Marcus Richardson's Blog, page 5

December 18, 2015

Freehold Friday: Happy happy, joy joy

Howdy muchachos!


I am in fine spirits today, and I hope you are too. The holidays are here and winter is back (there’s no snow on the ground—yet—but it’s winter and in this area of the country, there will be snow). My beautiful bride got me tickets to see the new Star Wars movie for my birthday, what could be better, I ask you?


Well, for starters, the Apache Dawn audiobook is out and selling far better than I expected in the first week of availability! Thank you so very much! Your continued support is humbling and inspiring.


But that’s just the beginning. In the spirit of the holiday season, I invite you to sign up to the Freehold Update. In the next week I’m going to launch a contest to win some free copies of the Audiobook! Details to follow. The first step, though, if you haven’t signed up all ready, is to join the Update!


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Published on December 18, 2015 10:00

December 11, 2015

Freehold Friday: Apache Dawn Audiobook released!

Welcome friends!  I have great news–the Apache Dawn audiobook, narrated by the very talented James Romick, is now available for purchase!


AD ACX FINAL blog


The official length is listed on Amazon’s page as 18 hours and 26 minutes.  For a purchase price of $21.83, that’s a little over a dollar per hour for entertainment.  Where else, I ask you, can you get such value for the ride in to work?


 


If you’re a member of Audible, you get to listen for free!  It’s coming soon for iTunes if you’re so inclined and I’ll make a separate announcement when that goes live.


As always, if you want to know before everyone else (even the readers of this blog!) when the next book will be released, any promotions or other cool news, sign up to get the monthly Freeholder Update today!


 


 


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Published on December 11, 2015 10:15

November 27, 2015

Freehold Friday: Audiobook news!

I hope you all had a safe and happy Thanksgiving! I know I need to get back on the treadmill…


But that’s not why I’m writing this today. I’ve got some big news! And I’m not talking about Black Friday specials…


I’ve just approved the final draft of the audiobook version of Apache Dawn! James Romick did a fantastic job voicing the characters.  I tell you, this is the first time I’ve done with one of my books and it really makes a difference when you hear the story instead of just reading it.  Cool stuff.  The book comes in at 18 hours and 26 minutes. It’s now off to ACX for final pre-publishing checks. Fingers crossed, it’ll be approved and ready for release shortly.  When it is, I’ll let you know!


To go with the release of the audiobook, I remade the cover to Apache Dawn (my second book and the most outdated of all my covers) and made the ebook and audiobook versions match!


AD ACX FINAL blog

This is the audiobook cover.


AD New FINAL ebook blog

And here’s the ebook cover.


Now to update the print version…


In the meantime, I’m still plugging away at the third book in the saga, tentatively titled Wildfire. I know, not very unique, since that’s the series name, but…meh, it’s a work in progress!


As always, if you want to know before everyone else (even the readers of this blog!) when the next book will be released, any promotions or other cool news, sign up to get the monthly Freeholder Update today!


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Published on November 27, 2015 04:00

November 13, 2015

Freehold Friday: Updates!

Welcome back to another edition of Freehold Friday! I got plenty of updates today…


Apache Dawn Audiobook

First up, I just this week received word that the audio version of Apache Dawn is nearing completion. We think it’s going to come in around 19 hours long! How’s that for some entertainment? That ought to keep you occupied on your way to work for a while…


On that note, my very talented narrator, James Romick has expressed interest in doing the audio version of The Shift as well! I was hoping he’d do so, because I love what he’s doing on Apache Dawn and I think you will, too! I’ll update with more info as the final release date approaches.


Denny’s Return

I’m pleased to announce I finished the first chapter of Denny Tecumseh’s triumphant return to the Wildfire Saga. One of the most requested characters from Apache Dawn is back—thanks to you, my readers! See? Emailing me works! Got a suggestion or gripe or want me to add something? I don’t know what you’re thinking, so tell me! Never know, I might agree…


More 3D Cover Art!

Okay, this is really cool. Gill Dall, the graphic artist I mentioned last time contacted me this week to let me know she decided to do another mock up of my AJE cover. Check this out:


AJE Mock Up 5


How sweet is that? I love the flames in the background. Thanks again Gill! Remember—if you need cover art like this, please see her website. She’s great!


*****


As always, if you want to know before everyone else (even the readers of this blog!) when the next book will be released, any promotions or other cool news, sign up to get the monthly Freeholder Update today!


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Published on November 13, 2015 04:00

November 6, 2015

Freehold Friday: New 3d cover art!

A few days ago I noticed a message over on my favorite author haunt about an artist wanting to expand their portfolio of 3D book covers. Instead of fabricating from scratch, they’d prefer to create mock-ups from existing covers to show potential clients real-world examples. To do so, she needed authors and their book images.


She held a contest wherein 5 people would be selected and their book cover images would be turned into 3D book images (I know, I know, I’m a little excited about this, but it’s an author thing…bear with me). Needless to say, I signed up for the contest.


And guess who got selected?


AJE Mock Up 1


Oh yeah. Check out my sweet new 3D cover images for AJE!


AJE Mock Up 2


These things are awesome!


