Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

So Jonathan has been gracious enough to make me an offer--which I snatched right up before he changed his mind! My first book, Conditioned Response will be a Secondary Group Read in June, 2012, the way Ancient Canada has been for this month of May, 2012.

THE OFFER:

I'll have a coupon code activated for the group to use at Smashwords from June 1 through June 7, 2012 so you can get the eBook FREE in whatever format you prefer.

ETA: I've gotta work the day job between now and Friday so I went ahead and generated the coupon a couple of days early (certainly won't hurt to have "extra" people reading the book! *snort*) The code is NR23Y It's only valid until June 7. Go to the book page at Smashwords and click to buy, then at checkout, enter the coupon code and click "update" to change the price to $0.00. If you experience any trouble, (a) be sure you are logged in as a registered Smashwords customer :) and (b) ask me here for help by adding a comment at the end of this thread. No promises I can help though!

The book is available for purchase at full price (just don't enter the code *haha*) if you prefer, and I won't refuse your money (duh) but when you use a coupon code at Smashwords to get a book for FREE, it looks like you've bought it for zero dollars ($0.00) so you'll be entitled to all future revisions issued or any other special considerations offered to paying customers.

Smashwords registration is free, and only requires you to provide a username, email address and set a password. There are over 100,000 books being sold on the site by over 40,000 Indie Authors, many of whom are also here on Goodreads.

If you need help getting a MOBI file from Smashwords onto your Kindle device, please post a comment here and I'll reply with instructions, later in this thread.




THE STORY BLURBAGE:

I'm not very good at doing these (this being my first book and all) but professional book reviewer, Ellie Hall, wrote a nice, honest discussion of what the book is/is not in her 4-star review. She not only summarized the plot but critiqued its strengths and weaknesses for you.

#

ETA Okay, since Stephen and Ellie (who've both already read the book) both noted my blurbage seemed to imply it was Raif's book and it's not, I agree, here's a shorter blurbage - way shorter:

Conditioned Response is a Classic SciFi Dystopian set in a post-apocalyptic far-future where humanity is struggling to actually not go extinct living on a planet that seems determined to kill us off. Oh and it's already inhabited by the Phoenician people who mysteriously resemble us, just better, stronger and um, better ;)

There's always a Plan!

Check out the story blurbage interpreted by Stephen here, in his amazing 4-star review.

"The characters are well-drawn and believable, and the plot hangs together. The pace is relentless...Conditioned Response gripped me hard from the beginning"

I didn't want to overwhelm you guys with my prolificness (wait, is that a word? haha), so I split this message in two. Sorry but there's a bit of "business" to add.

THE DISCLAIMERS:

1) This is a Classic SciFi Dystopian story, not a Fantasy Genre book.

I say that as a disclaimer because this group seems to be far more focused on the Fantasy genre than Classic SciFi and I don't want anyone to be mislead. There are definitely supernatural elements to the story (and the Phoenician people) that might be consider a form of fantasy, but to paraphrase a famous US Senator on pornogphy, I know what Fantasy genre is and this ain't it.

It's also not a romance novel, despite there being a lot of sex/sexual tension but some Romantic SF (SFR) readers might enjoy it. The book is definitely not a "self-revelation" book and the lack of emotional content has either delighted or really pissed off the readers so far. Hmm, I think that's a good thing :) Maybe?

The future depicted in this book is grim, on purpose, the oligarchy unjust and the caste system unforgiving. (I repeat: it's a Classic SciFi Dystopia). The Dsytopian future in Conditioned Response stems directly from Huxley's views in Brave New World, right down to the color-coded caste system. Of course, I put my own, personal and original stamp on the whole thing, but I didn't invent the idea of a Dystopian future. Look out, it only gets worse from here (haha)


The main part of the story is told from the point of view of a non-human named Shayla. I did this on purpose (though so far, no one seems to have actually noticed what I was trying to do) I wanted to give a view of humanity, as seen through non-human eyes and as I see it, it's not a pretty picture. We're not as wonderful as we'd like to think.

