tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19658504477750465382024-03-05T20:03:21.336-08:00The Hardman Writing StylusKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.comBlogger136125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-36417102369639903022022-04-13T12:20:00.000-07:002022-04-13T12:20:03.892-07:00Warden 4 is Now Available<p>I recently posted about the release of <b><i><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/warden-4-is-now-published/" target="_blank">Warden (Book 4: Roost of the Roc)</a></span></u></i></b>. </p>Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-2716778818761752262020-09-21T12:54:00.000-07:002020-09-21T12:54:01.282-07:00Audible Plus and New Milestone: 20,000 Audiobooks Sold<p> Posted recently about the new <a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/new-audiobook-subscription-service-audible-plus/" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Audible Plus subscription service</span></i></b></a>. Also posted about hitting a <b><i><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/milestone-20000-audiobooks-sold/" target="_blank">new milestone: 20,000 Audiobooks Sold</a></span></u></i></b>.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-57016231626324886772020-07-22T19:33:00.002-07:002020-07-22T19:33:45.867-07:00Book Title Limits: Amazon Ups the Ante on Keyword StuffingI recently posted about keyword stuffing on my website: <a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/book-title-limits-amazon-ups-the-ante-on-keyword-stuffing/">https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/book-title-limits-amazon-ups-the-ante-on-keyword-stuffing/</a>Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-21412144186326210972020-07-13T17:54:00.002-07:002020-07-13T17:54:16.379-07:00New Audiobook Release: Isolation (Kid Sensation #8)I recently posted about the release of the audiobook of <i>Isolation </i>on my website: <a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/new-audiobook-release-isolation-kid-sensation-8/">https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/new-audiobook-release-isolation-kid-sensation-8/</a>Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-80491511935397863952020-06-19T09:31:00.000-07:002020-06-19T09:31:26.389-07:00Excerpt from Conjuration (Kid Sensation #9)Just posted an excerpt from the next Kid Sensation book on my website: <a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/excerpt-from-conjuration-kid-sensation-9/">https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/excerpt-from-conjuration-kid-sensation-9/</a>Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-86794980325969866832020-06-15T09:05:00.004-07:002020-06-15T09:05:46.710-07:00Free AudiobooksRecently posted about having <b><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/free-to-a-good-home-my-audiobooks/">audiobook promo codes for my scifi and fantasy titles</a></span></u></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/free-to-a-good-home-my-audiobooks/"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhT8fwOnw1mQbmXtyzA4lUPQNNbulS2czylYfAgdeu4J_UZNkNICWtE3ZH5lTRD86bPxN1IvvBau-y2Q4mGna3EqUlJhPWO2pP4mXzGdBGOQ4zjixXzgzTgSz91xLXFdUqXE3CAHoQCA/s320/Sensation+Audible.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-75751692287147316012020-05-12T04:44:00.002-07:002020-05-12T04:44:08.146-07:00Isolation (Kid Sensation #8) Has Been Released!Recently posted on my website about the release of <b><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/new-release-isolation-kid-sensation-8/">Isolation (Kid Sensation #8)</a></span></u></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://amzn.to/2SZYujJ"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1S-m990rlkwsj4gErOv8GzlZP4QyOkjAeGjWTyOBXhCzZAl7iiAS5WA-YRKnf5v_yAialmsz-5a0VhbC0Fp672iMvOBiUmCifVXRDQfkENFqokplas73WhwW7Jyl56RKlcU2Z92u9X2I/s320/Isolation+Ebook+Cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-30402070029257905602019-06-18T19:53:00.001-07:002019-06-18T19:53:14.566-07:00Cover Reveal: Incarnation (Kid Sensation #7)Since I'm hoping to release the next book soon, I posted a cover reveal for <i>Incarnation (Kid Sensation #7)</i> <b><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/cover-reveal-incarnation-kid-sensation-7/">on my website</a></span></u></i></b>. Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-36073505982502224012019-06-11T00:54:00.005-07:002019-06-11T00:54:48.314-07:00Just posted <a href="http://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/another-excerpt-from-incarnation-kid-sensation-7/">Another Excerpt from Incarnation (Kid Sensation #7)</a> on my website.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-73332551647316036882019-06-05T23:19:00.004-07:002019-06-05T23:19:51.711-07:00Votes Are In: No Pre-Order for IncarnationJust posted about <b><i><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/votes-are-in-no-pre-order-for-incarnation/">pre-orders for Incarnation (Kid Sensation #7)</a></span></u></i></b> on my website.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-51016638398844682322019-02-10T18:11:00.001-08:002019-02-10T18:11:11.724-08:00Replication: Anatomy of a Book LaunchJust posted about <a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/replication-anatomy-of-a-book-launch/"><b>my latest book launch</b></a> on my website.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-67186626220963788412019-01-30T00:26:00.000-08:002019-01-30T00:26:10.452-08:00Replication (Kid Sensation #6) Has Been Released!<br />
Just posted on my website about <a href="http://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/at-long-last-replication-kid-sensation-6-has-been-released/"><b>the release of <i>Replication (Kid Sensation #6)</i></b></a>.<br />
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<br />Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-58457842983182960482019-01-16T22:15:00.004-08:002019-01-16T22:17:45.404-08:00Update on Replication and Excerpt From Upcoming Kid Sensation StoryJust posted an update on <i>Replication</i> and an excerpt from an upcoming Kid Sensation story on my website. You can read the post <u><i><b><a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/update-on-replication-and-excerpt-from-upcoming-kid-sensation-story/">here</a></b></i></u>.<br />
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<br />Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-26102345760924696882019-01-04T19:09:00.000-08:002019-01-04T19:32:28.369-08:00Cover RevealJust revealed the cover for Replication on my website. You can see it <b><i><a href="https://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/cover-reveal-replication-kid-sensation-6/">here</a></i></b>.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-838974576254597192018-12-20T17:26:00.000-08:002018-12-20T17:26:17.809-08:00Replication (Kid Sensation #6) is Done!<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's been a long time coming, but I'm happy to report that <i>Replication (Kid Sensation #6)</i> is finally done and in the hands of my editor. <i>Hooray!!!</i></div>
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Weighing in at a little over 500 pages, it's the longest book I've written by a significant margin - and that's with me having left a number of scenes on the cutting room floor. For reasons that are already well-documented all over my blog, this one took much longer than anticipated, but I don't plan to let that much time pass between Kid Sensation books again. Thus, I'll probably take a few days to decompress, then it's back to the grind again.</div>
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As for actual publication, we're practically at the end of December now, so I'm assuming a January release. Of course, much depends on other factors: when my editor gets it back to me, how long my formatting guy takes to do his thing, etc. Still, I'm excited that the book will be out soon.</div>
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In related news, I now have my own website: <b><a href="http://kevinhardmanauthor.com/">kevinhardmanauthor.com</a></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/shop/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrh9oeBmEc9-73fvF7SJ6YaH3ZPkZiwfn8dQsZJnGIyKRpVxRsdWA8zjlg3A7GDDJB1o_kW5kV8jwApGmnPMMZb1nD5XOxk0dEH8gl2XWEogn-FKiGOf1gVaaxYlgKVNhVXz5fGkKGZIE/s200/Baby+Beanie+KS.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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I decided a while back that getting my own website was an absolute must. I really like what I've been able to do on Blogger, but at the end of the day the site is owned by Google, and if they decide they want to lock me out of my account or delete all my content, they can do that. (In fact, I've heard of that happening to people, which is sort of what prompted me to act.)</div>
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<a href="http://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/shop/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMKeFLj5AB7A2owD7271q916MlhE9Ghr5YjURqzrWSUthCv_yDEk_jXbznGtYTxJEfzcB8geSCiEaHMsaI1k4qxKgPC1bUkBfoihXC43y9zynf0JVNssuhk_kubFNn5KZA1XWHXGax-C4/s200/Mug+KS.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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The site's actually been finished for a little while now; I was trying to wait and announce it jointly with the release of the new book, but decided to go ahead and do so now instead of waiting. It's very much like the blog, but also offers some Kid Sensation merch (some pics of which I've posted here), as well as tie-ins with my other books, should anyone be interested.</div>
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<a href="http://www.kevinhardmanauthor.com/shop/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="350" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglgsXikWaiVOQT3gIMiTcpcOQa33R5p9iafMmvosM5lKGvk1yBlb50X_eZOB05RXZKNFZRzhy39e-U3go2tp4y5UNB8D_wj7VvubVb1Kwhhb8KQpPwiYJXhHjYndnXL98CL50DzvkixGY/s200/Tshirt+KS.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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For what it's worth, I've actually got the next 3 Kid Sensation books plotted in my head (and have actually started writing them), as well as some companion novels and short stories. Frankly speaking, it's an embarrassment of riches to a certain extent. The task now is to get those (and everything else I'd like to publish) written asap.</div>
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Anyway, I'm incredibly grateful for how patient everyone's been and for the ongoing support I've received. I will do my best to get future books out at a much faster clip. </div>
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<br />Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-88425957278801421272018-11-25T05:31:00.001-08:002018-11-25T05:31:18.478-08:00Update on Replication (Kid Sensation #6)<div style="text-align: justify;">
I know that readers have been eagerly waiting for me to finish this and I have been anxious to get it done. That said I've hit two snags lately.</div>
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First, a few weekends back, I'm working away on the novel and step away from the computer for a minute. My eldest daughter gets on to do some schoolwork, which is necessary because - even though the kids have a relatively new laptop - I had failed to put MS Office on it. (Word, to be specific). When she leaves and I get back on - you guessed it - everything since the last save is gone. It's depressing, but I pour myself some liquid courage and dive back in, convinced I can make up the time. (I also load MS Office on the kids' laptop at the first opportunity.)</div>
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A week later, I'm working away on the novel when the screen goes fuzzy. (Actually, it's more like a shimmering.) Completely freaked, I look around just to make sure it isn't my eyes (thankfully it isn't), but packing up my desktop and racing out to get a diagnosis reveals that the graphics card has gone bad. I try a work-around or two, but ultimately end up buying and installing a new graphics card. It works for maybe a second - long enough for me to grab the latest version of Kid Sensation 6 (with only minimal work lost), but now the darn thing won't boot. However, I'm less worried about that - and having to get a new PC - than I am about getting my data off the hard drive. Thankfully, I've got an external hard drive that I back everything up to, so I think I'm safe. Unfortunately, when I go to retrieve my stuff from the external hard rive, there's nothing. It's been reformatted - most likely by the kids, who will randomly do stuff like that. At this point, I'm almost inconsolable.</div>
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Anyway, I spent almost every spare moment over the next week-and-a-half trying to get the PC working again, but to no avail. Reseating components, clearing CMOS, and so on... None of it did any good. From all indications, nothing was wrong; the thing just refused to work right. I finally gave up last week and put some effort into trying to find a decent Black Friday sale. The only silver lining: a last ditch effort to get my data off the hard drive actually worked, so at least I haven't lost anything. For those curious as to how, I used a <a href="https://amzn.to/2QgRGyc">Sabrent Hard Drive Docking Station</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Lay-Flat-Docking-EC-DFFN/dp/B013WODZH0/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&qid=1543150266&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=sabrent+hard+drive+enclosure&psc=1&linkCode=li2&tag=wwwinfobarr06-20&linkId=829b0ea28c70c5f18966f1a0814abfa3&language=en_US" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B013WODZH0&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=wwwinfobarr06-20&language=en_US" /></a>I just pulled my hard drive out the PC, popped it into this little baby, and then connected it to another computer. Then it was just a matter of copying my data. As far as I'm concerned, this device - which, I believe, is sometimes called a hard drive enclosure - is a lifesaver. (Of course, it probably won't help if there's a problem with your hard drive. But as long as the issue is something else, one of these may help get your data off a computer that isn't working.)<br />
