KICKSTARTER LAUNCH: ST TOMMY NYPD, AUDIO BOOKS

Because you demanded it...
Silver Empire is creating audio books for Saint Tommy, NYPD.

Yeah, so this is going to get fun.

The books are going to be narrated by Jon Mollison.

If you don't know who he is, he's the author of one of the upcoming superhero novels Silver Empire is working on -- Overlook.

For those of you who don't know Jon by voice, you can hear him in Vox Day's audio book The Irrational Atheist, books by Martin van Creveld, Chuck Dixon, and John C Wright's Somewither.

Or you could just click here and listen to Jon do a first pass on chapter one.

Now, yes, I know, there are some audio issues. But that's why it's the first run -- and why Silver Empire is hosting a kickstarter to produce the audio book.

Yes, a kickstarter. Here we go again.

But sound engineers cost money.

Audio book readers cost money. 

(And really, do you want me to listen to me do an audio book for four hours? Or more? If you want an idea of what that's like, you can click here.)

But I recommend that you click here and just buy the audio book version, if you're into that sort of thing.

The first tier that gets you an audiobook is $15. Last time I checked, this was half the price of the cheapest audio book I've ever seen on audible, so it's a good deal. (Seriously, when did audio become so expensive? ...Says the man whose last audio book was on audio cassette or a free copy of Tom Stranger).

Right now, only Hell Spawn is being made... but even I don't know what the stretch goals are. If we break the barrier, I suspect that books 2-6 will be on the table.

Come on, who's on first?

Click here for the kickstarter

Thanks to everyone

I want to thank everyone who aided and abetted my launch of Live and Let Bite today, as well as the launch party last night.

Some of these people played around with the launch party on Facebook. Some shared links. Some boosted the signal on their blog, or their social media.

To Brian Niemeier.

To Alfred Genesson

To Jeffro Johnson

To Jagi Lamplighter Wright

To Dawn Witzke

To Russell Newquist.

To Marina Fontaine

To Kia Heavey.

To Gregory Stern (yes, I've noticed the tweets. Thanks).

Virginia Mueller of Bookhorde.

Jason Rennie.

Moira Greyland Peat.

Karl Gallagher

Trish Strucker

Ann Margaret Lewis

Brad Johnson

Yes, there are a lot of people here. In part because I've put a lot of effort into promoting the book, and asking for help, and because I have a lot of really awesome people in my general social circle.

And now ... they're still available for under $7. Enjoy.

    

#SadPuppies Bite Back and Pricing

Yes, I know I announced this in the past blog, but I spent half that blog justifying that I was going to publish it at all. So, I figure my duty now is to,

1) explain what the Hell Sad Puppies Bite Back is, for those of you who don't know, and

2) probably explain the pricing.

Sad Puppies Bite Back was one of my fever dream moments, only this one was successful. It was one of those ideas where I didn't know exactly where the ideas came from, or what the hell I was thinking, or even why it happened in in the first place? It's sort of like how I wrote It Was Only on Stun! (if that doesn't explain the book, nothing does).

Anyway, I had been looking at the Sad Puppies, and how they all decided to make fun of how evil they had been portrayed. You know, they're all evil racists and sexists, even though two are Portuguese, three are women, one's married to an Afro-American woman ... you know, what evil racist sexists do. That's why, if you look down the Sad Puppy backers, you have "Sarah Hoyt, Evil Yet Beautiful Space Princess" (Yes, as a proper name), Larry Correia has adopted the moniker as the International Lord of Hate. Etc.

So, adopting names for themselves made fun of themselves, as well as the ones who have deemed them evil.

To be honest, I have no idea how many were self-named, and how many just sort of ... happened (or how many originated with John C. Wright having fun with it all). For some reason, ever since I heard about the death threats on the Puppies, I wondered when Larry Correia or Brad would be SWATted.

All I could think of was, well, what would happen?

