Marcus Richardson's Blog, page 8

January 28, 2015

False Prey free for a limited time!

In lieu of a Freehold Friday this week I have this announcement: False Prey, the Wildfire Novella, is now free on Amazon from January 28 to February 1, 2015.


The book centers on life in a small town in Kentucky during the events that take place in Apache Dawn, specifically how the local citizenry deals with the North Korean threat and the mysterious illness sweeping the country.


It’s a little over 31,000��words (around 90 pages) so it’s not a major time investment but I think you’ll enjoy the story if you haven’t already gotten a copy.


So what are you waiting for? ��Get on over to Amazon and download your free copy of False Prey today! ��Or tomorrow…or Friday or Saturday or Sunday.


Want to know when my next book is released before everyone else? ��Sign up for my mailing list! ��You’ll be eligible for freebies and exclusive content, too!


 


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Published on January 28, 2015 04:13

January 19, 2015

Freehold Friday: AJE2 first draft completed!

My apologies that this Freehold Friday is more of a Freehold Saturday edition…a stomach bug has been making its charming presence felt in the house over the past week or so, moving up the ranks of the kiddos (man, schools are such little disease factories) until it struck me down Thursday night. Today was the first time I’ve felt human since then. My gurgling inards aside, we are all thankfully on the mend and I can get on with writing once more.


Besides the late-week gastronomical excitement, I have some great news! I was able to mash out the last three chapters of AJE2 on Monday–which led to two things: 1) I started revising said first draft (oooh, the fun part!) and 2) I started outlining Apache Dawn 2 (to he called–for now–The Shift).


On Monday I hit a new record single day wordcount total: 11,518 words in a 2.5 hour writing period.  I love DNS.  Love. It.


Anyway, the first draft of AJE2 officially weighs in at about 170,000 words.  Now remember, it’s a first draft— the word count is very likely going to fluctuate (possibly wildly in either or both directions) so don’t take that number for gospel. But I’m guessing it’ll end up between Apache Dawn and Alea Jacta Est in size.


What does all this mean?


It was time for a well deserved beverage.  On tap was Guinness Blonde. 


image


But that’s not all! This week I joined Authors Supporting Our Troops 2015, a campaign that is putting signed books by indie authors into the hands of our fighting men and women overseas. I can’t express to you how awesome this is and how happy I am to participate. My only hope is that my books don’t dissappoint.


Here they are, a batch of Apache Dawn, signed and prepped for shipping!


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Many thanks to Armand Rosamilia for setting up ASOT2015. If you’d like to help (you don’t have to be an author: you can donate money to help cover the costs of shipping the books overseas or buy ASOT2015 merchandise–proceeds go to covering costs) or for more information, click here to see the ASOT2015 website.


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Published on January 19, 2015 16:58

January 16, 2015

Freehold Friday: The Freeholder Press

Today I’m happy to announce the birth of The Freeholder Press–where all my current and future books will now be published.


I say that a little tongue in cheek because technically places like Amazon and Barnes and Noble and iTunes are mere distributors, but for all intents and purposes they “publish” the ebooks we all love to read, in that they take the file I provide and create a book to sell.


At any rate, when you open one of my ebooks now (working on the paper copies next!) you’ll see the publisher listed officially as The Freeholder Press.


On another topic, I’d like to announce that I’ve surpassed the goal I set (word-count) for AJE2. ��I had planned to make AJE2 a sveldt 120,000 words, in order to ensure the action was near constant and the plot never dragged. In contrast, AJE got a little chunky in the middle. ��I need to get better at killing��my little darlings. Time to sharpen my editor’s scalpel and make sure the “smite” key works on the keyboard.


As of today, I have 145,000 words in the book and I have 8 chapters 6 chapters left to write. ��That means when all is said and done, I should hopefully have a book about the same size–perhaps a bit bigger than Apache Dawn (which weighed in at around145,000).


The cool part? ��40,000 of those words were created since January 1, 2015. ��Almost half of that has been since the beginning of this week! ��Oh yeah, that Dragon is a fire breathin’ word machine…


Want to know the latest news on upcoming releases, get access to exclusive content, and and bathe in the glow of awesomeness?�� Sign up for the Freeholder Update today!


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Published on January 16, 2015 07:42

January 1, 2015

Freehold Friday: A New Hope…I mean beginning…

Had to throw out the Episode IV ref in honor of Episode VII coming out this year.  Though it’s gonna be a loooong wait for December.  I hope it’ll be worth it!


