Coming Soon: Who Wants To Be A Robot?

Coming Soon to Kobo: Who Wants To Be A Robot?

A Little Book About You is Now FREE on Amazon and Kobo!

Now FREE on Amazon and Kobo!

A LITTE BOOK ABOUT YOU

Take a few moments and read this heart-warming picture book to your child. Featuring over 30 pages of vivid, computer-generated art, there's plenty to keep them interested in addition to the awesome message inside.

There's no better way to tell them that you love them!

Descriptions of my other popular children's books are included after the main feature (an additional 8 pages).

Going Indie: A Change of Heart

Download it for FREE!

After careful consideration (and lack of sleep, chocolate and oxygen), I decided to make A Little Book About You free for the month of July.

Now wait a minute. Didn't I say something to the contrary a few, short months ago? Why the sudden change of heart?

Well, there are several factors that went into my decision. First, ever since Amazon was granted a patent for a possible (and likely) second-hand used e-book market, I pondered how it might negatively impact me as an author. Over the past two years, I've given away tens of thousands of e-books. Were those about to come back to haunt me? If I suddenly had to compete against copies of my own work that I had unwittingly given away for free, I might never sell another again. Why feed my own demise?

Amidst the chaos, a court case involving Capitol Records and ReDigi surfaced, offering a preview of what's to come. In the end, a federal judge ruled against ReDigi for redistributing previously used copies of digital music, and agreed that Capitol Records' copyrights had indeed been violated. Thus, ReDigi cannot resell perfect digital downloads without express written permission from the copyright owner(s).

Here are a couple of articles about the ruling:

·      http://blogs.findlaw.com/decided/2013/04/redigis-reselling-of-digital-music-violates-copyrights-court.html

·      http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/business/media/redigi-loses-suit-over-reselling-of-digital-music.html?_r=0

If ReDigi had prevailed, the results would have been devastating. I truly believe that the very fabric of the digital market would have collapsed, and artists might be forced to focus on physical copies of their work in hopes of getting whatever they can from them. After all, why purchase a digital copy at full price when you can wait a week and buy a "used" one instead? If such a market were allowed to exist, publishers and therefore authors wouldn't be able to earn a decent wage off their endeavors. Worse yet, second-hand markets don't imply that a single penny goes back to the creator. Quite the contrary.

As long as publishers keep prices reasonable for the consumer, the motive for such a market evaporates (a point championed by J.A. Konrath). Besides, it’s our duty not to gouge the consumer for ever penny we can (though I suspect there are others who would disagree with this assertion).

With this ruling in hand, the specter of a used digital marketplace has waned in my feeble, old mind, and I feel obligated to provide readers with a taste of my work.

Besides, it's good business.

Second, the most valuable asset for a writer is the free giveaway. Sure, tweaking prices can lead to surprising results, but there's no better way to generate instant enthusiasm for your work than by setting it free. It’s also an excellent way to get unsolicited reviews. Sure, not all reviews are glowing, and in fact, most of my 1-star reviews come from trolls who didn’t pay a dime, but I tend to accumulate more positive reviews in this manner than otherwise.

Third, marketing is invaluable, and I'd be a fool to pass up effective free marketing. Within my books are advertisements for other works (for better or worse), which frequently lead to sales. I use affiliate links in these ads, which nets me additional revenue when they make a sale in Amazon (and not necessarily for my work). With all cylinders going, it's hard not to make a hundred dollars per month off affiliate revenue, which is a nice, painless way to supplement your income. Providing readers with affiliate links can be just as important as selling a copy of your book. Occasionally people buy Kindles, which earns you $10-$15 per sale. Sure, it doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen.

To make this work, you've got to get your affiliate links out there—not just hundreds but thousands of them. Indeed, the one and only time that I reached $300 in affiliate revenue came as the result of a large giveaway. The more eyeballs on your work, the better the results.

Most importantly, even if the download doesn't result in additional sales or affiliate revenue, exposing new readers to your work is extremely gratifying. I know that someone out there will enjoy it, and hopefully, it will inspire positive change in the world.

That's how I feel about A Little Book About You. It's a simple picture book with a great message. Money should not be the deterrent. Sure, I'd like to make a sale off it, but I'd much rather have it in the hands of someone who can benefit from it.

So here, take it. No strings attached. Download it. Share it. Read it to your kids. It's my “little” gift to you. Enjoy!

P.S. And don’t forget to get your free Slurpee at 7-Eleven today!

The Italian Version of Aveline is Now Available!

The Italian Version of Aveline is now available on Kobo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords!

La piccola Aveline non ha idea di che cosa la aspetta quando si sveglia una mattina di Ottobre. Tutto d’un tratto si ritrova a parlare con delle fate e a guardare il suo cagnolino Milo che balla al ritmo di musica. Ovviamente, nulla e’ mai come sembra quando si tratta di fate, e molte sorprese attendono Aveline e i suoi cari. 

