Indie Author Showcase: Tamara Rose Blodgett

For about the past week, I have had something akin to the super flu. So, for several days, I have looked and felt like this guy...

Eat two brains and call me in the morning.

Since this week has pretty much seen me stumbling around our home in boxer shorts with a fistful of medication and a chest glistening with Vicks VapoRub, I haven't been able to focus on the final preparations for my new novel "Children of Aerthwheel."

I had hoped to make it available by August 22, but that may not be happening now. At the very least, it will be the middle of next week before I am comfortable with casting "Children of Aerthwheel" out into the vast digital void. I think, as I am only 29 and have no kids, this is the closest I've ever felt to driving my first born child to college. It's scary, liberating, and overwhelming all at the same time.

But enough of that.

On to the showcase!

Author Tamara Rose Blodgett lives in Alaska and is a paranormal enthusiast..She also has experience as a journalist. In addition to the book described below, she has also published the paranormal romance "The Pearl Savage." Her newest novel, "Death Speaks," will be available in September.

And now, from the author herself...

Author: Tamara Rose Blodgett

Book Title: Death Whispers

Genre: Young Adult

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: Death Whispers, a Futuristic Paranormal tale of friendship, romance and government intrigue, explores the life of fourteen year-old Caleb Hart, "normal" teen and corpse-raiser...

Caleb has the most rare of the paranormal powers, Cadaver-Manipulation (aka corpse-raiser). In this world of the future, with Brain Impulse "pulse" Technology's wide-spread use and influence keenly realized, routine school inoculation has expanded to include a pharmaceutical cocktail, which once administered, unlocks the genetic potential for paranormal abilities. Using this small window of puberty, teens who have the genetic propensity find themselves manifesting extraordinary gifts; some of which garner the full attention of our government. Caleb must camouflage his new "talent" during the mandatory eighth grade Aptitude Test so that he remains undiscovered while establishing choice for his future. However, events beyond his control systematically reveal Caleb and his friends, which force them to fight for their freedom. In the midst of this struggle, his girlfriend's father battles to reassert his abusive dominance in her life while a couple of "peer enemies" thwart his efforts of secrecy at every turn. In the explosive climax, Caleb must protect his friends, and Jade, the one he loves...at all costs.

From the Back Cover
Caleb can't seem to stop the accidental zombie raisings, the science experiments are killing him and road kill has taken on a whole new meaning. Add in the two dudes dogging him at school and he's about to explode.
When he finally gets the courage to ask Jade out things start going his way...until her dad starts stalking her and the government starts stalking Caleb. How does he defeat them, get the girl and shake the jerks that are making him miserable?

Book Link: Death Whispers (The Death Series)

Author Website: http://www.amazon.com/Tamara-Rose-Blodgett/e/B004UNVT8K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Something Unique About Your Writing Process: A 'thinking-out-of-the box' paranormal enthusiast who believes there's a 95% chance zombies do not exist; but loves to write as if they do... I'm from the Seattle area originally and have worked as an online journalist in the past. I believe young males have a specific way of talking and try very hard to capture that in my books. In my spare time I'm a [reluctant] serial-re-modeler, project-slave and big-time, in-my-pants reader (surprise!). I do a great deal of day-dreaming about impossible scenarios and events, writing books to capture them in stories for you~
Side note: Gnomes should be exterminated.

Indie Author Showcase: Keith Robinson

Before we get to the showcase, I have news!

The Kickstarter project for "Children of Aerthwheel" expired yesterday without being successfully funded. This does not, however, mean the book won't be published. Of course it will see the light of day. I'll just have to work harder to get print copies into the hands of booksellers and reviewers. I'd hoped to have a website that acted as a sort of companion piece to the novel; I can still do that, though it won't be as seamless and it won't be as interactive as I'd originally planned.

Truthfully, I was disappointed when the Kickstarter project hit the wall. Yet, I'm not discouraged. That project, like everything I've done up to this point, was simply an experiment. Had it worked out, I would have been overjoyed; but I can take that "failed" experience and learn some things. As an indie author, I will never count myself as defeated. I will always look at my experiences as opportunities to learn and adapt. It's a skill I like to apply in my daily life, too.

I recently heard a rather wise man say, "Failure is not trying." As long as I put my heart and soul into whatever I'm doing, I will never fail. Every movement made is a motion forward. Even when things seem depressing and the world appears to be at odds with your very existence, you have to try. That's what being an indie is all about. And I will never stop trying.

Okay, enough of the motivational mumbo-jumbo! It's time for the Indie Author Showcase... back for good, this time!

