D.C. Akers's Blog, page 4
December 3, 2013
TOP 5 IN PAPERBACKS WITH SOME FANTASTIC AUTHORS!
This is pretty cool, I had to share! Haven: A Stranger Magic hit #5 on the Best Sellers List with Mockingjay (Hunger Games), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Hobbit and Catching Fire (Hunger Games).
Thank you Haven fans!
DCA
November 22, 2013
AMAZON KEYWORDS: UNLOCKING THE POWER
This is a great bit of information straight from Amazon KDP themselves that I thought I would share. I know from experience that the right category and keywords make a difference. A few small tweaks like this help my book to soar from 2,331 to being #1 on the Amazon Best Sellers List in three categories. It’s a crucial step to building a strong foundation for your book. Remember, building an author platform is lot of hard work; its primary job once it has been built is to share, retain, and grow your customer base/readership. But you can’t build an effective author’s platform useless your target audience knows you exist. So concentrate on getting noticed for FREE—let Amazon help you do that. Become a master of category placement and keywords and your target audience will find you.
Metadata Guidelines
Providing accurate, descriptive title information about your story (known as metadata) helps create the best experience for our readers. Below, we have some guidelines to follow when providing your metadata. Kindle Worlds will not publish any submission with metadata that is meant to advertise, promote, mislead, or impair our readers’ ability to make good buying decisions.
Title
The title field should only contain the actual title as it appears on the cover of your story. Kindle Worlds will automatically prefix your title with the name of the World in the Kindle store. We will also append your title with “Kindle Worlds” and may include an indicator of the length for shorter works.
Titles are the most frequently used search attribute. Missing or erroneous title information may make it more difficult for readers to find your work. Customers pay special attention to errors in titles and won’t recognize the authenticity of your story if it has corrupted special characters, superfluous words, bad formatting, extra descriptive content, etc. Examples of items that are prohibited in the title field include but are not limited to:
Unauthorized reference to other titles or authors
Unauthorized reference to a trademarked term
Reference to sales rank (i.e. ‘best-selling’)
Reference to advertisements or promotions (i.e. ‘free’)
Series Title
A series is a connected set of stories. If your story is not part of a series, please leave this field blank. However, if your story is part of a series, enter the name of the series in the Series Title field. Identifying the name of the series helps customers find other titles that are part of that series in the Kindle Store.
Data entered into the Series Title field will be appended to the title on your story’s detail page. Because titles are the most frequently used search attribute, your series title name must adhere to title guidelines above.
Search Keywords
Search keywords can be a word or a phrase. Kindle Worlds allows up to seven keywords to be submitted, with a total letter count less than 100. We recommend that for the best results, you use phrases that are 2-3 words long. To determine the right search keywords for your story, we suggest you think like a reader browsing for a book. What are your target readers searching for?
As you consider which search keywords are right for your story, note that when a story has search keywords that are not accurate descriptors of its central storyline or are completely unrelated to its content, it can lead to unexpected or confusing search results and provide a poor customer experience. We do not tolerate search keywords that mislead or manipulate our customers. Examples of items that are prohibited as search keywords include but are not limited to:
Reference to other authors
Reference to books by other authors
Reference to sales rank (i.e. ‘best-selling’)
Reference to advertisements or promotions (i.e. ‘free’)
Reference to anything that is unrelated to your book’s content
November 19, 2013
Amazon.com.au Now Available for KDP
Keep control – Maintain complete creative control and own your copyright.
Reach readers worldwide – Make your books available in the Australia Kindle Store and in more than 175 countries worldwide.
Earn up to 70% royalties – Set your list price in Australian dollars and be eligible to earn up to a 70% royalty for book sales to customers in Australia and New Zealand.
Get paid in local currency – Receive payment in your local currency for book sales, if your bank account is in Australia or New Zealand, and track your progress with KDP sales reporting detailed by marketplace.
Visit your KDP Bookshelf to review your preferences or learn more in our Help section.
