Fierce Dolan's Blog: Writing Utopia, One Word at a Time, page 12

Is it Indie if It’s Amazon?

I know, I know.  The scribed white elephant no one wants to talk about.  I feel compelled to explore my relationship to Amazon further, though, and in doing so a few considerations emerged that I want to share.

I’ve only published one book through Amazon, and it’s done two (good) stints through the KDPS (Kindle Direct Publishing Select) program. It’s book one of a series, which will also be brought to life through Amazon.

A lot of you probably read J. A. Konrath’s post a couple of weeks ago on going all-in with Amazon’s KDPS program, and how it has worked out well for him.  For the record, if you don’t know Konrath, or haven’t subscribed to his blog, he is The Shit Indie Prophet, where the straight dope on the publishing industry is concerned.  Not your genre? No matter.  Follow him and learn. You’ll be glad you did.

Despite the airtight financial logic in his decision, I confess, I’m one of those knee-jerk reaction types who completely balks at turning over my hard-won indie efforts to a corporate entity.  I’m not speaking of Amazon, in general, but specifically to the KDPS program.  For those who don’t know, when an author agrees to use the KDPS program, that ebook cannot be available in ebook format anywhere else online for 90 days. So, screw those of you who fall outside the Kindleverse, inother words.  But, as Konrath pointed out, competitors are nowhere close to providing the service, exposure, thus sales, thus income, that KDPS does.  In the end, going all-in doesn’t lose you anything, given the statistics.

Why would an author publish indie, anyway?  Most tell me it’s to maintain independence, thus control.  For many it’s a better financial choice, and for even more it’s a more feasible psychological choice.  Life in a slush pile is as exhilarating as it sounds, so some indie publish to circumvent that shame. Few realize this about me, though I always wanted to self-publish, a romantic artistic nod to Blake’s literary contributions.  I still love the idea of that artistic license, though I’m fully aware of today’s industry demands.  And of my bills.

Yes, I agree that Amazon has largely done well to support its authors and improve the platform they provide all who publish through them.  I also see that hesitation at this point is purely based on speculation of what the giant might do,  and not at all on what its track record has actually been.  You know by now, though, that I’m very connected to the spirit of things, and it seems contrary to come to the teeth-gnashing (I like hyphens a lot in this post) decision to publish indie… with the entity every player in the industry is trying to compete with.

Does that sound very indie to you?  It doesn’t to me.  In fact, those kinds of faux ‘we so bad, we make you rad’ perceptions of Amazon’s indie promises have helped make them dominant corporate force that they are. Sure, you have control of the book throughout its stint in the program.  Sort of.  My point is that no one has to do it.  It’s a personal, professional choice.

I will say this–the spirit of competition that KDPS inspires in its competitors to provide better platforms is incredibly indie, and perhaps through that challenge the market will flesh out wider options.

What do you think? Is Amazon Indie?  Would you go all-in? Have you?

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Introducing: “State of Emergency” by Summer Lane

State of Emergency by Summer Lane

 New Adult / Young Adult Dystopian Romance

Summer’s Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads


State of Emergency on Amazon | Barnes & Noble 
Publication Date: January 18th, 2013




About Summer Lane

Summer Lane is the author of the YA/NA Dystopian Romance, State of Emergency. She is a freelance writer, publicist and lover of all things feline. Summer is also the author of Snappy Social Networking: How to Dominate the Blogosphere & Everything in Between.In her spare time, Summer is the creator of the online magazine/blog, Writing Belle, in addition to being a frequent contributor at NA Alley, a website dedicated to all things New Adult.

Summer began writing when she was 13 years old, due to the fact that the long afternoons after school were somewhat boring, and writing stories seemed to make the time pass a little quicker. Since then she has written many books about jungle cats, secret agents, princesses and spaceships. She is also a non-fiction writer, but her debut novel, State of Emergency, is her favorite book yet. You can find Summer hopping around on the Internet by following her on Twitter @SummerEllenLane or swinging by Writing Belle.

About State of Emergency

What would you do if the world as you know it ended in an instant? How far would you go to survive?  Cassidy Hart is your typical High School graduate: a little shy, a little sarcastic, and a little naive. But when an electromagnetic pulse takes down the United States, she’s forced to kick into full survival mode when she gets separated from her father. Yeah. Things suck. But with the help of a handsome soldier named Chris, she just might find her dad without getting into serious trouble. Emphasis on might. Oh. And there’s the matter of avoiding getting killed in a world that’s quickly turned into an active war zone. It’s going to change Cassidy’s life. It’s going to be a major pain in the butt.

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Rites of Spring Blog Hop Winners!

Thanks everyone for stopping by, and for your kind words about Traveler Through Darkness. It’s always fun to hear from those who have read it, and to share in the delight of those just discovering it.

