Thursday, August 25, 2016

Bitter Harvest of a Dying Bloom Available Now!


Here it is, friends! The third book in the series is finally done, and available as either a paperback or Kindle edition. FINALLY!


This book was a challenge in so many ways. I think I first finished it in 2002, but had been working on it, off and and on, starting around 1997 or 98. I did manage to go from point a to point b, then decided I was simply too young at the time, to have written such a book WELL. I planted seeds, then had to go out and live my life a bit longer, and experience aging and loss and illness before I could really do this one justice.


I think I managed it this time, and since I am my own harshest critic, this means it has lived up to some unreasonably high standards.

First review so far:

"Began reading Book III Tuesday morning. Yes, you've done it again; I'm sucked in once more, sat right there at the table with Tamlin & Ami as they discussed Neal. Hate when I have to put it down! Congratulations...you are an amazing talent!"

Curious? Give it a whirl. Even if you haven't read the first two books, don't worry. The really cool thing about all of them is that each one can stand on its own. You can read one, or all, in sequence, or out of sequence. It doesn't matter.

Of course, I would be thrilled and delighted if you read all three, in order, gave me glowing reviews on Amazon, and kept begging me for Book IV, but...it;s really up to you. I hope you enjoy the read.

And yes, I have begun Book IV, which will be called "Western Wynde." Do you know the old poem?

O Western Wynde, when wilt thou blow
That the small rain down can rain?
Christ, that my love were in my arms
And I in my bed again!

At some point, I will share some excerpts on my website. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Are You a Kindle Reader?

New, lower price on Kindle editions of "O Fortuna" and "Grievous Unto Us."

Only $4.99 per title! Follow the links to purchase.

Like Leaves, We Touch, Book 1: O Fortuna

Like Leaves, We Touch, Book 2: Grievous Unto Us

Like Leaves, We Touch Series - More Book Giveaways!

The copy  of "O Fortuna" I offered over the weekend was snapped up SO FAST, I decided to offer another, as well as a copy of "Grievous Unto Us."

The really cool thing about this series is the books do not have to be read in order. Each volume stands on its own as an individual novel.

Below are the links to the entry page. No purchase needed to enter. Good luck, and happy reading!

Like Leaves, We Touch, Book 1: O Fortuna

Like Leaves, We Touch, Book 2: Grievous Unto Us

Sunday, January 31, 2016

O Fortuna Giveaway!

Hello!

I am giving away one paperback copy of "Like Leaves, We Touch, Book 1: O Fortuna."

Sadly, I goofed on my greeting message and cannot go back to edit it. Next time I'll know better, and will not repeat the mistake!

To clarify:

You DO NOT have to make a purchase in order to enter. Just follow the link below and enter for a chance to win if you wish.

One winner will be randomly chosen from the first 25 entries.

Good luck, and happy reading!

O Fortuna Giveaway


Thursday, June 4, 2015

Available Now!

After months of careful, preparation, I'm happy to announce that Like Leaves, We Touch, Book 1: O Fortuna is now available for purchase in a really nice trade 6 x 9 paperback edition.

It took some time, but all the formatting gaffes have been eliminated, and I am well-satisfied with the final proof copy.

Not everyone either has, or likes to read on, a Kindle, and luckily CreateSpace provides a nice alternative for authors who wish to publish in both formats.

If you decide to purchase and read, thank you! Feel free to contact me with comments/feedback any time. All electronic contact info is listed on the back page of the book.

Enjoy...

Saturday, March 7, 2015

More re-formatting

I have been learning a lot about self-publishing a hard copy of a novel in the past few weeks. There are so many more possibilities now than there were when I sought out iUniverse in Y2K. At the time, iUniverse was a good deal at only $199. I still did a lot of the formatting work myself, using their template, and they would not allow me to design my own cover. I could send my graphic, and they would decide upon the best way to utilize it. They did a decent enough job, but it did not end up being quite what I had envisioned. However, it would have cost extra money to re-do it in any major way, so I let it go. Ditto for the formatting of the interior text. There were mistakes, but only a certain number of them could be corrected for no charge, so I had to let a bunch of those things go, too. Tried to tell myself that inconsistent hyphens really wouldn't detract from the content, but you know what? Every time I open that copy of O Fortuna, they leap off the page at me, screaming, "Amateur!"

