Lane Diamond's Blog, page 15

Holiday Reflections – A Sad Look Back, An Optimistic Look Forward

Once again, a Merry Christmas to one and all—be safe, be healthy, be happy. The second of those three—be healthy—is the source of quite a bit of personal reflection these days.

Bob Ashley, R.I.P.

A couple weeks ago, my brother, Bob Ashley, succumbed to cancer. Technically, Bob was my half brother on my father's side—a father I barely knew. I'll not go into the dysfunctional details; I'll just say that I got to know Bob later in life—me in my early 40s, he in his mid-50s. We hit it off nicely, being of like mind in everything from humor (humor was a biggie) to family to politics to just plain living life. I liked Bob instantly. We never thought of each other as "half" brothers, just brothers who discovered each other later than we would have liked.

Despite the fact that Bob and I didn't see a lot of each other in recent years, living some 1,000 miles apart, keeping in touch primarily through email and social media sites, my appreciation of him did not diminish. Indeed, before he got sick, we were trying to sort out plans for a long overdue visit. Thus, his passing hit home with a thump. Cancer has been such a scourge on my family over the years, as it has been for so many.

I've been battling my own health issue these past few years, a condition call Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). Again, I'll spare you the details, except to say that it threw my life into a state of turmoil back in 2006. Since then, I've been battling my way back, sorting out a new, productive path to a brighter future, building hope and optimism back into my life. It's been a tough slog, but the light at the end of the tunnel grows nearer, larger—I can almost reach out and touch it.

And so, through it all, and as I reflect on life during this holiday season, I can't help but be reminded that nothing—absolutely nothing—is more important than your health, and the health and wellbeing of family and friends.

I hope you and yours are enjoying the blessings not just of the season, but of life without excessive worry or loss.

This one's for you, Bob. Go gently into that good night, brother, and rest easy.

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A Quick Holiday Promotion – 2.00 OFF "Forgive Me, Alex" at Smashwords

Merry Christmas, everyone! I sure hope you have a safe and special holiday season.

In that spirit, I'm offering a Special $2.00 OFF Promotion on my new psychological thriller, Forgive Me, Alex, through the first of the year. Just pop into Smashwords (all eBook formats) and use Coupon Code: BC83B.

While you're there, be sure to grab my short story, Paradox, which is always FREE. Thank you!

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New and Improved Website for Evolved Publishing

Well, D.T. Conklin and I (mostly Dan) have been working on a new website for Evolved Publishing, this one menu-driven and more dynamic. We like it, and we think you will too. Check it out.

We haven't got all the bells and whistles 100% yet, particularly for blog subscriptions and the like. We'll have that all addressed before the new year, at which point we'll actually start blogging there as a group.

Evolved Publishing moves onward and upward, and the happy days continue.

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New Anthology Available from Evolved Publishing – Evolution: Vol. 1 (A Short Story Collection)

Evolved Publishing has put out an anthology resulting from its first-ever Short Story Contest. This collection consists of 10 great stories from 10 talented authors, ranging from fantasy and science fiction, to thrillers, to action/adventure, to mainstream literary.

This collection offers something for everyone, and I, with the help of co-editor D.T. Conklin, have edited the stories, polishing them to a fine sheen.

I absolutely love some of these stories. Come check 'em out.

Available as an eBook at: Amazon ; Smashwords ; BookieJar ; and coming soon to Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Diesel.

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What's that you say? You don't have an eReader? Fear not, for you can still read eBooks right on your PC.

If you'd like to be able to read eBooks, such as my debut psychological thriller, Forgive Me, Alex, (wink, wink), but you don't have an eReader device like a Kindle, Nook or iPad, you can use FREE software to read the eBook right on your PC.

You have three easy choices:

1. If you think a Kindle may be in your future, start out by downloading the appropriate Free Kindle Reading App from Amazon. It's free and safe, and works great (I use Kindle for PC all the time).

2. Amazon has made it possible to read you eBooks anywhere with their Kindle Cloud Reader. I just set it up for myself. Nice.

3. If you think a Nook or an iPad (or iPhone) may be in your future, start out by downloading Adobe Digital Editions, which uses the more commonly accepted EPUB formatting for eBooks.

I've used all 3 methods above, and they all work great. Just choose the one that's right for you, and then download your eBooks from Amazon, Smashwords or BookieJar, whichever you prefer.

And good reading!

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M.J. Kaufmann (aka Safireblade) Interviews Lane Diamond, Author of "Forgive Me, Alex"

Let me offer a heartfelt thanks to M.J. Kaufmann for taking the time to interview me for the Featured Author page at her website. I hope you'll stop by and check it out.

Just click on this book cover to purchase Forgive Me, Alex at Amazon. Thank you.

