Gordon A. Kessler's Blog, page 5
June 8, 2012
Chocolate & Mystery Lovers’ Contest!
The top three words that cause mystery readers to snap their heads and say, “Huh?”
“Chocolate,” “Mystery” and “Contest”
And the winner is?
And it’s all rolled into one post: The Brainstorm Thriller Novel Cover Contest! is going on now through June 15!
You could win a box of the coolest chocolates ever: Christopher Elbow’s Artisan Chocolates–they’re designer, wildly flavored chocolates at their best! You’ve never tasted chocolate like this before, guaranteed–and you’ll love ‘em! Check it out!
To enter, all you have to do is select the most popular choice of eBook cover for my thriller novel Brainstorm (it’s a mystery, it’s a thriller, it involves a taste of sci-fi and now chocolates, too!). On June 16, in a random drawing from those who’ve picked the most popular of covers, I’ll select the winner. Be a part of it!
Filed under: Book Covers, Contests, Kessler's Thrillers, Readers' Interests Tagged: brainstorm, chocolate, chocolate contest, chocolate lover, chocolates, christopher elbow, contest, designer chocolates, eBook, ebook cover contest, ebooks, epublishing, fun contest, Gordon Kessler, indie author, kindle, Mystery, mystery contest, mystery lover, Novel, promoting ebooks, suspense, Thriller, win chocolates
June 7, 2012
I found a body yesterday—Jazzy Brass and I
No good news comes today. But there is news that brings some sort of resolution, at least to law enforcement. They tell me the death was neither accidental nor foul play. I am somewhat relieved. (for background see yesterday’s post: I just found a body)
It wasn’t on the TV news. I watched for it all day, hoping to steer my thoughts and emotions in one way or another down a rocky path. I searched the Internet for news. There was absolutely nothing. I became suspicious. At first, I wondered if there could be good reason for this information to be held from the public. A little frightening, if that were the case. Then I questioned if my mystery-thriller-writer’s brain had taken me on a side trip of its own.
Finally, this morning I queried and found out. I’m still numb. I’m sorrowful for the deceased and for the family. Briefly, I felt anger at the human condition. As I write this now, I feel empathy for a life that was troubled so much: empathizing, not just sympathizing.
We’ve all had our troubles, some so much more than others. Most of us are on the lighter side of that and should be so very thankful for what we’ve had and have now. I’m not talking about riches, at least the material kind. I’m talking about lives enriched with the wonders of this world enough that it’s been a positive experience more than a negative one. After all, life is a gift that should never be taken for granted. A gift; to live. Is society to blame? Do we easily cast off souls to become human driftwood?
So the rest of us go on. We see another day, thankful we and our loved ones are alive one more day. We hope and pray we’ll see the sunrise tomorrow and the sunset on another good day. It won’t last forever. Enjoy it. Savor it. Take in a deep breath of fresh air and taste it, feel it, live it. Be a part of it. Look at your loved ones and enjoy the sight of them, even if only in a photo. Take a mental trip back and find pleasure in the good memories of them. And if you have arms, use them. Hug someone special to you. If you have legs, take advantage of them. Go to someone you care for, if for no other good reason but to lend them your smile to pass on to others. Never take these things for granted. And, if you have a big heart, touch it, feel it, explore it. Push it out and let others do the same in return.
I’ll continue to write about death, murder and violence in my thrillers. I’ll continue to make the bad guy a living, breathing thing that, after overcoming impossible odds, can be dealt with, given his comeuppance, and stopped.
But real life goes on. The real bad guys sometimes get away. And sometimes the bad guy isn’t a guy or girl at all. Sometimes it’s your own heart and mind. Sometimes it lives in your soul, becomes a part of you. It torments you. Get help. Sometimes you can’t do it alone. You can’t be the good guy all the time and put the villain in its place. Its place isn’t inside your skull or in the center of your chest. It may have become rooted deeply. You might need help. Don’t be afraid to ask. There are thousands like you who can be helped if they’d just ask. Don’t allow yourself to slip through societal cracks. And don’t let anyone you love or even know slip away, either. Get help.
