Free E-book (Chance Escape) and random topics
September 8th 2012- post update-
I love to give out free books, but no not for reviews. I don't think I've ever asked anyone for a review exchange.
Speaking of which, JA Konrath has a post titled Ethical Roulette
Click here to view his post
I'll have to join in on the conversation (if I get the chance) 3:05 AM and I'm working on updating my blog.
The insomnia has returned it's been four days since I've last slept.
You know now that we're on the topic of ethics, I'll blog about my experience as an indie author.
Indie authors are often attacked, well, in my experience, I've been.
An example;
A puppet account from another author was used
during my second publication of chance escape to place a negative review.
The author had used their name, location, and I
googled them. Then found a picture of them from a web site for the facility
they worked for.
The web site had the user’s middle name. I Googled
the full name and up popped a site that gave the past history of where they’d
resided for the last few years of their life.
Based on their career, the photo, the same birth
date (just not the year), I was able to find out who this person had been. This
is as public as I will go with it, since I will not shame another author. They’d
used a pen name, of course, and had lied about their career, but it was them.
My wife recognized the person by the photo taken
from the web site before I’d pointed out which author it had been, which also
confirmed his identity. (She’s always has her nose stuck in a book. Last year
was zombies, this year it’s sci-fi)- I’ll have to dedicate a good sci-fi book
to her once I have book two of the Road to Nowhere and Chance Escape out.
I’ve veered from what I was blogging about.
Back on the subject;
Admittedly- I don’t have any friends. I’ve spent
a majority of my childhood reading. I’ve read between 1,500 to 5,000 book in my
lifetime. Many of them I still re-read, otherwise there’d be more I could
count.
As you could imagine, I was busy, or just a nerd-
but a cool nerd. Nerds are still cool right?
I’ve read everything including computer repair
manuals and how to’s- but those don’t count. They’re not part of the 1,500-
5,000.
I can build a computer in no time from the ground
up- uhm of course not the mother board. That’s beyond my ability. Honestly, I
wouldn’t even know where to begin.
I like technology and computers so much that I am
currently a student again, only this time I’m getting my degree in information
technology.
I’ve strayed off the subject again. I must be
getting old.
Anyway, my point is I don’t ask friends to post
reviews, shamefully because I have none. The few I had, well, hmm-
Does anyone know how marriage is?
The wifey didn’t find them to be to her standards,
so I had to close off those connections. They’d been close military friends,
but love over friendships right?
Or was that just my marriage?
Family well- hmm- I’ve given them copies, and
they gave me their opinion via phone.
The current reviews I have- I am grateful for. It
surprises me when an author has 25 reviews in two weeks. I’ve been up
forever and a day, and there’s five reviews.
Of course, it could be their marketing tactics. I
currently have none.
Well, scratch that- I blog.
Which brings me to the next-
I stumbled on a blog that stated another author
used multiple puppet accounts to stage intentional five star ratings. Their motive
was an attempt to ruin the credibility of another author by making it seem as
though it was the author’s doing.
It sounds complicated, or maybe it doesn’t.
This bring up my question-
Why can’t we all just get along?
By no means am I saying all authors are like
this. I’m assuming most aren’t. Just a few bad apples spoil it for everyone.
If you haven’t read J.A Konrath’s post, you
should. It was an interesting read.
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2012/09...
No I’m not promoting him or his works. I sent him
a generic, “I liked this book” message, but that was all.
Lol
He probably gets that a lot.
Anyway, even if my book is ever targeted by
another author-
Everyone has a right to their own opinion (Please
just be professional with the criticisms), then I don’t see why an honest negative
opinion would be a problem or vice versa. Emphasis on honest and professional.
As an author, I only rate books I’ve enjoyed. I
don’t have any current reviews on my amazon account.
I think perhaps in the future, I will re-hire my
assistant. Basically a fan who’d contacted me and asked if I’d pay them 100
bucks every month if they got the word out about Chance Escape. She sent free copies of my book to willing readers (not a review exchange though)- it was free in the literal sense.
I’m always short on time since when I’m not
working, I’m writing or spending time with the family.
I left the corporation I’d worked for, and using
my veteran’s business benefits had opened up a vegan shop. That’s another uphill
downhill battle. Business is picking up though- slow and steady.
We’ve just moved to the San Fran area not too
long ago, but it looks like I’ll be moving yet again. I’ll have to commute to
San Fran twice a month just to make sure everything’s running smoothly at work.
