The Blurbs Are In!

So I asked two authors for a blurb on my eBook about to be a print paperback (to go on the back cover).

Norman Ray Fitts, ever the teacher, gave me a synopsis and critique. Not sure he was into the whole parody concept. I'm still incredibly grateful for the author blurb he came up with. Here's what his blurb will look like on the back cover:

"A great romp through the galaxy with two well defined main characters and a story that keeps you constantly guessing about what weird thing is going to happen next."

It is a good blurb. Positive and concise. Norman's work (The Sentinal among others) can be purchased here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Sentinel-Norman-Ray-Fitts/dp/1451559275

Joe McKinney is a pretty well known author in horror circles for the Dead City series of zombie novels, three and counting plus a great number of other novels and short stories (http://joemckinney.wordpress.com/the-collected-works-of-joe-mckinney/). If you follow his online blog (Old Major's Dream http://joemckinney.wordpress.com/), you'll also note he is fairly well read and educated. Here's what he gave me back verbatim as a blurb:

"No self-respecting kid raised in the 1970s could help but love space opera.  We had Star Wars, we had Space: 1999, we had Star Trek and Isaac Asimov and Harry Harrison and the birth of New Wave.  So when I see space opera done exceedingly and lovingly well, as Artemus Withers does in The Adventures of Reztap, it gives me a thrill.  Discovering a genre anew is a gift, and Artemus Withers gives freely.  Built on a classic rescue story plot, Withers' story proceeds to slay all the sacred cows of science fiction, but does it with such humor, such style, that even a hardened fan can't help but laugh along.  The Adventures of Reztap has got the humor of Douglas Adams, the snappy dialogue of Firefly, and all the moral slipperiness of the Stainless Steel Rat, but it is a unique and wonderful story all its own.  This is the good stuff!"

While I'm certainly not under the impression that I'm anywhere near as great an author as those mentioned, it did give me some pleasure knowing the reader recognized a lot of my parody inspiration.

It's interesting the diversity of the two authors and their level of commentary and insight into the writing. Of course, the same will be said for the readers out there. Some will get it, some won't. I can only hope that all will find it entertaining. At least both of the author's who blurbed for me enjoyed it.

Regards,

Artemus

* * * * *
You can find the eBook version of The Adventures of Reztap at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161674 in PDF, HTML and .modi format for the Kindle - soon to be on iTunes, Barnes & Noble's Nook and the Sony eBook reader.

Biz Cards Are In!

A little marketing talk for this blog. I just got my business card handouts with the book cover on one side and ordering information on the other side including a coupon code for 25% off the eBook. These are exactly what I wanted... four days before they arrived at Comicpalooza.

Now, what to do with cards that have a coupon that expires at the end of the month? It's actually not a big deal. This is, after all, a learning experience. So I have learned I need to order things WAY ahead of when I will need them for a marketing engagement. The faux cards I printed up on my inkjet were nice, but they weren't double-sided - no book cover...and no name of the book either. I slapped them together so fast I just pasted the coupon text from the business cards and blew it up to print.

In my defense... well, actually, it is indefensible. Should have thought about lead times and other things. So, you savvy readers and writers out there, remember to prepare adequately for delays!

The business cards themselves look really nice. Although, next time I'm going to pay the extra for glossy. Personal preference, I just think it will look that much better. Nice size too. I think it will be handy for slipping into your pocket to use later. Too big and you will not want to carry it around. However, if given out at a convention, bigger is better - and everyone has a bag to carry stuff around in. Business card size handier for book counters and casual laying about of the cards. Bigger ones for Cons.

Coupon is a great idea. Putting a nearby expiration date for the coupon, not so great. It gives the cards a limited lifespan at full value. In a month, the coupon is no longer any good. I did design it almost two months out, but still, that was pretty short-sighted.

And so, my friends, I hope you learn from my mistakes and go on to make some of your own! How else will we learn but by making mistakes?

Regards,
Artemus

Memorial Day Sale

For a limited 24 hour period, The Adventures of Reztap is available for only $1.