Regardless, my heroine is my golden retriever Jazzy Brass. I thank God for her. I thank God for my family. I’m thankful for my kids and lovely grand kids, all my friends… I’m thankful for a life that isn’t always positive, but seldom all negative, and for waking to over 20,000 sunrises.
To find help through troubled times, here are a few resources:
Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:
Help Guide—Suicide Prevention:
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/suicide_prevention.htm
Suicide Prevention Resource Center:
CDC’s Violence Prevention Page:
http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/suicide/
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy:
http://www.aamft.org/iMIS15/AAMFT/
Safe Horizon for Domestic Violence:
Hospice Foundation of America:
http://www.hospicefoundation.org/
Know of other important resources for our troubled friends? Please leave them in a comment.
Take care, my friends, my fellow members of the human race club. Let the Good Lord grant you another, and always better and brighter, day.
Filed under: Jazzy Brass, Personal Views Tagged: counseling, dead, death, domestic abuse, family, Jazzy Brass, life, life and death, prevention, shelters, suicide, troubled, violence
June 6, 2012
I just found a body
Really. Actually my golden retriever Jazzy Brass spotted it first. I won’t say exactly where or when, who or what, but it was a woman, face down in two feet of clear, still creek water. We found it 90 minutes before I started writing—this being something for me to do in order to come to grips with the situation on a personal level. Right now I feel little more than sadness, even though I want to feel more. That’s probably coming. Examining a little deeper, I find somberness and somehow a kinship to the deceased.
In the past I’ve seen death. That hasn’t bothered me so much before. I write about death often in my thriller novels. But I’ve never been the first person to discover a body. I know this happens all the time, especially with a spouse or friend who has passed in their home. It’s just a bit different when it’s a stranger found in a public, yet somewhat concealed place.
I find myself wishing somehow that person would have shown signs of life—that I could have saved that life. I’m a Red Cross certified CPR, First Aid and AED trainer. Maybe I could have done something, had there been but a small perceptible sign.
Regardless, I feel my sweet Jazzy Brass is a heroine. She’s the best companion anyone could have. And by pointing the body out to me, forcing me to come look at what she’d discover, she saved this person’s family and friends the additional heartache of going without knowing what had happened to their loved one any longer. I imagine that even a few minutes in their lives have made at least a tiny difference.
BTW, before I made this post, I waited for the police to inform me that an officer had notified the deceased’s next of kin.
I feel a bit of reverence for this unfortunate person. I don’t wish to disrespect her. But for some reason, I feel a need—an importance—to give my thoughts. Maybe it’s for my own therapy. Maybe something I bring up will help someone else—I don’t know why or see how. I’ll probably blog about this more in the coming hours and days. There is more to tell, but I’ll wait for news and police reports to say any more.
Does anyone have any thoughts to share? If so, please do. It could be important to me and you—and perhaps someone else viewing this post.
Filed under: Jazzy Brass, Personal Views Tagged: body, body in creek, body in stream, dead, death, found body, golden retriever, life and death
May 31, 2012
Find Free Kindle EBooks, Find by Genre (Category), Keyword, Rating, etc–EASILY!
If you ever buy Kindle eBooks, this is really great! Maybe you already know about this site. If you don’t you will want to use it.
Have you had trouble sifting through all the Amazon Kindle books looking for just the right one? Are you looking for only a certain genre, keyword, rating, and /or price (like FREE)?
Do it easily from Jungle Search: http://www.jungle-search.com/. If you want to go directly to search for Kindle eBooks, click here: http://www.jungle-search.com/US/kindle.php
Bookmark it, remember it, use it–have fun!
Filed under: EBooks & EPublishing, Readers' Interests Tagged: Action, action adventure, Adventure, amazon, best priced ebooks, easy search, find ebooks, find kindle ebooks, find kindle ebooks easily, find kindle ebooks easy, free books, Free ebooks, free kindle ebooks, Joe Konrath, John Locke, low priced ebooks, Mystery, promoting ebooks, search books, search ebooks, search ebooks easily, search kindle ebooks, suspense, Thriller
May 27, 2012
Choose A New BRAINSTORM EBook Cover & Win Designer Chocolates!