If you haven’t heard,
I’m back in school. I’ve always had a passion for
Information Technology. I consider it another investment opportunity in the
sense that once I’m employed. The 60,000- 100,000 salary would go towards
opening another business. Right now I’m currently recovering from the startup
costs of the business and will be for the next two years. Most of the income goes towards the loan I took out.
Does anyone care?
Anyway, I have good intensions.
For one, I’d like to start a Catch, neuter, and
Release program free of cost to locals within the area I intend to live at, and
possibly in surrounding areas.
When feral cats are brought to a shelter, they
are automatically euthanized. I think, even as pesky as they can be, they ought
to be given their full lives.
By catching and neutering, we can lower their population.
Recently I’ve adopted two feral kittens.
They’d been emaciated to the point of near death.
I called around, but the shelters had said the colony living behind my house
would be euthanized if caught.
The cats in the colony seem to be struggling with
hunting. They all wear the same emaciated appearance.
I’ve caught the mother and paid to get her fixed.
I’ve caught two others and have had them neutered as well.
The kittens are now reaching a healthy weight,
but my wife is allergic, so we can’t keep them.
We’re trying to rehabilitate to make them
adoptable, but progress is slow. We can now hold them, pet them, and go in the
same room with them without being clawed.
I’d say they’re about four months old.
We have to rehabilitate them fast, so we can find
them a home while they’re still young. I had to find new homes for Cosmo and
Artemis (my last two cats) due to my wife’s new allergy towards cats.
Our family already misses them.
Well, back to intensions-
I’d also like to participate more in assisting
the needy.
Plans-
Plans-
I’ve been blessed with plenty of opportunities in
my life, and I’m grateful for them.
My wife is from an upper middle class family
averaging around (125,000) a year. Before her, I had no plans. My 715 credit
score, my business, my going back to school, my publishing of my works- it’s
all thanks to her.
Sometimes when you meet the special person you
care about, they make you want to try that much harder. Well that and I wanted
to amount to her father’s standards.
I’d been her third marriage proposal. The look
her father had was one of, “I expected this” when I asked for his permission.
(I’m a little old fashioned)
She’s very kind, and that’s what attracted me to
her, plus that smile.
Enough about her-
old post below;
1/11/12
Chance Escape will be available for free until the 14th of this month. Just thought I'd let everyone know.
I love to give out free books, but no not for reviews. I don't think I've ever asked anyone for a review exchange.
Speaking of which, JA Konrath has a post titled Ethical Roulette
Click here to view his post
I'll have to join in on the conversation (if I get the chance) 3:05 AM and I'm working on updating my blog.
The insomnia has returned it's been four days since I've last slept.
You know now that we're on the topic of ethics, I'll blog about my experience as an indie author.
Indie authors are often attacked, well, in my experience, I've been.
An example;
A puppet account from another author was used
during my second publication of chance escape to place a negative review.
The author had used their name, location, and I
googled them. Then found a picture of them from a web site for the facility
they worked for.
The web site had the user’s middle name. I Googled
the full name and up popped a site that gave the past history of where they’d
resided for the last few years of their life.
Based on their career, the photo, the same birth
date (just not the year), I was able to find out who this person had been. This
is as public as I will go with it, since I will not shame another author. They’d
used a pen name, of course, and had lied about their career, but it was them.
My wife recognized the person by the photo taken
from the web site before I’d pointed out which author it had been, which also
confirmed his identity. (She’s always has her nose stuck in a book. Last year
was zombies, this year it’s sci-fi)- I’ll have to dedicate a good sci-fi book
to her once I have book two of the Road to Nowhere and Chance Escape out.
I’ve veered from what I was blogging about.
Back on the subject;
Admittedly- I don’t have any friends. I’ve spent
a majority of my childhood reading. I’ve read between 1,500 to 5,000 book in my
lifetime. Many of them I still re-read, otherwise there’d be more I could
count.
As you could imagine, I was busy, or just a nerd-
but a cool nerd. Nerds are still cool right?
I’ve read everything including computer repair
manuals and how to’s- but those don’t count. They’re not part of the 1,500-
5,000.
I can build a computer in no time from the ground
up- uhm of course not the mother board. That’s beyond my ability. Honestly, I
wouldn’t even know where to begin.
I like technology and computers so much that I am
currently a student again, only this time I’m getting my degree in information
technology.
I’ve strayed off the subject again. I must be
getting old.
Anyway, my point is I don’t ask friends to post
reviews, shamefully because I have none. The few I had, well, hmm-
Does anyone know how marriage is?
