Tales of a Texas Boy - Little Eddie Turns 88

I should have posted this earlier. My father, the infamous Little Eddie of Tales of a Texas Boy, reached the grand age of 88 on November 27th. My mom's birthday is the same day, but she's a spring chicken at 86.

Anyway, some of you are familiar with Eddie's almost-true tall tales. I thought you might enjoy seeing Old Eddie nearly 80 years after the stories in the book.

Even if you've read the book, you might not realize that Eddie's picture appears a couple of times in the book. Here are the two story illustrations to remind you.

"No Angel"

Idle hands are the devil's workshop. Even sweet little Eddie can find some trouble to get into. Get an idle kid together with a flock of blackbirds on a clothesline and a shotgun...well, you get the idea. Ma's NOT going to be happy, even if Pa gets a good laugh out of it.

Tales of a Texas Boy - Large Print

Tales of a Texas Boy - Trade Paperback

Tales of a Texas Boy - Kindle

Check my website for purchase links.

Get 'em Comin' and Goin'

Lacking a "real" publisher, I have to get my books out and about. Since I'm a shy person (face-to-face with somebody from whom I'm asking a favor) gives me the heebie-jeebies. I like to write, but I hate to do the marketing thing.

All that being said, I've found that the more editions you have of your self-pubbed book, the broader distribution it gets without you having to do much except create the book editions.

For example, I recently released "Quest for the Simurgh." Uploaded to Lightning Source and through CreateSpace, but used my own ISBN. Large print? Sure, why not. Did that through CS, too, but using their ISBN. I also uploaded ebook format to Smashwords.

So, three different editions are making their way across the cybersphere. Here are the links to all the sites that sell the book in one or more of its incarnations:

Print at Amazon.com
LARGE PRINT at Amazon.com
Kindle at Amazon.com
Print at B&N
LARGE PRINT at B&N
Ebook at B&N
Ebook at Smashwords
Large Print Edition at CreateSpace
Print at CreateSpace

That doesn't count all the 3rd party vendors, of course.

I'm not famous

Hmm. I'm thinking of taking a pen name. Maybe Danae?

Here's the link to the comic strip.

Look Inside Now Available

Quest for the Simurgh

Amazon seems to have changed the Search Inside feature to a Look Inside feature. Hmm. Not sure why. However, Quest for the Simurgh - Large Print now has whatever they want to call it.

Here are the links for all the Quest for the Simurgh editions:

Amazon Large Print Edition 214 pages, $9.95 (16pt Garamond)

Amazon Trade Paperback Edition 128 pages, $7.95
Barnes & Noble Paperback Edition 128 pages, $7.15 member price

Amazon Kindle Edition On special for only 99 cents!
Barnes & Noble nook (yeah, that's their e-reader's name) $1.99

And, of course, Quest is available at Smashwords in a variety of ebook formats. $1.99, but ask the author for coupons to match the Kindle price.

Lessee. Well, you can buy both print editions through CreateSpace, but you won't get that free shipping that you'd get from Amazon or B&N with $25+ orders.

Probably already for sale by 3rd party vendors at various other prices.

Quick Quest Queue

Quest for the Simurgh - Large Print Edition is now available on Amazon for $9.95.
214 pages

I thought it would take them a couple of weeks, but being "in" with the publisher (CreateSpace) gets fast service. I just uploaded the files for the Search Inside feature.

Simurgh Now in Large Print

I just approved the Large Print edition of "Quest for the Simurgh." It will show up on Amazon within a couple of weeks, but it is already available at Create Space:

Quest for the Simurgh - Large Print Edition
218 pages
$9.95

The village magician, Wafa, has gone missing. His star pupil Faiza thinks he has left a clue for her on a page of the Magicalis Bestialis. With the page open and marked with an X, she believes Wafa is telling them to seek out the Simurgh, the mythical birds who possess all the knowledge of the universe. She convinces her three classmates that they must seek the help of the Simurgh to find their teacher.

She leads the boys on a difficult journey into the mountains in search of the elusive birds. A strange little man becomes their guide. However, they do not know he is a spirit leading them toward a battle between good and evil. Spirits, gods, and demons confront the four friends, who are being set up by the otherworldly forces for a much larger task than finding their teacher. The students were chosen to take sides in the battle which might spell the end of the world: a battle between the demons and the spirits.

Harlequin Revisited

I'm amazed that I got so many comments on the Harlequin post.

First off, I apologize for offending the romance writers and readers. Schlock, after all, is in the eye of the beholder. One woman's art is another woman's trash.

I don't like Harlequin for a few reasons in regard to what they publish:

- The covers do show a heavy preponderance of heaving bosoms and bare chests. One word: Fabio.

- Harlequin has a strict formula on how a plot goes from start to finish. Do not waver from the formula as a writer or you'll be getting the "Gee, you could be vanity published by AuthorHouse; we'll put in a good word for you."

Harlequin has shown a deep cynicism and contempt for both its readers and writers. Yet some of you defend them as book publishers. Most of you recognize the contempt they have for you and don't like it one bit. Hence, RWA and other orgs dumping them.

My point, however, is that they made a magnificently brilliant business move. They'll make money from the slushpile.

Will readers keep buying Harlequin products? Will writers continue to submit to them?

Yes. And being mad at me for admiring their audacity still won't get you published.

I also contend that many HQ readers still buy by brand name. If "Harlequin" or "HQ" is anywhere on the cover, readers will buy it. Do they stop to discern whether they might like the plot? Why bother? They already know what the plot is and don't care. If they like the historicals, they'll buy them because the cover has a bare-chest pirate holding a pretty woman on the deck of a ship. If they like a western theme, they'll have a bare-chested cowboy holding a pretty woman on a horse.

Does that mean the writing is bad? Absolutely not. And if you out there as a reader or author decide not to do business with them, that's great. Will enough go that way for HQ to realize they've made a mistake? If so, that's also great. Will they continue to make money after this move like they had a leprechaun's pot of gold. In my opinion, they will.

I hope I'm proved wrong.