Anyway, moving on to non-Star Wars related items…


I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year, and that y’all survived the holidays unscathed by parties, friends, families, and sickness.  Yep, it’s flu season again and it sure seems this year is off to a helluva start.  CDC declared epidemics in a handful of states in the middle of the country, a little ahead of schedule.


No need to panic, they say, but oh–those flu shots ya got don’t work this year.  Sorry.  I say thanks—that little tidbit of info will likely make it’s way into Wildifre Book 2 (The Shift) or 3 (The Rising)…


Speaking of books and flu, I discovered the first downside to dictating a book: when you’re sick and you lose your voice, you can kiss writing goodbye unless you type.  My kids brought home a nasty cold at the end school last month that, while it wasn’t the flu, was bad enough to wreck my speaking voice since last Friday.  I’ve tried typing, but with a spaz-tastic 14 week-old vizsla puppy in the house on top of the three toddlers…quiet time to sit and type undisturbed is…um…a fantasy.


Cue Jeff Foxworthy: You know you’re a writer when your spouse says “You’ve been working so hard with the kids and the dog and being sick…you need to go out with the guys and get some drinks or hang out and just relax…”


Annnnnd instead of jumping all over that offer, you say: “Naaaah, just take the kids, lock up the dog, and give me a few hours of peace and quiet so I can work on my book!”


That sums up the past holiday season quite nicely.  Despite all that, I have managed to get about 10,000 words typed in the last 2 weeks.  I was averaging that every 4 days since the beginning of November but, come on.  I mean, all my kids are home and two out of 3 are sick.  Every day.  Since December 19.


It’s been fun. When does school start?


Lets see, what else?  In AJE2 news, I wasn’t happy with the way a few chapters were put together, so I’ve been reworking the order to try and find a better flow.  Scrivener is just fantastic for this.  I simply drag and drop the scene where I want it–no cutting and pasting required.  I love it!


In fact, thanks to Scrivener I’m trying a new way to write my books. Since there are multiple plotlines, I am writing each plotline to its conclusion then going back and writing the next one. In the past, I wrote every book and story start to finish in a straight line-like. It required a lot of mental gymnastics to keep the story straight and some heavy editing/revising at the end to keep the story cohesive, but it worked for me—at least according to my readers. So we’ll see how this new method works…


Hey, have you signed up for my newsletter yet? Click here to join the Freehold and get your own copy of the Freeholder Update

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Published on January 01, 2015 20:12

December 26, 2014

Freehold Friday: Happy Holidays and False Prey news…

I want to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my readers–thank you so much for your support and I hope you and yours had a wonderful, safe, and happy Christmas.


2014 is almost in the books but I have one last announcement: False Prey is now in paperback!  That’s right, it’s available on Create Space for now, but in the next 3-5 days, it will be available on Amazon.  When that goes live, I’ll post the link here and announce it formally, but I just wanted to get the word out so y’all could start salivating at the prospect of owning the book in paper form (it’s so old school, it’s awesome).


In other news, for everyone asking about AJE2, I hit the 100,000 word mark Christmas Eve!  I’m well and fully into the second half of the book and things are starting to line up for the big finish.


Want to know when my next book is released before everyone else?  Sign up for my mailing list!  You’ll be eligible for freebies and exclusive content, too!


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Published on December 26, 2014 11:20

December 19, 2014

Freehold Friday: AD now on Google Play Books

At last, Apache Dawn has completed the circuit of the “big boys” (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and now Google–to get book links to the other providers, click here for last weeks post).  That’s right, Googlites, Apache Dawn is now available on the Google Play Store.


Still hammering out AJE2–I’ve slowed down a bit this week thanks to some scenes involving a certain aircraft carrier and…well, lets just say I’ve had to stop and do research a few times to make sure things are as accurate as I can make ‘em.  However, thanks to Dragon, I’m still scorching along at nearly a chapter and a half every day.


Of course, Christmas is right around the corner and all those pesky real life obligations tend to get in the way for about a week–I’m kidding, I love visiting with family and friends during the holidays.  I’m actually happy for once that there hasn’t been much snow (to shovel) this year.  That time early in the morning is my most productive and I’d hate to waste an entire chapter on shoveling snow!  This time last year I was lucky to get a chapter a week…it’s really amazing, and best of all, it’s just plain fun to dictate.


Although I keep catching myself wanting to utter, “Tea–Earl Grey.  Hot.”


***


If you haven’t signed up for my mailing list, what are you waiting for?  You’ll be the first person to know when AJE2 is released!  Sign up here.


