Ryan Field's Blog, page 490
April 10, 2012
Why Amazon Has "Like" Buttons...
I've been hearing a great deal about Amazon "Like" buttons and thought I'd do a little research and find out exactly what they are and what they do. We all know the basic idea, but I've seen a few interesting interpretations recently. I've heard of publishers asking (in some cases telling) authors to not only click the Amazon "Like" buttons on their own books, but also to ask other authors and readers to click it as well.
According to one web site, where it's explained in very simple terms, the "like" button is a shopping tool, something that helps Amazon make recommendations to you as a shopper, and something that can be helpful to you if you actually bother to look at the books (or products) Amazon recommends for you. I never do, and I have a feeling most would agree with me. You can read more here, where this is all discussed in more detail.
At this page, on Amazon Kindle Boards, some tend to think that the "Like" buttons are hurting authors more than helping them. Allegedly, readers use the "Like" buttons as a way to rate a book they enjoyed instead of leaving a rating or a review. This, allegedly, leaves nothing but negative reviews. I'm not sure I agree with this. But I could be wrong.
On the same thread, Amazon replies to a letter and says this:
The "Like" feature lets you tell everyone the items you like on our site and will help us in improving your personalized product recommendations. We're adding the "Like" button to item detail pages gradually, and it might be a while before it's visible on all pages.
This web site claims that Amazon's goal with the "Like" button is to create a more social place, like facebook. It's a way to personalize your shopping experience and to interact with other people...so they claim. This seems to sum it up very well:
Three things will happen when "liking" an item on Amazon:
1. You will receive recommendations of items based on what you have "liked".
2. You will be able to view the amount of other Amazon customers that have "liked" the same product as you have.
3. The item that you have "liked" will be added to a list of your "liked" products.
I recently purchased a feather duster on Amazon (We don't have a WalMart within twenty miles because I live in a trendy tourist town that caters to high end clients with antiques and boutiques).I also don't have time to go out looking for feather dusters. So I spent and hour checking them out on Amazon late one night, ordered one, and loved it so much when it arrived I clicked "Like." After that, I was inundated with ads on Amazon for more feather dusters, so I know from experience that Amazon is tracking my purchases and making recommendations based on them. I have also clicked "Like" for books I've enjoyed, but I haven't paid attention to the suggestions Amazon is giving me for other books. Basically, the suggestions are invisible.
But regardless of what the "Like" button is supposed to do, even if it does help book sales, which has not been proven by anyone yet, I would think common sense dictates that in order to click the "Like" button as I did with my feather duster customers should also have made the purchase and actually liked the item. Because if you're clicking a "Like" button for something you know nothing about it defeats the purpose of the "Like" button and it's misleading other consumers. At least that's my take on the "Like" button. If anyone has any thoughts, please feel free to comment.
According to one web site, where it's explained in very simple terms, the "like" button is a shopping tool, something that helps Amazon make recommendations to you as a shopper, and something that can be helpful to you if you actually bother to look at the books (or products) Amazon recommends for you. I never do, and I have a feeling most would agree with me. You can read more here, where this is all discussed in more detail.
At this page, on Amazon Kindle Boards, some tend to think that the "Like" buttons are hurting authors more than helping them. Allegedly, readers use the "Like" buttons as a way to rate a book they enjoyed instead of leaving a rating or a review. This, allegedly, leaves nothing but negative reviews. I'm not sure I agree with this. But I could be wrong.
On the same thread, Amazon replies to a letter and says this:
The "Like" feature lets you tell everyone the items you like on our site and will help us in improving your personalized product recommendations. We're adding the "Like" button to item detail pages gradually, and it might be a while before it's visible on all pages.
This web site claims that Amazon's goal with the "Like" button is to create a more social place, like facebook. It's a way to personalize your shopping experience and to interact with other people...so they claim. This seems to sum it up very well:
Three things will happen when "liking" an item on Amazon:
1. You will receive recommendations of items based on what you have "liked".
2. You will be able to view the amount of other Amazon customers that have "liked" the same product as you have.
3. The item that you have "liked" will be added to a list of your "liked" products.
I recently purchased a feather duster on Amazon (We don't have a WalMart within twenty miles because I live in a trendy tourist town that caters to high end clients with antiques and boutiques).I also don't have time to go out looking for feather dusters. So I spent and hour checking them out on Amazon late one night, ordered one, and loved it so much when it arrived I clicked "Like." After that, I was inundated with ads on Amazon for more feather dusters, so I know from experience that Amazon is tracking my purchases and making recommendations based on them. I have also clicked "Like" for books I've enjoyed, but I haven't paid attention to the suggestions Amazon is giving me for other books. Basically, the suggestions are invisible.