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So where does that leave things with Kid Sensation 6? Before my computer woes, I was a few days from finishing. Thankfully, that's still the case, so I anticipate finishing by the end of the week. Of course, I'm now definitive proof of Murphy's Law ("If anything can go wrong, it will") so just keep your fingers crossed that the next few days are smooth sailing on the writing front.</div>
<br />Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-33888531957291962292018-10-05T20:30:00.001-07:002018-10-05T20:30:31.830-07:00Excerpt From New Series: Zero <span style="text-align: justify;">For those interested, I'm still grinding on Kid Sensation #6. In the meantime, in keeping with a request for excerpts from other series that I have in the works, here's a short one from a "zombie apocalypse" story I've been working on (working title: <i>Zero</i></span><span style="text-align: justify;">). </span><span style="text-align: justify;">As always, the usual caveats apply (mainly that this hasn't been proofed)</span><span style="text-align: justify;">:</span><br />
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<span lang="RO" style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large;">The men looked hard and dangerous, like
they’d been in enough scrapes to know how to handle themselves. Zero knew the
look and the type. He was on treacherous ground here. (It also didn’t help that
he had just narrowly escaped being lunch for a troop of zombs. He was exhausted
by the ordeal, and it showed.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“That’s far enough,” Zero said, rifle at the ready. “Grab your gear, turn
around and go. You’re not welcome here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Two of the men looked at the third (obviously the leader), who seemed to
be sizing up the situation. Zero knew what the man was thinking, as clearly as
if he could read his mind: there was only one of him – visibly beat and weary – and three of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Just hold on” the leader said. “We’re not looking for trouble. We just
thought there might be something we could use around this place.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“There’s nothing for you here,</span><span style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">”</span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Zero replied. </span><span style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">“</span><span style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">Move on.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“We’re not looking for a handout,” the man said, holding his hands up in
a non-threatening gesture. “We’d be interested in trading.” The man kept
talking – saying something about taking some things out of his bag – but Zero
had essentially tuned him out, wasn’t listening any more. Instead, he was watching
the men, their hands, their feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">As the leader talked, thinking he had Zero’s attention, the other two
slowly, craftily tried to step away and fan out. One of them, the younger one,
seemed more surefooted, shifty. Obviously sensing an opportunity, his right hand lazily drifted towards the gun at his waist. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Zero shot him in the eye. The man’s head
exploded like a watermelon stuffed with dynamite.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The leader stopped speaking, struck dumb as gore splattered him and his
friend’s nigh-headless body slid to the ground. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“What the hell!” shrieked the fat one. “You just killed him! Didn’t even
fire a warning shot!</span><span style="font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0.5in;">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Zero almost laughed. Warning shots were like dodo birds – extinct (along
with the people who used them). The current philosophy was that it a person
merited a warning shot, then you probably needed to plant a slug in them. Why
waste a bullet?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"></span>Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-11866831215834717672018-09-23T14:24:00.001-07:002019-05-24T21:03:49.974-07:00Patreon and Thoughts on Leaving the Day Job<div style="text-align: justify;">
Someone recently asked in one of the blog comments what it would take for me to leave the day job. In another comment, someone suggested that I look into Patreon, noting that some authors on the site are earning $5K per month.</div>
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First of all, it's incredibly flattering that someone who's not me thinks enough of my writing that they'd want me to do it full-time. I honestly can't imagine much higher praise than that. In addition, it's pretty much a given that whenever I do leave the day job, "Full-Time Writer" is going to be the next thing added to my résumé. That said, I'm not sure if something like Patreon would work for me, but first it might be worthwhile to talk a little about the site.</div>
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In ye olden days, many notable artists had patrons - wealthy individuals whose support allowed said artists to work on their craft rather than toil at manual labor. Everyone from Shakespeare to Leonardo da Vinci to Michaelangelo had patrons, and it was that patronage that allowed for the creation of some of the greatest masterpieces of art and literature. Patreon continues that tradition by allowing everyday folks to become patrons and support the artist(s) of their choice via monthly contributions, which can be as low as $1. That's it in a nutshell, but makes me think there are probably two basic questions that potential patrons are likely to drill down on when deciding who to support:</div>
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1) What's the ask in terms of dollars (and is it reasonable)?</div>
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2) Is this particular artist worth it?</div>
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There may be other questions that arise as well, but I tend to think those are the big ones that would apply to my own situation, as detailed below.</div>
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<b><u>What's the ask (and is it reasonable)?</u></b></h3>
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As noted above, I'm not sure that Patreon would work for me. For starters, I would have to ask for an amount that is several multiples of the $5K mentioned in the blog comment. Frankly speaking, I earn pretty good scratch from the day job (although - like most employees - I still consider myself underpaid). More to the point, I actually love what I do. The problem is that the job has become incredibly demanding lately in terms of time, leaving me less opportunities to write. Case in point, my boss calls me about 8 o'clock at night a few weeks back - a time when most people are at home relaxing after a hard day's work, but here's my scenario:</div>
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*Ring*</div>
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Me: Hello?</div>
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Boss: Where are you?</div>
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Me: At the office.</div>
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Boss: Is so-and-so with you?</div>
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Me: We're <i>all</i> here.</div>
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Boss: Are you working on thus-and-so?</div>
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Me: Yes - what do you want?</div>
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Boss: Tell so-and-so to call me. I need to talk to them about something.</div>
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Me: Will do.</div>
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*Click*</div>
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Now, in all honesty I have to say that my boss is a pretty good guy and I like him, and this is not what work has been like for the bulk of my tenure. It does, however, provide some insight into just how busy I've been of late. Unfortunately, work shows very little sign of letting up in that regard, so I'm way off the pace in terms of my writing productivity (e.g., I should have finished the next <i>Kid Sensation</i> book months ago). If I were to try to reclaim that time by leaving the day job, I'd naturally have to replace my current income. Needless to say, it would be a significant ask - it looks almost obscene when I put it on paper - and supporters on a site like Patreon might turned off by that. </div>
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I mean, let's face it: I'm not a starving artist. I'm not not working three jobs for minimum wage and trying to squeeze in writing on the side. I'm not sneaking in and out of my own apartment through a window in an effort to dodge my landlord. I'm not parking my car in my neighbor's garage to avoid having it repossessed. I don't have a pantry full of Ramen Noodles that I'm eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner.</div>
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But that's not say I haven't been there. There was a time when I was broke and hungry, and spent my last dollar on a loaf of bread - not because it made for a great meal, but simply because it was filling and would keep my stomach from growling like a grizzly someone had just poked with a sharp stick. And when that loaf was gone, I tore apart the place where I was living looking for something to eat, and the only thing I found was a pack of coffee grounds. And guess what? I ate 'em... So yeah, I've been there.</div>
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It goes without saying, however, that I'm long way from those days. And given my rumeneration from the day job, I can't shake the feeling that potential patrons would look askance at any request from me for support, although obviously my situation is a little different. Basically, I can't say something like, "When I get $1500 per month I'll quit the 3rd job and write a short story per month, and when I reach $3000 per month I'll quit the second job and write even more..." I've only got the one day job (although these days I'm seemingly putting in enough hours for two), so that's the number I've got to match. So, in a certain sense, it's go big or go home. </div>
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In short, bearing all the facts in mind, I think my ask could be construed as reasonable.</div>
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<b><u>Is this particular artist worth it?</u></b></h3>
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I like to think my work is good, but I'm not a media darling by any stretch. The NY Times isn't screaming for the public to buy my next book. I haven't been nominated for a bunch of Hugos, Nebulas and similar awards that apply to scifi/fantasy books like mine. I don't have a mob of publishers beating down my door trying to sign me to a book deal. (Okay, I have been approached before, but that's a different story.) </div>
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Thankfully, none of those things are a big deal to me. What's really important is that readers like my work, and I feel incredibly blessed by the fact that they seem to, as expressed in both reviews and sales. Thus, going on the theory that a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll simply highlight those areas with the following, which relate to <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2MX09k4"><b>Coronation</b></a></i> - the last book published in my <i>Kid Sensation</i> series:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_4gczVDHEuJGquIpP4M1YWTDsD-WPmXNFo6RrSMQ9Ojf6DJZF-DAn1FzmYx6zmW4YZHZu_pH1zWgZ8OKtGdw8m3FlGBqT7bcgYDMJ35CyfYGErePrUuGDJw3CqS-oOa-tpf8MylFXlQ/s1600/Coronation+rank+Riddle+King.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="1301" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_4gczVDHEuJGquIpP4M1YWTDsD-WPmXNFo6RrSMQ9Ojf6DJZF-DAn1FzmYx6zmW4YZHZu_pH1zWgZ8OKtGdw8m3FlGBqT7bcgYDMJ35CyfYGErePrUuGDJw3CqS-oOa-tpf8MylFXlQ/s400/Coronation+rank+Riddle+King.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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(Ranked #2 between A.G. Riddle and Stephen King - it doesn't get much better than this.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXuJoKLpxfT09oiOqygLT13Ef96qb80nDcWOwjBMZpW5nQ1xvLRYhbHJVB9x74sASRK1vEPbNYmB9HS0-F8JqzR0ICQhsp90vYhhDPq2i0azAG2hzbRwpWqNAlIObcQ-nqvayyJcWQL-g/s1600/Coronation+Ranking+Ribbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="187" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXuJoKLpxfT09oiOqygLT13Ef96qb80nDcWOwjBMZpW5nQ1xvLRYhbHJVB9x74sASRK1vEPbNYmB9HS0-F8JqzR0ICQhsp90vYhhDPq2i0azAG2hzbRwpWqNAlIObcQ-nqvayyJcWQL-g/s320/Coronation+Ranking+Ribbon.jpg" width="164" /></a></div>
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(Okay, I admit it: I love the little "Best Seller" ribbon Amazon puts on these.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIrpykLiqgMrvtrPx383ar2sDu5n9W9YKBFbKsx2EiNiptqtb3MB8z5_hJClSYvZnC9Z2ilPZo2fN5YdRG30xeWA8xOA-Z3MHVmSLr-gyj-wxO_CiyIdSKS4Smcz-xh51zw-LJv0M4FY/s1600/Audiobook+sales+10K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="1600" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIrpykLiqgMrvtrPx383ar2sDu5n9W9YKBFbKsx2EiNiptqtb3MB8z5_hJClSYvZnC9Z2ilPZo2fN5YdRG30xeWA8xOA-Z3MHVmSLr-gyj-wxO_CiyIdSKS4Smcz-xh51zw-LJv0M4FY/s400/Audiobook+sales+10K.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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(I also managed to sell 10,000 audiobooks in a little over two years)</div>
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And, while it isn't exactly a picture, here was <i>Coronation</i>'s best ranking:</div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Amazon Best Sellers Rank:</span></b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> #256 Paid in Kindle