The grand prize winners have been announced at the main hop site.

Also, the winner of an ebook copy of Traveler is:

JeanMP

This was a great hop, and I’d like to thank Jessica and Heather for managing it so well. I can’t wait for the next one!

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Rites of Spring Blog Hop – Tarik’s First

 

The Rites of Spring Blog Hop challenge is to elaborate on a character’s first. Of course that would be Tarik, the lovely bachelor from Traveler Through Darkness, a novella in Decadent Publishing’s The Edge series.  If you haven’t yet read it, you won’t spoil it by reading Tarik’s first.  If you have read it, perhaps you can better understand his conflict, thus his choices.

~*~*~*~

It’s not that I hadn’t been attracted to men before Wo.  In reality, I probably did have plenty of opportunity to act on that attraction years before we met.  Most certainly I was raised in a culture that doesn’t approve of homosexual dalliances.  In fact, after my time in the Ba’athist Iraqi Republican Guard, I knew many men who merely were suspected of being homosexual  that were killed.  Those who were known to have relations with men met a much slower, painful fate, though the outcome inevitably was also death.

Perhaps I should have owned up to my true yearnings and faced down threat of death to stand in my true self.  I preferred life, however, and the possibility of living it truthfully.  That my life smothered under the weight of a lie isn’t at all too dramatic a metaphor. I just became very good at hiding who I really was, who I really am.

Despite deep misgivings, I attended my bachelor party with all intentions of following through as planned.  Plans change, don’t they? Shouldn’t they, when free will and destiny collide in clarity that can only change the course of a life? Wo and I collided, and nothing has been the same since.

Two nights have past since my bachelor party. For two sunrises I’ve awakened to his sweatshirt on the pillow next to mine. I’ve folded it countless times, shoulder seams perfectly aligned, crisp folds to the elbows, the hood tucked beneath in a neat package.  An old soldier’s habits die hard.  On the chest of the soft fabric is emblazoned his school crest, the insignia of the very department of his studies.  I track my fingertips along the smooth coolness of the appliquéd  lettering, flexing the grey cotton in my fist. My other hand curls around the lined yellow paper in my pocket, the one upon which is scribed his phone number, address, schedule.  You see, in this wonderful age of information it’s not a difficult task to locate him. Looking across all the years of my life, I see that it was never difficult to find Wo. The challenge has never been to walk forward into a new life, but to gracefully depart from the old one.

The day’s shadows give way to twilight, and I find myself anxious on the stoop of a flat just outside City Centre. The folded sweatshirt is tucked neatly under my arm, along with his drawings.

As I reach to buzz the door eager coeds burst from it, and I catch the door handle as they pass by. Standing at the threshold, I wonder if this can be my new life.

~*~*~*~

Traveler Through Darkness is available on:

Fierce Dolan.

Big Cocks and Shamrocks Giveaway Blog Hop

 

Yep, you read that right. And I promise, no puny surprises. Everything is big on this Hop! The Grand Prize is a HUGE Amazon Card, plus lots and lots of swag and books!!!

We know how the discussion in polite circles goes: Size doesn’t matter. Let’s talk about the literary world, exclusively. Does the package size of a character matter? When you’re reading a hot and heavy scene with a gorgeous man, do you think about his size? When an author takes care to mention dimension, does it blow your wad or distract your attention from he’s doing with it? And what about ladies in fiction?  Their bits are always tiny, tight, and all words pointing to whatever will emphasize the largess of anything that penetrates them.  Do you pay as much attention to the size of your girls’ girls as you do the manhood of your masculine heroes ?

I’m curious.  I did a brief poll on this on my Facebook page, and readers ranged widely on how they like the naughties referenced in their erotica. If size isn’t mentioned at all, do you fill it in? And if so, are your custom bits tailored to the character at present, or do you tent to tack on the same… tackle for every character that enthralls you?

Comment here with your email for a chance to win an ebook of Giveaway Gigolo Seduction. You must be 18 or older to win.

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Fifty Shades of Vanilla

I’ve been sitting on this particular response to hubbub in the erotica community brought about by the wave of new readers, a là Fifty Shades of Grey. First let me welcome the throng of new readers to the erotica genre. We want you. No, we really want you, in every dark, tawdry, juicy, and squirming-in-your-panties way ravagable, which is exactly the point I’m getting at: raw, wild sex, with no apologies.

I’ve read a lot of rebuttal from readers new to erotica, primarily lashing out against harder-edged veterans of the genre–both readers and writers, alike. What I’m seeing is a wave of defense for Fifty Shades from readers who believe the more seasoned audience is attacking it for being too vanilla.

Let’s sit with that nubby little concept for a minute. Rub up against it and pinch where it you feel it most.   Erotica brings with it a wealth of subgenres, offering ranges of heat from sweet to steamy, smoldering to spicy, sweaty hardcore to sweltering fetishistic glory. Really, however you like it, it’s there to be read.  There truly is no lack of fucktastic.

