Affordable Book Loving

The economy has hit many of us.  Some people have felt a nudge but others received a wallop when they lost their jobs.  Some like me received no pay raise this year even though everything I've needed to purchase, food, clothing, fuel, electric and college tuition, has skyrocketed.  To make up the difference, I've had to cut back on things I don't need for basic survival. 

I've started making my own ice coffee instead of getting it at Starbucks. We cut out the family vacation last summer.  My grocery cart has more generic items mixed in and we've tried to drive less.  Another item I cut back on, though it breaks my heart, is the purchasing of books.  Even though I feel I can't live without something to read, books don't rank on the same level of necessity as food and electric.

I probably purchased half the number of books in 2011 as I did the year before.  I did lots of my reading from books I borrowed from the library.  Sometimes I had to wait weeks after the book was released to have it in my hands and of course, I can't put it on the keeper shelf, but it sure was cheap. The next biggest group of books I read this past year were ebooks I purchased online.  No driving cost, no shipping, immediate delivery and excellent prices.

Many small presses and self-published authors sell their ebooks for very reasonable prices below $5.  My romance publisher recently offered one of my books, One Good Woman, for the terrific price of $1.99. 

My fantasy series, The Futhark Chronicles, are offered at low prices, $1.99 for The Keepers of Sulbreth, and $2.99 for Beyond the Gate. 

Does the low price mean these books being offered aren't the quality of the ones you might pay 10 to 30 dollars for at the bookstore?  Not at all.  It means the publishers and authors know a reader will take a chance on a new author if they're not risking too much money.  It also means the publisher and reader understand that ebooks carry less overhead and production costs compared to printed books. 

So don't let the lean times rob you of the joy of reading.  Check out the library and shop for bargain prices on ebooks at any of the major online retailers.

Do you use your local library? Have you been spending your reading dollars on ebooks? Have you purchased fewer books in the last year than the year before?

What's Your Nightmare?

I don't write horror and I usually only read it when my friends write it.  But in my epic fantasy series, The Futhark Chronicles, there are some horrific creatures the people of Futhark must battle.  In The Keepers of Sulbreth, the magically gifted Keepers are women dedicating their lives to protecting ordinary people from demons.  The Marshals are the swordsmen who help the Keepers in their duties.

I enjoy creating the monsters plaguing Futhark.  I often doodle and design them during boring inservices and faculty meetings at work.  Not that I'm an artist, but putting a picture with my ideas inspires more ideas. 

Childhood fears and those instinctual fears humans are born with also inspire my demonic creations.  One of the horrible demons introduced in Keepers is a giant snake.  Another is a poisonous rat-like creature that hunts in packs.  Who isn't creeped out by rats and snakes?  I also gave one of my demons wings with jaws and claws, kind of like a velociraptor that can fly and of course travels in flocks.  Then there in one of my favorite, a huge, heavy beast with the personality, body armor and horns of a rhinoceros.  Then I get to name them. 

Some new demon beasts are discovered in the second book in my series, Beyond the Gate, and the Keepers and Marshals have their hands full saving the people from these powerful, fantastical fell beasts. 

What kind of creature might your nightmares create? What animal in real life gives you shivers up the spine? Spiders? Snakes? Rats?

Beyond the Gate Available Now



Only $1.99

Exactly one year after my former publisher was supposed to release Book #2 of my epic fantasy series, Beyond the Gate, I have made it happen.  Without going into the gruesome details of the severing of my relationship with said publisher, I reclaimed my rights to the series after they lapsed in their responsibilities to seeing my book was released on time.

As of today, I've reduced the price of the first book in The Futhark Chronicles, The Keepers of Sulbreth, to the bargain price of $1.99.  Of course, I'm hoping you'll love the first book so much, you'll have to hurry back to your favorite online digital retailer and buy the second book.

Available Now-$2.99

Beyond the Gate takes up just one moment after The Keepers of Sulbreth ends.  Marshal Cage Stone and Keeper Sabelline Shelton enter the mysterious cavern they must navigate to reset the magical seals preventing a demon invasion of the kingdom of Futhark.  King Jonared and the remaining Keepers and Marshals have more problems than demons to deal with as an ambitious lord decides he wants the throne of Futhark for his own.  Cage and Sabelline will find everything they thought they knew under question and only a great sacrifice by Cage and an act of courage by Sabelline might turn the battle in their favor.

So I hope you're looking for a new epic fantasy series to read or if you've already read The Keepers of Sulbreth, you're waiting for Beyond the Gate.

Epic Fantasy for Kindle

After weeks of editing and preparation, I finally have my book, The Keepers of Sulbreth, available on Kindle.  I want to thank Cate Masters for all her help and advice on this great venture.

