Tiff in Time is Available for Pre-order

I’m happy to announce my newest book Tiff in Time is available for pre-order for 99 cents. You can get it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple iTunes Store, or Google Play.

Tiff in Time is an urban fantasy, and kicks off The Fae Killers, who battle fae in different timelines on alternate Earths.

Here is the blurb:

In the beginning, God created people, angels, and fae. Creatures existing between the spiritual realm and the physical, fae scattered among parallel worlds spreading magic and chaos.

The Walker hunts fae, killing them, bringing them to justice. On occasion, he recruits followers. He found Tiff, an orphan, and raised her to be one of his best hunters. A skilled killer, she jumps into any timeline on any alternate, and seeks her prey.

A powerful artifact and a mysterious fae crop up in the Roaring Twenties, in Chicago. Tiff is on her way. But this time, after centuries of being hunted, the fae have other plans. . .

Hope you enjoy it! I’m already hard at work on its sequel.

The Redwood Trilogy Box Set released

I’m happy to announce The Redwood Trilogy Box Set is released. This science fiction bundle features all three Redwood books at a bargain price. As always, you can also read the entire thing (several hundred pages) free through Kindle Unlimited.

 

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.

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.

Kindle Press Authors benefits

I’ve been blessed to have The Empathic Detective selected as a Kindle Scout title and published through Amazon’s Kindle Press. But one of the other big blessings in belonging to the Kindle Scout family is the ongoing companionship with other KP authors.

We stay in touch via Facebook, including a public group here, and every Friday we tweet about our books on Twitter. (Look up the hashtag #kpauthors). Finally, we have an official website featuring our books and other materials here.

It’s encouraging to know each Kindle Scout book is carefully selected by the Kindle Press team for publication. Any KP title you purchase (or read through Kindle Unlimited) has been thoroughly vetted, and most tend to maintain high four or five star reader reviews on Amazon.

So download a Kindle Press book today, and don’t forget to nominate new titles over at Kindle Scout for the opportunity to receive free copies selected for publication.

Grab both Redwood 1 and 2 for a low price!

Redwood, Servant of the State has a combined 4.2 rating on Amazon. Now, the sequel is out. You can download both books cheaper than buying them separately, for a limited time. Click here for details.

 

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Redwood: Twelver is Out!

The sequel to Redwood: Servant of the State is out! Redwood: Twelver is available exclusively on Amazon as an e-book download. Only 99 cents.

It’s a been a great 6 months writing this sequel, following the adventures of Marcus, Dee Dee, and the triplets. I hope readers enjoy the book as much as I did writing it.

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Read for free the first five chapters of my book Redwood: Agent of the State, a science fiction adventure thriller, on Goodreads or get the complete Kindle ebook on Amazon for only 99 cents.

 

Top 10 best dystopian books

On the heels of my discussion on the allure of dystopia in fiction, here is my list of top ten all time best dystopian novels.

1984
George Orwell, 1949
Orwell’s depictions of totalitarianism have elements that remain in society’s vocabulary decades later. From Big Brother to doublespeak and a host of other concepts, Orwell’s dystopian view of political corruption remains a significant work even today.

Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury, 1953
Another early vision of dystopia, one in which books are outlawed and “firemen” burn them up when they’re found. Winner of one of only four Retro Hugo awards.

Brave New World
Aldous Huxley, 1931
The granddaddy of dystopian novels, Huxley wrote the book in response to utopian novels by H.G. Wells amidst social upheaval from war, industry, economic crises, and the perceived excesses of the Roaring Twenties.

Logan’s Run
William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, 1967
Logan’s Run follows the eponymous hero who tracks down those in a society with no old people. Logan 3 is a “Sandman” chasing after those who reach the age of death trying to escape to Sanctuary. He decides to run himself as his time approaches.