For those people who are not familiar with the concept of SWATting, it's the practice where someone calls 911, insisting that the target has a gun, is violent and actively threatening to shoot people, in the hopes that the SWAT team knocks down someone's door and possibly gets them killed. Fun, huh? This has been a tactic that's come up in the last year. I was going to call this SWATing Sad Puppies originally, but I can't see that title going over well.

This thing became so popular, I needed to put together its own tab on the blog. Seriously, look at the top of the page. Literally, this was something that started out as a throwaway blog, and became OVER FIFTEEN PARTS LONG.

Yes. Insane.

[For those people who have no idea what Sad Puppies is, there are two versions.  One is on the blog here, filled with snark and sarcasm, etc.  If you want something more balanced and sane, click here.]

It started out as a bit of insanity that just spiraled. Sort of like how the rest of my writing career started.

If you want samples, links to the samples are in the Sad Puppies tab above. Yes, for those of you who wanted this published, you have your wish, but I'm also not going to leave free samples.

For those of you who are wondering, YES, THERE IS NEW CONTENT. THERE IS AT LEAST ONE NEW SWATTING. I say at least because I honestly don't remember right now... it's late and I'm tired. There's also a reorder for chronology, edits for continuity and new events, introductions to establish context. There is also a SWATting of Brian Niemeier, as well as an epilogue for the David Truesdale incident.

Anyway, Sad Puppies Bite Back is available on Amazon as a paperback and as a Kindle copy. Enjoy.

Now, it's also short-ish, and costs $4.99 as a Kindle, and $9.99 as a paperback. It's expensive for a Kindle, and Cheap for a paperback.

The Kindle price is ... not my idea. It was suggested by Kindle Direct Publishing. I have no idea why. They suggested my thrillers be $2.99, but a parody satire should be $4.99. I have no flipping idea why. I will not complain -- for the moment -- because it gets me $3.46 a copy. I usually get $2 for Kindle. At best.

On the other hand, the $9.99 price on the trade paperback is cheap because: 1) it has fewer pages, 2) this price point gets me ... $3.34 from Amazon.com. Which is less than what I usually make per paperback novel, but I wouldn't make it $15, and making it $11 and change just so I make an extra buck would be awkward. Not to mention stupid.

So, if you wonder what the heck I'm doing? I'm following advice from Amazon about how to price Amazon books. Otherwise, I'm just winging it. Which is standard operating procedure around her.

Anyway, enjoy the book. 

Effective Promotion for Writers, #DragonCon 2016

"The pros discuss what works for them, and what doesn't.:

Panelists include: Jade Lee, Peter David, Faith Hunter, Gail Z Martin, and Lee Martindale.

Speaking of promotion, you might want to check out my Sad Puppy and Dragon Award Nominated Novel Honor at Stake by clicking this link. Heh.

And ... enjoy.

CLFA August Book Bomb

The Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance is doing another book bomb, where they focus attention on lesser-known fiction authors who "deserve to be better known." Yesterday and today is the book bomb.

Yes, I'm on the list.

Yes, so are authors that I've reviewed before.

So are one or two books I've reviewed before.

Take a look, I think you'll enjoy some of these. Especially the first few. Enjoy.


1. Freedom/Hate (Freedom/Hate Series, Book 1), by Kyle Andrews

2. "A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller," by Declan Finn 
"Sometimes, history can be murder."

3 Reservations, by Richard Paolinelli
"Death stalks the Reservation"

4. Farside, by Patrick Chiles
"A missing spacecraft, a cryptic message, and a fearsome secret hiding in plain sight."

5. The Raven, The Elf, And Rachel, by L. Jagi Lamplighter

6 American Warfighter, by J. Pepper Bryars
This book is about what went right in the Iraq War: The untold acts of valor by some of America’s most highly decorated combat veterans, the brotherhood they shared, and the fighting spirit that kept them alive through the war’s darkest hours.

7 From Roundheel To Revolutionary: by Susan Kaufield (A Novel By Jeff Daiell)


8 Night Machines by Kia Heavey 
It's not really cheating if it's only a fantasy … right?

9 Decisively Engaged (Book One of the Warp Marine Corps series), by C.J. Carella
They picked a fight with the wrong species.