November 18, 2013
#1 IN TWO CATEGORIES – AMAZON BEST SELLER – HAVEN: A STRANGER MAGIC
Well it just keeps getting better and better. This is the first time Haven: A Stranger Magic has held the top spots in TWO categories at the same time on the Amazon Best Seller List!
Haven fans thank you for your continuing support! We are working hard on book two Haven: Revenge of the Viper, I promise!!
DCA
November 14, 2013
#1 AMAZON BEST SELLER IN MYSTRIES & THRILLERS! HAVEN: A STRANGER MAGIC – DOES IT AGAIN!
Well Haven fans you have done it again! Haven: A Stranger Magic has hit #1 on the AMAZON BEST SELLERS LIST in another category, Mysteries & Thrillers. What can I say; you continue to blow me away! So again, a BIG THANK YOU to all the fans and bloggers for your continuing support!
You are the best!
DCA
November 12, 2013
IN THE COMPANY OF J.K. ROWLING – HAVEN: A STRANGER MAGIC
Okay, I’ll be the first to stay it; it’s GREAT to be on any Best Sellers List. But to be on the same list as J.K. Rowling, well that’s just AWESOME!!!
Amazon Best Sellers for Science Fiction & Fantasy! What can I say, Haven fans are the best!!
November 8, 2013
Haven Shorts – Chapter 13 – Episode 18 – A Stranger Magic
Chapter 13 – Episode 18
Xavier Ward stood in the shadows behind the tall maple tree, as he had for the past several nights, his intense gaze fixed on a single window of the Dalcome home. The window that belonged to the boy they called Samuel Dalcome.
Xavier had been able to remain unseen by the Dalcome family by hiding in the shadows and staying out of sight. From all except for the Dalcome boy, that is. Samuel had seen Xavier the night before last; they had stared into one another’s eyes before Xavier had evaporated, which in hindsight had been a mistake. It was a mistake because the boy was unaware of his parents’ true past, and was therefore unaware of magic. Evaporating in front of the boy’s eyes would not be something Sam would soon forget.
Xavier was on a stealth mission. His orders were to observe and not interfere, unless it was absolutely necessary. If the Viper was truly here on Earth then there would be no choice but to intervene.
The Dalcomes are not even supposed to be alive, Xavier mused. They were all supposed to have died in the Great War thirteen years ago. But they hadn’t; somehow Alisa had escaped with her children. The Majesty had covered up their disappearance by sending them to Earth through one of the three portals known to exist on Haven. Portals that were said to have been destroyed ages ago.
Xavier removed a small chocolate from a white wrapper and popped it into his mouth. He let the wrapper fall to the ground and placed his hand back on the glass pommel of his staff. His staff, Ian, which he had named after his only son, began to vibrate beneath his palm, warning Xavier that he was not alone.
“Sneaking up on a Keeper, young lady, is never wise,” he said, still chewing the piece of chocolate. Xavier’s voice was gruff with a thick Irish accent. He was a tall man with sweeping broad shoulders and thin legs. He held firmly on to Ian, his hand remaining on the pommel. The staff was twisted like an old tree branch with a glass sphere at its hilt.
“Can you still call yourself a Keeper dressed like that, Xavier?” a woman said. He could tell by the tone of her voice she found this amusing. Xavier, on the other hand, did not. Wearing the long, ridiculous coat was uncomfortable and hot. But he needed it to blend in if he was going to move around in the daytime, although people seemed to stare at him regardless. Probably it was because he was wearing a coat in this god-awful heat. At first he thought it was expectable attire, since the man he stole it from had been wearing it. But that person had also been going through discarded items on the side of the road. Looking back now, it was obvious that this human had not been the best example for Earthling attire. It had been too long since Xavier studied the history and habits of Earth.
“I call this blending in,” he replied.
“Really, that’s what you’re calling it, huh?”
“It was last minute,” he replied sharply.
