Neil Crabtree-- Believable Lies

Neil Crabtree lives and writes in Miami, Florida. His stories have appeared in online journals Verbsap.com, Bewilderingstories.com, and DenverSyntax.com. The ending story in Believable Lies, "Papa's Girl", appears in print this October in American Fiction: Volume 11, 2010 from New Rivers Press. In addition to the story collection Believable Lies, he has written a novel, Rooster, and is working hard on the second novel.

"I grew up in the 60's and I don't think the hippie days ever really go out of you. My stories run in a cycle from hippie stoner days through adult life into an old age where seniors are offered rewards for Early Termination. There are 19 stories in all, and none of them are cutesy-poignant Readers Digest stories. But there's plenty of humor, and I take a hard look at our modern times. Readers will find some of themselves in my characters."

"The stories in Neil Crabtree’s debut story collection Believable Lies are bold, risky, and wildly entertaining. Trust me—you’re going to be carried away to a more vivid and compelling world than the one you’re living in. You’ll be laughing so hard you won’t realize you’re crying. No one should be this good, or this funny, the first time out. Neil’s genius is his ability to uncover the sadness that underlies the comic and the grandeur just below the surface of our sorry lives”. —John Dufresne, author of Requiem, MASS., Is Life Like This? and Johnny Too Bad, from W.W.Norton, NY.

Question: What will eReaders like?
Answer: Short stories are great for the Kindle or Nook or iPhone/iPad, for any of the readers. You get a blast of good fiction like a shot of espresso, and get to see different characters in different situations. And short stories are more familiar, like sitting around with a friend and swapping tales. It's like having room to smile and wave my arms around while I talk. In a novel, the structure and sheer size are geared to getting to know people slowly, and to see a history develop. Believable Lies will give you a jolt from the first page. "Live Band Tonight" opens with rock'n'rollers, The Voice, and the Bryllcreem Conspiracy.

Question: Why did you go indie?
Answer:  The opportunity to reach readers is incredible. The amount of ass-kissing is greatly reduced. Sitting around waiting for rejection slips can take the heart right out of you. And getting an agent is harder than before. I write the worst query letters ever, and my synopsis of my novel is 18 pages long. So, I suck at the basic approach to getting into print. I remember sending out a story to Verbsap.com and hearing back from Laurie Seidler that night! I became a devout fan of indie right there.

Question: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
Answer: Genre is another agent term I have trouble with. My novel is a comic-literary-thriller. At my five minute Pitch Session with a very good agent at a MWA event in Florida, I tried, and failed, to explain what that meant. Believable Lies is easier. It's a story collection, worked on for years, that's been read and vetted by some excellent writers and editors. My favorite story writers would be John Dufresne, Dennis Johnson, Dennis Lehane, David Foster Wallace, Amy Hempel, Junot Diaz, Jonathan Franzen, and the classics we all love, Tolstoy, Joyce, Hemingway, Faulkner, Wodehouse.

Believable Lies is available for $2.99 at Amazon.com  http://www.amazon.com/Believable-Lies-ebook/dp/B003XRE6N4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1282786483&sr=1-1

and at Smashwords.com http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/20446 for $2.99 

http://believablelies.blogspot.com
http://neilsreaders.blogspot.com
http://neilcrabbooks.blogspot.com
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Pitts/Kerkhoven--The Adventures of Whatley Tupper

Rudolf Kerkhoven and Daniel Pitts tirelessly worked on this book for five years.  (Actually, they both grew tired quite a few times in those five years.)


The Adventures of Whatley Tupper is a comedic take on the Choose Your Own Adventures books from the 80's.  Whatley Tupper, a middle-aged janitor in a university, may end up doing many things tonight.  He may take on a renegade group of custodians.  He may take on the trigger-happy head of campus security.  He may travel to Honduras to find the long-deported love of his life.  He may travel into parallel universes that are in fact other plot lines.  He may even end up just being a dream in the mind of his idol, Tom Selleck.  Who knows?  There are 37 different ends, and what happens is all up to you!

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
Instead of flipping to different pages like the original choose your own adventure books, you click on hyperlinks.  And using the BACK button, readers can easily trace back their steps.


Q: Why did you go indie?
E-publishing works perfectly for this book.  If published traditionally, it would require more more than 400 pages, which is too much... girth... for light comedy.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
I don't think there are any authors in the 'comedic-choose-your-own adventure-for-adults' genre, to be honest.

