I know this is coming off as gloating, but I think Amazon has a 3 list limit on a book’s actual page. So Sleeper of the Wildwood Fugue is only noted as being on Action/Adventure Romance books, Action/Adventure Romance eBooks, and Action/Adventure Fantasy ebooks. I got curious and found this:
Bottom Right!
You can see me at #86 on the Epic Fantasy eBook list. I’m #90 on the Sword & Sorcery eBook list. This post is just to show that I was there. We’ll see how long I stick around there. Be nice if these list rankings would show up on the book’s site. Again, thank you to everyone who has helped me get this far.
So I’m looking for some opinions. I’m going through 99designs to get a cover for the summer release and I’ve created a poll to see what people think. Keep in mind that these designs are not entirely final. Some fine-tuning will be done since the site gives only 4 days for an artist to enter an idea.
Please vote and give your feedback on the poll. You can still comment here, but I don’t think the artist will notice anything put on the blog. Thanks in advance and I have until Thursday to choose a finalist.
This book is a compilation of short stories written by my Fifth Graders in Oklahoma and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to show them that their book is traveling across the world.
I cannot promise perfect literature, but I can promise interesting and surprising stories that were created by hard working and talented 10-13 yr olds.
I know this is a topic that can start on-line battles, end friendships, and reveal some of the most colorful language ever. Yet I’ve been asked to talk about Marvel Heroes Vs DC Heroes, which implies that I have to choose a side. I collected a lot in High School, but it was mostly Marvel. Spider-Man and X-comics to be specific. I still have Superman stories that involved his Death and Return as well as Batman Knightfall. A few other odds and ends from DC, but not much. It was the DC cartoons and movies I went after, but then Marvel took the lead in the cinema. All of that has led me to this thought:
Why not both?
I’m very much out of the loop with the comics now. A lot of changes have been made and I walked away when Spider-Man lost his marriage. If you thought that was cool then fine, but I didn’t like it. It happened when I didn’t have enough money to keep up with things, so it made the decision easier. I still hope to gather more graphic novels of ‘Fables’, but that’s another company. I think. Anyway, Marvel and DC seem to be big into reinventing all of their characters and erasing the history to start anew. So my knowledge is useless. Both are obsessed with big events while I enjoyed the one issue story or something that didn’t involve the fate of everything. Very little low scale stuff from what I’ve been told by my friends who are still reading. So this is really the opinion of a former comic book collector/reader. Which means it isn’t much.
Both companies have larger than life heroes that border on ridiculous when you really think about it. Superman is obscenely powerful due to the era that was originally made in. Batman seems to be even more unbeatable simply because he’s Batman. Hulk’s strength is actually limitless as long as he stays angry. Wolverine’s healing factor ranges from immediate regeneration to an hour to heal a papercut. Take any heroes in comics and you’ll find logic flaws.
If that’s the case then how can you claim one company is better than the other? You pick a favorite and stick to it, I guess. I admit that there’s something to brand loyalty, but what if there’s a really good story on the other side? Batman will not show up to take away your comics if you get into the Ms. Marvel comic. Iron Man doesn’t care that you’re also reading Wonder Woman. This probably shows that I have little interest or knowledge of competitive business. Stems from thinking that one should enjoy their entertainment and never block themselves off from another venue.
I think isn’t what the person asking was expecting. They probably wanted me to say which I prefer (hence the versus) or simply point out differences. The thing is that there really aren’t many differences any more. Heroes still die and come back on both sides. Powers are still at the whim of the writers. Villains are still alive and escaping jail whenever they feel like it. Only the specific stories are different and those are starting to seem oddly similar. Seriously, can someone tell me how ‘Secret Wars’ isn’t simply the Marvel version of ‘New 52’ or how ‘Necrosha’ isn’t the X-Men version of ‘Blackest Night’? We really are at a point where the two companies are singing this song:
What does everybody else think? Keep it civil.
(Sorry that was a big rant. I really do like most of the characters on both sides. Just frustrated that it seems like they’ve become lazy with a lot of their storytelling and that’s what I got into back in high school.)
Answer: Three people. Nathan M. Beauchamp, Joshua Russell, and Rachael Tanger. Josh and Nathan wrote Chimera. Rachael gave the book a thorough editing. The book will be launched on April 24. Meanwhile, why not find out a bit more about these new authors with a good ol’ interview?
The Usual
This is the second time in a row when I interview a creative team instead of an author, and I confess it’s fun. So, what inspired you to write this book?
