Jeff Thomason- The Scientific Method

A young adult science fiction book with over a dozen of original illustrations in the vein of Hardy Boys, but for older readers.

Jeff Thomason is the creator of the Cully Koala comic strip and author of the Wandering Koala tales. Jeff's dream has always been to be a rock star. Unfortunately, he can't sing, he can't dance, and he doesn't look good in tight leather pants. So he decided to pursue his second dream and become a writer and artist. When he isn't working on his own creations, he also provides graphic design, web development, and illustrations for companies all over the country.

Product description:

He’s done it! Brent Jakes has discovered the Unified Field Theory, the Holy Grail of Physics! It will provide unlimited energy, new medical breakthroughs, and other advances only dreamed of before. There’s just one on catch: it’ll cost three men their careers. Shouldn’t the benefits to society outweigh the loss to a few individuals? Unfortunately, science is not immune to the corruption of greed and politics. Only the intervention of a silent wanderer can stop them.

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

They will enjoy the crisp, sharp writing; the unique characters; and the beautiful illustrations.

Q: Why did you go indie?

I had very specific ideas about how my book should look. I really liked boys adventure stories like Hardy Boys and wanted to create something like that, but for slightly older readers.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

Charles Sheffield, Orson Scott Card, Peter David, Greg Rucka, L. Sprague deCamp, Louise Simonson, Frank Miller

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords

http://www.WanderingKoala.com

Keryl Raist- Sylvianna

Keryl Raist is a part-time writer, part-time blogger, part-time book reviewer, and full-time mom.  When not balancing babies with books, she likes to sleep.  She lives in Charleston, SC, with two little boys; the "Number One, All-Star, Son-In-Law Of The Year Champion" (according to a discerning panel of her mom and mom's best friends); and a remarkably unflusterable cat.

Product description: Sarah Metz just got to Sylvianna College.  She went in search of a biology degree.  She found a group of wizards on the run from their past.  They remember her.  She doesn't remember them.  Over the next year, she'll help them fight off the creatures trying to kill them, fall back into love with the man who used to be her husband, break the heart of her best friend while doing it, and maybe, if they're very, very lucky, not remember who she used to be.

Sylvianna is a modern day fantasy with a scorching hot romance and a deeply layered plot.  Angels, demons, magic, sword fights, free will, destiny, and true love all weave into a complex tale of the search for redemption.

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

It's a deeply layered fantasy for adults with sympathetic characters, a well thought out magical system, and enough action to keep men happy and enough romance to keep women happy. 

Q: Why did you go indie?

This will sound a bit mercenary, but I wanted to own all of my rights.  I didn't want to see my characters end up in sequels and prequels that I didn't write or authorize.  I didn't want to see them end up in movies that I abhorred.  And I wanted to sell at my own speed, not having to create a six week blitz and never be seen again if it didn't work out well.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

Charlaine Harris, MeiLin Miranda, and a huge collection of very talented fan fic writers who don't use their real names. 

http://www.topublishornotto.blogspot.com
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34284?ref=scottnicholson
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvianna-ebook/dp/B004H1T98C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1294081782&sr=8-2

Donna Burgess- Darklands

Donna Burgess is an author of dark fiction and poetry who enjoys surfing, painting and has a deep affection for all things Monty Python and low-budget horror flicks.  Over the past fifteen years, her fiction and poetry has appeared in genre publications such as Weird Tales, Dark Wisdom, Sybil’s Garage and others.  She has been married for twenty years and has two children.  Her newest releases include Darklands: a vampire’s tale (the first book in the Darklands Vampires series) and Breaths in Winter, a short story collection.  Both are available in print and e-book. When she is not conjuring, she can be found surfing.

Product description:

Halloween night, twenty years ago, college student Susan Archer watched as her beloved twin brother was brutally murdered at the hands of a man she invited into their home.  Still haunted by the guilt of that night, Susan is now a tough but bitter cop in a nowhere town, trying as best she can to lead a normal life.  When she is nearly killed during a wild shoot-out, she realizes she is not as strong as she first thought.  Fearing a breakdown, she flees the confines of her safe boyfriend and familiar surroundings to find salvation in the arms of “Deathwalker” Devin McCree—the very man who killed her brother.