10 Not By Sight, by Ken Prescott 

11 Operation Renfield, by Steven G Johnson

12 Nobility Among Us, by Ben Zwycky
A noble family's quiet revolution against a crumbling hierarchy of tyrants.

13 Cruncher and the Ghost, by Robert Bruce O'Connor
A story so scary you'll wet your pants laughing

14 Renegades: Origins. 
A group of misfits, including aliens, psychics, mercenaries, and a rogue assassin struggle to escape an alien prison where survival is measured in hours.

16 The Hidden Truth, by Hans G. Schantz

17 Levon's Trade, by Chuck Dixon
Levon's trade is death.

18 A Sea of Troubles, by Rado Dyne, 
Tagline: A short science fiction story about growing up, guns, and the gravity of the situation.

19 HARD BITE by Anonymous-9
A paraplegic serial killer whose daughter was killed in Los Angeles by a hit-and-run driver now targets them for murder with the help of a pet monkey.

20 On Different Strings: A Musical Romance by Nitay Arbel
Penniless Texan guitar goddess teaches British engineering professor. Hearts beat in harmony. The world has other ideas.

And, since we're doing marketing, here, the DRAGON AWARD NOMINATED HORROR NOVEL HONOR AT STAKE. 

You haven't read it yet....It's a speedy read. Most people can't put it down. So it'll be done in time for the Dragon award vote.

Castalia House Update

For those of you who remember, on May 6, Set to Kill was sent to Castalia House to be published by the Supreme Dark Lord Vox Day.

As the Injustice Gamer told me, what had been a one month turnaround was been retasked for a three month turnaround.

As of this Saturday, three months will have passed.

Normal people would assume that's a rejection, right? I have, of course, already planned for a rejection. That's why I already have a cover. I've offered some Advanced Review Copies to certain parties who will remain unnamed.

Heck, I even started planning for rejection on the Love at First Bite series, which I submitted in June.

.... And then I got a letter from Vox Day.

See, since I'm a neurotic bugger who likes to cover all of my bases, I sent two emails asking for confirmation that they at least got the submissions (I had also sent my Love at First Bite series a month after Set to Kill).

With the first one, I didn't hear back. This wouldn't be news. Name me a publisher that acknowledges every random writer who sends in a request for "Hi, have you read my book yet?"  Unheard of. Imagine Tor doing that. Or Baen.

And I figured, with the deadline approaching, it was game over. I said as much in my Facebook group.

One member of said group is L. Jagi Lamplighter Wright. At her behest, I send the second letter in on the 27th.

Hello. This is my second attempt to at least conform that Castalia House at least received the submission "Set to Kill", if not "Honor at Stake," "Murphy's Law of Vampires," and "Live and Let Bite." Madam Wright suggested I contact you to confirm the receipt of these submissions. 

Thank you. 

Nothing. Dead silence.

Then, on Saturday the 30th, I got

Hello,

We do not have these and can confirm we never received them. 

Thank you,

Vox

Blink.

Well, that's something you don't see every day. The owner and editor in chief sending in a letter, personally, to some random schlub who asked how the submission was going.

I thanked him very kindly, and went on to prepare to self publish everything. Waiting another 3 months was not something I looked forward to.

It was suggested by a few people that I ask if something to be done about this. Give Castalia another shot at it.

All I could think is Really? There are no publishing houses with a backlog (ie: most of them) that is going to expedite the books for some random idiot online. Vox was on the radio show for a few minutes, literally before he went to bed, and he cited my blog once, so .... Not going to happen.

Yes, as much as it pains me to say it, I'm just not that big a deal within the Sad Puppies world, and I don't think I exist in the Rabid Puppies world ... if I do exist, someone please tell me.

Anyway, in the spirit of "You don't ask, you don't get," I sent a reply letter at 10:30 am EST.

Mr. Day,

I am going to presume that there is no way to expidite the three month turnaround process that you have described on your blog.