But regardless of what the "Like" button is supposed to do, even if it does help book sales, which has not been proven by anyone yet, I would think common sense dictates that in order to click the "Like" button as I did with my feather duster customers should also have made the purchase and actually liked the item. Because if you're clicking a "Like" button for something you know nothing about it defeats the purpose of the "Like" button and it's misleading other consumers. At least that's my take on the "Like" button. If anyone has any thoughts, please feel free to comment.
April 9, 2012
I GET KNOCKED DOWN!!!! (but I get up again)
For writers who know what it's like to suffer rejection and get screwed over more than once in publishing. We've all been there, and if we haven't we will be eventually.
"Dammit" by Michele L. Montgomery: Published by Seventh Windows Publications
Before I get into anything else, I'd like to state up front this is a hard review to write because I don't want to give out any spoilers. But with "Dammit," Michele Montgomery had me surprised by her characters and the plot almost every time I seemed to think I had them all nailed down. In fact, the title of the book is perfect in more ways than one. Every time something took me by surprise I kept thinking, "dammit she did it again. I didn't see that one coming."
The book opens with an airport scene. This always resonates with me because I absolutely despise air travel because of the horrible complications that go along with it these days. But after reading the scenes in this airport, and some of the things that happen to Michael before he boards the plane, I might rethink how I feel about air travel and take a short trip somewhere. This is where Michele really is a master at fantasy, in my opinion. I read this book late at night this past weekend. And from Friday night until Sunday night, Michele took me away into a world of "what if combined with intrigue" and I loved every minute of it. I've had an intense month. I needed that and loved every minute of the escape. In fact, I've posted many times about how much I love Anne Tyler books. Well, I bought the most recent Tyler book and put that on hold so I could read "Dammit" first. I'm glad I did. It put me in a better mood and helped changed my perspective about a few things that have been irritating me recently. And books that can to that don't come along often.
The story revolves around Michael's adventure, and his good-natured way of being there for others. It talks about his past and how hard he's had to come back from some serious trauma most of us can only imagine in our worst nightmares. I liked him from the first page, and as I read more about him I started to like him even more. Without getting into spoilers (this is where it gets tricky and I don't want to ruin anyone's experience) he's had a rough past with regard to his love life, and he's still not completely over it nor is he ready to trust again. He's also very sexy and not obnoxious about this either. There are more than a few airport scenes that leave the reader on the edge, with teases and erotic references that made me smile more than once.
In the airport, Michael meets another interesting character, Carly. She's a little outrageous, she's funny, and she's not shy about anything. In fact, she's fascinated by the fact that Michael is so shy. When Carly goes to the gift shop, another character is introduced: Cash. He's strong, sexy, and just what Michael needs. But there's more to his story, too. And the connection between Michael and Cash is much stronger than Michael thinks it is in the beginning.
As it turns out, Michael is on his way to Pittsburgh to help out his cousin who has been committed by his step-mother because he's gay. There's another storyline here that's as emotional as Michael's own back story (and another big surprise later), and Cash seems more than interested in listening to everything Michael has to say. When they arrive in Pittsburgh, the sex scenes are as intense and emotional as the story and they add a layer of reality to the book that's done very well. The way each character and sex scene is handled in the book gives an authenticity that's hard to describe. The best way I could describe it is that I've been in situations like that, as a gay man, more than once and everything I read regarding the sex scenes could have happened to any gay man in real life. In other words, I didn't have that "Oh no, she didn't do that," moment during the sex scenes. I had that "Yes, she got that right" moment instead.
And the emotion was there, too. I've written about other books by Michele Montgomery and I've mentioned this before. It's one reason why I look forward to reading her work. The sex isn't just there for the sake of sex and yet the voice is strong. There's always some kind of a bond between her characters. And it's all executed in a way that keeps the story moving forward and the reader waiting to see what's going to happen next.
As I said earlier, there's a lot of intrigue in this book I didn't expect to see. It happens in a way that hits hard at times and to get into detail about this would ruin the book for other people. Let's just say that nothing is as it appears to be when it's first introduced. And as the characters arc and grow in different ways throughout the book the reader is in for more than a few shocks he/she didn't see coming. For this alone, I would recommend this book to anyone.
As a side note, "Dammit" is well written, in Michele's own style that I love. And as far as quality goes, I saw nothing to complain about. This e-book is just as well produced as any e-book from any large publisher I've read in the past year...in some cases it's even better. The book was published by Seventh Window Publications and I don't know much about them. But you can get there from here to check out their web site. And I will be checking out more books by them in the future. This prices look good, the covers look good, and it seems to be a simple site to navigate. I'm also hoping they publish more with Michele. She's an author who loves what she does and it shines through in her work.
