I’ve had some short stories out on Instafreebie (now Prolific Works) for some time as a way to offer free items to newsletter subscribers as well as promote my book review and discussion site readper.com.
I decided to collect those stories and put them in one volume, then I added a new one that is heretofore unpublished, Mark 2.
If you like science fiction and fantasy short stories, give this one a click. It’s only 99 cents.
Rick or Treat is out!
This one took a bit longer to edit than expected, but the timing worked out anyway. In my ongoing urban fantasy series about resurrected people fighting evil fae across multiple timelines and realities, Nancy Chance was finally reunited with her beau Rick Strickland, only to lose him again in an attack on Headquarters.
Rick finds himself dropped into a doomed airliner headed to London. The crew has been poisoned, and nobody knows how to fly. Good thing Rick used to be a pilot in his past life!
He finds himself in a strange world, where the American Revolution failed and Texas is the dominant republic. The Nazis control most of Europe and haven’t started World War II, at least not yet.
He’s alone with no help from home and no way to get back. Worse, the fae have their sights on this alternate, and the Nazis are planning something evil for the upcoming All Hallows’ Eve Ball.
Hope you enjoy this one.
JR
The third installment in the Fae Killers series is on the way next: Rick or Treat.
Our Story So Far
In the first Fae Killers book, Tiff in Time, readers were introduced to Tyfainne, a little girl whose parents were killed in a Viking raid. The Walker, a man who travels among the many alternate universes, discovered her and took her “home” to raise her up. She becomes an excellent fae killer.
The fae are creatures existing between the physical and spiritual realm. They are evil, and scattered among the alternates soon after the first, or original, earth (aka O-Earth) was created. The Walker and his recruits track down and take these guys out, though often not without difficulty.
In the second book, Ghost of a Chance, we meet Nancy Chance, killed while working as a private investigator in New York City during World War II. She receives the opportunity to go back to her own timeline and track down her murderer where she reunites with Rick Strickland, her old flame.
The next book in the series is coming out hopefully later this summer or early fall, depending on revision and editing. It follows Rick’s forced trip to a strange new world that has deviated quite a bit from O-Earth. In this world, World War II never happened, and the old European kingdoms are still largely intact. Nazi Germany exists, but has not yet stirred up too many conflicts. The American Revolution was quickly squashed, leaving the colonies east of the Mississippi in a largely agrarian state, completely dependent on the United Kingdom. Texas, on the other hand, has grown into a full-blown Republic west of the Mississippi, and captured most of the bravado and independent spirit the Americans on other alternates have.
Into this milieu, Rick must try and stop the Nazis, avert war, take out the local fae, and hopefully find his way home again.
The current story arc calls for five books in this series. Hope you enjoy it!
The third and final installment in the Empathic Detective trilogy is out! Cybershot: An Empathic Detective Novel debuted yesterday on Amazon.
In my opinion, this is the most exciting book in the trilogy. And, it wraps up all loose ends, although of course there is always a possibility of more Empathic Detective novels in the future.
Take a look and see what you think.
In 2016 I wrote the first Empathic Detective novel and submitted it to Amazon’s Scout program. It was selected for publication, picking up an apub contract and has sold very well ever since.
Last year I submitted the second Empathic Detective novel, Ghostsuit, to Scout and it too received a publishing contract with apub.
Alas, Kindle Scout is no more so the third and final installment in the trilogy, Cybershot, will go through regular channels with Amazon’s KDP.
Look for this title to come out sometime next week, I hope. Right now we’re just waiting for the all clear from KDP.
Here is the blurb:
An ancient organization has created a psychic with untold power. Raising the boy in secret, they hope to make him a world leader. But he escapes and heads for Texas to find his father, Gerald Bryce, the empathic detective. When someone tries to warn Bryce, a criminal mastermind uses the latest technology from neural immersive video games to kill the informant. Now Bryce and his partner must race the clock as a level three psychic terrorist battles the military for control of the city, and perhaps the world.