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords:
http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Whatley-Tupper-Choose-ebook/dp/B00408ASO6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1282541132&sr=8-1-catcorr

Noah Mullette-Gillman-- The White Hairs

Noah Mullette-Gillman was born in Montclair, New Jersey. He spent his childhood there, as well as in the town of Manly, Australia, and the woods of Upstate New York. He earned a multidisciplinary degree in Philosophy and Creative Writing at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
His favorite color is blue.
His favorite number is 8.

The White Hairs is the adventure of a white furry creature named Farshoul. It opens with him learning to leave his body and traveling through the skies astrally for the first time. When he gets back into his body, his people tell him that he failed and imagined the whole thing.

He tries again, on his own, and encounters monsters, giants, and all sorts of terrors which do not fit with what his people have taught him one sees when traveling outside of their body. His adventures damage him, in a way that he may never recover from...

It's a work of spiritual mythology. My hope is that the reader will experience Farshoul's loss and isolation with him, and that then when he fights to get back what he has lost, it will inspire similar action in their own lives.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

Review after review has commented on the soft, steady, and flowing voice I use to tell the story. More than that, I hope they respond to reading a fantasy story that actually is new. It isn't a re-hash or re-imagining of stories they've read dozens of times. This is something new under the sun!

I also hope they feel a real affection for Farshoul. What he goes through is extraordinary. That he is able to pull himself together after his complete failure to fit into their society is a really staggering accomplishment.

Q: Why did you go indie?

I spent several years working on a long novel that I was immensely proud of. I put all of my hopes and dreams into it. When I was done, I thought it was a masterpiece. As it turns out, I had made a major mistake: I'd written a 500 word SINGLE SPACED novel! (250,000 words!) So, really a thousand page book.

All the same I did manage to interest some agencies in looking it over. They were very complimentary and actually read the first couple of hundred pages, but then said they wanted to read my NEXT book. This was discouraging, and I had a hard time writing for about a year.

I then learned about the indie publishing phenomenon. The White Hairs was the story I had written immediately prior to the long work. I had never submitted it anywhere, and as a couple of years went by I was becoming more and more fond of it. So, I decided to put it out into the world and see what people thought!

So far the reviews have been very kind. But more than that, they seem to really understand what I was trying to do! That's the best part!

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

Neil Gaiman, Paulo Coelho, Doris Lessing, Phillip K Dick, Stephen Donaldson, Alexandro Jodorowsky, the list goes on and on.... I read more non-fiction than fiction and a vast amount of ancient mythology from all over the world. I love to find a big fat volume with a title like the Myths of Scandinavia, or Wales, or Korea... and just read it from cover to cover!
I'm not looking for ideas to steal, but rather to learn how to think like they did and aim for similar targets as they were aiming for. My hope is that my work will be entertaining, but not just entertaining.

I appreciate authors with a real creativity work ethic; who aren't just satisfied having one idea for each story or celebrating their past work. I appreciate most the writers who are constantly competing against their old ideas and stories!

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords

www.noahmullette-gillman.com

$2.99 download Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/The-White-Hairs-ebook/dp/B003WJRHXY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1280034937&sr=1-1
$14.99 paperback at Lulu.com
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-white-hairs/11272974
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Alex Knight-- What Luck!

Alex Knight enjoys writing mysteries, horror stories and romantic comedies. Her recent projects include Murder in Mendocino, Incredible Luck! (the sequel to What Luck!) and Accidental Agent. She currently resides in Hamilton, Ontario.

“What Luck!” is a story about fear, greed, violence, unconditional loyalty and love. Oh yes, and the central characters just happen to be vampires.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

I think readers will enjoy the central characters. Instead of lovers reunited after death in a perfect immutable Heaven, they came together again earthbound in an ugly changing world and try to make the best of it. They are creatures of the dark, spreading light.

Q: Why did you go indie?

Going indie meant that I could take my novels to the readers much sooner than if I had followed the traditional route.  Actually, I think going indie will become the traditional route.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

If we’re talking about vampires novels then I would have to say Bram Stoker.  Several other writers who have entertained and inspired me are Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, John D. MacDonald, Edgar Allen Poe, Ross MacDonald, Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, James Patterson and Lawrence Block, just to name a few.

http://www.amazon.com/What-Luck-ebook/dp/B003MQMPLQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1275350450&sr=1-6

http://booklocker.com/books/4701.html

Rodolfo Peña--An Inconsequential Murder

Rodolfo Peña: I live in Biarritz, France on the beautiful Atlantic coast of the Basque country. I have been writing most of my life, but until now mostly in Spanish, my native language. I have written television scripts, advertising audiovisuals, newspaper commentary, magazine articles, and a myriad of other things. I am a translator in three languages: English, Spanish, and French. My French wife and I live a quiet life in our chalet where we read a lot, work on translations, argue about cooking, and tend our vegetable garden. In summer we usually go to Paris where I like to pretend I am a painter and in winter we go to Mexico, where I don't have to pretend to be a native.