April 8, 2012
April 7, 2012
A Look Inside: Chase of a Lifetime, And Future Projects
I just saw that Amazon posted a preview of "Chase of a Lifetime." For those who don't know, if you click on the link here, and then click on the cover image on Amazon for COAL, a new window will pop up and there's a sample of the book.
It's a decent sized sample, too. I don't know how this part of the publishing process is done on Amazon. I didn't choose what the preview would be and I didn't choose the length of the preview. I've read some previews that are just a few pages. I've read some where you get the prologue and nothing else. With COAL, you get the entire first chapter and part of the second.
I'm happy with that. If I had been able to choose I would have done the same thing. There's enough there to set the story up and to show the basic quality of the book. We've worked on formatting all week and did our best to correct all the problems with those few indentations that weren't working. I didn't see any last time I went through the book. I hope my e-readers are showing the same thing other e-readers are showing.
In any event, the preview is up for those who would like to check it out. Like I posted the first day I announced I was doing this book on Amazon, it's a quiet humble little venture I hope will allow me the freedom to do a few things I normally wouldn't be able to do with publishers. Right now I'm working on something interesting...a novel that gets into doms and subs. I've never done that before (at least not in fiction :) and I wanted to give it a try. The main theme revolves around a sub who can't get enough dom, but is always torn between what he thinks is "normal" and "too much." In other words, like so many, he's plagued with guilt for a good deal of the book. And I'm not sure he'll ever get over it.
And please look for my new release with Loveyoudivine.com, which I'll post more about soon. It's tentatively titled, "Cowboy Mike and Buddy Boy." But that might be changed because of the word "boy." I don't want anyone's search engine getting the wrong idea in these ever changing times of publishing.[image error]
April 6, 2012
Dammit! by Michele L. Montgomery
I've been waiting to write this post for a while. It's about Michele L. Montgomery, an author I admire.
She has a new book out and that's really all you need to know. Though I haven't read this book yet, I will. I have read other books by Michele and I've rated them on goodreads and loved them.
When I say I admire Michele, this covers a lot of ground. Most of all it's her work I love. And then there are the little things. When I run into her on social media, she's always doing something nice and it's always positive. I always get the feeling the Michele I see online is the same Michele I'd meet in person if I ever get out to Denver. This, I might add, comes through in her work, too.
If you like reading gay fiction, please take the time to check out her work, especially the new release.
Here's a link to Amazon. A link to another post about her. And below is the blurb to "Dammit."
Escaping the past isn't easy, especially when the scars left behind are a constant reminder that trust and love can hurt.
Michael McKnight knows what it means to be on the run from memories. Years ago, after fleeing an abusive relationship, he was brutally stabbed and left for dead. His only savior had been a compassionate stranger he'd only gotten a glimpse of before slipping into the blackness that claimed him.
For Michael, recovery was an arduous and hard fought return to some semblance of normalcy. He rebuilds his life, spending his waking hours buried in work and fighting to forget the past. And his life seems to be going well until he finds out that his cousin Wayne is being held captive in a mental asylum for being gay. So he buys a plane ticket and flies out to rescue his cousin.
But the weather is against Michael, keeping him grounded and talking to a man who claims that he'd once saved his life and is willing to help him rescue his cousin. Can this man be for real or is something more sinister in the works?
April 5, 2012
HTML, Formatting on Kindle, and Links for Help
So far, I'm happy with the basic formatting results with "Chase of a Lifetime," but I wasn't 100% thrilled, which is why we're still working on one issue. In several places, I've found that one line paragraphs, usually with dialogue, didn't indent properly. This isn't an editing issue and it's not that I don't know any better. It's a formatting issue that happens all the time when Word is converted to HTML and they aren't always compatible. There are tricks and secrets Tony knows that I honestly can't explain in detail. I will provide a few links below, though. (I'm going to try to get Tony to write a guest post, in more technical detail, about this.)
I'm not going to get into all the technical issues in this post. I barely know how to pronounce them let alone write about them. But since I've been talking about the self-publishing process since I started the project, strictly from the writer's POV, I want to mention everything I've experienced along the way. And, for the record, this isn't something I've read about on any of the more popular blogs about self-publishing on Amazon. I've read about how important it is to edit, to get a cover that works, and how to promote. In fact, what I've read about self-publishing has always been more about promotion and self-promotion than anything else. All those things are very important. But getting the right formatting is just as important, and for people thinking about self-publishing they need to know all the issues that can arise.