But things aren’t always what they seem and she quickly realizes Devin was not the monster she originally thought, but a kind of guardian angel instead.

On the run from a crazed Nazi vampire-hunter named Kasper, she and Devin must find a way to endure the dreary urban landscape of a dying metropolis and escape Kasper’s wrath.  
 
Darklands is a sexy and violent tale of survival, bloodlust and two people grasping to the edge of immortality while trying to hang on the last shreds of their humanity. Darklands: a vampire’s tale is the first book in the Darklands Vampire series.

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

It's fast-paced, descriptive and features adults in adult situations (yes, they are vampires, but there's more going on than just blood drinking and sex). Hopefully, I have added a new twist to the vampire genre.

Q: Why did you go indie?

Because of you, Scott!  Well, you, Joe Konrath, Amanda Hocking and a couple others. 

I went the traditional route with this book.  A couple of agents really seemed interested.  In the end, one tied it up for months, submitted it to one publisher, where (after about 6 months) it was rejected,  then decided the book was not a good fit for her, after all.  The other agent wanted me to rewrite the entire novel and turn it into a straight romance.  I'm not sure I've ever even read a romance novel, so I knew that would not work out. Looking back, it seemed like an incredible waste of time--I could have been published long ago, and under my own terms. These great indie authors have lifted the stigma self-publishing used to carry and that rocks!

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

I'll always be a Stephen King nut.  I also enjoy Caitlin Kiernan, Cat Valente, Kathe Koja--there's really too many to name.

http://www.amazon.com/Darklands-vampires-tale-Vampires-ebook/dp/B004GNFTQC/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2
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Simon Janus- The Scrubs

James Jeter, the notorious serial killer with a sixth sense, holds court inside London's Wormwood Scrubs Prison. He's the focus of the "North Wing Project." Under the influence of a hallucinogen, Jeter can create an alternative world known as "The Rift" containing the souls of his victims. Pardons are on offer to inmates who'll enter The Rift. Michael Keeler has nothing to lose and little to live for. He's sent into The Rift to learn the identity of Jeter's last victim.  It's a mission where the guilty can be redeemed, but at a price...

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
It’s a very vivid tale, which I think will stick with people long after they've finished reading it.  I hope they'll fall in love with Michael Keeler, a damaged hero, who gives everything to redeem himself while combating a vile antagonist. 

Q: Why did you go indie?
The book had originally come out in paperback with a short print run.  The feedback from readers and reviewers was great and I wanted more people to enjoy the story, especially as it is the first book in a trilogy.  

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
James Herbert is my all time favorite horror writer, but I would include Dean Koontz, David Morrell (especially for his short fiction), Stephen King, Shaun Hutson and Mort Castle.  I could go on all day, but I'll stop there.  :-)

Link to web site or blog
http://simonwood.net/

Eric Brown- A Writer's Life

Eric Brown sold his first short story to Interzone in 1986. He has won the British Science Fiction Award twice for his short stories and has published forty books. His latest include the novel Guardians of the Phoenix and the children's book A Monster Ate My Marmite. His work has been translated into sixteen languages, and he writes a monthly science fiction review column for the Guardian. He lives near Cambridge, England, with his wife and daughter. His website can be found at: www.ericbrownsf.co.uk

 

Mid-list writer Daniel Ellis becomes obsessed with the life and work of
novelist Vaughan Edwards, who disappeared in mysterious circumstances in1996. Edwards' novels, freighted with foreboding tragedy and a lyrical sense of loss, echo something in Ellis's own life. His investigations lead Ellis ever deeper into the enigma that lies at the heart of Vaughan Edwards' country house, Edgecoombe Hall, and the horror that dwells there.

In a departure from his science fiction roots, Eric Brown has written a haunting novella that explores the essence of creativity, the secret of love, and the tragedy that lies at the heart of human existence.

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

A Writer's Life explores the ideas of immortality, creativity, and love, as well as being a passionate evocation of the English countryside.

