Cliff Ball's Blog, page 14

Sales Experiment for October

For October, I decided to make two of my novels go free on Amazon(only in the US) just to see what would happen, by making them free on Smashwords, which made them free on Sony, Apple, Kobo, etc. I also had them distributed to B&N, but I don't have any sale/download figures for anything yet except for Amazon, Smashwords itself, and my novels that I've published through Pubit on B&N.

Amazon US

Out of Time – 25 actual sales, 1780 free downloads

Don't Mess With Earth – 8

Shattered Earth – 71 actual sales, 6,217 free downloads

The Usurper – 41

Voyager and the Aliens – 2

Amazon UK

Out of Time – 19

Don't Mess With Earth – 4

Shattered Earth – 2

B&N Nook (through Pubit)

Out of Time – 2

Don't Mess With Earth – 4

The Usurper – 2

Smashwords (as free e-books just on that site)

Shattered Earth – 104

Out of Time – 15

Voyager and the Aliens – 141

3 paperback copies sold: The Usurper, Shattered Earth, and Out of Time. My novels are also sold through Apple, Sony, & Kobo.

8139 novels downloaded for free (giving me a little over 10k books bought or downloaded this year, and 11,100 total all time). That's astounding to me, and I really would've preferred those to have been at regular prices (almost a year's salary! lol), but I just thought I'd try to see what would happen. While sales continued for Shattered Earth, I don't think it helped the sales of any of my other novels, and I don't think I'm going to do free again, unless its giveaways or coupons on Smashwords.

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My #Marketing Ideas

I have been an independently published author now for nearly four years, and not until 2010 did I really do any kind of promoting/marketing for my novels, mostly because I had no idea where to start. Since about late 2009, there have been all sorts of assorted experts in the field all over the internet who have popped up with a book on the subject, and if you buy their book, they'll tell you what the secret is to selling thousands, or millions even, of books. I think what works for one author doesn't necessarily work for another, so if you're willing to waste $2.99 or $4.99 or $6.99 for someone to make money off of your naïveté, then go right ahead, since I was one of those people who has done that more often than I'd like to admit.

When I first published in 2008, it was suggested by iUniverse (now I go through Createspace, best money I have ever saved!) that authors create a website to promote and market themselves. So, I found Geocities, created a very basic site, posted the novel cover, the description, and the link to purchase, then forgot about it. When I finally remembered I had it, Yahoo apparently had shut down Geocities, so I searched for another server. Eventually, I came across Freewebs.com, now known as Webs.com, and that's where I now have my website hosted, and trying to build my "brand," whatever that really means. Since then, I've gone from idea to idea, gimmick to gimmick trying to promote and market my novels. Some have worked, and some haven't, but here are my top 10 ideas. Your experience may vary.

1) Websites/blogs — With a website, you should know some html, or you can plug in whatever others have built for such a need, and then you can customize it to your heart's content. You can add videos, pictures, links, etc. The suggestion from across the vast wasteland of the internet is to do SEO (search engine optimization), build back links, trade links with others, or pay for thousands of hits so that your Google Ranking will bring people to you. Let me tell you, that's mostly nonsense, your site will be listed in Google, Yahoo, and Bing within a matter of days, but you can submit to directories, but I've never actually seen a hit from one of those. Only hard work on your part in promoting yourself will people begin searching your name, names of your novels, or similar sounding names before you notice hits to your site. As for a blog, if you want to keep it updated every day, you can submit it to RSS feed sites and link up with others who have sites. With some blogs, like Blogger, your feed will be seen on the side panel of the blog (if they're on Blogger) that you've linked to. A website/blog is good for having a place for readers to come to find out what you're up to, or if you have a new novel on the market. Plus, if you're in the market for a job, it's something potential employers will see, showing them that you have some skills and creativity (or, so I've been told).

