Sam Knight's Blog, page 14
July 3, 2015
Happy Independence Day!
As an independent author, I would like to celebrate my independence and my control over my books by giving away the e-versions of them for…FREE!
What? Sam, have you gone mad? Free? Why?
Because I CAN!
You read in the news/online all the time about authors who got screwed or publisher that blah blah blah…
I am in the mood to celebrate and I want you to celebrate with me!
So… Here are places you can get my e-books for FREE!
Wait, Sam. What do you get out of this?
I get the pleasure of knowing more people have read my books! But if you really feel like you should pay, please, as a form of payment, leave a review. I’m not asking for a twenty-star, you love me, I am the best ever review. I just want an honest one. It is enough for me that you would take the time to do so. Where to leave the review? Well, everywhere, to be honest. Just because you buy it in one place doesn’t mean you can’t review it in all places! Goodreads, Amazon, Kobo, B&N, your personal blog, wherever would be great!
But, I can’t afford to do this forever. This is where my $$$ comes from!
CRAZY DEALS LIKE THIS CAN’T LAST LONG! —ACT NOW!
Sorry. I couldn’t resist. Seriously though. This is a 4th of July weekend special, and then it’s gone! I probably won’t ever do this again, so don’t put it off, do it now!
Sam! Question about formats!
Yes?
What can I get?
Well, Kobo has free apps for many different platforms that will let you read on your phone or tablet (or on their readers, of course!) and Smashwords has pretty much any format you want to download, including reading online.
Sam!
Yeah?
Why didn’t you make them free on Amazon?
Um, well… I’m not interested in joining the KDP Select program at this time, and that is the only way to put e-books up for free on Amazon right now.
Any more questions? No? Good.
Wait! Sam! What about your kids books, the anthologies, and the novellas?
The kids books are no longer available in e-format as they just plain don’t look good on anything smaller than a tablet, and I felt that was not up to my standards. Everything else I don’t own the copyright to (perhaps I do to my individual story, but not the book that is for sale).
So… Ready?
Here goes! I hope you like them!
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-whiskey-jack-in-a-murder-of-crows
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/393356
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/i-fell-in-love-with-a-lesbian-at-the-zombie-luau
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/538605
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/time-travel-trio
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/322883
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/four-adventure
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/325097
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-small-town-santa
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/492972
May 29, 2015
Pining for More Wayward Pines?
Wayward Pines is finally showing on Fox! Have you been watching?
If not, I recommend giving it a try. It is based on a trilogy of books by Blake Crouch: Pines, Wayward, and The Last Town.
If you read the books or watch the show, and would like more, I was fortunate enough to be able to write a novella in the Wayward Pines universe with Kevin J. Anderson, titled Aberration. You can find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Wayward-Pines-Aberrati…/…/ref=asap_bc…
I also wrote a story on my own, Sins of the Final Father. You can find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Wayward-Pines-Father-K…/…/ref=asap_bc…
And (available as of today!) a follow up to Sins of the Final Father, titled Pining for Penance. You can find it here:
Warning: The stories contains spoilers. If you haven’t read the books or seen the TV Series, I recommend you do so. I feel these stories can be enjoyed without having done so, but it would detract from the suspense and mystery of the other stories.
Sins of the Final Father takes place approximately two and a half years prior to the events of the first Wayward Pines book, Pines by Blake Crouch, and shortly before the events of Aberration. Pining for Penance is set following the events of Sins of the Final Father.
May 13, 2015
Wayward Pines is Finally Here! And I Have More!
Wayward Pines is finally coming to Fox on May 14th! I am excited to see it.
If you get a chance to watch it I recommend giving it a try. It is based on a trilogy of books by Blake Crouch: Pines, Wayward, and The Last Town.
If you read the books or watch the show, and would like more, I was fortunate enough to be able to write a novella in the Wayward Pines universe with Kevin J. Anderson, titled Aberration. You can find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Wayward-Pines-Aberrati…/…/ref=asap_bc…
I also wrote a story on my own, Sins of the Final Father. You can find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Wayward-Pines-Father-K…/…/ref=asap_bc…
Warning: The stories contains spoilers. If you haven’t read the books or seen the TV Series, I recommend you do so. I feel these stories can be enjoyed without having done so, but it would detract from the suspense and mystery of the other stories.
