Tracy Falbe's Blog, page 4

Fantasy & Sci Fi Multi-Author Box Set only $0.99 at ALL ebook retailers

Fantasy and Sci Fi readers who're looking for new authors to enjoy should pick up Outcast Journeys: Fantasy and Sci Fi Box Set by Eight Great Authors.

This ebook box set is only $0.99 and represents a collaboration among authors from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.. They are Nathan Anton, Tiffany Cherney, Tara Maya, Scarlett Van Dijk, Tracy Falbe, Ashley Capes, Alex James & James T Kelly.

This value-priced box set will release on August 2nd.

You can preorder it right now for only $0.99 and have it automatically available to you on August 2nd. 

This box set is available worldwide at Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Google Play, Kobo Books, and Barnes & Noble Nook.

Visit the Outcast Journeys page at your preferred retailer to see details about the 9 novels and novellas included in this anthology.

Amazon

Kindle US
Kindle UK
Kindle AU
Kindle CA
Kindle DE
Kindle NL
Kindle FR
Kindle IT
Kindle ES

Google Play

Apple iBooks

Barnes & Noble Nook

Kobo Books




A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

Love Indie Music? Then try Indie Books

Going to live shows and internet exploration allow music fans to discover talented artists within their communities and from around the world. Indie music has gone hand in hand with the development of the internet. Bands and individual artists can share and sell their music online, and big companies, like Apple, Amazon, and Google, have enabled musicians to reach global audiences who want to download music.

It's easy for a person to sample almost any indie artist and make a decision about whether or not he or she likes the music. Within a couple minutes, a person can judge if the sound is pleasing or not.

It's not so easy for indie authors. It takes time to evaluate a book's potential. Usually someone wants to read at least one chapter, which could take several minutes or even an hour.

For this reason, I think it's harder for authors to market their work online. We don't have sound bytes to share. Someone might be browsing online during a work break and not have time to read an excerpt. And authors can't really put on live shows like musicians can. Yes, an author can do a reading at a bookstore or other venue and perhaps attract maybe a dozen people. Contrast this to almost any gig at a bar where musicians can potentially be seen by scores of people, maybe even a hundred. More successful groups can do shows at venues that seat thousands.

All indie artists struggle though. Musicians might even make less money than authors. Too many people only want free downloads. Even when they love the entertainment, they attach no value to the hours and years that the creators put in to it.

This reality makes that minority of people who genuinely appreciate good content and pay for it of even greater importance. Reaching them is the goal, and it's a difficult one.

Indie Fiction Rocks Too

If you appreciate indie music but have yet to try indie fiction, it's easy to expand your choices. Apple iBooks is available just like iTunes. Thousands of indie authors give away and sell their stories there.

To start finding new authors that you'll never see in a bookstore but who may be very talented, start surfing around Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google Plus. Search for terms like "indie authors" or "indie books" within your favorite genres.

When you find authors that interest you, seek out their ebooks at iBooks, Kindle, Kobo, Smashwords, Nook, and Google Play. Many of them will even have free ebooks. Most ebooks will be priced under $5.

Prefer Paperbacks?

Most indie authors produce paperbacks of their novels too. The company Createspace integrates with Amazon. This print-on-demand service allows indies to create books at competitive prices.

Why Seek Out Indie Authors?

Just as with music, a lot more talent exists than there are large corporations that wish to produce it. Mainstream producers and publishers want content that will have broad appeal. They'll take few risks on anything different, and they'll be especially adverse to content that might veer from mainstream views.

The publishing industry in particular is very cemented to the status quo. You might not think this applies to fiction, but consider the point of view offered in this Salon article. It presents the opinion that the Game of Thrones franchise represents a right-wing paradise with war, inequality, and violence against women. Of course, those books show violence against everyone, but it does portray a grim world, and it's rather lacking in the usual fantasy trope of salvation through a good and brave main character who'll strive to do right by people.

In the Song of Ice and Fire series, as far as I can tell, the narrative is just one bloody disaster after another with no hope in sight. True, this represents our world and makes for compelling reading, but it's not fiction that will inspire a society to seek its better angels. Or help a single reader find the personal inspiration that great fiction can inspire, such as is found in The Lord of the Rings.

Diverse Voices

Because no one with a marketing formula and shareholders is deciding who publishes indie books, you have an opportunity to discover authors who for one reason or another never got a publishing contract. Some don't even really look for a publisher because self publishing is accessible and sometimes profitable. Most want to retain creative control and the ability to collect their full share of profits. For example, I have worldwide rights to my novels and I receive a portion of every sale on every legitimate site I distribute through around the world.

