How Did the Giveaway Do?

Well, I’m not going to complain. I'll post my results hoping they will help others in their quests, and perhaps, a question or two of mine get answered.

Don’t laugh at the small numbers, please.

As a refresher:

August 8, Sandfall went free, 12 copies d/l;
August 11, Allure, 14 copies;
August 14, Freedom Does Matter, 36 copies;
August 17, Connections, 17 copies;
August 20, Coda?, 15 copies, and
August 23, Discoveries, 38 copies.

Total free books given away: 132.

The blog views are for the page posted that date, and mark when each book went on free. But I didn’t track the page views back to the day they occurred. The downloads, on the other hand, are by day as reported by Amazon.

I’m not surprised by the numbers; I only made one tweet for each of the posts with no other notice. That seems to be borne out by the correlation between the post dates and the higher downloads.

The numbers for Freedom Does Matter and Discoveries are surprising, both more than twice the average of the other four books. Really unsure just why that should be. I also was amused that even though the description for Discoveries recommends—pretty strongly, I thought—that Coda? be read first… Well, you can see the disparity.

Another interesting result is the mismatch between page views and downloads. The tweets pointed to the blog post, not to the Amazon page directly, so if they didn’t click via the blog post, how did they see it? While Amazon advertises Kindle Countdown deals, I didn’t think they did that for Free days. Anyone care to comment on that?

Finally, I’m not sure what pushed the page views of the Allure announcement so high. It’s all interesting; I hope a couple of the downloads actually get read, and that some choose to leave a review.

I apologize for my inability to entice Blogger to fit the chart across the available space.

Any thoughts or insights you'd like to share would be welcome.

Time to Get Connections

The third book and my first political thriller, Connections, is available at Amazon for free beginning today for three days.

The description:

The week began most pleasurably. Young Amy believed a letter with a passport would connect her with Abby, her lover. But Abby has a history no one knows of; even Abby’s put it out of her mind.
The man she put in prison has not forgotten; he wants out, and Abby’s the key. The key to Abby is Amy. Connections between Abby and Amy are broken and remade to connect Amy and five men with hate in their hearts.
Can Amy be rescued before a hurricane eliminates her?
The man in prison has another connection: to a South American politician. Though in prison, he holds documents to impeach and imprison her. The connection between Abby, Amy and the documents is as unexpected as an insult on St. Valentine’s day.
These connections define four months of intrigue, love and terror. Will Amy and her friends survive?


Connections, book three of the Mercenaries Series, overlaps the action at the end of Freedom Does Matter; while the story does stand alone, readers may prefer the additional understanding the previous book provides.

Enjoy!

Advance Notice: Free Books on a Rolling Schedule

As promised: Your chance to get all of the Mercenaries books during August!

I’ll use the free book promotion Amazon Kindle Select allows to offer the whole series of books, six in total, in order for free on a rolling schedule.

Starting on August 8, Sandfall will be free for three days. Then, on the 11th, Allure, on the 14th, Freedom Does Matter, on the 17th, Connections, on the 20th, Coda? and finally on the 23rd, Discoveries.

If you ever thought you might like these, give them a try. Mark your calendar; follow me on the blog or on Twitter to be reminded. They won’t take up wallet space; they won't even take up shelf space!

Comments are always welcome.

Not as Productive as...

Well, it’s the beginning of the year. Some people try out new resolutions to help guide their behavior; some try out old ones for the same reason. Most fail.

For me, I don’t do resolutions; I know what I need to do, if it doesn’t get done, I have no one to blame… Or more correctly, I know who to blame: me.

In any event, the past couple three months have only produced a few thousand words for the current WIP. That’s disappointing, or would be if I hadn’t critted two and a half books for my beta reader (the half is one in process now), finished making changes to Sandfall and Allure, the revised versions of Mercenaries: A Love Story, and gotten them and Coda?, the fourth book in the series, done and up on Amazon and CreateSpace.

I also reworked my author page at Amazon, and the back matter for all my books. This clean-up isn’t finished; I want to create new paperback covers for Freedom Does Matter and Connections to match the others in the series, and finish the changes suggested for Discoveries so I’ll be able to release it in March.

I posted the descriptions of the five books at the end of last year. Here I’ll put the books in order again, with the links to Amazon and CreateSpace pages for each of the books. Feel free to peruse any and all of them at your leisure. If you’re moved to purchase one or more, that would be wonderful.

