Divine Intermission now available on Amazon!

For the two or three people who may have been anticipating its arrival, the wait is over: book one of Divine Intermission is officially live and available as an ebook exclusively on Amazon's Kindle Store. That means if you are an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow the book at no cost. If you're not a Prime member, you can still get the book for a mere 99 cents.

In other news, I ran across this article (via Io9)about Amanda Hocking and how she is "still the exception" in the publishing biz. Anyone who reads about indie publishing should know that she is an indie author who, after selling over a million copies of her work, signed a $2 million book deal with St. Martin's Press. The author of the article goes on to describe "hybrid authors," or those who are at once published by legacy houses while continuing to self publish their own work.

What we have to remember is that Amanda Hocking's experience couldn't have happened five or six years ago. Sure, JA Konrath was blazing a trail along with a few others.

But when we look at Amanda Hocking or John Hartness or Kerry Schafer, we can't get jaded and say, "Oh, they're exceptions to the rules. Indie authors getting signed to publishing houses? That's not how it should be."



We have to stop thinking in terms of, "This is not how it's supposed to happen." Instead, we need to frame our experiences and the experiences of others in the indie publishing industry in terms of What Is Possible.

Is it possible to write and publish my own book? Yes.

Is it possible to reach a global audience with my fiction? Yes.

Is it possible that a publisher might want to relaunch my work one day? Yes.

Is it possible that I might be more successful without that publisher's help?...

What do you think?

How Much Should Ebooks Cost?

Fact 1: 

Tyra Banks has a new book coming out in September.

The list price for the hardcover edition is $17.99, but is discounted to $11.00.

The digital version is a penny less than the print version: $10.99.

Fact 2:

Stephen King's new novella, "Mile 81", is available September 1st as an ebook priced at $2.99.

His next full length novel, due in November, is $18.42 with an ebook version priced at $16.99. 

I've been struggling with ebook price-setting for a few months, now.

When I published "Prismatica" online, it was 99 cents. But then I decided to publish a single short story.

Having that short story sitting next to the collection, which was about ninety pages long, I couldn't help but think that "Prismatica" needed to be a little more expensive than the story.

Some people think 99 cents is too much to spend on a short story and I say, "No, it isn't." A short story still takes time and effort to write, edit, and format. At the very least, we're talking about a day or two, unless you're a really sharp writer with tons of time on your hands.


A "short story" is not a "cheap story".

And an ebook is not necessarily a "cheap" book.

I don't necessarily like the price points shown in the examples above. My knee-jerk reaction to an ebook price of $10.99 is, "GREED!" And to see my own literary idol selling his new novel as an ebook at $16.99 makes me want to cry. Yet, considering the amount of human contact that goes into the print versions of these books, I can understand how a publisher might have to use higher priced ebooks to recuperate expenses and get manufactures compensated.

Indie authors and readers complain about these prices and profess that the cheaper, the more successful. Sure, in some cases, this is true.

But we have to be careful with our pricing. Some people think that cheap ebooks are gold, that the only way to indie publish is to do it at a discounted rate. And to a degree, I understand that line of thought. Indie writers don't have much going for them, so using a low price point is another way to get a foot in the reader's door.

At the same time, I have to ask: are we selling ourselves short? And at the same time, possibly reinforcing a stereotype that indie writers aren't worth much? We spend as much, if not more, time working on our pieces and getting them to readers. If anything, our work should be priced higher.

It's not realistic, though, and I won't be changing the price of "Prismatica" to $15 anytime soon.

Do I think legacy publishers could lower the prices of their ebook offerings? Sure.

But do I think indie authors should keep theirs so low? I'm not quite sure.It's an evolving market and I'm eager to see where we are a year from now.

Let me know what you think. This is one of those issues that keeps boiling all over the internet and I'd love to hear where you stand.

Indie Author Showcase 16: Nancy Holzner

Greetings, writers and readers! I'm trying to get the author showcase up and running smoothly again. I somehow turned into that blogger who promises content, then disappears for a time (only posting sporadically and incoherently). That won't be happening anymore.


Today's featured author is Nancy Holzner. She writes out of New York and offers an intriguing mystery novel below. Be sure to visit her blog because she also writes paranormal / urban fantasy and has several other books available.

And now, from the author herself...

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Book Title: Peace, Love, and Murder

Genre: Mystery

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: Finding a corpse in the trunk of your cab is a rotten way to start the day. For Bo Forrester, things go straight downhill from there. The cops are asking a hell of a lot of questions. The murder weapon turns up too close for comfort. And the attractive woman giving him the eye turns out to be Trudy Hauser, a cute-but-crazy deputy dead set on arresting him for murder.