This cover design stuff is so difficult, but so very important, as well. I need your help. If you’d give me your honest opinion of which of the following covers is the most attractive and professional-looking, you’ll have a chance of winning a 9-piece box of Christopher Elbow’s famous Artisanal Chocolates. Check them out at this link: http://bit.ly/bNJLZp . In order to win, you must vote on a cover and leave a comment acknowledging your selection with contact info.
BRAINSTORM Cover Contest Instructions:
1. Review the covers in this post.
2. Go to the bottom and click on ”>BRAINSTORM EBook Cover Poll!
3. On the “poll page” vote by selecting the “radial button” corresponding to the cover you like most.
4. In comments at the bottom of the poll, leave your name (as well as email contact info if you wish to be contacted by email) and specify clearly which cover you voted on, i.e., “O-1,” “J-4,” “M-7,” “M-8,” “M-10,” ”T-13,” etc.
5. That cover must eventually win as the most popularly selected in this contest in order for you to be entered into the final drawing.
From all the votes for the winning cover, I’ll randomly choose one lucky (9- pc Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates) winner. Voting is now open, and will close at midnight on June 15. The winning voter’s name will appear in this blog and will receive notification on June 16.
For more about the my thriller novel BRAINSTORM, click here.
Here are the covers. Please carefully consider all fourteen and chose only the very best one. Although you may discuss any and all in your comments, you must clearly state which one is your choice by it’s corresponding name, i.e.”O-1,” “J-4,” “M-7,” ”M-8,” “M-10,” ”T-13,” etc.
Click on any of the images below to see a larger version.
Click below to take the poll and be counted:
>BRAINSTORM EBook Cover Poll!<
(polls)
Filed under: Book Covers, EBooks & EPublishing, Kessler's Thrillers Tagged: amazon ebook, artisanal, artisanal chocolates, Best book cover, book cover, book cover contest, book cover design contest, brainstorm, chocolate contest, christopher elbow, christopher elbow chocolates, contest, contest instructions, contest prize, designer chocolates, ebook cover, ebook cover contest, ebook covers, free contest, gaming, gordon kessler cover, honest opinion, Kindle ebook, kindle ebook cover, Mystery, mystery contest, Novel, opinion contest, page vote, professional cover design, suspense, Thriller, thriller novel
May 25, 2012
News Flash: E Z Knight is stuck in the Big Easy!
E Z Knight fans have been after me about when the next episode will be published. Well it’s over halfway there and coming fast!
That’s right. Poor ol’ E Z Knight has been stuck down in Norlins (New Orleans) for the past two and a half months (my writing time, that is). He’s in the Big Easy trying to stop some really mean bastards from killing a whole bunch of people, including Billie, the son of E Z’s parole officer, Tamara White Cloud.
Leaving Smokey and his buddies Beautiful and Booger behind in Southern California, he’s working with Black Zack, an old jazz trombone player, and beautiful redhead FBI Special Agent Poo Dooley (Poodoo), who’s working undercover in more ways than one. They’re chasing and being chased by a couple of despicable villains named Papa Legba and Sheriff DePue. These two lowlifes are playing God over the lives of 500 children.
This is the wildest ride E Z’s been on yet, and if you’ve read Knight’s Ransom, you know I’m not talking about Disneyland amusements. With eyes popping, necks breaking, stabbing, shooting, choking, and even a little alligator chomping, E Z is working his way to the bottom of this, his deadliest of all capers yet. And staying alive and among the living has been especially difficult with a Voodoo queen doing everything she can to make him a zombie, and his new ally Jazz player Black Zack hauling something a little more illegal than plain fescue clippings in back of his pickup.
Time is running out–500 kids’ lives are at stake. Find out what happens in Knight’s Big Easy coming at the end of June.
