Lincoln Cole's Blog, page 27
October 30, 2016
Halloween: One Day Away
It is almost Halloween, which is one of my favorite holidays! I love everything about it, from the costumes to the stories.
I'm working on a couple of projects right now, and just trying to find the time to write. It's been brutal finding the time these last few weeks, and even when I do have a little extra time finding the motivation can be equally difficult. I'll keep working on it, though, and with any luck I'll have quite a few new books to release in 2017 across a lot of series.
I'm looking forward to going trick or treating tomorrow with my nieces and getting a chance to see their costumes. I was going to bring Luther, but we didn't end up getting him a costume (though there was a BB8 one that was really cool).
Have a great Halloween!
October 28, 2016
BookViral Category Winner and Finalist!
Raven's Peak is officially one of the six finalists!
Voting is now open for the best book of 2016, so please check it out and vote!
http://www.bookviral.com/2016-bookviral-book-award/4593063487
October 26, 2016
Book Review: Guardian of Paradise by W.E. Lawrence
Today, I will be reviewing: Guardian of Paradise by W.E. Lawrence
Guardian of Paradise
$13.70
By W. E. Lawrence
Description
In 1888, Kira Wall, surviving daughter of missionaries swept away in a tsunami, lives a primitive, but enjoyable life with natives on an isolated island in the South Pacific. But her serene world is turned upside down when an Australian merchant ship, commanded by the sinister Captain Darcy Coleman, arrives with an overabundance of modern and lavish goods. Kira suspects ill intent. Chief Ariki refuses to listen to Kira’s warning, forcing her to uncover the real plan of the captain on her own. Unfortunately, she has a distraction. A six-foot tall, blond, and handsome distraction. Trevor Marshall, doctor and botanist, hopes to find exotic plants on the island to research new cures and medicines. He is dedicated to science, but when meeting the strong-willed, beautiful Kira Wall, he’d prefer to spend time researching her—all night.
The captain thwarts Kira’s attempts to call him out at every step, turning the village chief against her. With only Trevor and her best friend Malana by her side, she stalks the captain and his officers through the dense, predator infested jungle, toward the island’s inactive volcano. Frustrated by her failure to reveal the captain’s true intentions, Kira begins to think maybe she’s wrong about everything. Then an explosion and earthquake bigger than anyone on the island has ever seen renews her resolve. Was the blast natural or man-made? She is determined to prove it was the captain’s doing. Kira races against time and the island people’s naivety to stop the captain from destroying her home and killing everyone she loves.
About the Author
W. E. Lawrence graduated in 1978 from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a BS in business administration. He has run a successful home health care supplies distributorship for the past twenty-three years.
Passionate about God, writing, reading, family, sports, politics, and America, Lawrence currently lives in Davidson, North Carolina, with his lovely wife and their two wonderful children.
This book had a little bit of everything in it. There was some mystery, some romance, and some tough decisions that have to be made about the future these characters will or won't have together. The story itself was kind of strange and not something I was used to, but the characters were amazing and really brought everything home all at once.
I loved Kira's character, in particular. She was funny, strong, and really held the story together because of her sheer bravery in the face of horrible problems. Trevor was interesting as well, and served as a good counterbalance for her.
This wasn't the kind of book I normally read, so I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. For someone who is a fan of this sort of novel and knows what they are getting into, this is a real winner! If nothing else, I think everyone will come to like the main characters and root for them to find their happily ever after!
Rating: 4-StarsThis wasn't the kind of book I normally read, so I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. For someone who is a fan of this sort of novel and knows what they are getting into, this is a real winner!
See it on Online Book Club!October 24, 2016
Book Review: First Contact: Strings Attached
Today I will be reviewing First Contact, Strings Attached by Paul J Nelson.
About the AuthorPaul J. Nelson, J.D., a former workaholic, quit work to rest. His wife then needed rest too. She locked him in his den. He had to email her his literary output for the day, before she would let him out for dinner. Many days dinner was cold.
View it at Online Book Club!http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=94436
The ReviewI love stories that are about a first contact story with an alien race that we have never before interacted with because they have so much room for creating a chilling environment wrapped up in a great story. This book wasn't an exception to that trend, because our protagonist doesn't really understand what is going on throughout the entire story regarding an alien message he receives.
The story features telepathy, which is another really great feature that drives the story. Eventually, the MC has to come to terms with his decision to either try and become the hero to save the planet or not. I am not a huge fan of sci-fi books that feature wild and crazy aliens and a lot of different races, unless it is done really well, but this book completely skirted around that issue by making it about technology and world-changing decisions rather than crazy and inventive aliens.