“You know, you might just be getting too old, Xavier. There is no harm in admitting that,” she said teasingly.
“Really, and why is that, may I ask?” The frustration in his voice was starting to show now.
“I’ve been standing here for some time, watching you as you watched him. You know, you have a serious sweet tooth.”
Xavier turned around for the first time since arriving at the Dalcomes to see Holly standing several feet away, camouflaged amongst the trees and shrubs of the yard.
“I’m not old, dear, just experienced. I don’t go wetting my pants every time I hear something go bump in the night. But it’s nice of you to finally join us.” Xavier said.
Holly emerged from the darkness. She was wearing the standard Keeper scout attire. It was a plum-colored cloak with a hood that masked her face in shadow. Under it was a black bodysuit beneath her gunmetal gray armor that was fitted in sections covering her chest, shoulders, forearms, and thighs. Tall black boots ran up her slender calves to her knees. Her staff was made of dragon bone, reddish-purple in color, with a pommel made from a silver talon grasping a purple octagon-shaped gem.
Holly smiled as she approached; it was the only facial feature visible beneath the hood.
“So, any sign?” she asked stopping next to Xavier.
“No, not of the Viper.”
“What of Alisa and the children?”
“Home, safe, at least for now,” he said. Holly noticed the concern in his voice.
Xavier continued, “I followed Alisa for most of the day, and she was in no danger. Gordon followed the young girl. She, too is safe. He had some difficulty staying with her on the way to school because he, too, is dressed in a coat. Evaporating is difficult, since we are unfamiliar with the terrain. The truth of the matter is we’re spread too thin. We don’t blend in well so we have to keep our distance. We are not prepared for this; things are getting missed. The boy wandered off on his own today, but thankfully he made it back unharmed.”
“Well, that’s why I’m here, Xavier, and I’m sure there are more reinforcements on the way,” Holly said, trying her best to reassure him, but she didn’t think it was working. Xavier was no fool. He knew the odds of survival should a Viper actually show up, and they weren’t good. They would need at least five Keepers, maybe four if they were all really experienced, to survive. It had probably been too long since Alisa had held a staff or Called an element for her to be of much help.
“Well, it looks like we’re all here for the same reason—to protect our friends we thought were dead, and to settle an old score,” Xavier said.
Old score, Holly thought. He got that right. Vipers were said to have been responsible for killing one of Haven’s greatest leaders, and one of Holly’s dearest friends, Rylan Dalcome. All Holly knew now was that she was overjoyed that Alisa and her children had survived, and that they had not been hunted down by Vipers all those years ago. Her best friend was alive. She was really alive!
“Where is Gordon now?” Holly asked.
“I sent him back to the Portal when you arrived to keep an eye on things there until we need him come sunrise.”
“So, you really did know I was here,” she said with a smirk.
“I’m old, Miss Holly, not blind.”
Holly looked over at Xavier. She could just make out the fine gray whiskers on his cheeks and chin in the moonlight. His long, unruly gray hair hung in his eyes. The muscles in his strong jaw flexed as he chewed on his chocolate. The man never went anywhere without a piece of Becker’s Famous Chocolates in his mouth. She looked on in admiration. He was a good Keeper. He was a little rough around the edges, but he was trustworthy, and good in a fight. He reminded her of her mentor, Demetrius.
“Aw, you’re not that old, Xavier,” she said, nudging him in the side.
“And you’re a bad liar. Some things never change. If I recall correctly, you and Alisa got into a bit of trouble for lying at the Academy,” Xavier continued.
“That’s because she was a bad liar.”
“I see,” he said, now smiling.
“I still can’t believe they’re alive after all these years,” she said, her voice somber now.
“Well, no one really knows what happened that day in the Great War—the day Rylan died. Even if the Majesty lied to us for all these years about his family, they did it for the right reason.”
“Did they?” Holly wasn’t so sure about that.