I’ll also be updating Jazzy Brass’s Missing Scenes very soon. Knight’s Big Easy is Jazzy’s debut, and she’ll accompany E Z in every episode from its time forward.
Happy reading!
Filed under: E Z Knight, Jazzy Brass, Kessler's Thrillers, Knight's Big Easy, Knight's Ransom, The "Knight Girls" Tagged: big easy, E Z Knight, golden retriever, jazz, Jazzy Brass, knight's big easy, Knight's Ransom, Men's action/adventure, Mystery, new orleans, norlins, Novel, PI, suspense, Thriller, voodoo, voodoo queen
Phillip Phillips–Ouch! Want to know about pain? Try a kidney stone!
Okay, there are probably a thousand other things that hurt worse than kidney stones, but I personally haven’t experienced those thousand other things. Although most common in men, some of the women who’ve both given birth and had kidney stone episodes say they’d much rather give birth.
What’s this got to do with writing thriller novels, my new “The E Z Knight Reports” series, BRAINSTORM, DEAD RECKONING or JEZEBEL? Well, very little–except…well, you’ll see if you read further.
The newly crowned 2012 American Idol winner Phillip Phillips has had a few bouts with kidney stones, as well. He seems to be a really good guy and a great singer. I hope he can get control and these troublesome “little” things and they don’t affect his career. From news accounts, I’d guess he has what is known as medullary sponge kidneys (MSK), not a disease, but a condition in which the passages in the kidneys are larger than normal, and thus allow for sediment to build up and create stones. If he is cursed with this condition, he has company.
I was diagnosed with MSK back in 1991 when xrays revealed that I had over two dozen stones in my kidneys. I had a number of stones before that, and have had literally hundreds since. After numerous lithotripsy surgeries of various types, I’ve finally gotten this condition somewhat under control. Lithotripsy surgery doesn’t cure stones, it just removes them. Most times, these procedures are out-patient, occasionally requiring an over-night stay in the hospital ($30,000+).
For this procedure, they’ll either:
1. make a small incision and go after the stone (rarely done anymore from what I’ve read)
2. go after the stone with a long, thin catheter-type tool that has a tiny water nozzle, some tiny extractor arms and a camera on it (don’t worry, it’s not a 35 mm—all that stuff is really quite small). This is neat to watch as the camera passes through your body (but hey, this is personal stuff—make them promise the video won’t be posted on YouTube the next day!)
3. blast the stones with sonic waves (extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy or ESWL). They’ll either put you out or use a drug called versed, which they say won’t put you to sleep so that you won’t feel the pain but, instead, you won’t remember it! I don’t know about you, but this makes me feel a bit uncomfortable — lying naked on a table, surrounded by people in masks, all the while being video-taped. If there’s ever a porn movie made from it, I want royalties!
If you’re lucky, you won’t need a stent—a tube that is temporarily inserted into the ureter on the affected side that makes the passageway larger so that the bigger stones and particles will pass more easily. These things will make you howl–hurt nearly as bad as the stone would when you go pee (I happen to be a freak with two ureters on my right side-double the fun with stents inserted into both). Then you have to come back a month later and have the stent yanked out (and I do mean yanked).
When you have the first stone, you might think you’re dying (click here for symptoms)—especially if you don’t know what’s happening to your body. Don’t worry, you’ll probably live. Following that first one, it gets a little easier for the sole reason that you know what it is that’s twisting your gut so badly. After passing a couple dozen, it becomes somewhat routine. When you’ve passed a couple hundred, with the help of the right pain reliever and/or nausea medication, it’s barely more than a mild inconvenience.
Many folks think that the pain is only in the passing of the stone when it leaves the body. For some crazy reason, they think that the only time you feel the pain is when it shoots through the urethra (penis if you prefer, guys). This is relatively nothing compared to the dull but intense ache some sufferers feel in the back and flank, or the intense twisting agony most experience in the lower gut.