If there’s one thing almost all erotica authors can agree on, it’s that we like to read about sex: who’s doing it, how, where, when.  We like to peer into the minds of fellow authors to bang from their POV, voyeurs angling their toys to find our own right spot.  I can also tell you for a fact, there is no other writing community (and I’ve been in several across genres for the last decade) that is more supportive of  its authors and audience than erotica.  So, it’s without any hesitation that I say,  collective criticism within the genre  on Fifty Shades really doesn’t have anything to do with the sex not being dialed up enough, but the quality of writing dragging the hawt down.

Sure, maybe the ‘goddess within’ doesn’t do it for some. Maybe it’s not the heat level that stokes many of us.  Maybe the play at power dynamics were a let down. The thing is, we’re informed enough of the genre to know where to look for the degree of discipline or fiendish fondling we desire.  So when the book was touted as the hottest BDSM find in a decade, well…  You test the bowline and see if it slips.  The fact is, in the overall genre, the book didn’t walk the talk, particularly the day-after, sore-and-loving-it, variety.

If it gets you off, who am I to scribble corrections in the margin?  That the series is flying of shelves speaks to its effectiveness in marketing.  I think it says just as much about America’s need for kink expression, which brings me to my next offering.

One thing the genre as a whole has always been criticized for is an overall lower standard of grammatical and stylistic care.  Other genres joke that it’s easy to get published in erotica.  While that’s not entirely true, I can also allay the myth that it’s hard to find well-written, sexually titillating literature.  In fact, if  you want some good recommendations of both great writing and ranges of erotica (where noted), check out my Must-Reads. Among them, Anias Nin, Lucy Felthouse, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Remittance Girl, CJ Roberts, Valeria Alexander, Storm Constantine, Poppy Z. Brite, Ann Mayburn, and dare I say, even my own. They do it right.  The sex isn’t just smoking, the way they deliver it stays with you long after the scene, through all that development and other stuff characters and plot do.

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Introducing: Valkyrie Slumbering by L. VanHorn

Today we’re celebrating the release of L. VanHorn’s erotic fantasy novella, Valkyrie Slumbering!

About Valkyrie Slumbering

After the murder of her father, Kyra’s heart is consumed by the need for revenge. The hunt is all that matters. But a chance crossing of paths with the alluring and mysterious Grim threatens to derail her focus and her quest. Something about him draws her in, melts her walls, and speeds her heart. Like her, he is half Alfhiem, but it’s more than that. He’s funny, considerate, and treats her as an equal even in battle, something most of the Vikings of her native homeland would never do.

Steamy nights is one thing, but Kyra can’t allow her heart to become wrapped up with anyone, not until she finds and kills the man who murdered her father. Traveling across the countryside with Grim, though, challenges her resolve in more ways than she thought possible. She still hungers for the hunt but that hunger begins to dim in comparison to the one that grows inside her for Grim.

Creatures that could only be from the legendary land of Midgard interrupt their hunt again and again, creatures that shouldn’t exist in this realm. Soon it becomes unclear whether or not Kyra and Grim are the hunters, or the hunted. But who would hunt them, and why?

 

From Valkyrie Slumbering

For several moments I stare deep into his startling blue eyes, searching for something in their depths. All I see is honesty and mirth. Deep down, I realize, I’m not ready to let him out of my sight. Finally, I ask in a guarded tone, “What would you require in return?”

Though it may be the noon sun, I swear I almost see his eyes twinkle. “Nothin’ but yer company, and perhaps help as a workout partner,” he says.

Trusting my instincts, for they have never led me astray, I nod and hook an arm in one of his. “Workout partner, huh? We’ll see if you can handle me,” I say.

He stiffens beside me and his eyes widen. Clearly the double meaning isn’t lost on him. I must admit, seeing him sweat is something I’m looking forward to.

Available in eBook on these and other retail sites:

Amazon
 B&N



About Lilly VanHorn

With all the alluring creatures available in the fantasy genre, there is no end to the inspiration that keeps Lilly’s muse up at night. Her recipe: Start with choice characters, marinate in fantasy (any of the delicious sub-genres will do) add a heavy dash of romance, and mix in a generous portion of hot and heavy throughout the cooking cycle. Lilly has been writing for many years and has multiple books published with a different small press under a pseudonym. Look for her full-length novel, Valkyrie Awakening, winter of 2013!