2) Social Networking — What did we do before Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and all of those other social sites? To be honest, I don't remember! ha ha. Anyway, I do know that if you join every forum involving writing, e-books, and marketing, you'll never write, you'll just be talking about writing, and getting to know other indie authors who are also talking about writing. Facebook is useful for authors in that they give us the ability to have a page for ourselves and our work. Thousands, and maybe even millions, of users can eventually come across your page, they can like it, and even share it with anyone in their social circle. Twitter used to be useful in my opinion, but there are way too many voices out there now, and one can get lost in the "noise." My best advice for social networking is to do it in moderation, otherwise, you'll never get that next book written.

3) Press releases — I use free sites like Prlog.org, which is good for visibility, but I really don't know if it results in sales. Doesn't hurt to try though, and it's free. If you want to pay for high visibility, try PRWEB, but it's really expensive if you're on a tight budget.

4) Libraries — I used to work in a library, so I know something about this. A lot of indie books go almost directly to the Friends of the Library Bookstore, even though the Acquisitions Librarian "promised" that your books will get on the shelf, eventually. Although, it could've been just the one I worked with, because he wasn't too particularly thrilled with putting my novels on the shelf. My suggestion is to get to know the library staff, usually the poor souls stuck at the Circulation Desk. Sometimes they get to sort through all the donations, so if you let them know that you really, really want your book in the library, they will mark your book for the acquisitions librarian, who will set it up for circulation. Be patient, books arrive at the library from B&T and Ingram every day, so it may take months for your book to show up in the catalog.

5) Book trailer — You can do it yourself by downloading Microsoft's Live Movie Maker for free. It's fairly easy to use once you get the hang of it. Of course, if you want something like the "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" trailer, then you'll have to spend a lot of money for someone else to do it or have taken a video course in college yourself. Once you're done with it, upload it to Youtube and a few other video sites. Very useful in the fact that the reader may get your book cover and the idea impressed into their heads, and then might eventually buy a copy of your novel.

6) Guerilla Marketing — Basically, this is putting bookmarks or business cards in books at stores like Walmart, B&N, and maybe Half Price Books (if you have one in your area), or even at the library. I have also put bookmarks in those envelopes that have the paid postage from the credit card companies and other spam mailers, and sent it back to them. You can do this for everything you mail out.

7) Bloggers — There are bloggers who will post your novel, review it, help with a blog tour, or give you an interview that will be posted on their site. Some require you to pay for the exposure, and some are free. Even if you get no returns on it as far as sales, it'll be on Google and other search engines for as long as that post is available. So when someone does a search, that's another impression you get, and it might even get you some sales out of it.

8 ) Paperback book giveaways — When you first finish your book, have it uploaded, and then available on Createspace, you can then contact some bloggers, or go to Goodreads and post your book giveaway. With bloggers, they can target specific readers who actually want to read your novel. I've received a couple of great reviews that way. With Goodreads, people will sign up for the giveaway just because it's a freebie, not really caring about the genre. I had one person return a book because they thought it was something else, and others who reviewed, who didn't like that genre, and thought Goodreads required a review. Remember to be choosy about doing paperback giveaways if you want specific readers that are looking for a specific genre.

9) Free e-books — One way to get your novels seen is to give away free copies of your e-books, usually with a coupon from Smashwords. If you want it free on Amazon, set the novel free on Smashwords, distribute it to B&N even if you're using their publishing platform, and then wait for Amazon to price match. You'll get a few thousand downloads for a week or two, copies into hands of people who normally wouldn't have known about you and your work, and possibly some good reviews out of it. You may also get hit and run reviews that aren't exactly glowing reviews of your work, mostly on Amazon. These are usually 1 star, they question your writing skills, and sometimes even your IQ. The advice to authors is never to respond, be above it all, and have a thick skin. There are instances of authors responding to their critics, and it developed into a clusterfark. Never ever a good thing.

