News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #29…
#163: The free promo is over but Pop Two Antacids… is still a bargain! The Fathers’ Day promo of Pop Two Antacids and Have Some Java is over. (If you missed it, you can still download the book—only $0.99 from Amazon.) I thank all readers who downloaded it…enjoy! I’d like to send a special thanks to European readers. Detectives Chen and Castilblanco are New Yorkers first and foremost, but they often resonate with readers across the U.S., Canada, and overseas, so welcome! Mystery, suspense, and thrills seem to be universal. I hope all readers enjoy these stories as much as I did writing them! By the way, you can share more adventures with Chen and Castilblanco by downloading the novels The Midas Bomb and Angels Need Not Apply.
#164: Not free, but 50% off! You might recall that Full Medical is back on Smashwords. Just for readers using Nook, iPad, Sony, and other non-Kindle eReaders, it’s also on sale! 50% off from July 1 through July 31. This sale requires a coupon and your coupon number is SSW50. See the Summer/Winter sale on Smashwords (winter for the southern hemisphere, of course). Note that Evil Agenda is about the same price. Why not buy the entire “Clones and Mutants Series”? You’ll have many hours of enjoyable and exciting summer reading!
#165: Speaking of free give-aways…. Last days for the free give-away for June from Carrick Publishing: Alex Carrick’s “Two Scoops” Is Just Right. Readers might remember that I reviewed Alex’ Three Scoops Is a Blast. Here are more short stories for your entertainment. I know I’m a bit late with this announcement, but Donna and Alex Carrick have a monthly give-away. Check the books available and give-away dates at their website. This wife-and-husband team is comprised of master storytellers. You should sample their stories.
By the way, I’m honored to appear as an “Associate Author” on the Carrick Publishing website. Donna et al offer formatting, editing, and book cover services there. Those who use these services are invited to be associates. I was completely satisfied with them just being my “publisher,” friends, and fellow authors, but the promotion to associate is a nice bonus too. It makes me feel academic, as if I had tenure or something! Imagine…tenure as a writer….
#166: Another wife-and-husband team…. I also like to champion the wife-and-husband team of Carolyn J. Rose and Mike Nettleton. They have written their own books and also collaborated as authors. Check them out at their website or look for their books on Amazon. Again, you should sample their stories. I’ve reviewed some of their books—check out the blog category “Book Reviews.”
#167: Summer’s best movie? Two weeks ago, I championed Snow White and the Huntsman as the summer’s best movie. It’s still at the top of my list. I was hoping that would change when I saw Prometheus. It didn’t. It was too derivative—Arthur C. Clarke had already overused the “aliens as engineers” theme in his Rama series (it was an old theme even then). In fact, Prometheus was just a slicker version of those old Grade B monster movies I used to watch in Saturday matinees as a kid. Moreover, Ridley Scott is on a major ego trip here. If you see the movie, you will probably know what I mean not far into it. If you don’t get it by half way through, you will in the last minute of the film. I was frustrated and disappointed. It was not nearly the groundbreaker that Alien was. Back to reading sci-fi books for lovers of speculative fiction!
#168: Banner madness? Ever watch those news items scroll by at the bottom of your screen when you’re watching TV news? I do, because the newsperson is just reading some other news report and I don’t need to look at his or her face (reading and listening at the same time are acquired skills I developed in many meetings—add viewing graphs and charts if the speaker is using PowerPoint). You can experience more news that way. Nevertheless, there is a problem: I find myself editing (a skill acquired in many science and engineering “dry runs”). I suppose this is more natural now that I’m a full-time writer; it’s also frustrating. Apparently, the idiots that write these banners don’t know English—or, at least they can’t write it. I even see items like “their” for “there” and “it’s” for “its,” or vice versa. Also, obvious misspellings. Horrendous! Don’t these people use spell and grammar checkers?
#169: Mysteries and thrillers. I’m interested in writing a mystery. I’ve had several e-mail exchanges with writers, readers, and reviewers about writing them. My novels are sci-fi thrillers. Someday I want to write a sci-fi mystery. The two classic ones are Asimov’s Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, but the idea of writing a mystery scares me. In a thriller, the reader might not know what bad thing is going to happen, but he’s told something will, and the protagonist has to stop it, usually by jumping through challenging plot hurdles (in The Midas Bomb and Angels Need Not Apply, for example, there are multiple bad things!). In a mystery, the reader knows that a bad thing has occurred and the protagonist must figure out who did the dirty deed. The latter implies that the author has to dole out clues to both reader and protagonist, often offering false clues (also called misdirects). That implies a certain patience as a writer I’m not sure I have. Both Donna Carrick and Carolyn J. Rose, mentioned above, have this mastered. I’ll work on it.
#170: Where to start? This is a complement to the advice you’ll find on my webpage “Books and Short Stories.” I’ve received this question from readers wanting to know which book is a good starting place. Here are a few more clues: If you’re more into the thriller part of sci-fi thriller, begin with The Midas Bomb and Angels Need Not Apply. If you’re more into the sci-fi part of sci-fi thriller, pick up Survivors of the Chaos and Sing A Samba Galactica. If you’re ready for a thorough mish-mash of sci-fi and thriller, start with Full Medical and Evil Agenda. If you’re hesitant about investing time in my novels, get a taste with my short story collection Pop Two Antacids and Have Some Java. (These eBooks are all available for Amazon’s Kindle and all but Angels and Samba are available for other eReaders.) Fill in as needed with my other books. Mix and stir. You’ll cook up a spicy stew worth many hours of reading enjoyment.
#171: B&N, Apple, Kobo, Sony, etc? As stated above, all my eBooks except Angels and Samba are available for other eReaders. I use Smashwords (see #164) to distribute to the appropriate on-line stores (Amazon-willing, Smashwords will also eventually distribute to Amazon, and then I’ll need only one distributor). I’ve been backing off Smashwords because they don’t seem to generate the readers that Amazon KDP does. However, Apple has seen a jump in sales from Smashwords (possibly due to the latter’s new same day distribution to Apple and Kobo?). Apple also has more of a reach internationally than Amazon. This brings up the question: Are you an iPad or iPhone eBook reader who would like access to all my books? Or, are you an author who has had positive experiences with Apple’s world-wide reach? Let me know if the answer is yes to either question. My goal is always to reach out and entertain readers with quality stories at reasonable prices. I’d hate to exclude anyone just because they happen to like an eReader that’s not a Kindle!
In libris libertas….