All in all, this book didn't really falter in any major categories, and now the only downside is having to wait an entire year for the sequel to come out. I'll be looking forward to reading more by this author!
Rating: 4-StarFans of the genre will love it, and even people who just enjoy a good sci-fi romp will have fun!
About the BookZalk, an astronomer on an oppressive industrial-age world, discovers more than just life on the other planet they share their orbit with – he forges a telepathic link with an ambassador from this spacefaring society, who promises wealth and fantastic technology. The catch? He must implement plans for a mining operation, financed by drops of gold from the heavens...
What exactly are the intentions of this celestial messenger? Can he reconcile with an antagonistic reporter to find out in time? Joining forces may be their only hope to save their world.
First Contact: Strings Attached
By Paul J. Nelson
October 21, 2016
UAV Audiobook in process
Recently a narrator expressed interest in producing the audiobook version of UAV, and we signed off on a contract through ACX to have one produced, so now it looks like UAV and Second Chances will both be up by the end of the year in audio format! I can't wait.
Uav is also rocking a new cover from my designer, so I'm hoping that brings the book up quite a bit on it's own!
October 15, 2016
Book Review: The Water Trade
Today, I will be reviewing The Water Trade by Rob Smith.
The Review
The Water Trade
By Rob Smith
This book was a little bit slower than I would have liked, but I suppose that comes with the territory. It just felt like things took a long time to happen. The actual history in the book, and the background, was great. It reminded me a little of a Michael Crichton novel where the first fifty or sixty pages are totally useless while we wait for the actual story to start.
That being said, it did pick up by the end and became interesting, and the ending was actually quite fine. The quality of the writing was fairly good, as well, despite the occasional over-expanation and redundancy.
All in all, the book was well-put together and interesting, despite not really being my cup of tea, and I can applaud the author for the effort.
Rating: 3-StarFans of Historical fiction novels should really enjoy this one.
Check it out on Online Book Club!October 14, 2016
Kindle Scout Analysis: Nomination Review Copies
I've seen a few people try and argue that getting too many nominations can hurt your campaign in Kindle Scout, and I would like to delve into a little analysis of why that is completely inaccurate. Here goes:
Based on how book sales work, the idea that getting too many nominations is bad is not at all how things work for Kindle Scout. There are multiple reasons why giving away a lot of books here is in yours (and Amazon's) best interest.
Virtually any category in the world for your book has a readership of at least a few million, and upwards of tens of millions, possible purchasers/readers.
When a new book is released by a major publisher, they give out ARC copies (sometimes 5-15 thousand) to generate early readership and interest. This is a way to get your book noticed and get it into the hands of the market for reviews, publicity, etc.
Further Analysis
Amazon is asking readers to nominate your book and in return they are giving away free copies. Then, they ask for reviews.
Let's say you get 5,000 page views (which is way higher than most campaigns will ever get, and almost double the average and median).
We could generously say 50% of those will result in nominations, so let's call it 2,500 nominations. Of those nominations, about half will actually ever bother to claim their book from Amazon, so 1,250 people claim your book.
That is quite a few less than a traditional publisher, BUT (and this is a big one) there are some MAJOR benefits Amazon works in compared to a traditional publisher.
Honestly, the biggest advantage is the also-bought list, because Amazon is effectively tying together Kindle Scout books to drive sales to highly engaged readers. For example, right now there is a Kindle Scout book Amazon promoted that is number 120 in the store (and has sold probably around 15,000 copies just this month). With the also-bought list, if people who nominated your book also nominated that, you can get pulled up to their list as 'books people also bought' which can drive huge sales to your book. Because these nominations result in 'purchases' it is a self-feeding thing where you can create a strong positive correlation.
The more nominations you got, the stronger your correlation, and the more likely amazon is to recommend your book to a LOT of readers without even counting the actual kindle scout promotions.
Conversely, if you don't get a lot of nominations, sure you aren't giving away some free copies (I would bet the normal KS giveaway count is more like 250-300 at most) but you also aren't building these correlations and triggering a sales rank. The trick to make your book sell long term is driving sales and building strong correlations with popular books. Amazon is doing that for you, and getting as MANY people to accept free copies through Kindle Scout as possible will seriously help your book long-term.
Going back to the verified purchase...Amazon has always considered verified reviews to be superior to non-verified, but now they are taking it a step further and actively suppressing non-verified reviews, which means having more verified will help in your book's visibility. Moreover, Amazon is working around the new ToS changes for free copies because these are technically purchased copies, despite being free.