Q: Why did you go indie?

When Keith Brooke of infinity plus ebooks suggested he do A Writer's Life, I jumped at the chance; first published by PS Publishing, it was reprinted twice and then fell out of print: this is the perfect opportunity to get it into circulation again.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

Michael Coney, Robert Charles Wilson.

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords

My SF Website: www.ericbrown.co.uk

www.keithbrooke.co.uk/ebooks/

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Keith Brooke-- Embrace: Tales from the Dark Side

Keith Brooke: Since 1989 I've had around 80 short stories published around the world, and a dozen novels from major commercial publishers, including Penguin and Gollancz; movie options include one with the people who made the Bridget Jones films. For ten years I ran the online genre fiction showcase infinity plus, publishing work by Jack Vance, Connie Willis, Michael Moorcock and Stephen Baxter and others.

Embrace collects eleven horror and dark fantasy stories, each with a new afterword. Revisit the haunts of your youth, retell the story of your life, embrace your inner demons. Listen to the voices, go on... This book is part of a bigger project to republish much of my short fiction, which also includes the e-collections Liberty Spin, Segue, Faking It and Memesis.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
Well I've been lucky enough to receive some wonderful praise for my short fiction. Jeff VanderMeer says, 'Keith Brooke's prose achieves a rare honesty and clarity, his characters always real people, his situations intriguing and often moving'; Locus magazine says I'm 'in the recognized front ranks of SF writers.' I hope others will feel likewise! I'm probably most widely known as a science-fiction author, but I've always returned to dark and atmospheric horror, often set around the seaside town where I grew up. Embrace collects these stories together for the first time, with tales ranging from full-on horror to gentler, more subtle stories of childhood and the power of imagination.

Q: Why did you go indie?
I've always been closely associated with indie publishing. I've had novels and collections published by excellent indie presses such as PS Publishing and Immanion. In the case of these ebooks, the timing seemed right to relaunch infinity plus as an ebook imprint. It runs along the same lines as the original infinity plus: a bunch of authors getting together to explore independent electronic publishing; we have other books either out or coming soon from Eric Brown, Anna Tambour, Garry Kilworth, John Grant and others.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
Far too many to name individually! I love fiction that moves me, defies the boundaries, excites me, stops me in my tracks and makes me think... I've spent the last twenty years intimately involved in publishing, and in genre fiction in particular. It's my life. It's what I do.

http://www.keithbrooke.co.uk/ebooks/embrace.htm
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Barry Napier- The Masks of Our Fathers

Barry Napier has had over 30 short stories and poems published in print and online.  His publication credits include:

Debris (short fiction collection) - Library of Horror, 2009
The Final Study of Cooper M. Reid - Strange Publications, 2010
A Mouth for Picket Fences (poetry collection) - Needfire Poetry, 2010

In August 2011, his novel The Bleeding Room will be published by Graveside Tales.

Product description:

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
It's a very claustrophobic jaunt through the elements of horror I have always loved the most. There is nothing anymore appealing to me than a character that is literally trapped with no way out.

Q: Why did you go indie?
I didn't want to keep ignoring the self publishing trend, particularly in the wake of e-readers.  I didn't want to look back on this time in the writing world and regret never having tried it.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
King, Barker, Lovecraft, Poe, Preston/Child.

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords
blog: www.barrynapierwriting.wordpress.com
purchase the book: http://www.amazon.com/Masks-Our-Fathers-ebook/dp/B004O0UA2A/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1297952451&sr=8-15

Donna Butler- Manifesting Daddy

Donna Butler is a native of Kansas who majored in English at the University of Kansas. After trying her hand at writing romantic and ethnic fiction, she found her niche with multi-cultural women’s fiction with a New Age slant.  Manifesting Daddy is her debut novel.

Manifesting Daddy tells the story of Melanie Brodie, a forty something wife and mother who fantasizes about suicide. She’s convinced that she’s a loser, both at home and at work.  Between her poor parenting skills, her forgetfulness and slipshod housekeeping, it’s no wonder everyone else thinks she’s a loser, too. What keeps her from ending it all is her unwillingness to saddle her kids with the same legacy of doubt and pain she’s carried since the death of her own father thirty-three years ago.