Since becoming an indie author, I've read many indie authors. I've encountered many great books that I thoroughly enjoyed. Some have been powerful and brilliant. Some have just been fun, weird, or interesting. Those that passed muster with me were in no way inferior to books produced by large companies.

Indie authors have gained substantial market share among ebook readers in recent years. 

According to Author Earnings:

In two short years, the market share of paid unit sales between indie and Big 5 ebooks has more than inverted. The Big 5 now account for less than a quarter of ebook purchases on Amazon, while indies are closing in on 45%.

We've got some good stuff out there that is resonating with paying readers!

Next time, you're looking for something read, especially if you limit yourself to only brick-and-mortar bookstores, consider seeking out indies. Many of them have paperbacks available in addition to ebooks. Your local bookstore might be willing to order an indie book, but if you'd like the author to actually get more than a few cents, order the book yourself online from Createspace or Amazon.

Buying ebooks from indies is quite easy if you like ebooks. Our novels are everywhere.

If you'd like to sample my fiction, all three of my series start with a free ebook. Visit Brave Luck Books to download one.

Also find my fiction at:

Smashwords
Google Play Store
Kobo
Amazon Kindle
Nook
Apple iBooks




A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

Now out for Kindle and Kindle Unlimited Hero & Heroine 3 Sci fi, Fantasy & Paranormal Anthology of Short Reads

Fans of the fantasy, sci fi, and paranormal fiction can get a big bouquet of reading in the latest issue of Hero & Heroine Magazine in the Kindle Store. I contributed a short read to this anthology. It's an exciting episode from my novel Judgment Rising. In "Attack on Vetanium" you'll see the last-minute struggle of Dreibrand to save his family and settlement from two tabre bent on vengeance who have risen from a long hibernation.

Along with my story, you'll get many other stories by talented writers.

“Over the Hills and Far Away,” by Douglas Kolacki
A powerful curse can become an even stronger blessing.
He didn't know what he was in for when he married a movie actress' doppelganger in a magical land. But this will be the least of his worries when their greatest threat emerges from the woods...
Genre: Urban Fantasy / Paranormal, 3,600 words

“An Orc at the Ball,” by Michael Stephens
An Orc goes to the Spring Ball…
When Scagie an Orc of the Bog decides to go on her own to the Spring Ball, what she finds on the dance floor is more than just a boring High Court ceremony.
Genre: Urban Fantasy / Young Adult, 6000 words

“Attack on Vetanium,” by Tracy Falbe
A surprise attack.
Dreibrand and Miranda are nurturing settlements in Nufal. Shan, the king of the rys, has recently redeemed this land that had been left in ruins for thousands of years. To everyone’s shock and horror, two tabre rise from a long hibernation. They are the sole survivors of an ancient war with the rys, and they have come for revenge….Dreibrand and Miranda are the hero and heroine of The Rys Chronicles. At this point in the saga, they are nurturing settlements in Nufal. Shan, the king of the rys, has recently redeemed this land that had been left in ruins for thousands of years. To everyone’s shock and horror, two tabre have risen from a long hibernation. They are the sole survivors of an ancient war with the rys, and they have come for revenge. 

Genre: Epic Fantasy, 4,100 words

“The Speed of Love,” Deborah Walker
Love is patient…
They move at a different pace than humans. What can bridge the gap?
Genre: Science Fiction Romance / Flash Fiction

“The Corn Maiden,” by Tara Maya
A woman without memories…but not without a past.
The childless couple had always yearned for a child. Then they found a lovely, fragile maiden in a field and took her in. But she is not like other young women…
Genre: Epic Fantasy / Flash Fiction

“The Falcons of Narabedla,” by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Flung into the far future…
In 1957, Mike Kenscott, a veteran of the Korean, is back home in the Sierra Nevada mountains, trying to re-adjust to civilian life, when he suddenly finds himself flung into the far future. To the people of this era, when two suns shine in the skies of Earth, Mike is known as Adric, master of the Crimson Tower, warlord and conqueror.
Mike’s only chance to return to his own identity is to find the Keep of the Dreamer. To do that he must determine who is friend and who is foe, evade the terrible falcons of Narabedla—whose touch can enslave a man’s mind—and possibly start a revolution.
But the biggest battle will be inside his own mind—because the real Adric wants his body back…
Genre: Retro Future / Science Fiction, 12,0000 words

“First Steps of a Hero,” by Judith Rook

He has a lot to learn…
Escaping from the local bully is part of David’s life, but when the bully threatens his sister, the peaceable young school-leaver must turn into a hero as best he can.
He needs help, and he gets it – from an enigmatic man who lives in a parallel dimension. But with the man comes a danger which could threaten the safety of Earth, and only David can deal with it.He needs help, and he gets it – from an enigmatic man who lives in a parallel dimension.  But with the man comes a danger which could threaten the safety of Earth, and only David can deal with it.