Bo returned to Rhodes, an upstate New York college town, hoping to reconcile with his parents, gentle hippies who couldn't accept his decision to join the Army at eighteen. Twenty years later, the commune where he grew up is a subdivision and his parents are long gone. Pondering his next move, Bo takes a job driving a cab. And he has no clue how the bullet-riddled body of art philanthropist Fred Davies ended up in the trunk.

Now, he can't turn around without bumping into Trudy-it's not her case, but that's not slowing her down. The local cops, suspecting robbery as the motive, are right behind her. When Davies's beautiful widow asks Bo for help, he can't say no. Starting his own investigation, he plunges into a world of privilege, corruption, and high-stakes greed. A lot of people had reason to want Davies dead: a flirtatious art history professor with a taste for booze and men; her insanely jealous, ex-felon husband; the business partner with a secret addiction; and an avant-garde artist who proclaims that murder is the ultimate art form.

As the body count escalates, Bo must combine the skills he learned as a soldier with the values he grew up with on the commune to flush out a vicious murderer-if he manages to stay alive that long.

Book Link: Peace, Love, and Murder (A Bo Forrester Mystery)

Author Website: www.nancyholzner.wordpress.com

Something Unique About Your Writing Process: I almost always end up writing a whole new first chapter, so now when I start a new project, the first words I type are "Chapter 2."

Indie Author Showcase 13: Melinda Clayton

Today's Indie Author Showcase features wife, mother, psychotherapist and writer Melinda Clayton. In addition to having written the book featured below, she also published and contributed to the anthology "Passionate Hearts".

And now, from the author herself...

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Book Title: Appalachian Justice
Genre: Historical Fiction/Commercial Fiction
Book in 1000 words or less:

Billy May Platte is a half Irish, half Cherokee Appalachian woman who learned the hard way that 1940s West Virginia was no place to be gay. As Billy May explains, "We was sheltered in them hills. We didn't know much of nothin' about life outside of them mountains. I did not know the word lesbian; to us, gay meant havin' fun and queer meant somethin' strange." In 1945, when Billy May was fourteen years old and orphaned, three local boys witnessed an incident in which Billy May's sexuality was called into question. Determined to teach her a lesson she would never forget, they orchestrated a brutal attack that changed the dynamics of the tiny coal mining village of Cedar Hollow, West Virginia forever. Everyone, from Gerald Smith, the elderly owner of Smith's General Store, to Sue Ann Leary, the spoiled daughter of the town's only doctor, to Corinne Pruitt, Billy May's childhood friend, was affected by the event in ways they could never have anticipated.

Thirty years after the brutal attack, living in solitude on top of Crutcher Mountain, Billy May discovers the hideout of a young girl - a girl who just happens to be the daughter of one of the boys who attacked Billy May so long ago. No one knows better than Billy May the telltale signs of abuse, and she must quickly make a decision. Will she withdraw into the solitude in which she has lived since the horrific attack, or will she risk everything to save the girl from a similar fate? Billy May's choices will once again change not only her own future, but the future of Cedar Hollow as well, and certainly the future of the young girl.

Billy May tells us her story in her own words, as she lays dying in a hospice in Huntington, West Virginia in the spring of 2010. "From the top of my mountain, I seen that girl runnin'," she remembers, "and I understood even then that my decisions might very well be the death of me."

Book link: Appalachian Justice

Author website: http://authormelindaclayton.xanga.com

Something unique about my writing process: I'm a licensed psychotherapist, and I like to draw upon those experiences in my writing.

Indie Author Showcase 11: James Everington

Happy Monday to you all!


Today's Indie Author Showcase features James Everington, a writer from Nottingham, England. He specializes in dark, supernatural fiction. According to the author, his work tends to be ambiguous and unexplainable.The work featured today is a short story. Be sure to jump over to his blog where he has been posting some notes about the origins of his own short stories; I always find it fascinating to discover the kernels of reality behind an author's fiction. James offers such gems in his most recent blog posts.

And now, from the author himself...

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Book Title: Feed The Enemy

Genre: Literary/Psychological

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: A short story about a woman attempting to flee London due to a terrorist threat. Her husband, who works for the government, encourages her to leave. But as the day goes on it becomes apparent he has his own reasons for wanting her out the way, and the real source of her fears might be closer to home...

Book Link: Feed the Enemy

Author Website: http://www.jameseverington.blogspot.com/

Something Unique About Your Writing Process: I mainly write short stories, and I'm interested in blurring the boundaries between so-called 'literary' fiction and so-called 'genre' fiction. Influences are people like Shirley Jackson and Ramsey Campbell.

Indie Author Showcase 10: J. Robert Kennedy

Today's Indie Author Showcase features J. Robert Kennedy. I think a quote from his own website seems to sum up the writer perfectly: "J. Robert Kennedy wrote his first story when he was five... Everyone in it died." If that doesn't get your attention, you've got ice cubes where your heart should be.