I've read where people who are self-publishing poetry books on Amazon go absolutely crazy. I've read so much by now I feel lucky that I've only experienced issues with indentations in only certain sections of the book. And now I know why I've seen these indentation issues in other e-books I've read...even from large publishers where I've paid 14.99 instead of .99. It's not a simple process and for anyone thinking about doing this I would advise getting help from a professional if you're not all that great with formatting and converting Word to HTML. It's almost like trying to translate one language to another, and sometimes things get lost in the translation. Tony is doing it for me. I'm very lucky to have a smart and good looking partner (who is great in bed).As I write this post he's still trying to figure out how to get those indentations right so a revised version will be up today. Considering some of the mistakes I've seen in all e-books, not just those that are self-published, this might not be the biggest issue in the world. But I'd still like to get it right. And not only for "Chase of a Lifetime," but for future Kindle books.
There are also issues with regard to e-reading devices I won't get into right now. Sometimes the formatting is perfect on Kindle devices and not so perfect on iPads or iPhones. I read about this late last night while I was checking out issues other authors have had. Getting digital books up and running is a science, and it's not easy. But authors are working on these issues all the time and trying to get them right. At least I hope they are.
Here's a link to one web site that I think explains some of the formatting issues very well (they also provide the QED E-book Seal of Approval, which I've blogged about before). Here's a link to another, written by an author who makes it easier to understand. Like I said above, if you're not the best at formatting and converting and you don't understand anything about HTML, you probably should hire someone to do it for you. It's worth the money.
In any event, a version of "Chase of a Lifetime" with the corrected indentations will be up today. It's not that different from what's already there, other than the fact that several sections where the indentations didn't format correctly should now be fixed. I've already purchased the book myself and I have it on three different devices, so what I'm going to do is take it off my e-readers and then have Amazon resend me the updated versions. So I'll be checking it out, on an actual e-reader, to make sure the issues were corrected.
This is just a small suggestion, but in a perfect e-book world Amazon would hire some of these college kids who have student loans to pay off to help out with these formatting issues. It would not only give Amazon a great boost as a seller of quality e-books, it would be a great way for Amazon to say they are helping the economy, too. Last I heard, we need more jobs in the US.
I'm not going to get into all the technical issues in this post. I barely know how to pronounce them let alone write about them. But since I've been talking about the self-publishing process since I started the project, strictly from the writer's POV, I want to mention everything I've experienced along the way. And, for the record, this isn't something I've read about on any of the more popular blogs about self-publishing on Amazon. I've read about how important it is to edit, to get a cover that works, and how to promote. In fact, what I've read about self-publishing has always been more about promotion and self-promotion than anything else. All those things are very important. But getting the right formatting is just as important, and for people thinking about self-publishing they need to know all the issues that can arise.
I've read where people who are self-publishing poetry books on Amazon go absolutely crazy. I've read so much by now I feel lucky that I've only experienced issues with indentations in only certain sections of the book. And now I know why I've seen these indentation issues in other e-books I've read...even from large publishers where I've paid 14.99 instead of .99. It's not a simple process and for anyone thinking about doing this I would advise getting help from a professional if you're not all that great with formatting and converting Word to HTML. It's almost like trying to translate one language to another, and sometimes things get lost in the translation. Tony is doing it for me. I'm very lucky to have a smart and good looking partner (who is great in bed).As I write this post he's still trying to figure out how to get those indentations right so a revised version will be up today. Considering some of the mistakes I've seen in all e-books, not just those that are self-published, this might not be the biggest issue in the world. But I'd still like to get it right. And not only for "Chase of a Lifetime," but for future Kindle books.
There are also issues with regard to e-reading devices I won't get into right now. Sometimes the formatting is perfect on Kindle devices and not so perfect on iPads or iPhones. I read about this late last night while I was checking out issues other authors have had. Getting digital books up and running is a science, and it's not easy. But authors are working on these issues all the time and trying to get them right. At least I hope they are.
Here's a link to one web site that I think explains some of the formatting issues very well (they also provide the QED E-book Seal of Approval, which I've blogged about before). Here's a link to another, written by an author who makes it easier to understand. Like I said above, if you're not the best at formatting and converting and you don't understand anything about HTML, you probably should hire someone to do it for you. It's worth the money.
In any event, a version of "Chase of a Lifetime" with the corrected indentations will be up today. It's not that different from what's already there, other than the fact that several sections where the indentations didn't format correctly should now be fixed. I've already purchased the book myself and I have it on three different devices, so what I'm going to do is take it off my e-readers and then have Amazon resend me the updated versions. So I'll be checking it out, on an actual e-reader, to make sure the issues were corrected.
This is just a small suggestion, but in a perfect e-book world Amazon would hire some of these college kids who have student loans to pay off to help out with these formatting issues. It would not only give Amazon a great boost as a seller of quality e-books, it would be a great way for Amazon to say they are helping the economy, too. Last I heard, we need more jobs in the US.