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Young Adult / Paranormal, 27,000 words

Available for Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.



A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

Savage Storm by Tracy Falbe - save 25% on ebook

Even if you can't take a vacation this summer, this fantasy novel will take you far away from your tedious daily problems.

One of the advantages of following my blog or joining my email list is that you'll know when I offer coupon codes at my website. Sometimes I even set up sale prices at other retailers too.

Right now, through July 16th, you can save 25 percent on ebooks and audiobooks at Brave Luck Books.

Get the discount by typing or pasting code 25summer into the promo code box on the checkout form.

If you've read Rys Rising: Book I, this is your opportunity to get the sequel, Savage Storm, for $3.75 USD instead of $4.99.

My download service, SendOwl, delivers ebooks worldwide. Click the button for your format and buy Savage Storm today.

PDF ebook



Epub ebook



Mobi for Kindle ebook



To browse more of my novels and use the discount code, visit Brave Luck Books. The coupon works on ebook value bundles too for extra savings.

Excerpt from Savage Storm:

The savages howled hungrily when they sighted the militiamen defiantly arrayed upon the open prairie. Under a haze of steaming breath, the horde darkened the snowy land like the shadow of an enormous predator bird. Sprawling flanks of savages trailed the central vanguard of the cruel men who had weathered the elements so that they could slaughter their unwanted neighbors.

PDF ebook



Epub ebook



Mobi for Kindle ebook





A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

Global ebook discounts during July Summer/Winter sale at Smashwords

Thousands of fiction and nonfiction ebooks are on sale at Smashwords this month during the July Summer/Winter sale.

Participating authors and publishers have activated coupon codes for 25, 50, or 75 percent off regular prices. And many titles are free during this promotion.

Find yourself something to read and browse sale titles here.

In addition to my free ebooks, I've added my titles to the promotion.

Save 25 percent with coupon code SSW25 on the following ebooks:(You'll see the coupon code on each page for the books too, so you can easily type or copy it into the discount box during checkout.)

Fantasy Fiction






















Children's


Nonfiction





A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

Barnes & Noble has a good idea - add alcohol-serving restaurants to stores

The retail struggles of Barnes and Noble Inc. have been the poster child for illustrating Amazon's internet dominance in book retailing.

The company, which has a long history of inhibiting its internet appeal with both online shoppers and ebook buyers, has just come up with a concept that might boost in-store sales. Bloomberg reported that B&N has created a new restaurant group and plans to open eateries that serve alcohol in Eastchester, New York; Edina, Minnesota; Folsom, California; and Loudon, Virginia.

Having people in your retail space who have been loosened up with some alcohol would definitely boost impulse buys, especially of those flashy titles that are the print equivalent of clickbait.

I know that having a bit of an alcohol buzz makes me want to buy books. Long ago, when I was childless and had income that I could dispose of on myself instead of whining ingrates,  I'd love to settle in for an episode of the Daily Show after an evening of writing after work. I'd have a drink while I watched the show. And about once a month, I would become enamored with some author guest and go to my computer and order his or her book from Amazon.

Alcohol simply makes you more inclined to go after what you want. Of course, wanting is not the same as having, but, in retail, the buying is what matters.

Despite its desire to transform itself into a tipsy meat market for lonely bibliophiles buying impressive books to impress each other, Barnes & Noble is still managing to exist on the internet.

Even after the demise of the Nook ereader, I continue to sell ebooks day in and day out at the Nook Store.

So, if you'd like to drink in private, or you prefer to browse a vast online selection instead of the lowest-common-denominator du jour that is the world of a chain bookstore, look for my novels in the Nook store.

You can start any of my series with a free ebook:

Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale

Rys Rising


Union of Renegades


A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

New Amazon Kindle device readable in bright sunlight

Reading ebooks on tablets usually works just fine, except many tablets have one drawback: They are often hard to read in sunlight. To solve this problem, Amazon has developed a new Kindle with some improvements of interest to avid readers. It's now available for preorder for a July 7th release.

Features:

11% thinner and 16% lighter than the previous generation Kindle, making it easy and comfortable to hold in one hand.Kindle uses actual ink particles and proprietary, hand-built fonts to create crisp text similar to what you see in a physical book. The blacks and whites on the screen are uniform, improving text and image quality.No screen glare, even in bright sunlight, unlike tabletsKindle doesn't need power to maintain a page of text, allowing you to read for weeks on a single charge.Unlike reflective tablet and smartphone screens, the high contrast touchscreen display eliminates glare in any setting—even direct sunlight.If you're interested in getting the new Kindle, then you might want to think about an Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial[image error]. For $9.99 a month, you'll get access to a large selection of ebooks in many subjects and genres.




