist, Clarke was…well, let’s just call him an applied physicist/engineer, and Heinlein was an astronomer; I once made my living as a physicist, working in R&D.

Clarke was the misfit in that famous trio because he had a few ETs in his stories, most notably in the Rama series; the other two didn’t, as far as I can remember (and I’ve read a lot of their books!). Asimov explained away his avoidance of ETs in the entire extended Foundation series (it goes far beyond that famous trilogy) by using his novel, The End of Eternity: the eternals of that story arranged everything so that humans would be alone…for all eternity! Heinlein just avoided ETs altogether without explanation, although he wrote about some very wild creatures out there among the stars sometimes.

Clarke almost avoided ETs in Rama, but he couldn’t resist bringing them in end at the end to prove God is an engineer. Other less famous sci-fi authors have avoided ETs too. I suspect they, and this might explain the big three’s hesitancy, realized that ETs are hard! Writing about them is difficult, in other words. I know that from personal experience.

(more…)

On my “Join the Conversation” web page, you will find a list of useful websites. I’ve debated with myself recently about including on that page some that I can’t recommended. For the moment, in lieu of doing that, I offer this post. I name only a few names, but only because there are generic organizations writers should avoid. (Consider this post an addendum to my little writing course “Writing Fiction,” which contains a lot of advice about this writing business and is available as a free PDF download—see the “Free Stuff & Contests” web page.) Here goes:

Literary agencies. Stay away from them. The very few helpful and open-minded agents who remain aren’t worth the risk of subjecting yourself to the bad ones who are only gatekeepers (who generally know nothing about writing!) to big publishing conglomerates (the Big Five, soon to be Four) that still exist in the twentieth century, if not the nineteenth. Most literary agents are like real estate agents and sales people—they’re scurrilous pariahs only interested in getting their commissions. I have yet to meet one or an agency that doesn’t fit this stereotype. I’m sure there are some. (I’m just unlucky, I guess.)

Traditional publishers. There are three strikes against them, so they’re out: First, they take the lion’s share of royalties even though you, the writer, do most of the work. Second, you no longer get many perks from them. You say, “They get my book into bookstores and help pay for marketing.” No and nada! Here’s the main problem besides the royalty issue: They’ve all started to use formatting software to cut costs. They say, “It’s still Ingram.” I say, “Sorry, I can use formatting software too—Draft2Digital, Smashwords, or Lightning Source.” The latter is basically what most traditional publishers now use, but you will find that all software formatting packages need more TLC than traditional publishers are willing to give them. It’s software, after all, without humans in the loop, unless you do it yourself, or pay an independent and trusted formatter to do it for you. And forget about Amazon! If you insist on getting a .mobi ebook file, both Draft2Digital and Smashwords’ formatting software can produce that.

(more…)

I’m referring to covers of others’ novels as well as my own. Note that no cover considered here is from the Big Five—most of theirs are terrible, looking like some kid did them with PowerPoint. Let me consider others’ first:

Scott Dyson’s Odd Man Out. Scott specializes in horror stories, short fiction so far, and mostly horror. I think he does his own covers. I love this one. (Stephen King might covet this cover…and wish he’d written this tale too.)

Saralyn Richard’s Murder in the One Percent. Saralyn’s novel is a mystery in the Christie tradition. Her detective here is even named Parrott, a take-off on Poirot. Great novel, great cover. The cover is from Jackson Cover Designs, by the way, once associated with Black Opal Books, but gone in the re-org of that small press. (They also did the cover of The Last Humans, first book in “The Last Humans” series.)

Stan Brown’s The Legacy. Like Scott with horror, Stan got me back into fantasy a bit (as opposed to sci-fi—or is this novel also a horror story?). Also like Scott, all Stan’s stories are good. So is this cover…again by Jackson Cover Designs.

Hugh Howey’s Wool. Here I’m referring to the original ebook “trilogy” edition, which seems to be unavailable now. Houghton Mifflin’s cover is one of those Big Five PowerPoint failures. I guess they made him remove the original ebook edition. Figures. Howey was once a self-published author who sold his soul to that Big Five devil. He originally published the three wooly parts separately, even though they were soap opera episodes and not stand-alones. (Something I hate as a reader. I waited for the bundle, which really amounts to just one novel, but the stitching-together still remained to annoy me.) Good cover on that original trilogy, though (sorry, I don’t know who was the cover artist).