10) Ads — Unless you have a lot of disposable income, creating ads on Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and other sites is a complete waste of your time and money. But, if you get a free coupon for one of those sites, then knock yourself out. I have also advertised on Craigslist and other classifieds all over the States from time to time, and I get the occasional hit to my website from those sites, but I don't know if they actually result in sales. Mostly, it's about being visible, and that's not really a bad thing.

Finally, marketing your novels comes down to hard work, time, and sometimes spending money to make money. There are times you may want to give up, but being persistent will get you and your novels seen, and you'll see success. These ideas are only some that indie authors may or may not try to promote their books, and it's really an experience may vary kind of thing.

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Interview on 1st Author Interviews

Premium Interview with Cliff Ball Author of 'The Usurper'
 
Brief summary:
Gary Jackson is raised to hate. Hate the United States, and everything it has ever stood for. His mission is to destroy the United States from within, allying himself with America's enemies to accomplish the deed. He stops at nothing, and a small group of Americans decide they need to stop him. Will they succeed or will the US be relegated to the dustbin of history?

Excerpt:
"You know who is one of your enemies, Gary?" asked al Hussein.
"No, who?" the boy asked with a bewildered look on his face.
"One of your enemies is your mother. She doesn't agree with the government controlling peoples' lives, and she thinks terrorism to control the people is bad. What do you think we should do with her, Gary?" asked Putin.
"My mother is an enemy? But, she could be on our side," Gary innocently protested.
"We've talked about this before, Gary, and you know what you must do,"
"But… but…. I don't want to do this."
"Yes, I know, but she will destroy all that we are working for, and all of your future hopes and dreams. Again, I ask you, what should we do to people like her?"
Gary sighed, gulped a couple of times, and said, "The enemy has to die as an example to others not to think for themselves to do what they want. If my mother is an enemy, she must die,"
"Correct response. We need to go visit your mother to see that she is no longer a threat. Let's go, Gary." ordered Putin.
A few minutes later, the trio arrived at the house Gary and his mother lived in. They went inside, where Ann was in the kitchen cooking dinner, she heard them come in, went to meet them, saw her son, and went to hug him, but, Gary didn't hug her back, so she asked, "What's wrong?"
"You are the enemy, you must be destroyed." he said as coldly as possible.
Putin handed Gary a Russian made Tokarev TT-33 service pistol, and Gary aimed it at Ann, who was shocked, but knew that this day would come eventually, and thought about how her life had come to this in the brief moments she had left. Gary, who had no expression on his face, but did have hate in his eyes, aimed, and fired point blank at her forehead; giving his mother no time to react. Blood and brain matter spattered everywhere. Ann died instantly, her body falling to the floor with a thud. Gary handed the gun back to Putin, left the room, did his best to suppress any impulse he had to cry, and he was determined to leave this in his past, hopefully to never be dwelled on again.

THE INTERVIEW:
Why did you write this book?
I wanted to write a political thriller for a few years, and I'm into conspiracy theories, so I decided that around 2008 I would write a novel based on some of the conspiracy theories surrounding some of our politicians from about the mid-1960′s onwards. It includes such nutty conspiracies as truthers, birthers, and the idea that one all powerful man controls everything behind the scenes. I thought it would be interesting to see where the main character would go if given unlimited power to do what he wanted to the States.
How did you come up with the title?
I figured the main character pretty much usurps the idea of the American Constitutional Republic by becoming a petty dictator, so the title seemed to make sense.
How did you choose your genre?
Well, genre of Thriller makes sense for this particular novel.
What inspired you to be a writer?
When I was in elementary school, my parents bought me the whole Little House on the Prairie set (I guess because we watched the TV series), and I thought it was cool that Laura was a writer. So, when I was 10, I began writing.
Are you writing another book?
Yes, I am. It's an alternate history, political thriller, science fiction novel. Basically, the US continues with the moon landings, and announces they're going to Mars by the end of 1989. The Soviets decide to up the ante by building an interstellar starship of their own, but things go awry once they leave the solar system. In the meantime, terrorism against the US begins earlier than in our own timeline. Al Qaeda suicide bombs the State of the Union in early 80′s, and the new President sends an elite team of Green Berets to take out Osama bin Laden. That's about as far as I've written, but I plan on having the US & Russians team up to launch a starship out of the solar system, where they find an anomaly, and find the long lost Soviet ship on a planet not previously known to humans. Unfortunately, the planet has some very dark secrets….. (vampires? zombies? ghosts? demons? dragons? I haven't decided yet! lol)
Question usually asked from readers: Why should I read this? This sounds like what we're going through now.
My answer: Sure there are similarities, but everyone only thinks they know this story. Sometimes, a book you normally wouldn't read or are skeptical of, usually turns into something you enjoy a lot. Some of my reviews have reflected that. All I ask is that readers give it a chance.