“Yes. If they hadn’t lied Alisa and the two children would be dead as well. Knowing what we know now there was no other choice. They would have been hunted like animals. The children are their legacy, and Alisa was just as much of a hero and a leader as Rylan was. Back then they were a threat to several factions, not just to the enemies we fought in the Great War. The Dalcomes were destined for greatness—a king and queen of a new era that would never come to pass. Their enemies were vast, and some were within our own ranks.”
That much was true, Holly thought. But still, they had been her best friends. If Alisa was going to leave, leave forever, how could she not have told her? Holly had lived with the horror that her best friend and her best friend’s children had been killed by Vipers, the most unnatural, malevolent creatures alive.
“She has been hiding for so long, Xavier, she may not even know who she is anymore. Everything Alisa was she left behind on Haven.”
“Yes, and she did it all for her children, to keep them safe. But now things have changed. They are no longer safe here.”
“Alisa should know. She should know the danger she and the children are in.”
“No. We have our orders,” he said, looking over at Holly. “We are to secure the perimeter and wait for reinforcements. The objective is to not alarm the children or interfere with their lives if we can help it. The children would not understand the complexity of the situation. They know nothing of the world we come from.”
“They should. It’s their world too!” She exclaimed.
“Not any more, Holly,” he said calmly.
Holly turned away and looked at the Dalcomes’ home. So much had changed, yet here they were after all these years, still fighting a war that had never really ended. Alisa had run to protect her children, to save them from death’s door, but death had found them anyway.
“Look, until the Majesty sends reinforcements, we keep them safe. No harm will come to them on my watch,” Xavier, said, trying to reassure her.
“They’d better hurry. Three Keepers are no match for a Viper.”
Xavier gripped his staff. “For now I need you to guard the back of the home. The Dalcome boy is quite inquisitive.”
“Inquisitive?” she asked, looking back over at Xavier.
“Don’t ask,” he said, rolling his eyes.
Holly turned to stare at the old two-story structure the Dalcomes now called home. It was nothing like the home Rylan and Alisa had shared back on Haven. Their home had been beautiful, a tranquil oasis filled with lush gardens and an enchanting waterfall. But this place, this so-called home, seemed empty, more like a shelter or hideaway for someone who wanted to blend in and stay out of sight.
It made Holly feel empty and angry all at once. It was not right, it just felt wrong. This was not the way it was supposed to have been. This is not where they belong, she thought. The longing to see her childhood friend with her own two eyes was almost unbearable for Holly. She wanted to see Alisa smile and laugh as they used to. She wanted to see Alisa’s children, Sarah and Samuel, again. She wanted them to come back to Haven, their true home, so they could be in each other’s lives again. They were supposed to be friends forever. They had promised one another that, before the war that had taken it all away.
Holly gripped her staff and turned toward Xavier. She gave him one final look. But before she could say anything his cold gaze met hers.
“Not on my watch,” he said, his tone strong and confident.
It was all Holly needed to hear. She turned and faced the Dalcome house. She raised her staff, tapped it once on the ground, and evaporated.
Xavier stared into the purple haze left in Holly’s wake. They had a day at best, he thought, before the Viper found the Dalcomes. Then there would be no stopping it. If reinforcements did not come soon all would be lost, and death would not be cheated a second time.
Good news! We are ramping up for BOOK 2 in the Haven Series: Revenge of the Viper. So in celebration and to say thank you for all your support we are giving away Book 1 A Stranger Magic for FREE!
Amazon’s Top 100 Best Selling Fantasy Fiction Novella is now available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books, IBooks/Itunes, and Smashwords.
If you already have a copy, get a new one! Each version (PRINT and DIGITAL) have been reformatted. You will love the new look. Also when you buy the PRINT copy of Haven: A Stranger Magic at Amazon.com you still get the DIGITAL copy in a bundle package for FREE.
Make sure to LIKE/SHARE with your friends!
Enjoy the journey!
