Dale’s Comments (group member since Sep 15, 2017)

Dale’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

This place used to be active, now it's slumbering. I know some of you have had a rough time of it over the past year, but I hope you're at least surviving and some are doing well. Have you made any headway with your writing?

I've managed rather a lot in the past couple of months, after a semi-arid spell of some months, but you go first. What have you been up to?

Aaaand, here's a little bit of a laugh based on an Indies Unlimited prompt (said photo accompanies the story): "Take Me To Your Marketing Director" (https://medium.com/red-tales/take-me-...).

Anna wrote: "We’ve heard a lot about injections lately and we’re told they’re doing a good job. There’s another injection doing a good job: something unexpectedly cheerful can feel just like an injection of joy..."

Nice! My wife wins things sometimes. I don't. I joke with her that if we really need to win something, she needs to enter the drawing (or whatever), because if I do it, we won't win.

I have a new short story in Lit Up: "Harvest Moon" (https://medium.com/lit-up/harvest-moo...).

"The perfect pick up and put down to pick up again book," says Jennie of my short story collection "The Realm of Tiny Giants." Read her review here: https://jenniereads.com/2021/08/17/th...

I'll be appearing on the Greater Seattle Area Writers program Meet the Authors on Zoom this Saturday, 8/28/2021 at 1:00 PM EDT (10:00 AM PDT). If you have time, join us. Audience participation is welcome. Here are the meeting details:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/94119293638?pwd=a1R...

Meeting ID: 941 1929 3638
Passcode: authors
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Meeting ID: 941 1929 3638
Passcode: 8648229
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abhU5J60qq

Just looked, for curiosity's sake. Normally $499. The website shows a 30% discount at the moment, making it $349. A 60% discount would make it $199, which is a nice discount but still . . .

I'll have to look into Reader's Favorite. Thanks for the tip!

I had one recently. How much to they normally charge? I generally don't have a lot of money to throw around, so I haven't gone in for paid reviews.

Anna wrote: "Oh this looks cool!"

I hope you like it! (And any feedback will be appreciated.)

I've launched a science fiction series on Kindle Vella: The Belt (https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/s...).

A stunning discovery doomed by greed. A renegade professor hunted by powerful enemies. A band of young scientists betrayed by the law and the lawless. Across the frigid wastes of Mars, among the airless rocks of the asteroid belt, Dr. Miguel Hernandez and his proteges fight for life and legacy.

The Belt may not show up in their searches until midnight (less than 2 hours from when I'm posting this), but I've found it accessible using this link: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/s...

A bit of fun: The Day the House Blew Up.

Jennie graciously gave me a spot on her blog today to celebrate the release of my short story collection, "The Realm of Tiny Giants."

Carole wrote: "Congrats!"

Thank you!

My first-ever audiobook has just been released! Jono Eiland's narration brings Weasel Words to life. The cost is $19.95 USD, but I have some promo codes I can offer to anyone willing to post an honest review. Just send me a private message if you're interested. My supply of codes is limited, and I will prefer regular contributors to this group over total strangers (to make sure I actually get a review). Thank you!

I got a 5-star review from Jam Packed Bookshelf. Please pass that link around.

Thanks, Anna and Valerie! Carole mentioned AuthorsXP somewhere along the line, which is how I found out about it.

I'll be running promos on release day, August 16th. I'm using both BargainBooksy and AuthorsXP. I generally get a fair return on BargainBooksy, although I don't usually break even. Given that The Realm of Tiny Giants will be listed as "literary," it may not do quite as well, but the cost was lower than other categories.

I have only used AuthorsXP once before, and that just to get some reviews. I wasn't overwhelmed by the results, although I did get a few. For this, I've purchased a Daily Deal with a featured book upgrade (total cost, just $20). We'll see how it goes.

Alexis wrote: "How have you all been!? Tell me about your latest project!"

What, only one project? ;-) I'm working with a producer on an audio book version of Weasel Words (my first foray into audio books), trying to drum up interest in my first short story collection, The Realm of Tiny Giants, which is now available for pre-order and will be released August 16th, and embarking on a major revision of my (almost done) first draft for my fourth Howard County Mystery. (I even found a title for it, but my newsletter subscribers get the first announcement of it, so you'll either have to subscribe or wait for it.) And there's one other project, a post-apocalyptic novel about, of all things, a pandemic, but it has nothing to do with COVID. It was originally a short story that I wrote about 20 years ago and have wanted to expand into a novel ever since.

And then there's my day job, but that's another story . . .

My pleasure!

Anna wrote: "I'd forgotten about Medium! I must take a look."

I haven't been doing much with it myself, but I try to get one or two stories a month out there just to make sure I earn enough to pay for my membership.