Enjoy your new year going forward; best of luck with your resolutions!

As always, comments are welcome.

The books of the Mercenaries series, in the recommended order. The Amazon links are for Kindle versions, the CreateSpace links for paperback versions. All these books are in the Kindle Match Books program, so if you purchase the paper version, the corresponding ebook is free.

Sandfall at Amazon,                         and at CreateSpace.
Allure at Amazon,                            and at CreateSpace.
Freedom Does Matter at Amazon,   and at CreateSpace.
Connections at Amazon,                  and at CreateSpace.
Coda? at Amazon,                            and at CreateSpace.

Update and Book Descriptions

Yesterday, the 26th of December, Boxing Day, the books I uploaded went live on Amazon. I decided to try Kindle Select for at least ninety days, to see if some of the tools they offer make any difference to me. The books are in the sidebar, along with links to them.
The descriptions for each of them follow.

Sandfall

Beckie Sverdupe, typical high-school student and accomplished equestrienne, has a best friend, an annoying younger brother, and no plans beyond homework and the upcoming pep rally. Then, she is kidnapped to be buried alive. Her strength and resourcefulness impresses the enigmatic young mercenary, Ian Jamse, but she was just a job.

Sandfall is a Young Adult thriller, and part of the Mercenaries series. It includes real language.

Bonus: An excerpt from Allure, the first book in the Mercenaries series, is included.

Publishing history: Sandfall was originally titled “Black Sky, Dry Rain,” and part of Mercenaries: A Love Story. This edition is retitled, and heavily edited from that version.

Allure

Beckie Sverdupe is ready for April vacation at her church’s Spring Week Camp until Ian Jamse, the only man who had ever depended on her, asks for her help. She still had nightmares about digging out of the sand, but she’d succeeded.

Should she listen to his plea? Of course. Or was it more of a pitch than plea? He had a job, so yes, probably it was. Could she help him? Maybe. Would she?
Yes!

Beckie’s answer launches her on a three-month journey to save children she’d never met. Along the way, she poses as an exotic dancer in London, a cowgirl in Arizona and an ingénue in Thailand. Each stop brings her closer to her family, her friends and to Ian Jamse, the man who’d believed in her. Each stop brings her closer also to a personal meeting with the man who could end it all, with death.

A romantic thriller set in an approximation to the real world, Allure is the lead book in the Mercenaries series. The events portrayed in Sandfall precede Allure by eighteen months, and introduce Beckie and Ian.

Allure is recommended for Adult, older Young Adult (16+) and New Adult readers for language and mature situations. Real language is used, as are fictional depictions of child abuse.

Bonus: An excerpt from Freedom Does Matter, the second book in the Mercenaries series, is included.

Publishing history: Allure was originally titled Mercenaries: A Love Story and included what is now Sandfall. This edition has a new cover, and is retitled and heavily edited from that version.

Freedom Does Matter

Mid-summer before her sophomore year at college, Beckie Sverdupe is grooming her horse when she receives horrifying news: her fiancé Ian Jamse has been shot.

Leader of a successful mercenary team, Ian’s not only Beckie’s fiancé; he’s her mentor, training her as a team member after she made it clear that, having fallen in love with him, she would make their group more than just soldiers for hire; they’d be more ‘socially conscious’ mercenaries, with concomitant longer life expectancies. The current job, an Egyptian land dispute negotiation, supposedly filled that requirement to a tee. Except it hadn’t: Ian was dying!

Instead of returning to campus for Engineering classes, Beckie kisses Ian’s insensate lips and heads to Cairo to complete the negotiations. It’s her first solo assignment, and she’s determined to finish despite her fears for Ian. Tracking the gunman will be an added challenge spurred by renewed assassination attempts targeting the new mediator: her!

Her quest to gain justice—or revenge—for Ian reveals a conspiracy to incite the final Mideast war by killing thousands at iconic Wembley Stadium in London. As she unravels the plot, she comes head-to-head with one man’s bitter, intransigent attempts to redefine freedom. Will Ian love her again? Can Beckie thwart the terrorist honcho before the attack and eliminate one hateful voice of irrationality?

Bonus: an excerpt from the next offering in the series, Connections, is included.

While Freedom Does Matter is set in the Mercenaries world, it may be enjoyed on its own.

Connections

Everyone has connections they take for granted, and others of which they are unaware.