DCA
November 6, 2013
Haven Series by D.C. Akers Official Book Trailer HD 1080P
Sam Dalcome thinks he is so completely average that no one ever notices him. Until he discovers a mysterious stranger outside his home. Bewildered, he tries to uncover the stranger’s intentions. But Sam is sidetracked when he and his friend Travis discover a secret passageway deep in the town’s quarry that leads to a hidden cavern. What they uncover next will not only change their lives forever, but will uncover the first clue to a deadly Dalcome family secret. Sam finds himself drawn into a world of mystery and magic he never knew existed, which brings him closer to a destiny he never knew was possible.
HAVEN SERIES: Known as a place of refuge, Haven is a sanctuary for those with supernatural abilities. Decades of peace between the Witches, Vampires, Goblins, Elves, and Orcs is coming to an end. Now the once tranquil world is shrouded in deception and corruption. Dark secrets tear at the very fabric of their alliance giving way to an evil that stirs in the shadows. Exhilarating and utterly gripping, the HAVEN series is an action-packed journey full of suspense, magic, mystery, and intrigue.
Narrator: Lauren Harris
Studio Mix: Lauren Harris
Dark Times Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Satiate Percussion Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Amazon’s #1 Best Selling Fantasy Fiction Novella is now available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kobo Books, IBooks/Itunes, and Smashwords.
If you already have a copy, get a new one! Each version (PRINT and DIGITAL) have been reformatted. You will love the new look. Also when you buy the PRINT copy of Haven: A Stranger Magic at Amazon.com you still get the DIGITAL copy in a bundle package for FREE.
Make sure to LIKE/SHARE with your friends!
November 5, 2013
Fantasy Fiction Author D.C. Akers Teams Up With Worldreader To Help Fight Global Illiteracy
D.C. Akers, bestselling author of the fantasy fiction series Haven has teamed up with Wordlreader, a non-profit organization that helps fight global illiteracy.
Online PR News – 05-November-2013 –”I’m proud to help support Worldreader’s mission to eradicate illiteracy globally. Helping to educate through literacy is a powerful way to gain ground on poverty. Since I’m a fantasy-fiction author I like to think I will add that element of escape too. To me reading is like taking a journey filled with the fantastic and the unexpected. There is nothing like an adventure that takes you further from reality with every turn of the page. I want to be able to offer these kids that and Woldreader is giving me the opportunity to do that. My donations will go to the children that need them most,” said D.C. Akers, Author.
Worldreader has wirelessly distributed more than 721,129 African and international e-books to children in 9 sub-Saharan African countries. As a result in less than 5 months children show significant improvements in fluency and comprehension and the gender gap closes. Once these children are active readers, together with their families they can continue to access our content via our mobile phone app available to 80% of the developing world via feature phones– helping people make decisions, learn, grow and change their lives.
D.C. Akers’s donation will consist of two of his bestselling titles, Haven: A Stranger Magic and Terra Vonnel and the Skulls of Aires “My books are more than just an adventure; they’re about self-sacrifice and overcoming tragedy. Each book is an action-packed journey full of suspense, magic, mystery, and intrigue.”
About Worldreader
Worldreader is a non-profit organisation in the United States that has introduced the e-reading technology in Ghana to make reading more attractive and friendly to children and to empower students and pupils to develop the habit of reading.
The organisation, Worldreader, which is dedicated to transforming reading in the developing world, has already begun the project with the distribution of a total of 1200 e-readers to students and teachers in the Kade, Adeiso, Suhum and Ayensuano districts in the Eastern Region to enable them to read more and better, as well as enhance their skills in using the technology. Learn more at http://www.worldreader.org.
About D.C. Akers
Like many who enjoy the fantasy genre, Akers started reading it as an adolescent. He was fascinated with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Akers enjoys creating a fantasy world with compelling storylines, while injecting humor and a touch of drama into the action as he did with his first two books, Haven: A Stranger Magic and Terra Vonnel and the Skulls of Aries, which has received rave reviews.
Original Press Release can be found here.
