M.L. Katz's Blog: The M.L. Katz Author Blog , page 2

Welcome To ML Katz Books

I'm Glad You Found ML Katz On The Web! 

Greetings, Friends, Fans, and Foes! A lot's been happening in my personal and writing life, and I'm glad you found me here. This is a good place to contact me, learn about my books, and find out what's new.

On Google, I am @mlkatz.. That is supposed to link to my Google profile, but I'm not sure I've got the link right yet.

On Facebook: MLKATZ and Raft People.

Please make yourself at home, feel free to comment on articles, and find me online. 

My Next Big Thing [BLOG HOP]

What’s The Next Big Thing Blog Hop?

Welcome to the second installment of the RaftPeople.com Next Big Thing Blog Hop. The idea is that I was tagged by an author with a work in progress. I, as the tagee, have to answer the interview questions and then tag some other authors with a work in progress. It’s a great way to network and expose readers to new authors.

Here was my first Next Big Thing Blog Hop post from a few months ago. It was about an entirely different books, and I have different tags this time – so I hope I’ll be forgiven for double dipping.

NightMarz – A Dark Fantasy Series by Irna Geddon

[image error]I was lucky enough to be tagged by Irma Geddon, She is a favorite poster around The Writer’s Cafe forum at KBoards.com, and is working on NightMarz – A Dark Fantasy Series. She says it is an adult themed, dark fantasy, and may not be appropriate for very young or very sensitive readers. Otherwise, the book sounds great. You can buy the first installment of NightmareZ: Asylum on Amazon today. There are several other places to buy it, and you can find them listed on the author’s blog: http://irmageddon.com/

Here is her one sentence synopsis – When her nightmares suddenly become reality, 17 years old Gabrielle must find a way to survive while she tries to understand the curse that plagued her family for generations.

Floaters – What Comes After Raft People?

What’s the working title of your new book?

Floaters is the semi-unappetizing working title. In the post-flood universe, floaters is a slang term for either dead bodies found in the water or people who have stayed out at sea longer than they needed to.

Where did you get the idea for Floaters?

Some readers have called out for a sequel to Raft People. When Permuted Press picked up my Raft People they asked for a sequel. I had not really intended to enter that universe again, but once I started writing, the story appeared.

What genre is this book?

This is absolutely a post-apocalyptic book in the truest sense. It takes place about a year after the worst of the crisis in Raft People. Some people say my books have a bit of steampunk and alternate history too.

Which actors should play the main characters in a movie version?

I didn’t really write with any specific characters or people in mind, but that is an interesting thing to speculate about on those long nights spent over a hot computer. Many of the characters in my book are young, and I keep thinking of actors who were young when I first liked them, but are older now.

Can you give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book?

After the flood, you’re a floater if you’ve been out at sea too long.

Is your book self-published, or do you have a publisher?

Raft People started out Indie, and sold over 1,000 copies that way. Since then it has been picked up by Permuted Press, but they are doing a second edit and some other prettying up – so it may be awhile. Yes, Floaters was requested by Permuted as well as a sequel – so I hope so.

How long did your first draft take to write?

How long is a piece of string? Kidding, but I guess I completed it a first draft in about 6 weeks. Right now it is off at a beta reader, and then I’ll take another pass or two at it.

Can you compare it to other books in your genre?

I know that Stephen Baxter’s Ark and Flood books influenced Raft People. But this book can probably best be compared to Raft People.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

As I mentioned above, Raft People was inspired by Stephen Baxter’s Flood series. But I’m not sure where the muse for Floaters came from – the place stories come from, I guess.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to pique reader’s interest?

Well, quite a few readers wanted to know what happened next. In my mind, the story of Andrew – the brother who left to join the Navy during the Big Flood was under-developed. Raft People became Mark and Liz’s story. Liz resented Andrew for several reasons, and some of them were not entirely fair. Hey, even heroines have flaws.

Andrew is still out at sea, trying to rescue survivors and bring comfort to refugees. Meanwhile he battles actual threats like an increasing number of smugglers and pirates. He also battles his own grief and loneliness because he was separated from his family. Maybe it’s Andrew’s time to get a little lucky.

Mark and Liz do make an appearance, as do Rabbi Gerson, Dr. Pham, Sally Chan, Shirley, and Dr. Peterson. Leah Green is with them all in spirit.

Who’s The Next Big Thing?

Look for these fine authors, and their contributions to the blog hop next week!

Find Krystal McLaughlin George at Krystalmclaughlin.blogspot.com She writes intriguing young adult fantasies.

Ezekiel Carsella posts at animalconflictseries.wordpress.com He writes exciting science fiction / steampunk fiction.

What’s A Best Seller?

What Should Readers And Authors Know About Best Seller Lists?