April 4, 2012
Release Day: .99 Kindle Self-Published "Chase of a Lifetime"
"Chase of a Lifetime" was actually put up on Amazon late yesterday, but it takes a while for it to show up...and you don't really know when it's going to show up. So I didn't want to announce anything until I knew it was up for sale and I could download it to my android first. Evidently, someone found out because I noticed a few sales already.
Obviously, from the photo above I did download it to my android, sometime around one in the morning. (I really needed to do this to see how it would look if I were to download it as a reader on a tablet.) And, I had to figure out how to get the kindle app for my NextBook Premium 8 before I could do it, which took me a while to figure out. I've been meaning to do this for a long time so I can read other kindle books from other authors on Amazon on my NextBook so I was long overdue. Up until now, I've only downloaded books from small web sites where e-books are sold and from the Kobo store. I have purchased other e-books from Amazon, but not on the android.
When you self-publish with Amazon, from what Tony has been telling me, you get choices. I decided to go with the lender program and that locks me into ninety days exclusively with Amazon. I don't have a problem with that. I comfortable with it in more ways than one, mainly because this is my first venture in self-publishing. It's a humbling experience and I'm still not sure what to expect. Amazon is my safety zone right now. But I do eventually want to distribute to other places where e-books are sold, especially on Kobo. I've heard that up in Canada, which isn't that far away from here, a lot of people read Kobo. I don't know if this is fact, but I've posted before about how much I love all Kobo products. I doubt Amazon will mind.
If any readers have any questions about COAL, please feel free to comment or e-mail me. I find one of the biggest issues is book size. People still don't know whether or not a book is a short story, novella, or a full length novel. COAL is a 60,000 word full length novel. I know I'm repeating this but I also know from working with the public in my own retail business for many years it's important to get these things out as much as possible.
Here's the link to Amazon, and below is the short blurb. Once again, I'd like to thank Dawne Dominique for doing the cover...and reading my mind.
When Jim Darling graduates from Princeton and goes back home to Texas, he dreads everything ahead of him. He's almost twenty-one years old, still in the closet, and has never been with a man. Though his father wants him to go to law school so he can join him in his law firm, it's the last thing Jim wants to do.
On Jim's first night home, during his college graduation party at his mom and dad's ranch, he runs into his best friend's dad, Len Mayfield, a rugged, handsome investment banker in his late thirties who rides horses and wears a cowboy hat when he's not working as an investment banker. Len's life isn't much different from Jim's. He's been in the closet forever, he's trapped in a marriage of convenience with a wife who cheats, and he's resigned to his circumstances.
That is until Len runs into the grown up version of Jim Darling at the graduation party. What happens after that blossoms into something neither of them ever expected. A long seduction leads to fantastic love-making. There's enough passion, heartache, and frustration to challenge their fragile relationship in more ways than one.
Will Jim Darling find a way to come clean with his mom and dad so he can find the happiness he's always wanted? And will Len Mayfield find the courage to finally come out of the closet and walk away from a life that has never made him happy?
April 3, 2012
Chase of a Lifetime: Preview
Being that "Chase of a Lifetime" will be released this week, fingers crossed because we're still working on Amazon formatting to make sure it's right, I figured I'd post a quick preview of the contents. This is from Chapter One. I'll post more samples after the book is pubbed.
And, in case I didn't mention any of this, COAL is:
A full length 60,000 word gay erotic romance novel, not a short story or novella.
It's a .99 e-book that will only be released in digital format at this point.
I did sign up for the Amazon lender program.
Here's the preview. This is from a pdf and formatting with google blogger often gets mixed up, but I think I adjusted all the formatting errors:
When the pilot announced the plane would be landing in Dallas soon, the man
sitting to the right of Jim Darling leaned over and grabbed Jim's knee. He did this in a friendly way, with a smile and a joke about how he hated landings and take offs.
The poor guy didn't have a chance to leave his hand on Jim's leg for longer than a
second or two, because Jim's entire body jerked and slanted the instant the man touched him. Jim turned fast, flung the guy a startled glance, and clamped his knees together.Then Jim pressed his palm to his throat and tried not to gasp out loud. He'd been listening to the theme from The Titanic on his phone and hadn't expected to be touched by the man next to him.
Jim and the guy exchanged confused glances. The guy shrugged and moved so far
away from Jim his left shoulder wound up pressed to the window. Then he buckled his
seatbelt, faced the window, and didn't look at Jim again.
