Redwood: Battle Cry is released

I am happy to announce the third and final book in the Redwood Trilogy is published today. Redwood: Battle Cry marks the conclusion to my first science fiction series.

It has been a long ride. I released the first Redwood book, Servant of the State in 2014. Redwood: Twelver came out in 2015.

You can start the trilogy and read Servant of the State for 99 cents on Amazon, or better yet download it free off Instafreebie as a thank you for subscribing to my newsletter.

I hope you enjoy finding out what happens to Marcus and Dee Dee, their friends and family. I certainly enjoyed creating their world.

Introducing readper

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A fun little side project I’m doing is another blog called readper. The blog focuses on showcasing books in the genres of science fiction and fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. It’s a service to other authors, and a way to get the word out about their books.

Also, for the month of December, subscribers to the blog’s mailing list are eligible for a $100 gift certificate from Amazon just for signing up.

Head over there and find something interesting to read!

Ghostsuit to be published by Kindle Press!

Amazon’s digital imprint, Kindle Press, has decided to publish the second Empathic Detective novel, Ghostsuit!

Thanks to everybody who nominated it for publication through Kindle Scout. You’ll get your free copy from Amazon when it’s released in a few weeks.

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Only a few days left to nominate Ghostsuit

Time is marching down on the Kindle Scout campaign for Ghostsuit. If you nominate the book, and Kindle Press decides to publish it, they’ll send you a free copy through Amazon!

Click on over and check it out. The campaign ends Nov. 22.

 

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Redwood: Servant of the State is on InstaFreebie

If you haven’t picked up a copy of Redwood: Servant of the State, first in the Redwood Trilogy, you can grab a free copy over on Instafreebie. You can even choose the format you want: epub, mobi, or PDF.

 

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Ghostsuit: An Empathic Detective Novel is on Kindle Scout

Today marks the start of the Kindle Scout campaign for Ghostsuit: An Empathic Detective Novel.

This will be the second Empathic Detective book, following the adventures of Detective Gerald Bryce. Here is the blurb for the new book:

A serial killer is loose in Central Texas. The Hangman steals victims’ DNA, disappearing without a trace. When Gerald Bryce investigates, he uncovers a far more sinister plot. Someone is intent on creating artificial life and harnessing its clairvoyant powers. Can he stop the Hangman before people he loves get hurt? And can he stop the larger plot before everyone in the city falls under a dangerous psychic spell? A ghostsuit may hold the key, by giving him an electronic set of spectral powers.

Readers who nominate the book for publication will receive a free copy from Amazon if Kindle Press publishes the book.

Please nominate the book today.

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The Empathic Detective is on Amazon Prime Reading

I am honored to have my novel, The Empathic Detective, selected as one of the inaugural books offered free to Amazon Prime members through the new Prime Reading program.

Amazon has long offered Prime members a free book every month, but now they’ve expanded their offerings. For a limited time, Prime members will be able to read The Empathic Detective for free with their subscription.

If you’ve already read The Empathic Detective, please let your friends and family who have Amazon Prime know about this opportunity to read my book and many others!

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Thieves & Wizards now available!

Today is the day! My new high fantasy Thieves & Wizards is available from Amazon. It’s had a great two week run on pre-order, and it’s been fun watching it rise in the ranks.

 

Thieves and Wizards is Available for Pre-order!

I’m happy to announce that my new epic fantasy, Thieves and Wizards, is available for pre-order!

Forged from the ore of a fallen star, the Forlorn Dagger absorbs all magic. Ideal for assassinating wizards, it’s been missing for centuries until it shows up in the library of a mysterious collector. Now an exceptional thief has stolen it.

A young princess endures harsh training to become the ultimate weapon of war: a battlemaiden. And a crown prince snatched from a bloody palace coup is raised in secrecy while a wizard grooms him for the day he reclaims the throne. When a rogue wizard sends an army to recover the Forlorn Dagger, they unite in an attempt to thwart evil, defeat dark magic, and save the realm.

An epic fantasy, Thieves and Wizards is the first novel in The Forlorn Dagger series.

As a special bonus, you can download Thieves and Wizards today for a special pre-order price of 99 cents. After the book goes live on Amazon Tuesday, Sept. 27, the price will increase.

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Experiences with Kindle Scout: Perspectives from Several Authors

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When I first investigated Kindle Scout, I wanted to read what others had experienced. I wanted to see what authors who had been through the process thought about it. The purpose of this article is to provide several links in one place for those who are likewise interested.