Beckie’s ongoing training as a nineteen year-old apprentice in Ian Jamse’s mercenary group emphasizes teamwork above all else. Now, with the London episode behind her, it’s time to put her training on hold and begin her sophomore year at Miami.

Goldfarb impelled Piero to smuggle cocaine using sex and money. Their enterprise flourishing, Piero turns to the Peruvian Presidential election. Goldfarb controls the key to the election: videos documenting the conspiracy to pervert the course of justice both he and his chief opponent engaged in years ago. The videos would ensure Piero’s election.

To force delivery of the videos, Piero threatens to halt their smuggling partnership. When threatened, Goldfarb’s composure fails; he attacks Ian’s group, starting with Amy Rose, Beckie’s young friend.

To save Amy, to keep the team safe, Beckie must put her wants on hold. It’s a helluva one-semester course. Pass-fail means live-die.

Connections is the third Mercenaries story, a YA/NA thriller recommended for 15 and up. While Connections stands alone, readers may find that understanding the background and relationships, especially from Freedom Does Matter, enhances the story.

Bonus: an excerpt from the next offering in the series, Coda?, is included.

Coda?

Coda: noun (Music) The concluding passage of a piece or movement
[…]
• a concluding event […]

Two and a half years following Connections, death happens. Fighting back, Beckie chooses to go her own way, and it costs her her love. With little to live for, happily ever after now seems like an impossible dream, but she still has family and the team, and San Diego requires saving. Hidden information coupled with her own obstinacy make all her tasks more difficult, but friends help, some by staying, some by leaving. Hurt, confused and grieving, Beckie must push those emotions aside to grow into a role she’s only observed til now.

Coda?, the fourth book in the Mercenaries series, is a thriller set in an approximation to the real world. Real language is used. While it stands alone, readers unfamiliar with previous books may find the history preceding Coda? of interest. It is recommended for 15+.

Bonus: an excerpt from the next offering in the series, Discoveries, is included.

Of course, should any of you have an opinion about the covers in the sidebar, or about the descriptions, please, please feel free to make a comment below.

I will offer paperback copies of Coda? as a giveaway on Goodreads. Follow me over there if that might interest you, though I'll publish the link here in a few days.

It’s Wednesday the 13th!

Not such a big deal, I guess.

Connections is available as a giveaway at Goodreads, running until the twentieth of May. If you have interest, click on over and sign up. Check out the display below.

Description:

Everyone has connections they take for granted, and others of which they are unaware.

Beckie’s ongoing training as a nineteen year-old apprentice in Ian Jamse’s mercenary group emphasizes teamwork above all else. Now, with the London episode behind her, it’s time to put her training on hold and begin her sophomore year at Miami.

Goldfarb impelled Piero to smuggle cocaine using sex and money. Their enterprise flourishing, Piero turns to the Peruvian Presidential election. Goldfarb controls the key to the election: videos documenting the conspiracy to pervert the course of justice both Piero and his chief opponent engaged in years ago. The videos would ensure Piero’s election.

To force delivery of the videos, Piero threatens to halt their smuggling partnership. When threatened, Goldfarb’s composure fails; he attacks Ian’s group, starting with Amy Rose, Beckie’s young friend.

To save Amy, to keep the team safe, Beckie must put her wants on hold. It’s a helluva one-semester course. Pass-fail means live-die.

Connections is the third Mercenaries story, a YA/NA thriller recommended for 15 and up. While Connections stands alone, readers may find that understanding the background and relationships, especially from Freedom Does Matter, enhances the story.

Bonus: an excerpt from the next offering in the series, Coda?, is included.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Connections

by Tony Lavely

Giveaway ends May 20, 2015.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to Win

Congratulations - CampNaNos

Today is the last day of Camp NaNo, so everyone who participated deserves a round of applause and a tipple of their favorite libation. Drink up!

I chose not to participate this year, seeing a scheduling disaster of epic proportions if I did. In fact, even if I didn’t but…

I had three novellas to critique (by which I mean beta read and comment on), two of my WIPs to finish up, two more to work on and then, spring to enjoy. More than winter, anyway.
I published Connections last week, and Coda? has gone to a second beta reader for comments and suggestions.
The three novellas are critted and today or tomorrow, the latest set of comments and questions will be in the respective author’s hands. As always, I hope I was able to help them on their way to the story they want to tell.
With all that, I still was able to get four thousand words on (working title) Princess, the book to follow Served Cold. Since I’m following Dean Wesley Smith’s suggestions for Writing Into the Dark, I have very little idea where it will end up. (grin)*TM DWS. (Unfortunately, he has apparently removed those posts from his blog.)