Store (</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_dp_ts_kstore_1"><span style="background: white; color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">#1 in </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/best-sellers-books-Amazon/zgbs/books/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_1"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Books</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/25/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_2"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Science
Fiction & Fantasy</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/16190/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_3"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fantasy</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/9059889011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_4_last"><b><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Superheroes</span></b></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">#1 in </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_2_1"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kindle
Store</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/154606011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_2_2"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kindle
eBooks</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/668010011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_2_3"><span style="color: #c45500; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Science Fiction & Fantasy</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/158576011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_2_4"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Fantasy</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/6809431011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_2_5_last"><b><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Superhero</span></b></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">#1 in </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_1"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kindle
Store</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/154606011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_2"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kindle
eBooks</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/668010011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_3"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Science
Fiction & Fantasy</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/158591011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_4"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Science
Fiction</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/6809440011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_3_5_last"><b><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Metaphysical & Visionary</span></b></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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And my corresponding author ranking:</div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;">Amazon Author Rank</span></b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">beta</span><b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">#22 in </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Kindle-eBooks/digital-text/154606011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Kindle eBooks</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Science-Fiction-Fantasy/digital-text/668010011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Science Fiction & Fantasy</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Science-Fiction/digital-text/158591011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><b><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Science Fiction</span></b></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">#31 in </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Kindle-eBooks/digital-text/154606011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Kindle eBooks</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Science-Fiction-Fantasy/digital-text/668010011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Science Fiction & Fantasy</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Fantasy/digital-text/158576011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><b><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fantasy</span></b></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">#33 in </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Kindle-eBooks/digital-text/154606011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Kindle eBooks</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Literature-Fiction/digital-text/157028011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #c45500; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Literature & Fiction</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Action-Adventure/digital-text/157055011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><b><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Action & Adventure</span></b></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">#36 in </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Books-Featured-Categories/books/51546011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Books</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Literature-Fiction/books/17/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Literature & Fiction</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/720360/books/720360/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><b><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Action & Adventure</span></b></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">#40 in </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Books-Featured-Categories/books/51546011/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Books</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/Science-Fiction-Fantasy/books/25/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Science Fiction & Fantasy</span></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> > </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/author-rank/16272/books/16272/ref=ntt_dp_kar_B00CLTY3YM"><b><span style="color: #0066c0; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Science Fiction</span></b></a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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And going back a little farther in time, here's when I first broke into a Top 100 authors category, coming in at #98 - just ahead of Ernest Cline and no-name Patterson guy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNOk8DuouqBZGhswoHJhXJMYY2WXfqmblZXIBfqY9XsR8yi40OpaWzkvE1oz4PPpubIhLWlPgn6gnKG1f2ThC-1s1IVrn3quZ-bdILFmtIbmsODQOX0VQxHNLxuxrGpAyJ3ICU5VK8FQ/s1600/KDH+Author+Rank+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="813" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNOk8DuouqBZGhswoHJhXJMYY2WXfqmblZXIBfqY9XsR8yi40OpaWzkvE1oz4PPpubIhLWlPgn6gnKG1f2ThC-1s1IVrn3quZ-bdILFmtIbmsODQOX0VQxHNLxuxrGpAyJ3ICU5VK8FQ/s320/KDH+Author+Rank+II.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unfortunately, if you look today, my rankings are no longer what they were. That, of course, is a function of not having released a new book in a while due to time constraints (which is basically the problem). Nevertheless, in all modesty and reflecting on the above, I believe I can continue to be commercially successful as an author. And, as I've noted many times, I actually write pretty fast. (My hope is produce a novel every two months whenever I decide to pursue writing full-time.)</div>
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In retrospect, I like to think there are some patrons out there who would consider me worth supporting. Still the ask is huge, and I detest the optics when I see the number on paper. But it is what it is. (And the idea of writing full-time has enormous appeal, so maybe Patreon is an option I should pursue regardless.) Who knows? I'll noodle on it some more, talk to the wife - pray about it - and see what happens. </div>
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Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-77370635755188347202018-09-17T22:13:00.001-07:002018-09-19T20:07:25.381-07:00Excerpt From New Series: The Seventh Shade<div style="text-align: justify;">
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In one of my prior comments, I mentioned the other series I'd been working on and that I might publish excerpts from them. A reader asked when some of those excerpts might be forthcoming, so here's one from an urban fantasy I've been drafting (working title: <i>The Seventh Shade</i>). As with my other excerpts, the usual caveats still apply (ie, this isn't fully fleshed out, hasn't been proofed, etc.):</div>
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; text-indent: 35.3pt;">The house suddenly trilled, letting out a noise that most would
interpret as some kind of creak or groan. It had recognized me, and I
interpreted the sound it made as one of almost extreme bliss. Like everyone
else, the house had probably assumed that I was long dead (or gone forever).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I smiled as Lucia
and I walked up to the front steps, then laid a hand on the wall next to the
front door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Yes, I’m
alive,” I said, grinning. “And it’s great to be back.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The house
trilled again in excitement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Simply put, the
house was a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">vivo domus</i>, a living
domicile. There were other houses that were alive, but most of them were either
cursed, haunted, or demonically possessed. In one manner or another, the bulk
of them were sinister and wicked. My family’s manse was the only one I’d ever
heard of that was benevolent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I reached for
the doorknob, only to have the house creak ominously as I touched it,
indicating that there was danger inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I glanced back
towards the various campfires. From the tracks on the ground, there had been scores
of werewolves here last night. There could be dozens on the other side of the
door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Doesn’t matter</span></i><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">, I decided. </span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; text-indent: 35.3pt;">Even if there
were a hundred lycanthropes inside, I didn’t have to fight them all.</span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; text-indent: 35.3pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; text-indent: 35.3pt;">I only had to beat one:</span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; text-indent: 35.3pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; text-indent: 35.3pt;">the alpha. </span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; text-indent: 35.3pt;">With that
thought, I opened the door and stepped inside, with Lucia right on my heels.</span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; text-indent: 35.3pt;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">We found
ourselves in the foyer. As I closed the door behind us, the first thing I
noticed was the smell. Here, in an enclosed environment, the stench of urine –
and other pungent odors – was much stronger than outside. As before, Lucia
announced her displeasure with an audible hiss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I took a moment
to get my bearings. Needless to say, the layout of the place really hadn’t
changed. However, the interior of the house had suffered abuse that matched or
exceeded the neglect I’d seen outside. Furniture and chairs lay upended or
smashed, stair railings had been ripped off, the carpet in a nearby room was
soiled beyond repair, and there was trash everywhere. In short, the place
looked like a dump.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Not even the
house itself had escaped damage, as chunks of plaster had been gouged out of
the walls in various places – most notably in the form of three parallel lines
that I recognized as claw marks. Seeing my home marred like this angered me far
more than anything else I’d seen. Catching the sound of voices coming from the
living room, I marched intently in that direction, smoldering with rage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">There were
seven of them in the room when I entered – six males and one female.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were in human form but completely naked,
as werewolves tend to do when left to their own devices. One was in a corner, urinating;
the others were on their haunches in a circle, heads and hands jerking in an
odd fashion such that it took me a moment to realize what was happening: they were
feeding. None of them immediately took note of my presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">There was a three-legged
stool lying on its side near my feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
picked it up and then angrily flung it at the fellow pissing in my living room. It struck him
on the calf of his left leg, sweeping the limb out from under him. Off-balance,
he toppled over backwards, arms flailing. His head hit the floor with an
audible thunk, like a coconut falling onto a concrete sidewalk. He lay there
and didn’t move.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The sound of
their companion hitting the floor brought all the other werewolves to their
feet. They glanced at their friend, and then – finally noticing me – turned in
my direction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Get out of my
house,” I said firmly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">There was
silence for a moment as a couple of the lycanthropes exchanged glances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Wh-what?”
