WordPlay

by Doranna

People can come up with all sorts of lame justifications for stealing.  I have no interest in the justifications…and no sympathy for them.  Pirating digital works is stealing, and no…no one is entitled to read my stuff for free unless I put that work on free.  And pirates, no matter what they think of themselves, are not modern-day Captain Jacks.  Also, they totally aren’t Johnny Depp sexy.

That, I guess, would be my position statement on the whole thing.  And yet…

This has been an interesting week for pirates.  There was a brazen pirate shop that popped up with a huge selection of books (including quite a number of mine)…and that charged for them, too.  Well, huzzah!  That site has already hit the dust, but of course there’s already another of that brazen sort popping up.

And then there’s scribd.

Those of us who have been around the Internets for a while remember when scribd started up, and that there was a whole big lot of froo ha ha along the way.  They’re still remiss; they still allow blatantly pirated works to be posted.  But they do take them down if you ask (in my experience).

So why am I not asking?

Because the work currently being pirated there is called Heavy Metal Honey.

Heavy Metal Honey was one of Harlequin’s early e-reads, written to a fairly exacting pattern of chapters and word count.  In this case, it was published as a supplement to the Bombshell line, and it’s a story in the world of the Hunter Agency, featuring two of my favorite characters: Kimmer and Rio.

Okay, Kimmer and Rio fans…raise your hand if you’ve even heard of Heavy Metal Honey.

Exactly.

The thing is that Harlequin isn’t doing anything with that story–and hasn’t for many years–but the rights aren’t vulnerable to reversion.  So I can’t do anything with it, and I have no control over whether they do anything with it, and no one gets to read it at all, and I like that story, darnit!

So if you like Kimmer and Rio, or if you like the Bombshells, or if you like short fiction with attitude, and you happen to go to scribd, and you happen to search on Heavy Metal Honey…

Well, enjoy!  And by all means spread the word.

But pirates still suck.  Welcome to the world of the inconsistent human.

by Doranna

Sigh.  It didn’t used to matter.

I mean, it always mattered to ME, but I could console myself that strikingly nasty or baffling reader reviews didn’t matter in the big picture.

Of course, now reader rankings matter a whole lot, and one or two ugly ones can really skew the curve and affect sales.

And they still matter to me.

A nasty review is pretty obvious, both to readers and the author.  A baffling review…not so much.  Recognizing those takes knowing what’s in the book in the first place.

It’s one where you wonder if the reader was even looking at the same book.

A Feral Darkness just got one of those.  Someone is terribly upset at me for making certain statements about religion that…

Well, that wasn’t the book I wrote. 

In fact, it was the book I assiduously steered away from writing.

It would be easy to put this down to different folks/different strokes if the Catholic religion wasn’t specifically referenced several times in the review…along with the assertion that my intent is to make fun of that faith.  To mock it.

Now watch me scratch my head.  There isn’t any true presence of the Catholic church in this book (there’s a character who’s a lapsed Catholic, on the whole because of the conflict with the pagan elements).  There’s a pastor in the story, a thoughtful guy who happens to be very protestant, in his very protestant church.  I was rather fond of him, actually–I thought he tried to do his best to handle a difficult situation.

But the truth is, the book has pagan elements and pagan magic.  That’s kind of the whole point.  I wove together enough of those historical pagan elements across cultures (never mind the book learning…I called a monastary!)–to catch the eye of a British scholar, who interviewed me a couple of years ago and included A Feral Darkness in the resulting publication.  (I was beyond excited about that, yes I was!)  There’re ancient Celtic gods, ancient Celtic dogs…and one contemporary woman who has to make it all come together in the context of her rather practical life.

I hadn’t meant to examine the interface of religions, but the character went there (she rode her bike there, actually), and I had to follow.  It was not easy writing…but maybe that’s why the book has connected with so many people over the years (and boy am I grateful for that!).

Sometimes, in order to make that connection, you have to reach far deeper than is truly comfortable.  It’s a vulnerable, vulnerable place to be as a writer.

