Epub World | Writing and Marketing in the Indie Book Publishing World

Looking for 10 YA SF/F readers – FREE ARC Copies

February 18, 2012 by Rose Andrade | Comments Off

Hi guys and gals, wondering if you could help me spread the word.

I am looking for 10 book reviewers or avid readers to read and review an ARC copy of Rupture, Book #1 of the Transhuman Warrior Series. The series will be soft launched on Amazon by May 20th, and officially launched on June 1st with a small Blog Tour.

We are looking for readers/reviewers who fit the following profile:

Are fans, avid readers and/or a book bloggers of YA and SciFi and Fantasy novels.
Enjoy genre-blending novels. And series.
Are willing to put a comment/review of our book on Goodreads (page available now) and Amazon (when we soft launch it in May).

Please contact me if you are interested via epubworld@gmail.com. Please feel free to pass this offer along, if you know someone who fits the above criteria.

ABOUT RUPTURE

(Book One in the Transhuman Warrior Series)

Genre: YA Scifi/Dark Fantasy, with a dash of thriller, suspense, horror and humor.
Novel length: About 80K
Format: Ebook available on EPUB, MOBI and PDF versions

FLAP COPY:

Simone Wellborn is a Transhuman with an attitude. She’s been genetically engineered from birth to be super smart. The problem? All that tinkering her parents paid top dollar for provided a few unexpected results, like an annoying ability to blast telekinetic energy at the worst possible times. She also has another tricky issue: strange entities possess her and, worse, transform her into something dangerous.

Simone’s mother sends her to the Sterling School for reject Transhumans. While there, she meets a few other students with similar problems. They’re all Transhumans with dirty secrets. Heart throb Hutto Toth is a charming gladiator. He annoys Simone from day one, but he’s also a Werebear who accidentally killed a boy in a glad match, and Simone can’t stand how much she likes him. There’s two-foot tall Wally Dorsey, who’s determined to pilot a personalized mech. His best friend, Beasley Gardner, is a mountain of a young girl with enough muscle to beat up any boy at school, but she’s suffers from a rage disorder. Finally, Simone meets Kimberlee Newkirk, an unassuming Succubus who fears she’ll kill the next boy she kisses.

These defective students find themselves at the center of a deadly conflict when another student, Joss Beckwith, attracts a Rogue Artificial Intelligence, the new power brokers in a society radically changed by science and technology.

The Transhuman Warrior Series tells the story of Simone and her friends as they’re transformed into highly specialized human weapons. They must challenge the increasing power of the Rogues as these enemies push into Realspace with one goal in mind: total domination.

For more information, check out our website or visit the Transhuman Warrior Series page.

Announcement: Winner of Bleedover Blog Tour Contest – $50 Amazon Gift Card

February 15, 2012 by Rose Andrade | 2 Comments

Hi everyone,

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who supported our Bleedover Blog Tour Launch. We had a blast hopping on different sites and blogs, and had amazing discussions on each stop. For those of you who missed, you can still check out our stops and see some pretty cool interviews and articles we’ve posted around:

Jan. 16th: The Creative Penn
Guest Post: Word Count for Writers: To Count or Not to Count?

Jan. 17th: Ritesh Kala’s Book Reviews
Author Interview + Book Review + Giveaway

Jan. 18th: Gathering Leaves Review
Book Review + Author Interview and Giveaway

Jan. 19th: The Skiffy and Fanty Show
Guest Post: China Miéville and the Arresting Image

Jan. 23rd: Kindle and Me
Giveaway

Jan. 24th and 26th: Kindle Author
Author Interview

Jan. 27th: Lindsay Buroker
Guest Post: A Checklist for Self-Publishing

Jan. 29th: Science Fiction Magazine
Guest Post: Sheldon the Wannabe Posthuman

Jan. 30th: Savvy Self Publishing
Guest Post: How to Generate Your First Professionally Formatted Mobi File

Jan. 31st: Book Reviews by Tima
Book Review + Giveaway

As our tour is coming to an end, we would like to announce the winner of the 2012 Bleedover Blog Tour $50 Amazon Gift Card.

And the winner is….

Entry #25 Natshane!

The winner will be contacted directly via email, and this announcement will also be posted on Twitter!

Thank you everyone!

Related Posts: Sample Sunday, Bleedover: Towns and Masumi

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Indie Publishing: Pug-Ugly and Proud of It

January 22, 2012 by Curtis Hox | 9 Comments

Genre fiction still gets a bad rap.

