For Readers (and Authors, too)
This blog is for anyone that reads my books, as well as for anyone else who is self-publishing, thinking about self-publishing, or just curious about what it’s like to be an author during rapidly changing times. Whenever you visit here, I hope you’ll share your own comments and thoughts. If you’d like to know whenever I post a new entry, please type your email address into the box in the right-hand column and check the appropriate box (and the newsletter one, too, while you’re at it).
Taking the Plunge – Book Six Chapters Posting Now
The first drafts of most of my books developed pretty naturally, the plots evolving relatively easily under my fingers as I typed. Later drafts were usually much more challenging, as I tried to improve the text in various ways – making new characters more credible, adding action where needed and so on. Those challenges were often daunting and sometimes gave me fits.
This was particularly true with my last book, due to the fact that I adopted a particularly abstract technical backdrop – blockchain – and because I decided on an including a antagonist who was suffering from mental illness. The first decision made it challenging to add action and tension, and the second made the construction of a believable character daunting – credibly describing insanity is very difficult indeed.
Next time around, I vowed, I would make life easier for myself. In Book Six, if there was to be a Book Six, I would come up with a clear, simple, plot line that would make the task of writing the book a breeze. read more…
Writing the Frank Adversego Thrillers: Where the Details Come From
One of the advantages authors of fiction have over writers of non-fiction is that the burdens of research are greatly reduced. How much they are lessened depends on what type of fiction the author chooses to write. For genres like science fiction and fantasy, the need can arguably vanish entirely, especially if the author is already sufficiently well read in her genre to carry around in her head all the necessary reference points needed to provide the reader with a familiar and satisfying narrative experience.
In my chosen genre, the burden falls somewhere in the middle. Most of what I rely on thematically I’ve witnessed and remembered, and to the extent I need supporting details they can be found at Wikipedia, through Google street view, and so on, in real time, as I write. But as long-time readers will know, each of my books, after the first one, has focused on a specific technology or industry – electronic voting, data centers, artificial intelligence and blockchain. Typically, my knowledge in these areas is general (or, in the case of blockchain, sketchy at best). I usually need to read a half dozen books or so, as well as consult other sources, before I feel ready to get down to business. read more…
Frank Will Ride Again (into Book Six)!
Well, it’s been awhile (for which my apologies), and doubtless many of you have been wondering: What’s up with Frank?
In a nutshell, Frank’s been taking his time figuring out what his adventure might be, and how it might unfold. The good news is that he’s now got that mostly in focus. Here’s what to expect and when.
Interview: “Andrew Updegrove – A Cybersecurity Expert With a Knack for Running Into Situations”
One of the free eBook newsletters I regularly advertise through, called ManyBooks, kindly offered to interview me in June as their Author of the Day They asked unusually good questions, and I enjoyed responding. You can find the full interview here. And below is a sample to capture your interest. read more…
Guest Post: The Four Marketing Techniques That Work Best For Authors
In an industry as diverse as publishing, it’s no wonder that book marketing comes in all different shapes and sizes — which means that there’s a lot of differing advice out there when it comes to which actions to take. As a self-published author, you might be familiar with all of those lists that tell you that you “must do” this or you “must do” that if you want your book to sell, which can leave you pretty overworked, or (worse) paralyzed by the sheer number of things you’re supposed to do.
Most authors would be smart to focus on the few marketing techniques that have actually been shown to work — again and again. Without further ado, here are the four universal marketing techniques that I’ve found can benefit all authors. read more…
The Blockchain Revolution is Available (and on Sale)!
That’s right, The Blockchain Revolution, a Tale of Insanity and Anarchy, is available now at Amazon, And for the next week, it will be sale priced (in eBook format) at just $0.99. You can (and I hope will) buy it here: https://amzn.to/2Izy5qb It’s also available in paperback here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733714413 What better way to spend a lazy Saturday morning than to curl up with yet another story about how life as we know it could end as a result of weak cybersecurity?
If that doesn’t spin your wheels, how about this? The Blockchain Revolution also skewers venture capitalists (again – but hey, they deserve it), follows a face-off between U.S. President Henry Dodge Yazzi and a Putin-esque Russian president named Sergei Denikin, and introduces a new Adversegian animal antagonist named Fang (he’s a squirrel). What more could you want? read more…
The Blockchain Revolution is Done!
Yes, it’s true. I just sent my final galley corrections off and should be uploading the files to Amazon and everywhere else next week. When I do, I’ll sale-price the eBook version at $0.99 and let you know of it here. If you’re looking for a fun read, I’d be delighted if you would give it a try and then post a brief review (one or two sentences is fine) at Amazon – I’ll very much need at least a dozen favorable reviews before I can get my promotional campaign into high gear.
So what else should I tell you? read more…
The Doodlebug War in Audio is Now Available (and on Sale!)
Book three in my Frank Adversego thriller series is now available for just $7.49 at Amazon. And, for reasons known only to Amazon, the first two are as well for the time being, and for the same price. You can find The Alexandria Project here, The Lafayette Campaign is here, and The Doodlebug War here. If you’re an Audible member, the links are here, here and here.
I’d love to get a few reviews posted at Audible for each one, so if you’re interested in listening to one and posting a review, please let me know which one you’d like to review and I’ll send you a free download link.
Book Five Update
It’s been a while since I’ve posted and figured it’s high time I provided an update on how the book is going, how it’s changing, and when it will be out. So here goes. read more…
The Lafayette Campaign is Available and On Sale as an #Audiobook for Just $7.47!
For those of you who have enjoyed reading my four thrillers in eBook or print (number 5 will be out shortly), you can now listen to them as well, narrated by NYT best-seller narrator Roger Wayne. The first book, The Alexandria Project, was released in August, and now my eerily prophetic tale of election hacking, titled The Lafayette Campaign, a Tale of Elections and Deceptions is out as well. And for a limited time, it’s sale-priced at just $7.47, so get it while it’s 70% off at Amazon or at Audible.
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