asked the female, a gorgeous but wild-haired blonde, after a few seconds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“This is my
place,” I stressed. “My home. You don’t belong here. Get out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">As I was
speaking, I had noticed the nostrils of several of the werewolves flare. I
smiled internally, understanding that they must be confused. Looking at me,
they likely saw someone they thought was human, but my scent probably befuddled
them. Back in the nether realms, seems like there was always something chasing
you in order to eat you, enslave you, sacrifice you, or worse. You learn to
camouflage your smell. Thus, the group in front of me probably wasn’t sure what
to make of me. Then Lucia hissed and momentarily drew their attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The largest of
the group – a big guy about six-six in height and built like a weightlifter – suddenly
shifted his gaze back to me and smiled. He had obviously picked up my companion’s
scent and assumed her smell was masking my own (which wasn’t too far from the
truth).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Listen,” said
the big guy, whom I pegged as the alpha, “I don’t know who you are, but this
place belongs to us. Now normally, you’d get ripped to shreds walking into the
wolf’s den, but I’m still feeling buzzed from our party last night. Plus, I
think it’s entertaining that you knocked Nick” – he gestured towards the
unconscious fellow – “on his ass, so I’m going to give you a chance. Turn
around and leave, then run as fast as you can. And maybe, just maybe, you can
get away before we catch you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The big fellow’s
companions snickered, and I could see in their eyes how elated they were at the
thought of hunting fresh prey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“I’m not going
to be run out of my own house,” I stated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The alpha
laughed. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Your</i> house? Dude, we’ve
lived here for fucking years and had full run of the place. Marked it as our
territory. Carved our names in the floorboards. Taken dumps in the hallway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does it sound like this place belongs to
anybody else?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Completely
livid, I clenched my fists. “You need to leave. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The alpha
grunted I exasperation. “Man, you are really fucking up my mood, and I’m trying
to be a nice guy here – give you a chance.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“To hell with
that,” said the blonde. “Fuck him up, Bone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Yeah,” chimed
in one of the other werewolves. “Tear him to pieces.” The rest of their friends
murmured in agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Don’t try it,
Bone,” I advised as I saw the alpha debating. “It’s piss-poor advice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Bone stepped
towards me, but put a hand out when his companions attempted to follow, effectively
telling them to stay back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“I’ve got this,”
he said over his shoulder, then turned to me. “Man, I don’t know if you’re
drunk, or addled, or just plain stupid, but a minute from now when I’m ripping
your arm out of its socket, you’ll be wishing you’d run when you had the chance.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A moment later
he arched his back, and a weird popping noise began to reverberate in the room.
I recognized the sound as bones and tissue realigning themselves, sinew and
muscle being reconfigured as Bone began to morph into his wolf form. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I quickly muttered
a hex under my breath as hair began to sprout from his body. A moment later,
Bone’s metamorphosis seemed to grind to a halt, but well before he had fully
transformed. The result was something that was a little difficult to take in
with a single glance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Bone’s back was
now large and hunched, full of muscle and obviously heavy. His hands had
expanded in size, becoming hefty but lacking any claws. One of his legs had
become digitigrade, the ankle extending up like that of a canine until it gave
the appearance of a backwards knee; the other had just been starting to
transform, but was still identifiably human for the most part. On his face, his
mouth and nose had just begun extending into a muzzle. However, the lower jaw
was noticeably longer than the upper, and his teeth had not fully reshaped into
canines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">All in all, he
looked like the failed genetic experiment of a mad scientist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Bone let out a
groan of confusion. “Wha rih ru ru ru rhee?”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">His eyes went
big as saucers and he put a hand up to his throat as he realized that the words
coming from his malformed mouth were barely recognizable.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I smiled,
noting that he was asking, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What did you
do to me?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Basically, I had used a spell to slow down his metamorphosis (but I wasn’t telling <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">him</i> that). He was still transforming,
but at a much slower rate that what was normal. More to the point, in his
current state, he really wasn’t designed for combat – a fact that I took full
advantage of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">With one
wolfhound leg and one that was still pretty much human, Bone lacked balance to
a large extent. <span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Planting
my left foot, I then lashed out with my right, kicking him solidly on the side
of his human knee</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The leg buckled, and he went
down, yelping in pain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Bone
instinctively reached out his hands to catch himself as he fell. He did an
adequate job of it, but a second after he hit the floor, I stomped down hard on
the forearm of one of his outstretched hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was rewarded with the sound of bone cracking and my adversary howling,
then pulling the arm in and cradling it to his body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I detached the
tendril from my hip and extended the weapon, making it long like a staff. I then
swung it forcefully at Bone’s side, like a golfer trying to drive a ball three
hundred yards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He
didn’t go that far, but he did end up flying across the room</span>, smacking against a wall and then
dropping down to the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Still furious,
I marched towards him, the tendril now glowing in my hand with a crimson light.
The other werewolves, recognizing that they were out of their depth, maintained their human forms and stepped lithely out of my way. (They'd obviously seen what I'd done to their leader when he tried to "wolf out," and none of them seemed eager to experience it firsthand.) When I reached Bone, I raised the tendril over
my head, ready to cave his skull in. Whining in distress like an injured pup,
the alpha raised his good hand in supplication, basically asking for mercy. As
he did so, I saw white bone sticking out of his side, and I realized my last
swing with the tendril had broken some ribs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I hesitated,
unsure of what to do. I was already in a bad mood, and these werewolves had
pissed me off further with the mistreatment of family home. Moreover, they
probably would have killed me if given the chance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it just didn’t feel right to
continue beating the stuffing out of this guy when he was clearly out of the
fight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I lowered the
hand holding the tendril, but still held it threateningly. “For the last time, I’m telling you: get out of my house.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The other
werewolves, seeing an opportunity, rushed to their fallen leader and began helping
him up while I took a few steps back. Once on his feet, Bone coughed once,
spitting up blood. He really was in bad shape. Still, he gave me a steady look
and then nodded, indicating that he understood what I’d said. His people then
began helping him to the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“One more
thing,” I said, causing the group to stop and look at me as a whole. “Don’t get
any cute ideas about coming back here and getting revenge. If I see any of you
around, if you piss within a mile of this house, if you so much as howl at the moon in a
canyon and the echo reaches me, I’m going to decorate this whole fucking place with wolf<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span>pelts. Understand?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Still looking
at me, Bone nodded again. A moment later, his people resumed shuffling him towards
the door. A short time later, I was alone in the house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-53840908477861947622018-09-13T21:03:00.000-07:002018-09-13T21:03:44.522-07:00New Milestone: 10,000 Audiobooks Sold<div style="text-align: justify;">
Okay, so I haven't posted for a while - been waiting for something momentous to talk about. It was supposed to be completion of the next book (Kid Sensation #6), but I haven't been able to wrap it up yet, despite my best intentions. And then this happened this morning:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3Q-Jwehlltd9aDt797fjIXKPkpIoCjcQEA2tqP_cEJ5FGVyIG5iYtQyETdW8_gVEc8KtuI7SNwNyPh4npTJpzUSklWXHhEhYi6fURC9ceLxeZn7QWPUXaacgd2vFPLyQO7-VoBeH53E/s1600/Audiobook+sales+10K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="1600" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3Q-Jwehlltd9aDt797fjIXKPkpIoCjcQEA2tqP_cEJ5FGVyIG5iYtQyETdW8_gVEc8KtuI7SNwNyPh4npTJpzUSklWXHhEhYi6fURC9ceLxeZn7QWPUXaacgd2vFPLyQO7-VoBeH53E/s400/Audiobook+sales+10K.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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That's 10,003 audiobooks sold. Obviously not a bad way to start the day. Of course, I knew it was coming, and had been watching for a couple of days to see when I'd go over the 10K mark. Needless to say, there are others who have done a lot better than me, but I feel blessed to have cleared that hurdle just a little more than 2 years after getting into audio. </div>
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The weird thing about it is that, initially, I didn't even think about making audio versions of my books (and it was years before I actually did). Now, of course, I'm incredibly thankful that I took the plunge. (That's me taking my own advice - as stated in another post on this blog - and deciding to pursue all possible revenue streams.) The goal at this juncture is to get audio versions of all my work, but I'd really like for Kid Sensation #6 to be the next audiobook so I've held back on getting any more done.</div>
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For those interested, I will say that getting to 10,000 audiobooks was much more of a chore than doing so with ebooks. For starters, there are few avenues for marketing audiobooks, so promotion opportuities are limited. (If you're lucky, maybe you'll have a book selected as the Audible Deal of the Day. Hasn't happened to me yet, but I keep hoping.) I did get a book selected for a different Audible promotion last fall (<b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2NF0M6w">Warden: Book 1</a></i></b>), and it helped me move a few hundred copies. For the most part, however, it's been difficult finding a way to get audiobooks in front of the right audience. That being the case, I count myself fortunate to have obtained this level of sales.</div>
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As always, I'm grateful to readers (and now listeners!) for their support. If you don't yet have an Audible account, you can get a free trial (and a free copy of one of my audiobooks) by clicking on any of the relevant links on my <a href="http://kevinhardman.blogspot.com/p/books.html"><b><i>Books Page</i></b></a>. And for those waiting on KS6, I'm working on it and will try to get it out as soon as possible.</div>
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Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-25996774400555478512018-04-19T18:56:00.001-07:002018-04-29T06:29:22.128-07:00Another Excerpt From Kid Sensation #6<div style="text-align: justify;">
I promise, I'm working as fast as I can to get the next book out. In the meantime, here's another excerpt:</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">With Myshtal
promising not to foretell any more of the action, we went back to watching the
movie. However, we’d only been watching a few minutes when the phone rang.