And now for my own covers:

Survivors of the Chaos. The old Infinity trade paperback and ebook editions had a great cover, a scene straight out of the book and very sci-fi-ish, consisting of a space-suited figure on a moon of Saturn looking at the ringed gas giant. This novel now has a second edition contained in the ebook bundle of the complete “Chaos Chronicles Trilogy”; I just borrowed the cover from the last book for that (yeah, lazy me), also an excellent cover by Sara Carrick.

Soldiers of God. Again, the old Infinity trade paperback edition had a great cover showing a Juan Valdes-like fellow on his burro looking at a mushroom cloud in the distance. (Read the novel to find out why.) That novel also has a second ebook edition with a spiffy new cover I like a lot too, thanks to Sara Carrick.

Gaia and the Goliaths. This is another great Sara Carrick cover.  The world is burning, thanks to global warming and the fossil-fuel industry’s conglomerates. (In the book, Detective Castilblanco champions nuclear energy as the best alternative to fossil fuels.) Great cover by Sara Carrick, but a disturbing novel?

Leonardo and the Quantum Code. Let’s call this a “cover reveal.” I’ve used the same artist, Betti Bup, for all three of my Draft2Digital books published so far. They’re all good, but this new cover is the best. For those of you who follow my oeuvre (hopefully most of you who read this blog), you will know that this cover is for an ebook not yet published, but it soon will be. This cover seemed like ESP in action between me and the cover artist because it depicts a scene from the book I had just finished! (A preview of the story is found at the end of Palettes, Patriots, and Prats. The cover of that book, in my mind’s eye, at least. shows the mysterious road one main character, Bobbie MacDonald, must traverse as she escapes two thugs sent  to kill her.) I’m sure Betti Bup is a pseudonym—you can find her artwork at TheBookCoverDesigner.com).

Do covers make the book? No, but they add to it, and they are often better than any advertising an author or publisher might pay for. The Big Five haven’t learned that lesson yet, or they forgot it. In their arrogance, they stopped learning lessons, or applying lessons learned, two decades ago. I haven’t read any fiction published by the Big Five in a while. Why subject myself to formulaic stories…and terrible covers!

My list of covers tomorrow might differ from this one. Like a book’s content, appreciation of cover art is subjective—you never can tell what might turn readers off…or catch their eye. (Big Five covers generally make me say, “Ugh!”) Whether you like the cover or not, you should always “peek inside,” either at your favorite online retailer or with a visit to your friendly neighborhood bookstore.

***

Comments are always welcome!

A, B. Carolan’s Origins: The Denisovan Trilogy, Book One. One group of hominids survived to dominate Earth, but some of their descendants and those of the other groups are “out there.” What happens when their scientists return to the home planet? And which group does Kayla Jones belong to? Available at Smashwords and all their affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) and library and lending services (Scribd, Overdrive, Gardners, etc.)…but not on Amazon.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

…by the standards the publishing industry has for measuring failure: With all the novels I’ve written, not one has been a “bestseller,” whatever that means. That means I’m also a failure in the eyes of the editors of the NY Times “Book Review” section (most small press and self-published authors are failures using that metric). Guess what? Borrowing Rhett Butler’s phrase, I don’t give a damn!

There are many reasons for my attitude. Here’s one: I’ve had a lot of fun telling my stories since I started thinking about publishing them in late 2000. (Maybe not so much fun after finishing a manuscript—see the previous article—what comes after that is often painful for any author.) I do everything I possibly can to make these stories entertaining, exciting, and relevant. I think they’re as good as anything other authors produce. Maybe even better! As a very young man, I knew I could tell a story as good as anybody else’s, and I wanted to do just that. The problem was finding the time to do the writing.

Here’s the most important reason, though: I consider each story a success if it entertains, excites, or seems relevant to at least one reader. That’s a different metric the publishing industry ignores as well as many readers; The industry never considers this in its quest to make oodles of money exploiting authors. And, in that sense, a large percentage of my books are a success! Take that, you people hooked on “bestsellers” and the NY Times “Book Review”!

These two measures are really all any person needs to determine their success as an author, or even to call themselves an author. Many writers probably aren’t satisfied with them—especially if they’ve left their day-job to write—or they get discouraged and quit after the first book that doesn’t sell thousands of copies. Some of them might peruse my oeuvre and wonder if I’m a masochist (is that a more appropriate word than “failure” in my case?), because they don’t accept my two metrics as valid measures of success.