Something to watch out and be prepared for: some radiologists will tell you that you won’t feel back pain from a stone because the kidney doesn’t have the right nerve receptors, or some such nonsense. DON’T believe them! Although some stone sufferers never experience the back pain, you might. The back pain isn’t from the kidney itself, but from the tissue surrounding it due to the kidney lobes swelling and adding pressure to that entire area of the back (can you tell I’ve been told this before and that it really “pisses” me off?).
There are a number of different types of kidney stones and they’re formed by different things. The most common are the calcium type, followed by uric acid stones and several others. Diet is really the key to controlling these little bastards. Drinking lots of water is imperative with any type of kidney stone, as well.
Specifically for uric acid stones, what I understand is the best thing you can do to reduce stone formation is to cut down on your animal protein intake—especially red meat (I know, guys and gals—ARGH!).
With the mean little sticker-bur calcium stones, reducing oxalates is the key (oxa-what?). Yeah, oxalates. This compound binds with the calcium being filtered out by your kidneys in order to pass from your body in your urine. Oxalates cause calcium to build up, eventually looking something like a very horny little quartz rock.
Generally, anything larger than 5 mm (about 3/16″) won’t pass without surgery. But even the tiniest of stones can cause you just as much trouble as the bigger ones that pass, scraping the lining of your ureter, blocking it so that the urine buildup stretches the canal and causing colic (spasms) that will…well, let’s say “rock” your world.
Here’s the problem with trying to limit oxalate intake. Oxalates are in all the good food you eat! That’s right, you can watch your diet and eat healthy according to most medical standards and still be literally plagued with kidney stones, because that healthy diet isn’t necessarily the best diet for calcium kidney stone sufferers.
Get this: oxalates are in chocolate (damn it!). They’re in nuts (sorry, I can’t help it: “nuts!”). They’re in spinach (okay, no big deal, here—just kidding, moms!). They’re in berries, many green vegetables, all kinds of really good and healthy food!
From over twenty years’ experience of dealing with these little hell-raisers, here’s what I suggest if you suspect you’re having symptoms of a kidney stone passing, or think you might have MSK:
1. See a doctor, but not just any ol’ MD. Find a good urologist (pee-pee doctor) to take a look at your parts, as well as a good nephrologist (kidney specialist), who can tell you more about what kind of diet you need to follow.
2. If you’re diagnosed with calcium stones, and he/she doesn’t’ prescribe potassium citrate, ask for it—it truly works wonders for calcium stones. There are other meds like allopurinol and hydrochlorothiazide (a diuretic that makes you pee a lot), that might be prescribed as well. If you need pain meds, they’ll probably give you some kind of opiate like hydrocodone, oxycodone or Lortab as well. If you get sick from the stone pain, like many do, ask for ondansetron (generic for Zofran)—I’d much rather have the pain than that damn nausea.
3. Drink tons of water!
4. If you have calcium stones, learn how to identify foods with high levels of oxalates and limit your intake. If you have uric acid stones, lay off the red meat.
5. Okay, here’s a no-brainer, but since I obviously went without a brain for nearly twenty years until I did the ol’ V-8 slap…don’t drink cranberry juice if you’ve been diagnosed as a calcium stone former! Yes, I thought the little bit of oxalate in cranberry juice wouldn’t hurt me, and that the positive effect of drinking kidney-healthy cranberry juice would far outweigh the oxalate concerns in cranberries. WRONG! I’ve had stones, sometimes as many as two or more a week for over twenty years.
a. I drank cranberry juice about that long because I thought it’d help keep my kidneys healthy and happy considering all the Hell that the stones were putting them through. A few months ago, I ran out of cranberry juice and kept forgetting to get more on shopping trips to the store. I went for a week without the cranberry juice I drank at least twice a day. No stones. I went for a month without it. No stones. It’s been four or five months, now and, although I have had some minor flare-ups since, there hasn’t been nearly as many as I had before I went cold cranberry—er, uh, turkey.
b. The conclusion? Drink more orange juice and/or lemon juice. The citric acid in these juices help break down and slow calcium stone formation.
