Release Party

Detective Vic Boyo returns

in the sequel nobody asked for!

1932, New York City: When a good pal needs help rescuing his kid sister from a speakeasy run by a psychotic mobster, Boyo knows he's up to the challenge. What he doesn't know is by agreeing to lend a hand, he's placed a big red target on his back. The mobster in question is a dangerous predator who likes to play with his prey, and what follows is an unhinged cat-and-mouse game unlike anything Boyo has ever encountered. 

Only one thing stands between Vic Boyo and saving the day. Well, maybe a few things. But with a little luck and a whole lot of gumption, anything is possible—even for him.

eBook       Paperback

The big release day was officially this past Tuesday, but it's never too late to celebrate, right? Now's a great time to grab your copy while the low introductory price is in effect. Next month, I'll be raising it to $2.99, the same as the sequels in my other series.  

Speaking of series, I'm in the process of outlining the third and final installment in the Vic Boyo, Doofus Detective trilogy. That's right. Unlike the seven-year gap between Books 1 and 2, Book 3 should be out sometime next year. I've got multiple sources of conflict I'll be tossing Vic's way, loose ends from the series in need of resolution, which should make for an entertaining ride along. After a bit more plotting, I'll be able to devote some time to drafting. Who knows, maybe by the end of Christmas break, I'll have a few thousand words typed up. 5K? 10K? We shall see.

How to Gift an eBook

Ever wondered how to send a friend or family member an eBook as a gift? Look no further. Here's the easiest way to go about it on Amazon:

Let's say you wanted to gift a copy of Double Murders Are Twice As Bad because your pal or loved one is sorely in need of chuckles. Once you've clicked the book link, scroll down on the right side until you see the "Buy for Others" or "Gift Kindle Edition" option (located an inch or so under the orange Buy now with 1-click button).

Once you've selected "Buy for Others" or "Gift Kindle Edition", you'll have two options: 1. Amazon will email the redemption link directly to your recipient. 2. Amazon will email you the redemption link, which you can then send to the recipient yourself.

Next, enter the recipient's email address. Type a personal message like "Hope you enjoy this hilarious book!" Pick a delivery date. Then place your order. You'll be charged for the eBook, and your recipient will be able to read it on any device, thanks to the free Kindle app.

Easy, right? The process on Barnes & Noble and Apple is a similar one, but as far as I know, Apple eBooks can only be read on Apple devices, while B&N's Nook app, like the Kindle one, can be installed on any device. As of now, there is no way to gift eBooks on Kobo, but gift cards are available.

I hope you found this to be informative and helpful. Let the eBook gifting commence!

Novel #25

Detective Vic Boyo returns in the sequel nobody asked for!

1932, New York City: When a good pal needs help rescuing his kid sister from a speakeasy run by a psychotic mobster, Boyo knows he's up to the challenge. What he doesn't know is by agreeing to lend a hand, he's placed a big red target on his back. The mobster in question is a dangerous predator who likes to play with his prey, and what follows is an unhinged cat-and-mouse game unlike anything Boyo has ever encountered. 

Only one thing stands between Vic Boyo and saving the day. Well, maybe a few things. But with a little luck and a whole lot of gumption, anything is possible—even for him.

Buy Direct  or  Pre-Order

I'm trying something new with this one. While the pre-order option is available for folks who like to buy their books via the regular sales channels and can wait until the December 16 release date, I'm also making it available right now for readers interested in buying direct. Order it today from my author storefront, get it today. No wait. Cool beans, right?

First Draft Done

Mission accomplished: I managed to finish the first draft of the Vic Boyo, Doofus Detective sequel before the end of the year. Feeling pretty good about that. The last two chapters are still rough, but I'll polish them up next week. Then I'll give the whole manuscript a once or twice over before I start the formatting process. As long as all goes according to plan, a mid-December release date should be doable. Just in time for Christmas.

Stay tuned for the cover reveal, blurb, pre-order window via the usual retailers, and pre-release availability, which I'll be trying out on my author storefront. I'm planning to make the book available to buy direct (at a reduced price) a week before it releases wide. And unlike a traditional pre-order, where you have to wait until the official release date to get your copy, when you buy direct, you'll get it the same day you order it. Spiffy, right?

Writing Update

I'm halfway through my current work-in-progress, a sequel to Double Murders that I started drafting during the summer. That's right, Vic Boyo the doofus detective is back in action, just as confident and clueless as ever. Hard to believe it's been seven years since the first book came out. Guess I've had other trilogies to work on in the interim. But now it's time to give Boyo his due.

Like the first book, I'm using a manuscript I wrote back in high school as the framework and fleshing it out as I go. So far, the first 25 pages of the original novella have swelled to over 100 in the latest iteration. That ratio won't continue; otherwise, the final draft will be 400 pages. Book 1 is under 250, so that's the sweet spot I'm aiming for.

It's been fun bringing back characters while adding new ones, and Boyo's internal monologue is unlike any of my other protagonists'. Half Sam Spade, half Michael Scott. Hard-boiled screwball crime noir that doesn't take itself too seriously, but where the good guy always wins in the end. 

I was making pretty good progress on it—three chapters a week—before the school year started. Now I'm averaging about one chapter a week. But progress is progress, and if I can get the first draft done by end of year, I'll consider that a win.

Two New Collections

 

You'll notice something when you click on either one of those covers: a Buy Direct option. I'll be adding this feature to all of my novels as they drop out of Kindle Unlimited and become available wide again. If you'd like more of the purchase price to go to the author instead of a massive megacorporation, buy direct.