All the above brings me to my third reason to continue spinning my yarns: I had this burning desire to tell my own stories since I was a kid. I was an avid reader even then, reading far beyond my age as determined by an educational system that has always taught to the average. I knew I could tell stories as good as those I was reading, so that my goal was to do it. Life got in the way of achieving that goal; I had to choose other work that could support my family more easily than a writing career. There was a lot of competition even back then. And I didn’t have Dean Koontz’s wife backing me up—I wasn’t even married yet!

But that burning desire never died. When I could find the time to do it (busy jobs in academia and then R&D often took up my evenings as well as my days), I returned to satisfying that desire to write. I don’t pretend to be the only author with that bio—in fact, I have many author friends who have a similar one—but that bio goes a long ways to explain my output. (I often describe this by saying my muses are really banshees with Tasers who pressure me to tell my stories!)

So I didn’t begin publishing my stories as an ego trip or just because self-publishing is easy. In fact, when I started, it was either go the traditional route or use a vanity press. I found the latter option appalling, so I tried traditional. I thought an agent was required (I didn’t realize at first that small presses often don’t require them, using only an acquisitions editor instead), so, after 1000+ rejections, I tried some POD publishers (Xlibris and Infinity, which still exist); ebooks were just starting up at that time, but I experimented with them too when they came along.

The rest is history. I’m now a mongrel, both self- and traditionally published. Sure, there have been potholes in the road. I wrote about one not long ago involving Amazon (contributing to my decision to boycott them from now on)—in general, this online retailer thinks it’s the center of the publishing universe, if you believe their bots actually think. (No “help desk,” of course; or maybe those bots are just asleep.) Dumb bots, but maybe the people programming them are dumber?

I’ve also had more than my share of trolls as reviewers, and flagrant piracy, the latter to the point that I have no idea how many readers each book has had—how do you count those readers who have purchased or downloaded pirated ebooks? (Mark Coker of Smashwords pays no attention to book pirating; he even goes out of his way to encourage it, which is why I’m seriously considering boycotting Smashwords more too by using Draft2Digital!)

There are many other slings and arrows of misfortune in my writing life, but my reasons listed above still make it all worthwhile. I shall continue to publish my stories, one way or the other. Damn the torpedoes (and the NY Times)! Full speed ahead.

***

Comments are always welcome!

Palettes, Patriots, and Prats: Esther Brookstone, Book Four. After book three in this series, you might have thought that I’d leave it as a trilogy and send newlyweds Esther and Bastiann van Coevorden off to enjoy their golden years in peace. Ha! Not with my muses, who are really banshees with Tasers. This one starts with an innocent castle tour with a duke and duchess, but trouble soon finds the artist of a painting the crime-fighting duo observes there. Esther and Bastiann become embroiled yet again in fighting an international conspiracy. Available wherever quality ebooks are sold (not on Amazon or Smashwords).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

Any novel worth the name has a lot of words. Mine are generally between 65 and 85 kwords in length without counting front and back material. There’s always a chance that a few editing errors remain. Annoying reviewers focus on them, some even going so far as to state, “Look, another poorly edited self-published (or small press) book.” I resent such remarks because, in my case, I go through an extensive editing process.

I catch many copy-editing errors myself in reading or reviewing mode, even in those TV banners that go by so fast that the average viewer probably doesn’t notice. (For example, a recent ABC news item had one about “gama rays.” From some new sci-fi weapon?) I have an eagle’s eye for editing, but even an eagle misses his prey sometimes!

First, let me state that I often notice errors even in traditionally published books from the Big Five. No editing process is perfect. Of course, that’s no excuse for others’ or mine. We can complain that reviewers are probably more lenient with a Baldacci or Deaver book. (NY Times reviewers certainly are, and their favoritism goes to the extreme of never mentioning editing errors, bless their biased souls.) That’s like most things in this life: The rich and famous get a pass when they screw up, while us poor clods take the heat!