So, you say, “What’s all this got to do with fiction writing, novel writing, thrillers, etc.?” Well, guess what condition I’m going to give my protagonist E Z Knight from my new men’s action/adventure thriller series? That’s right! He’s going to suffer from MSK right along with me! Coming out in June, Knight’s Big Easy, tough-as-a-starving-grizzly-bear E Z Knight is going to be given kidney stones by a very wicked Voodoo queen.
I ain’t no doctor…(but I’ve written in their POV before, and it’s very scary), so don’t believe me or follow any of my advice without consulting your own physician. And, for a much more in-depth look at this condition and what you can do to reduce or maybe even eliminate kidney stone troubles, check out the resources below.
Books: No More Kidney Stones (this is my favorite), but Amazon lists a whole bunch here: (click!)
Websites: You’ll find a number of really good sites here: (click!)
Filed under: E Z Knight, Personal Views & Pet Peeves Tagged: 2012 American Idol winner, American Idol, kidney disease, Kidney Stones, kidney surgery, lithotripsy, Medullary Sponge Kidneys, msk, nephrologist, Phillip Phillips, stent, stone pain, urologist
Amazon Restores IPG Kindle EBook Titles!
I knew it would happen–the question was when. Amazon and IPG have just reached an agreement to allow IPG eBook titles to be restored on Amazon. In other words, as of today, they’re playing together nicely once again. Although it may take a couple of days, all IPG Kindle eBooks should be once again listed as before. I can only say that I’m thankful this did not affect me and my eBooks!
You can find the whole scoop at Publisher’s Lunch: http://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2012/05/standoff-ends-ipg-and-amazon-agree-to-terms-on-ebooks-and-titles-are-restored/ Check it out!
Filed under: EBooks & EPublishing Tagged: amazon, amazon ebooks, ebook agreement, ebook standoff, ebooks, ipg, ipg ebooks, kindle, Kindle ebooks, lost ebook revenue, titles restored
April 30, 2012
Grouchy-Grumpy Man’s Pet Peeves
I hope I don’t lose any readers when they find out how uptight and anal I really am.
Actually, I personally think I’m a laid-back sort of guy, very accepting of others—a kind of do-your-own-thing-as-long-as-it-doesn’t-hurt-anybody-else kind of person. Still, I find myself cringing throughout my day from obvious, rampant rudeness. Typically, it’s me wishing people were more thoughtful and considerate of others when I see something happen that goes against what I feel is proper.
So, here’s my basic list of Pet Peeves. Do you have some you’d like to add, or would you like to comment on mine? Please do.
Language and Rudeness:
1. People who substitute “No problem” for “You’re welcome,” “My pleasure. Please come again” or “Anytime. Let me know if I can do anything else.”
If you’re going out of your way to help someone, sure, saying “no problem” is courteously telling someone that it was not a problem—no trouble at all—to lend a hand.
Now, if you’re a fast food engineer with a paper hat and name badge that has a happy face on it, it’s your job to serve the public—of course it’s no problem…that’s what you’re getting paid for (if you’ve read Knight’s Ransom, you understand exactly how I feel)!