So it does baffle (and ouch!) me that anyone could take the resulting book as a mockery of any given religion, and it makes me a little sad.  On the other hand, I think what also surprises me–a lot–is that someone who feels this strongly about the (“disturbing”) interface of religions would not only pick up the (“sickening”) book in the first place, but would read it through to the (“pathetic”) end.

It still matters to me, though.

Because if you’re anything like me, you mean to follow through on something but don’t always get there during the busy times…

The Smashwords sale ends…today!  March 9th!  All of my books are on sale in one way or another, and they’re all clickable through my pages at Backlist eBooks.  There are a couple of freebies there, including BARRENLANDS–the first book in the Changespell Saga with Dun Lady’s Jess.

(You can find that series introduction on free at most of its retailers, in fact–the details are at the Backlist eBooks page.  Amazon has been slow to get on board, but you can report a lower price to them if you’d like to see it there).

In other news, check upstream for the Imperfect Service Dog post–today is the last day to enter for freebies in that event, also!

In other, other news, I’m featured at Laurie’s Thoughts & Reviews Blog, the paranormal side of the force.  Stop by and say hello–there’s the chance to win the entire Changespell Saga (In fact, I’m so clever (shut up!) I just figured out how to include that form here!).

In news that offers no reminders but plenty of nice grins, the current book in progress (a Nocturne in my Sentinels series, Lynx Revealed) is heading to the halfway point after its first month under way.  Whee!

In final news…I think…we have snow on the ground and still fluttering around in the air.  This is probably more important to me than it is to you.  But for this thirsty, thirsty land, it is a good thing indeed!
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Got Smashwords?

Whatever your reader, you can pick up the right format at Smashwords.  And this week, you can pick up a whole buncha sales, because it’s Read an eBook Week and Smashwords makes it easy for us author folks to participate.

All of my books (26 titles!) are on sale, from 25% off to free downloads.  Given that the books are already listed below publisher prices, that makes them…well, terribly affordable.  (We do not use the word “cheap” around here!)

Most of the books are my earlier titles–some of them in updated versions, some with a bit of extra material.  There are also some original pieces (A Silhouette Bombshell that was to be released in February of that year…when they discontinued the line in January.  A couple of novellas I’ve written for the love of it.  The short story collection that quietly does its best to trickle funds toward ConneryBeagle’s vet costs).  Those are identified as such.

ePublishing does more than just get these out-of-print titles on the shelves (so to speak) again…it gives me a renewed freedom in my creativity…it gives me options.  Sales like this are a chance to give a little bit back!

My self-produced titles are all listed on my page at the Backlist eBooks site.  At one discount or another–the coupon for which is right there on the Smashwords page for each book–they’re all on sale through the 9th.  Happy reading!

Back before I was published, I would turn the last page of my favorite books with the fierce yearning that one day my stories might make other readers feel as deeply as these authors made me feel.  Fantasy, mystery, romance…the genre doesn’t so much matter to me.  It’s all about the feeling, and about giving people a place to go outside their own world.

Right now, for so many, many reasons, we all need that escape.  So along with a selection of other authors–all traditionally published, but all now with the option to present our fiction our own way–I’m offering a gift to readers.

The authors playing this game believe that if we want a thriving book community, we need lots of options.  We need print, we need ebook, we need choice.  Over at Backlist eBooks, that’s exactly why we provide links to all of a book’s available retailers–including Book View Cafe, to which many of the participating treasure hunt authors belong.

But while there are a lot of book promotions out in the big wide Internets, not many of them are for Nook devices (as we Nook owners don’t need to be told!).

Today, we remedy that.  Until December 31st, we’re offering a meme game to those who would like a little bit of fun–and to earn free EPUB (the Nook format) books for playing.  (Although *cough* DRM-free EPUB files can readily be converted to MOBI for the Kindle.  Like I said, we’re all about choice!)

It’s easy to play!  Just show me a picture of you–or your four-footed friend–with a NOOK!  It doesn’t have to be your Nook, if you’ve a hankering for the book.  8)

(Keep it clean, people…no confusing “Nook” with “Nookie!”)