Make Room! Make Room (Soylent Green)
Harry Harrison, 1966
The movie was more popular than the book, but Soylent Green explored the overuse of materials and overpopulation, with some ideas on how to control both. The movie changed much more besides the title.

The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins, 2008
In the future nation of Panem, teens from the twelve districts annually battle to the death for a television audience. The trilogy has been adapted into a highly successful movie series.

Divergent
Veronica Roth, 2011
In Chicago in the future, society is divided based on aptitude scores. Those who don’t fit neatly in a faction are more difficult to control, and are considered divergent. The first movie in the series has been highly successful.

The Maze Runner
James Dashner, 2009
Waking up with his memory wiped, the protagonist finds himself with a group of other boys in the middle of a gigantic labyrinth that changes every night and offers a host of dangers. He helps them solve the riddle of the maze before the first girl shows up.

Parable of the Sower
Octavia E. Butler, 1993
In an society leaning toward anarch , a young woman with hyperempathy develops a religion called “Earthseed.” Winner of the 1994 Nebula Award. A planned trilogy, Butler died before completing the third book in the series.

The Giver
Lois Lowry, 1993
In a faux utopian society of the future, pain and turmoil are eliminated through Sameness. Somebody has to keep all the memories of the past, though, including both the good memories and the bad. All the pleasant aspects of humanities as well as all the ugliness. Winner of the 1994 Newberry Award.

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Read for free the first five chapters of my book Redwood: Agent of the State, a science fiction adventure thriller, on Goodreads or get the complete Kindle ebook on Amazon for only 99 cents

The Rave Reviews Book Club and Michael Eging

I’ve joined Nonnie Jules’ Rave Reviews Book Club. This group of indie authors and readers is comprised of individuals committed to promoting books and supporting one another.

One facet of the club is “#pushtuesday,” where one author is promoted on Twitter and other social media by the club members. Today’s author is Michael Egging (@MichaelEging), author of Annwyn’s Blood (The Paladin of Shadow Chronicles Book 1), available on Amazon. Here’s the blurb:

When Marianna was spirited away by unknown raiders, everyone expected a ransom demand to soon follow. Such was the peril of everyday royal life in the chaotic times following abandonment of the misty isles of Albion by indifferent Rome. But when weeks went by without word her father, High King Mattheus, dispatched teams of trusted warriors to find her and bring her assailants to account.

Young Erik, Scion of the House of Birkenshire, was one of these. Separated from his comrades and alone in hostile territories, he plunged headlong into forgotten vales and desolate coasts in pursuit, driven onward by precious memories of stolen tender moments. Then he stood before the grim fortress – wherein he found, not the innocent damsel of his youthful desires, but a terrifying beauty borne of an ancient evil that bound his soul to an even more primal force bent on regaining its place in the halls of human exaltation.

Now caught between two worlds, he must resist the temptations of his beloved-turned-succubus while protecting his family, his people and his world from the encroaching grasp of Arawn, Lord of Annwyn, Ruler of the Dead, Elder God of the Mabinogion. In this journey to regain his soul, the knight must find a way to strike the fatal blow against a resurgent primal darkness.

Be sure and check out Michael’s book. I’ve purchased a copy, and I’ve added it to my “to read” list on GoodReads.

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Read for free the first five chapters of my book Redwood: Agent of the State, a science fiction adventure thriller, on Goodreads or get the complete Kindle ebook on Amazon for only 99 cents

Chapters 1-5 of Redwood: Servant of the State are Free!

I am about to embark on an ad campaign with kindlenationdaily.com. On Dec. 2, we will sponsor a free Kindle Nation Shorts campaign, during which the first five chapters of Redwood: Servant of the State will be offered free to over 161,000 subscribers on Kindle Nation Daily and BookGorilla.

If you’re not a subscriber to KND, or if you miss the campaign, never fear! The first five chapters are available free on Goodreads. If you like it, please download the entire book for free via Kindle Unlimited, or get a copy for only 99 cents.