An Inconsequential Murder: When the body of a young software engineer is found decapitated by the railroad tracks in Monterrey, Mexico, Detective Guillermo Lombardo, a 30-year veteran of the Investigations Department is assigned to this seemingly "inconsequential" case.

Ignoring orders that he “wrap up the case quickly” his investigations reveal that the young man's murder is far from being “inconsequential”.

As he follows leads and the scant evidence found at the scene of the crime, he discovers that the young man was just a foot soldier in a war being waged by powerful politicians, drug lords, and undercover agents from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

 Detective Lombardo threads his way through this dangerous, murderous world, doggedly pursuing the killers because, as he admits to the beautiful, young widow of the murdered man, he is the kind of policeman who still believes that “doing the right thing” and seeking “justice for the little guy” is not only his job, but his way of life.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

I think that the exotic location and characters. Lombardo is a very interesting character that I based on real policemen that I have met and known.

Q: Why did you go indie?

People at indie publishers are more caring and nurturing in their relationship with their authors. It is truly a very personalized experience.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in the suspense, mystery, horror, and thriller fields?

The classics: Raymond Chandler, Dashielle Hammett, and Graham Greene; but also a very modern writer: David Mitchell 

http://www.amazon.com/An-Inconsequential-Murder-ebook/dp/B003VIWP1U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AC2OY4L5JUE2O&s=digital-text&qid=1279958165&sr=1-1

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/18733

Paved With Good Intentions--Keith B. Darrell

Exiled on Earth, naive angel Gabriel and amoral demon Lucifer -- in the human guise of “Gabe Horn” and “Lou Cypher” -- form an unlikely partnership as private investigators in Las Vegas. Their adventures take them across the seven heavenly realms, into the nine levels of Hell, through the dream realm of the Dreamscape, and even through time to Camelot. Along the way, the pair encounter a wickedly funny assortment of angels, demons, witches, warlocks, vampires, and other supernatural creatures.

Meet some of the most imaginative characters in contemporary fantasy, including an intriguing array of protagonists (Miss Twitch, a Salem witch; Emma, a British schoolgirl and witch-in-training, and Morgan Summers, a Dreamwalker) and antagonists (sadistic witch-hunter Nathaniel Thornhill, a golem, a Paiute Shaman, the corporate vampires of Nosferatu, Inc., trampires, gangsters, and nefarious demons). Some of the vampires include Sharon -- she’s Jewish, crosses don’t bother her; Pandora -- trouble follows her like a shadow; Claude -- he’s too claustrophobic to use a coffin; and Artemus -- a 10-year-old boy who’s been a vampire for nearly 457 years. But the real stars are the ultimate odd couple, Gabriel and Lucifer, whose comedic banter and improbable escapades will amuse and thrill readers and leave them asking for more.

Q: What will readers like about your book?
It's funny and quirky, yet filled with adventure and drama. It's well written. The characters are drafted with rich characterization, and the novel is written as episodic fiction -- a series of self-contained stories that add up to a unified tale, as the reader sees the protangonist grow and evolve, and the plot expands in surprising directions.


Q: Why did you go indie?
My first book, "Issues In Internet Law", dealt with time-sensitive subject matter that was best served by indie publishing, meaning it could be brought to market faster. Since then, I haven't even considered anything other than publishing through my own company.


Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
My genre is speculative fiction, so Harlan Ellison and Neil Gaiman come to mind. But in my anthology "Randoms", I credited my muses: William Shakespeare, O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Dante Alighieri, e. e. cummings, Arthur Rimbaud, Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, Robert Heinlein, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Douglas Adams, Carlos Castaneda, and the Marquis de Sade.


LINKS
http://www.amazon.com/Paved-Good-Intentions-Keith-Darrell/dp/0977161196/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282192150&sr=8-8

http://amberbookcompany.com/Paved.html

http://www.amberbookcompany.com/

JL Bryan- Latter-Day Vampires

J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on English Renaissance and Romantic literature. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. Most of his writing wanders into the horror or science fiction genres, reaching into the darker depths of human nature, where things are often scary or funny.