Jim sat back, buckled his seatbelt, and sighed without making a sound. He rested
his head against the seat and clenched the arm rests until his knuckles turned white. He pretended to look up at the ceiling, but stole a few sideways glances at the guy. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, he wore a dark expensive business suit, and he had thick brown hair that had been styled in an expensive salon. Jim wanted to say something; he didn't want the guy to think he'd been offended by this gesture. He'd been cruising Jim since they'd boarded the plane in New Jersey. And Jim hadn't reacted to a single friendly gesture or comment he'd made. At the very least, he should apologize so the guy wouldn't get the wrong idea and think Jim had rejected him. But the guy looked as if he were so far out of Jim's league it wouldn't have mattered one way or the other.
When they'd first sat down next to each other, the guy looked Jim over and said
Jim reminded him of the musician who was the front man for the popular rock group
Maroon 5, Adam Levine, only with lighter hair. Then he started making small talk about how much he hated flying so often. He said he worked in sales for a large pharmaceutical corporation and he didn't have a choice. He joked about living out of a suitcase and eating too much fast food. He even made small self-deprecating jokes about one night stands and gay bars, casually informing Jim that he preferred men. He kept the conversation light and open so that Jim could jump in at any time and share his own story. But Jim just smiled and sat there staring at the back of the seat in front of him nodding and saying, "Ah well, isn't that nice."
It wasn't that Jim didn't want to talk to him. Jim took it as a compliment when the
guy said he reminded him of Adam Levine with lighter hair. Other people had said that
recently, too. Jim just didn't know how to talk to good looking men, especially good
looking men who seemed to be flirting with him. Although people told Jim he looked
good all his life, he'd never believed it completely. He'd recently started getting his hair cut at a better salon, working on his body, and wearing better clothes. The transformation he'd made his last year in college seemed to stun most of the people who knew him. And he hesitated to react to the attention.
Jim had always wanted to be six feet tall and he'd never grown the extra two inches. He'd always wanted thick dark hair; the only way for him to get that would be to dye his sandy brown hair. He often dreamed about having bulging muscles and washboard abs like guys in magazines. He could eat anything he wanted and always maintain a thirty inch waist. He'd never been embarrassed about the size of his penis. But his nose went slightly crooked at the bridge, his brown eyes were a little too small, and his ears stuck out a little just like Adam Levine's. And when he sat next to guys like this salesman who looked like he'd always wanted to look…perfect…he tended to lose his voice.
He was also an almost twenty-one year old virgin, which didn't help his self confidence. He'd had plenty of chances to have sex with other men. He'd said no to more guys than he could count. For some reason he couldn't explain men were always making advances toward him, especially since his recent transformation. He often wondered what they saw that he'd missed. But sex with other men seemed so complicated and dangerous; he needed more time. He worried about sexually transmitted diseases, he wanted to get to know a man before he hopped into bed with him, and everyone else always seemed so much more experienced than he did. A good deal of the time he imagined himself having sex and not knowing what to do once it started. This anxiety alone made him break out in sweat. So he wound up not having sex at all, waiting for the right man to come along that would sweep him off his feet and teach him how to do it right.
When the plane landed in Dallas, Jim and the guy who had been sitting beside
him parted in the airport and Jim knew he'd never see him again. Jim went to baggage
claim, gathered his luggage, and loped out of the airport to meet his father out front. He spotted his father's long black Mercedes sedan behind a silver mini-van filled with screaming kids, but his father wasn't driving. A middle aged woman honked the horn and climbed out from behind the steering wheel. [image error]
And, in case I didn't mention any of this, COAL is:
A full length 60,000 word gay erotic romance novel, not a short story or novella.
It's a .99 e-book that will only be released in digital format at this point.
I did sign up for the Amazon lender program.
Here's the preview. This is from a pdf and formatting with google blogger often gets mixed up, but I think I adjusted all the formatting errors:
When the pilot announced the plane would be landing in Dallas soon, the man
sitting to the right of Jim Darling leaned over and grabbed Jim's knee. He did this in a friendly way, with a smile and a joke about how he hated landings and take offs.
The poor guy didn't have a chance to leave his hand on Jim's leg for longer than a
second or two, because Jim's entire body jerked and slanted the instant the man touched him. Jim turned fast, flung the guy a startled glance, and clamped his knees together.Then Jim pressed his palm to his throat and tried not to gasp out loud. He'd been listening to the theme from The Titanic on his phone and hadn't expected to be touched by the man next to him.
Jim and the guy exchanged confused glances. The guy shrugged and moved so far
away from Jim his left shoulder wound up pressed to the window. Then he buckled his
seatbelt, faced the window, and didn't look at Jim again.