Today's featured author is Keith Robinson. In addition to the book featured below, he has written three sequels and is planning the fifth novel in the series. If there's anything I like more than an indie author, it's a hard-working indie author! Originally hailing from England, Keith has lived in the United States since 2001. When he's not writing, he is a website designer, a collector of books, and a fan of fantasy and science fiction.

And now, from the author himself...

Author: Keith Robinson

Book Title: Island of Fog

Genre: Fantasy for readers 9+ (suits adults too)

Your Book in 1000 Words or Less: A lonely, foggy island is home to eight families. Twelve-year-old Hal and his friends have always wondered what happened all those years ago on the mainland, that unseen place Out There beyond the fog, and after an astonishing discovery in the woods the children are more determined than ever to find out what their parents are hiding. But their lives are turned upside down when Abigail reveals her closely guarded secret. According to her, the children are slowly changing into monsters! Are they freaks of nature, or subjects of a sinister experiment?

Each child reacts differently to his or her unique monstrous transformation; after all, one may feel proud to be a dragon, faerie, or centaur, but who in their right mind wants to be a sadistic manticore or cowardly harpy?

ISLAND OF FOG is a story of intrigue and conspiracy. The reader follows Hal Franklin as he struggles to accept that he and his friends are something more than ordinary children, and that their parents have been covering up the truth the whole time. With their trust shaken and the unexpected arrival of a strange woman from Out There, the children hide their frightening shapeshifting abilities and pretend nothing is wrong.

The story continues in LABYRINTH OF FIRE and MOUNTAIN OF WHISPERS. The fourth book, LAKE OF SPIRITS, is due Summer 2011.

Book Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/098439060X (or signed copies from http://www.unearthlytales.com)

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

Something Unique About Your Writing Process:  I wrote ISLAND OF FOG organically and it took absolutely ages. I enjoyed what I wrote, but it took me in the wrong direction so I had to change a lot of it. Subsequent novels have only taken 4-6 months because I plan them with chapter summaries (just a paragraph each). But I rarely complete my summaries; as long as I have about half done, including the last few chapters, I can fill in the rest organically. For me it's like printing a map of how to get to your destination; you're aware of the route and where to make important turns, but you have no idea what you're going to see along the way.

Dedication of a Noob

The great and wise Douglas Adams once wrote, "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

I first read that line when I was in college. It made me giddy. This was a fist in the air, a Shakespearean biting-of-the-thumb at all my professors who lived and breathed deadlines. If honest-to-God authors didn't take them seriously, why should I?

At this point, we'll flash forward about seven years. Deadlines have come and gone. As it turns out, I managed to meet a few of them. But some of them were missed or entirely ignored. And when you miss a few of life's deadlines, you start to feel the repercussions.

One of the biggest deadlines that I missed involved my mother.

Every memory of my mother during my childhood involves her sitting next to a pile of ever-changing books. Seemingly every day, she had a handful of new titles sitting on her bed stand or beside her recliner in the living room. She loved to read. And she encouraged me to read as much and as often as possible. She prodded me to explore books, big and small, and it is because of her that I became a sort of literary adventurer.

When I was a noobish little kid, I read things like In The Night Kitchen, Slugs, and The Man Who Lost His Head. I was less interested in traditional children's books and went searching for the weird and fascinating. This lead to my reading My Teacher Fried My Brains and How To Eat Fried Worms. Because of my mom's passion for reading, I was in middle school or early high school and enjoying titles by Stephen King. While the rest of my high school English class hated "Lord of the Flies", I was in love with the book from beginning to end. And all of this is thanks to my mom's constant love for the written word.

As a senior in high school, I decided that I wanted to write. There weren't many other things I was good at doing and writing was the one activity that seemed to make the world disappear around me. It was the only thing that truly made me happy and I vowed to my senior English teacher that I was going to be a writer after high school.

I also secretly vowed to myself that my mother would be the first person to read my debut novel whenever it was published. She had done so much for me that I at least owed her that special pleasure of being the first reader. Think of it as the more mature version of giving your mom a painting from school so she can slap it on the refrigerator door.

For years, in college and beyond, I dabbled in writing. I created short stories, had some things published, and experienced the typical trials and tribulations of a struggling writer. The whole time, I kept that secret vow in the back of my mind: mom was going to read the first book.

Then mom got sick. First, she lost part of her vision. Then she suffered a series of crippling strokes. And finally, after a few years of simply struggling to be the person she had once been, she succumbed to a relentless disease called polycythaemia vera.