He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina and assorted pets. They have an organic and natural pet supply store (www.momandpups.com, which is where his cats and dogs often blog). He's been enjoying ebooks by indie authors of all genres lately.

Product description:
Are you sick of mopey, moody, whining vampires? Two New Orleans vampires are, and they’re doing something about it. Their plan to abolish the annoying, pathetic new vampires and restore the traditional evil vampire hinges on one teenage girl…

Hunterleigh Pelican moves from Big City to the ugly little town of Sacks, Utah. She falls for a handsome, diseased-looking vampire named Eggbert, but his feeble non-blood-drinking powers won’t protect her when the fangs hit the fan.

Also sniffing after Hunterleigh is the handsome Native American boy Lycanthro Turns-Into-Wolf, who may have some sort of supernatural secret of his own.

Only Hunterleigh can stop the evil New Orleans vampire Douchette, his significant life partner Lionel, and their plot to restore the Dark Ages of vampire rule.

Meanwhile, the hot n’ lusty Vampire Queen of Utah is thirsty to sink her teeth deep into Hunterleigh’s beloved Eggbert. Also meanwhile, Hunterleigh’s father, Professor of Skepticism and Debunkery at Sacks Community College, is called away to debunk rumors of vampires taking over a small town in Maine.

Can Hunterleigh save the people she loves? Can she stop the evil New Orleans vampires from bringing back the Dark Ages? Can she win Eggbert’s heart while still stringing Lycanthro along? And will she ever find a decent prom dress? Tune in to find out!




Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

It’s a fun little satire that plays with some of the major vampire stories, from Stephen King to Sookie Stackhouse. It’s really a satire of all the touchy-feely, introverted and depressed vampires you see everywhere these days. Some older vampires are sick of being portrayed as wimpy and they want everyone to fear and respect vampires again, and that’s the basic story. Readers who are fans of horror will enjoy it the most and get more of the jokes. I didn’t just stick to the most recent trends but also pulled from writers I grew up reading, like Anne Rice.

Q: Why did you go indie?

I’ve been writing books for years and it’s nearly impossible to get a response from New York anymore. I query a slew of people for each book, and for the most part you don’t even get a reply. With the indie approach, you can actually get your books out there to readers instead of just moldering in your desk drawer (or your hard drive). And the income from the ebooks gives you plenty of incentive to keep writing and not get discouraged.



So far, I have four ebooks out and I plan to put out plenty more. I enjoy the freedom to create what I want and offer it to the world, and the whole renegade culture we indie authors are developing together.



Also, you don’t have to worry about your rights regarding your work, because you keep them all. It’s nice to know that all of these books will still be for sale online when I’m a feeble and demented old man.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

In horror, I grew up reading Stephen King, Clive Barker, Anne Rice, H.P. Lovecraft.

Some of my current favorite horror writers include Bentley Little, Brandon Massey, David McAfee and Scott Nicholson.



The humor in this book was strongly influenced by Douglas Adams, and by the fact that I’ve spent way too much time watching Mystery Science Theater 3000.


http://www.amazon.com/Mid-Afternoon-Ultra-Sexy-Frightening-Blood-Curling-ebook/dp/B0040X4YJQ
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Scott Cleveland--Pale Boundaries

Scott Cleveland has been a voracious reader since he picked up his first science fiction novel in a supermarket check-out in the mid-70’s. A diet of Heinlein, Asimov, Foster and McCaffrey, among many others, spurred him to pursue an English degree while a twenty-five-year-plus military career paid the bills. He currently resides in Eastern Washington with his wife, Carol, a dog, and the dog’s two pet cats.


PALE BOUNDARIES: Where do you go after you're torn from the only planet you've ever called home? What do you do when your new home despises foreigners?
Who do you blame when they kill someone you care about....and how do you take revenge?

Terson Reilly knew things would be different on Nivia. But he wasn't prepared for the draconian environmental laws, harsh population control measures or the prejudice against outsiders-and they didn't expect what he was willing to do to defend himself. Terson finds love when he meets Virene, an independent young woman chafing under the strict social controls herself. The couple do their best to conform, but their rebellious streak leads them beyond the colony's boundaries where an attempt to rescue the crew of a crashed spacecraft unwittingly sets in motion events that threaten to expose not only Nivia's dark secret, but that of a powerful criminal organization as well.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

A: The science part of the fiction is merely a backdrop; the story itself is about people. The heroes have flaws, the villains have virtues, and the readers, I hope, will see something they are or want to be in all of them.