You can find Lilly in the following locations:

Blog
 Pinterest
 Goodreads
 Twitter
 Facebook

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Free Forbidden Kink

 

I’d like to thank everyone for the great response and feedback on Journal of a Lycanthrophile. This round of KDP has been great, and I’m hard at work polishing its sequel.  Enjoy it for free on KDP again over the next couple of days, 2-3 March, and if you feel led, please review and let me know what you think!

when the kink most forbidden is the monster that sates

About Journal of a Lycanthrophile

Jesse Holloman has a fetish for justice and a kink for werewolves. Together, his passions spiral into a world of pain, shadow desires, and an even more sinister, secretive sort of shapeshifter—the kind that changes without shifting.

From Journal of a Lycanthrophile

My first sexual experience was with a werewolf, which is weird to write. I mean, seeing it in words, yes, but also because journaling reminds me of gossipy diaries and schoolgirls, and this is neither. What can I say?  I’m a guy with biases, a work in progress. Writing makes what happened to me tangible, helps me understand what happened better. Anyway, maybe somebody will find these notes and understand the real deal, or at least believe things like this happen. I would never have believed if it hadn’t happened to me. I was just a kid—nineteen—a couple of years back.

I was in my junior year at a stuffy boarding school in the foothills of Rainier. Had no fucking clue what I wanted to do with my life, and no real motivation to decide. Factor in how badly I sucked at academics, sports, pretty much everything, and that’s why I was stuck at a boarding school in the middle of no-goddamn-where.

So it’s no surprise I was out goofing off late one night. Goes without saying, the moon was full. I never bought into any of the stories about the moon making people crazy, or turning werewolves. Actually, the encounter started out pretty ordinary until I realized there would be sex. I was nineteen. Getting it on with a werewolf made no difference to me. Any sex is good sex. Guys that age will do just about anything—literally. Besides, it’s not like he was a wild animal that took advantage or anything. The opportunity just sort of sneaked up on us both. He could easily have killed me, and for a long time I didn’t know why he let me live.

I’d gone to a meadow not far from my dorm, an open field gone fallow, adjacent to a defunct ranch separated from campus by a forest of Western Hemlocks and Sitka Spruces. We weren’t supposed to go there, so of course we did, to get high, drunk, fuck, or to have some damn privacy. That’s why I was there, sitting on a big rock jutting out of the ground about four feet, minding my own business, when I heard a sound and saw movement in the brush to my left. I looked over, thinking the shadows and moonlight played tricks on the snow until I saw a really tall and wiry man there. When he noticed me watching, he crouched, and the half-light played over him enough that I saw he was naked. Close to the ground, he held super still, like primal, eerie still, which is what freaked me out.

When he finally moved closer, his silhouette fluffed into dark fur covering his entire body. I stayed put on the rock, thinking he was Bigfoot. He was so tall, though he wasn’t exactly over-sized, just furry. His feet weren’t tremendously big, though they splayed into beefy paws. His arms hung limp but sinewy, and his hairy hands curled into massive claws. Those claws and the enormous fangs pressing out of his frothing, panting snout clued me in he wasn’t Bigfoot. By the time he came within a couple feet of me, everything in me knew he was a werewolf.

It never occurred to me to run. In fact, I wasn’t even afraid. So stunned by what I was seeing, I thought he was some science fiction creature come to life or a myth walking right up to me. Kind of a stupid thing to say, because it was exactly the latter.

After a few moments of staring at each other, I slid off the rock and stood in front of him. If he’d reared up straight, he would have been a good two heads taller than me, and I was six foot two. Hunched down, he came maybe to my shoulders. His collar bones and chest tapered angular and gaunt to the vest of his ribs. He was all solid, lean muscle, with huge thighs and claws that curled into the soft snow. I couldn’t help peering behind him to see that there was no tail.

I was shocked when he came within inches of my chest. My heart raced, but still I didn’t think to run. Eyes black as his gums, when he inhaled, his insanely long tongue curled out from his leathery, stretched lips and licked at the air. He lapped several times, and I stood there thinking nobody would believe me, and I had no way to prove I’d seen him…

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Love is Blind Blog-A-Thon: Why We Love Interracial Pairings

 

Join me today on Juliette Spring’s Love is Blind Blog-A-Thon, where I discuss interracial romance in erotica, and Middle Eastern men as romantic leads.

It’s an on-going affair, from 18 February – 18 March, and two lucky commenters will win:

Grand Prize: A Kindle Paper white

1st Price: $25 Amazon Gift-card

If you’re 18 or older, comment at the blog hop site (NOT HERE) to win an ebook of Traveler Through Darkness.

Enjoy “Traveler Through Darkness” along with the .

Coming Soon- The Fangirl’s Dream

Savvy Authors announced it today!

 

 

The Fangirl’s Dream, part of Decadent Publishing‘s 1Night Stand series.

About The Fangirl’s Dream

Siler Dunham would do anything to have Farraj Reza, hero of the smash TV drama, “Hunted.” When her one night stand with him isn’t what she expected, she’s forced choose between unbridled lust and compassion… or is she?

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