NMB: Josh (my co-writer) and I started talking about writing a book together three years ago. He’s a film guy and I’m a fiction writer and I think we were both enamored with the idea of trying to merge those two disciplines and create something unique in the process. We drank a little bit too much scotch…
Just wanted to let everyone know that my novel ‘The Vanishing’ is free on Amazon from today until the 20th of April so if you want to give it a go click on the link below.
There are 27 million paperback books on Amazon.com, 9 million hardcovers, and 3 million Kindle e-books.
But there are only 180,000 audio books on Amazon.com. The audio book market has much better odds.
You can publish an audio book even through self-publishing. Amazon lets you publish an audio book through the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), which makes your audio book available on:
There is a market for audio books. Many truck drivers enjoy listening to audio books on long trips. They’re great for anyone taking a long trip (even kids). But they’re not just for trips. Anytime you’d just like to relax and enjoy having a book read to you. Or you could even read and listen together (check out Amazon’s Whispersync—you need an unabridged audio book with a nearly…
The Magna Carta paved the way for the emergence of the House of Commons and democracy as we know it today and became the foundation for the US Constitution.
To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the ‘sealing of the Magna Carta,’ Blackheath Dawn is running a FREEcompetition. Winners will receive a cash prize of £250.00 and a publishing and media exposure package worth in excess of £250.00.
For those interested, please keep in mind that the closing date is 23 April, 2015.
I didn’t start writing Book 11 of LEGENDS OF WINDEMERE, so let’s just get that out of the way. I was going to after the Wednesday TWUBS chat, but Merchant of Nevra Coil has been bugging me. Keep feeling like I missed something with it, so I’m doing an editing run on it. I’ve been cleaning up some explanations of events, but it’s hard because many of them are supposed to remain vague due to the big memory curse that’s part of the overall story. Still, I think it’s something else that’s irking me. Keep in mind that this is the book that lost 1/4 of the original when my hard drive died. That’s probably another factor in my worry. At this rate, I might not start in on the next book until May, which means I’ll finish it in June. We’ll see what happens since I’ll have the last week in April free if I don’t tackle the project.
In regards to the TWUBS Chat, I want to thank those who showed up. John W. Howell, the mysterious Mr. Bill, and Ionia Martin helped keep me occupied for the 2 hours. I do apologize for vanishing a few times, but I kept getting booted from the TWUBS site. This forced me to try from Twitter itself, which didn’t work too well. As far as timing, I don’t think I’ll do a midday, midweek again. I had some activity, but not as much as the nightly ones. So I might keep it on a night schedule or try for a Sunday morning one in the future. The next TWUBS Chat will tentatively be May 2nd 8-11 PM, which is a Saturday night. I’m in the middle of 2-4 months of birthdays and anniversaries.
I feel like I got very little done, but I’m still exhausted. Getting back into the habit of ushering the kid off to school is part of it. I keep planning to get more sleep after he’s gone, but it never happens. Correction: I did it one day this week and woke up to 100 emails. Not pretty. That isn’t counting tweets, blog comments, and other notifications that required my attention. As far as the blog goes, some of the character interviews were successful. Then there was the ‘Gabriel/Baron’ one that got nothing. Probably be a while before I attempt it again, but it’s getting dangerous. Spoilers are a high risk.
I did get some outlining done and I’m feeling like I’ll have to rewrite the series list again. So the return of old projects that I keep thinking are done is probably weighing down on me. There are still so many series that I’m still on the fence about in terms of are they worth doing. After dividing ‘Project Phoenix’ into separate adventures with only a slight connection, I have a lot of heroes in limbo. Some have been handed off to other series, but many are simply sitting around. I’m hoping to send them somewhere soon. Though the book editing comes first.
A lot of personal drama has been going on too, but that’s going to stay on this side of the computer. It’s affecting my mood and energy though. I’m finding myself at the point where I wish I had a haven or at least the opportunity to get away from everyone for a week. Just figure certain things might go to hell around here if I do. Guess you can say I feel trapped, but I’m fighting to make sure I’m productive.
Plans for the week?
Edit Merchant of Nevra Coil.
Choose a cover for Ichabod Brooks & the City of Beasts.
Outlining if I have time.
Promoting books.
Cooking and biking, but not at the same time.
Going over series list, which seems to be stuck at 35 with various series and one-shots. I keep knocking some down while new ones crop up.
Laundry.
It’s looking like another low energy week, so we’ll see how far I get.
Here is a trick question: Who is N.J. Tanger?