Sins of the Final Father takes place approximately two and a half years prior to the events of the first Wayward Pines book, Pines by Blake Crouch, and shortly before the events of Aberration.
May 10, 2015
The Numbers Get Bigger Game – a guest post by Chris Wong Sick Hong
I have a story in the recently published Steampunk: The Other Worlds and as part of being an Author in the Internet Era, it’s time to slap a new coat of paint on the sales wagon, travel the countryside and shill, shill, shill.
However, I’m not too fond of consumerism to begin with, so if you’re looking for colored glass bottles filled with smoky elixirs (all reasonably priced, of course) I’m afraid you’ll leave disappointed.
Instead, I’ve found myself drawn, almost compulsively, to a silly Flash idle game recently: AdVenture Capitalist. Like most idle games, you don’t actually do much, except click for resources, then use those resources to upgrade your clicks, which then gain resources faster. At some point you earn enough to purchase automatic resource gathering, and the game plays itself.
After you’ve accumulated a suitable amount of riches, you click to start over, but with bonuses.
I call it the “Numbers Get Bigger Game,” and while I don’t enjoy it per se, there’s something hypnotic about seeing dollar amounts ascend into strange and lofty realms. Novemtillion, quindecillion, quattorvigintillion, tretrigintillion. Battle cries of the very, very big.
But if I don’t enjoy it, why do I keep playing? Because the numbers get bigger.
Motion without progress, increase without effort. Unaccomplished accolades. More, more, more.
It’s not all that different from professional writing today.
“If you want to be a writer, then write. Thousands of words a day. If you need motivation, use a word count tracker, and the numbers get bigger.”
“To develop an online audience, make sure you post at least once a week. It would be best to do so at the same time of day so your audience can develop a habit of checking your site. Then check hits, trackbacks, link swaps, pings, search result standings; refine your approach to draw traffic; and the numbers get bigger.”
“Get as many stories out there as possible. Someone who becomes a fan will look through your back catalog and, if you’re going the traditional route, more submissions means a better chance for success. You’re playing the percentages after all, and the numbers get bigger.”
“The world is so noisy, and people’s attentions are so fragmented these days, that you need to be even louder. Articles, blog posts, social media, conventions, sales…yell until hoarse then yell some more: And the numbers get bigger!”
Yet at the heart of these piles of words-upon-words is a sneaking secret. Not everything I come up with is worth saying. I am not as interesting as I can make myself appear. Those bottles of colored glass catch the light, yes, but when opened all that’s inside is air.
There’s still a place for silence, focus, contemplation, depth. I haven’t met many people who buy (and read) books because of the flashing lights and CGI explosions, and it’s not as if reaching one googolplexian sales triggers a literary apotheosis after which I shall beam benevolently down from the heavens evermore.
If you like steampunk, check out the anthology. If not, perhaps we shall meet someday and speak of other things.
*hops in wagon and rolls on*
April 29, 2015
The Assassination of Poppy Smithswife
I am so excited to be a part of this anthology!
It was Kickstarted and did very well. As it blew by stretch goals, it opened up to new submissions. I was lucky/good enough to have my story The Assassination of Poppy Smithswife chosen to be one of the stories to be included in a “companion volume” of additional stories.
Since it is in the companion volume that was for the Kickstarter, the only place it is available now is in the e-version only of Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues. But goodness, what an e-version it is!
I have shamelessly stolen Anton Strout‘s post from Face Book and reproduced it here. (I hope you don’t mind, Anton!)
He said:
BLACKGUARDS from Ragnarok Publications has arrived! More awesome authors than you can stick a shiv in!
BLACKGUARDS plus the BLACKGUARDS BLACKLIST is a collection of 38 spectacular, grimdark, heavy-hitting, epic fantasy tales, most of them set within the proprietary worlds of the authors herein. This is THE massive fantasy collection for the assassin / mercenary / rogue / thief enthusiast.