Despite our flaws as a species, the people in this far-future Dystopia seem to enjoy being alive. That is, I think, a very human dichotomy. People don't just give up and stop living. We whine, we adapt, we overcome, we whine some more. Sometimes, we change our situation and get happy.

The ending of Conditioned Response is sweet but it does NOT "fix" the problems of the Dystopian world. I never intended for this book to solve anything. By the end of the series, if you read the whole thing, you'll understand why it is what it is but The Phoenician Serires is all about the journey, not the destination.


In Classic SciFi fashion, Conditioned Response is very much a "What if..." book. The sciences of genetic engineering and artificial intelligence are at the heart of the two main storylines of Conditioned Response. As the title implies, some of the people have conditioned responses, like Pavlov's dogs, but “programmed in” at a genetic level. Because I'm an engineer and love artificial intelligence, thinking machines and the computer modeling of human thought--and loved Isaac Asimov's robot and Foundation books--I've written a classic "machine turned man" story as the backbone of Conditioned Response. In fact, the machine turned man (Charlie) turns out to be the most "humane" man in the series (and he's not human either!)



2) This is a LONG book.

Clocking in at 230,000 words, the book is daunting to start if you're someone who looks at length before you read, but it’s easy to read. I'm not the only one who thinks it reads at an exceptionally quick clip once you do start and I’m always surprised (at myself) for how easily I can get sucked back into it if I put it down and pick it up a day layer. It’s hard to put down. It’s easy to pick up, but I urge you to start early, so you can finish in time to enjoy the peak of the discussion curve (usually around the middle of the month, right?)

I remember a discussion on another thread in another group which some of you may have joined over the winter where we were talking about long books and whether or not to buy/like them. The gist was that people didn't mind paying more money for long books (more money for more content seemed reasonable) but since the book's being made available for free, I should think the only consideration is whether or not you can read the whole thing inside of a month. It's a very complicated book (you saw my blurbage!) and in fact, the entire series is complicated, but does have a finite beginning, middle and end. The series has prequels which could (theoretically) go on forever (haha).


3) There's no guarantee any character survives or comes back.

As you might guess from the blurbage, Raif is a favorite character in this book. You can vote for him to come back in Book 1 (not yet written) on the Characters Whose Story You Wish Would Continue list. There are several more lists on which Conditioned Response is ranking fairly well on this page.



THE BENEFITS & THE RATINGS

((This book is rated M/LSV for Mature Audiences due to Language, Sex & Violence))

Like all good friends, the book has "benefits." Lots of "benefits" between lots of "friends." If you don't like to read books with sexual tension or explicit sexual activity, you should probably pass on this one. Also if you're a 10 yo, umm, Moderators, you told me not to worry about kids on this list! I have to warn you all, I do have a knack for writing sex scenes.

I also have a rule that started by accident years ago. It's an if-then rule, like in computer programming (cause I'm a geek). If you have sex, then you die. If you have great sex, then you die horribly. If you have mind-blowing sex, you might just implode. There is some truly epic sex in Conditioned Response--and sadly, some gruesome death.

During the editing process, the First Readers requested I remove bits that I think take away from the power of the biggest death scene in this book. I haven't put that 1500 word scene back in and it's still a gruesome death scene, just not as powerfully numbing emotionally. If graphic violence disturbs you, again, you probably want to pass on this book. I dunno, do we need to restrict it against kids for the sake of graphic violence? There's not a lot of graphic violence but there is some--and I don't mean the fist fight in Ch 2 or 3. I mean violence. Oh, and expletives. Not everyone, but some characters do seem to swear a lot. There's one in every bunch, dontcha know?




THE THANK YOU'S

I'm offering this book for free to get your feedback, your discussion and thoughts. I'll be active on the discussion thread (except middle of the week when my day job keeps me offline) so please feel free to address me directly on that thread if you have some specific question of the author. I hope to dish about the book like a reader, actually, just a reader who has extra-special insider information.

You're not paying for the book and I'm not "expecting" you to do anything for your free copy but I hope the book will inspire discussion. Beyond that, you can always write a review as a way of saying thank you to me for the free book. You don't have to and I won't ask (let alone "demand") that anyone do so.