A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

Dark fantasy on Kindle Unlimited - Lessons Learned

Use the previewer above to start reading my short story set in the Rys World. It's a dark fantasy available on Kindle Unlimited. Meet my magical hero Shan centuries before the events depicted in The Rys Chronicles when he faces a crucial choice between evil and compassion.



A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

Teens might prefer print books a little but ebooks allow for reading privacy

In this article from the Guardian, I read that teens prefer print books to ebooks. This might seem odd when you think how teens are universally addicted to their tablets and phones, but I think I have some explanations.

Identity vs. Clutter

Based on my experience selling books at comic and gaming conventions, I've noticed some differences in teens and adults. Although this is only anecdotal, I've had encounters in which the teen does want the paperback and the parent wants to know how to get the ebook.

I believe that some teens will be attracted to the physical object because they're looking to surround themselves with things that express their identity. Books do this very well because you can carry them around and display them.

A parent, however, will be engaged in the endless task of keeping clutter at bay. An adult, much like myself, might also know what it's like to a move a household across a continent. Even the most devout bibliophile might experience a change of heart after lugging boxes of books on and off a truck on a hot summer day. Ebooks present a marvelous alternative to this.

At the end of the day, however, teens and adults will vary in their preferences. I'm sure many teens delight in the privacy that their tablet provides for their reading material. They can indulge in sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll and no one needs to know.

Industry Spin

The publishing industry is a big one, and if it can come up with some information that supports the claim that teens like paper books, they'll get it out there so they can sell books, especially to adults that want to give a gift to a teen.

Also a closer look at the publishing industry news about the gains for print and the decline of ebooks shows that the information is incomplete. It does not really take into account the growing share of ebook sales going to indie authors. Sales analysis done by Author Earnings and Hugh Howey shows that more readers are buying indie ebooks, which is likely the source in the decline of ebook sales for large publishing companies.

Furthermore, publishing guru Jane Friedman wrote that the rise in print comes from the current popularity of adult coloring books.

All of my fantasy novels are available in print or digital formats.




You can read my historical fantasy Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale for free:

Brave Luck Books
Smashwords
Google Play Store
Kobo
Amazon Kindle
Nook
Apple iBooks

Paperback is only $12.99 plus shipping

Createspace
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon Germany
Amazon France
Amazon Italy
Amazon Spain


A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.

Keeping it real for fantasy warriors

Does it ever bother you when you’re watching a movie and someone gets shot in the shoulder but still runs up and down a mountain, gets in a fist fight, and isn’t even really bleeding 15 minutes later?

I enjoy fantasy but I can’t imagine away chunks of flesh flying loose from the upper body and not having to take a breather. If a warrior takes a bad wound, he better have a friend ready to jump in and defend him from the mortal blow. Then he’s going to need someone with surgical skills, magical power, or at least a few drops of regenerative extract of phoenix root.

Fantasy warriors can have mad skills, but acquiring them should take more training than can be fit into a fortnight. A really good fighter needs to work at it and stay in shape. Some mention of an athletic regimen should accompany these brave characters who draw swords with supreme confidence. A man who duels with a tribe’s select champion as just part of daily negotiating practice needs some established experience.

Like professional athletes, fantasy warriors need time to recover from injuries. For the sake of physical realism, even within a magical story, I prefer a character that has to endure some pain and vulnerability after a hard battle. This time of reflection can add nicely to story and character development too.

I’m not at all against magic being involved in recovery. Healing potions and spells are mainstays of fantasy stories, but they should not be thrown around like chocolates on Halloween. Magic requires energy and skill. Using it has costs and consequences.


What makes fantasy great in my opinion are elements beyond illegitimate levels of battle skill and lack of physical consequences. I enjoy the genre because of its willingness to indulge in raw primal physical conflict. A warrior really does solve problems with violence sometimes. That’s a fantasy that relieves the angry pressures that build up in people.

Reading about fantasy warriors gives escape from the confines of a mundane and belittling existence. It’s nice to imagine having the strength and skill to overcome enemies or deliver justice. But if he gets hit on the head or cut open with a sword, someone better have a healing spell ready, and the hero is going to need some bed rest with preferably a buxom maiden to fuss over him.

If you're like me, then read my fantasy novels.

I have 10 of them published right now.

Browse my titles at any of your favorite online retailers, like Amazon, iBooks, Google Play, Smashwords, Nook, or Kobo.

Visit my website Brave Luck Books and download free ebooks.







A note from Tracy Falbe: Be the first to know about my new releases and special sales at Brave Luck Books. Join the Readers' List. Ebooks and audiobooks available worldwide. Print in select countries.