A few months ago my publisher broke my contract for my epic fantasy series, The Futhark Chronicles.  They had already released the first book, The Keepers of Sulbreth, and made a half effort at releasing the second book, Beyond the Gate.  They had the third book under contract.  This publisher had no clue about promotion and was taking leaps in different directions each month as they tried to guess where the media business was going next.  I asked for all my rights back and fortunately they surrendered them without fuss.  I'm sure I'll never see any royalties I've earned from them but at least my books have a chance of reaching the reading public now.

The Keepers of Sulbreth begins the tale of Cage Stone as he accepts his heritage as a half-elf and uses his extraordinary skills to lead the battle against the centuries old evil that had been awakened on Futhark.  Aiding his quest is Sabelline Shelton, a gifted sorceress, and the young king of Futhark, Jonared Shelton.  Cage discovers his destiny is tied to the survival of not only the kingdom but the entire human race and his sword alone won't defeat the dread being behind the war for man's survival.

The Keepers of Sulbreth received excellent reviews when first released.  If you've all ready enjoyed this book, I hope you'll pass the word along as promotion is the biggest obstacle facing self-pubbed authors.

Have you purchased and read any self-pubbed books? Would you consider doing the same yourself or have you already?

Get It Now

After many delays and lots of pushing and complaining, Amazon finally made Beyond the Gate, Book #2 of The Futhark Chronicles, available for Kindle. 

I learned some things during the last few weeks debacle.  Sometimes books from independent publishers get pushed to the back of the line by Amazon so they can get the books from the big publishers ready first.  It's been quite frustrating.

Enough whining.  Beyond the Gate picks continues the fantasy adventure that began in The Keepers of Sulbreth.  Cage Stone and Sabelline Shelton step into the dark of the cave system they must negotiate to reset the magical seals keeping underworld demons from invading their homeland of Futhark.  From the first step nothing goes as planned. 

You can read the first review for Beyond the Gate at my blog here.  I hear 2011 is the year speculative fiction takes over the bookshelves and the visual medias like TV and movies.  Get a head start with The Futhark Chronicles.

Quite a Character

Nothing makes me put down a book faster than card-board characters.  If they're so normal or so cliche, how can I care what happens to them.  Characters makes a story memorable.  So how does a writer give their hero or heroine depth?

A hero can't be all-knowing or all powerful.  They must have vulnerabilities and often that weakness is their secret.  Perhaps only one other character, perhaps the antagonist, knows this secret allowing for all kinds of difficulties.  That secret could be a past sin or shame, something that makes the hero sad, frightened or embarrassed.   This secret can drive the character toward some goal or provide the motivation for his actions.  

As the character takes action towards his goal, the more specific the goal the better, his secret will color his choices, his relationships and slowly reveal his weakness.  And what better way to hone the character but to put his tight spots.  He'll reveal himself through how he acts when he's desperate.  Frustration will show his character so keep the pressure turned on high.

Some characters earn a reader's interest by their quirkiness or contradictions.  Can they be cruel and funny? Can they be shy but also rude?  

In my new release, Beyond the Gate, Book #2 in The Futhark Chronicles, Cage's secret is revealed to all though he doesn't realize those who love him understand his vulnerability.  Cage's birth mother abandoned him when he was a child.  He believed he's unlovable and constantly risks his life in an attempt to be earn that which he secretly thinks is unattainable. 

Reviews for the first book in this series, The Keepers of Sulbreth, have the highest praise for my characters.  I hope you'll try them out.

What character have you read that you find unforgettable? What made that person do memorable?