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A New Science Fiction Short Story – FREE – "Paradox"

That's right: ***FREE***

Pick up Paradox – A Short Story, available FREE in all eBook formats at Smashwords and BookieJar.

It won't be free at Amazon until they catch it with their eBots, and who knows how long that will take. In the meantime, if you absolutely, positively must buy it at Amazon, it's priced at the minimum $0.99.

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A Big Week Coming Up from Evolved Publishing, Including Lane Diamond's New Psychological Thriller

Well, next week is going to be exciting for me, and for several of my colleagues at Evolved Publishing. Let's start with the BIG DAY.

December 20, 2011

Cover by Josh Evans

Oh yeah! My novel, Forgive Me, Alex, will be available as an eBook (sorry, but print version won't be available for a couple months). I've been delaying this to focus on other Evolved Publishing business these past few months, but I'm pleased to finally—Finally!—release this book. The good news about the delay is that I've done some additional polishing, aided by the keen eye and strange mind of D.T. Conklin, and the story is stronger and more compelling than ever. I think you'll agree. (I'm keeping my fingers crossed.)

Cover by Josh Evans

Also available on the 20th will be a book I had the pleasure of editing, Kimberly Kinrade's lower-grade chapter book, Lexie World. This is the first installment in Kimberly's The Three Lost Kids Trilogy. The book includes several great full color pictures from our artist fantastique, Josh Evans. The two of them have combined to create a series that will not only charm and thrill kids, but provide important lessons, as well.

 

Cover by Sarah Shaw

A third book from Evolved Publishing will hit the eShelves that day—Evolution: Vol. 1. This is a collection of short stories resulting from our first Short Story Contest. It includes 7 terrific stories from 7 excellent authors who participated in the contest. It also includes 3 short stories from the EP stable—me, D.T. Conklin and Ruby Standing Deer. This anthology results from the first of our semi-annual Short Story Contests. Our next one opens up for submissions in mid-February, and we'll release Evolution: Vol. 2 in June 2012.

Christmas and New Year's Day

Cover by Michael Baca

By Christmas day, we'll be releasing Circles, by Ruby Standing Deer. Once again, it has been my pleasure to edit this piece. Ruby's historical fiction novel, set some 500 years ago, features a Native American tribe enjoying the pleasures of a simple life, yet struggling to survive upheaval. This charming cast of characters will capture your heart, with their extraordinary family bonds and easy sense of humor.

 

Cover by Josh Evans

Some time between Christmas and New Year's Day, the second installment in Kimberly Kinrade's The Three Lost Kids Trilogy will be out—Bella World. Once again, she has teamed up with artist Josh Evans to create a spectacular lower-grade adventure.

 

Cover by Josh Evans

Hot on the heels of that will be Maddie World, the third installment in the trilogy….

Cover by Josh Evans

…followed quickly by the omnibus edition that combines all three books in a single Three Lost Kids edition.

 

 

And so, as you can see, it's gonna be a fun holiday season! I'll be back on the release dates with all the appropriate links for purchase. Please enjoy!

And please, have a safe and prosperous holiday season. Merry Christmas!

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Chance to Win a FREE Signed Copy of "Forbidden Mind" (YA Paranormal)

As you may know, I had the pleasure of editing Forbidden Mind, Kimberly Kinrade's YA Paranormal romantic thriller, as part of my duties with Evolved Publishing. You may also know that the book went on the win a 2011 Forward National Literature Award.

Well, now you have a chance to win a FREE SIGNED COPY of the softcover of Forbidden Mind through Goodreads. Please use the link below to enter. If you don't have a Goodreads account yet, fear not, for it is simple and free and, frankly, a place where readers should be.

But HURRY! The promotion closes at midnight US Pacific Time tonight.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Forbidden Mind

by Kimberly Kinrade

Giveaway ends December 13, 2011.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

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Regarding eBooks: To DRM or not to DRM; that is the question.

"…whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous [book thieves], or to take arms against a sea of [pirates] and by opposing, end them."

Okay, so now that I've butchered Shakespeare's Hamlet, let me ask the simpler question: Why wouldn't you, as someone who publishes eBooks, use Digital Rights Management (DRM)?

Now, I ask that question with the assumption that you'll be making your eBook available most everywhere eBooks are sold—not just Amazon (MOBI), but Smashwords and BookieJar (EPUB, PDF, etc.), and all the distribution channels they provide (B&N, Apple, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, etc.).

As long as buyers, your customers, can go somewhere to purchase whatever electronic format they want, why wouldn't you use DRM where you can to protect against piracy?

I'm trying to figure out the downside of doing so, as I've seen some discussions suggesting DRM is a bad idea. Why? What am I missing?

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