Q: Why did you go indie?

A: I thought for a long time that traditional publishing was the pinnacle of success. As I learned the cold, hard facts of the publishing business, however, I realized how much the end product is altered by commercial influences (assuming I could even break in). What I really wanted was to get my work in front of people and indie publishing, especially e-publishing, made that possible.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

A: John Scalzi and Elizabeth Moon—probably because the quality of their storytelling is what I aspire to.

Amazon Link: www.amazon.com/dp/B0036FU0U6

Ellen O'Connell--Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold

Ellen O’Connell lives in Douglas County, Colorado, where she raised, trained, and showed National Champion Morgan horses for over twenty years as Serendipity Morgans. Although she now concentrates on rally, carting, and drafting competition with her dogs, Ellen still has one Morgan mare, Serendipity B Wichin. Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold is her second novel; her first, Rottweiler Rescue, is a cozy mystery.

Product description: Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold is a 118,000 word story of romance and family conflicts set in Colorado in 1885. Anne Wells has embarrassed her rigidly proper family since she was a child with occasional but grievous lapses from ladylike behavior. They blame those lapses for the disgraceful fact that she is a spinster at 28. Cord Bennett, the son of his father's second marriage to a Cheyenne woman, is more than an embarrassment to his well-to-do family of ranchers and lawyers - they are ashamed and afraid of their black sheep. When Anne and Cord are found alone together, her father's fury leads to violence. Cord's family accepts that the fault is his. Can Anne and Cord use the freedom of being condemned for sins they didn't commit to make a life together? Or will their disapproving, interfering families tear them apart?

Q: What will e-readers like about your book? From the reviews and private emails I've received from readers, the characters are what they like the most. The heroine is strong but not shrewish, and the hero has that kind of self-confident strength that gives him no need to push others around to prove it. Of course, they also like the story, which is a bit different.

Q: Why did you go indie? After some investigation into the world of traditional publishing and attending several writers' conferences (Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold was a finalist in two contests some years ago), I realized that world wasn't for me and put aside all thoughts of having anything published until I heard about Amazon's DTP in late 2009. I could hardly believe Amazon was giving people such an opportunity and couldn't get my already written books out fast enough.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in the suspense, mystery, horror, and thriller fields? Dick Francis, Dana Stabenow, Nevada Barr, Tony Hillerman, Susan Conant.
[Favorite authors in the western and romance field: Romance: Penelope Williamson, Maggie Osborne, Emily Carmichael. Western: Jack Schaefer, Louis L'Amour.



http://www.amazon.com/Eyes-Silver-Gold-ebook/dp/B003GDJOFU

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/13028

Luna Lindsey-- Make Willing the Prey

Luna Lindsey is an indie author located in Seattle, WA. Her first story (about a hippopotamus) crawled out of her head at the early age of 4. After running out of things to say about hippopotami, she switched genres to sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Now Luna writes ebooks for devices like the Kindle.

Make Willing the Prey: Sandy Windham is the least likely person to ever believe in faeries, and she especially wouldn't want to marry one. That's why she's caught the eye of Haun, a wicked faerie who's been put to an interesting challenge: Get a banal girl to marry him.

At first Sandy is delighted to receive so many luxurious gifts from a secret admirer. It's flattering and fun, and she hopes to one day meet this mysterious romantic. But before long the seduction turns chilling and Sandy wants the game to stop. By then it's too late. She and her friend Jina are ensnared in a web of illusions they may never be able to escape.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

Make Willing the Prey is both scary and magical. The classic Celtic fairytale describes capricious creatures with alien morality. They often steal food or cows, kidnap children and women, and lure people into fairyland. If fae lived in a modern setting, they won't find many cows, but there are plenty of tempting damsels to lure. It features not one, but two strong female protagonists, and a very creepy unseelie faerie. Readers will thrilled, chilled, enthralled, and surprised.

Q: Why did you go indie?