AJE Mock Up 3


They each have subtle differences and can be used on websites, etc., banners, and such…


AJE Mock Up 4


Gill Dall, the artist, sent me the files in .jpg and .png (less the backgrounds) so I could place the books on a background of my choice or use what she provided. How cool is that? And I only just provided her the images the day before.


She’s got a website which you can see here where she’s going to be using my book cover mock ups (as well as the others she did for the contest) as part of her online portfolio.  So if you need some 3D cover art, please go see her!  I can’t recommend her enough.


Not a bad way to start the weekend, if you ask me!


Thanks again to Gill for these sweet cover images!


Shameless plug: as always, if you want to know before everyone else when the next book will be released, any promotions or other cool news, sign up to get the Freeholder Update today!


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Published on November 06, 2015 04:00

October 30, 2015

Freehold Friday: AJE Video Review

A video review!

Seriously! This is a special Freehold Friday update, muchachos. I’m proud to share with you the first ever video review of one of my books! That’s right—someone out there cared enough about one of my novels to do a video review of it and tell everyone why he liked it!


I’ll admit, talking about this feels like tooting my own horn (I guess that’s what this blog is all about anyway) but I’m just so thrilled about the novelty of it all I couldn’t hold it in anymore!


Seriously, check it out:


Trident Firearm’s Academy book review of Alea Jacta Est


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Published on October 30, 2015 05:26

October 23, 2015

Freehold Friday: Using Scrivener to Blog…

Yet another post on why Scrivener is awesome.

downloadOkay, so I like the software. I mean I love it. And now it’s getting even better, because I figured out how write this blog in Scrivener and export directly to the Freehold! It makes things easier for me, which lets me get more content to you on a more reliable schedule (yeah, sorry about the missing weekly updates lately, the real world has intruded with gusto) and so on. Trust me, it’s a good thing.

But how do you do this, oh wise writer? (yeah, I can hear you saying that)


Easy: I set up Scrivener with a single project file. Inside the file, on the next folder level, I created a folder for each blog I operate (The Freehold, my woodworking blog, my genealogy blog, and my astronomy blog). Inside each of those folders, are more folders listing years and months, which contain the actual posts. Or will, once I import everything over.


Granted, I haven’t posted anything on those other blogs in about a year because (a) I’ve been so busy with writing and (b) my youngest entered into the phase where he needed constant supervision while awake to ensure his survival to his 2nd birthday. That in and of itself put a pretty big constraint on my free time, and what little I had left, I devoted to my fiction writing. But now, school is back in session, the older kids are gone 8 hours a day and the youngest is entering the independence phase. Oh, he still needs supervision, but he’s getting a little more common sense. A little. Stairs and chairs are still great fun but he no longer flings himself headfirst from the top step (at least not without a little pause to consider if I’d approve or not). He also likes to get out toys and play by himself now, as long as he can see me.

That means at least my writing productivity is heading for an increase. I still don’t have the time or energy to get out in the workshop (a few times for minor projects) or under the stars (almost never in the past year, except for the last lunar eclipse or for comets), but at least I can jot notes for writing in a notebook now.

It’s going to take some time getting everything set up and copying all the old posts into my new project file, but when I’ve got it all set, I’m confident my output will increase, along with the consistency!


In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this update: My new supernatural thriller serial project is wrapping up Episode 1 (with episodes 2 and 3 nearing final edit stage) and should be ready for publishing in the next few weeks. Be gentle—this is an experiment. I’m still writing the sequel to The Shift and still have big plans for the Wildfire universe (think epic) and I haven’t forgot about Erik, Ted and the gang from AJE. They still have one whopper of a finish ahead of them.


As always, if you want to know before everyone else (even the readers of this blog!) when the next book will be released, any promotions or other cool news, sign up to get the monthly Freeholder Update today!


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Published on October 23, 2015 10:45

October 4, 2015

Just call me Nostradamus…

No, not really.  But it is kind of eerie.


See, about 4 years ago I published Alea Jacta Est (a novel 10 years in the making) and one of the more popular plotlines revolved around a group of private citizens, many of whom were vets.


Great.  Buy why is that so special?


Because my group, the Arizona Regulators, patrolled the US-Mexico Border, trying to block illegal immigration and all the nastiness that follows like drug trafficking and human trafficking.   They were based near Nogales, Arizona.


Lo and behold today on the Drudge Report, I see this headline:


Screen Shot 2015-10-04 at 1.45.34 PMA group of vets and ex-security experts got together and patrol the US-Mexico border…RIGHT NOW…near (drumroll please…)–Nogales, Arizona.


They aren’t exactly the most favorite people of the Federal agents down there (gee, could that be because they’re actually doing the job our government should be?) but they still pass on intelligence they gather to ICE.


Just. Like. In. My. Novel.


How crazy is that?  I tell you what, I got a good ol’ fashion Chris Mathews thrill up my leg reading this article.  It’s good stuff.


Click here to read the article from the UK newspaper, The Daily Mail.


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Sad thing is, it took a British newspaper to get this story in the light.  Where are the US papers?   Oh, that’s right, mostly in bed with the people who want to allow all the mess in South America into our country with no restrictions whatsoever.