Read the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, even the New York Times, and you can smell the stink of elitism when it comes to literature. Slamming popular forms often begins with the assumption that writing traced back to the pulps must be inferior. The problem with this thinking is that it holds some truth, just not all of it.

Recently, an Iowa Writer’s Workshop alumnus, Edan Lepucki, wrote an article for Millions: “Reasons Not to Self-Publish in 2011-2012: A List.” She tell us, “You see, Reader, I still don’t plan on self-publishing my first novel, though I don’t deny the positive aspects of that choice.” These positive aspects get buried under a list of clearly articulated reasons why she chooses not to. One concern is that indie-published books aren’t good for readers because there’s too many books to choose from and, unless a book is vetted by a trusted source, people won’t pay attention. It’s an empirical fact people are paying attention. Just head on over to Amazon and take a look at how they’ve created a network of trusted sources.

Anyone reading the article should notice that someone like her (ahem, from Iowa Writer’s Workshop, the premiere MFA program in the country) is in a prime position to avoid rubbing shoulders with the indie publishing community. But not everyone is in such a privileged position as Lepucki. Some individuals don’t have the community she writes about and seeks, or access to the tools that legitimate those communities. Worse, readers don’t need to be reminded of the small percentage of people perfectly primed for the traditional publishing route. Getting into Iowa and producing is enough of a pedigree to impress most agents—not a guarantee of success, but a darn good howdy-do. The rest have to do it any way they can.

The problem of putting a lid on the indie route is that a revolution has been broiling in the last few decades among the literati. The challenge to the literary canon started decades ago with feminists and minorities demanding their rights to be heard. And with the rise of interdisciplinary in the academy, popular culture as a field of academic inquiry is now pushing up against the old guard with plenty or verve.

Granted, the shift from literary studies to cultural studies in our English departments still rattles a few old stodgy traditionalists. Most of us, however, realize that genre fiction, film texts, comic books, and even video games can provide us with a genuine literary experience (for example, a recent game L.A. Noire made huge leaps in representing virtual characters with real human emotions). Of course, in the world of books the stuff of popular fiction can be horrible, as well as wonderful. Myths, epics, romances all paved the way for Superman and Spiderman. Science fiction and fantasy impulses emerged out of these older forms. They were promptly scoffed at, then barred from our university classrooms.

So where does that leave writers and readers of fiction in the early 21^st century? We view science fantasy novelists like Clive Barker or China Mieville as vanguards at the border crossings between the known types of fiction. Once ignored but still important genre writers like H.P. Lovecraft and R.E. Howard can thank Mieville for helping to legitimate them. And Barker’s lyricism reminds us that even the most visceral content can be dressed in beauty. Viewed through these lenses, what is happening with indie publishing and genre writing is revolutionary.

The revolution has its predecessors. It’s rare now to hear someone say that novels like Ursula Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness , Gibson’s Neuromancer, or even Miller’s Canticle of Leibowitz aren’t worthy of serious comment. Even Philip K. Dick has his own claque of scholars. As an old professor of mine once said, it’s valid to consider Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove a great American epic equal to Homer’s, Virgil’s, Dante’s, and Milton’s. Popular literary culture has arrived with guns a blazin’. Genre carries weight, yes it does.

Distributors like Amazon and Smashwords have infused the democratization of knowledge that exploded with Gutenberg’s with a double dose of dynamite. The process may be frenetic at times, even wildly careening about like a drunk uncle on New Year’s Eve, but this focus on producing popular writing for a popular audience is a welcome shift in agency away from the New York publishing gate keepers who, often, appear to distain writers by not even responding to queries. When writers and readers play producers and consumers, it’s a darn splendid thing to behold. The barbarians are at the gate, and we welcome them.

For example, I’m a fan of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, and when I discovered indie writer David Wisehart’s The Devil’s Lair, I did two things: (1) cursed him for delivering a realist’s interpretation of Dante’s Inferno (something I had thought about years ago but never tried) and (2) praised him for doing such a great job. He channels Eco, who also reimagined a medieval Europe, in a story that blends realism, fantasy, and historicism. The Devil’s Lair strikes a devastating blow against the idea that genre must equal formulaic.