There was a cordless extension in the theater room, and – knowing that Mom was
working and that my grandparents were probably in bed – I teleported the phone
into my hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I switched the
phone on and gave a perfunctory “Hello.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Hey,
handsome,” said a honeyed feminine voice on the other end of the line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Hey,” I
replied as I came to my feet, smiling at hearing my girlfriend’s voice. I
gestured to Myshtal that I needed to take this call, then began walking towards
the door after she nodded in acknowledgement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“What are you
doing?” Electra asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Thinking about
you, of course.” I stepped out of the theater room and closed the door behind
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Good answer,”
Electra said, giggling. As always, her laughter was intoxicating and
infectious, making me chuckle along with her. “Seriously though, are you busy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“No – just
watching a movie.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Feel like
hanging out?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Is that a
trick question?” I asked, causing her to laugh again. I had rarely, if ever,
turned down a chance to spend time with her. “Should I pop by your house?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“No, not
tonight,” she said, causing me to frown in confusion. Why ask me to hang out if
she really didn’t want to? Then she added, “Just buzz me in.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Huh?” I
muttered, more confused than before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Buzz me in,”
she repeated. “I’m at the gate.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Smiling now, I
pressed the digits on the phone that would cause the large, wrought-iron gate
at the embassy entrance to open.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Be there in a
sec,” I said, barely waiting for Electra to acknowledge my statement before
hanging up the phone and setting it on a nearby table. I then teleported outside, to the bottom of a
wide stoop which consisted of about a dozen set stone steps that led up the
embassy’s front door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It was a rather
dark night; what little illumination there was came mostly from a couple of
ornate post lights – one at each end at the foot of the stoop. Looking down the
driveway, I saw a pair of headlights headed in my direction. A few moments later, a car pulled to a stop
in front of me, the engine turned off, and Electra got out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">She was dressed
in jeans, black boots, gloves, and a hooded parka that neatly framed her face. Seeing
her bundled up made me mindful of the fact that it was chilly outside and a
stiff breeze was blowing. As was typical, Electra wasn’t wearing makeup, but
she had an inherent, natural beauty that didn’t need to be enhanced by
cosmetics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">We moved
towards each other, both of us smiling, and then shared a short kiss as we met.
Eyes twinkling, Electra moved closer and wrapped her arms around me as I
embraced her as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Well, this is
disappointing,” she droned a second later. Rubbing her hands quickly up and
down the sides of my torso, she added, “Come on – do your thing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I laughed,
understanding what she meant. On cold days, when I haven’t dressed
appropriately for the weather, I tend to compensate by raising my body
temperature. On this particular, I had come outside without grabbing so much as a
light jacket. However, I hadn’t been outside long enough for the cold to start
to affect me. Nevertheless, I did as requested and raised my core body
temperature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“<i>That’s</i> my guy,” Electra intoned,
snuggling in close and placing her head against my chest. She had explained
before that being next to me when I was like this was akin to cuddling next to
a warm, cozy fire with a blizzard raging outside. “You’re so nice and toasty that I could stay
like this forever.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">She then looked
up and gave me a kiss – this time longer and more lingering than before. When
we separated, breathless, a few moments later, she smiled and then pulled in
close to me again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“You know,” I
said, “You didn’t have to drive all the way over here. I would have been happy
to come to you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“I know,” she admitted,
“but I wanted to. You shouldn’t have to come to me <i>all</i> the time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I smiled but
didn’t say anything, understanding what the meaning was behind her actions. In
terms of spending time together, Electra had once equated dating me to having a
rich boyfriend: sure, the guy could afford to pay every time they went out, but
occasionally the girl wants to – if only to show the guy what he means to her. That’s why she had chosen to drive and see me
on a cold, dark night rather than have me come to her (which, frankly speaking
would have been much easier). Basically,
it was a way of telling me I was worth it, and I loved her for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“So, how’d the
mission go?” she asked, breaking my chain of thought. She also stepped back
slightly as she posed the question, allowing us to see eye-to-eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Uh…” I
muttered. “It’s a bit of a mixed report, to be honest.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I then
telepathically shared with her the pertinent mission details. As expected, she
groaned in disapproval at certain actions on my part. Upon finishing, I decided
not to give her an opportunity to verbalize any criticisms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“So,” I blurted
out, “how was your shopping jaunt?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Nice try at
changing the subject,” she said, making it understood that she knew what I was
trying to do. “But it was fine. I think I found the perfect dress.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Oh? What does
it look like?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">She laughed.
“No, no, no, no. You’re going to have to wait until tomorrow. I want to see the
look on your face when you first catch a glimpse of me in it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I frowned.
“Well, how does telling what it looks like change that? I still won’t see you
in it until tomorrow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Because I want
your complete reaction. I won’t get that if you have an idea of what to
expect.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I shook my
head, nonplussed. “Smokey’s right. I really <i>don’t</i>
understand women.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Electra laughed
at that. “Good. That’s the way I like it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I raised an
eyebrow inquisitively. “You <i>want</i> me
confused about women?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">She grinned.
“No. I just don’t want you thinking you fully understand <i>me</i>, because the second that happens you’ll–” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Electra stopped
abruptly as the sound of hinges creaking drew the attention of us both. Almost
in unison, we separated and looked towards the top of the steps – to the front
door of the embassy. With light from the
interior behind her, we watched in silence as Myshtal stepped out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Almost
immediately, there was tension in the air. More to the point, where there had
been lighthearted mirth and amusement a moment before, I now felt a flurry of
heated emotions coming from Electra that included resentment, spite, and
annoyance (to name a few).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Myshtal wrapped
her arms around herself against the cold. At that moment I noticed she appeared
to be wearing something short, sheer and form-fitting. She obviously hadn’t
dressed for the weather, which suggested she wouldn’t be out here long –
something I considered a blessing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Hello,
Electra,” Myshtal said, giving my girlfriend a congenial wave. “It’s nice to
see you again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Yeah – you,
too,” Electra said flatly, although her tone suggested that it was anything <i>but</i> nice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It was
undoubtedly a cool reception on my girlfriend’s part, but about the best that
could be hoped for under the circumstances. Ever since their initial meeting
after I returned from Caeles – and had to tell Electra about my contracted
nuptials – the relationship between the two had been nothing short of frosty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“I’m sorry for
intruding,” Myshtal said, turning to me, “but I just wanted to ask if you
wanted me to pause the movie, Jim?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I felt, rather
than saw, Electra jerk her head in my direction. At the same time, a volcano of
emotions erupted within her – mostly bitterness and displeasure, blanketed by
layers of anger and frustration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Uh, no,” I
said, purposely avoiding looking at Electra. “You can just let it play, or
watch something else if you want.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Okay,” she
said with a nod. “Goodnight, Electra.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">My girlfriend
grunted something inaudible in response as Myshtal turned and headed back
inside. A moment later the door closed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Is that what
you were doing when I called?” she demanded. “Watching a movie, with <i>her</i>?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Yeah, we were
watching a movie,” I said defensively.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">She gave me a
smoldering look. “So the two of you were having a date night?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“What?!” I
asked, flabbergasted. “No! It was just a movie!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Really? So who
else was there?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I cut my eyes
away in impotent anger. I didn’t say anything, but I didn’t have to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“That’s what I
thought,” Electra said as she indignantly crossed her arms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“That still
doesn’t make it a date,” I stressed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“And what about
what she was wearing?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“What about
it?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“It was
practically lingerie!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I frowned in
concentration for a moment. I hadn’t really gotten a good look at what Myshtal
was wearing when she came to the door. I
suppose it <i>could</i> have been a negligee…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“That’s not
what she was wearing earlier,” I insisted, and it was true. If memory served me correctly, she had
previously been dressed in some kind of skirt-and-blouse combo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Oh?” Electra
intoned, raising her eyebrows in faux surprise. “So you’re saying that for the
movie, she decided to slip into something more comfortable?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“That’s not
what happened at all. You’re twisting the facts into something sordid.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Or maybe
you’re just being blind to the truth,” she countered. “Can’t you see what’s
going on here?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Yes, I can.
And what I can confirm is that there’s absolutely <i>nothing</i> going on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">She shook her
head in disbelief. “You can’t be that naïve, Jim. She’s prancing around in
front of you in a negligee – you think she’s doing that for her health?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I let out an
exasperated breath. “Even if what you’re suggesting is true – and I don’t
believe it is, but even if it were – you can’t possibly think I’d be more
interested in her than you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“In all
honesty, I don’t know what to think any more,” she said softly. “You two could
be doing anything, and I wouldn’t have a clue.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I stared at her
in dumbfounded amazement for a moment. “You’re kidding, right? Between my mom,
Gramps, and my grandmother, we’ve got like a million chaperones – all of them
psychic! There’s nothing going on in that house that they don’t know about or
condone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Electra seemed
to mull over my statement, then let out a long sigh and said, “Okay, but why
does she even have to stay here, under the same roof as you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Where else is
she going to stay? She literally knows no one else on the planet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Just check her
into a hotel or something. Plus, I hear they’re fixing up a place for her at
League HQ.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Come on,
Electra. Only a handful of super teens have ever stayed at the League full-time.