Realistic Pain

In most good  medieval fantasy books there is some amount of action.  You know what I mean.  Fighting, battles, wars, sword duels, bows and arrows.  And in most books not only the bad guys suffer an injury.  Treatment of injuries in medieval times would vary, perhaps the wounded's health would depend on herbal treatments or magical doctoring.  Either way, people receive some kind of medical assistance.
I'll save the medicine post for a later discussion but for now I want to talk about the pain of injuries.  Today I had surgery on my ankle(old basketball injuries piling up).  The minor operation became a bit more when the surgeon discovered the damage was more than expected.  More fixing up equals more post-op limitations and pain.  It hurts.
As writers, we love, or at least now we should, torture our heroes and heroines.  Emotional pain can be the best but sometimes in those fight scenes they get hurt.  Most of haven't been sliced by a sword or shot with an arrow so we don't exactly what if feels like.  When I lay in the pre-op yesterday, I reminded myself to hold onto the feelings, emotional and physical of waking after someone took a knife to my body.  I'm doing some major edits on the rough draft of my current WIP.  My hero suffers.  A lot.
I'm not a hero and I wakened with groggy half-formed memories of nurses talking to me, moving me and the painful lump wrapped around my ankle.  I swear my bones hurt on the inside and I could feel it.  It felt like the surgeon had left  a big thick hunting knife sticking in between my bones.  I don't do pain meds other than ibuprofen or Tylenol so I experienced the real deal.  I'm not brave.  I only get very ill with narcotics.
Now if I were one of the warriors in my books and someone stabbed me and then another person stitched me up, I guarantee I would need some magic to get me back into the fight. 
We stab our characters, let them take injuries that would fell lesser men or women.  But we must be careful how unrealistic it is.  I'm sure many of us have watched shows or movies where a character was shot and yet kept going to perform more incredible heroic tasks.  Or in the case of the antagonist perhaps he continued to wreck havoc and deal murder.  But could they?  Wouldn't the pain stop them?  Wouldn't the blood loss?  If a thigh is sliced horribly by a sword or knife the muscles would be badly damaged.  Could the joint at the knee or hip even move?
I've had multiple knee injuries and of course, the old weak ankle.  It's not only painful to walk on certain injuries but physiologically impossible.  So when your hero overcomes his pain and steps back into the fray, make sure it's realistic.  Or put the magic to use as I do a few times in my current WIP.  I wish I had a little of that magic for my ankle. 
So can you name a TV show or a movie where a character continued to run and fight? after and injury that should have left them unconscious or dying?  Did it take you out of the moment?

Happy New Release

Today marks not only the start of a hopeful new year, but also the release of Book #2 of The Futhark Chronicles.  Beyond the Gate is now available from ebook retailers and by the end of the month will hopefully also be released in print.

This novel picks up only a few moments from the cliff hanger ending of The Keepers of Sulbreth.  Futhark is the fantasy world where this epic series takes place.  Marshal Cage Stone the sorceress he protects, Keeper Sabelline Shelton, have taken the first steps inside the cavern where the magical seals keeping the demon hordes from their kingdom have weakened.  Their plan is simple though dangerous.  But nothing is as it should be.  They find mysteries linking their present difficulties with a long ago war and evil they thought long buried.  Cage must let go of his human inhibitions and connect with his heritage if they are to survive and help their beleaguered friends save Futhark.

Please join me one week from now when I start a mini blog tour including a top here on The Susquehanna Writers after it begins on my blog. 

So Happy New Year and here's wishing you lots of new books to read.  What new book is first on your list and are you trying any new to you author?

Blogging With a Purpose

I recently read an article proclaiming social media was changing publishing by putting power in the hands of individual authors for the marketing of their books. Is that true? I don’t feel powerful but increasingly I feel responsible. With the plethora of avenues open to writers to self-publish, what chance does a new author have to capture an audience while competing with the gazillion other books out there?

My favored hope of promoting my recent and upcoming releases is through blogging. Merriam-Webster defines a blog as “a web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks.”
The vague description fits what you find on blogs. They vary in length from a few sentences to lengths equal to multiple pages. Some are updated daily, weekly or even less often. Most ‘experts’ suggest a minimum of once per week.
The content varies as much as the frequency and length. I know some writers who use their blog only to promote their own works. Others do lots of interviews or have guest appearances to assist other writers in their promotion. Most blogs I frequent do promote their own works, works of others but also write numerous posts I find education and instructive in ways to help my writing career. Still others offer interesting tidbits on a wide variety of things such as ranch living, certain TV shows, herbs and green living, and some just make me laugh. Professional blogs can offer lots of clues and advice to help writers in their careers.

I love finding new blogs and picking up the occasional follower. Will it help sell my books? I’m not sure but links to other blogs, link to their readers also. If someone like Cate Master’s books, might they not take a look at my romance novels when they see my link on her site? If a reader enjoys Jon Sprunk’s fantasy novel and see on his blog we did a book signing together, might they not click over to my blog and consider my novel?

I have no doubts the world on the internet has already replaced a lot of traditional media and perhaps sometime in the future it will make all ‘dead-tree media’ obsolete. In the meantime, I’m going to keep doing what I know how to do and try to learn more. I’ll be doing my first blog tour ever in January to promote the release of my newest fantasy, Beyond the Gate. I’ll be searching for new ways to make my own blog work for me.

How often do you blog? How many different blogs do you visit on a regular basis? What type of blogs do you visit?