However, a review would be of great help to other readers so if you read Conditioned Response and feel that I did (or did not) deliver in some way, please consider posting a review to let other readers know what to expect (good or bad). I promise to never contradict you if you say you didn't like some aspect of the book. Even though my aforementioned First Reader had no clue what a dystopia was, she still managed to say some really informative things, didn't she? I think every review that gives an honest opinion is valuable, so I'll thank you for your time because whether you like it or not, you did spend time reading it and writing down your thoughts. That's your gift back to me.

Want to write a review but not sure what to say? Think about what kinds of comments you find most helpful when you're checking out other people's comments and put those kinds of remarks into a review. That goes for reviews of all books, not just mine ;) I think reviews by other readers are the #1 best way to find good books to read that I might otherwise never have heard of let alone tried.

Thanks again to Jonathan for inviting me to be a Secondary Read in June, 2012! What a great way to launch my first book.


-Friday
@phoenicianbooks
Author of Conditioned Response A SciFi Thriller to Remember--If You Can!

I just invited the SciFi Aficionados to come join in our group read of my book in June. The thread for my invite is here:

Invite to SciFi Aficionados Group to Join us

But it just links back to this thread...so I guess we have an infinite loop recursion? *muahahahahaha* I'll crash this place yet! >:-}

p.s. Also posted the same kind of invite to the SciFi Romance group since my book crosses over into a bit of SFR (or at least, Romantic SF given that so many people DIE after having sex...can't really call it a romance when that happens, right?)

Invite to SciFi Romance Group to Join us

I'll get the most points even if I never find out what the points get me! :)

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

Thanks Marjorie.

Marjorie wrote: "I also have a rule that started by accident years ago. It's an if-then rule, like in computer programming (cause I'm a geek). If you have sex, then you die. If you have great sex, then you die horribly. If you have mind-blowing sex, you might just implode."

This reminds me of http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php... :)

hahaha, Xdyj, that's funny. I don't think I've ever seen that exact article, but that is totally the same thing my friends started saying to me about 15 or 20 years ago. The big difference is I'm not killing them off "the right way" for it to be a Friday the 13th kind of spoof. Oh, and it was totally unconscious. I honestly didn't realize I was doing it but I do it All. The Frakkin. Time. I have no clue why. It just seems "right." What can I say? Someone's always gotta die - why not let them die happy? :)

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

I'm glad we can get some of our group authors' books out there while still exploring other novels. I for one like to hear about those books but I don't want them dominating the group. So having them as part of the reads opens things up.

Jonathan wrote: "I'm glad we can get some of our group authors' books out there while still exploring other novels. I for one like to hear about those books but I don't want them dominating the group. So having the..."

Jonathan, I think it would be awesome to have a Primary Group read that is a well-known or "classic" book (whether "traditionally" published or Indie published) and then a Secondary Group read that is a group member's offering (again, whether "traditionally" published--assuming their publisher allows them to give away copies--or Indie published, in which case there is zero reason NOT to give away copies for a group read).

Not only does it get the author exposure, it gets the group a free book to read and discuss with an author who's present to discuss it. At least assuming the author actually participates in the group. And assuming the group likes/wants free books?

You guys are a small, close-knit group, I've noticed. Despite the 450-member count on the home screen, I see only about 10 active members--the mods and a handful of others. I'm not a huge Fantasy genre fan (in fact, I loathe most Fantasy genre) so in most cases, I'm either derailing a discussion with my flippant remarks :) or I'm not joining in at all, given I have nothing to contribute to a conversation on a Fantasy genre book. The core group doesn't feel at all cliquey so I don't think that's the problem but there really doesn't seem to be much traffic here.

I don't have a clue how to get more members to be active or to solicit new members. You guys seem nice enough to me! :) I'm glad I found you but the group is definitely quieter than some of the others I'm in.


BTW, got another amazing review last night. I quote the closing paragraph of this 4-star review: "Conditioned Response gripped me hard from the beginning, provided a thoroughly satisfying read, and left me eager for the rest of the series. Considering this is Baldwin’s first novel, I’m quite impressed."