Is there a way to figure out what the glitch was that prevented the books from bring submitted back in May?

And notice, I misspelled expedite. I blame my smartphone. Which is less than brilliant, obviously.

And, notice, I didn't even ask about actually doing anything. I just figured there would be nothing to do. But it was a way to continue the conversation because, well, I really wanted to know what the bleep went wrong her. Is it because I used AOL?  Can't be that, he got the second submission confirmation letter. Did I go to spam? Something went wrong somewhere.

Also note that I'm not saying that Castalia House screwed up. I'm not blaming them for anything. At all. These. Things. HAPPEN. Period. End sentence.

Two hours later, I got another reply.

Send it in again and I'll send it directly to the submissions editor with instructions for priority review.

May I say, I did not see that one coming. The neurons come to a dead stop and ponder exactly what just happened. Seriously, did the editor in chief personally arrange to have my books fast-tracked? Who does that?

Vox Day, apparently.

Keep in mind, I did not expect anything to come of the exchange aside from confirming that I was just out of luck. The SOP of most businesses state that, well, rules are rules, and if something happens, well, what can you do.

Then there was this. Huh.

Obviously, I took him up on his offer. Why? Because when the editor of a publishing house makes you an offer like that, you say YES.

Now, what does fast track mean? Perhaps it means that it takes one or two months instead of three (keep in mind, I did just drop four books on these people).

Keep in mind, they are well within their rights to tell me to toss everything from Honor at Stake onward. Remember, not only was Honor self published, it was published by another company first. Normally, that would make it doubly tainted in the publishing industry -- it would also taint publishing any sequel.

Obviously, I can't really tell which way Castalia House can jump though.

But, to be fair, the whole set of books could be rejected tomorrow, and they would be perfectly within their rights to.

So, what does the publishing schedule look like then? Well, that depends.

Obviously, I can make no plans if they like Set to Kill. If they do, then I ask them about Sad Puppies Bite Back and see if they want to run the risk of publishing it whole and entire, or if they'd want to modify it to be Tearful Puppies Bite Back, as I discussed in June.

If they like everything I sent them...my next of kin can figure out what to do next, because I'll drop dead from shock.

On the other hand....

Assuming that "priority review" shaves a month or two off the submission. Let's say I get a rejection by the end of August. I can click the button, and publish at least two out of three books. I may stagger them out a few weeks, just in case. Either way, a rejection at this stage will not impact my books that badly.

By the way, for those of you who wonder why I have almost never commented about Vox, or anything he said, or what he's like, it's because my major impression about him has been set by his book The Irrational Atheist, which, frankly, is one of the better books I've ever read on countering the anti-theist crowd. I keep it on the shelf with Dan Dennett and Chris Hitchens, and see if they explode like matter / anti-matter.

And, obviously, I have no ability to predict what he's going to do.

Anyway, I'm going to start killing time by releasing a nonfiction work. And more on that next week.

A hint? Okay. Have I ever mentioned how I did work on songs of the IRA in college?

Heh heh heh.

CLFA Book Bomb

"The Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance is happy to announce that we will now be featuring book bombs, where we focus attention on lesser-known fiction authors who deserve to be better known. For the next two days (Monday, July 18 and Tuesday, July 19), please consider purchasing one or more of the books on this list. (Come on … You know you need a couple good reads for your vacation!) If your friend asks for a good book recommendation, send them a link to this page. If you think pop culture should better represent the voices of conservatives and libertarians, please help spread the word."

Yes, I'm on the list.

Yes, so are authors that I've reviewed before.

So are one or two books I've reviewed before.

Take a look, I think you'll enjoy some of these. Especially the first few. Enjoy.

1. The Notice by Daniella Bova

2. Honor at Stake by Declan Finn
"One's a bloodthirsty monster, the other is a vampire. Welcome to New York City, where Vampires Burn."

3. Chasing Freedom, by Marina Fontaine
"Geeks and outcasts fight an oppressive regime in near-future America."

4. Iron Chamber of Memory, by John C. Wright
"On an island time has forgotten, a man remembers a lost love, a lost soul, and an eternal evil."