You can post your photo on my FaceBook Author Page.  You may have to “Like” the page, but that only takes a moment.

As soon as I see the picture (this could take minutes or an entire day), I’ll send a message to your Facebook account with the URL for a free download of Barrenlands, the first book of the Changespell Saga.

First Released: Baen Books, 1998

Before there was Dun Lady’s Jess…

Magic, betrayal, and a twice-cursed exile–only one man’s determination can untangle the deadly intrigue that binds them together.

When Ehren’s sovereign and friend was killed, Ehren, First of the King’s Guard, was far away — sent on a wild goose chase by the First Level Ministry, whose number he now believes must contain at least one traitor.

When a First Level wizard orders him to stop searching for the assassins and instead to find and neutralize the dead king’s distant family, his suspicions deepen to near certainty.

And Ehren is determined to find those exiles – if only so that he may guard them with his life.

(The other titles in this series are Dun Lady’s Jess, Changespell, & Changespell Legacy and I expect them all to be available in mid-January.)

This link is a gift to you in Nookish solidarity, but isn’t meant to be shared.  It’s all about playing the game, right?

Also, if you’re a cross-genre reader like me, the treasure hunt goes on!  The following authors are also playing Show Me Your Nook–although the logistics may vary a bit.

• Cat Kimbriel:  Fires of Nuala  (Science Fiction)  FaceBook & LiveJournal
• Jeffrey A. Carver:  Eternity’s End  (Science Fiction)  FaceBook
• Phyllis Irene Radford:  Guardian of the Balance, Merlin’s Descendants #1  (Fantasy)  FaceBook & LiveJournal
• Mark Chisnell: The Defector  (Thriller)  FaceBook
• Brenda Hiatt:  Lord Dearborn’s Destiny (traditional Regency romance) FaceBook
• Phoebe Matthews:  Demonspell  (contemporary fantasy)  Web Site
• Lorraine Bartlett: Cold Case  (Mystery)  Blog
• Ruth Harris: Modern Women  (Fiction/Chick Lit)  Blog
• Jennifer Stevenson:  King of Hearts  (romantic comedy)  Web Site & FaceBook
• Vonda N. McIntyre: Starfarers, Book One of the Starfarers Quartet  (Science Fiction) Book View Cafe
• Lise McClendon:  All Your Pretty Dreams  (Adult Fiction)  FaceBook
• Melanie Jackson:  Moving Violation, Book 1 of the Chloe Boston Mysteries  (Mystery) FaceBook

And in case you’re wondering, this is how to sideload an EPUB file into your NOOK:

1) Download the epub file to your computer.
2) Attach your NOOK to the computer with its USB cable.
3) A “Nook” drive will appear in My Computer (PC) or Desktop (Mac).
4) Copy and Paste, or Drag and Drop downloaded EPUB (or even  PDF!) files into the My Documents folder on the Nook drive.
5) Go to My Library on the Nook, hit View My Documents, and then hit Check for New Content.
6) Choose one of the files you sideloaded into My Documents and press Select to open it.

You can also read EPUB on other devices! It’s a widely-used format with great convenience.

Be an explorer.  Show me your NOOK!

ConneryBeagle takes his reading seriously.

Obligatory disclaimer: All copyright to this free book is retained by the author. You may share this post in its entirety.  All pictures to my FaceBook page must be posted by 11:59 PM, December 31, 2012, MST. If anyone posts this EPUB to a torrent site, the URL goes 404 and we won’t have any more games.  This is a gift to those who play the game, not an invitation to set the book free forever.  If you post a picture that would be considered in bad taste, it will be deleted and you won’t get a coupon code.  Thank you for keeping things fun!

by Doranna

My friend Julie Czerneda tagged me for this blog meme–she’s already done hers, and you can find it at that link.

1. What is the working title of your next book?

Am I supposed to have a single answer for this?  I’m working on the backlist production of the Changespell Saga–that’s what’ll hit the “shelves” first.  And I’m preparing to write LYNX REVEALED, the next Nocturne Sentinels title.  And TAMING THE DEMON is the next frontlist title to hit the shelves (another Nocturne, in the new Demon Blade series).