O.K., so perhaps I overdo the fastidiousness, but the fact is, to my eye, it looks sloppy, and I suspect it looks sloppy to the reader, also. If I expect to be taken seriously despite the fact that I am self-publishing, it has to be even more perfect than what a "real" publisher would do. If it's not, I perpetuate the myth that no self-published author is worth reading.

Don't be getting your knickers in a twist; I do not agree with that, and I can overlook the sort of errors I can't overlook in my own work if the story is a good one. However, that is the Attitude I have gotten from other writers in some alleged writers' "support" groups. If your goal as an author is NOT to be picked up by a "real" publisher and thrust into a particular niche, then you are not a "real" author.

Oh, puh-LEEZE! I'm as real as anyone. I live, move, breathe, work a day job, make music, and WRITE. I mean, SERIOUSLY WRITE, dammit! But I write what I want to write: the sorts of books I would have loved to get my hands on over my years of reading. I also use them as vehicles to process, and lighten, my own personal load of baggage. All writers do that. If one tells you they do not, then I believe they are lying.

O.K., off the soapbox, Jehan. Back to formatting and re-formatting, and this era's changes in self-publishing.

I know very well not everyone is a fan of Amazon. However, I LOVE Amazon. Nearly everything I could possibly want may be found there, from coffee, to books, to music, to hand lotion. As if that wasn't good enough, NOW they have made it possible for me to publish my books, FREE, via Kindle Direct Publishing and Create Space. It's a no-brainer.

My proof copy of O Fortuna, received on Thursday of this past week, is beautiful, but there were things I needed to tweak on the covers, and as for the interior, it was lovely, BUT I forgot to put in page numbers and headers, and thanks to the way I had spaced the text, the book came out to a whopping 642 pages and weighs a ton! Reformatting was definitely in order. I did all that, and now am reading the hard copy to see if there are any further little quirky errors that leap off the page at me. Sad to say, I have found a few, which probably no one else would notice, but bug the piss out of me. It's time-consuming, but that's all it costs me: my time. When I upload the corrected file, it will not cost me a red cent, and within 24 hours I will be sent an e-mail informing me that the files have been processed, and I may order a new proof copy.

Oh, and did I mention that I managed to cut the number of pages down from 642 to 430, just by fixing the spacing? That brings cost down for everyone: me, the author, and you, the readers. What's not to love about that?

Author copies are not expensive on Create Space. On iUniverse, I think I got maybe five bucks off the list price, which they had set in the region of twenty bucks. That was a lot of money for a paperback in Y2K, and who wants to pay THAT MUCH for a paperback?

List prices are also more reasonable at Create Space. I had to jack the price up twenty-five cents more than I wanted to, because my set price was three cents lower than they required. Three cents! How silly, that they will not let me sell at a price three cents less than I want to charge, but I shan't quibble, and I expect people who buy the book won't quibble, either.

Maybe iUniverse has improved since I published that first edition, but they have priced themselves well out of my reach, and I think the copy Create Space did for me, even with my silly errors, looks a lot more professional and classy than the iUniverse copy.

So far, I am not impressed by the lack of response I have received from iUniverse in regard to unpublishing those earlier editions. I want them OFF the market NOW, because they are no longer up to my standard in many, many ways. I guess I will have to make a phone call and see if I can get the wheels rolling in the desired direction..

My next task to work upon is self-promotion. I really, really suck at that!

Oh, well, tomorrow is another day...

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Announcing Book 2!


Well, it's done, and it's live on the Amazon site. Snow days are good for something, I guess. I wasn't really expecting to do this yesterday, but somehow all the pieces fell into place, and I made it all the way to the end of "Grievous Unto Us." From there, a simple matter to create a new cover, which features the same image as the previous edition, but a new title, and lastly, uploading the actual book. I accidentally sent the PDF file, which does not format well, and when I discovered that error, I promptly sent over the HTML file, and now all is well. One of these days, perhaps I'll remember the proper formatting sequence, and thus not have to issue apologies.

I'm really pleased with the way this story grew in the re-working. The original edition was not bad, exactly, but within a week after the release in 2001, I was thinking I could have done better.

Fast forward to 2015, and I did in fact do it better. I'm pleased and have no regrets this time around.

Interested in reading? You'll find the book here. If you do decide to read it, and you like it, please consider posting a review.

Thanks, and enjoy!

I'm off to work on the third book now...