5.The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin, by L. Jagi Lamplighter Wright
"Fringe meets Narnia at Hogwarts"

6. Her Brother's Keeper by Michael Kupari

7. By the Hands of Men, Book One: The Old World by Roy Madison Griffis

8. The Gods Defense (Laws of Magic Book 1) by Amie Gibbons
"In a world where the gods and magic have returned, enforcing justice just got a lot more hazardous!"

9. Portals of Infinity: Kaiju by John Van Stry

10. Beyond the Mist (The Chara Series Book 1) by Ben Zwycky

11. Echo of the High Kings by Jacob Spriggs
"In a world of vengeful spirits and dark gods, a handful stand against the darkness."

12. On Different Strings: A Musical Romance, by Nitay Arbel
"Penniless Texan guitar goddess teaches British engineering professor. Hearts start beating in harmony. The world has other ideas."

13. Fight for Liberty, by Theresa Linden

14. Van Ripplewink: You Can't Go Home Again, by Paul Clayton

15. Amy Lynn: Lady of Castle Dunn, by Jack July

16. The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama, Matt Margolis

17. The Devil's Dictum by Frederick Heimbach

18. The Good Fight, by Justin Justin T Robinson

19. The Violet Crow by Michael Sheldon

Making Things Difficult

Dear American Airlines,

When I originally planned a July 7th flight to Chattanooga for LibertyCon, I specifically scheduled your 10:30 am flight, funneling me and my party through Charlotte. Which I accepted. It would put me there at 3:30 pm local time. 

Now I find that you have shunted that flight to 8:30am, meaning I have to drag everybody out of bed, kicking and screaming, cram them into a car at 6:00 am, in order to get them to an airport by 6;30, because this New York, planning for airport security to NOT screw us over is a bad, bad idea.

I would like to thank you, American Airlines, for making my life even more difficult than it had to be. 

Of course, I would also like your ignorant asses for not informing me of this at all. In fact, had I not booked through Priceline, I doubt that I would have been informed about this until 24 hours before the flight.

I would like to thank you again, American Airlines, for being consistent in the quality of service I have come to expect from you.

Next time, I'm taking the bus. In fact, if you're not careful, I may do that anyway. I bought flight insurance.

Sincerely,                  

Declan Finn

With luck, you cannot tell that I'm sleep deprived by how I wrote the above.

However, you know that something must be off, because I didn't use a music blog, and I don't have a substantive premise for today's blog.

But hey, this seems to work for Sarah Hoyt.

Actually, there is a new bit of business that's new to me. And this involves some audience participation.

I have been informed that I've made TV appearances. I've even had my books at Borders (RIP) and on The Catholic Network.

I say that I've been informed, because this is the first time I've heard of any of this. At all. Ever.

Seriously, why does no one tell me about this stuff?

So ... from now on, if you see something, say something. No, really. I have no awareness of things like this. As far as I know, the only PR I have is reviews, this blog, my Twitter account, Google+, and Facebook. That's it. Apparently, there's more than that.

Anyway, if you see my books on the shelf of a real bookstore, or in some place I didn't personally put it, please, let me know in the comments. It'll be nice to know.

Until then, here, have a meme about Harriet Tubman, gun-toting Republican who just replaced an American President on the $20 bill.

Okay, I'll beg: please buy Honor At Stake

You know? I think everything is going well. Maybe. Probably. Honest.

Okay, I have no clue.

Good news...

So, I've got 22 reviews on Amazon (21 of the same on Goodreads). And, really, everybody loves me.

No, really, everybody loves Honor At Stake.

I've even had people who've bought the book as gifts. I'm shocked.

No, really, I'm shocked.

Remember that meme I've been using since Honor At Stake came out? Where did I put it?

Oh, yeah, this one.

I mean it. I really do.

Apparently, at this minute, Amazon has only ten copies left of Honor At Stake.  So, that has to be great, right?

ON THE OTHER HAND....