But my big new exciting thing at the moment is the original (and probably author-released) third book in the Reckoners series, RECKONER REDEEMED.  I’m trying to decide whether to do a Kickstarter for it (which will have a huge effect on its length)–but I need a certain amount of material on hand before I make the decision, and that’s what I’m working on now.

(You see?  I already made the cover for it.  Because that’s the way my muse works.)

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

Books 1 & 2 in the series?  No, that’s the smarty pants answer.

The Reckoner Series was an idea I kicked around for several years.  I wanted a little bit Buffy, a little bit Scooby Doo, a little bit Ghostbusters (Garrie, our reckoner), and a whole lotta Trevarr (our hero).  Heh heh heh.  Sklayne built himself from whole cloth, and knew who he was the moment I started typing his first scene, so I’m not sure I can take credit for him.

I was targeting paranormal romance–since that’s where I’m active right now with the Nocturnes–but I really saw this as a chance to shift a little close to my fantasy genre roots.

This book in particular was pretty much ordained.  I pitched the series as a threesome, and Tor picked up the first two (THE RECKONERS, STORM OF RECKONING).  The first book was released on the day that Amazon removed the buy button from all Macmillan books, and that…

Well.  Was that.

So I wrote STORM not knowing if Tor would pick up #3, and I wrote it true to the outline/proposal…and that story definitely needs to be finished.  For all of us!  I also have the rights back to THE RECKONERS, so will be putting out an author cut of that one.  (To meet production needs, I had to cut about 30K words from that book, and I think it’ll benefit if it gets some of them back.)  STORM OF RECKONING is still available, however.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Paranormal romance, with a robust cast of characters and the evidence of my fantasy genre roots.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

How to choose?

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Buffy meets interdimensional Ghostbusters.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m not entirely sure yet.  That is, the first two books were repped and published by Tor Paranormal Romance.  This third book may go out under my Blue Hound Visions imprint, or it may go through The Knight Agency digital assistance program.  It won’t be a publisher book, however.  This is for me and Reckoners readers, and for my muse.  I promised her we would do this.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Dunno yet!  It’ll be written as I can buy time for it (one reason I’m considering the Kickstarter), and will probably grab moments between the scheduled Nocturnes.  It should be about 4 months total, when all is said and done.  Depends on the length, too, which depends on whether I do the Kickstarter thing…

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Um?

Sometimes I think readers are best positioned to answer that question.  So if anyone has a clue–based on the first two books–I’m  all ears (eyes).  It’s a book with dry humor, a lot of attitude, and a lot of sly heart.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I couldn’t not?

10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

It is, as are all my books, about people coping with change and emotion–about learning who they are, by how they deal with what happens in their lives.  This means I get to make things happen in their lives, oh yes I do.

In this case, there are a number of elements I haven’t played with before.  Trevarr’s world is pretty dark, and that was fun to play with–while giving him a lot to learn about Garrie’s world.  Sklayne was the most fun, I think–both powerful and naive, shackled and uncontrollable.  I love him to pieces.  8)

=========

Thanks, Julie, for the chance to play with this blog meme!  And what do you guys think?  Kickstarter yes?  Kickstarter no?  Just shut up and write?

by Doranna

As a book, Barrenlands has always been a bit adrift.

It’s a prequel to the CHANGESPELL SAGA with Dun Lady’s Jess, but it wasn’t marketed that way and not too many people picked up on the common factors between them.

It was written to have a sequel, but things being what they are in the publishing world, that hasn’t happened yet, either (although the chances of dramatically improved, thanks to e-publishing options!)

So there it was, tossed out on the shelves with no apparent relation to the things with which it really had a rather deep connection.

Not this time!

Now you know.  And now I can put the books together as the series they are, not to mention…maybe write that missing book between?

Order: Nook | Kindle | Kobo | Smashwords

Before there was Dun Lady’s Jess…

Magic, betrayal, and a twice-cursed exile–only one man’s determination can untangle the deadly intrigue that binds them together.