I was quite surprised--pleasantly so :) This is someone I used to know (2 years ago) and who is a hard-core SciFi fan, big on exploding spaceships (I have none) and weird alien wars (again, my aliens aren't weird nor are they at war in this book).

I wasn't expecting him to like this book (or not so much) but wanted to be fair and balanced in the way I solicited readers. Honesty is always the best policy. So far it has served me well!

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

Hmm, Marjorie says that it's 230,000 words, and I believe her, but it didn't seem all that long when I was reading it. I'm the author of the "amazing review" (her words; 'I blush! See how I blush!' Take my word for it, durnit, I'm blushing). It flowed very smoothly, and while it took me longer to read than I originally expected, that's because my reading was interrupted by the need to do finish some other books.

One interesting difference between Marjorie's take as the author, and mine as a reader is that her book summary implies Raif is the main character (at least, that's how I read it), while to my mind the novel is definitely Shayla's story, with Raif as the second most important person there. I wonder if that's because I'm a guy?

I'd certainly agree that this is a grim future, with classic dystopian features from Brave New World. I'd also agree that most of the people in the novel seem to enjoy being alive. That strikes me as one of the best and most realistic points of the novel. Most people get by, and manage to enjoy life, except under 'death-camp horrible' circumstances. My lifetime best friend (now deceased) spent almost six years in federal prison. He hated it every day, but as he told me "I made a life for myself", and he had many interesting and cheerful anecdotes of his time there. So the fact that Raif, Shayla, Kyree, Johnathan Andrew Caine and Brennan frequently have happy times strikes me as good art.

As I said in my review it was a thoroughly satisfying read, and I'm looking forward to the other books in the series.

Hi Stephen! Soooo glad you made it over here :)

Yahhh, you're right, it's Shayla's story but I was definitely slanting the pitch towards Raif since everyone seems to fixate on him so much. I mean, he takes over the book, doesn't he?

As to the length, it's now higher than 230k ((blush)) I need to stop touching it! My last "edits" were last week when I added 3 more words and fixed 2 commas. I promise not to touch it again. It's actually clocking in just over 232k words.

There's a very good reason it doesn't feel that long. It's hard for me to say this without sounding totally full of myself, but this is the reason: my writing style flows well and the edits did manage to tighten up the pacing so that it would read along at a clip, without pause. I wanted it to be faster-paced than it is. I think it drags at the beginning and for a tiny bit in the middle but it's my first book.

Now I don't like to correct readers, ever, but I really must insist you not change the characters names here. There is no "Johnathan Andrew Caine. It's Joshua Andrew Caine. I find it hilarious and irony at the extreme that you would change that part of that character's name. I cannot explain why that is without spoilering and we haven't even started reading the book here yet so....

Just got another amazing 4-star review last night (from a professional reviewer). Ellie Hall's review explains why some people feel the book fell short. I meant to do precisely what you said I did, Stephen: depict a realistic view of an imperfect Dystopia and people who just manage to get along and need to keep moving forward, not dwell on the past. There's enough horror in their present, why hang onto past ills? But I definitely disappointed some people--and will disappoint some more, I'm sure! At least no one's saying I did something I hadn't intended to do!

I hope you'll be sure to come back in June once the group starts reading, Stephen. The discussion thread will be over here (not this thread).

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

The only comment I'd like to make, reading through, is on the importance of acceptance in fictional societies. It doesn't have to be distopian - any fantasy or sci fi world, history is a favourite of mine, even cultural differences in a modern setting - no matter how bad the circumstances under which the characters live, a wide acceptance should be illustrated.

Of course there are books that centre on revolution - Les Misérables - but a character who brings our day to day moral or political eyes into a different world stands out as fake.

Authors do it all the time with history. They put feminists in the wild west, and there are probably vegetarian pacifist cavemen on some pages, but in the interests of authenticity, acceptance by the characters of CR of horrors like the genetic modification and control of humanity is essential. It takes people a long time to get to the 'enough is enough' point. It's always about status quo.