Second, I edit my books to hell! SOP: Two edits from me (again I’m referring to copy editing—I content edit as I go), one on screen and the other with the printed manuscript (a different look); a beta-read and edit from a pro to catch any remaining errors (even though I send this person a very clean manuscript), beta-reading to check for logical lapses and more copy editing for the errors my old eyes didn’t catch; and proof reading after formatting (that process can create errors not in the manuscript). For my traditionally published works, I have to suffer through the publisher’s editing “corrections,” many of those reducing to my preference for the NY Times style manual over the antiquated and incorrect Chicago one that orgs like ITW force publishers to follow and no author can afford. After all this, errors can still remain.

As a reader, I’m tolerant of editing errors…up to a point. I know a book is similar to computer code because I’ve written both (an ebook is computer code): There’s always another bug! (Even in Big Five books…and they steal a lot of royalties to pay for those staff editors!) But like computer code, editing errors are egregious only when they keep the code itself from doing its job (the reader isn’t clear what the author intends).

As a reviewer, I’m also tolerant, albeit a bit more demanding, especially about content editing, which no copy editor should be allowed to do! I content edit as I go and feel that’s more the author’s responsibility to make sure the story is logical and a faithful representation of his personal style. An editor might be asked to save a book, or be so bold to presume he can make it better (meaning make it look like he wrote it!), but authors should resist that. (I almost withdrew the manuscript of Son of Thunder because a brash editor insisted on “improving it”—he didn’t, but he didn’t completely ruin it, so I threw up my hands and said to myself, “Screw it!” because I already knew that small press and I would soon go through a divorce. (Their insistence on changes was just one of the final straws.)

As an author, I know I have to own all the editing errors that remain, even though someone else missed them, or even created them. That’s the fate of any working group leader getting the code ready for a software project. Well, almost. The formatting process for a book is now often done with software, which is more computer code, code that’s allowed to change other code! I refuse to share those errors, but knowing they exist, I grin and bear the proof-reading chore. (That aforementioned small press also irked me by changing to Ingram’s clunky formatting software, making that proofing hellish!) Errors in formatting code can create errors in the final product. Sometimes they can’t even be fixed! (Consider the margins in Son of Thunder and Death on the Danube, two different formatting engines.)

I’m posting this article so readers can understand what goes on behind the scenes after I finish a manuscript. It’s easy to publish a book nowadays, but the process can never be perfect. Think about that why you’re cursing and saying, “How could author X let that error get by?” X might be a beta-reader, editor, or formatting software, and not the author! My advice: Don’t dwell on the errors if you’re enjoying the storytelling.

***

Comments are always welcome.

Palettes, Patriots, and Prats: Esther Brookstone, Book Four. After book three in this series, you might have thought that I’d leave it as a trilogy and send newlyweds Esther and Bastiann van Coevorden off to enjoy their golden years in peace. Ha! Not with my muses, who are really banshees with Tasers. This one starts with an innocent castle tour with a duke and duchess, but trouble soon finds the artist of a painting the crime-fighting duo observes there. Esther and Bastiann become embroiled yet again in fighting an international conspiracy. Available wherever quality ebooks are sold (not on Amazon or Smashwords).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

I’m considering both others’ stories and my own. First, those others gems:

“To Serve Man.” You might have seen the Twilight Zone episode based on this Damon Knight classic short story published in 1950. It has influenced all my ironic sci-fi short fiction. And Mr. Knight’s Creating Short Fiction should be on every writer’s reference shelf.

“The Marching Morons.” I’ve been using the title and referring to this novella in these pages for a while now to describe Trump’s voters (thanks to SecState Tillerson for reminding me of the story by calling Trump a “f*&^ing moron). When C. M. Kornbluth published this novella in 1951, a gem filled with irony and satire, he couldn’t have known how well it described so many voters. Moronic, lemming-like behavior often seems more contagious and deadly than Covid.

“To Build a Fire.” Our eighth-grade teacher read this Jack London gem from 1908 to us. I’ll never forget this story about desperation and struggle for survival. It too has influenced my writing. You might be more familiar with the author’s novel Call of the Wild (recently made into an excellent movie starring the ancient Harrison Ford), but this short story shows the power of short fiction—few words making a big impact.

“The Silk and the Song.” Charles Louis Fontenay’s 1956 novella is another gem that’s both haunting and a lesson about escape from slavery. It influenced several of my novels and deserves a lot more credit than it has received.

All three sci-fi stories are on my list of “Best Sci-Fi Short Fiction.” (By the way, I apologize. That and other “best” stories mentioned on my website are now archived offline. Drop me a note using my contact page if you’d like a copy.)