On hand to talk her down is Dr. Park, her young Chinese psychiatrist and her best friend, Juniper who stages a Manifesting Daddy ceremony to draw her late father back into her life.  Ultimately it’s Austin, the younger, sexy black guy who moves in next door, who supplies the encouragement and the means for her to defeat depression and redesign her life.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
Readers will like my insights into depression, low self esteem and that annoying inner critic who picks us apart. The book disputes some popularly held beliefs about suicide. In the midst of all that darkness is a lot of laugh-out-loud interaction between Melanie and her friends. Life is balanced, so the book had to reflect that balance.

Q: Why did you go indie?

I’m a black woman who has no interest in writing “black” books, which confuses agents and editors. New Age fiction is such a new, undefined genre. The success of Eat, Pray, Love confirms that women are ready for entertainment that is literally soul searching.  Going indie gives me the freedom to create my own genre and communicate to that part of women that is beyond race, religion and ethnicity.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

I love those writers making a conscious effort to speak to women’s spiritual natures. Elizabeth Gilbert is one of those writers. Barbara Kingsolver’s work is always infused with that thread that links us to eternity.  Alice Walker has been addressing our spirits for decades.

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords

 http://donnabutler.com/

Donna Butler
http://donnabutler.com
Check out my new ebook at:
http://smashwords.com/books/view/24271
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Lee Pletzers-- The Armageddon Shadow

Lee Pletzers is a writer who is very active in the genre world, online and off.
In September 2009 his first novel, The Last Church, was released by BBS books and last August 2010 his novel, The Game was released in several eBook forms, in Hard Cover and paperback. His latest novel will be available from Panic Press from March 2011.
He is also a member of AHWA (Australian Horror Writers Association), Fictioneers and a founding member of SpecFicNZ. He has edited 4 anthologies, worked as editor and reviewer for Sinisteria horror magazine, has translated one novel from Japanese to English and edited several novels for small press authors.

Product description:

2007, Agent Baxter pursues the entity, Darkness, following an accident that slew Doctor Hayden’s wife and son. Dr. Hayden studied the Darkness without realizing it was studying him. Shadows, however, have a way of vanishing into light and the entity flees the compound where Hayden thought it was contained.

In 27 B.C. a peaceful man’s family is slaughtered, turning his life upside down and bringing forth a leader. A leader who will drive an army into the bowels of hell for vengeance. At the moment of his death, he offers his soul to the dark gods of the underworld for revenge which is granted swift and deadly.

Thrown from his stead on his return to Hell, Darian crawls out of the blackness and into the modern world under the new name of Darkness and carrying an infection. An infection that will take mankind to a new level of evolution.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
If you like: demons, hell, a deal with a shadow, revenge, powerful Elders, a distraught farmer from 27 BC, an FBI who can't express his feelings, wormholes, and the buildup to a zombie apocalypse, then you need this book once released.

Q: Why did you go indie?
Recently I've found indy authors to be releasing books that I want to read and knowing my subject matter I figured Indy was best. I write in crossing genres of horror/SF/fantasy in all my novels.
I also feel indy is the way of the future, especially for new and emerging writers

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
I grew up with Bradbury and King, and Herbert. Discovered Koontz and Richard Laymon in my late teens. I still read them today, but my Kobo is filled with indy authors.   

Author Website: http://kobefiction.we.bs/
The Armageddon Shadow: http://panicpress.org/2011/02/13/the-armageddon-shadow-by-lee-pletzers/
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D.P. Prior- The Ant-Man of Malfen

D.P. Prior read Drama, Classics and History at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He studied Mental Health Nursing at the University of Sussex and read Theological Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Western Australia. He is the founder of the online discussion community Mysticism Unbound. He works as a freelance editor and author.

D.P. Prior is the author of the SHADER series, Thanatos Rising, and The Ant-Man of Malfen.

What will readers like about your book?