So, reasonably unless you get something like 100,000 page views and 50,000 nominations, you can't possibly get too many to actually harm your chances of getting picked. Even then, it probably wouldn't hurt your book because your resulting rank would be so high. Amazon WANTS to give away these copies, because unless you are looking at a very very small picture, they benefit your book in every way.
Book Review: Prophase: A Present Tale (The Mitosis Series Book 1)
Today I will be reviewing Prophase: A Present Tale (The Mitosis Series Book 1) by Mitchel Street.
The Review
Prophase: A Present Tale (The Mitosis Series Book 1)
By M. Street
This book is full of some truly stunning moments, and the visualization in it is incredible. The author does an amazing job of setting the scene for everything that takes place, and Piper is an easy to engage with and likable character that audiences will find easy to connect with.
There is a lot of magic and sorcery in this book, and at times it can get a little overbearing just how much is introduced. The author does a decent job of keeping it all relative and simple, but at times I wish he had stepped back and allowed us to fully appreciate each piece independently before introducing something else.
That being said, that is only a minor complaint, and I can definitely see fans of fantasy novels truly enjoying this new world and following along with the compelling characters. It is a fairly typical 'average girl discovers she has special powers and is important' story, but it is well-told and enjoyable.
Rating: 4-StarFans of the genre will enjoy this one as an easy escape!
About the AuthorMitchel Street is an avid storyteller with an innate passion for fiction writing. He was raised in rural Wisconsin near the shores of Lake Michigan across from a small forest that became his second home. As an adult, M. Street has lived on the East Coast in Boston, on the West Coast in San Jose, and now resides South, in the great city of Austin, TX. A love for nature, art, spirituality, and science has been his foundation. He has been fortunate to have been adopted by cats, dogs, birds, frogs, turtles, and Monarch butterflies. His professional background is rooted in Engineering having earned a graduate degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is technically published (under a different name). He is currently creating Metaphase and Anaphase, the follow-on to Prophase, part of the Mitosis series.
Check it out on Online Book Club
October 13, 2016
Book Review: Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer
Today I'm going to be reviewing Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer
About the Author
John Powell has had a long and distinguished career as an industrial and scientific engineer. In 1971 he travelled to Ghana to take up the post of senior lecturer in mechanical engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, and his life-long love affair with Ghana began. Since then he has travelled the world as a consultant to many international agencies, including UNIDO. He was awarded the OBE in 1991 for services to technical education in Ghana, and in 2003 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science by KNUST in recognition of his long and invaluable service to the country. He now lives in Whitney, Oxfordshire.
The ReviewSaint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer is full of very interesting characters and showcases a lot of unique and creative situations that are very satirical and humorous. The author is incredibly witty and does a really good job of bringing this whimsical story to life. Our larger than life hero manages to handle some very impressive feats throughout the course of this novel, but the ridiculousness never really gets overbearing and the writing style is so fluid and fun to read that the book virtually flies by.
It reminded me a lot of some other satirical stories I've read in the past where it just tries to make things fun and ridiculous and not at all overbearing. There were some jokes that I got out of the book that I know kids won't get, but I really like that in books like this. It's nice when you can read along with a child and have a little something extra just for you.
Definitely worth checking out!
Rating: 5-StarsI love fun kids books like this, and if you do too you're going to want to seek this one out!
Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer
By John Powell
Description
In a world infested with monsters intent on harassing the citizenry and scaring the livestock, you need an efficient Patron Saint and Minister for the Environment. George, a vertically challenged and impoverished knight in rusty armour, would appear a poor choice were it not for the fact that, during his travels in the Austrian Tyrol, he discovered a cake with the miraculous power to tame monsters. Suddenly, and for the first time in his life, George is in demand.
Elevated to ministerial position by King Freddie and Prime Minister Merlin, George becomes famous, while remaining (sadly) impoverished, and wittingly or otherwise has a hand in improving international relations with France, creating the first trade union, repelling a Scottish invasion and defining the number of players in a cricket team.
This sharp and witty satirical comedy, filled with comic caricatures and disgruntled dignitaries and set in a time-we-have-all-forgot will appeal to young people and adults alike.
October 12, 2016
Raven's Peak is shortlisted in the BookViral Awards!
A few days ago they announced that Raven's Peak was shortlisted in the 2016 BookViral awards program! It's really exciting, and on November 1st they will announce which ones are finalists! Here's hoping I get some good news on that day!
You can actually vote to help my book along! If you want to take just a minute or two to vote for Raven's Peak, click the below link!
http://www.bookviral.com/2016-bookviral-book-award/4593063487
Type in some details on the voting form, submit, and it is golden!