And with her limited experience with Earth culture, I can’t just stick her in a
hotel – even a resort. I promised to
look after her.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Yeah,” Electra
scoffed disdainfully. “Dressed like she was a moment ago, I imagine you’re
doing a <i>lot</i> of looking – and not just
after.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I bit my tongue
to avoid blurting out my instinctive response, which was to deny what was being
implied. Electra’s last statement was
bait, and any denial on my part would lead to her asking a question along the
lines of, “So you’re saying you’re not attracted to her?” Having already been painfully hooked by that
lure several times in the past few weeks, I wasn’t falling for it again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Look,” I said
calmly, “in addition to everything else, Myshtal is a guest in my family’s
home. Even if I was willing, they wouldn’t let me stick her away out of sight,
any more than they’d let me do it to you if your positions were reversed. And
in case you forgot, her great-great-grandmother rules an interstellar empire,
and Myshtal is her favorite. You don’t think the queen’s having her watched?
Having <i>me </i>watched?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“There wouldn’t
<i>be</i> any watching if you hadn’t gotten
yourself into this mess,” she stated stonily. “Did you even try to say ‘No’ to
this shotgun wedding?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“We’ve been
over this before. This was the deal I had to make to get home. Or would you
prefer that I be stuck on Caeles for decades like my grandmother?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“What I would
prefer–” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Shhh!” I
hissed, putting a finger to her lips. She immediately went quiet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I looked around
warily. Just as Electra had begun
speaking, I had picked up an emotional spike from nearby – a mix of excitement
and elation mingled with trepidation. Somebody was watching us. Acting on
instinct, I stepped protectively in front of my girlfriend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“What is it?” she
whispered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: large;">“We’ve got eyes on
us,” I answered over my shoulder. </span>Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com118tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-76353039711879092352018-04-15T08:07:00.001-07:002018-04-15T08:07:09.791-07:00The Audible Romance Package: A Sharp Stick in the Eye<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've posted a couple of times on this blog about Kindle Unlimited - Amazon's all-you-can-read subscription program. For authors, being in the program means you get paid by the number of pages subcribers read, and for most of my time in KU the pay rate has been around $.005 (roughly, half a cent per page). Being in KU also means that your books have to be exclusively on Amazon. (I abhor the exclusivity provision, but that's another story altogether.) That said, I've been fairly satisfied having my books in KU.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Recently Amazon released a similar service for audiobooks. Dubbed the "Audible Romance Package," it was supposed to be an audio version of KU: for a set price (ranging from $6.95 to $14.95 per month), listeners could have access to a huge swath of romance audiobooks in an all-you-can-listen-to fashion. That being the case, it appears that many romance authors signed up, as the program was advertised as having thousands of audiobooks. It was certainly a logical move: although - like with KU - authors were likely to make less on a per-minute basis than from a full sale, one could reasonably expect to reach more listeners and thereby gain more exposure. And then came the initial payout, which was indeed a shocker: $0.0009556 per minute.<br />
<br />
That's not a typo. <u><i><b>$0.0009556</b></i></u>. Per. Minute.<br />
<br />
To put that in perspective, if you had an audiobook in the program that was 10 hours long, you'd make about 57 cents if a subscriber listened to the entire thing. (And about half that if you were doing a royalty split with a narrator.) Needless to say this kind of payout is not only ridiculously absurd but practially obscene - especially when you consider how expensive audiobooks are to produce. You'd think that someone at Amazon would have looked at the numbers and said, "Whoa. Something is way off here." But that seemingly didn't happen, and once participating authors found out the rate, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.<br />
<br />
But in addition to the low payout, there was another effect: normal sales dropped. Of course, this wasn't entirely unexpected. Why would a listener buy an audiobook for, say, $20, when they can get it and thousands of others for only $14.95? In combination with the low payout, this turned into a double-whammy for participating authors. (Although I don't want to be taken as an alarmist, I believe this also creates a problem which threatens the entire audiobook ecosystem, but I'll circle back to that later.)<br />
<br />
As one might imagine, authors in the program have since been demanding that their books be removed from the Romance Package. At that point, after the villagers had all grabbed torches and pitchforks, Amazon decided to issue additional bonuses, ranging - based on what I've read - from about $25 to $150. For most authors, however, it doesn't appear to be nearly enough to make up for this particular debacle.<br />
<br />
Plainly speaking, Amazon needs to fix this, and there are a couple of solutions that come to mind. First, if they're going to stick with compensating authors on a per-minute basis, they need to guarantee a minimum rate that is at least several multiples of the current payout. So, if they were to commit to, say, four times the sharp-stick-in-the-eye that constituted the initial rate, a 10-hour book would earn $2.28. That's quite likely less than what the author would get for an average sale, but a passable tradeoff for getting more eyes and ears on one's work.<br />
<br />
Next, they could pay authors a flat rate to be in the program - something akin to what happens in Prime Reading. (For those unfamiliar with it, Prime Reading is another KU-like program that lets Amazon Prime members read as much as they want of selected books.) So, instead of being paid on a per-minute basis, an author might get something like $500 for letting their audiobook be in the program for a limited amount of time. This would require that Amazon do a bit of curating, such that - like Prime Reading - authors are invited to participate rather than making it a free-for-all, but it would undoubtedly be more palatable than the publicity nightmare the program has turned into.<br />
<br />
Another option would be to combine a payment-per-borrow with the rate-per-minute structure. Much as some salesman get paid on a salary-plus-commission basis, this would pay participating authors a set amount each time one of their audiobooks was listened to, plus a certain amount per minute. Thus, our hypothetical author with a 10-hour audiobook might get, for instance, $2 each time his audiobook was borrowed, plus the 57 cents for a full listen-through. This would result in a total payment of $2.57. Again, that's probably lower than what would be earned with a sale, but probably enticing enough to get authors on board.<br />
<br />
Basically, there are probably a lot of options Amazon could pursue to make this program workable. It's also not difficult to see that this is probably a pilot program, paving the way for similar offerings in other genres: mysteries/thrillers, fantasy, sci-fi, etc. However, if they don't fix the payout, I see the damage extending well beyond what we've seen thus far, and here's why:<br />
<br />
Audiobooks are typically much more expensive than ebooks to produce - thousands of dollars in many instances - which is why many authors forego releasing them altogether. Now, suppose an author spends $1000 to release a 10-hour audiobook and puts it in the Audible Romance package. Just to keep the numbers fairly nice and even, let's assume he gets an average royalty of $3.33 per sale. Thus, it would take about 300 sales to earn back his $1000 investment. However, in the program, he only earns 57 cents per full listen-through, meaning it would take the equivalent of 1754 sales (1000 divided by .57) to earn back his $1000 - almost 6 times as many as it would take out of the program. Naturally then, our hypothetical author may decide not to put his audiobook in the romance package.<br />
<br />
But, as noted above, normal sales are falling off because Audible Romance subscribers are getting their fill with the program offerings. Unless they are rabid fans of a particular author, they're not interested in paying additional money to listen to audiobooks that aren't part of their all-you-can-listen-to package. Thus, our hypothetical author is getting far fewer sales than anticipated.<br />
<br />
Now our author has a dilemma: he can't make money in the program because of the low payout, and he can't make money out of the program because of the lack of sales. Bearing in mind the costs involved, the bloom starts to come off the rose with respect to producing audiobooks. Of course, rather than paying upfront for an audio version, the author could agree to a royalty-split with the narrator (which would require splitting any royalties 50-50 with the narrator for 7 years). However, if the <i>author</i> can't make any money from releasing an audiobook, how is the narrator going to earn anything? (After all, 50% of nothing is still nothing.) So, narrators may understandably start refusing to do royalty-splits, meaning that even fewer authors will be creating audiobooks if they have to foot the total bill out of their own pocket.<br />
<br />
At the end of the day, the program (in its current iteration) is likely to discourage authors from producing audiobooks - especially if it spreads to other genres. Although Audible is not the only player in terms of audiobooks, they are the biggest and have the most market share, so when they introduce products like the Romance Package, it alters the entire landscape. Ergo, while I'm not saying its the end of audiobooks, the new subscription service clearly disrupts the current ecosystem by making it substantially harder to be profitable in audio. Personally, I've been able to do very well with audiobooks thus far, but authors with better sales than me are now wondering if its worth it continue producing audiobooks. That, to me, is a surefire indicator that this a very serious problem. Amazon needs to fix this asap.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-19750736394563610702018-01-01T10:23:00.000-08:002018-01-01T10:23:11.112-08:00Update and Excerpt from Kid Sensation #6<div style="text-align: justify;">
Happy New Year! The time has truly flown by, because it feels like just yesterday that we were entering 2017. Hopefully everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is ready to start the new year with a bang.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Getting right to the point, I know that many of my readers are anxiously awaiting the next Kid Sensation novel. I really hate talking about progress and estimated completion dates because it always seems like doing so jinxes things. That said, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I'm really close to finishing and hope to wrap it up by the end of January. However, my publisher still has to work her magic on the manuscript afterwards, so that an actual release date probably won't be until February, at the earliest. (And that's not accounting for the time my formatting guy needs to do his thing.)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, I thought it might be worthwhile to publish an excerpt from the new book, with the usual caveats, of course (ie, my editor hasn't seen this yet, etc.):</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Despite having
gone up against bad guys before, this was officially my first mission, the
first one where my presence was actually sanctioned by the Alpha League.
However, because of the individual we were about to face off with – Dream
Machine – putting me (or someone like me) on the mission roster had almost been
a foregone conclusion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Technically,
Dream Machine wasn’t a person. He had started off as an artificial intelligence
– a set of complex computer programs designed to help people with dementia
through direct interface with the human brain. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Initially, the
project was considered a roaring success. Somehow, however, the AI not only
outgrew its original programming but also became self-aware. Moreover, through its
incipient work with those suffering from dementia, it had somehow developed to
the ability to manipulate human perception.