Much of my work crosses multiple genres and can be difficult to categorize. For this and other reasons, I wanted creative control of my work. I also like the ability to publish quickly after the final draft is ready.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

Anne Rice, Anne Bishop, Terry Goodkind, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and Jacqueline Carey

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Willing-the-Prey-ebook/dp/B003Z0CV68
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David Wisehart- Devil's Lair

David Wisehart is the author of an historical fantasy novel, Devil's Lair. He was the writer-director-producer of Valentino: a play in verse at the 2010 Hollywood Fringe Festival. He also wrote the libretto for an original opera, The Other Wise Man, that he will direct for the 2010 holiday season. For Fox Interactive he produced James Cameron’s Titanic Explorer and three video games based on The Simpsons. For Virgin he produced educational software based on Charles Schulz’s Peanuts characters. David wrote art history documentaries for Philips Media. He received his B.A. in Film and Television from UCLA, and was the Review Editor for the Daily Bruin. He served as a research assistant for The Aerospace Corporation. During high school he programmed computers for NASA.


Devil's Lair is a thrilling adventure through Dante's Inferno. It is the year of our Lord 1349. The world is dying as the Black Death sweeps through Europe. One hope survives: a vision of the Holy Grail. Stolen by Lucifer, the Grail now lies in the lowest circle of Hell. To save the human race, someone must steal the Grail from the Devil and return it to the world above. Four pilgrims—a knight, a friar, a poet, and a prophetess—journey down into Hell to confront their deepest fears...and the Devil himself.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

It's an epic historical fantasy with strong characters, a tense plot, and a satisfying conclusion.

Q: Why did you go indie?

To control my own destiny.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

My historical fantasy novel is heavily influenced by my love of J.R.R. Tolkien, Umberto Eco, Gene Wolfe, Jorge Luis Borges, George R.R. Martin, Homer, Virgil, and Dante.

Link to Devil's Lair on Amazon:

Linda Acaster--Hostage of the heart

Linda Acaster is a mainstream published UK novelist, with a host of short fiction and non-fiction to her credit, who is digitally indie authoring her backlist as a springboard to launching the first of a trilogy of contemporary thrillers as original ebooks.

Hostage of the Heart is a Mediaeval romance set on the English-Welsh borders in 1066. With the northern militia gone to support the new king, Rhodri ap Hywel sweeps down the valley to reclaim lands stolen by the English, taking the Saxon Lady Dena as a battle hostage. But who is the more barbaric: a man who protects his people by the strength of his sword-arm, or Dena’s kin who swear fealty to a canon of lies and refuse to pay her ransom? Dare she place her life in the hands of a warrior-knight shielding dark secrets of his own?


What will e-readers like about your book?
It’s a fast-paced adventure offering a different perspective on an era of British history, not the courtly lives of the powerful, but the ordinary people on the ground who always bear the brunt of others machinations. Dena might be a ‘lady’ but she’s a poor relative accepted into her uncle’s household to gain him prestige by marriage. When events turn, she becomes first disposable, then a bargaining tool. What price integrity? What price truth?


Why did you go indie?
Hostage of the Heart, and my other historical romance Beneath The Shining Mountains, were originally mainstream print novels. I’ve had their rights reverted for some time and as indie ebook publishing on Amazon has opened to non-USA citizens I decided to bring them to a different readership, and use the experience as a dry run for my contemporary Torc of Moonlight. It’s been a fascinating learning curve.

Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
Rosemary Sutcliff’s novels showed me how history could be made both exciting and educational, and it’s something I always try to emulate. No matter what the genre, readers should be able to leave a novel having been intrigued by something factual. Modern authors in the Medieval romance genre include Lindsay Townsend, a UK writer who has had better success in the USA than in her own country, which says a lot more about publishers than it does readers.

Amazon US Kindle page http://tinyurl.com/3a2dyz5

Amazon UK Kindle page http://tinyurl.com/24xbekn

Smashwords page https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14120
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Donna Faz- The Merry-Go-Round

Donna Fasano is an award-winning, best-selling author whose books have sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide.

“. . .complex, funny, and realistic. . .” ~Wilmington News Journal

The Merry-Go-Round: When Lauren divorces her husband, she has one thought on her mind...stepping off the merry-go-round. However, her life quickly turns into a three-ring circus: her hypochondriac father moves in, her ex is using her shower when she's not home, and her perky assistant is pushing her out into the fearsome dating world. She also has to decide if the dilapidated barn and vintage merry-go-round she was awarded in the divorce settlement is a blessing or a bane. As if Lauren's personal life isn't chaotic enough, this slightly jaded attorney is overrun with a cast of quirky characters who can't stay on the right side of the law. What's a woman to do? She can allow life to spin her in circles forever. Or she can reach out and grab the brass ring.


Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
The Merry-Go-Round is a romantic women's fiction novel that sort of slips over into the chick lit category, too. It's different in that the book opens with a couple getting a divorce. Some of my readers have said that they've never read anything quite like it and that certain scenes have made them laugh right out loud. I'm proud of that!

Q: Why did you go indie?
My editor at Harlequin bought this book for their line of women's fiction called NeXt. However, the line folded just as I was finishing the manuscript so the rights to the book reverted to me. I hated the idea that this book was sitting on my desk gathering dust. So I published it, and I don't mind saying I'm enjoying being an independent author.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jennifer Crusie, Maggie Osborne, Jennifer Greene...too many to mention.

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Merry-Go-Round-ebook/dp/B002ZNJL78
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/9466

Scott Nicholson-- Murdermouth: Zombie Bits

Scott Nicholson is a writer, journalist, and freelance editor living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He is author of Speed Dating with the Dead, Drummer Boy, and 10 other novels, five story collections, four comics series, and six screenplays. He also edited the free writing manual Write Good or Die. He's currently on the Kindle Giveaway Blog Tour, sponsored by Amazon, Kindle Nation Daily, and Dellaster Design.

Murdermouth: Zombie Bits is a collection of eight stories featuring zombies, including the original "A Farewell To Arms," written exclusively for this volume. It includes two tales from the Eden Studio "All Flesh" series, as well as the comic script for the Murdermouth pilot comic. Donate $25 and you can appear drawn as a zombie in the comic. It also includes a bonus story from Jack Kilborn, as well as Jonathan Maberry's "Zombie Apocalypse Survival Scorecard."

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

Possibly nothing, if you don't like zombies. Generally, there is less emphasis on blowing off heads with shotguns and more exploration of how people handle extreme change and how their minds turn under survival pressure. Plus the obligatory "What would it be like to be a zombie?" However, I am pretty sure there are enough dripping body parts to satisfy your taste for zombie gore. And Maberry's scorecard will help prepare you for the end of the world, if we all live that long.

Q: Why did you go indie?

We're all as indie as we want to be. I published six novels in New York and two collections in the small press, so I have a pretty good understanding of how the business works. More importantly, how it does or doesn't work for me. Putting out my own work is the best choice right now, both artistically and commercially. I am grateful for my experiences and appreciate my paid apprenticeship in traditional publishing and I hope to do something in that arena again. However, I am truly enjoying the new partnerships I've made this year.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

"Night of the Living Dead" is still one of my favorite movies, maybe because it takes itself so seriously, unlike the modern humorous-zombie genre. Romero is clearly the godfather, but I also enjoyed in fiction The Book of the Dead anthologies, and the work of Jonathan Maberry and Brian Keene. I never thought zombies would work in mainstream fiction until Keene launched the sub-genre practically single-handedly with "The Rising." Max Brooks isn't horror but I dig his work, and my friend Eric S. Brown is doing some crackling mash-up stuff.

Amazon link:
Smashwords link
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To be eligible for the Kindle DX giveaway, simply post a comment below with contact info. Feel free to debate and discuss the topic, but you will only be entered once per blog. Visit all the blogs on the tour and increase your odds. I’m also giving away a Kindle 3 through the tour newsletter and a Pandora’s Box of free ebooks to a follower of “hauntedcomputer” on Twitter. And, hey, buy my books and put me in the Top 100 and I’ll throw in another random Kindle 3 giveaway through the blogs. Thanks for playing. Complete details at http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/blogtour.htm

BONUS GIVEAWAY: Three people will be randomly selected from the comments to receive free zombie sketch cards drawn by Scott. Amateurish but one-of-a-kind, original art!

Rob Steiner-- The Last Key

Rob Steiner was born in 1972 in Watervliet, MI. He currently lives in Michigan with his wife, daughter, and “wiener-cat” Scully. When he's not spending time with his family or writing books, he's dreaming of one day taking over for Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Andea is a land where humans have learned to harness their Faith --the life essence in all living beings -- to magically shape the world around them. It is a place where warrior-priests called dahkshari keep order by serving as judge, jury, and executioner. And where common Andeans strike out into the unknown frontier along Andea’s borders to escape the overcrowded Great Cities and the strict Faith dogmas of Andea’s cleric lords.