I’m taking a break from writing about my books or other genre books to comment on a pretty important part of the publishing industry. These or common ordinary bestseller lists and rankings. But here’s what savvy consumers and authors need to know.

Bestseller lists and rankings affect publishers, authors, and readers.

A stay on a famous bestseller list can give an author the credibility and exposure they crave.
Those lists also influence purchase decisions from readers. If a lot of people are buying a book it must be better than other books that don’t sell as well, right
Well, selling a lot of copies is what most authors dream of doing. But the way that some books get sold in order to hop up in the rankings may not mean they are really a lot better than other books. It may been they are simply the lucky benefactor of planned purchase sprees that have been carefully engineered to hurl those books high in the rankings.

In this surprisingly candid article, Debunking The Bestseller, we learn that there are even PR companies that court anybody who can afford the price tag of a few thousand dollars. Sure, many authors will try to engineer a successful release week by telling their fans, friends, and families about a new book. That’s promotion. But this is on a whole other scale.

Personally, I have recently purchased some books with high sales ranks that did nothing for me. I couldn’t believe they had become so popular through ordinary advertising or word-of-mouth promotions. I’m not going to publicly name them because, frankly, I’m embarrassed to have them on my e-reader. If that’s been happening to you it may be time to stop disregarding sales rank and bestseller lists as official guides to what’s really good out there.

 

The Hopping Dead Blog Hop

Who’s Hopping The Dead?

 

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The Hopping Dead

PublishMyself.net has started a blog hop (sort of like a blog tour, but run by authors) for … what else… Zombie Apocalypse Fiction. You can check out the original post to get an idea of the themes and some early participants: http://publishmyself.net/whos-up-for-hopping-the-dead/

We are supposed to include the answers to a couple of questions in our entries.

Why Is Waking The Zed Different?

I don’t think that Waking The Zed takes itself too seriously. It is unique because it describes Ground 0 of the Z-Apocalypse.

Why Do Authors Write Zombie Books?

Who knows? I am a fan of the genre, though I enjoy many other related and unrelated genres too. I think that really scary books like this also help us relieve other anxieties because there is this truly awful and pretty nonredeemable villain to fight. I did post an earlier article about why we love apocalypse stories.

In most Zed books the creatures are beyond home, dead, and mindless, so it is OK to destroy them because that is the best thing you can do for them.

Add A paragraph from Waking he Zed:

Here’s two:

Dr. Ada Klein’s mood almost appeared rapturous as she made a circuit of Preservation Room 17. Her rubber soled shoes glided soundlessly across the gleaming tiles. A streak of grey accented her dark and carefully coifed hair. The colorful scarf, draped artfully over her narrow shoulders, fluttered about as she walked. As the slim middle aged woman moved from one gleaming man-sized capsule to another, she bent over the transparent face plate of each tube, considered it, smiled, and then moved on.

Pam Stone, the graduate student intern, stood stoically as her boss made a circuit of the room. For a moment she thought that her boss’s movements reminded her of a dancer making a grand sweep of a ballroom while curtsying to an array of suitors. Of course, the grey streak in the doctor’s dark hair, her cold manner, and her occupation also reminded Pam of an old black and white horror movie she had seen at a teenage sleepover. Considering that the gleaming steel and glass cylinders each contained the preserved body of one of Dr. Klein’s clients, Pam thought, not for the first time, that her middle aged mentor’s actions and mannerisms were really quite creepy. A chill ran up Pam’s spine.

What Other Zombie Books Are In The Hop?

So far, a couple of good authors with interesting books are participating. You can read some blurb from their books, plus get link details in the original post mentioned above. I like the premise of these books because they appear original and creative.

Z Plan: Blood On The Sand By Mikhail Lerma .
Pacifier 6: The Shadows Within

 

 

 

Raft People Is Now Released By Permuted Press!

Raft People –> Permuted Press
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Who Knew?

Here’s a surprising development! I’m really excited to announce that Raft People has now been released by Permuted Press. They are a very friendly small publisher dedicated mostly to apocalyptic, dystopian, and science fiction books. The press has all sorts of partnerships, and they have released some really popular books – even some stories that have been made into movies.

I have enjoyed working with them so far, and the raft keeps bobbing along. More changes are in the works, but let me report on what I know so far.

Who Will Play Liz?

I kid. I kid. I am not quite ready to line people up for movie auditions yet. Who should play Liz and Dr. Pham anyway? Oh, let me not get off the track. This does mean things have changed a bit, and I am experiencing some period of adjustment.

What’s Different About Raft People Now?

If you checked out the Permuted Press website, don’t worry. No zombies have been added to Raft People! It’s the same story. Here are a couple of important things to know about the changes. At least they are important for ME to know, but you may be interested as well.