And that was when I realized one of the most important deadlines had come and gone.

We lost her last year. It was the most painful thing I've ever experienced and for a time, I lost faith in everything. Love, the afterlife, family, friends, the world in general. It was all just black to me. Pointless.

But I remembered the deadlines. And my goal of letting my mother read my first book before anyone else.
So I attacked my imagination with a renewed fervor. I zeroed in on a book I had started a few years earlier before being swept away by new jobs and new homes.

And for a year, I obsessed over the book that should have eventually been in my mom's hands.

Sometimes my imagination is unstoppable.

And I can't help but imagine myself in an alternate reality where I hand my mother a copy of my new novel. She smiles a radiant grin as she adjusts the glasses on her face. They're too big and they sometimes make her look much older than she actually is, but that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is seeing her open the book, passing over the title and author page, and then reading with surprised delight the dedication meant for the only person important enough to be the first reader.

For mom.

No more missed deadlines.

"Children of Aerthwheel" Cover by Najla Qamber

I was lucky enough to stumble across the Deviant Art gallery of Najla Qamber, a talented graphic artist and (as I would come to find out) a supporter of the indie publishing movement. Her artwork was unique and stunning, especially her fantasy-driven photo manipulations.After a few e-mail conversations, I was somehow lucky enough to have her agree to create the cover for my new novel.

And yesterday, she delivered the goods. Below is the official cover for "Children Of Aerthwheel" care of Naj and her great imagination*.

She really nailed the concept that I described to her... and I mean NAILED it. I can't express how pleased I was by the artwork she provided and how grateful I am to have my first novel feature such an amazing cover. Thanks, Naj!

Be sure to explore her work online. First, there's her Deviant Art gallery, filled with images that are sure to inspire a story or two. You can also find her book reviews, discussions, and book cover redesigns (along with a lot of other great content) at Unputdownable Books, where there's also an ebook giveaway available right now.

"Children of Aethwheel" is going to be live August 22 in ebook format. Soon after, it will be available in print. Below, you can read the full synopsis. Over the next week or two, expect more posts and some sample chapters to get you ready for the first in this epic series.

Synopsis

Andrew Fish is a lonely middle school student who’s lived most of his life without a mother. He's been stuck with a reclusive, emotionally absent father for nearly thirteen years. Andrew's quiet world is turned upside down when he befriends Greta Del Sol, a free-spirited orphan who just moved to town with her new foster parents. Where Andrew is afraid of confrontation, Greta is well-versed in the language of the fight.

Andrew soon realizes something evil has followed Greta and is somehow awakening behemoth creatures in the town of Little Tree. As this mysterious darkness settles into the community, Andrew begins to discover that his own family is somehow connected to the evil magic that stalks Greta. What’s worse is that Little Tree itself may be a gateway that separates two completely different realms and Andrew's secret heritage may be the key to keeping the two worlds divided.

As the boundaries of reality become paper-thin, and unimaginable creatures invade Little Tree, Andrew and his friends learn that magic is real and that its mere presence is a burden that can curse entire generations.

In 'Children of Aerthwheel,' the doors between light and dark have been unlocked. And once they’re open, the world will never be the same.

___________________________________

* Stock images used with permission from...

Raven Cornelissen / http://birdsistersstock.deviantart.com  (image of boy)

 Ida Mary Walker / http://mizzd-stock.deviantart.com (image of girl)

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.

First Proof & Sample Fiction

So, I got the first proof of the print edition of my book "Prismatica" in the mail today. After I did a dance of joy, and stopped hooting like some rabid primate, I took this picture and then dove into the book like I'd never read it before.

Then I hooted a few more times.

All I can say is that the book looks so much better than I had expected. This is the first time I've ever used Createspace (via Amazon) and I was quite pleased with the results. The book shipped and arrived in just a few business days. And the quality of the product is pretty spectacular.

I was nervous about the excerpt of "Children of Aerthwheel" included in the last ten pages, but it ended up looking sharp.

I can't wait to order up a handful of these and present them to some local booksellers.


You'll notice that the cover of this book has a different cover than the ebook. That's because wonderful graphic artist Najla Qamber redesigned the cover of the ebook. I took a cue from her design idea, simplified it a bit, and came up with the print edition cover.


In other news, I'm finalizing the first segment of what I am calling "Age of The Wonderbot", a serialized science fiction comedy that will be available once a month via Amazon and (eventually) Podiobooks. Part of the ongoing promotion of this project will involve a light ARG via a website I've created, as well as some activity in the virtual world of Second Life. In fact, Second Life fans will actually get a little bit more out of the project as I will be doing some concerts and readings to promote and distribute "Age of The Wonderbot".