Raven Byrne is a novice dahkshari about to complete his training when he discovers that a popular Andean war hero named Thallan Brael wants to use an ancient magic called the Reaping Key to avenge the deaths of his family killed in Andea's recent war with neighboring Loquath. With the Key, Brael could “reap” the souls of every Loquathi man, woman, and child. The guilty and the innocent would pay for the lives
of Brael's dead family.

With the help of Brael's niece, Seala Mesalek, and an outlaw band of Faith heretics, Raven embarks on a journey across Andea's dangerous frontier to stop Brael from using the Reaping Key to commit genocide. Along the way Raven learns to put aside his prejudice against heretics, and his doubts in himself, to become the honorable dahkshari Andea needs.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
For only $1.99 readers will get a fantasy thriller filled with magic, monsters, characters to love and characters to hate. The good guys aren't as nice as you think, and the bad guys...well, they're not what you'd expect, either.

Q: Why did you go indie?
I'm proud of this book, and I wanted to get it into the hands of the people who count – fantasy readers. I'm a patient guy, but after five years of my agent getting “positive rejections” from every fantasy publisher in New York, even I was getting antsy.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre? Robert E. Howard, Robert Jordan, Steven Erikson, Terry Goodkind, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman. I've learned something about storytelling from each one, and readers will find their influence in THE LAST KEY.


Buy it on Amazon!

Buy it on Smashwords!

William T. Prince-- The Legend of Sasquatch

William T. Prince is a full-time corporate security director and part-time writer. A Native Texan, he presently lives near Houston with his wife and twin daughters. In addition to reading and writing, his interests include classical music, fine coffee, premium cigars, and computers. Published in 2008, The Legend of Sasquatch is his first novel. He will publish his second this year.

In this action-packed character novel, Sasquatch is not the mythical creature rumored to haunt the forests of North America. He is a young Texan named Clint Buchanan ("Buck Hannon") who prowls the streets of Dallas in the late 1970s. Clint seems to have it all--size, strength, intelligence, personality, looks, and any woman he wants. Unfortunately a combination of bad choices and bad luck has tragic results. Join this behemoth as he faces the life-changing and character-defining events of his late adolescence with a colorful supporting cast.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
I have fashioned a gripping story that is primarily a character study, but which also includes a great deal of realistic action and an interesting romance to boot. It is difficult to put down, and many readers report completing it in one sitting. It is gritty and intended for mature readers, but it appeals to men and women equally. My characters are complicated, imperfect, and compelling.

Q: Why did you go indie?
The traditional publishing industry is virtually closed. A writer can't get published without a good agent, and he or she can't get a good agent without having been published. By the time I got around to writing my first novel, I was too old to try to get published the old-fashioned way. I didn't have years to beat my head against a wall and hope that I got lucky, so I decided to publish my book myself. Today's technology makes print-on-demand a viable alternative for getting a "dead-tree book" on the market, and e-book publishing is a piece of cake. I was able to cover both bases with minimal investment, and I have complete control of my work and hold all copyrights.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
Russell Banks and John Irving


Amazon Kindle

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12007

Off Flesh-- Andy Frankham-Allen

Andy Frankham-Allen has written variously for Big Finish Books' Doctor Who anthologies, Short Trips, as well as for Noise Monster Productions' Space 1889 audio series. For five years he was editor of the Doctor Who: The Legacy online series of stories, as well as co-editor (and co-founder) of the eZine Pantechnicon. He's currently living back in his native Wales, and is all set to take the publishing world by storm with a selection of short stories, novellas, and the first part of his Garden Saga, Seeker!

Off Flesh is a macabre little tale about a grey man living a grey life who goes to a very grey convention. And there he meets the youthful and energetic Mr Wyndham. The grey life may be boring, but it is often safer. As Mr Jensen discovers when he begins to investigate the sudden disappearance of Mr Wyndham.



Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

It's an intruiging little tale which follows a married man captivated by another, with dire consequences. As one reviewer put it, it's a mix of the fantastical stories by Roald Dahl and the Hammer House of Horror anthologies from the '70s.

Q: Why did you go indie?

I prefer indie publishers because they care more about the author and the art; their driving force is not the big buck sign at the end of the deal.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in the suspense, mystery, horror, and thriller fields?

My ultimate favourites are John Connolly and Karin Slaughter, but I also follow such authors as Stephen King (who doesn't!), James Herbert, Mark Morris and Stephen Gallagher.


Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Off-Flesh-ebook/dp/B003VYC3PW
Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/19099
and the official Untreed site - http://www.untreedreads.com/?p=1797