Jim sat back, buckled his seatbelt, and sighed without making a sound. He rested
his head against the seat and clenched the arm rests until his knuckles turned white. He pretended to look up at the ceiling, but stole a few sideways glances at the guy. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, he wore a dark expensive business suit, and he had thick brown hair that had been styled in an expensive salon. Jim wanted to say something; he didn't want the guy to think he'd been offended by this gesture. He'd been cruising Jim since they'd boarded the plane in New Jersey. And Jim hadn't reacted to a single friendly gesture or comment he'd made. At the very least, he should apologize so the guy wouldn't get the wrong idea and think Jim had rejected him. But the guy looked as if he were so far out of Jim's league it wouldn't have mattered one way or the other.
When they'd first sat down next to each other, the guy looked Jim over and said
Jim reminded him of the musician who was the front man for the popular rock group
Maroon 5, Adam Levine, only with lighter hair. Then he started making small talk about how much he hated flying so often. He said he worked in sales for a large pharmaceutical corporation and he didn't have a choice. He joked about living out of a suitcase and eating too much fast food. He even made small self-deprecating jokes about one night stands and gay bars, casually informing Jim that he preferred men. He kept the conversation light and open so that Jim could jump in at any time and share his own story. But Jim just smiled and sat there staring at the back of the seat in front of him nodding and saying, "Ah well, isn't that nice."
It wasn't that Jim didn't want to talk to him. Jim took it as a compliment when the
guy said he reminded him of Adam Levine with lighter hair. Other people had said that
recently, too. Jim just didn't know how to talk to good looking men, especially good
looking men who seemed to be flirting with him. Although people told Jim he looked
good all his life, he'd never believed it completely. He'd recently started getting his hair cut at a better salon, working on his body, and wearing better clothes. The transformation he'd made his last year in college seemed to stun most of the people who knew him. And he hesitated to react to the attention.
Jim had always wanted to be six feet tall and he'd never grown the extra two inches. He'd always wanted thick dark hair; the only way for him to get that would be to dye his sandy brown hair. He often dreamed about having bulging muscles and washboard abs like guys in magazines. He could eat anything he wanted and always maintain a thirty inch waist. He'd never been embarrassed about the size of his penis. But his nose went slightly crooked at the bridge, his brown eyes were a little too small, and his ears stuck out a little just like Adam Levine's. And when he sat next to guys like this salesman who looked like he'd always wanted to look…perfect…he tended to lose his voice.
He was also an almost twenty-one year old virgin, which didn't help his self confidence. He'd had plenty of chances to have sex with other men. He'd said no to more guys than he could count. For some reason he couldn't explain men were always making advances toward him, especially since his recent transformation. He often wondered what they saw that he'd missed. But sex with other men seemed so complicated and dangerous; he needed more time. He worried about sexually transmitted diseases, he wanted to get to know a man before he hopped into bed with him, and everyone else always seemed so much more experienced than he did. A good deal of the time he imagined himself having sex and not knowing what to do once it started. This anxiety alone made him break out in sweat. So he wound up not having sex at all, waiting for the right man to come along that would sweep him off his feet and teach him how to do it right.
When the plane landed in Dallas, Jim and the guy who had been sitting beside
him parted in the airport and Jim knew he'd never see him again. Jim went to baggage
claim, gathered his luggage, and loped out of the airport to meet his father out front. He spotted his father's long black Mercedes sedan behind a silver mini-van filled with screaming kids, but his father wasn't driving. A middle aged woman honked the horn and climbed out from behind the steering wheel. [image error]
FSoG, Release Date for "Chase of a Lifetime," and What's Considerred "Vanilla"
This is going to be my last post...I think....on "Fifty Shades of Grey" for a while. I'll have a release date for "Chase of a Lifetime" very soon...it will be released this week. And even though the self-publishing experience on Amazon has been much harder than what I normally do with publishers, I'm going to begin a novella as soon as COAL is up on Amazon. I've enjoyed the experience and there's a project I've always wanted to tackle. So I figured I might as well give it a shot on Amazon. I'm also in the process of submitting a short e-book to Loveyoudivine.com titled, "Cowboy and Sparky."
Back to FSoG. Last night I read an interesting blog post over at Pub Rants. PR is an agent blog written by Kristen Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency which is based in Denver. I've been following it for a long time. I don't always agree with everything on the blog, but I do admire the fact that Ms. Nelson is what I consider a pioneer in publishing in the sense that she saw opportunities on the Internet and built a successful literary agency in Denver instead of New York. She's proven that not everyone has to be in New York in order to have a New York Times bestseller or a successful publishing career. I think that's groundbreaking in itself.
This week she posted about FSoG, asking her blog readers to offer comments as to why they think the book is so popular. She was honest. She couldn't figure out why a book like that would not only cross into the mainstream but also become such a big hit. It's an interesting post, and more than a few people commented. Some of the comments weren't very important. But one blog reader seemed to nail it. Ms. Nelson then wrote a second post, here, and printed the comment.