Okay, enough pontificating (we’ve had enough of that last week from il Papa), I’m going back to writing.


 


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Published on October 04, 2015 12:16

September 19, 2015

Exciting News!

{My apologies for the premature post—one my little Freeholders hit a button and published it ahead of schedule…here is the full post!}


As the title states, I’ve got some exciting news!


Thanks to you loyal Freeholders out there, The Shift is off to a great start–I couldn’t do this without you: thank you so very much!


That’s great, but not the news I want to share…


First and foremost, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Apache Dawn is in production right now to become an audio book later this year!


RomickJames Romick is the narrator and from the samples he’s given me, he’s doing an outstanding job.  When I heard his rendition of Old Man Miller (a character from the book’s prologue), I had goosebumps on my arms.  It’s one thing to read a book–it’s quite another to write it.  I created  people out of thin air and know everything about them…but to hear them speak?  It’s amazing.  Just…wow.


You can read more about James here (he’s got quite the impressive CV).  I’m flattered someone as talented as he is wanted to work with me on this project!   Thanks James!


And, speaking of Apache Dawn, I’ve started writing the 3rd book in the Wildfire Saga!  After extensive outlining, I’m confident this will be one action-packed story.  My only concern is keeping my throat healthy–I got on such a roll yesterday dictating 6,437 words in about an hour on the treadmill (and when I write on the ‘mill, I don’t do that sedate stroll thing…I was basically power-walking lol) that my throat felt raw the rest of the day!


My writing habits aside, I’m using my newly discovered henceforth under-utilized powers of multi-tasking to write a new story as well as the sequel to The Shift.  How, you say, do I have time (raising 3 little Freeholders and a hound, plus caring for the Freehold and Mrs. Richardson) to write two separate stories?


Well, I discovered it’s quite easy.  You see, my brain is hard-wired to focus on one task to the almost complete exclusion of the outside world.  I slip into “the zone” so easy it’s scary sometimes.  Writing, reading, drawing, watching the kids, cutting the grass, you name it—suddenly hours fly by and I have no idea what else was going on around me.  This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.


Anyway, for years I struggled with writing more than one story at once (I frequent writer’s forums online–I know: scary, right?—and many of them write multiple stories and edit a third at the same time).  I always–always–end up focused on one to the exclusion of the other.


Not anymore.  For the last few weeks, I’ve spent my mornings working on the Wildfire conclusion.  Inn the afternoons, I work on my new project, a *supernatural* thriller serial.


Yeah, I know.  Pick your jaw up off the table please.  A supernatural thriller–and it’s a serial?  WTH is that?  Don’t worry, despite  the fact that it will cover subjects like lucid dreaming and astral projection, and be inhabited by a few witches, demons and other unsavory individuals, it will also be populated with secret societies, assassins, and political intrigue (and some military-types too!).  The story came to me one day in a bolt out of the blue (just like a large part of Apache Dawn) and I’ve come to recognize when the Muse strikes, the writer should listen.  Anyway, since then, I haven’t been able to get the idea out of my head (my Muse is tapping her foot…).


It’s definitely a turn from my other work (though there’s still an element of the modern weaponry and conspiracies and there are no astral entities on Cooper Braaten’s SEAL Team) and I won’t be offended if you don’t like it or don’t want to read something in that genre.  That’s why I’m giving you fair warning right now, so you won’t be flabbergasted when you see the first episode out (hopefully by Halloween) with my name on it.


If you’re willing to follow me on a truly wild ride, however, then strap in and hang on, cause things are about to get weird.


I can see that look on your face as you process the last few sentences.  “Wait–episode?  This is a book, not a TV show…”


Well…Yes and no.


Serialized fiction has been around since Charles Dickens’ time (you know, A Tale of Two Cities).  The modern TV show merely took the format and ran with it.  In writing terms, an episode is a single book (usually a complete story with a conflict and resolution).  A collection of episodes (either linear or stand-alone) is a season.  There is usually a big story arc that encompasses all or most of the episodes but doesn’t have to be touched upon in each episode (think the X-Files).  I think this style of writing is making a comeback (like I said, it was popular a few hundred years ago in Charles Dickens’ time) and it’s fun to write this way and get the story out immediately, rather than waiting until the entire plot is wrapped up.


By writing one episode at a time, I’ll be able to get the story to you faster (my goal is a new episode every 3 weeks).  It’ll be like an hour long TV show in a book.  I think it’ll be cool, and if nothing else, it’ll be a neat experiment.


So don’t worry, I’m writing the third Wildfire book at the same time (remember?) so if the supernatural action isn’t your cuppa, Cooper and the boys will be back for the dramatic conclusion to the events started in Apache Dawn.  And there may be some more adventures for the surviving characters after that


As I get closer to releasing the first episode of the serial, I’ll be sure to keep you posted.  Till then, keep reading and keep your powder dry!


Required shameless plug:  If you want to know before everyone else (even the readers of this blog!) when the next book will be released, any promotions or other cool news, sign up to get the monthly Freeholder Update today!


 


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Published on September 19, 2015 05:45

September 11, 2015