Finding the time: blogging, marketing, and ass kicking.

For some people, killing time is a figure of speech.

For me, I break out the garrot.... literally, I used to play Hitman: Blood Money.

Right now, I'm taking Krav Maga, the self defense system of the Israeli military, for when you absolutely positively have to kick someone in the crotch.  I'm also writing scenes for A Pius Stand, the final book of the Pius trilogy, and I've started on a new book, Sanctuary, a novel for Scott "Mossad" Murphy -- because I wanted to write a book where someone who never uses weapons is sent up against an army of gang bangers, armed with machineguns and RPGs.

So, I'm keeping busy while I wait for my beta readers of A Pius Legacy to get back to me.

You didn't think I forgot A Pius Legacy, did you?  Nope, it's still coming out in December (I hope) in time for Christmas..... (I'd like to have it up and running for Black Friday, but I'm not that delusional)

But it's amazing how much time can be sucked up by driving out to Long Island from Queens.  Then doing three hours of Krav Maga/cardio, then trying to fit in reading, writing, and what television I still watch.

Anyway, if I disappear from the blog for long stretches, I apologize.  This blog almost didn't get posted, such is the state of my life right now.

Despite the fans I have -- and I have some very encouraging, uplifting fans-- they don't pay the bills.  So, if I'm doing something that prevents you from buying the book, then by all means, let me know. I get very little feedback outside of a select few, who have lives of their own. This won't stop me from publishing, or writing, since I enjoy the writing, and might as well publish what I produce.

But I have to fight for every minute of time I have devoted to pushing the books, and I'm not sure if it's worth it anymore.  If no one cares, then I might as well roll up the blog and the Facebook pages and dedicate all of my time to just writing and Krav Maga.

So, I must ask you a few things.  Could you folks who have read A Pius Man comment below about the book. Did you like it? Hate it? What parts of it? I have already been told that the blog codes were annoying in the last book, so APL will not include them.

Also -- how many of you have purchased and/or read A Pius Man? If you haven't ..... could you tell me what you're waiting for? If you're waiting for a pricedrop on a paperback edition, I can arrange that. If you want a price drop on the Kindle, you already have it. If you want a hardcover, then by all means, let me know, I can arrange for it.

I'm very easy in most things -- except for sex, you'd have to work for that -- but you have to ask in order to get me to give. My ESP doesn't quite work over the internet.

Now, pardon me, I have to get my ass kicked by a 5'5" Indian girl who tends to elbow me in the throat.

Be well all, and God bless.

A Pius Press Release

Yup. This is my new press release. How do you all like it?

DATE: 26 July 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Declan Finn. #***-***-****

A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller – History, Theology, and Bullets.

Giovanni Figlia's job is straightforward: protect a new, African Pope who courts controversy every other day. His latest project: make "Hitler's Pope,” Pius XII, a saint. But when people who have gone into the Vatican archives start dying, a whole new world of problems emerge. And each time someone dies, a priest has been in the background; a priest close to the Pope. It's a mystery with too many suspects: the American mercenary working for the Vatican? The Egyptian cop coordinating for the Pope's trip to Cairo? Or the priest who's mysteriously well trained in combat? Also, since one of the dead researchers was an Al Qaeda asset, Mossad and German intelligence arrive in Rome. Soon, they must all join forces to unravel the mystery around the Vatican, as even the man Giovanni is supposed to protect looks like a suspect. To get out of this alive, they must discover the mystery of Hitler's Pope to find out whether or not he was a Nazi collaborator, or a pious Man.

In the past twenty years, there have been numerous thrillers and books about the Catholic Church. The Church has been portrayed as right wing sociopaths, malevolent Nazis, and fanatically anti-technology. For each of these accusations, there have been a dozen historical books released to counter them, but no novels.