In addition to the work described below, J. Robert Kennedy has also published short fiction, as well as a novel called "The Protocol", which was published through Lachesis Publishing. Be sure to visit his website for news and more information about his work.

And now, from the author himself...

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Book Title: Depraved Difference (A Detective Shakespeare Mystery)

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less:
Would you help, would you run, or would you just watch? When a young woman is brutally assaulted by two men on the subway, her cries for help fall on the deaf ears of onlookers too terrified to get involved, her misery ended with the crushing stomp of a steel-toed boot. A cell phone video of her vicious murder, callously released on the Internet, its popularity a testament to today's depraved society, serves as a trigger, pulled a year later, for a killer. When emailed a video documenting the final moments of a woman's life, entertainment reporter Aynslee Kai, rather than ask why the killer chose her to tell the story, decides to capitalize on the opportunity to further her career. Assigned to the case is Hayden Eldridge, a detective left to learn the ropes by a disgraced partner, and as videos continue to follow victims, he discovers they were all witnesses to the brutal subway murder a year earlier, proving sometimes just watching is fatal.

Depraved Difference is a fast-paced murder suspense novel with enough laughs, heartbreak, terror and twists to keep you on the edge of your seat, then knock you flat on the floor with an ending so shocking, you'll read it again just to pick up the clues.

Book Link:
Depraved Difference (A Detective Shakespeare Mystery)

Author Website:
http://www.jrobertkennedy.com

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:
I don't plan what I write. I prefer to start writing, and see where it goes. This turns the writing process into a reading process as well; I don't know where things are heading when I start. I remember writing Depraved Difference and killing a character I had expected to have survive. I actually shed a tear! If I had planned out the book from beginning to end as some do, I never would have had that experience.

Indie Author Showcase 9: Lee Emerick

All sorts of behind the scenes business going on right now. I wish I could explain it all more clearly, but it will have to wait for a time. I can assure you, though... it does not involve ninjas. So put away those throwing stars before you hurt yourself. Plus, why are we talking about throwing stars?

Today's Indie Author Showcase features one Lee Emerick, a man after my own heart due largely to his self-professed fascination with zombies! Lee published his first novel, "Super Nova", in 2009. He went on to write a sequel ("Mechanical Jihad") as well as a third novel entitled "Extinction Theory". Be sure to check out Lee's website for more information about his work!

And now, from the author himself...

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Book Title: 20 Years After The Zombie Apocalypse

Genre: Post Apocalyptic Horror

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: Harriette Madyson is the last woman alive. Twenty years ago her world came to an end when a zombie plague engulfed the population of Earth. At the tender age of seven she found herself in a nightmarish situation where the dead literally returned to life. Left with little to use and nowhere to hide Harri now finds herself stalked across the frozen desolate landscape of North America pursued by the former love of her life. All that she has to keep her going is the hope that she can make it home to die in peace.

Book Link: 20 Years After The Zombie Apocalypse

Author Website: http://www.leeemerick.co.uk

Something Unique About Your Writing Process: The style of the book flashes back to various points of the main character's life as she relives her past in the present. I focus more on the psychological aspect of how it would feel to be in the situation such as helplessness and despair, rather than just random action and violence.

Indie Author Showcase 8: Tominda Adkins

 Before we get to the Indie Author Showcase today, I have two things I'd like to mention.

First, please remember that I'm pledging the rest of the month's profits from my ebook "Prismatica" to American Cancer Society's Relay For Life charity. I want you to read my book. But most of all, I want to give Relay For Life a good chunk of cash at the end of the month. Slap the Amazon or Smashwords link in the sidebar to help.

Secondly, I've discovered (via the blog of indie author Zoe Winters) an incredible website called Zen Habits. You can find quick snippets of information about creativity, motivation, serenity, organization... it really is a garden of ideas. I urge everyone to visit this blog when you have time. Bookmark it. And return frequently.

Today's Indie Author Showcase features Seattle-based writer Tominda Adkins. She's been writing since she was twelve years old and she offers a printed novel that sounds fascinating. Give her some indie author love and show some support for what looks to be one innovative story, which is the first in a series. Indies authors unite!

And now, from the author herself...

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Book Title: Vessel (Book I: The Advent)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less:
"They're divine. They're almighty. They're about six thousand years late.

They're the Vessel, five living gods born to smite an ancient anomaly of death. That's what beloved pop legend Jesse Cannon is saying anyway--after claiming to be a Vessel himself. It's enough to make his long-suffering assistant Jordan hand in her two week's notice. She might not survive one week, however, because Jesse's divine vision is no myth. Something is stalking them both, and it's not a crazed fan . . .