Awesomeness abounds within, including a short story set in Anton Strout’s Simonverse. Learn about the early nefarious days of Simon Canderous before he joined the Department of Extraordinary Affairs when art thievery ruled his days.
As for the rest of the collection, check out this amazeball list of authors that you’ll be getting:
Featuring a Forward by Glen Cook (Black Company) and assorted tales of wicked ways by:
Carol Berg, “Seeds”
Richard Lee Byers, “Troll Trouble”
David Dalglish, “Take You Home”
James Enge, “Thieves at the Gate”
John Gwynne, “Better to Live than to Die”
Lian Hearn, “His Kikuta Hands”
Snorri Kristjansson, “A Kingdom and a Horse”
Joseph Lallo, “Seeking the Shadow”
Mark Lawrence, “The Secret”
Tim Marquitz, “A Taste of Agony”
Peter Orullian, “A Length of Cherrywood”
Cat Rambo, “The Subtler Art”
Laura Resnick, “Friendship”
Mark Smylie, “Manhunt”
Kenny Soward, “Jancy’s Justice”
Shawn Speakman, “The White Rose Thief”
Jon Sprunk, “Sun and Steel”
Anton Strout, “Scream”
Michael J. Sullivan, “Professional Integrity”
Django Wexler, “The First Kill”
Anthony Ryan, “The Lord Collector”
Paul S. Kemp, “A Better Man”
James A. Moore, “What Gods Demand”
Jean Rabe, “Mainon”
Bradley P. Beaulieu, “Irindai”
S.R. Cambridge, “The Magus and the Betyar”
Clay Sanger, “The Long Kiss”
This special eBook edition of BLACKGUARDS also includes the anthology companion entitled THE BLACKGUARDS BLACKLIST, thus you get an additional ELEVEN cutting-edge stories by:
Rob Hayes, “To the End”
Rebecca Lovatt, “To Steal the Moon”
Ed Erdelac, “The Muttwhelp”
Anthony Lowe, “The Lonesome Dark”
Linda Robertson, “Comeuppance”
Sam Knight, “The Assassination of Poppy Smithswife”
S.M. White, “Telhinsol’s Shadow”
Noah Heinrich, “The Laughing Wind”
Mike Theodorsson, “Bloody Gratitude”
Brenda Carr, “Gret”
Erik Scott de Bie, “Angel of Tears”
April 27, 2015
The Week of the Zombie!
This last week has been all about zombies for me. I’ve thought about them, drawn them (well, digitally manipulated images anyway), written about them, edited, corrected, proofed, and published them.
Like so many things, it just happened that way. I finally finished the children’s book I’ve been working on for so long. (Hey, I’m a writer, not an artist. Art takes me a long time. And then you’re not allowed to tease me about it afterwards!)
There Was a Gross Zombie Who Swallowed a Plane should be available for purchase through Amazon and Createspace by the end of this week.
Perfect for the kids at that age where they love gross things. The zombie swallows a toy plane. I don’t know why he swallowed a plane. Zombies are supposed to eat brains! He then moves on eating other gross things to solve his problem. (He swallows gum to soften the fish bones that he swallowed to wrap up the booger he swallowed to trap the plane… you get the idea.) The repetitive nature of the story, mixed with the gross factor (not to mention zombie!), makes it perfect to catch the attention of the intermediate reader or the older sibling who wants to gross them out.
On a completely different note, yet still undead, I just released I Fell In Love With a Lesbian at the Zombie Luau.
This is a short story I have been partial to for a couple of years now, but was unable to place. In a fit of angst and in a final attempt to keep this undead story alive, I released it on e-book only. It is up now on Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and Smashwords.
It’s only 99¢. It also only a short story. I would sell it for 50¢ if I could, but 99¢ is the lowest anywhere will let me. But hey! For less than a cup of coffee, it can be yours forever. It will entertain you every time you read it (lets see coffee do that!) and you can share it with someone without passing cooties. As long as everyone’s hands are clean while passing your e-reader back and forth.