Book Title: The Usurper
Publisher: CreateSpace
Author: Cliff Ball
Genre: Thriller
Amazon [Paperback]: The Usurper
Kindle: The Usurper
B&N: The Usurper
Smashwords: The Usurper
Author's Website: http://cliffball.webs.com/
Author's Blog: http://cliff1974.wordpress.com/
Author's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cliff.ball.author
Author's Twitter: http://twitter.com/cliff_ball

Alternate opening to The Usurper

I decided to go back through The Usurper to fix minor errors, and while I was doing that, I decided to fix the opening, which a lot of people have complained about. Here is the first part of Chapter 1. I'm open to suggestions if this doesn't work, so feel free to suggest some changes:

She knew this day was coming.

As Ann's 10 year old son was raising the pistol to shoot her, she saw the absolute hate in his eyes, something that a 10 year should never have experienced, or even know. While she was not surprised that she was being disposed of, and really kind of wondered what took them so long, she was shocked that they were using her precious son to do it. She glanced at his handlers standing behind him, who had smug looks on their faces, and seemed to be pleased with their indoctrination of her son. She knew this was a cliché, but her life leading up to this point began flashing before her eyes, and she began reflecting, in the brief time she had left, on why she took this path on the road to her destruction.

Twelve years earlier….

Ann O'Hara had run away from her home in Nebraska a month earlier, and now found herself in New York City. She ran away because her father was verbally abusive, and treated her, along with her mother, like they were garbage. He had come back from Korea 10 years earlier very different from the way he was when had left, he was like a whole other person, and he absolutely refused to talk about what had happened to him there. She was only 17, but felt that she was old enough to take care of herself without being told what to do, as her friends said, it was all about freedom from the oppressive machinations of The Man. So, now she was in the Big Apple, with any number of infinite possibilities open to her.

She was taking in the sights and sounds of the city when she noticed that she had walked past the Soviet Union's embassy. The Soviets had fascinated her, because they were all about order and making everyone equal, and she thought it highly unfair that people like her psychotic father were allowed to go out into public. She stood there for a while, immersed in thought, when a man that was going inside the building, stopped, and asked, "Are you ok?"

Ann shook her head, realizing how long she must've been standing there looking like she might be weird or something. She looked at the man, who looked very dour, and said, "Oh! I'm sorry for standing out here so long. I'll move along."

"You don't need to be sorry. You seemed like you thought about going inside. Is there anything we can help you with?"

"You work for the Soviets?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes, I do. I'm Agent Jones, which is my codename, and if you want to know why, that's classified. Would you like to come inside?"

"Really? You'd let me do that?"

"Of course. Are you interested in getting to know Soviet philosophy?"

"Sure. I'm interested in hearing your sales pitch. Lead the way."

Ann was led through the building, which had pictures of Josef Stalin and Vladimir Lenin posted on the walls everywhere. The two walked into Agent Jones' office where a TV had been turned on to air the meeting at the United Nations, where Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was scheduled to speak. Ann pointed to the TV, asked, "Do I get to meet him?"