2. The use of the extra word why when saying “the reason why I…” instead of “the reason I…”
3. People who don’t answer when you say “Hello”—and don’t make eye contact
4. People who interrupt, especially in the middle of your answer to their question
5. Negative people with nothing positive ever to say
6. Bosses and other people who are liars and/or without integrity
7. Men who cuss publicly, in crowds and around women and children
8. People who feel that cigarette butts are so small that it’s not really like littering when you leave them on the sidewalk or along a walkway
TV, Movies & Video Games:
9. TV shows with explicit language and content that are obviously not for children, but purposely have elements that attract children to watch
10. Video games for children that contain sexual or very violent content and excessive depictions of sex, horrific injuries, deaths, severed body parts and blood
Driving & Cars:
11. Drivers who don’t use their turn signals to turn or change lanes (usually due to not having a free hand because of the cell phone to their ear)
12. Drivers who carry their little doggies on their laps while they drive
13. Drivers who text while they drive, especially in heavy traffic and when first in line at stop lights
14. Drivers who eat and drive with their knees
15. Drivers who block a second stall when parking
16. Drivers who stop at a four-way before you and then insist that you go first (especially when they’re on the right side)
Pet Owners:
17. Dog owners that let their dogs beat up on less aggressive ones, using the excuse “they’re just being dogs”
18. Dog owners that do not clean up after their dogs in public places, especially sidewalks and bike trails
19. Dog owners that don’t restrain their animals
20. Dog owners that put their animals in situations where the dog barks all day (especially apartments or back yards)
Rudeness & Put-downs:
21. Women and men who live in glass houses and tease others who have big noses, ears, are balding, overweight, flat chested, short or in some way less than perfect, and in ways that are beyond their control
Phones & Usage:
22. People who text in the theater during movies, especially when they’re seated toward the front of the theater
23. Long phone menus when all you want is to speak with someone or leave a message
24. Loud background music while on hold
25. Phone menus that list nothing that applies to your needs
26. Phone menus that take you in circles
27. People who answer their phones during a meeting and just sit there and talk while the meeting continues
Writers:
28. Elitist writers who think they are “authentic,” “literary,” more “real” or someway above others—especially those who poopoo “commercial,” or “popular (pulp)” fiction
29. New writers who have just learned a standard writing convention and who make it their crusade to ensure every writer, experienced and novice alike, strictly abide by this rule as if it is to never be questioned
31. Writers who think they’re experts at their craft after only three or four years of writing
My Pet Peeves about Readers?
I have no pet peeves concerning readers. They’re all absolutely perfect—the reason I write!
32. Oops, there is one: Readers who read the last page before the rest of the book, and readers who don’t read the prologues or the epilogues of books that have them. Okay, sorry–that was two.
All right, now that I’ve told you of all these little annoyances I find in my life, I need to ask, “If I know I’m a hypocrite, does that make me not one?”
Come on! Get mad! Tell me some of your pet peeves!
Filed under: Personal Views & Pet Peeves, Pet Peeves Tagged: Action, cell phone while driving, driving etiquette, Mystery, no problem, pet peeves, pick up after dog, readers, respect, rude people, suspense, texting while driving, thank you, thriller novel, turn signals, writers
April 15, 2012
Kindle eBook Readers–New Data! How Do You Like Kindle Select?
I hope Kindle eBook customers enjoy Kindle Select as much as most Kindle Select authors do. I feel like it’s been a great boost for most of us who have dared go exclusive with their program.
As for myself, I’ve had a total of over 16,000 downloads of my books since January 4, 2012. Of those, a bit less than 10% were “paid,” the rest being “free” downloads. Although that ratio of free to paid seems a bit high, I feel that most of the folks who downloaded my books for free were looking specifically for free books and wouldn’t have been my readers, otherwise. Although free, with that many downloads, my titles became much more visible, which in turn helped get them more “paid” sales.
Don’t get me wrong, I like getting paid for my work, but I also like the idea of having my work out in front of so many readers, as well. If you figure that it takes the average reader twelve hours to read my average novel, and if all 16,000 books downloaded were actually read during that three-month period, on average, 75 people would be reading my books, 24 hours a day, every day.
When I think of this, in my mind I picture a large college classroom with 75 filled seats in which each person is reading one of my books on their Kindle. Then, at the 12-noon shift change, everyone gets up, finished with another one of my novels, and 75 new readers come in to begin reading. Okay, I’m a bit nuts. Still, just the thought of entertaining so many people for 12 hours is really neat!
Finally there is data available on the first three months of the Kindle Select program. On the link below you’ll find some of the numbers as well as endorsements from several authors. I believe this blog article I’ve linked to tries to be objective, but it’s hard to look that way when most everything you read is positive.
Readers and authors alike, check it out: http://www.publishyourownebooks.com/kdp-select-results-after-3-months/
Filed under: EBooks & EPublishing Tagged: amazon, Amazon prime, ebooks, epublishing, kindle, Kindle Select, lending library