The future world presented here seems to me to be an extension of the world powerful men are seeking to create today. The fact that the CR characters live in and accept their circumstances without a lot of dissent is representative of humans throughout history. Good job.
Rgds
Ellie.
ps, yes, I read it as Shayla's story, too.

Ellie wrote: "ps, yes, I read it as Shayla's story, too"

Yes, I have NO CLUE how to pitch my book. See? That's why I linked to your review, Ellie!

I was constantly aware, as I wrote CR, that I needed to make sure people everywhere just accepted things "as normal." The callousness that you and another reviewer mentioned was consciously infused by me. I felt the harshness of it but my characters didn't. That definitely bugged the living daylights out of another reader while it seemed to have impressed you with my deliberate intent.

It's like that stark, grey, dismal and unrelenting "sense of doom" in the movie Bladerunner. Ironically, I hated that movie because of how depressing that mood was. I find it ironic given I do write dystopias just as dismal and depressing as Bladerunner world.

Parts of CR were very hard for me to write, especially the dismissal of the history of rape which you referenced in your review. I had actually written that segment of Book 1 before I edited Shayla's reactions in Book 2 "down" to basically zero. Readers of CR don't see anything but her non-reaction, of course, but as the author, it was definitely hard for me to stomach. I had to be true to the book, though. After 13 years in the unfeeling, uncaring, human world, she no longer feels anything at all. The fact her friend is more upset than she is was supposed to be the point. I guess I made the point, since everyone seems to think she feels nothing :)

Book 1 is really going to put me through the wringer when I have to go back and finish writing it and make the editorial choices, knowing where they are now "required" to head. I need to draft you into the editorial reading team, Ellie! haha, I'm kidding. I know you can't with your busy career(s). Thanks again for your review and for stopping by here. Look forward to your thoughtful remarks in June if you can come back. You know I'll whine at everyone on the Facebook Page to come by.

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

I had to be true to the book, though. After 13 years in the unfeeling, uncaring, human world, she no longer feels anything at all. The fact her friend is more upset than she is was supposed to be the point. I guess I made the point, since everyone seems to think she feels nothing :)

I'm not sure here is the right place to discuss it and I don't want to make a saga out of the one small point, but there is a difference between Shayla feeling numbed to the offense, and the reader being able to experience the horror she suffered.

It can be done with only a few words if you can find the right placement for them. [Downfall of digital over print! To find the line of dialogue I want I cannot just flick some paper pages - I had to convert the mobi doc to pdf and then crl+f to find it, lol]

So, Ashley is speaking about the horror of that incident. HE can display enough emotion/autonomic response to the thought during that conversation, that it will transfer to the reader.
Elliexx

Point taken, Ellie, and yeah, this is probably neither the time or place to discuss it, but I'll look at Ashley's position again. I thought he was upset about it, more so than Shayla anyway.

Just wanted to express my support for another book with a high word count. You may be reading Ancient Canada right now, which also has a high word count (about 217,000 words/Conditioned Response is 230,000/approximately the same).

Publishers typically look for a word count range that allows them to price the book properly with consideration to the cost of paper and shipping. It has nothing to do with story-writing. (Of course both of these books are free to the group; can't beat that).

Hope you enjoy both Ancient Canada and Conditioned Response!

Clinton wrote: "Just wanted to express my support for another book with a high word count. You may be reading Ancient Canada right now, which also has a high word count (about 217,000 words/Conditioned Response is 230,000/approximately the same)."

Thank you, Clint, for your support and more so, for leading the way! It's because of your offering Ancient Canada this month as a Second Group Read that Jonathan thought to offer me such a situation, too.

Regarding what you said next:
"Publishers typically look for a word count range that allows them to price the book properly with consideration to the cost of paper and shipping. It has nothing to do with story-writing. "

As an Indie Author--and Indie Publisher (I'm the founder of Phoenician Books Publishing)--I'm still sensitive to the word count and really angry at myself for not managing to trim this down more. I had other goals during editing (combined some of the elements from later books into this one because I'm merging what used to be 4 books into 3 then writing a prequel)

The bottom line, however, is now I cannot afford to print this book on paper, or not as a paperback. The best I'll be able to do is a $28 to $30 Hardcover and really, I don't see a market for that product or not yet. I've had one reader (Stephen) ask if a paper version is forthcoming. Rather, he said if it is, he'll buy a copy on paper.