The wifey didn’t find them to be to her standards,
so I had to close off those connections. They’d been close military friends,
but love over friendships right?
Or was that just my marriage?
Family well- hmm- I’ve given them copies, and
they gave me their opinion via phone.
The current reviews I have- I am grateful for. It
surprises me when an author has 25 reviews in two weeks. I’ve been up
forever and a day, and there’s five reviews.
Of course, it could be their marketing tactics. I
currently have none.
Well, scratch that- I blog.
Which brings me to the next-
I stumbled on a blog that stated another author
used multiple puppet accounts to stage intentional five star ratings. Their motive
was an attempt to ruin the credibility of another author by making it seem as
though it was the author’s doing.
It sounds complicated, or maybe it doesn’t.
This bring up my question-
Why can’t we all just get along?
By no means am I saying all authors are like
this. I’m assuming most aren’t. Just a few bad apples spoil it for everyone.
If you haven’t read J.A Konrath’s post, you
should. It was an interesting read.
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2012/09...
No I’m not promoting him or his works. I sent him
a generic, “I liked this book” message, but that was all.
Lol
He probably gets that a lot.
Anyway, even if my book is ever targeted by
another author-
Everyone has a right to their own opinion (Please
just be professional with the criticisms), then I don’t see why an honest negative
opinion would be a problem or vice versa. Emphasis on honest and professional.
As an author, I only rate books I’ve enjoyed. I
don’t have any current reviews on my amazon account.
I think perhaps in the future, I will re-hire my
assistant. Basically a fan who’d contacted me and asked if I’d pay them 100
bucks every month if they got the word out about Chance Escape. She sent free copies of my book to willing readers (not a review exchange though)- it was free in the literal sense.
I’m always short on time since when I’m not
working, I’m writing or spending time with the family.
I left the corporation I’d worked for, and using
my veteran’s business benefits had opened up a vegan shop. That’s another uphill
downhill battle. Business is picking up though- slow and steady.
We’ve just moved to the San Fran area not too
long ago, but it looks like I’ll be moving yet again. I’ll have to commute to
San Fran twice a month just to make sure everything’s running smoothly at work.
If you haven’t heard,
I’m back in school. I’ve always had a passion for
Information Technology. I consider it another investment opportunity in the
sense that once I’m employed. The 60,000- 100,000 salary would go towards
opening another business. Right now I’m currently recovering from the startup
costs of the business and will be for the next two years. Most of the income goes towards the loan I took out.
Does anyone care?
Anyway, I have good intensions.
For one, I’d like to start a Catch, neuter, and
Release program free of cost to locals within the area I intend to live at, and
possibly in surrounding areas.
When feral cats are brought to a shelter, they
are automatically euthanized. I think, even as pesky as they can be, they ought
to be given their full lives.
By catching and neutering, we can lower their population.
Recently I’ve adopted two feral kittens.
They’d been emaciated to the point of near death.
I called around, but the shelters had said the colony living behind my house
would be euthanized if caught.
The cats in the colony seem to be struggling with
hunting. They all wear the same emaciated appearance.
I’ve caught the mother and paid to get her fixed.
I’ve caught two others and have had them neutered as well.
The kittens are now reaching a healthy weight,
but my wife is allergic, so we can’t keep them.
We’re trying to rehabilitate to make them
adoptable, but progress is slow. We can now hold them, pet them, and go in the
same room with them without being clawed.
I’d say they’re about four months old.
We have to rehabilitate them fast, so we can find
them a home while they’re still young. I had to find new homes for Cosmo and
Artemis (my last two cats) due to my wife’s new allergy towards cats.
Our family already misses them.
Well, back to intensions-
I’d also like to participate more in assisting
the needy.
Plans-
Plans-
I’ve been blessed with plenty of opportunities in
my life, and I’m grateful for them.
My wife is from an upper middle class family
averaging around (125,000) a year. Before her, I had no plans. My 715 credit
score, my business, my going back to school, my publishing of my works- it’s
all thanks to her.
Sometimes when you meet the special person you
care about, they make you want to try that much harder. Well that and I wanted
to amount to her father’s standards.
I’d been her third marriage proposal. The look
her father had was one of, “I expected this” when I asked for his permission.
(I’m a little old fashioned)
She’s very kind, and that’s what attracted me to
her, plus that smile.
Enough about her-
old post below;
1/11/12
Chance Escape will be available for free until the 14th of this month. Just thought I'd let everyone know.
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