The Sword and Laser discussion

Hey everyone, I decided to do a little experiment this past year:

It was two fold:
#1 How many books can I read/listen to in one year - so I gave up all of my beloved podcasts (yes even S&L, though I cheated and listened to couple episodes) and listened to only audio books.

#2 Finish my novel and self publish it.

At the moment I'm at forty books on the year and I'm promoting my book. Which as an introvert, I really stink at!

All the same, I would love to see some of my fellow swords (lasers can read it too) take a chance and read it. You can even borrow it for free.



I would love to hear what you thought, leave a review, and what I could do to improve as a storyteller. Thanks for taking a few moments to read this post. I hope you enjoy it!

Good for you, my man. I'm still trying to finish my second book, but my first one (a collection of 3 short stories, more "novella" length, really) has been self-published on Amazon for a while now. I'll trade you an honest review for an honest review. It's urban fantasy. Interested?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IRLY2KI

P.S. - Honestly, I'll probably pick up your book anyway (I like readying self-published stuff) and I can loan you my piece if you're interested.

FWIW, Amazon tends to delete reviews of authors by other authors. It's frustrating because independent reviewers have gotten overwhelmed and many are no longer taking requests from self published authors where they would have a year or two ago.

James wrote: "Good for you, my man. I'm still trying to finish my second book, but my first one (a collection of 3 short stories, more "novella" length, really) has been self-published on Amazon for a while now...."

Hey James! I looked at your book, I'll be snagging it for sure. .99 cents for a novella about a sneak thief stealing from a vampire? I'm in.

Plus I'll be visiting Texas for the first time in a couple months, so it will highly amuse me!

John wrote: "FWIW, Amazon tends to delete reviews of authors by other authors. It's frustrating because independent reviewers have gotten overwhelmed and many are no longer taking requests from self published a..."

That's a bummer James, because I've found out your right, finding someone to review your self published book is getting close to impossible. I'll try all the same. If it gets deleted, then so be it. But a honest review should never be deleted in my opinion.

Groovy Brett. Thanks and enjoy Texas (specifically Houston, my former hometown and under-appreciated great city). I'll read and review your book as well and we'll see if they'll let'em stand. Good luck my man! Looking forward to it!

Brett wrote: I would love to hear what you thought, leave a review, and what I could do to improve as a storyteller."

I created a beta readers club to help address just this sort of issue. It was meant to give new and self-published authors valuable feedback and help get their work read and reviewed by others. Unfortunately, I've been having trouble attracting interested writers. I guess I suck at promotion too. If you or anyone else is interested you can find the details here.

James (above) had promised me his, but it has yet to materialize.

The (justified) public shaming continues. Today I'm taking a long lunch with my laptop at the nice, quiet library across the street.

As recompense (and shameless self-promotion), the first book Hell Against Texas: Preludes is now free for the next two days!

Amazon Link.

Consider me in on the beta reading group. I'd love to be a help and get help really. I'll be following the links and signing up shortly.

And James, oh now it's free?? Where is is my .99 cents. ;)

Sorry Brett! If I'd known you would move so quickly, I'd have started the promotion earlier. Also, I sort of forgot how to set it up through Amazon and had to read the instructions. Embarrassing...

I'm only joking James, I'm glad to buy it. No need to apologize. I know the struggle with the endless Amazon rules and instructions.