In short, it could cause people to see hallucinations, among other
things. Taking on the name Dream Machine (and a masculine persona), the AI had
decided that it could best fulfill its original purpose of helping people by
conquering humanity. Thus, since
escaping several years ago from the computer network where he was housed, Dream
Machine had made world domination his top priority.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">All of this
flitted through my mind as we got closer to the elevator. Phasing through the
roof, we found the interior of the elevator just as arenose and cobwebbed as
the shaft we’d just left. Changing direction, I now moved us forward, taking us
through the rusted-shut elevator doors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first thing
I noticed when we emerged was light. Previously, we had been making our way
through the subterranean tunnels and hallways in almost complete darkness. Now,
however, there was a fair amount of illumination.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Glancing
around, I saw that we were in a sizeable chamber that seemed to extend about a
hundred feet ahead of us, as well as rise several stories in height. The light
I had noticed apparently stemmed from two sources: electric bulbs that seemed
to have been placed haphazardly throughout the place, and steel drums being
used as burn barrels. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Much to my
surprise, there were people scattered throughout the place – some old, some
young, some alone, some with families. I
had no idea where they had come from or how they’d managed to find their way
this far underground, but one look at their threadbare clothing, well-worn
footwear, and the multitude of sleeping bags made it clear to me that they were
homeless.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Picking up a minor
twinge of surprise from Mouse, I leaned towards him and whispered, “They’re
real.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mouse merely
gave a solemn nod in response as he removed his goggles. Like me, he had
clearly not expected to find people here, and my statement was an indication to
him that these people actually existed, as opposed to being illusions
fabricated by Dream Machine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">This was the
real benefit of having me on this mission. Basically, Dream Machine’s illusions
only appeared within the visible light spectrum. In other words, they only
manifested within the range of the spectrum that was visible to the human eye.
Ergo, people with normal vision were susceptible to the hallucinations he
created, but someone like me – with my vision currently <i>outside</i> the visible light spectrum – couldn’t see them at all. That meant I could tell what was real and
what wasn’t. Moreover, my empathic abilities also served as a differentiator,
since illusions don’t have emotions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the moment,
I was picking up the usual emotions that one might expect from people dealing
with homelessness: worry, fear, dread, and so on. At the same time, however, I picked up on
feelings of comfort, hope, friendliness, and the like. Basically, on an overall
basis, it wasn’t much different that the sentiments I’d pick up from any random
group of people. Thus, convinced that we were in no immediate danger, I placed
Mouse and myself on the ground and made us substantial again. By that time,
however, our presence had been noted. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Up to that point,
there had been a multitude of conversations going on, but they quickly ground
to a halt as those assembled became aware of strangers in their midst. Slowly,
like the tide inexorably crashing on the shore, a wave of silence seemed to
wash over those around us as all eyes turned in our direction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">I didn’t pick
up on any indications of malice, but the sea of staring eyes made me wary. Then, almost simultaneously (and so closely
in unison that it might have been choreographed), everyone around us pointed towards
the far end of the chamber, where another set of double doors was located.
Quite plainly, they knew who we were (or at least why we were there).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Taking our cue,
Mouse and I began heading towards the doors. As we walked, I couldn’t help but
feel a slight bit of guilt as I noticed those around us huddling close to the
burn barrels for warmth. Although we were on the verge of spring, it was still
cold outside. Assuming there was some
kind of ventilation system down here – and there had to be for these people to
get air (not to mention preventing the burn barrels from filling the place with
smoke) – it was probably cold air that was coming in. Thus, while not as wintry
as being on the streets, it was quite likely that it could get cold enough down
here to get uncomfortable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">For Mouse and
I, the League uniforms that we wore were not just well-insulated, but also
loaded with so much technology that getting a chill was the last thing we had
to worry about. Needless to say, we
hadn’t done anything wrong, but I felt guilty all the same about being warm and
cozy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">In addition, I
noticed that the space we were in wasn’t actually designed to be the huge
chamber I initially took it to be. Upon closer inspection, I saw that Mouse and
I were actually on the ground floor of what had been a multi-story facility of
some sort. (In retrospect, I actually remembered floating past several floors
as we had come down the elevator shaft.) From all indications, some portion of
the structure had collapsed, leaving several rooms on multiple floors open and
visible, thereby creating the semblance of a large space. Frankly speaking, it
put me in mind of a wrecking ball that had smashed into the side of a building,
leaving much of the interior exposed to the outside.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">We were about a
quarter of the way to the double doors when everyone – again, in synchronized
fashion – dropped their hands. Presumably we knew which way to go at that
juncture, so the chamber’s occupants (at least those on the same floor as us)
busied themselves with hurriedly stepping out of our path, as if we had a
disease they might catch. They still didn’t speak, however; they merely
continued to watch us in stony silence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">We had almost
reached the double doors when a young girl – about eight years old or so –
dropped a doll she was holding as she stepped out of our path. I had just come
abreast of her at the time, so I bent down to retrieve her plaything at the
same time that the girl herself did. Our simultaneous action resulted in us
almost bumping heads, but our comic timing was slightly off. Thus, although we didn’t inadvertently head
butt each other, her face did wind up close to my ear.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Watch the
shadows,” she hastily whispered, at the same time taking her doll (which I had
reached first) from my hand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">I stood up,
frowning slightly over what I’d just heard and trying to discern the meaning. I
glanced at the girl, who had just been gripped firmly by the arm, pulled back,
and shushed by a woman who presumably was her mother. Still pondering her
words, I stepped forward to join Mouse, who was already at the doors (which
appeared to be locked). My mentor looked at me expectantly. Knowing what he
wanted, I phased the doors and we stepped through.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">We now found
ourselves in a spacious tunnel. The place was modestly lit with a few
incandescent lights, which provided enough illumination that Mouse didn’t need
his NVGs. A couple of darkened, recessed spaces in the tunnel walls indicated
the presence of several corridors that presumably led to other areas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“There,” Mouse
said, pointing at what appeared to be a metal post with some blinking lights
that stood in the middle of the tunnel. He ran towards it, with me right on his
heels.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">As we
approached, I realized that the flashing lights were actually diodes on a small
black box about the size of my palm. It was attached to the pole at a height of
about four feet. The pole itself was
about nine feet tall and was not just in the middle of the tunnel, but also
centered between two railway tracks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“This is it,”
Mouse said, pulling a thin cable from a pouch at his belt. “One of the computer
hubs connected to Dream Machine.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“That’s a
computer?” I asked in surprise as Mouse used the cable to connect his tablet to
a port on the black box.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Yeah,” Mouse
assured me. “Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
shrugged. “I guess when I think
‘computer’ I envision things like a keyboard and monitor.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Dream Machine
is an AI. He doesn’t need that kind of interface to interact with a computer
program or software.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“So why have
lights down here? He obviously doesn’t
need those either.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“That’s for our
benefit - so we can see whatever he sends at us. Now get ready. Even with the
distraction provided by the others, we can’t expect to go undetected.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">I nodded in
agreement. Mouse’s last statement alluded to the fact that the two of us
weren’t the only Alpha League contingent currently engaging with Dream Machine.
Somewhere well above us and miles away, another team was making a direct
assault on an isolated warehouse that had been identified as the AI’s main base
of operations. With any luck, he’d be so preoccupied with the main team
knocking down his front door that he wouldn’t pay close to attention to us
slipping in the back. In short, what
Mouse and I were doing could be generally construed as a sneak attack on Dream
Machine’s unprotected rear. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">What we were
hoping to do, of course, was put a stop to the AI’s current machinations, which
included uploading a malicious code to an orbiting communications satellite.
Basically, in order to manipulate what a person was seeing or hearing, Dream
Machine usually had to be in close proximity to the affected individual.
