Book of the Week: Blood of the Underworld

Haern is the King’s Watcher, born an assassin only to become the city of Veldaren’s protector against the thief guilds.

When Lord Victor Kane attacks the city, determined to stamp out the thief guilds in revenge for past crimes, foreign guilds pour into the city to take advantage of the chaos in an attempt to overthrow the current lords of the underworld. And when a mysterious killer known as the Widow begins mutilating thieves, paranoia spreads until it engulfs the city.

Haern knows someone is behind the turmoil, pulling strings, and if he doesn’t find out who, and soon, his beloved city will burn.

The Truth About Books and Libraries

I was always of the opinion that most large publishing houses had a thing against libraries. They seem to act as if libraries were taking money out of their pockets when it’s not true. When I was growing up, I learned about a lot of good books in my local library. I ended up buying most of those books and exploring other books by the authors I liked. In short, my local library encouraged me to read and seek out more books which put money into the publusher’s pockets. If I was a publisher, I would be more supportive of libraries. It’s not like the publishers are donating the books to the libaries. Many of the books are brought and paid for. When they aren’t, the publishers get to write it off as a tax deduction. In other words, not only are their books getting exposure, they are also getting paid by the libraries.

I didn’t think too much about this until Sandy DeTaranto pointed me in the direction of this great article, The Truth About the Price of Books. It makes a lot of good points, some of which I agree with.

 

Sticks and Stones

IndieReader was created to help adventurous book-lovers sort out the plethora of new indie titles and authors…a road map of sorts to help navigate the rocky terrain. The site features a list of best selling indie titles (updated weekly), author interviews and feature stories—many of which concurrently run in the Huffington Post.

You might want to take a look at Sticks and Stones: The Changing Politics of the Self-Publishing Stigma.

Book of the Week: Wizard’s First Rule

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher’s forest sanctuary seeking help … and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword– to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed … or that their time has run out.

This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.

One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

Last week, I was struggling with my writing. I found myself going back over what I had written and tidying it up or making minor changes. It took me a few days to realize something was wrong. It was time to step back from my work and take a break.

My break included hanging out with friends, seeing the Avengers in 3D, watching the season finales of my favorite tv shows, and the internet. Afterwards, I finished another Incarnates short story that is in dire need of editing. Now, I feel better about where I’m at and the progress I’m making with my writing this month.

I plan to spend this week finishing a number of short stories that are in various stages of completion before I go back to the novel I am working on. Some of these stories will be published for Kindle and others will be available for free on this site. After that, I need to contact my favorite editor and see about some brand new cover art for The Prize, Redemption Song, and The Court of the Two Sisters.

The Prize is a collection of fantasy short stories. These stories serve as a prelude to my fantasy novel, The Crown and the Ring. I decided to release the short stories first instead of bundling them with the novel or trying to tell the stories as flashbacks.

Redemption Song is the sequel to my sci-fi thriller, Fall from Grace. It features Tabatha Strong, an investigative broadcaster, who is in way over her head. Things only get worse when she turns to Joey for help.

The Court of the Two Sisters is another Count Albritton story. This story takes place prior to the Hunger. I probably should have told this story sooner but I had an easier time writing the Hunger. Now that I am about to publish the rest of Crossroads, it’s important to publish this story, It’ll fill in some of the gaps and delve into Jennifer’s relationship with Count.

As for when any of this stuff will be published, a lot is going to depend on when I can get it all edited.

Okay, time for my to get some sleep. We’ll have a new book of the week up tomorrow.

 

Book of the Week: The Man Who Never Missed

Meet Emile Antoon Khadaji — The man who sparked a revolution.

A classic Matador space opera, and the the book that started it all.

This is one of my favorite sci-fi series. Now, all of the books in the series are available for Kindle and listed at affordable prices.

Double Standards

There’s a double standard and a tad bit of hypocracy when it comes to critics and reviews. For some reason, there is this idea that a critic can say whatever they want about something and everyone is supposed to nod their heads. Whenever an actor, writer or anyone else levels criticism at a critic or their review, they are automaticly in the wrong. Some genius will speak out and say the critic is entitled to his or her opinion. That’s true. They are entitled to their opinion. By same token, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Whether they are an actor, writer, director, musician, chef, or even that guy down the block you don’t like, they are just as entitled to their opinion as a critic. If a critic says so and so movie sucks, that’s fine. It’s his right to do so. It’s also my right to say that critic is full or crap. Both of us are stating opinions. There is no right or wrong one. We aren’t talking about a math problem or something with a definitive answer.

So, what brought this on? I was reading an article where Sammuel L. Jackson slammed a New York Times critic over their negative review of the Avengers. Now, he is a bad guy for stating his opinion about the critic and his review. Critics are flocking out of the woodwork to take Sammuel Jackson to task for stating his opinion and get this, they have the nerve to call him irrational for doing so. What a load of garbage. It’s his right and his choice whether or not he wants to voice his opinion. That doesn’t make him irrational. It makes him a human being with the same rights as anyone else.

On a personal note, I respect anyone’s opinion who reviews my books. I’m not going to take them to task for a negative review unless they have some kind of ulterior motive or agenda. Just don’t expect me to agree with them or be all sunshine and rainbows about it.