What we’re seeing with the explosion of indie writers like Wisehart is a validation of the power of narrative in our lives. We know this, of course. It’s facile to say that mass media is ubiquitous and coercive. What we’re seeing with indie publishing that’s so fascinating is a mechanism for gaining access to texts like Wisehart’s, which is a form of resistance, and a mechanism for producing them.

The rise of the indie novel is proof there are more than a handful of texts denied to us because editors (and the corporate interests they work for) failed to trust stories they couldn’t easily market. In essence, the market has cock-blocked us. So, blessed be the name of the lord, the market bosses now must take their beating.

And contrary to what Lepucki suggests, there are mechanisms for discovering these novels (e.g., Amazon, bloggers and reviewers, Goodreads, etc.).

Thus, the brave praise this new mode of consumption because it gives agency to the two most important parties in this process: the writer and the reader. And if both parties enjoy low-brow modes like genre fiction, more power to them. Out of the trite and unimaginative will surface surprises like The Devil’s Lair. And most of us will be happier for it.

Of course, culture makers at Iowa will continue to produce great writers (even McMurtry spent time there), and we’ll benefit from what they create. But the field will increase with the indie putsch, and we’ll get to stumble on a few gems that, otherwise, would have been overlooked.

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Contemporary Fantasy “Repossession in Progress” FREE on KDP Select

January 14, 2012 by Curtis Hox | 0 comments

Hi guys,

Today my contemporary fantasy short story “Repossession in Progress” is FREE at Amazon. Feel free to download a copy and spread the word!

REPOSSESSION IN PROGRESS:

In this short story from the author of Bleedover, a repo agent’s job is difficult, especially when he has to retrieve living characters from film and literature who have bledover into reality. Some of these, like the slasher antagonist Harvey, are a disaster waiting to happen.

KDP Select: December Payout and January Fund Increase

January 13, 2012 by Rose Andrade | 1 Comment

We just received a highly anticipated email from Amazon detailing the results of December’s KDP Select and what’s coming for January. I am copying the email here, for those of you who are not enrolled on KDP yet or have not received this email:

——————–

Hello from KDP!

We are excited to share with you that the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) is off to a great start! Customers borrowed 295,000 KDP Select titles in December alone, and with the $500,000 December fund, you have earned $1.70 per borrow.

Enrolled authors and publishers, such as yourself, on average received 26% more money in December for their KDP-Select enrolled titles on top of their royalties from paid sales for the same titles. Also, our early results show that paid sales of enrolled titles are growing even faster than other KDP titles.

It gets better – because of the popularity of KOLL, fueled by seasonal use of new Kindles, and your strong participation in KDP Select to date, we are adding a $200,000 bonus to the January fund, raising the total from $500,000 to $700,000! See the press release for this here:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1647593&highlight

As a reminder, your KDP Select December royalty information will be available on your December royalty report in mid-January.

You can find details on the fund amount by visiting either of these pages:

Bookshelf: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/dashboard

KDP Select: http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect

We encourage you to continue taking advantage of future KDP Select benefits by enrolling more of your titles.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy New Year!

Regards,

Kindle Direct Publishing

http://kdp.amazon.com

=============================
Connect with KDP and other Authors and Publishers:
Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/KindleDirectPublishing
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/AmazonKDP

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Sample Sunday, Bleedover: Towns and Masumi

January 4, 2012 by Curtis Hox | 1 Comment

MASUMI didn’t speak. Towns understood not to bother her.

He’d seen her walk this way before, with her chin almost on her chest, in a straight line as if anyone in the way had better move.

Her book bag bounced but didn’t slow her as they followed a well-lit path through the quad. Each time her legs moved, her calves glistened like wet silicone in the lamplight.

She led him to the Student Center, a low, circular building nestled off to one side of the dorms.

A few students played foosball in the game room, while others watched a big TV surrounded by loveseats. The food court had just closed, but the university club was open. The Polar Bar also served a few domestic beers to those willing to let the staff scrutinize their IDs.

“I didn’t know the school had its own bar,” Towns said.

Masumi ordered a pitcher and chose a tall, circular table with two high stools.

A band was clearing the stage, while a few fans loitered.

She filled her large plastic cup and waited for him. He did the same. Then she downed the entire drink in a few gulps.

“What the fuck is going on?” Masumi asked. Her shaking hands almost spilled the refill. He opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off with a raised finger. “This is absurd in the truest sense of the word.” She stared into her cup, waiting for the suds to drop. “I have no idea how to explain any of this. And neither do you.” This time she drank only a quarter. “Are we really going to stand up in front of the world and offer a demonstration with no explanation?”