Advent brings the fledgling deities together (on a tricked-out tour bus, of course) for the ride of their immortal lives. Unearthing the Vessels' calling will take them from the banks of a forgotten Nile tributary to a Toronto truck stop, from the set of Oprah to the gates of Hell and back. Along the way, they must survive not only one another, but flesh-eating tentacles, water gun assasins, prehistoric priestesses, undead groupies, powerful hangovers, cut-off jeans, and one very fed up celebrity assistant.

Gird your loins: this is urban fantasy. No pet panther or tribal tattoo required."

Book Link: Vessel, Book I: The Advent

Author Website: http://www.readvessel.com

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:
I tend to write key scenes out of order, and let my characters sort of connect them organically. It's not as if I make it up as I go--it's just a matter of asking myself how Characters 1 and 2 manage to get from Point A to Point B. The results are usually way more entertaining and realistic than if I attempted to write from start to finish.

Indie Author Showcase 7: Arthur J. Sines & Kenneth Wayne

It's a Twofer Friday! 

Before I get to our double feature, I have to ask you all to help with my Relay For Life / American Cancer Society fundraiser. I'm extending the pledge date to the end of the month. That means we have another week to raise money for the charity. Think about loved ones who have been touched by cancer; I think that's about the only motivation you need.

So please. I want you to read my books; but even more, I want to raise a good chunk of money.

One other thing... you might notice a Facebook widget on the scrollbar to your right. Slap the "Like" button on that widget. It's pretty simple. And that part is free, too!

On to the showcase!

Today, I'll be showcasing two different authors. Be sure to check out work by both writers. We indies have to stick together and support one another.The best way to do that is through commenting, reviewing, and spreading the word. So hop to it, readers and writers! Let's spread the word.

The first author is Arthur J. Sines. It doesn't look like he has an author site to promote here, so I'll just let you read about his work below. And keep scrolling for the other showcase afterwards.

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Book Title: BlackMail: The Beginning
Genre: Science Fiction

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less:
The Third Party, or The Party for short, is a ruthless organization of spies and saboteurs. Their goal is to subtly craft and direct the world into a utopia, a place with no crime, no hate, and no prejudice. A place where nationality no longer exists and all people coexist peacefully, the true Marxist dream.

One of The Party's best agents, BlackMail, is being assigned to train a new recruit. The Party has high hopes for their new agent, Jade. But shortly after her training begins The Party assigns them to a critical mission that threatens their existence. But things go terribly wrong and it leaves BlackMail questioning what The Party really stands for.

Her discovery will propel her down a road she never thought possible, and forever change her life. And it will propel Jade down the path of The Third Party.

Book Link: BlackMail: The Beginning (Agents of The Third Party)

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:
I wrote and edited this book over a very long period of time. It had at one time spawned an entire site dedicated to helping unpublished authors get their work out. That didn't work, but fortunately amazon caught on and that dream is realized here. 

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The second author in today's showcase is Kenneth Wayne. He was raised on the American West Coast and has spent a few decades in Asia. Kenneth has under his belt five novels, dozens of short stories, a novel-length travelogue, and two ESL text books. He also runs the eTLC, (Electronic Text & Literature Cloud), which is an archive that only features authors who are not backed by major presses. So when you're done here, go check out his archive and find some new weekend reading material!

And now, from the author himself.

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Title:  Clip

Genre:  "Kafkaesque" thriller

Your book in 1000 words or less:  Imagine you’re watching a video posted on the Internet and catch a glimpse of yourself in it. The only thing is, you were never in the place where the clip was shot and you don't know any of the people in it.

Charles is an expatriated American living in Japan who spots himself in a sex video that has gone viral. Initially, he dismisses it as a fluke. His apprehension fades after a Japanese barmaid is convinced that he was in the clip and enthusiastically accepts his offer to spend the night with him.

His new-found fame wanes when a supervisor at work watches Charles in a job-related video and notices that Charles’ facial expressions momentarily take on those of a different person. After this incident, Charles is convinced that his video “flukes” must be explained.

His journey to discover the truth reveals: a former porno starlet with a “unique” talent; the couple from the viral video wants him to join a secret cult; the CIA is involved somehow; people with blue auras are important; disappearing people complicate things; a Russian gambler at a Korean casino with an agenda; and inter-dimensional reptilian aliens behind it all.

CLIP is a Kafkaesque thriller, which implodes into haunting 21st century veracity.

Book Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Clip-ebook/dp/B004NIFN7U 

(or) http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/42946

Author Website:  http://www.etlc.info

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:  Driving my family crazy as scribble away instead of devoting my time to day-trading or some other more "practical" pursuit.