A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller is Declan Finn's way to change that. A Pius Man answers most popular cliches about the church, both in fiction and in popular "history": the image of Jesuits and the Opus Dei as the vile henchmen of a backwards church is almost parodied. The view of a technophobic church is contrasted with one that utilizes the latest in nonlethal weapons (NLW); that the church that persecuted Galileo actually prosecuted him for teaching a theory as fact without sufficient evidence, and the Church itself has it's own observatory. There are also one or two offhand comments poking fun at Templar conspiracy theories along the way.

Every historical reference can be footnoted (literally, the first draft had footnotes in it). Almost every reference is either directly related to the plot, or related to a vital element. Every time history is brought up, it is kept as concise as possible, without a trace of being pedantic or lecturing to the audience. Instead, it's treated as other tales told within the context of the novel—as much as any character's back story would be.

At the end of the day, despite the history-heavy elements of the story, A Pius Man reads like the usual political techno-thriller, with history slipped in between gunfire.


A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller
ISBN 1482553899

For review copies, appearances or interviews with the author, contact ***-***-****, or DeclanFinnInc@aol.com.

I Have an Evil Plan, with Zahn, Ringo, and David.

Holidays are generally not great days for my blog traffic.  This upcoming labor day, that's a good thing, because I'm going to be at DragonCon.

Yes, DragonCon, in beautiful downtown Atlanta, Georgia.  You can check out their guest list here.

I intend to enjoy myself, and unleash my evil plan.

Okay, it's not necessarily evil, but it should be interesting.

For newcomers, It Was Only On Stun! is a murder mystery at a science fiction convention. And, since I've published this bloody book mostly through my own stubborn efforts, I'm going to try selling as much as possible, and one thing that would help would be blurbs from authors, giving me positive reviews. Really positive reviews.

In short, I hope to give a copy of my book to Peter David, Timothy Zahn, and John Ringo. Why these authors?  You mean aside from the fact that they are all kick-ass writers, and popular in the science fiction community?

Peter David and John Ringo have a similar sense of humor to mine ... or I developed my sense of humor by reading them, pick one.  I find Ringo inspiring, and David usually entertaining, when he's not putting his politics into it.

Timothy Zahn is "only" an amazing author, and most likely responsible for resurrecting Star Wars as a franchise (sadly, the book franchise might be the only reason Lucas felt comfortable trying the prequel trilogy.  Bonus: Zahn has gone everywhere that Lucas has, and has outperformed the little sot.)

Right now, my major hope for the convention is that I don't have security sicced on me for trying to hand an author a novel.  Signed, of course.

On the plus side, I know Peter David has out-and-out advocated this procedure, so I can at least tell him that I'm only following his own advice. 

On the other hand, if Zahn found it creepy, he could call the 501st Imperial Stormtrooper Legion (see my Sean Ryan Trailer.).

And John Ringo ... well, he's ex-82nd airborne, and legions of his fans are military vets. I really hope he doesn't mind. And that he likes the book.

It's going to be amusing.

Hitting the big leagues -- being interviewed at Fortnight of ... Mustard?

Today, I"m going to be a little bit lazy.  I'm going to let someone else do the work for me.....

Sort of.

I'm actually interviewed over at A Fortnight of Mustard (yes, seriously.) and at Catholic Once Again.

It's always nice to deal with someone who likes my books. :)

Anyway, enjoy the interviews.

Promotions Update: Read the Book for Free

Yes, you can read It Was Only On Stun!, the prequel to A Pius Man, for free....

But you don't think it's that easy, do you?  Of course not.

Let's talk talk promos.

As I've mentioned previously, Amazon.com allows me five promo days for people to read my book whenever and wherever they like.

But only as long as it's on a Kindle.

So, I've expanded the dates.  Anyone can read my novel, It Was Only On Stun!, from September 2-6.

Why those dates?  Because I'm going to be dropping these fliers all over the place at DragonCon (okay, it's slight hyperbole; I'll be dropping a ton of these fliers on the tables with all the other promotions).  I don't see anyone stopping their fun at DragonCon to read my book. However, I can see them downloading a free book so they can read it on the plane ride home.

And if you don't like the flier, this is only a first draft. I've been a little busy lately.

Twelve days to DragonCon.