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Smashwords: Read An Ebook Week 3-9th
Image via CrunchBase
The Smashwords, Read AnEbook Week is on.
All books are now listed as half-off with this code: REW50.
And my books can be found Here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/284822
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Among Bright Stars… (Neo-human #2)
Humanity’s future, isn’t human…
Nadia Korelia, Falcanian queen, has spent the last three years assembling together her sibling Morningstars. Artificial people, who are in every way stronger, smarter and more beautiful. Among these Morningstars are Temujin Sardur, a Mongolian buccaneer, who raided pleasure boats in the Andaman Sea, Guillaume LaSalle, a Gascony spaceship Commander, who participated in bringing alien life to Earth, and Darius Noorani, the 12th Imam foretold by Islamic religion. Can Nadia unite her fellow Morningstars, even as the Falcanians use war, to broker for peace?
It’s finally here, Neo-human book 2!
A few thoughts. The book here is very different from the draft I began with, though the plot is largely the same, how it gets to where its going is somewhat different. Many of the changes came about because these first three Neo-human books were written as a single unit, not unlike LoTR, and the second book behaved too much like “the middle” of the novel than a story on its own. To be sure, the larger story arc needed to be, and is served here, though I made a point to connect the grander arc to the micro focus on Mornngstars and what they are. In fact doing so added another layer of meaning which I didn’t intend to touch on until further down the road in the series.
If “Starblade” was the story of Frederika learning about who, and what she is, then “Among Bright Stars…” is Nadia‘s story exploring she and Frederika‘s common Morningstar origins.
I’m going to forewarn you, there’s a little something for everyone to HATE in this book. It could be the whole Muslim messiah presented as both a Robot and a fierce Westernizer/reformer. After Benghazi, I made a special effort to tick up that plot a bit… Or, it could end up being Princess Sitara‘s life choice – Which will only seem radical depending upon your point of view on the matter – Though its sure to annoy some contingent who think science fiction‘s job is to support one particular party line. On that same note, I’m sure the whole Annunaki riff will grate a few people the wrong way as well. But, I don’t try to please everyone, or anyone but myself first and foremost when I write.
*A sharp eye will note, the Table of Contents (TOC) is different in the Amazon version compared to the Smashwords (aka all other retailers) TOC. That couldn’t be avoided. Kindle was being a pain and wouldn’t read the Table of Contents as it was formatted for Smashwords (which was odd as it had every other time) so I needed to build it a different way. Which is why the epigraph is displayed as it is on the Amazon book.
Cyber Monday Ebook Sales!
Black Monday may be gone, but Cyber Monday is just around the corner! Check out some great ebook deals – for less than the price of a sandwich you can feed your imagination!
http://www.amazon.com/lm/R17NP7HPI2V7ZB/
Be sure to check out the link, lots of great books to read!
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Neo-human…
As many of you are aware, I’ve been rewriting/editing book two of what had been The Falcanian Legacy Series. In that process I began to reconsider the layout of my series, and what it was all about. Book two’s rewrite also made it clear I needed to go back into book 1 and make it more continues with the explanations I was providing for the Morningstars in the now retitled book 2 Among Bright Stars…
The series has been renamed Neo-human, given my revelation that the universe I created is not just about Falcanians, but in a large part, the Morningstars, who are to become the human species inheritors.
Book 1 has also been retitled to its original title of Starblade, no more colons, each book will have a title all to itself. Reason number one for this is it means I won’t be filling the cover full of words or at least only the words that need to be there.
Titles are as follows, subject to change.
1. Starblade
2. Among Bright Stars…
3. Stormangel
4. A Flag Full of Stars
5. Unification
6. Apotheosis
The relaunched series begins with Starblade, out now, and for a limited time, only 99 cents.
A Giveaway: On the Forge of War & The First Technomancer
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/103412
Promotional price: $0.00
Coupon Code: JG88H
Expires: June 10, 2012
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/156938
Promotional price: $0.00
Coupon Code: XB34Z
Expires: June 10, 2012
The contest didn’t go smashingly well… no one played, and here I thought I came up with some challenging questions. I figure a straight giveaway might go better. So with these coupon codes, you can pick up your free copies of On the Forge of War, and The First Technomancer over at Smashwords.
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And You’re No Amanda Hocking…
Amazon Kindle (Photo credit: agirregabiria)
You know, I don’t want to sound like a curmudgeon, and contrarian… but I really hope to never read that phrase ever again. Usually it’s offered up by other writers trying to give well-meaning (but not always, and I think often with ulterior motives) advice on self-publishing/indie authorship. They do so regarding matters of editing, and proof reading, as if they hold the keys to the kingdom and what they’re telling writers is some sort of big secret, when, well it’s not at all, but regurgitated truisms. And I also notice, those who are very quick to nod their head and tell other authors how to go about their work, aren’t so much invested in the indie author community so much as using it to gain a leg up in Big 6 publishing.
Can we get this straight? Amanda Hocking didn’t sell a bunch of books because she was a great grammarian, or editor. She herself says as much. However she did make a point to say, when she suddenly found herself in a whirlwind of fame that she targeted a specific niche, and wrote what she thought would appeal to that market. That I think is her actual secret to success, nothing more, nothing less. It was not about dotting ‘I’s, or the placement of question marks.
You know what? I do not want to be the next Amanda Hocking. I want to be me, with my own style, and writing quirks. Firstly, I enjoy the freedom of being an indie author. Part of that freedom is an editorial one. I would lose that were I to sign up with a big publisher. Somehow I am doubtful Miss Hocking still gets a final say on her work. Other writers, unless I invite them in, do not, and should not have a say in my writing, or publishing process. To presume to lecture, is to presume to tell a painter what brushstrokes they are allowed to make.
To me writing is an art, not a science. Don’t grind it down, and turn it into a lifeless, bland paste.
What set this post off? Well I stumbled on a blog post, which presumes to give just such advice. It might be well-meaning, it might have other purposes. The trigger however was, when in the comments, I see someone remark that ‘self-publishing seems like a nightmare’. Wait, what? That has not been my experience, overall I’ve enjoyed Amazon Kindle, and Smashwords. I take umbrage that this blogger, who does not seem invested in the indie author community, but as a means to get a big contract, which is fine if that’s what you think your brass ring is. Me, I think its overrated — is presenting a misrepresentation of indie authorship. The behemoths which are the Big 6 publishers, are imploding as an industry, vast sinking ships, not knowing how to deal with a sudden lack of gatekeepers. Why would anyone want to jump on that ship? Why would a writer volunteer to act as gatekeeper for a broken system. I can only assume it’s not about artistic integrity.
Ironically, were such rigorous views in place before hand, there never would have been an Amanda Hocking to begin with.
Related, I highly recommend Lin Robinson’s Rules, over at Indies Unlimited. He often says, the only rules one needs worry about satisfying are the body of published work which are filled with all the things you’re not allowed to do as a writer. They’re not nearly as stringent as one might think.
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