“She’ll offer an explanation—”

“How much do you know about Dr. Sterling’s work?”

“I’ve read enough to want to come to Riodola. I know she believes the N.P.B. is as real as any other thing in nature.”

“But bleedover can’t be real, Towns, not like gravity.”

“Isn’t it enough that we can observe the phenomenon, and manipulate it?”

“Shut it.” Masumi snarled at him, a sure sign he was onto something. “You’re right; sorry. I should be less annoyed. This feels more challenging than any other discovery. Newton would shit and run for his Daniel if faced with bleedover.”

“What’re you talking about now?”

“The history of science, Towns. I bet you have no idea that the seventeenth century’s greatest British natural philosopher, Sir Isaac Newton, spent decades in addle-brained pursuit of Biblical prophecy. Knowing that is called perspective. You have no awareness that you’re at the center of something momentous, do you?”

He knew that was true.

Besides, the idea that the two of them were sharing drinks clouded clear thinking, so he took another sip.

“I’ll start from the beginning,” she said. “In ancient Greece, the philosopher Thales got the ball rolling …”

Towns tried to listen as she began with the dawn of philosophy in the West. The bar was low-lit enough to leave half her face in shadow while illuminating the other. He sipped and nodded and occasionally said, “Interesting,” while he told himself to play it cool.

An hour later, she was onto Copernicus and the troubles of the sixteenth century when she signaled for another pitcher. This one lasted into the nineteenth century. Then, as if she’d just remembered, she explained why he needed to read about Descartes and the problem of Newton being a mystic. Towns still pretended to listen.

The third pitcher arrived when she began on Darwin. Masumi finally showed signs the alcohol was taking effect when she stopped staring at her cup and began gesturing at him, as if he might understand better with her flailing arms.

“Excuse me for a minute,” Towns said.

He walked to the bathroom.

Once inside, Towns took a deep, centering breath and stared at himself in the mirror. He had no hopes for a romantic encounter, he told himself. He just wanted to end the evening without doing anything too stupid.

As he left the bathroom, he tripped over the doorsill, then stumbled to one knee. Masumi giggled a little.

“Come on,” she said. “It’s closing. I have beer in my apartment.”

Towns followed, lamb-like, hopeful for slaughter. “Great.”

“Don’t get any crazy ideas,” she said. “If we’re going to give a demonstration together, we might as well get to know each other. This is not a social call, in that sense.”

Excerpt from Bleedover by Curtis Hox.

Happy New Year and Free Story on Amazon

December 31, 2011 by Rose Andrade | 0 comments

Hi guys,

Writing briefly to wish you all a Happy New Year! May 2012 be an extraordinary and prosperous year to all indie authors and readers.

In celebration of the new year and our amazing new friends and supporters, we are offering two of our science fiction short stories free at Amazon on December 31st and January 1st. Below is a brief description of each. Please spread the news!

The Kafka Harrier

Near Future Science Fantasy

Word count: 2,321

In the future, being rude is a punishable offense, and one exacted in public. When the Kafka Harrier arrives to exact punishment, Mr. Alex Reed’s day goes from bad to worse.

(Warning: This story contains sexual content and graphic violence.)

The Red Sphere

Far Future Science Fantasy

Word count: 2,273

What happens to young men who must have sex with a woman at least once a year, or they spontaneously explode? Jonnie Grip learns the hard way. From the author of Bleedover comes a short story that’ll make you cringe and wish to never, ever, end up in the Red Sphere.

(Warning: This story contains sexual content.)

Thank you for your support.
Happy New Year!

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KDP Select Program: an Overview of Indie Authors Results

December 29, 2011 by Rose Andrade | 62 Comments

For the past weeks I’ve obsessively searched author boards and blogs for information about results on KDP Select. I must have read every post about it. Okay, maybe not all of them, but most of them.

I wanted to answer the question: How is KDP Select working for indie authors? While I didn’t find a definite answer, I observed a wide range of opinions on the subject, and I saw consistent patterns, which I share below.