I've decided to take a different route with my covers. Instead of making those fun 3D box sets, I'm going with this triple flat-panel look. For one thing, as cool as the 3D covers are, they're false advertising. Because readers aren't getting an actual boxed set when they buy a collection of eBooks. And since I'm going wide, distributors like Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Apple don't allow the 3D boxes anyhow. So this way I'm keeping things consistent across all sales channels.

Taking the Plunge

Tackling Amazon ads has been on my to-do list for a while, but I haven't had the mental bandwidth to give it a go. With real life and the day job constantly vying for my attention, not to mention projects around the house, it's been tough to stick to my writing regimen, let alone learn a new skill. Excuses, excuses. The timing for things is seldom perfect. Sometimes all you can do is say enough with the procrastinating. So that's what I did. And then I put on my student hat.

My first step was to take the free Kindlepreneur course. Venturing into advertising blind, I figured it couldn't hurt to get some sage advice. The online course was helpful and explained everything in a way that made sense. What more could you want? It's definitely an advertisement in itself for Publisher Rocket, a book marketing software program that has some very cool features. But instead of shelling out $200 for that, I used Gemini (the Google A.I.) to come up with 50 keywords related to Murders at the Manor, one of my better-selling titles. Then I plugged each of those keywords into the Amazon search bar, one at a time, to see how many were used by shoppers. That narrowed the list down to about twenty-five, which I deployed in my first ad.

Following the Kindlepreneur directions step by step, I ran a sponsored product ad with manual targeting, a daily budget of $10, and set my bids at $0.65. (Anytime a shopper clicked on my ad, I would be charged 65 cents.) These amounts were based on best practices; however, Amazon made it clear that I would do better if my budget were $25 each day and my bids were well over a buck per click. But I held my ground. Because going broke is no fun. At the end of my three-week experiment, I had 166,000 impressions (that's how many shoppers saw my ad), 228 clicks, and 8 orders. Overall, I spent $160 and earned $16. But if I factor in sequel sales and Kindle Unlimited reads occurring at the same time, I earned $90 in total. Better, but not great. Not by a long shot. 

I've decided to put the ad on pause while I recoup my losses. Once I break even, I'll try it again with automatic keyword targeting, or I might go with a book in a smaller category. (Something like space opera sword & sorcery, perchance?) This was a good learning experience, and I no longer feel clueless about advertising on Amazon. Some authors have lost thousands of dollars on their ads, and I understand how easily that can happen. But if you set your budget, stick to that budget, and pause things before they get out of hand, you can learn a lot from the data you've collected. Then regroup, course-correct, and give it another shot. 

To be continued...

Eliminating the Middle Man

As my books drop out of Kindle Unlimited this fall and I start releasing them wide again, I'm going to try something that many other indie authors have been doing for a while now: selling direct. Instead of only offering my work via distributors like Amazon or Draft2Digital who take a 30-40% cut of every sale, I've decided to start using a platform called Payhip that takes a low 5%. It's just another option for eBook readers who might not want to financially support the megacorporations and would rather have more of their money go straight to the author.

How does it work? Glad you asked. Just click on the book you want, like you would on Amazon. Choose Add to Cart if you plan to do some more shopping or Buy Now if you're good to go. All sales are secure through PayPal, and the eBook you download is in EPUB format, the most widely supported.

On each of my landing pages, I'll be including the new Payhip option, but there will also be the usual links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Kobo. The more options, the better. You can check out the humble Speculative Fictioneer store right here. Only a few books are available at the moment, but expect plenty more on the way in the coming weeks.

New Release: Angels & Androids

A new player has entered the game. 

As Dome 10's criminal underworld destabilizes with bosses vying for the role of kingpin, assassins target Drasko in an effort to silence him. Hot on a sniper's trail, Investigator Sera Chen makes a terrifying discovery: one of the most powerful men in the Domes is building an army of killbots.

Meanwhile, someone is hacking into citizens' neural implants, forcing them to act against their will. But before Sera and Dunn have a chance to find out who's pulling the strings, they're sidelined. Sera is suspended, and Dunn is assigned desk duty.

That doesn't slow them down for long. Confronting zombies and zealots, mutants and madmen, Sera tries to connect the dots. She'll need people she can rely on, but with a sadistic puppeteer able to control anyone, who can she trust?

eBook       Paperback

Going Full Indie

Since 2010, I’ve had 130 short stories, 2 novellas, and 8 novels traditionally published. I submitted my work for consideration, waited weeks (or months) for a response, collected hundreds of rejections, and celebrated the acceptances. I was an active SFWA member for two years. I had an agent for a while. I felt like I was doing everything right. There were certain hoops to jump through in order to be considered a "real" author, so jump I did. And I learned a whole lot along the way.

But there came a point when I decided No more. I just wasn’t finding joy in the process. I felt like it was holding me back creatively. I tried being one of those hybrid authors for a while, publishing some things on my own while submitting other manuscripts via the traditional route. A route which, as far as my novels were concerned, left me disappointed at every turn. 

I needed to stretch my wings and go full indie, leaving the old ways of doing things behind. So that’s where I am now. No more submitting my work to publishers and waiting on them for a seal of approval. For better or worse, I’m taking care of it all myself. And I’m having more fun at this writing hobby than I’ve had in a long while. 

The rights to six of my novels are still with a trad publisher, but when those rights revert in five years, I’ll be re-releasing them with all-new cover art and maybe some bonus material. Until then, I’ll see how many novels I can write and release on my own. Already, I’ve managed to independently publish 15 books since I fired my agent and forged ahead on this road, no longer shackled by the ways of the past. 

Freedom is a beautiful thing. So is rediscovering the joy of storytelling that my 12-year-old self knew all about. Got a little lost in the weeds for a while, but not anymore. Goodbye, gatekeepers. Hello, new books, new readers, and new adventures in publishing.