I’m happy to announce that I’ll be using Booksprout for advance review copies (ARCs). You can download these books for free if you’d like first crack at them. Here are the steps for joining Booksprout if you’re interested (and grab a free title by me while you’re at it):
Ghost of a Chance is live on Amazon! This is the second in the Fae Killers, an urban fantasy series. Here’s the blurb:
It’s hard to make a living during the war as a woman. Especially as a detective in New York City, where the nights are late and the thugs are tough. But Nancy Chance, Private Investigator, doesn’t give a rip about that. She’ll work twice as hard as any man for her clients, and do a better job than most. When she investigates a murder in a case called the Manhattan Project, somebody visits her office and puts a bullet in her head. But they don’t know that Nancy is back. For centuries she’s been fighting fae and becoming one of the Walker’s best killers. Now she returns to her own timeline to set things straight. If she can steer clear of Rick, her old flame who is destined to marry someone else, and find Felix, the handsome fae who killer her, she might be able to prevent her world from sliding into chaos. At least she can’t die this time. Unfortunately, everybody else can . . .
UPDATE: April, 2018
RIP Kindle Scout
Amazon has announced the end of Kindle Scout. This was a great program for unknown authors to get noticed. I hope Amazon introduces something similar in the future.
In 2016 after my book The Empathic Detective was selected for a publishing contract through Kindle Scout, I wrote a blog post linking to other authors and their perspectives on the process.
This was very well received and it has continued to get traffic over the last couple of years as new authors and others interested in Scout have read up on the process.
But, it’s getting a little long in the tooth. I decided to write another entry with updated blog entries from authors who have gone through the process, and collect their perspectives in one location. I hope this provides additional benefit for others, as the first post did back in 2016. This entry covers a variety of blog posts from Kindle Scout authors posted in 2017 to present.
Jaxon Reed – Things I Learned from My Kindle Scout Campaigns
Knowledge gleaned and shared by yours truly.
Jim Heskitt – Ways to hit Hot and Trending During Your Scout Campaign
Jim offers several tips for running a successful Kindle Scout campaign. His advice is spot-on for the selection and evaluation process.
Steve Vernon – Does Kindle Scout Suck?
Steve is famous in the Kindle Scout universe for his delightful attitude and consistent assistance to those interested in submitting to Scout. He holds court on the related multi-thousand post thread on Kboards. The question of submitting to Scout or not is answered, hilariously, by Steve on his blog.
Jasmine Silvera – How NaNoWriMo and Kindle Scout Turned One Writer into a Published Author
NaNoWriMo leads to the generation of a lot of manuscripts, inspiring authors to finish up quickly. Jasmine shares how her experiences led to a publishing contract through Kindle Scout.
Keith Yocum – My Experience Scoring a Kindle Scout Deal
Keith gives a great rundown of his time on Scout, and offers potential submitters a good idea of what to expect before, during, and after the campaign.
Sean McLachlan – Winning the Kindle Scout Program
A variety of useful nuggets are offered by Sean for those interested in launching a campaign, including an excellent summary of the benefits Scout has to offer.
Debbie Burke – Kindle Scout a Two Year Performance Review
Scout has been going a while, and Debbie wrote up an excellent article on how it’s doing. She also offers a nice comparison between Scout and KDP.
Debbie Burke – Kindle Scout Step Inside for a Tour
Debbie also offers a week-by-week summary of her experiences during her Scout campaign, including the critical lessons she learned as time progressed.
Walt Mussell – The Opportunity of Kindle Scout
There are several benefits to submitting a manuscript to Scout, and Walt covers them well in this post.
Louis Cole – Publishing with Kindle Press
From across the pond, British author Louis offers her perspectives on the Scout experience. She focuses on the appealing aspects to professional writers.
Carrie Pulkinen Korts – My Kindle Scout Experience
Carrie provides valuable stats from her successful campaign, and some of the steps she took during the month-long endeavor.
Lincoln Cole – Kindle Scout Campaign Promotional Services
Lincoln has helped several authors with his detailed discussions of the Scout process. This post lists various promotional services and his recommendations.
Diana Anderson-Tyler – My Kindle Scout Experience: 3 Lessons Learned
Finally, as in my previous article, I wanted to include the perspective of someone who did not win a contract. Diana offers three important lessons worth considering.
I hope this proves useful for anyone considering submitting a manuscript. I remain convinced that Kindle Scout serves as an outstanding venue for authors, even if their manuscript is not selected. The month a manuscript remains in the running is publicity that is simply unavailable elsewhere.
JR
I’m happy to announce the sequel to Thieves & Wizards was released today. Pirates & Wizards is available for a limited time at 99 cents.
I have uploaded a short story set in The Empathic Detective Universe on Wattpad. Final Thoughts is about a condemned prisoner with a chip in his head that records what he’s thinking in plain text.
Please feel free to visit Wattpad and check it out.