The Amazon Link to Raft People has changed because it has been released under a new ISBN and ASID (Amazon Identifier). The old link to the ebook no longer works, but you can still search for it on the “Great River of the Zon”.
If all of this talk of ISBNs and ASIDs is as confusing to you as it is to me, the best way to stay updated might be to look at the ML Katz Amazon Author Page. It doesn’t get updated right away, but it does eventually get updated.
Now Nook owners can also find the ebook version of Raft People on Barnes & Noble . I have friends who prefer BN, and I’m glad to be able to offer the ebook over there on the other side of the river.
I still have the Raft People Facebook page , but I have now also established an author page for ML Katz. Since I have other books, that are still self-published, this made more sense. It makes me feel great when you come buy, Like the page, and say hi. The new ML Katz Facebook Author page is here.

I’ll keep you updated if anything else changes. Stay safe out there!

There Are Too Bikes In The Apocalypse

Get On Your Bike And Ride Out Of The Apocalypse!
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Rick Has A Bike!

I just read an article in the Daily Beast which laments about the lack of bikes in the apocalypse as described in hundreds of books, movies, and games. I have to take issue with this article because I can think of examples of apocalyptic fiction where bikes were commonly used.

Yes, Raft People Has Bikes

In my own book, Raft People, bikes were used. Yes, the story is about a flood, and no, they didn’t have water bikes. Raft People used bikes to power the paddle wheels though! They never managed to get the contraption to be a very efficient solution, and so they only used them in an emergency, but they were there.

Other Bikes In The Apocalypse

Very early in The Walking Dead, we see Rick trying to pedal home from the hospital on a bicycle. In the Dies The Fire series by SM Sterling, bikes are often used instead of horses by organized groups.

These examples are just ones I can think of off of the top of my head, but I’m pretty sure I could easily come up with some more with a little research.

The True Story of Zombie Origins?

What Started The Zombie Apocalypse?

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Waking the Zed is live on Amazon right now. Be sure and read our Waking The Zed page for a quick summary or visit Amazon for more information. The premise of this story is that Future Faith, a cryonics company, is responsible for the origins of the zombie apocalypse.

What Is Cryonics?

You can learn more about real-life cryonics here at Wikipedia. As a note, under current law cryonics can only be performed on human beings after they have already been pronounced legally dead. Otherwise it is considered assisted suicide.

About The Cover Artist

I’m also really proud of the new cover, supplied by the artistic talent at http://www.goonwrite.com/. The artists does custom work, and also has a variety of pre-made covers you can select to add your own book’s typography to.

7′s Writer Blog Hop

Thank-you, Mama’s Got A Chainsaw for tagging me for this very unusual, but interesting blog hop. The rules are pretty simple. You simply pull out your book and skip to page 7 or 77, skip to line 7, and than post the next 7 lines.

7′s From Raft People

“That’s what our dear older brother Andrew asked for, right, a narrative of our time as Raft People? They want to figure out what allowed us to survive a flood that covered almost twenty percent of formerly dry land in a few months. They believe, I suppose, that their analysis could help people in the future.” “They say the strong survive, but most of us were not really strong,” Mark begins earnestly.

Now I have the pleasure of tagging some more book bloggers or writers I know and like.

Nancy Laronda Johnson of Writer’s Mark

TS Welti of TSWelti.com

Kathryn Hohmann of Soldier’s Rest

Roy Huff of Owen Sage.com

Lisa Becker of Click

 

 

 

 

The Information Thieves – New Book Cover

We have a New Year, and The Information Thieves Has A New Book Cover!
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The Information Thieves New Book Cover

Yes, you can find The Information Thieves on Amazon!

I had a lot of readers and other authors comment on the old cover for The Information Thieves. They said that the cover was not doing it for them. It did not really communicate the theme and tone of the story. While I liked the old cover, I really do care what other authors and especially, readers, think!

The novel is superficially about information theft, even if the thief had pure motivations and was not trying to profit. However, the larger theme of the story is that people always thrive by taking information in any way they can. Sometimes this is out in the open, but sometimes it is through theft.

Now the question is – who owns the eye that is pictured peeking through the keyhole? I have a clear idea in my mind. Do you?

 

Raft People Is In Print

The Print Version of Raft People Is Born!

I can hardly believe that I uploaded the first version of Raft People as a digital e-book in early September. It just seems like yesterday. Well, this has been an amazing experience. I have been able to connect with readers and other authors in a way I never expected. I am glad I got to take this ride!

I also found out that some readers still do not care for reading on their computers, e-readers, or other digital devices. I did inform these folks that it is possible to read Amazon e-books without a Kindle e-reader, but they still want to enjoy the experience of reading an actual paper book. After 3 months, I have finally gathered my courage and produced an actual paperback book.

You can hop over to Amazon to see the print edition of Raft People. Thanks for riding along!