However, if he could take control of the satellite in question (which is what
the code was designed to do), it would give the AI a much broader reach –
global in fact. In brief, he’d be able to influence the perception of almost
anyone, anywhere on the planet. And if Mouse’s calculations were correct (which
was usually the case), the upload would be complete in about fifteen minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Needless to
say, the easiest way to stop Dream Machine would have been to simply shut down
the satellite. Unfortunately, permission
to do so hadn’t been forthcoming. Apparently the satellite in question had
certain military applications, and making it go dark – even temporarily – would
have compromised several sensitive operations. (The requisite bureaucratic
decision makers had pretty much dismissed the suggestion out of hand.) Thus, we
had been forced to employ our current stratagem.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">I thought about
all of this as Mouse went to work typing on his tablet. In addition to giving
us access to Dream Machine’s systems, hubs like the one Mouse had connected his
tablet to were used by the AI as an escape hatch – a means for him to make a
quick getaway to the internet when necessary. Thus, we were not only hoping to
use it to disrupt his current plans, but to also trap him but shutting down his
exit route.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Without
warning, I heard a noise like the growl of a large predator coming from
somewhere nearby. Quickly, I spun around in a circle, trying to pinpoint the
source of the sound, but couldn’t see anything. Moreover, I wasn’t picking up
any emotional vibes from anything other than Mouse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">The growl
sounded again – closer, and in a way that hinted at anger…or hunger.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Polar bear,”
Mouse announced in answer to my unasked question.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Where?” I
asked still looking around.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Right in front
of me,” Mouse stated, continuing to type without missing a beat. “Just took a
swipe at my head with a massive paw.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I don’t see
anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Good,” Mouse
declared. “That’s the entire reason you’re here.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">I didn’t
respond, but his words reminded me of why I had been included on this mission:
my ability to see outside the visible light spectrum, which meant that I would
be unaffected by any hallucinations that Dream Machine might employ. Being able to separate fact from fantasy was absolutely
critical at this juncture if we were going to stop him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately,
although I wasn’t visually vulnerable to Dream Machine’s illusions, I was
affected on an auditory level. In essence, I could still hear them, even though
they weren’t visible to me. Thus, when I looked to where Mouse indicated the
polar bear was located, I didn’t see anything other than mentor’s shadow cast
against the wall. With his fingers
flying across the tablet as he typed, the image on the wall gave the impression
of a mad composer trying to complete his <i>magnus
opus</i> within the span of a few minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">After a few
seconds, the sound of the growling polar bear melted away. It was replaced
almost immediately, however, by an ominous creaking, followed by the sound of
numerous heavy items thunderously striking the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Cave in,”
Mouse said by way of explanation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">And so we
continued for the next minute or two, with me hearing an odd new sound every few
seconds, and Mouse identifying it for my benefit. It would almost have been a
game of sorts, were the situation not so serious, because Dream Machine
obviously knew we were here and was trying to run us off. But if this was the
best the AI could do, we probably didn’t have much to worry about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">A deafening,
animalistic roar suddenly sounded in front of me, catching me off guard.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“What was <i>that</i>?” I practically demanded.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“A dragon, by
the looks of it,” Mouse replied.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“A <i>dragon</i>?” I repeated, unable to hide my
surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Yeah – a
fire-breathing one, at that.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Okay, this I have to see</span></i><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">, I thought. I
cycled my vision back to the visible light spectrum, and sure enough – just as
Mouse had said – there was an enormous, fire-breathing dragon right in front of
us. It was winged and covered in gold-and-green scales, with a long, supple
tail that whipped back-and-forth. As I watched, the creature’s nostrils flared
and its diaphragm expanded; a moment later, its mouth opened and a stream of
fire shot out, bathing me and Mouse in flames.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">I had to give
Dream Machine credit: his creation was beautiful and incredibly life-like. Even
knowing that it wasn’t real, I still half-expected us to get burnt to a crisp.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen, and when the flames died down the dragon was
gone. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">A moment later,
however, I heard an odd clicking noise coming from overhead. Looking up, I’m sure my eyes bulged as I saw
a bloated, man-sized spider descending towards us on a silky line of webbing
from its spinneret. Almost completely black and with mandibles clacking
together spasmodically, it reached towards Mouse with long, spindly legs. Unexpectedly, it lunged in an apparent
attempt to bite my mentor’s head off. It was all I could do not to shout out a
warning, but just before its fangs made contact, the spider disappeared.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mouse gave me a
quick sideways glance, but didn’t say anything. It was a sure bet that I’d
given him some non-verbal cues that I’d switched my vision to the visible
spectrum. (Plus he was no longer giving me a play-by-play overview of Dream
Machine’s illusions, which suggested he knew that I could see them myself.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">A light
suddenly began shining at the far end of the tunnel directly ahead of us. As I
watched, it seemed to move closer towards us, like someone with a flashlight
walking in our direction – except the light seemed to be held in a steady
position. A moment, a noise like an airhorn reverberated through the tunnel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">No, not an airhorn</span></i><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">, I
thought. <i>A </i>subway<i> horn!<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">As if in
confirmation of this, the rails on either side of us began to vibrate, and I
heard the sound of a train car in motion – metal wheels grinding on metal
tracks. Dream Machine’s latest illusion was headed right for us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">With the light
shining in our faces, I wasn’t able to get a good look at the AI’s latest
fabrication, although I imagined it was a full-length subway train. However, as
it drew closer, the lights in the tunnel caused the train’s shadow to form
on the wall, and I was a little disappointed to note that it was seemingly just
a single subway car.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Shadow!<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">With klaxons
going off in my head, the word leaped to the forefront of my brain – along with
the dire warning of the little homeless girl. Thoughts racing, I reflected back
on the illusions I had seen and suddenly realized that neither of them had cast
shadows. That meant…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">I immediately –
almost simultaneously – did three things:
I cycled my vision away from the visible
spectrum; shouted a warning to Mouse that consisted solely of the word “Real!”;
and phased the two of us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">The subway car
– which was in no way an illusion – was almost on us at that point. The fact
that he sent something real (and capable of causing us grievous harm) was a
sure indicator that Dream Machine was no longer fooling around. He was intent
on stopping us by any means necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thankfully, I
had phased us in time for the subway car to pass through us harmlessly.
Unfortunately, in my haste, I forgot to phase the metal post with the computer
hub attached (although I had phased Mouse’s tablet). The train hit it at
ramming speed, ripping the post up from the ground and dragging it along with
it down the tracks. Mouse, who – to his credit – had never stopped working even
when I’d shouted that the train was real, merely turned and watched as the
post, now caught beneath the subway car’s wheels, spewed forth a bright shower
of sparks. A moment later, accompanied by the squeal of grinding metal, the
train derailed and crashed into the wall of the tunnel with a sound like a bomb
going off. The tunnel shook for a moment, causing the lights to flicker briefly
as dust came cascading down from the ceiling.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;"> A slight popping noise drew my attention to
the floor, where I noticed some exposed wiring from several cables that had
snapped when the post was dragged away. The
popping noise sounded again, in concert with a few sparks from the wiring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Please tell me
that you stopped the upload,” I said as Mouse and I stepped back from what was
obviously a live wire and I made the two of us solid again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Not enough
time,” Mouse said solemnly. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">I let out a
sigh of disgust, furious with myself. I had failed miserably. The entire reason
for me being here was my ability to differentiate reality from illusion, and I
had allowed myself to get so distracted that it affected the mission.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 35.3pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: large;">“So, that’s
it,” I said, feeling wretched. “Dream Machine wins.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com67tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-11124568752092740582017-11-24T07:48:00.000-08:002018-09-13T19:07:53.020-07:00Warden (Book 1: Wendigo Fever) is in an Audible Promotion!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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I'm pleased to announce that <a href="http://amzn.to/2iLzFWE"><b><i>Wendigo Fever</i></b></a> - the first book in my Warden series - is currently on sale for just $1.99 as part of Audible's "Treat Yourself" sale.</div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wendigo-Fever-Warden-Book-1/dp/B06XTC7GDW/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YZW4MJMFH8EHHPYHMZ35&linkCode=li3&tag=wwwinfobarr06-20&linkId=4da50f9ef7b9d0ac0e2a7bd85638265c" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B06XTC7GDW&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=wwwinfobarr06-20" /></a>To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time I've had an audiobook included in any type of Audible promotion, so I'm pretty excited. The Warden series has been successful for me, although not on the same level as my other series so I was quite surprised by this (in a good way, I might add).<br />
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I wish I could say I did something to be selected, but I didn't. (At least nothing that I'm aware of.) As far as I know, the selection process for this is somewhat akin to being picked for the Kindle Daily Deal or Audiobook of the Day: it's something we mere mortals aren't allowed to glimpse. Regardless, I feel blessed to have this opportunity. For those interested in seeing what other audiobooks are on sale, you can look <u><b><a href="http://www.audible.com/mt/2017TYSS_SFF?page=2">here</a></b></u>.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">***If you are interested in receiving information about my audiobooks - including new releases and free copies - please </span><a href="http://eepurl.com/cKVVo1" style="text-align: left;"><i><b>subscribe to my Audibook Newsletter</b></i></a><span style="text-align: left;">. (And i</span><span style="text-align: left;">f you do not have an Audible account, you can get a <b>30-day free trial</b> <b>and a free copy</b> of the </span><i style="text-align: left;">Warden (Book 1: Wendigo Fever)</i><span style="text-align: left;"> audiobook by signing up </span><b style="text-align: left;"><u><i><a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/B06XT7SZ45/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-082995&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_082995_rh_us">here</a></i></u></b><span style="text-align: left;">.)</span></div>
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Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965850447775046538.post-89806944465718134262017-11-10T18:08:00.000-08:002017-11-10T18:08:51.228-08:00Social Media Three-Card Monte<div style="text-align: justify;">
Like most people these days, I have a number of social media accounts: Facebook, Twitter, etc. Frankly speaking however, I typically use them only in connection with my writing: announcing a new release, connecting with readers, and so on.</div>
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Anyway, about a month or so ago, I'm messing around on Facebook, checking my messages and such, when I enter this area called "Message Requests." Holy Quacamole! It's got a bunch of messages in it that I've never seen before. I feel bad because some of them are from readers of my series. Even worse, several of them have been sitting there for <i>years</i>!</div>
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On top of that, there's another link that says "See filtered requests." Guess what? It's got more messages in it (and again, some are from readers). </div>
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I immediately begin writing people back, trying to explain and apologizing profusely: "I didn't know these messages existed... I just found them... Please don't judge me too harshly..." </div>
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Oddly enough, I went through a similar experience with Google not too long ago. Apparently in your gmail account there's a closing quotation mark that hangs out near the bottom left corner of the page. When you hover over it, a little description pops up that says, "Hangout conversations." I seemingly went for years without even noticing the symbol, but one day I accidentally clicked on it and guess what? Messages popped up. They were from people asking about my writing, and once again, they were years old. (And again, I hastily scrambled to reach out and apologize.)</div>
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In short, two of the accounts I generally use to connect with people seem to be hiding the ball when it comes to delivering messages. I feel like I'm playing three-card monte, trying to guess where my messages might be. (But to be fair, in the case of FB, I think this shuffling of messages is supposed to serve almost as a spam filter - i.e., messages in your inbox are from people you've friended, but "Message Requests" and "Filtered Requests" are from people you haven't friended.)</div>
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Of course, in the great scheme of things, this really isn't a big deal. However, I like connecting with readers, and I hate to think that I may have given the impression of being a standoffish lout who's too good to hobnob with the people who read his work. (What else do you think of a guy who blows you off for years?) Anyway, I'm now keeping a closer eye on the aforementioned areas to make sure nothing else slips through. However, I can't help wondering if I'm somehow missing similar chances to connect on other social media platforms. Who else is playing a shell game with me and hiding the ball?</div>
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Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05226233798269875346noreply@blogger.com2