When Ehren’s sovereign and friend was killed, Ehren, First of the King’s Guard, was far away — sent on a wild goose chase by the First Level Ministry, whose number he now believes must contain at least one traitor.

When a First Level wizard orders him to stop searching for the assassins and instead to find and neutralize the dead king’s distant family, his suspicions deepen to near certainty.

And Ehren is determined to find those exiles – if only so that he may guard them with his life.

Other books in this series: Dun Lady’s Jess, Changespell, Changespell Legacy

by Doranna

Free, free, FREE!

I often wonder what readers think when they see ebooks listed for free.  I can’t look at that issue from my reader point of view, because it’s too much a part of my writer point of view.

I suspect it’s not entirely understood, to judge by certain sneering comments I’ve seen…

When a backlist author puts a title up for free, it has nothing to do with the perceived worth of the book. In fact, we often put our favorite books up for free. And when readers download them, we get all excited.

In a world of trying to market without a publicity department, free book downloads change how our books are presented in book stores–where and how often they appear. And unless they do appear, it’s very hard for a reader “browsing” the bookstore to see them and make a choice about reading or buying.  Unless they receive reviews, or likes, or tags, it’s really hard to get them presented to readers at all.

That’s why when we do a freebie, and it does well, it’s really exciting.  So this week, that’s why I’m all excited that TOUCHED BY MAGIC hit the #1 free epic fantasy at kindle, and then hung around that spot for a while.  Of course I know it’s not the same as being a #1 paid book, but it means a lot to me in many other ways.

(Yes, it’s still free–at Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords)

So download a freebie today!

And if you’re so moved, go to the store’s page and “like” that book as an indication of your interest, or write a little review when you’re finished reading.

We love you for it–and it’s one way you can have a voice in the kinds of titles you see.

by Doranna

New covers!  Whee!  New books available as Try-Me freebies.  More whee!  October newsletter!  Wuh, wuh, wuh!

*peeks to see if anyone buys the perky factor*

Oh, bother.  Cheerleading was never my strength.  But it’s all cool, and it’s all in the newsletter, and it’s not a big deal to get your hands on it.  All you have to do is CLICKIE HERE.

And if you want the newsletter in your mailbox, all you have to do is CLICKIE OVER THERE where it says “Subscribe to my Newsletter.”  (I know it’s subtle, but I have faith that you call can find it!)

Look!  This is what it looks like!  But none of the clickies are live.  You have to CLICKIE HERE for that.

See, I’m so excited I’m incomprehensible.

COVERS COVERS COVERS!

In the spring, I finally regained the rights to Dun Lady’s Jess, and rubbed my hands in glee–finally, I can get the series out in backlist!

I immediately started work on the covers.  I’d found the right model months earlier, and I spent hours and hours (and HOURS) hunting up the right horse images, to the point of inquiring with prestigious breeders of breeds with the right color and body type.  (Think Rocky Mountain horse, or classic Morgan–Homestead was especially helpful.)

In the end I unearthed a photographer’s series with the same horse–so the covers have the same Jess, and the same Lady.  And a little more searching unearthed a verrry nice image for Ehren in Barrenlands, the Changespell series prequel.

Putting it all together was another thing.  You know…making it just special enough.  Pushing my wee little photoshopping skills to the limit, not to mention my brainpower.  So I spent a couple of weeks at it, came up with all four covers with matching visual theme, got some enthusiastic feedback, aaaaannnnd….

It just wasn’t quite perfect enough.  Not for Jess.

You know what I mean?  Have you ever been there?  Where it matters SO MUCH, it just has to be right?  Not just right, but Right?

So I sat on it.  All summer, I sat on it.  I pretended not to think about it.  I worked on other things (there was plenty of that), and I sparred with the Lyme.  Until this past weekend, when I pulled up the files, shuffled through images, and put my thinking cap back on.

Yes yes yes!

Oh, I’ll probably twiddle with some tiny details as the books go up, because I can’t stop myself.  Because it has to be perfect, right?  But still!  Lookie!