Sometimes It's All in the Packaging

If you publish enough books you'll sooner or later have a cover designed for your book you detest. Perhaps it will not faithfully depict the characters or their world. It could even be something so simple as a color scheme you don't like. The font used for the title and your name might be of a style you fear won't call attention to the title. Perhaps the cover art appears too dark for a novel meant to be light-hearted or the other way around. My least favorite cover was for my third futuristic romance novel, A Ruthless Good. The hot, hot picture of an unclothed male could only lead possible readers to believe this was an erotic romance when it was not at all. It made it very difficult for me to market not matter how great the model's body was.

But then sometimes you get a cover so nearly perfect you want to paste to every email, snail mail and any spot some one might see it. A cover so fantastic you wish months of your life away so the book gets released right now instead of next year. I was very happy with the cover for my first book in The Futhark Chronicles, my epic fantasy series with Medallion Press. The Keepers of Sulbreth's cover won praise from many readers and I loved it. But a few days ago I received the cover art for the second book in the series, Beyond the Gate. This wonderful depiction of the fantasy world I've created and the sense of danger and tension in the scene selected sent me shouted around my office. Love isn't a strong enough word for this cover. I can't wait to see it on shelves next January.

Have you ever had a really perfect cover as an author or have you been stuck with a perfectly horrid one? As a reader is there a particular book you bought because of the cover art?

Don't Want to Be Lonely Tomorrow

Saturday is a landmark day for my writing career. I'm having my first solo book signing at one of the 'big' chain stores. Barnes and Noble in Camp Hill, PA will host me for the signing of my first fantasy novel, The Keepers of Sulbreth. This epic tale of sword and sorcery is the first in The Futhark Chronicles. I'm hoping for a great turnout on Saturday so the store will ask me back for the next three books in the series and any following those.

I've supported fellow authors at signings in various venues but never one in this particular store. The store has been wonderful. They've had a poster near the front door for nearly three weeks and have the event on their website. I have my pens ready, my bottle of water and a pack of mints. I'm going to avoid the morning coffee so I don't have to run to the restroom and I doubt my nerves will let me eat.

I've spoken with enough authors to know book signings can range from beyond the dream to a complete bust. I'll be thrilled with something in between those two. If half the people show up who have promised to do so, I'll be a very happy writer on Saturday night.

If you're in the area, I'll be pacing around the signing table from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on Saturday, February 13th. Follow the link for directions and more information.

Hope to see some of you tomorrow.

It's Here!

Happy New Year! I hope this year brings peace and prosperity to us all. I have a special reason to celebrate this year as today is the official release date of my first fantasy novel, The Keepers of Sulbreth, Book#1 of The Futhark Chronicles.

I've anticipated this day for so long I can't believe it finally arrived. I know many who ordered my book from an online store like Amazon have already received their copies. A few emailed me and one friend and two relatives called on the phone to express their delight in my book. Of course, they would so it's with quite some nervousness I wait to see how this novel actually sells.

I've been warned not to watch those numbers on Amazon but it's so tempting to do so. One I have to be thrilled about is for the second time, Amazon posted the little warning they only had a few left in stock and were ordering more. I hope it doesn't mean they only had five in stock to begin with! LOL

The excellent reviews thrilled me but I can't wait to hear from a reader other than friend or family. I've kept the ones I received from my romance novels in a special folder and hope I can add a few more.

So happy New Year and may we all enjoy moments of peace to read and keep our jobs so we have the money to purchase books, lots of books.

Giving Them Wings

This Sunday, I will deliver my third and youngest son to his first year of college. He's the mature independent sort and handles stress with an ease I envy. I'll know he'll be fine, but it's still difficult to send another child out on his own. I've done what I can for him. Hopefully he'll remember his manners, his responsibilities and shine all on his own.

I can't help but compare this to the day I have planned for next week. My publisher, Medallion Press, sent me an entire stack of cover flats. One day next week, I'm going on the road to all my local bookstores. I'm going to introduce myself and hand them a cover flat with all the information on for retailers to order my January release, The Keepers of Sulbreth. I'm also going to send cover flats to some independent book stores I know of that are out of driving range.

I remember being nervous sending out that first manuscript. It was very much like watching my oldest son walk in the school door on his first day of kindergarten. There was so much insecurity. Was my son ready? Was my book ready? Turns out my son was but the book needed a lot more work. LOL

Now I'm trying for the next step. Now I have to sell myself in person to those booksellers and convince them to take a chance with their precious shelf space. Hopefully a few will even take a chance on a book signing in January. I'm more nervous about this then sending my eighteen year old to a college many hours from home. I'm sure he's ready. Now I need a little of that confidence myself.

Are there other suggestions out there of places to drop my cover flats? Have any of you talked to bookstores in preparation of your book's release? Does a personal visit convince them to order your book? How much say do local managers have in what fiction books end up in their store? I guess I'll find out.