Now for my favorites from my own oeuvre:

“The Phantom Harvester.” Someday I might make this mystery/thriller story into a novel. Certainly enough happens, and I’d like to develop the main characters, Castilblanco’s two adopted children, a bit more. It’s mostly a dark tale about evil and the opioid epidemic.

“Portal in the Pines.” A sci-fi tale about the wrong way to approach first contact, it’s a bit dark too. Unlike “The Marching Morons,” this is a bleak warning…and differing a bit from my usual sci-fi fare.

“Fascist Tango.” Like many of my stories, but especially my short fiction, this tale is a warning of what might happen; in this case, what if the US and the rest of the world continue the current spiral down into worldwide fascism. It’s also another tale that could become a novel one day, but in its first outing here, it’s just a novella I’m rather proud of.

“The Case of the Carriageless Horse.” If “The Phantom Harvester” is post-Castilblanco, this one is pre- and about Castilblanco’s first homicide case. I never found it completely satisfying, but it does show the detective’s promise that came to fruition in the seven novels in the “Detectives Chen & Castilblanco” series. Chen only has a cameo. It’s found in the anthology World Enough and Crime, and Donna Carrick reads it on her podcast (see the link on my “Home Page”).

“Gamin.” When I lived in Bogotá, Colombia, gamines were ubiquitous—these are homeless street urchins who begged and stole. Padre Luna, a true priest and gentleman (the Roman Catholic hierarchy in that country are hypocrites), would take some of them to his farms and try to turn their lives around. I had the idea that human colonies on the moon and beyond might have street urchins too—humans will surely take their social problems “out there” if we don’t destroy Earth first—so this seemed an appropriate story for the anthology Howling at the Moon. I think it’s one of my best.

And so there you have my current favorites. I say “current” because these are the short fiction works that came to mind while writing this post. I’ve read and written so many stories that tomorrow my list of favorites might change. What are yours? (You might jog your memory with the lists of “Best…” that I can send you from earlier blog posts.)

“The Phantom Harvester” and “Portal in the Pines” are free downloads found in the list on my “Free Stuff & Contests” web page. “Fascist Tango” is found in Pasodobles in a Quantum Stringscape, Volume Three, also a free download. “The Case of the Carriageless Horse” is found in the anthology World Enough and Crime, while “Gamin” is found in the anthology Howling at the Moon—both anthologies are available on Amazon, the first edited by the Carricks and the second by #WolfPackAuthors (I’m proud to be a member).

***

Comments are always welcome!

A. B. Carolan’s Origins: The Denisovan Trilogy, Book One. Syrian refugee Kayla Jones is a successful STEM student. Her bad dreams no longer torment her, but, just as she thinks she’s on her way to a rewarding career, strangers start pursuing her. With some friends who help her, she struggles to find out why. A. B.’s new action-packed mystery/thriller for young adults and adults who are young-at-heart is filled with suspense and ancient intrigue, and it will keep all readers guessing about what’s coming next. Available wherever quality ebooks are sold (but not Amazon).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

The Montclair Film Festival, before Covid and before it became dominated by Colbert and his wife, featured some excellent documentaries. One was Tricks (a 3generations.org production), which had an impact on me by portraying human trafficking mostly in service to the sex trade—sex trafficking, to use the common phrase, where evil people exploit young women and girls, turning them into prostitutes and sex slaves. This is a theme I consider so important that it appears in two novels and some short fiction.

I often mention that observations leading to what-ifs and themes can be woven into plots (see my little course “Writing Fiction”—a new revision is available as a free PDF download on my “Free Stuff & Contests” web page). Watching a documentary is using observations made by the creator or director of the documentary, but secondhand observations are fair game too.

My first novel to use this theme was The Collector, #5 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco” series—you can read the book summary on my “Books & Short Stories” web page. This novel was inspired in part by Tricks and my worry that buyers of stolen art can go beyond rich people desiring to own something no one else could see. This second theme brings in Esther Brookstone for a cameo appearance, a prelude to the “Esther Brookstone Art Detective” series, which leads to the second novel with the first theme: Palettes, Patriots, and Prats, #4 in the series. (See below. Human trafficking is also a theme in the earlier Angels Need Not Apply, #2 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco” series, but it’s not a major one. It’s often associated with the drug trade and immigration abuses.)