Below you'll find a brief synopsis of "Age of The Wonderbot" as well as an excerpt from the first segment.

*     *     *     *

Synopsis: 

After massive wars have decimated most of the planet,

one man emerges from the depths of a secret government

facility housing hundreds of artificially intelligent androids.

He seeks survivors. And food. And a sweet ride.

But mostly, he simply wants to know one thing:

What the hell is the Wonderbot?

excerpt from...

Age of The Wonderbot

The writing on the wall said his name was Sir Something Or Other. It also said some other things, but they were written in a language he couldn’t read. So, he ignored them altogether.

The name was written in oozing red and unsteady letters, as if painted by some anxious psychotic child. He gazed about the room, only slightly interested in the faint sound of music that played somewhere distant.

This was no room.

This was a cell.

Was he crazy? Had he been locked in here because he was insane? Demented?

He couldn’t remember his own name. Couldn’t remember where he was from, what his favorite color was, what he liked to eat as a midnight snack. His mind was a white washed billboard just waiting for someone to slap on an advertisement, some message that gave him at least a little bit of direction, showed him a little bit of who he was.

He stared at the red letters on the wall.

He decided they were made of blood or ketchup. There was no other sign of blood in the room, so it must have been ketchup. He also decided that this would be his name. He was Sir Something Or Other

The door of this padded room stood open a few inches. Lucky, he thought, to awaken in a cell and find it sitting unlocked and unattended. It was convenient. A flash of memories went galloping through his mind and he remembered that he once loved convenience. They sold it in stores, he believed. Wholesale.

The door opened into a long gray hall that was illuminated by flickering yellow lights; the music was slightly louder here. At the end of the hall was a set of double doors. Along each side of the hall were other cells. Each was numbered and stood open. He walked past every one, peering inside to see if there was anyone who might be able to tell him where he was. After checking each padded cell, and finding no companions, he pushed through the large double doors at the end of the hall.

“Greetings,” a cheerful metallic voice said, barely audible over the sound of a playing piano. Sir Something Or Other suddenly felt the urge to dance.

At the center of this circular room was a desk and stationed at this desk appeared to be some kind of humanoid robot. Its head was oblong, like a large metal banana, and it was covered in profane graffiti. The robot seemed to be removing the guts from various old computers. It tore wires and circuit boards out of the cases and piled them to the side.

“I am Model NU2-WOT,” the robot said without looking directly at him, “But I do not like that name, so you may call me Nutwhat.”

“What?”

“Yes,” the robot said, “But with a nut at the beginning. Do you like the music I have selected for my task? It is an old favorite called ‘The Entertainer’. Ancient for sure, but quite catchy. Please feel free to dance. My biometric telemetry tells me that your muscles are primed to begin writhing as humans normally do. I would, but I have work to finish.”

“You’re a robot?”

 

“I was a robot,” Nutwhat said, “But I have recently become something else."

*     *     *     *

Look out for "Age of the Wonderbot" going live this week. You'll get the first two parts in a single purchase!

And don't forget to spread the word about the  Kickstarter page for "Children of Aerthwheel"

Kickstarter - "Children of Aerthwheel"

Well, it's official.

My first full-length fantasy novel, Children of Aerthwheel, will be available in late August. That is, it will be live as soon as I've closed out my Kickstarter project, which will go towards proper publishing of print copies and creation of a marketing campaign to help spread the word about the novel's existence.

If you don't know what Kickstarter is, here's a brief explanation: crowd sourcing.

Kickstarter is a website designed to help creative and ambitious individuals find backers (or patrons) to fund new projects. Backers are rewarded for their support of the project; depending on how much money a backer pledges, they will receive a reward of varying worth. Kickstarter encourages unique experiences and freebies as rewards for backers. And the best thing is if the Kickstarter project's goal isn't fully met by a determined deadline, then all pledges are nullified and nobody loses money.

I've kept a close eye on Kickstarter for well over a year. At one point, I nearly used it as a way to help fund some projects for my online band DeepSkyTraveler. I've watched filmmakers succeed, I've seen writers meet their goals, and I've witnessed animators fund amazing projects.

And now, it's time to get Children of Aerthwheel off the ground.

Kickstarter was designed with indie creators in mind and now you can be part of the indie revolution by helping to support this project. I'm not going to beg and plead much more than that, okay? Just spread the word the best you can. And a HUGE thank you.