Indie author’s perceptions of their KDP Select’s “free promotion”[i] results

Author’s responses fall into three main groups:

Outstanding performance group: These are the authors who reported excellent results. KDP Select’s free promotion propelled their e-books to the top of Amazon’s charts. They’ve seen thousands of downloads. They’ve also seen sales trickling to their other items. They know they’re part of an exclusive group who achieved something outstanding and are astonished by their results. A good example in this group is author David Wisehart, who’s currently blogging his amazing free promotion success (spoiler alert: almost 10K downloads!) and his sales volume after his promotion ended. Here are other success stories by Tonya Kappes, Rachel Thompson and Tattooed Writer. Also, as I write this post Joe Konrath announced that 23 of his e-books are going to be free on KDP Select.

Pleased majority group: Authors in this group are pleased with their results, even if those results are more modest than the group above. Most authors are in this category. These authors reported a wide range of downloads achieved by the promotion, ranging anywhere from 50 to 600. What binds such a wide range together is the fact that all of these authors reported they made the top 100 charts in their specific genres/categories, or even the Top 100 on Amazon’s Free on Kindle Store ranking. In some instances the exposure led to increases in sales of other items, reviews, or simply made the authors happy to see their e-books on some Amazon chart for the first time. Authors such as Marilyn Peake and B.C. Young are good examples in this category.

Unimpressed few group: A few authors are unimpressed (and even disappointed) with low download numbers. I encountered reports of downloads as little as nine, eleven, and fourteen after their promotions ended. (One post was all I could find where the author claims to have zero downloads. It wasn’t clear in the post if the free promotion was over or ongoing.)

Factors that can affect your KDP Select “free promotion” performance

Genre matters: Just like with e-books, the likelihood of getting thousands of downloads and becoming part of the “Outstanding performance group“ is higher if your title falls in one of the popular genres. I recall reading a post from an author whose literary title download volume was about 1/5 of her science fiction one. Same author, very different results. The more popular the genre of your e-book, the greater your chances for good numbers. Author Kirsten Mortensen wrote a post that echoes the same message.

Your self-pub age matters: Many authors in the “Outstanding performance group” appear to have (what I will call for a lack of better word) seniority. They’ve been at e-publishing for a while and usually have a number of selling e-books under their belts (and perhaps solid networking platforms). Therefore, new self-published authors who only have a few titles or less are likely to see lower download numbers (however, if their e-book’s genre is a popular genre, their chances of good performance increases).

Marketing may impact results: A large portion of authors attributed part of their KDP Select success to smart marketing strategies and additional promotions on the side. Many who have Twitter and Facebook presences saw a correlation between their posts and increases in downloads, while only a few saw no impact. Some authors attributed their success to strategically selecting the days to go free. Others, like authors David Wisehart and Ingrid Ricks attributed their success almost entirely to promotions on relevant blogs, such as Pixel of Ink. And some used strategic product placement to boost downloads (e.g., free Christmas-themed novels around Christmas time).

Multiple titles increase odds: Authors with several e-books enrolled on KDP Select have an advantage over authors with one or two titles only—that’s because under KDP Select’s rules each title receives up to five free promotion days per trimester. Therefore, if you have one e-book, you’ll be allowed five promotion days in a 90-day period. If you have, let’s say, 11 novels, you’ll be allowed 55 promotion days for the same 90-day period. I’ve seen authors who had enough books to receive 90 promotion days!

My decision on KDP Select

Since the majority of authors are pleased with the program, I decided to enroll. My husband, author Curtis Hox has three short stories and one novel that are going to be KPD Select soon. While I wait for two items to vanish from the other e-retailers, I enrolled two short stories: “The Kafka Harrier” and “The Red Sphere” on KDP Select.

On December 25th I scheduled two of my five free promotion days for our dystopian science fiction short story “The Kafka Harrier.” My decision was based on the fact that: (a) I was eager to test KDP Select; (b) “The Kafka Harrier” was a short story that had not sold a copy yet, so what’s to lose?

My free promotion results: “The Kafka Harrier” was downloaded 73 times in two days: 55 downloads on the Dec. 25th and the rest on Dec. 26th. Despite the small number, on Dec.25th “The Kafka Harrier” made it to its genre’s top 100 chart, for a good part of the day, then fluctuated for a few hours. That goes to show that genre matters when speaking about download volume.

Marketing improved my results: I purposely focused my promotional efforts on day one. Throughout that day, I consistently promoted my free story on Twitter, KindleBoards and Goodreads. I saw download increases happening soon after I posted it on KindleBoards. I posted it on Twitter about four times during the day, and the tweets contributed to small bumps in downloads. (The multiple tweets also caused two people unfollow me.) I couldn’t trace any downloads from Goodreads. On day two I promoted it minimally, and based on my day’s results (only 20 downloads), I confirmed that promotion makes a (big) difference. Therefore, I highly recommend that authors have a promotion strategy and not rely solely on KDP Select to find readers.