Teresa Roman has an excellent introductory article about what Kindle Scout is and how it works at IndiePlotTwist.com. Her book Back To Us was published by Kindle Press in summer 2015.

Lincoln Cole is the author of the Kindle Scout winning novel Raven’s Peak. He devotes a significant portion of his website to discussion of Kindle Scout, offering sections on how the system works, running a campaign, the ins and outs of Hot & Trending, etc.

Donna White Glaser, author of A Scrying Shame, has a very interesting discussion about Kindle Scout on the Self Publishing Roundtable Podcast.

New Zealand author Katherine Hayton has a Kindle Scout case study over on Selfpublishingadvice.org. She discusses the success she experienced in publishing her fourth novel through Kindle Scout, The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton.

Some cautionary tales emerged after Kindle Scout debuted, mainly by people who did not go through the Kindle Scout process. Romance author Victoria Pinder shared her experiences with Scout after reading the cautionary tales and then basking in success when her novel Winter Peril was accepted.

Publishers Weekly had a nice little article on author T.L. Zalecki’s Scout experience. She details her promotional efforts during the scout campaign, and the resulting success with her novel Rising Tide.

James M. Jackson has written extensively about his Kindle Scout experience. On the WritersWhoKill blog, he discussed the inner workings of the Scout program and the campaign for his book Ant Farm as it occurred. On his own blog, he discusses the pros and cons of Scout for other authors, and details the financial aspects of Kindle Scout for Amazon and authors.

British author Lexi Revellian has blogged extensively about her Kindle Scout experiences from across the pond. In this article, she discusses earning out the advance for her book The Trouble with Time (Time Rats Book 1).

Another British author, Jacqueline Ward, wrote a series of weekly blog entries discussing steps she took during the nomination process to earn votes. This is her final entry. Her book Random Acts of Unkindness was selected for publication shortly after.

Another author who blogged extensively throughout the Kindle Scout process is Jim Nelson. You can find each article he wrote, newest first, here. His book Bridge Daughter came out summer, 2016.

R.J. Vickers posted quite a few articles about her experiences with Kindle Scout and her title Beauty’s Songbook on PaidAuthor.com. You can begin reading them here.

Alan Orloff wrote on the 7CriminalMinds blog about his experience with the manuscript for Running From the Past, a kidnapping suspense thriller published through Kindle Scout in early 2015.

Steve Vernon has been extraordinarily helpful to authors investigating Kindle Scout. He has put in considerable time helping others on the Kboard discussion topic, and has an excellent blog writeup of his personal experience and tips for others here. His book, Kelpie Dreams, was published through Scout in early summer 2016.

Courtney Hunt has a neat article detailing statistics from her Kindle Scout campaign. It gives an “Inside Baseball” look at the numbers. Her book, The Lost of Art of Second Chances was published by Kindle Press in November, 2015.

Jina Bacarr wrote about her experiences with Kindle Scout for the Orange County Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Part 5 is here, with links to the previous articles. Her time travel romance Love Me Forever debuted through the program summer, 2015.

Jada Ryker has a fascinating four part series on how she won her Kindle Press contract, starting here. Her mystery novel “with a chick lit twist,” Take the Body and Run was released by Kindle Press.

Jane Castel’s historical romance Dawn of Wolves was selected by Kindle Press for publication during a Scout campaign in summer, 2016. She describes the process surrounding her campaign. The book did not receive as many nominations as some others, but won a publishing contract anyway.

Jasmine Silvera writes how she had a most excellent manuscript, but did not know where to go with it. Submitting it to mainstream publishers would take years, and she had little to no experience with self publishing. Then along came Kindle Scout, a hybrid option. Her experiences leading to the choice to launch a Scout campaign are somewhat typical. Her book Death Dancer was recently accepted for publication by Kindle Press.

Finally lest we tilt completely toward Kindle Scout winners, here is an interesting article by Cindy Marsch on selfpublishingadvice.org about how to run a Kindle Scout campaign. Her book Rosette: A Novel of Pioneer Michigan was not selected, but the experience proved useful and the book has sold well since its debut in January, 2016.

So, there you have a broad swath of first hand accounts about engaging in the Kindle Scout process. Early articles on Kindle Scout were often written by people who did not go through the program. Now there are multiple accounts by authors who did go through the program, and prospective authors have a much better set of experiences from which to draw their conclusions.

Update: R.J. Vickers has an excellent article entitled An Insider’s Guide to Kindle Scout on Bookrazor.com.

Update: Read the new perspectives on Kindle Scout for 2018 here.