"You can only if you're dedicated to our cause, willing to live in the Soviet Union, and help us to bring down the United States from within rather than militarily?"

"I would have no problem with that. Can I work with the KGB?"

"Not right away, you would have to go through some extensive training if they find you worthy. We have some potential plans that call for young agents who will be important to the future takedown of the West." then he saw that Khrushchev was beginning to speak, so he told Ann that they should listen to what the Soviet Premier had to say.

"We will bury you!" bellowed Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, as he slammed his fist on the hardwood table.

The Americans, and other westerners who were assembled in the room at the United Nations in New York, glanced at each other, and rolled their eyes, which was clearly visible on the TV broadcast. President John F. Kennedy, the President of the United States took a deep breath, and asked, "Are you threatening war?"

"You think I'm threatening war? I can honestly say that I'm not, Mr. Kennedy. What I mean, is that your working class will bury you. History is on our side, you'll see. The Soviet Union won't even have to commit troops to defeat you; your poor and downtrodden will do it for us. I predict that in 50 years, the United States of America will cease to exist. Your people may not even see it coming; it'll just happen one day when no one is expecting it. Poof! The great and foolish American experiment finally comes to an end. Now, let's discuss why we're all here."

Jones and Ann watched the rest of the broadcast, and when it was done, they discussed all the particulars about why Ann wanted to defect. When Jones was thoroughly convinced of Ann's sincerity, or at least, Ann was convinced she was sincere, he decided that both of them would wait for the Premier to come back to the Embassy, and Jones would introduce Ann to him.

Two hours later, Khrushchev and his entourage arrived back at the Embassy. Jones took Ann to meet the Premier, and when they were face to face, he eagerly shook the Premier's hand, and said, "Good day, comrade. I want to introduce you to Ann O'Hara; she is one of the people we've been looking for to put into our program."

The Soviet Premier saw that the girl was a petite brunette, fairly young looking, and dressed in what the Americans referred to as hippy clothes. Khrushchev knew from various reports he received from the KGB, that these kids were useful idiots, and just rebelling against their parents and society. He didn't really know if Ann was rebelling, but they would find out, and useful idiots would be helpful to the Soviets. Khrushchev knew those types would help bring down the United States with enough training and brainwashing.

Khrushchev walked over to the girl, shook her hand, and introduced himself, "Hello, young lady. I am Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Are you completely dedicated to the cause and willing to do what we want to achieve our goals of burying the United States?"

Oh, yes, Comrade Premier. I'm looking forward to advancing the cause by any means necessary, if it comes to that."

"Ann, that's the kind of attitude we are looking for from recruits. Before we tell you exactly what we want you to do, the KGB will require a full immersion in all things Marx, Lenin, and even Stalin, which includes getting you to Moscow. I'll let my people take care of that problem though." Khrushchev glanced at his watch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other places to be. My people will take good care of you. Good day." remarked the Soviet Premier, and then he walked away.

My sales for year so far

When I started self-publishing in 2008, I didn't really have any kind of goals on how big of a number I wanted to reach. When I hit 100 sold by the end of 2009 without any promoting except for Facebook, I thought that was cool. When I managed to get a little over 500 sold last year, I thought that was awesome. Well, as of September 2011, I have now reached 2000 sold for the year so far, and I'm only 200 away from reaching 3000 sales.  Earlier in the year, around March, for some inexplicable reason to me, my sales took off on both Amazon and B&N at 400 combined a month mostly for one title, but, just as inexplicably, two months later, I went back to selling maybe 30 a month. I can't explain that, but, boy, do I wish I knew how I manage to attract that many readers.  Well, anyway, here's the totals as of right now, from 2008 until now, on each platform for each book. My paperback sales are listed under the publisher I used. Links to each novel are located at each novel's page at the top of this blog or at http://cliffball.webs.com.