Overall experience on KDP Select: I think the promotion was beneficial: from zero to 73 downloads and a top 100 chart for a few hours. Nothing to complain about, but then again not enough to celebrate or do a happy dance. Also, I found the process of enrolling in KDP Select and scheduling my free promotion easy and straightforward.

My final observations on KDP Select and recommendations to other authors

As you may have noticed, I didn’t address the number of “borrows”[ii] that indie authors are receiving, for a number of reasons, which includes the fact that not everyone is reporting them. Conversely, those who reported are getting very few borrows. It seems that overall authors are less interested in making money from KDP Select’s fund than having the five free promotion days to gain exposure. Therefore, the real value of KDP Select for indie authors seems to be the five days of free promotion and the opportunities those can create.

If you want to take a chance with KDP Select, consider your odds of success based on the items above and set realistic expectations. Then, consider strategizing your use of the five days of free promotion to maximize results. Think of how you’re going to promote your work, when, and how often. And enjoy the ride. You’re likely to be pleased with the visibility that KDP Select can generate.

—————————

A final progress report on “The Kafka Harrier“

On December 27th, the day after the “The Kafka Harrier” promotion ended, the short story had zero sales. This appears to be a problem that other indie authors on KDP Select have indicated on the boards. I call it the KDP Select Cinderella Syndrome: during the free promotion days authors are turned into shining stars who dance gleefully on Amazon’s top charts, only to wake up the next morning and realize that all the magic is gone and sales are back to where they were. Let’s just hope that reports of the KDP Select Cinderella Syndrome are isolated cases and that it won’t turn into an epidemic among indie authors.

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Disclaimer: Please know that while I did my best to research this topic, this post is entirely based on my opinion, and your experience may differ from what I describe above. Also, since a lot of it is based on what I read on authors’ boards, bear in mind that many of them didn’t specify if the numbers reported were their final numbers (or after their promotions ended), while some did state that the promotions were still ongoing, which could change their reported numbers dramatically.

[i] Free Promotion: “You can offer any book enrolled in KDP Select free to readers for up to 5 days at your discretion during each 90-day KDP Select term.” Also, “You can pick the days when you want to run your free promotions, choosing to go one day at a time or offering your book free for multiple days in a row. The start and end times of your promotions will be approximately 12:00 AM Pacific Standard Time on the day it starts and approximately 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on the day it ends.” Retrieved from Amazon KDP Select on Dec. 28th, 2011.

[ii] About Borrows: You earn your share of Amazon’s KPD Select fund ($500,000 in December and at least $6 million throughout 2012) when readers borrow your books from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. Source: Amazon KDP Select on Dec. 29th, 2011.

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Bleedover’s First Review from Ritesh Kala’s blog

December 13, 2011 by Curtis Hox | 0 comments

Ritesh Kala‘s review

Dec 07, 11

bookshelves: science-fiction, reviewed, fantasy, mystery

Recommended for: Science fiction lovers

Read from December 04 to 07, 2011 — I own a copy

Posted here: http://riteshkala.wordpress.com

Bleedover is a novel which has elements of both fantasy and science fiction, just the way I like it! Let me start by talking a bit about the concept of ‘Bleedover’ which the author has created. All kinds of art such as books, movies as well as company logos are starting to get altered unexplainably. For example, the text of published books is altered, or new scenes get added to movies. The book’s protagonists find a way to harness this Bleedover and end up bringing the fictional world into reality. Once this fact is accepted, the book becomes a fast paced suspense thriller.Both the main characters subscribe to different views of what Bleedover is, how and for what it should be harnessed. Both of them live completely different lives. Dr Harriet Sterling is a tenured college professor who lives in her basement office, while Corbil Lyell is the head of a large conglomerate. This is a story about each trying to prove their worldview and their methodologies right. Their ‘war’ ends up hurting a number of people who are caught in the middle, with people ending up dead. The stark difference in attitudes of Dr Sterling and Corbin Lyell is beautifully portrayed. Dr Sterling plays by the rules mostly and is unwilling to hurt anyone in the process of proving her point. On the other end of the spectrum, Corbin Lyell is ready to do anything to prove himself right, including murders. He is so obsessed with beating Dr Sterling, that he ignores all risks and ends up paying dearly for it in the end.

