Are you ready for The Mirror’s Image? Well, it’s almost ready for you, too!
Third chapter, for your enjoyment
Saturday July 4, 1992
There was something slightly ironic about getting married on Independence Day, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I decided it was the course of wisdom, however, not to mention the observation to my bride. Continue reading
While we all wait for the cover to be ready, here’s another chapter!
Thursday, July 2, 1992
I woke around six, as was my habit on a weekday. I still felt a little stunned, but certainly more clear headed than I had been yesterday. I slipped out of bed and dressed quietly. Kristy appeared to be sleeping through it, but sometimes she faked it. That was her privilege. Continue reading
Oh we are so close to publication! Fans of The Sunshine Line don’t have long to wait for the sequel – The Mirror’s Image – now!
To get you in the mood, here’s the first chapter:
Wednesday July 1, 1992
Once the portal was fixed most of the fairies went through to their own world, leaving only Amaleen behind with us. Continue reading
Tomorrow is my forty-third birthday, and I want to share the celebration. From today until February 17th I am offering a 43% discount on all my published works at Smashwords! This is a steal, people!
I will still be donating 90% of my royalties for Silver Linings to YSC and 50% of my royalties for Help Wanted to WEAVE. And, of course, The Animal Place is still set at “you set the price” so you can pick it up for free.
Please note: These coupons only work at Smashwords. Smashwords offers DRM free downloads in all e-book formats, and you have access to all versions including any updated versions I might publish. You are more than welcome to purchase my books at Amazon, but the coupons won’t work there.
Coupon Codes! (Coupons good through January 2, 2013)
Silver Linings EN52D – Non-fiction, this book takes you through my cancer treatment in “real time”.
Help Wanted SL33J – Psychological thriller, a tale of generosity repaid with abuse. Fictionalized account of a true story
The Sunshine Line UU82N – Light fantasy, What happens when an ordinary guy discovers fairies are real… and nothing like children’s stories!
Enjoy!
And it can be yours, FREE!
From the universe of The Sunshine Line I bring you a short story that takes place in the world of the fairies. The Animal Place is a quick, fun read, and I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks to Smashwords’ flexible pricing options, you set the price! Anything from zero to a zillion, whatever you think is fair.
If you don’t know what Smashwords is, check out this post. There’s no cost to sign up, they won’t give your email away, and they have a cool system for accessing all your purchases there.
Coming next from the universe of The Sunshine Line is The Mirror’s Image, a full length novel, coming in late winter.
I want to tell you why I publish with Smashwords and why you should shop there. And no, they aren’t paying me to do this.
But first, let me tell you what Smashwords is, because too many people have yet to come across it.
Smashwords was founded in 2008:
The idea behind Smashwords was simple: I wanted to create a free ebook self-publishing platform that would allow me to take a risk on every writer. I wanted to give every writer the freedom to publish, and every reader the freedom to read what they wanted. (From Mark Coker, via the Smashwords Blog)
Smashwords doesn’t charge publishers to publish. They are commission based, and have made it profitable for them. They are independently owned, so not as likely to come completely unhinged and start screwing publishers.
My favorite thing about Smashwords is that through them I can make my e-books available in all e-reader formats, DRM-free. When someone buys a book at Smashwords, they really own it. A customer can download all formats, as many times as they like. And if the author uploads a new version, that, too, belongs to the customer. Endless abundance!
Another thing I love about Smashwords is that I have a great deal of control over the pricing that I offer. I can offer coupons of any size, up to 100%. I can, as I did with The Animal Place, offer a title at “you set the price”, where the customer can help themselves to a free copy, or, if they have some deranged desire to recompense me for it, they can choose to do so. I don’t know of any other major retailer that offers such flexibility.
I want my readers to find e-book ownership to be hassle-free, and I want to be able to offer them discounts when the whim strikes me. I honestly wish more authors would publish or re-publish with Smashwords because I would rather purchase through their means than something more narrow… and possibly loaded up with DRMs. Blech. My readers aren’t criminals (well, sometimes they drive faster than the speed-limit, but cut ’em a break!) and I have no wish to treat them as such.
Not to mention that Smashwords is also a distributor to every major retailer except Amazon (who doesn’t want to play nice). As a publisher, that makes me happy, because I know my work is available at the iTunes store and Barnes & Noble, etc. As an author that means that I have a farther reach. I am extremely more likely to be stumbled upon, the more retailers carry my work.
No matter how frustrated I’ve occasionally been with the auto-vetter (don’t ask; it’s not them, it’s me), I will continue to publish with Smashwords and continue to urge my readers to shop there.
So check out Smashwords! There is no cost to make an account and they have a neat system for keeping track of your purchases.
The Sunshine Line was published in late August and has gotten stunning reviews on Amazon to my great pleasure. Last month I rolled The Sunshine Line out on Smashwords, thus giving my readers more choices and more control over their purchase.
Many readers have eagerly asked for more. You ask, I deliver. Let me give you a breakdown of what’s in the works right now.
Next out of the shoot will be a short story called The Animal Place, to be published later this month. I’m excited to be able to offer this for free on Smashwords!
Then, in February, the first full-length sequel to The Sunshine Line will be ready (I hope!) for publishing. The Mirror’s Image picks up where The Sunshine Line left off and brings Joe, Kristy and you, my readers, to the other side of the Portal.
After that I’m giving myself about six months to get the third book out. It remains nameless at this time.
Meanwhile, I’ve just finished writing The Long Dark, a fourth full-length Sunshine Line book. It’s a bit early to tell, but I’m hoping to publish late winter 2014.
The Sunshine Line is where my heart is, so fans can take heart knowing there’s a lot more coming!
Stay tuned!
2012 was a challenging year in many ways, but as far as my writing goes, it was exciting and triumphant. After writing thousands and thousands of words over the last few years, I finally got around to publishing a few things. I am humbled that anyone would pay for my work, and even more at the rave reviews Silver Linings and The Sunshine Line have gotten.
Keeping my celebration to myself would, under the circumstance, be very stingy of me. So I’m sharing it with everyone by offering 25% percent off all my published works. I will still be donating 90% of my royalties for Silver Linings to YSC and 50% of my royalties for Help Wanted to WEAVE.
Please note: These coupons only work at Smashwords. Smashwords offers DRM free downloads in all e-book formats, and you have access to all versions including any updated versions I might publish. You are more than welcome to purchase my books at Amazon, but the coupons won’t work there.
Coupon Codes! (Coupons good through January 2, 2013)
Silver Linings EB68P – Non-fiction, this book takes you through my cancer treatment in “real time”.
Help Wanted XA68Z – Psychological thriller, a tale of generosity repaid with abuse. Fictionalized account of a true story
The Sunshine Line QQ79H – Light fantasy, What happens when an ordinary guy discovers fairies are real… and nothing like children’s stories!
Enjoy! And Happy New Year to all!
PS- I have three things scheduled to be published in 2013, so stay tuned!
For most of my life I was a wanna-be writer. Maybe I would have stayed in that rut all my life, but I got a kick in the pants.
Or maybe it was a kick in the boob. You see, in 2008 I was diagnosed with Stage IIb breast cancer. I had a bilateral mastectomy, chemo and reconstruction. I finished herceptin treatment in October 2009.
In November of 2009 I sat down to write a book (The Sunshine Line).
I made it to 50K by the end of November, so I “won” NaNoWriMo, but it was a close call. I never got more than a day ahead and more than once something came up that caused me to lose that lead. On the 29th I had about 4000 words to go and got an excruciating spasm in my shoulder, which cut down on my productivity. But I made it!