Amazon Kindle, combo of US & UK

Out of Time – 317

Don't Mess With Earth – 703

The Usurper – 294

Shattered Earth – 260

Voyager and the Aliens short story – 1 (uploaded this week)

Barnes & Noble Nook

Out of Time – 53

Don't Mess With Earth – 163

The Usurper – 49

Shattered Earth – 33

Kobo

Out of Time – 32

Don't Mess With Earth – 5

The Usurper – 3

Shattered Earth – 5

Apple

Out of Time – 53

Don't Mess With Earth – 19

The Usurper – 2

Shattered Earth – 62

Sony Reader

Out of Time – 4

Don't Mess With Earth – 3

The Usurper – 0

Shattered Earth – 2

Smashwords

Out of Time – 32

Don't Mess With Earth – 97

The Usurper – 160

Shattered Earth – 173

Voyager and the Aliens – 98

iUniverse, the original publisher of Out of Time

Out of Time paperback or e-book – 55

Virtualbookworm.com, publisher of Don't Mess With Earth

Don't Mess With Earth paperback – 62

Createspace

Out of Time – 7

The Usurper – 24

Shattered Earth – 20

and when I used Lulu.com for a couple of months:

Out of Time – 3

The Usurper – 1

To re-cap the grand totals:

Out of Time: 551

Don't Mess With Earth – 1056

The Usurper – 532

Shattered Earth – 558

Voyager and the Aliens – 99

Two new book videos

For the heck of it, I created this video of my book covers.

This is the version 2 of The Usurper book trailer. Tweaked the music, added the current cover, and made the end credits slightly longer.

Voyager and the Aliens FREE short story

View this document on Scribd

My novel, The Usurper and September 11

I posted this last year, but I thought I would re-post it again.

In my novel, The Usurper, I explore terrorism as part of the novel and who in this fictional universe is actually responsible for starting it/financing it against the United States and everyone else in the world when it begins in the late 1960′s. I decided to have the KGB train various terrorist groups to undermine the western powers, no matter which side they were on, right wing, left wing, or religious terrorism, that way the Soviet Union thinks they can win against their main enemy, the United States.

Eventually, when the Soviet Union collapses in the novel, Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden takes up the training of their own terrorists, but are financed by a trillionare who can't stand the Americans. I have the World Trade Center attacked in 1993 like they were originally, nothing changes in that regard. Then, I have Tim McVeigh attack the Murrah Building and I explain that he tries to side with Al Qaeda(in the novel), but because he was an American they wouldn't help him.

On September 11, 2001, I do have the exact same thing happen to the WTC and the Pentagon, but, in my novel I have United Flight 93 turn out differently. The passengers(who have different names in this universe) on board take back control and land in Pittsburgh. Eventually, the President is blamed for the attacks and is accused of making up Osama bin Laden, so that the Department of Homeland Security can be created, and he can have his way. Eventually, that President is executed by forces of the new President. A few chapters later, one of the men who helped take back control of Flight 93, helps leads the resistance against the man who sides with Al Qaeda and is trying to turn the United States into a communist utopia.

In real life, it's the now 10th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th. We should remember who our enemies are and not eat each other(Americans) alive because of some stupid disagreements. Instead of attacking each other, we should be focused on defeating the enemy, and we all know who that is.

My $.99 ebook sale.

Until September 5th, all four of my novels in e-book format are on sale for $.99 each.

 

THE USURPER: a political thriller

Gary Jackson is raised to hate. Hate the United States, its people, and everything they have ever stood for. His mission is to destroy the country from within, allying himself with the worst of America's enemies, and one very powerful and malevolent billionaire, to accomplish the deed. Once elected to the highest position in the land, Gary puts his lifelong goals to work, and puts the USA onto the path of ultimate destruction. He stops at nothing to rid the USA of his political and spiritual enemies, until a small group decide they've had enough, and they want to stop him. Will they succeed or will the United States be relegated to the dustbin of history?