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Published on December 19, 2014 11:47

December 12, 2014

Freehold Friday: Going Wide

This week I published Apache Dawn with Kobo, Barnes and Noble, The Page Foundry, Scribd, and Apple iTunes.  So if anyone out there doesn’t want to buy through Amazon, now you’ve got options!


I’ve been enjoying Dragon NaturallySpeaking this week, cranking out 2 chapters in AJE2 by Wednesday and I’ll have another finished by tonight!  That’s 3 times the rate I was working at when I was simply typing.  The book is somewhere north of 80,000 words.  Talk about exciting!  I lost a lot of time in November but I’m making up for it now at a faster pace.  I’m still going to shoot for early 2015 but it may be more like February rather than January.  We’ll see how the rest of December goes…I’m planning for 120-150,000 words (yes, AJE was a behemoth at 220,000 words, but it also had some slow parts and extra fat that could have been trimmed.  I know what I’m doing a lot more now…the story is popping, it’s fast paced and it will be faster to write/edit/publish…).


I’m really getting into the current story arc–it’s…well, let’s just say it’s going to be a hell of a ride Erik and the gang.  There’s going to be some major character shakeups, ala George R.R. Martin so prepare yourself.  Get ready for some danger close.


If you haven’t signed up for my mailing list, what are you waiting for?  You’ll be the first person to know when AJE2 is released!  Sign up here.


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Published on December 12, 2014 13:39

December 5, 2014

Freehold Friday: False Prey now available!

Ah, another Freehold Friday where I get to announce a new book.  I love it!


False Prey–in case you haven’t heard–is now available for purchase and borrow on Amazon.  Click here to go to my website and read a sample chapter if you’d like!


I’m pretty burned out after updating my website and the last minute rush to get everything correct and uploaded to Amazon, so this will be a quick post.  But I wanted to say thank you to everyone who’s agreed to read and review it, everyone who’s already bought it and every who’s already borrowed it!


THANK YOU!


As a result of your loyalty, False Prey has already broken the Top 100 bestsellers list, coming in at #68 in the Vigilante Justice category (which is weird, cause that’s so not where I placed it when I uploaded it but I’ll take what I can get!)


FP rank 5 Dec 2014


Now I can get back to work on…


******


If you want to know when my next book is released, sign up for the Freeholder Update, a once-monthly email list that not only provides up to date news but exclusive content!  Just ask anyone who signed up in the last few weeks–they got a free copy of False Prey!


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Published on December 05, 2014 09:02

December 2, 2014

False Prey is published!

I just wanted let y’all know False Prey is published and live on Amazon!


Authors live or die by reviews and I would really appreciate it if a few of you’d rate the new book… If you don’t want to, that’s okay. I’m just happy to write and thrilled someone actually wants to read what I write!!! AJE has been a success because y’all got behind it so quick and the same with Apache Dawn.


THANK YOU!!!!


For you lucky subscribers to the Freeholder Update that got the advance reader copy of False Prey, I mentioned that there would be a link to give it a review, for your convenience.  Now that it’s live on Amazon, I can provide that link!


To review False Prey, just click here.  Amazon will ask for your name and password–just sign in and review away.  Thank you so much!


That said, I think I’ll play a little celebratory Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag (who knew being a pirate was so much fun?) before it’s back to AJE2 full time.  I get to set a new goal now and try to get AJE2 published in the next few months.


I hope you enjoy the new book and thank you again to all my loyal readers!!


 


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Published on December 02, 2014 09:04

November 25, 2014

Freehold Friday:Truth is stranger than fiction…

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and if you dared venture out for Black Friday, I hope you stayed safe in your holiday deal acquisition missions.


I for one had no intention of braving the hordes out there today–I used to work retail and the last four years I worked, I had the dubious honor of working Thanksgiving night.  Yeah, that was awesome, let me tell you.  Ridiculous.


At any rate, this will be the final update for False Prey.  The book is essentially done.  I’m tweaking the front matter and back matter now, making sure it’s as professional as possible.  The beta readers have given me the thumbs up and last minute edits are done.


What’s that mean for you?  Well, this is your last chance to join the Freeholder Update–I’m planning on sending the book to subscribers this weekend!  For the rest of the world, I will be publishing on Amazon on Tuesday, December 2nd!


For those interested in joining the Freeholder Update, just click on the link.  Sign up, and you’ll get the once-monthly email (okay, maybe twice, but to date I’ve never sent more than one), your email will never be shared and you won’t get any spam from me.  I hate spam too (but the stuff in a can ain’t bad when it’s heated up in a fryin’ pan…).


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Published on November 25, 2014 15:01