Human trafficking is an important theme. We no longer have overt and legal slavery, but it still exists illegally, and the traffickers feed its deadly maws with new victims all the time. If I were forty years younger and knew what I know now from Tricks and other sources, my life’s work might be trying to stamp it out. There are those who work toward exactly that, thankfully, and I applaud their efforts.

Palettes, Patriots, and Prats has more themes because it’s a longer novel. There’s the art trafficking theme and the themes of people falsely accused of or getting trapped in crime. There’s the theme of Putin and his cronies and the Russian assassinations. And there’s the theme of aging, especially for Esther.

Unlike some authors, I believe themes are as important as plot. I find novels without themes far less interesting than those that have them. A story is just fluff without them.

***

Comments are always welcome.

Palettes, Patriots, and Prats: Esther Brookstone Art Detective, Book Four. Esther Brookstone, ex-Scotland Yard inspector in the Art and Antiques Division and ex-MI6 spy during the Cold War, and new husband, Bastiann van Coevorden, have just returned from their honeymoon cruise down the Danube, refreshed and reinvigorated despite Bastiann’s having to handle a murder investigation as his last assignment as an Interpol agent. Esther is content running her gallery, and Bastiann works as a consultant for MI5. They hope to enjoy their active golden years together, but more adventures as sleuths await them, colliding with their idyllic existence, as they aid an American artist, try to thwart a Russian assassin, and go after the illegal art trade and human traffickers. Mystery, suspense, thrills, and intrigue once more await readers. Available at Draft2Digital’s affiliated retailers (Apple, B&N, Kobo, etc., but not Amazon or Smashwords) and library and lending services (Scribd, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor, etc.)

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

The Montclair Film Festival, before Covid and before it became dominated by Colbert and his wife, featured some excellent documentaries. One was Tricks (a 3generations.org production), which had an impact on me by realistically portraying human trafficking, mostly in service to the sex trade—sex trafficking, to use the common phrase, where evil people exploit young women and girls, turning them into prostitutes and sex slaves. This is a theme I consider so important that it appears in two novels and some short fiction.

I often mention that observations leading to what-ifs and themes can be woven into plots (see my little course “Writing Fiction”—a new revision is available as a free PDF download on my “Free Stuff & Contests” web page). Watching a documentary is using observations made by the creator or director of the documentary, but secondhand observations are fair game too.

My first novel to use this theme was The Collector, #5 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco” series—you can read the book summary on my “Books & Short Stories” web page. This novel was inspired in part by Tricks and my worry that buyers of stolen art can go beyond rich people desiring to own something no one else could see. This second theme brings in Esther Brookstone for a cameo appearance, a prelude to the “Esther Brookstone Art Detective” series, which leads to the second novel with the first theme: Palettes, Patriots, and Prats, #4 in the series (see below). (Human trafficking is also a theme in the earlier Angels Need Not Apply, #2 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco” series, but it’s not a major one. It’s often associated with the drug trade and immigration abuses.)

Human trafficking is an important theme. We no longer have overt and legal slavery, but it still exists illegally, and the traffickers feed its deadly maws with new victims all the time. If I were forty years younger and knew what I know now from Tricks and other sources, my life’s work might be trying to stamp it out. There are those who work toward exactly that, thankfully, and I applaud their efforts.

Palettes, Patriots, and Prats has more themes because it’s a longer novel. There’s the art trafficking theme and the themes of people falsely accused of or getting trapped in crime. There’s the theme of Putin and his cronies and the Russian assassinations. And there’s the theme of aging, especially for Esther.

Unlike some authors, I believe themes are as important as plot. I find novels without themes far less interesting than those that have them. A story is just fluff without them.

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Comments are always welcome.

Palettes, Patriots, and Prats: Esther Brookstone Art Detective, Book Four. Esther Brookstone, ex-Scotland Yard inspector in the Art and Antiques Division and ex-MI6 spy during the Cold War, and new husband, Bastiann van Coevorden, have just returned from their honeymoon cruise down the Danube, refreshed and reinvigorated despite Bastiann’s having to handle a murder investigation as his last assignment as an Interpol agent. Esther is content running her gallery, and Bastiann works as a consultant for MI5. They hope to enjoy their active golden years together, but more adventures as sleuths await them, colliding with their idyllic existence, as they aid an American artist, try to thwart a Russian assassin, and go after the illegal art trade and human traffickers. Mystery, suspense, thrills, and intrigue once more await readers. Available at Draft2Digital’s affiliated retailers (Apple, B&N, Kobo, etc., but not Amazon or Smashwords) and library and lending services (Scribd, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor, etc.)