Where to buy:

US Kindle, UK Kindle, B&N Nook, Smashwords for all e-book formats

DON'T MESS WITH EARTH – science fiction

Humans discover that two groups of aliens have been manipulating human history since the pre-historic days. One group does this by posing as historical figures such as King Arthur, Galileo, Amelia Earhart, among others. The other group causes all sorts of historical anomalies such as the Salem Witch Trials and the disappearance of the Roanoke colonists.

Centuries later, when the humans from the country called the United States get a chance to study the technology of a downed alien ship in Roswell, they decide to do something about both groups of aliens. Once the scientists of Earth start reverse engineering the downed spacecraft, President Truman issues an executive order that will forever change Earth history.

 

Where to buy:

US Kindle, UK Kindle B&N Nook, Smashwords

 

SHATTERED EARTH – science fiction

Advanced humans, called Terrans, leave Earth when its threatened by a massive meteor. The remaining humans on Earth fall back into primitiveness. The advanced humans, and a group of aliens, the Ragnor, involve Earth in an interstellar war. Thousands of years later, the humans of Earth decide to do something about this. Interstellar politics will never be the same again once Earth is done with their revenge.

These Terrans involve themselves throughout human history. Some play as King Arthur and Merlin. Another is a scientist, whose name is Galileo, and he gets into all sorts of trouble for challenging official orthodoxy about the sun, the Earth, and which one is revolving around the other. Then, we have Amelia Earhart, who has a very valid reason for disappearing. When an alien spaceship gets shot down over Roswell in 1947, President Truman orders the creation of Area 51, Project Blue Book and Sign, and has the United States embark on a plan that will culminate 60 years in the future. Nothing will ever be the same again when the United States gets involved in interstellar politics. But, the whole plan backfires when Earth ends up the worse for wear over it. Other species find out what Earth did, since no one else was bold enough to even try, so they want to help bring down the Ragnor once and for all. The new President of the United States imagines a galactic federation or a republic, but, none of the other species wants anything to do with it. Once they destroy the Ragnor's technology, they leave the Ragnor to ponder why all the other species hated them enough to attack them. Will the galaxy remain at peace?

 

Where to buy: US Kindle, UK Kindle, B&N Nook, and Smashwords

 

OUT OF TIME: a time travel novella

Dr. John Hawking, a clone of famous 20th/21st century scientist Stephen Hawking, discovers time is actually fluid; past, present, and future all exist at the same time. What he doesn't know, is if the current timeline can change when something is changed in the past. The US government wants him to find out. The theme being to make right what once went wrong. The time travelers meet all sorts of 20th century icons, from the Titanic to Anne Frank to Roswell to the Apollo 13. However, someone is trying to stop them, and the future may never be the same again.

Where to buy: US Kindle, UK Kindle, B&N Nook, & Smashwords

New book review of The Usurper

This is a new review of The Usurper that was done on Manic Readers:

MR Review

Rating:

Reviewer: Amanda

Review:

The usurper, Gary Jackson, is a hateful soul. His entire life was planned by the Soviet Union before he was even conceived by a volunteer KGB agent. Gary was raised to hate the USA and all of its citizens and ultimately be the man of the countries undoing.

In The Usurper, we follow Gary's mother for a short time but the star in the novel is undeniably Gary. He is trained and educated with the sole purpose of ending the USA during his middle aged years. The Usurper is filled to the brim with conspiracies and some elaborated history lessons. This is a terrific thriller but I would advise the reader to be open minded when reading due to Gary's and the Soviet's cold-heartedness. It would be relatively easy for a conspiracy theorist to become enthralled with this novel and the intricacies of Gary's life. I did notice there are some points in the novel when the storytelling is very brief and dry, which I am not a huge fan of. However, there are many more other parts of this novel that are gripping and make up for that dry style of writing. Overall, The Usurper is an attention-grabbing story and an eye opener on many levels. Although The Usurper is a work of fiction, many instances could be comparable to some going-ons in our world today. Ball indeed did a terrific job with his imagination.