Unfortunately, due to the fact POD (print on demand) printers like CreateSpace and Lightning Source and even Lulu all charge a "per page" fee, in addition to setup costs, per unit costs and so-called "assembly" costs, I'd end up losing money (that is, I'd have to pay the printer everytime a customer ordered a book, in addition to the customer paying a fee so not only "no profit" but an expense!) for anything less than a $30 cover price--and paper backs don't get priced at $30 no matter whose they are!

I really do hope to get the rest of the series down to the "normal" 120k-140k length so I can do paperbacks and omnibus versions at a reasonable price. In the meantime, though, the great thing about eBooks and Indie Publishing is that we can and do get our thousands upon thousands of little words out there without killing any trees at all.

-Friday

Marjorie, you said, "I'm still sensitive to the word count and really angry at myself for not managing to trim this down more."

I can relate. Ancient Canada is my first book. I wanted to make it an appropriate length, so I (true story) took Price and Prejudice off the shelf and typed up one full page on my computer. Using the font, font size, and spacing I had, one page of Pride and Prejudice was one page on my computer, almost exactly. All set. I aimed for 300 something pages.

Then I finish the book and had to do a word count. I didn't do that along the way; didn't think I had to if my page count was on target. And it was, so how did I get up to 217,000?

Oh well. I'm happy with it. Like you said, you can make an e-book any length without worrying about pages and shipping. And since Ancient Canada is mythology and a national epic for an alternate Canada, it wouldn't be a pamphlet. Also, with strong environmental themes, Ancient Canada probably is more true to itself not using paper. But any book can feel good about that. More good news: e-books are also now outselling paper books, and why not? You can buy 2-3 or more e-books for the price of one paperback.

Clinton wrote: "Ancient Canada is my first book. [...] with strong environmental themes, Ancient Canada probably is more true to itself not using paper. But any book can feel good about that. "

I like that, Clint! :) Very a propos!

"More good news: e-books are also now outselling paper books, and why not? You can buy 2-3 or more e-books for the price of one paperback.

Well, now you've lost my support. I'm extremely angry at both the Big Six for attempting to price-fix (at high prices) and the newbie Indies for attempting to price-fix (at low, cut-rate prices). Also, please note that I said I was NOT happy that I did not have a paper copy of this book. I'd like to sell paper--or at least have it to offer. I doubt I'd sell many if it had to be high-priced but I definitely plan on having paper copies available of my future books.

Look, a book is a book. It's worth what "a book" is worth to people who buy books. Books are not cheap commodities unless...well, cheap is not the same thing as inexpensive. Cheap means (by definition) of lower quality, not merely of lower price/cost. An inexpensive but high-quality product is not cheap. My books, I hope all will agree, are low cost but not cheap.

If I were to charge by the word, as many publishers pay by the word, as though word count, in itself, is some valuation of a book's worth, I'd be hugely rich already! Even charging only a fraction of a single cent (typical is $0.045 or four and a half cents per word), say one half of one cent ($0.005), I'd still have to charge $1,160 for one copy of my book--and that's not counting production costs or per page fees or delivery or anything. I mean just the per-word kind of fee. Of course it would never happen. Dickens sure did try though LOL!!!

Price should not be set by word count (or yes, you end up with great writers like Dickens writing horrible books like his are because he deliberately padded them to earn a living). Can you imagine Dickens written in succinct prose? Wow, huh?

Price should not be set by industry monopolies who want to control the market. Price should not be undercut merely to move copies (I am so vehemently against the 99c price on anything close to full-length novel unless it's utterly crap in which case, I guess 99c is all it's worth).

The Indies trying to use a 99c entry price to gain readership would be MUCH better off in my opinion just giving the "reasonably priced" book away free instead. You still get the readership and using an official method of "giveaway" (like a Smashwords coupon) you still get a sales record.