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

In my extended series (“Detectives Chen & Castilblanco” is the longest at seven books), I often avoid focusing on one genre. My stand-alone books can be in any genre, or multiple genres, too. Other authors and marketing gurus have told me that’s a mistake, that I’d sell more books if I would only pick one genre and stuck to it. Maybe they’re right? (If you’re an author, express your thoughts in the comments.)

First, let me emphatically state that I don’t write my stories to become rich. I write them to entertain readers. If each book entertains at least one reader, I  consider it a success. My bar’s not high because, even when I started to publish my stories, competition was ferocious, and it’s only become worse. I never expected to publish any bestsellers. My goal was simply to have some fun storytelling and to entertain a few readers in the process.

Second, I could never be happy sticking to one genre. I only assign genres and other keywords when I publish a book. Up to that point, I just tell the story, a process which is unfettered by constraints on themes and plots, settings and dialogue, and other novelistic elements. Each story carries the Moore brand, of course—my mix of story elements that’s probably as unique to me as fingerprints or DNA—and yet I’ll experiment. The result is hard to describe with a few keywords, and that’s all genres are.

Third, being somewhat an old curmudgeon with a leprechaun’s twinkle in my eye—the blarney in me, if you will—I’m just as likely to wander through that vast forest of genres and subgenres that critics have created as I mimic a wise old owl flitting to various perches to hoot at the folly of those who try to pin me down…and enjoying it all immensely.

The only people who really need genres (and only out of habit, mind you) are librarians and bookstore clerks who have to figure out where to shelve and display a book, and reviewers and critics who feel the need to pigeonhole the book in some way. And all that is especially irrelevant for ebooks—most of my books have no print version! (I only use those for book events, which have become non-existent during Covid. They’re expensive to produce, so I won’t produce any more either. My apologies to those of you still living in mid-twentieth century.)

When I start a story, I have no idea whether it will become a short story, novella, or novel. And I don’t really care how readers and pundits categorize it when it’s finished. I focus on the story. Traditional constraints are largely irrelevant now in this new world of publishing. Genre is one of those.

When I finish a story, though, genres might appear among the keywords. I often doubt that “post-apocalyptic thriller” helps readers when eyeing novels in “The Last Humans” series, or “mystery/thriller” helps readers deciding to purchase books in the “Detectives Chen & Castilblanco” or “Esther Brookstone Art Detective” series, simply because I focus more on the book blurbs when selecting my own reading material. But, just in case genres are of some use to book-buyers and others, I include them in keywords (I can’t help how online retailers’ search engines work).

And maybe genres are more of a warning to readers? I certainly use “romance,” “erotica,” “horror,” “psychological thriller,” and a few others in that way to avoid choosing some books I know I probably won’t like. I try to keep an open mind, though. It’s always possible the author, publicist, or retailer has incorrectly categorized a book. (A local Barnes & Noble shelved my Rembrandt’s Angel in their arts section!). A sharp reader allows for human error and focuses on the blurb and a “peek inside.”

Selecting one’s reading material isn’t easy. By focusing on blurbs and the “peek inside” options (equivalent to browsing at a bookstore), one can protect oneself from purchasing a book they’ll maybe start but never finish. (Maybe I should write some lessons akin to my free download “Writing Fiction” about how to buy books? Of course, most avid readers are already experts at that!)

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Comments are always welcome.

A. B. Carolan’s Origins: The Denisovan Trilogy, Book One. Kayla Jones has dreams she can’t understand. Her future seems determined as the brilliant STEM student who looks forward to a research career, but her past gets in the way. As if the chaos afflicting the world and leading to her adopted father’s death wasn’t enough, killers begin to pursue her. With some friends who come to her aid, she’s on her way to discover a conspiracy that can be traced to prehistoric battles waged by hominids bent on conquest of a primitive Earth. An ebook for young adults and adults who are young-at-heart, only available on Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) and library and lending services (Scribd, Overdrive, Gardners, etc.)

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!