Steph Bennion's Blog, page 11

Goodreads giveaway!

To mark the release of HOLLOW MOON and PAW-PRINTS OF THE GODS in paperback, five copies of each book are being given away via the social media website for books and book-lovers that is Goodreads. This giveaway launches today and runs until 31 July 2014 (see WyrdStar website for details). But there's more! THREE TALES FOR CHRISTMAS for the Kindle will be available free of charge from Amazon UK / USA (and other Amazon sites) on Wednesday 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th July. As before, this is timed around US Pacific Standard Time, probably to confuse us folk in the UK and elsewhere. Happy reading! (Steph).

Hollow Moon and Paw-Prints Of The Gods out in paperback

HOLLOW MOON and PAW-PRINTS OF THE GODS, tales of science-fiction mystery and adventure for young adults and adults young-at-heart, are out in paperback! The books are available via the wonders of 'print on demand' from Amazon (see WyrdStar website for links). These trade paperbacks (i.e. better quality than mass-market paperbacks) have a recommended retail price of GBP 9.99 (UK) / USD 16.99 (USA). Meanwhile, the ebook price of PAW-PRINTS OF THE GODS has been matched with that of HOLLOW MOON at GBP 1.99 (UK) / USD 2.99 (USA). Ebooks are available from a wide range of online stores, which now includes Txtr. A Goodreads 'giveaway' will be announced shortly. There's more on the WyrdStar website, but for now thanks for reading! (Steph).

All quiet on the WyrdStar front

It's been a couple of months since I last posted an update. This isn't through a lack of activity from yours truly, but rather because there's feverish work going on in the background that has kept me busy elsewhere. All I will say for now is HOLLOW MOON is being prepared for a paperback release very soon, with PAW-PRINTS OF THE GODS to follow. I hope to celebrate this through a book giveaway on Goodreads, so watch this space! In other news, the fine folks at Awesome Indies have given their website a facelift. This now looks very slick indeed and puts many publisher's websites to shame (including probably this one), with lots of information about showcased books, plus a new blog offering entertaining content from and about the featured authors. Awesome Indies is on a mission to find the best of independent fiction. If you're in the mood for something different, why not pay them a visit? (Steph).

Short Stories (and goodbye to Diesel)

THE WYRDSTAR MOBILE mini website for The Worlds of Hollow Moon has finally been updated to include online versions of the short stories IN THE LAP OF THE GODS (from WYRD WORLDS) and the 2013 Christmas short story A WIZARD, A SWORD AND A KING. The mobile website also offers chapter excerpts from the novels, all in a no-frills format which can be read by the majority of mobile devices. Meanwhile, to banish the woe of Wednesdays throughout April, THREE TALES FOR CHRISTMAS will be available free of charge from Amazon on Wednesday 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th April. The current edition of this Kindle-only anthology includes A WIZARD, A SWORD AND A KING as a bonus short story! (So there's actually FOUR TALES...) Finally, another ebook store has closed its doors: this time, Diesel; existing customers should see the website for details to download (and thus retain) ebooks previously bought. The ebook market remains relatively new and is still evolving, but it's sad to see established names fade away (Steph).

WyrdStar ebooks now available at Scribd

WYRDSTAR EBOOKS, along with all other Smashwords titles, are now available from Scribd, the world's largest online library and ebook lending service. Ebooks can be borrowed at no extra charge by Scribd subscribers, or bought and downloaded in a similar fashion as from other online stores. In other retailer news, the Sony Reader Store is closing on 20 March, after which existing customers will transfer to Kobo. Sony's pioneering work in establishing ebooks and dedicated ereaders lends a touch of sadness to this news. My thanks go to those readers who have found WyrdStar ebooks through Sony over the years. (Steph).

Smashwords 'Read an Ebook Week'

THE SMASHWORDS 'Read an Ebook Week' promotion kicks off today! As part of this event, the witty space-opera mysteries that are HOLLOW MOON and PAW-PRINTS OF THE GODS are available at 50% off until 8 March (see special voucher code on the Smashwords book pages for details). The promotion has lots of other offers from the authors and publishers who release works through this site, so why not check it out? (Steph).

In Memory of Dandridge MacFarlan Cole

Some of you who have read my 2012 novel HOLLOW MOON may know that the asteroid colony ship at the centre of the story is named after Dandridge MacFarlan Cole, American aerospace engineer, futurist, lecturer and author who was born this day in 1921 in Sandusky, Ohio. Cole was an avid proponent of humankind's future in space and wrote several books and papers on the subject. In 1953, after seeing action in the Second World War followed by a spell teaching physics and astronomy, Cole took a job with the Martin Company in Baltimore; a post that later would see him help to design the Titan II, the launch vehicle for Gemini space capsules. Cole often promoted the idea of colonising the asteroids, which he believed could be hollowed out with habitable space on the inside, with the resulting space arks orbiting within the solar system or even being sent out on interstellar expeditions. He and artist Roy Scarfo collaborated on the book BEYOND TOMORROW: THE NEXT FIFTY YEARS IN SPACE (1965), a wonderful vision of future advancements in space exploration, space development and colonisation, all based on scientific feasability at that time. Dandridge MacFarlan Cole died tragically young on October 29, 1965. (Steph).

Smashwords Reads 2013

A belated Happy New Year to all! In the spirit of yearly round-ups, the website's new Smashwords Reads 2013 page lists the indie ebooks that took my fancy in 2013, with a brief summary, review and my Goodreads ratings. Most of these are science-fiction, with a few others thrown into the mix. I hope you find this list interesting! (Steph).

Awesome Indies Holiday Bonanza Ebook Sale

The fine folks at AWESOME INDIES are running a Christmas sale from 26 December (Boxing Day) to 30 December. The sale features 60 books, all Awesome Indies approved, with USD2.00 or USD3.00 off their normal price. Some are free; most are 99c. To quote Awesome Indies: "Every one of these books is worth your time. Buy them and support the independent authors who are spear-heading the new wave of quality independent fiction. Please enjoy our smorgasbord of cheap ebooks while they last!" As part of this special offer, PAW-PRINTS OF THE GODS will be available for the knock-down price of USD0.99 from Amazon USA, with similar reductions at Amazon UK and other Amazon sites. Yes, I know I should have wrapped up this announcement with the news item below (dates have been updated in the previous post) but my organisational skills have become a bit frazzled in the run-up to Christmas... Have a good one, folks. (Steph).

Christmas special offers

Merry Christmas! WyrdStar is running a couple of special offers for Kindle owners over the festive period. From 24th to 28th December, PAW-PRINTS OF THE GODS will be available for the knock-down price of USD0.99 from Amazon USA, with similar reductions at Amazon UK and other Amazon sites. Meanwhile, over the same period, THREE TALES FOR CHRISTMAS will be available free of charge from Amazon UK / USA (and other Amazon sites). As before, this offer starts around midnight US Pacific Standard Time, so should take effect from 8:00am in the UK. (Steph).