Use coupon code ZP42X at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161674

Read, enjoy, share!

Obviously, I don't do this every day, but given the holiday and my recent completion of the Book 2 synopsis, I felt compelled to celebrate.

Regards,
Artemus

Two Authors - blurbs for print version

I've contacted two author friends who've agreed to do a review of The Adventures of Reztap and provide me with blurbs of their impression of the book for the back of the paperback print version. That is awesome!

Great site on Joe McKinney with links to all his books: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52047.Joe_McKinney
Joe is probably one of the top Zombie writers out there - his books are deep and engaging.

Here's Norman Ray Fitt's personal page with links to his books and screenplay services:
http://www.normanrayfitts.com/
Ray (as I like to call him) is a top notch sci-fi writer. He has in depth technical scenarios that are touched with humanity. Very moving stories.

I worked through most of the day today getting the book formatted corrected for print. Funny thing is I originally formatted it for printing and then reformatted for eBook - making all the editorial changes to the eBook version. So I had no choice but to start from the eBook version and work my way back.

Print version of The Adventures of Reztap should be available in June - to celebrate, here is a coupon code good thru the end of June for 25% off the eBook version at Smashwords: JU69W

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161674

Please share with all your friends - there will be sci-fi fans among them!

Regards,
Artemus

Book One is Done!

Book One is Done!

eBook published at Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/), the first of many books about Tar Reztap and his friend Gorth is "in the bag." (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161674)

I commission a cover by a nice artist off of Deviant Art (Dragon Lady 212 (http://dragonlady212.deviantart.com/). I had a particular look I wanted for the cover, so I searched through the art samples posted there until I found someone who was creating art in the style I wanted. Here is a copy of the cover I commissioned:

This is a science fiction humor book. It has a bit of an irreverent, sophomoric feel to it. The antics the pair get into are comical and sometimes deadly. If you've enjoyed The Big Bang Theory TV show, then you won't be put off by any of the humor in here. I would rate it PG.

I'm working on finding some reviewers for it. Hope to post links to those reviews soon.

If you're interested in a humorous, science fiction tale that pokes fun at many tropes in the genre, please check it out. On the plus side, you can hit up the web page and get a nice preview of the book before you buy. I think that's a nice touch by Smashwords.

The book will soon (hopefully) be available on iTunes (iPhone, iPad), Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes & Noble (Nook). If you just can't wait, you can purchase the book at Smashwords and view it in a multitude of formats (HTML, PDF, RTF .mobi, and plain text.) From what I understand, the .mobi file is a Kindle format - I just have no idea how you get the file onto your Kindle - if you know how, you can beat the crowds by getting it now before it gets to Amazon.

Always interested to hear comments about the book, your feelings about the book, and booky things in general. However, still not interested in revealing where my book cave is. Don't even mention the bookpole.

Artemus out!

Most profoundly delayed

Circumstances outside my writing life have profoundly delayed further progress on the Reztap book.  I've also put into question my decision to solely go with an eBook distribution and marketing.

I think I may have it in me to go the distance with a hard copy publisher.  I don't want to jeopardize that with an electronic copy floating about on the internet airwaves.

In addition, circumstances within my writing life have put me at a bit of a disadvantage.  The amazingly easy rewrite of Chapter One did not foreshadow the rewrite difficulties of the following chapters.  To wit, I changed maybe ten percent of Chapter One; my estimated changes of the subsequent chapters are considerably higher.

Please do stay tuned.  I have not given up, but I have temporarily focused my energies elsewhere.

The rewrites progress

Chapter 1 - I'm pretty excited about how well it has turned out.
Chapter 2 thru 15 - the rewrite is in progress.  I'm fairly confident it will be a fun read, especially for any fans of science fiction humor.

I've been particularly intrigued with Self-Editing For Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.  It has both been informative and affirming.  It has helped me know I'm on the right path with this latest, final revision.

Keep the faith and I'll keep writing.  Okay, I'm going to keep writing regardless, but you know what I mean.