As the story continues, there clashes become more intensive and the use of fictional characters in these fights was quite entertaining. It is something every boy has thought and argued about, who would win a fight between Superman and Spiderman, Fantastic Four and X-Men (Sorry, but these questions are NOT addressed in this book).

I would have given this book five stars if it was just a suspense thriller with some elements of science or fantasy. The writing is excellent for most parts, and the story is well constructed and fast paced, the way all thrillers should be. The relationship of both the main characters was developed in detail, clearly describing the history which leads them to be at loggerheads with each other. I also thought the emotions of each person came out very well (which many science fiction novels lack). The place where I found the story lacking was in the explanation of the concept of Bleedover. It remained unclear for large parts of the book, and how it went from the alterations of media works to the physical manifestation was not well brought out. This being the central idea on which the book is based, it was inexcusable. Also, I got somewhat lost in the pseudo-science as most of the science fiction parts were created rather than being based on scientific fact. I understand that the author had to develop a whole new language for the science stream he created, but here as well, better explanations would have made the story more enjoyable.

Overall, I would rate this book a solid four. However, people who cannot enjoy science fiction should stay away as they will not find this to be light reading, and would end up referencing Wikipedia repeatedly.

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Review of David Wisehart’s Devil’s Lair

December 11, 2011 by Curtis Hox | 2 Comments

Devil’s Lair by David Wisehart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A revolution is taking place in the world of fiction. And David Wisehart’s novel, Devil’s Lair, is in the vanguard of smashing through the old guard’s defenses. For this, alone, he should be praised.

He writes a novel that takes chances, without the slightest hint he wrote it for anyone other than himself (and those who would like what he likes). It’s a story of William of Ockham’s quest for the Holy Grail to heal a wounded land blighted by the plague in the 14th century. The Grail is rumored to be at Satan’s feet, buried as he is at the very center of Hell. Ockham, along with Boccaccio, a young girl, and a hero, take the Lance of Christ into the depths.

The novel’s first half is constructed for character development and world building (all done above ground). We get to see medieval Italy at a pivotal time in history when the old feudal system would give way to a rising middle class after a third of the population died from disease. The novel’s pacing, slower at first, allows us to experience Wisehart’s representation of our main characters as persons. William is a rationalist with a clear sense of his duty to God’s will. Boccaccio, the poet, is made of less sturdy stuff with his silver coin in his shoe and his love of fine clothing and books. Nadja is simple and naïve, an epileptic “witch” who sees visions, while Marco is a confused and conflicted former Templar who must lead them into Hell.

Without giving any spoilers, I’ll just mention that the second half of the book is the descent into Dante’s Inferno. You can sense Wieshart’s love of the first part of the Divina Commedia. We meet many of the usual suspects, and if there’s any critique it’s in how fast he moves through them. Wisehart, though, playfully and artfully forces his characters to find new ways to continue their descent.

The balance between the two parts comprise a coherent structure that works splendidly. Moreover, you can read this novel just for the language. From page one, you’re immersed in the mid 14th century. This is a book that requires the use of a dictionary, even for those who have studied the time period. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at his use of diction. All of it felt perfectly suited to the task of world building.

And, of course, it also works to build characters we can believe. William strikes me as the most fully drawn. From his insistence that eating less is a virtue, or as Wisehart writes, “Each spoon of porridge was a thesis much debated between his teeth.” Wisehart also pulls back his psychic distance, moving effortlessly from the close third to the omniscient. In one key passage he tell us about the effects of an earthquake, or the fact, “A moment undid the glories of an age,” with complete authorial command.

Others critics have noticed a few important facts: how he channels Umberto Eco, or how the novel challenges the expectations of what we’d probably get if this were traditionally published, etc. In the end, you feel as if the story is told the way the author wants it told. And for that, this novel goes beyond simple entertainment into the traditional category of Literature: a text that resonates with meaning.

Of course, it’s still a genre novel within the broader sphere of popular writing. It’s a realist, historical fantasy. But there’s no sense of allegory here or its opposite: a faux sincerity meant to be clever. This has what Eco calls a postmodern awareness, a wink, that what is being told is important but not so much it would make itself something it’s not. It should be read as entertainment. And that is good enough.

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