You'll find a lot of talk on the Interwebs about the future of publishing, and it's pretty common to see the big New York publishers compared to antiquated tradesmen. They're buggy manufacturers in the age of the automobile or sail makers in the age of the steamboat or butter-churn upholsterers in the age of Country Crock.
Or they're blacksmiths -- you see that one a lot. But I'd like to hijack that analogy and apply it to myself. As a writer going it alone in the age of the ebook, I'm feeling sort of blacksmithy, you see. Things might have seemed kind of quiet around here -- my last novel came out more than a year ago -- but hark! Do you hear that? The slow, steady bang of metal hitting metal? That's me, alone in my little shop, pounding away at something until it feels just right. Meanwhile, I've got half a dozen irons in the fire. And a couple are finally warm enough to do something with.
Iron #1: I have a new short story collection out. It's called Blarney: 12 Tales of Lies, Crime & Mystery. Those of you who bought my ill-fated fundraising ebook My Dog Needs Surgery (and a heartfelt "Thanks!" to all 17 of you) will recognize a few of the stories. Ditto loyal readers from my days as a regular contributor to Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. You can read a full description of the book -- including a rundown of all the stories in it -- here. It's available both as an ebook and an old-fashioned dead tree-book, so you have no excuse not to buy it. Well, except for "I don't want it," which is a pretty darned good excuse, actually. If your excuse is "I don't want to pay for it," that won't work -- because I'll give it to you. You'll have to earn it, though. Just go to the Amazon (preferably) or Barnes & Noble.com page for one of my earlier short story collections (Dear Mr. Holmes or Naughty), hit that silly, seemingly pointless "Like" button (if you're on Amazon) and then post a review. Do that, and I'll send you Blarney in the e-format of your choice. Oh, and I'll send you an e-copy of the book if you're a blogger who wants to review it, of course. Just shoot a request to the e-mail address you'll find here.
Iron #2: Speaking of Naughty (and I was just a moment ago -- remember?), it's not just an ebook anymore. It's finally available as a printed-on-paper book-book. And, boy, do I love the new cover! It was created by the mega-talented Rick Forgus of Atomic Werewolf Studio, and I think it's one of the best covers I've ever lucked into. If it inspires you to buy a copy of the book, you can do so here or here.
Irons #3-12: Sorry -- still not hot enough! But just listen.
Bang....
Bang....
Bang....
Bang.........
We know each other via Facebook ... friends of friends of friends. :o) Your writing is hilarious on your website. You have a great sense of humor. And I love the cover of your Naughty Christmas book. What a unique concept. I'm on a super tight budget, so I'm rarely able to afford books, but I'd love to get that one. Have a great day!
Posted by: Carla King AKA Loves Moose | May 21, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Thanks Carla/L.M.! I totally hear you on the tight budget, but hey -- the collections only cost $3.99 as ebooks, and you can always read them on your computer if you don't have a Kindle or Nook. Or here's an even better idea: You can start bugging your library to buy them! Dear Mr. Holmes is available for libraries to purchase via CreateSpace, and Naughty and Blarney soon will be, too. And if you can get the books on the shelf at your library, not only do I get money and you get to read them, maybe some new readers will stumble onto my stuff, too. It's a win-win-win-win!
Posted by: Steve | May 21, 2012 at 09:02 PM
I hopped on over to bn.com to look for a dead tree copy of the collections. It seems that there has been a title mix up, unless you have written a home repair thriller- Nautile. Hey that might be a new genre!
Posted by: Jan | May 22, 2012 at 11:42 AM
The dead tree versions of Naughty and Blarney won't be available on BN.com for a few weeks because of the way CreateSpace's expanded distribution option works. But you can order the book-books now either from Amazon or directly from CreateSpace. The links are included in my post above. If you use CreateSpace, I get a higher royalty, which is nice. But if you use Amazon it drives up my rank, which increases the odds other readers will find the books. Also nice.
Bottom line: however someone buys my books is fine by me!
Posted by: Steve | May 22, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Finally, Naughty is in paper format! I bought the e-book long time ago, and I've been waiting for a physical version. My copies of Blarney and Naughty came by mail this morning. Thanks for all your wonderful writing, Steve!
Posted by: Adam McFarlane | May 26, 2012 at 08:42 AM
My pleasure, good sir! If we ever cross paths at another Bouchercon, the first beer's on me.
Posted by: Steve | May 26, 2012 at 09:13 PM
Um, hello, yeah, it's Canada on the line. Amazon.ca? ahem...
Posted by: gutenbergsson | May 30, 2012 at 02:30 PM
No offense, but I didn't even know there *was* an Amazon.ca! A print edition of Dear Mr. Holmes is available there -- via CreateSpace's expanded distribution network, I suspect. Since I'm doing the print editions of the other collections through CreateSpace, as well, I'm guessing they'll pop up on Amazon.ca in the near future. If they don't...gosh, I guess I'll have to figure out why. Thanks for the heads up!
Posted by: Steve | May 31, 2012 at 08:39 AM
Hi Steve,
----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
So I could not email you as requested. . Posted review of naughty and would like blarney in kindle format.
Posted by: Jim | June 12, 2012 at 07:40 PM
Sorry, Jim! I'm not sure what's up with that e-mail account. Thanks for the review, though. To claim your ebook, shoot me a message at mrcineshock AT yahoo DOT com.
Posted by: Steve | June 13, 2012 at 11:23 AM