The grandson’s baseball (or maybe T-ball) season begins next week, and my brother is helping out with a show at Don’t Tell Mama in New York the middle of the month, so I’ll pack my toothbrush and phone and watch him and the others. That should be fun; I’ll catch the Thursday and Saturday shows before returning, so I’ll have Friday to look around NYC for setting ideas.

Then of course, the yard will need attention, and the house, and the usual mundane things everyone has to embrace. Or if not embrace, at least do.

Comments welcome.

Connections is Live

Connections is live in ebook format at most of your favorite outlets. The CreateSpace proof copy has been ordered; the POD version should be available next week, if I didn’t make any errors in that version.

I used Draft2Digital for distribution to Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Scribd, Page Foundry and Tolino. I uploaded to Amazon and Apple directly. Smashwords wasn’t cooperative Saturday night, so there will be a delay with them. Given the ease of working with D2D, so far, I can recommend them.

If you don’t see your favorite bookseller in the list, please let me know.

It's April, After All That.

All That being six weeks of high, high heating bills and 106 plus inches of snow... but as they say in Vermont: God put it there; God'll take it away. The snow's gone. Temperature's rising. Don’t even have many April showers to contend with; a few wispy clouds are drifting by this morning.

Connections is done. Put aside. Ready to publish. 93100 words. I’d value any thoughts about the description I plan to use:

Everyone has connections they take for granted, and others of which they are unaware.

Beckie's training as a nineteen year-old apprentice in Ian Jamse’s mercenary team emphasizes marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat and most importantly, teamwork to protect the team, the client and civilians, in that order. But after  a summer saving London, it’s time to start her sophomore year at Miami.

Piero fell under Goldfarb’s blackmail easily; sex and money are powerful motivators. However, winning the Peruvian Presidential election seems within his reach when he recalls the videos that Goldfarb controls. Videos documenting the conspiracy to pervert the course of justice both he and his chief opponent engaged in years ago would cement his victory or his defeat.
Throwing his blackmail back at Goldfarb, he threatens the loss of their smuggling revenue. So threatened, Goldfarb loses control, and attacks Ian’s team, starting with Amy Rose, Beckie’s young friend.

To save Amy, to keep the team safe, Beckie must put her wants on hold. It’s one helluva one-semester course. Pass-fail means live-die.

Connections is the third in the Mercenaries series, a YA/NA thriller recommended for 15 and up.

I’m cleaning up the cast page and the other things (updating About the Author, for example) so I plan to go live across the board this weekend, including POD at CreateSpace, though that will require approval of the proof, so will follow by a week or so… If I don’t screw something up!

On the fourth and fifth books, my first reader has pointed out holes, nay, chasms to either fill or bridge over. Fortunately, fewer in the next one, Coda?, but some of the ones in Served Cold reflect back into Coda? since together they cover a continuous roughly ten month period. While Coda? completes its arc, it also segues into Served Cold with no delay.
I had thought that Served Cold would finish the series, but the characters are unwilling to be set aside so easily. As I sit here in my comfy chair, three characters are pushing two different stories at me. It will be interesting to see how they see their lives progressing. The parts they are willing to share, at least!

Comments are welcome, as usual.

Here We Are Again

For the second day in a row, the temperature has remained above freezing long enough to be noticeable. Which isn’t all that far above freezing, to be sure, but it is what it is. Weather people state with greater or lesser certainty that the snow lying deep on our lawns and gardens will survive no longer than the beginning of April, four weeks or so. Unless…

Along with the moderation in temperature, the sky is azure, the sun is brightly shining, reflecting from the still-white snow—where we live, anyway—requiring the use of sunglasses for excursions out of the shade.

It’s beautiful.

To a review of writing projects.

To avoid working on the problems with book three, Connections, I did a few reviews and crits, and worked on books four and five. In spite of that lollygagging, I have now finished the trimming and rewrites for Connections. It comes in just under 90K words, down from 110K plus. To me, the problems my reader had have been addressed, but that could be entirely because I know the story in all its incarnations and backstory too well to recognize a problem, far less how to fix it.

In any event, it is with another reader; we’ll see how it sits this time. Depending on the feedback, I'll publish it soon.

