Another Gift For You

I don't normally post on weekends, but in the spirit of holiday giving, I'm sending a gift your way. It's a coupon code for COPING MECHANISMS at Smashwords. Enter code GY23P and the price will drop to ZERO. The coupon is only good through Dec. 6th, so use it now. You can download the story in just about any digital format.

And while you're there, I hope you'll browse my other offerings. Feel free to pass the code along to your friends.

Enjoy!

Stats and the Author Ego

Yesterday's talk about supporting others, hit counters, and the author ego led me to today's post. (And thanks for all the comments).

A note – it's not a particularly 'fun' post today, although I don't mean it to come across as whining, but if you'd rather go off and play, here's a book cover challenge someone posted on Twitter. Enjoy (and if you play, feel free to post your results in the comments.)

Author egos tend to be fragile things. Every time we release something to the public, we fear it's going to crash and burn. So, here are some ego-wrinklers.

Author J.A. Konrath swears that giving books or short stories away, including via piracy, is still good for the author. He cites his Kindle sales figures, saying he's now making more money than he ever did via his traditional publisher's advances and royalties.

However, he had a strong-selling series of mass market books, and a hefty list of offerings. He's also the consummate promoter. I don't think he can generalize and say his route is the one to follow, because there are too many variables in the mix.

Decking the Walls

In addition to getting some of our furniture delivered, we had about a week off from contractor action. In other words, our home was ours for a while.

We've got the installation date for our countertops at last. And, as I feared, this was indeed the one item that fell well outside the window the company had given us when we ordered the materials. So, instead of today, it's one week from today before we have a kitchen that looks like a kitchen. It'll still be a few more days before everything else is hooked up and usable, but I'm looking forward to having a sink. And a stove. And a dishwasher that isn't in the middle of the living area.

But the place is beginning to look and feel like home, and I think it's because I finally got out the hammer, ladder and picture hangers and decked the walls with our personal (and familiar) belongings.

RomCon 2

Thanks to Elizabeth for some great advice on getting over those writing hurdles.

And I see I've passed the 200 follower mark. Thanks to everyone! I promised a party, and a party we shall have. I want to finish my RomCon recaps first, but we're definitely going to celebrate. Friday is the official release day for NOWHERE TO HIDE, so there's lots to be happy dancing about.

There are still lots of opportunities to enter the contest for a free book or short story download. Remember, there's no charge to download the free sample of Coping Mechanisms to find the answer to that part of the question. Details on the contest tab.

And I brought back LOTS of swag from RomCon. More than one person should have, so I'm going to start giving it away.

What do I have? Books. Lots of books. Bookmarks, cover flats, recipes, and who knows what else. So, when my Smashwords contest is over on Friday, I'll start a Swag contest. Stay tuned.

On Monday, I promised to go into the details of the CSI presentation. Forensic specialist Tom Adair spent much of his time debunking myths about what a CSI really does. As I mentioned, he's highly qualified, and even did some consulting work for the CSI Las Vegas show at one time.

Sweetening the Contest Pot

What I'm reading: Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle; Finding Hope by Katie Reus

If you're taking advantage of the long weekend for the July 4th holiday, have a great one. Normally, I tried to avoid purely promotional posts on this blog, but heck. 1) It's a holiday and 2) It's my blog. And I wanted to share some good news.

A trip through my email inbox. First, I got a notice from The Wild Rose Press saying that NOWHERE TO HIDE is available for pre-orders in paperback. I wasn't expecting that so soon; the release date is officially July 16th, and that's when the digital versions are out. Normally, print comes after digital. So that was good news. You can buy it here.

Then, I was surprised to find an email from "Got Romance Reviews" saying they'd posted a review of NOWHERE TO HIDE. I never expect these before the book is actually released. I opened the email and learned that the site was actually "Got Erotic Romance." Now, I know the publisher casts a wide net for reviews, but I don't write erotic romance. Yes, I have sex-on-the-page, but usually one or two scenes per book, and then, only after my characters have earned it – usually at least halfway through the book. So what was I going to find?

Moving Farther E-Ward

What I'm reading: Playing with Barbie by Wynter Daniels; On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle

Thanks, Daniel for your thought-provoking post on e-publishing yesterday. I'm going to add some of my own thoughts today as a follow-up.