Max Underpants is Now Available!

Some crazy kid named Dingleberry Small just published his first short story, Max Underpants. Check it out!

Aveline & The Great Pumpkin Bash - Chapter 3: Emerge

Chapter 3: Emerge

Instinctively Aveline veered aside just as the spell wore off, sending the behemoth shooting past her in a fiery blur. The longer she lingered in the chasm, the more obvious it became that she could not outwing the wicked worm, and that her only hope of survival was through the aid of magic and any clever designs that she could devise.  But dragons were clever creatures too, and full of magic.

“How did you do that?” The dragon roared, its ravenous hunger unfulfilled.

“The name’s Aveline: fairy princess, Wishbringer and junior architect of the threads of time.” She bowed. She particularly like the word ‘architect.’ It made her feel big inside.

“You overestimate your ability.” The dragon’s eyes blazed.

“I think not. Now stop right there, Mr. Dragon.” Aveline raised her hand. Again he complied, freezing in place as he whipped his spiky tail. “I’m headed to the pumpkin festival. Would you mind pointing out the way?”

Suddenly her legs snapped together, tighter and tighter as if they were being wrapped in bubblegum. She gazed down in horror as the sticky spindle bound her legs together and surged past her waist. Though Aveline was blinded by the beast’s fiery eyes and ghostly webbing, she could still make out the ugly spider clinging to the dragon’s underside like a wart. Somehow it was impervious to her time spell.

And as the arachnid sprung for her, the little girl discovered a new magic word in her arsenal. “Aside!” she yelled, sending the spider and its webbing falling away harmlessly.

But the insect provided the distraction that the dragon needed. Aveline barely evaded the dragon’s tail as it sliced the air before her. She shot upwards, hoping to find a ceiling to the endless void. “Abracadabra! Err…hocus pocus!” she blurted out, but those were the feeble words of fantasy. “Open sesame!” she called. Didn’t she see that once in a Bugs Bunny cartoon? Finally, she thought back to the stories that her mother had told her. ‘Stop’ and ‘aside’ were featured prominently in those tales. Yet there was another she had not uttered. “Illuminate!” she screamed.

A ring of light severed the darkness above her.

“Did you hear that?” came a familiar voice.

“Hear what, dear?” came another.

“It sounded like Aveline.”

The voices became louder, and giggles, more frequent.

And as the dragon closed in, one last word escaped her. “Emerge.”

Aveline & The Great Pumpkin Bash - Chapter 2: Abomination

Chapter 2: Abomination

At first, she mistook his rasp for the snickering of little girls just a short distance away. But strange sounds swirled through the abomination’s rotting lungs, its exhalation culminating with a mangled whistle.

Aveline surged forward, not questioning the wings sprouting from her back. She didn’t have the slightest notion how large they were or at what velocity she was flying. All she knew was that she needed to get out of there fast, even if it meant delving deeper into the void. “Light as a feather-”

“Hasten thy demise!” The creature roared.

The little girl shot through the chasm with renewed vigor. “Please mother, deliver me from this pit of ruin.”

“Only in ruin shall you find her. Now that I have come for you, your reunion is all but certain.” The beast’s putrid stench filled her nostrils.

His booming voice echoed through her, striking a familiar cord. “I know you. You were in my backyard with the fairies just a short while ago.”

“Are you certain of that?”

Though she did not see him through the dense thicket in her backyard, she could feel his presence. On the journey over he slipped in behind her, waiting patiently for his opportunity when she swept past the gates of the netherfaery.

His glowing eyes snapped open before her, dull and glassy like chunks of dusty ice. “There is no sense running any longer. Accept your fate as any primitive should.” Blue fire erupted from his mouth, causing his teeth to glow as well.  Rows and rows of hideous teeth snapped down at her, each about the size of her abbreviated form.

“Anabelle, Anaia, Amorina!” she cried, swerving aside at the last instant.

“They cannot help you here.” The monster unleashed its volcanic breath again, singeing Aveline’s wings.

It was a dragon, here in the darkness with her! And it wasn’t a cute little pet dragon as found in children’s books, but a demon born of nightmares.

“Mommy….daddy…please!” She knifed through the air.

“Yesss…cry for mommy and daddy…” The dragon illuminated the void with its white-hot breath. Before Aveline knew it, the winged serpent was on top of her.

As he snapped down, the little girl cried out, “No, stop!” And suddenly all was still in that dark, dank place. “Stop,” she repeated, and turned to face the beast. Though its jaws were extended and fiery breath gushing from its mouth, the dragon was held there, suspended in time. “You did what I asked of you,” Aveline gasped.