Pricing the book at a "normal" price ($5.99 to $8.99 for a full-length novel, $2.99 to $4.99 for the short novels in the 60k to 100k range and reserve the under $2.99 prices for short stories and the like) will maintain the value/worth of the book while offering it "free for a limited time" offers a means to reach readers without altering the perception of that worth. Perception is everything - Al Ries in Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: How to Be Seen and Heard in the Overcrowded Marketplace

Underpricing is as bad as overpricing. This is a business. Newbies need to learn that but like any business, they will--when they go out of business after their one-hit-wonder sells through.

I'm in this for the long run. Giving away copies of my first book free is such an investment in my own future--and honestly, it costs me nothing. I'm positive I don't lose money giving away free copies. In just the one month the book's been out, it's already earned me more than I make at my crappy day job in a week's salary. And it hasn't even got any reviews yet, to speak of! It's selling because it's a quality product. I'm promoting it, sure, but all I can do with that promotion is get people to click to my book's page. Then my book's page has to sell the free sample. Then the free sample has to sell the book. That means my writing (in the free sample) not my promo is what's selling the book.

And I'm not in this for one book. In addition having 20 novels "in the drawer" from a lifetime of writing, I also have more "in me" than I can probably write before I die. I'm already 51. I wish eBooks had come out 30 years ago when I first considered traditional publishing. I would've done the Indie thing then because I didn't want to change my books to please the Del Rey editor. Wish I had! I'd be rich by now (hahaha) At least I grew up enough in these 30 years to realize this is a business. You have to love writing and write well but you have to be in business to make the writing pay for itself. The newbies who're giving away 99c books are in a "Get Rich Quick" activity or just trying to grab what they can before the public gets wise to our eBook scam--I mean business ;-)

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

To get back onto the subject of the original thread ;-)

I'd like to invite anyone and everyone reading this to come to a launch party a friend of mine is having. She writes paranormal/urban fantasy but to me (a SciFi reader and writer) that kind of blurs the line with regular Fantasy doesn't it?

There'll be giveaways from over 40 authors (some like me, in genres NOT hers) over the course of a 6-hr "party" to be held on Facebook. I'll be giving away a signed* copy of Conditioned Response to one lucky winner. Get deets for the event here:

http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/418881-launch-party-giveaway

*signed assuming I can get Calibre to import and then re-export the file once I sign it. I have a Wacom Tablet and I'm not afraid to use it! I just need to be able to open an eBook in the winner's chosen format, sign, then resave the file in the chosen format to send to them. I'm pretty sure Calibre will do it. I'll send a free copy of the book and a signed copy of the cover if it doesn't work to have it all in one file. The giveaways will be run and chosen with Rafflecopter, which if you're ever doing anything on Facebook, you'll know is an awesome random picker of contest winners.

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

It's so exciting to see the cover of MY book on the home page of the group. WOW!! I think I shall quiver and giggle the whole month. I'm going to have to try to just stay quiet so you can hear yourselves think and speak over my silliness.

I really need to get to the library to pick up my copy of American Gods before they give it away to someone else *eep*

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks

I've gotta work the day job between now and Friday so I went ahead and generated the coupon code a couple of days early (certainly won't hurt to have "extra" people reading the book! *snort*) The code is NR23Y It's only valid until June 7.

To get the book for free, go to the book page at Smashwords and click to buy (any format--you get access to them all for the one, low price). At checkout, enter the coupon code and click "update" to change the price to $0.00. If you experience any trouble, (a) be sure you are logged in as a registered Smashwords customer :) and (b) ask me for help - can't guarantee I can help you but if you describe your problem, and the error you get, I can try. You might just have to click the "comments/suggestions" link at the top of the page and ask Smashwords Tech Support for help though. I've never had anyone ever fail to use one of their coupons successfully. Well, sometimes, people forget and end up paying money for the book :)

If you decide later that you want to buy the book for money, you can do that, too. You can buy an additional copy of the book and just not use the coupon code next time. Your "purchase" for $0.00 with this coupon code entitles you to any updates I might ever do to this book at any time in the future. Add the book to your Smashwords library so you can find it again easily. Smashwords adds thousands of books daily.

-Friday
@phoenicianbooks