**NOTE: When I checked this morning, the Smashwords website was having problems. If the links aren't working when you read this, I hope you'll come back and try again--it's been one of those days.

My first publications were for e-publishers. This isn't the same as writing for a print publisher that also creates digital versions. Why? My first submission, a short-short story called Words had been accepted by a print magazine. Unfortunately (although not all that uncommon, I discovered), it went out of business before the story appeared. There's not a big market for short stories, and I moved on. A while later, I discovered a new romance publisher, The Wild Rose Press. They took short stories, so I submitted Words to them. It was accepted, and I was now a published author. Of course, back then, the only way to buy the story was through the publisher's website, and there weren't a lot of e-readers around. Most folks read e-books on their computers.


Fast-forward a year or so. I had a novel, Finding Sarah that was outside the relatively rigid box of what the New York print publishers were buying. I submitted it to Cerridwen Press, a new imprint of what was then the 500 pound gorilla of e-publishing, Ellora's Cave.

A brief digression here. Ellora's Cave filled a niche that readers wanted. They published erotic romance, and called it "Romantica." Readers could purchase and read these books and stories from the privacy of their homes. No carrying around steamy-hot covers.

Spring Cleaning, Sales, and Free Stuff

What I'm reading: Exposed, by Julie Elizabeth Leto

Hubby has been on half-time for a week now, and I don't know if that was the trigger, but all of a sudden he's moving forward with the plans to get the house on the market. Curb appeal. Repair. De-clutter. And after 20 years in this house, there's a lot of clutter, especially in his office.

What stays? What moves? Garage sale, recycling, trash, or donate? Anyone need a fish shaped squirt gun?


Or a trophy from a 1986 cricket racing championship?


What about a door—son's summer project when he was in high school?


And if you pay by the pound to move it, is it worth schlepping stuff you haven't touched in 10 years 'just in case it might come in handy?' I don't think so. But I love fresh starts. I think hubby prefers everything stay the same.

How do you deal with moving your life across the country?

Other news, none of which should add to any clutter at your house:

Keep Reading...
Wild Rose Press has put all its "Rosettes" (short-short) stories on sale for Spring. Two of mine, Second Chance Rose and Out of Sight are now available for 99 cents. That's less than a cup of coffee. I hope you'll take advantage of the pricing.

And Cerridwen Press has started a "Free Reads" program for short stories. What could be better than free? I've got a free read released this week, "Coping Mechanisms." It's another peek into the lives of Randy and Sarah.

Randy may have his cop partner, but Sarah is his new life partner, and she's aware that any new relationship has its little hiccups. Randy builds walls around his emotions. It's what makes him a good cop. But what works with a fellow cop isn't going to cut it with Sarah. Determined to dismantle his fortress, brick by brick if she has to, she confronts him after a difficult case has him retreating.

Here's a tidbit to get you started:

Sarah smiled at the sound of the front door opening. She placed the last slice of cheese on a water cracker, wiped her hands on a dish towel, and gave a quick finger-comb to her new hairdo before rushing out of the kitchen to greet her husband. Would he notice the gold highlights scattered though the otherwise dull brown? After all, he was a detective.

His night shifts had ended, and they could finally share a dinner followed by… Her grin widened as she thought of the night ahead. It had been awhile since both were awake enough to enjoy each other’s company. Kind of tough on newlyweds, but the special meal she’d planned should start making up for lost time.

Her smile faded as she saw Randy’s expression. “My God, what’s wrong?”

He pushed past her to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a Jameson. He downed half in one gulp and stared at some distant point. His lips were clenched, his brow furrowed like a freshly plowed field. Being a cop was a high-stress job, but it wasn’t like Randy to turn to whiskey. Her disapproval must have shown on her face. He glowered, and she felt the heat of rising tears behind her eyes.

“Not yet,” he growled. He pivoted and stalked to the spare room. Sarah heard the door close behind him.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to download and read it. You do have to go through the normal bookstore at the website, but since there's no payment involved, it's not that complicated. (My personal disclaimer—all these free stories share a single cover, so this is definitely a 'don't judge a book by its cover' situation.)

Tomorrow, join Mary Louise Wells here at Terry's Place. She's going to talk about having what it takes to make it in the world of writing—after you've written the book.