Books four and five are both ‘complete.’ What that really means is the second or third draft of book four, Coda?, and the first draft of book five, Served Cold, have been done. Coda? is nearly ready for beta readers (any volunteers?) and Served Cold is ready to sit for a week or three before I reread and try to discover what I’ve left out or overstated and other fatal flaws.

Hopefully I’ll find the discipline to return and update you on whatever progress I make. Or don’t make; that’s important, too.

Thanks for reading. As always, comments are welcome.

Checking Up On Business, and a Quick Update

A blog post to keep me from what I should be doing: fixing Connections. Probably needs a new title and cover, too, to accommodate the change in direction my beta partner has pointed to.

There are advantages. The word count went from  115k to 75k, though I fear some, perhaps most, of those 40k words will either recur or be replaced. May end up around 90k or so, though, which would be good.

I’m a little behind in referring you to Kris Rusch’s postings on the business of writing, but I recommend you look at her recent post, Business Musings: The Rise of the Backlist. Even if, like me, you have no backlist to speak of, she still has useful comments and information. things to be aware of. If you are lucky enough to have a backlist, you should be aware of the ideas she lists near the end of the post, regarding actions you could and should take to make good use of your assets.

Among other things, she writes:

In that first week, Publishers Marketplace went deeper into the numbers than Publishers Weekly did and came out with some fascinating information, some of which I’ll deal with in the next week or two. But here’s the take-away: All of the year’s gains and then some came from backlist, however, not newly-released titles. Frontlist unit sales fell 2 million units to 276 million, while backlist sales rose 17 million units to 359 million…

Read more at Kris Writes.

Minor Edits

While my beta readers read Connections, I made some minor changes to Freedom Does Matter, the most important of which was inserting Tommi Salama’s second map of the Nest.

As I write this, the Kindle version is live, as are the various Smashwords offerings. I’ll finish Barnes and Noble, and Kobo later today. The POD paperback version is completing the review process at CreateSpace and should be live by tomorrow.

If any of you bought a copy and would like the updated version, either leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll send you an updated version in your choice of formats.

Summer’s Here

Almost 90 degrees today, and a hurricane developing off Florida. Perhaps it will blow some sense into the Supreme Court on the way by. Maybe. Not likely though. Enough of politics; I’m pretty sure the wonderful people who visit me here aren’t interested in my political views.


I’ve almost done the “final” revisions to Connections—a couple more carat marks to visit and make the indicated changes, and it’ll be ready for my long-suffering beta readers again. I hope they can still read it with an open mind; I know I can’t, at this point.

I changed the cover slightly based on kind comments; the results are below. Just because I post it here doesn’t mean I’d refuse comments! If you have one, sing out.

Follow-up

My last post, I asked for opinions, and received a couple regarding the cover image for Connections. I promised to post the next iteration for comment, and it is below. I made changes that I think embodied the suggestions I received; of course, any problems are mine, not those kind enough to comment.
As always, opinions, comments and suggestions are welcome. What do you think? Is it too much like the  Freedom cover, just to the right? Or is the similarity a good thing, in your view?

On the Eve of Summer, A Request For Opinions

I’ve finally done some work on the cover for Connections, so once again,  here’s your chance to be a critic. I’m leaning toward this one.

But this one isn’t so busy.

Or do people like this photo as a background?

The images tie together (see if you can see this) the antagonist’s goal (obtaining a cassette with a compromising video) and his use of counterfeit dollars and cocaine (in the last photo, since it’s not really a driver) to gain it.

I like the Spanish Conexiones as a sub-title because a large portion of the story takes place in Peru, and visually due to the ‘X’ in the center, but as I mentioned, with the layout as it is, it may be too busy. Also, when I look at it in black and white, as a monochrome Kindle or Nook would do, the yellow washes into the background. More work would be needed to find a layout that doesn’t suffer the same fate.


Disclaimer: Neither counterfeit currency nor cocaine was used in the creation of these photos.

So, here’s your chance to say what you think, without any repercussions except that your idea might get used! Whatever you want to tell me about these potential images, or anything else, really, fill in the comments below.

A Paean of Thanks, or Shooting the Messenger

Once again, as I work through the critiques of my current WIP, Connections, it is necessary to shout out to my writing partners, courteous and well-spoken as they are, to thank them for taking the effort, the hours and the energy to assist me in making my story the best it can be.

I learned long ago that shooting the messenger does no more than stop the messages, and it doesn’t always do that. It never corrects the problem that the messenger attempts to warn of. In some sense, critique partners are messengers, warning of poor word choice, unclear plotting and in my case at least, making assumptions that readers have no reason to make for themselves.