I've already posted about FSoG, and just this past weekend I went into detail about how friends of mine have been talking about the book. It's interesting to see how different people have such varied views all the way around.
This line from the PR post resonated with me:
The sex is vanilla.
I thought the same thing. But then I think most erotic romance these days is too safe and too vanilla. I kept quiet about this when I heard friends discussing it because they were all talking about how "filthy," and "dirty" it is. I just figured that because I write erotic romance I've become immune to what is considered "vanilla." I should also add that the friends I was with were all gay men who thought FSoG was so filthy and dirty. And when I read the PR post, I was glad to see someone else agreed with me that it wasn't at all like that. At least not in my opinion and I'm not even into BDSM. I've never written it and doubt I ever will.
I also agreed with every other reason why this person who commented on the PR blog liked FSoG. I know it's not great literature, and yet I couldn't put it down. And I haven't even read the other volumes because I haven't had time. I will read them, as soon as I finish the new Anne Tyler novel I just started, "The Beginner's Goodbye" (all reading of any kind stops short for me when Anne Tyler publishes a new book). And in a way, I'm kind of saving the other FSoG books on purpose as something to look forward to as the weather gets warmer. I like knowing that I can plan my reading list way in advance. And because I only get a few hours very late at night to read fiction for pleasure, I'm not as selective about what I read as I probably should be. My only interest at that hour is to be entertained. And I think FSoG will be a great follow up to Anne Tyler, because there isn't a fiction writer out there, in my opinion, who can compare to her. If anyone is interested in seeing how fiction should be written from a technical POV, read any of her books. Just the way Tyler writes dialogue and dialogue tags alone is something all fiction writers should see in order to learn how to craft a novel and stay away from too many of those hideous said bookisms and dialogue tags with adverbs like lovingly and longingly. This alone is a good example of why she's a classic. I might even write a post about this after I'm finished reading the book just to show what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, I see far too many mistakes these days, and they are simple mistakes to fix.
Back to FSoG. Last night I read an interesting blog post over at Pub Rants. PR is an agent blog written by Kristen Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency which is based in Denver. I've been following it for a long time. I don't always agree with everything on the blog, but I do admire the fact that Ms. Nelson is what I consider a pioneer in publishing in the sense that she saw opportunities on the Internet and built a successful literary agency in Denver instead of New York. She's proven that not everyone has to be in New York in order to have a New York Times bestseller or a successful publishing career. I think that's groundbreaking in itself.
This week she posted about FSoG, asking her blog readers to offer comments as to why they think the book is so popular. She was honest. She couldn't figure out why a book like that would not only cross into the mainstream but also become such a big hit. It's an interesting post, and more than a few people commented. Some of the comments weren't very important. But one blog reader seemed to nail it. Ms. Nelson then wrote a second post, here, and printed the comment.
I've already posted about FSoG, and just this past weekend I went into detail about how friends of mine have been talking about the book. It's interesting to see how different people have such varied views all the way around.
This line from the PR post resonated with me:
The sex is vanilla.
I thought the same thing. But then I think most erotic romance these days is too safe and too vanilla. I kept quiet about this when I heard friends discussing it because they were all talking about how "filthy," and "dirty" it is. I just figured that because I write erotic romance I've become immune to what is considered "vanilla." I should also add that the friends I was with were all gay men who thought FSoG was so filthy and dirty. And when I read the PR post, I was glad to see someone else agreed with me that it wasn't at all like that. At least not in my opinion and I'm not even into BDSM. I've never written it and doubt I ever will.
I also agreed with every other reason why this person who commented on the PR blog liked FSoG. I know it's not great literature, and yet I couldn't put it down. And I haven't even read the other volumes because I haven't had time. I will read them, as soon as I finish the new Anne Tyler novel I just started, "The Beginner's Goodbye" (all reading of any kind stops short for me when Anne Tyler publishes a new book). And in a way, I'm kind of saving the other FSoG books on purpose as something to look forward to as the weather gets warmer. I like knowing that I can plan my reading list way in advance. And because I only get a few hours very late at night to read fiction for pleasure, I'm not as selective about what I read as I probably should be. My only interest at that hour is to be entertained. And I think FSoG will be a great follow up to Anne Tyler, because there isn't a fiction writer out there, in my opinion, who can compare to her. If anyone is interested in seeing how fiction should be written from a technical POV, read any of her books. Just the way Tyler writes dialogue and dialogue tags alone is something all fiction writers should see in order to learn how to craft a novel and stay away from too many of those hideous said bookisms and dialogue tags with adverbs like lovingly and longingly. This alone is a good example of why she's a classic. I might even write a post about this after I'm finished reading the book just to show what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, I see far too many mistakes these days, and they are simple mistakes to fix.