I do respond to my partners’ comments and suggestions, and encourage them to do likewise when receiving a critique from me. Some of my response are questions when a meaning isn’t quite clear, and some are explanations, which mainly serve to clarify their point in my mind while allowing them to say, yeah, that’s better or perhaps, what are you thinking? I always remember that explaining to a partner only informs that one person; the change must carry through to the manuscript to do any good.

However, my point here is that my partners have done a remarkable, nay, brilliant job in reading and offering suggestions which are as wide-ranging as they are helpful. I will acknowledge their assistance in the book, but want to do the same here. Andrea, Carol and Phil, thank you isn’t enough to say for your help and assistance, but

Thank you!

Back and Working

We’re back from a fun-filled excursion to Florida visiting dear friends and then the Land of the Mouse. Taking over the world, is Disney. Some may view that with alarm, but hordes of others welcome the inevitable coming of our new overlords. At least, judging by the crowds in the theme parks. A veritable river of people, thick and fast-flowing. And of those over about 11 or 12, most were doggedly focused on getting to the next ride or attraction. Very few of those leaving Space Mountain or Buzz Lightyear’s ride or even Pirates of the Caribbean looked excited, or happy, or entertained; more, it seemed to be: Where to next? I might miss something I’ve planned to do. Not the reaction I’d hope for at “The Happiest Place on Earth!”

Back home, I finished the Ugly First Draft of Coda?. Well, except for closing it off; I still need to think about that, and I’m going to ask my long suffering partners to take a look and see if I’ve had any success in telling the story I hope to. Comments may drive the tenor of the ending.  So far, it’s just over 90K words, right where I hoped it would be. Strangling the characters when they want to run off may have a more beneficial effect than I’d thought.

The rewrite of Connections is about a third through. I’ve benefited from the blog posts I mentioned last time, at Ramblings of a Grumpy Old Man (not me, in this case!) and other input (thanks, reading partners!) and I hope the lessons learned lead to a better result. So far, four or five insignificant (read: extraneous, unrelated to the story) plot lines have been deleted, but I fear the word count goes up as often as it goes down; it’s still over 110K. Hopefully, they are better used than the earlier ones.

The next task will be the description and the covers. Suggestions will be welcome; if you’d like to offer one, say so, and I’ll try to give you information to point you.

Comments are always welcome.

From On the Road

Not a Bing Crosby-Bob Hope movie… I hope. Who remembers them besides me?

We’re back in the land of no internetz, well except for Panera Bread. In Norfolk, on the way to meet the grandson at The Mouse, in Florida. He, with parental units, will arrive Sunday, the same day we plan to get there. While he goes by plane (school vacation is all he has), we’re driving, hence the intermediate stops, here at Gramma’s house and then outside Savannah. Us old people don’t want to drive all that long any more, LOL.

As for writing, my job for now, I’ve finally finished up two critiques for wonderful people that I can’t say any more about since their work isn’t public yet. I’ll try to let you know when they’re available.

Freedom Does Matter has a review on Goodreads. I’m not sure about the proprieties of reposting, but it’s linked from my book page, here. She discusses Mercenaries, too. Sales are existent, but countable on hands so far.

The third book, which has gone through maybe ten titles starting with Background Check, is currently called Connections for now. I’m trying to find a photo or two I can work both the English and Spanish words into. I have, two days ago, finished a major revision, recommended by my readers, and I’m letting it stew for a week or so, till we return home at the end of the month. If I can get it read again, I’m hopeful for an April release. I’ll post more about that later, along with some ideas for the cover. Reaction is always welcome.

The fourth book, working title Coda?, will be coming up for more work now that I’ve set Connections aside. Lessons learned from Connections are being applied, and that should make the story both stronger and clearer. But new scenes are required! It’s about 70Kwords now; the goal is 110K +/-, similar to Freedom and Connections.

I don’t believe I mentioned it before, but the hand-hewn map I used in the front matter of all the Mercenaries books describing the Nest, has been redrawn by Tommi Salama, find him at tommisalama (at) gmail.com. I think he did a great job; he’s looking at another map of the Nest, used in the reference material section, again, of all the books. You could find a worse cartographer. He does graphic design as well.

There are interesting posts at Ramblings of a Grumpy Old Man, . Try it and see if you like it.


Your thoughts and comments are always welcome!