The Ant-Man of Malfen is the first part of The Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf. It’s a fusion of Sword and Sorcery with some of the elements of contemporary fantasy (in depth world building, tight point of view, and strong characterisation). It’s an easy read for fans of action, but it also starts along the path of a compelling story arc that promises some stunning revelations.

My hope is that it ameliorates some of the tedium of much modern high fantasy, whilst retaining its depth and ability to immerse the reader in a fully fleshed-out world.

Chiefly, though, I hope the readers will like the Nameless Dwarf—he has a few recognisable dwarven qualities (drinking and an axe), but he is rather a unique character in many respects (not least of all his manic depression).

Why did you go indie?

I went indie with my first novel because I didn’t have the confidence in it to approach a publisher. I remained an indie simply because I can write whatever I like and put it before an audience without a gatekeeper. I’m a stickler for quality and enjoy the whole process of re-writing and editing. Just because a writer is an indie doesn’t mean they can’t produce a quality product.

Indie publishing is also growing quite profitable and has started to provide rewards beyond the artistic satisfaction.

Who are your favourite authors in your genre?

Two of my current favourites are fellow indies: C.S. Marks and David Dalglish. I’m also a big fan of David Gemmell, Edgar Rice Burroughs, R.E. Howard, Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp and Stephen Donaldson.

Links:

The Ant-Man of Malfen page:

http://namelessdwarf.blogspot.com/

Buy The Ant-Man of Malfen at Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34192

Russell Brooks-- Pandora's Succession

Russell Brooks is a former Indiana Hoosier Track Champion and Canadian Track Team member in the 100 and 200 metres. He has written several essays on his blog The Big Picture, one of which was published in the online Op-Ed section of the National Post in early 2009. He has also written the short story, To The Last Bite, and produced his own poetry/novel-themed show, The Russell Show, on YouTube. He currently lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Product description:

Q: What will e-readers like about your book? Some bloggers compared Pandora’s Succession to The Bourne Identity with the way that the action scenes were written, also that the story encompasses a real threat: Biological Terrorism.

Q: Why did you go indie? As a first-time author, I felt that it was better to do so.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre? Barry Eisler, Joseph Finder, and JA Konrath.

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords: Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, RussellParkway.com, http://russellparkway.blogspot.com
 

Regan Black- Veil of Justice

Regan Black is the award winning author of action-packed paranormal romance novels as well as the non-fiction Adopt A Greyhound Guide. She also writes short stories and, of course, blogs. Raised in the Midwest and California, she now lives in the South Carolina Lowcountry with her husband and children, three retired greyhounds, two cats, and four finches.

Product description:

Veil of Justice features a dark ops soldier, a guardian of ancient secrets, and a violent goddess who collide for a thrilling ride that starts with a mass murder, races through a prison break and culminates with an epic good versus evil showdown.

When Nathan Burkhardt took the undercover assignment, it was all about retribution for the soldiers impaired and imprisoned by a dangerous geneticist with a God-complex. The mission turns ugly when he lands in solitary confinement and his only salvation is his telepathic connection with a mysterious woman working for his sister.

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

Readers looking for a fast-paced adventure with vivid and uniquely talented characters will enjoy Veil of Justice. Setting these books in the future seems to unleash my imagination and I want readers to experience the possibilities, dangers, and hope on every page.

Q: Why did you go indie? Veil of Justice was my first foray into the Indie world. It was a good choice for me; there'd been a long time gap since the publication of book two, Invasion of Justice. Once I got into the process, I found I liked having control of things like cover art and release dates, so I've worked through 2010 to get my back list out there, as well as write forward with new novels I'll take directly to the reader.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

JD Robb, Jayne Castle, Kresley Cole, but I'm discovering new favorite indie authors like Scott Nicholson - loved The Skull Ring!

Links:

Amazon
Smashwords

Manley Peterson-- Bloated Goat

Bloated Goat - a children's book for intelligent people

When Granny Hammy finds Bloated Goat face down in her front yard's drainage ditch, her grandson Cocky Doodle thinks nothing of it. In fact, he says that’s just another normal day for his best friend. But when they discover that Bloated Goat has little black Xs for eyes and is even more bloated than normal, they realize it is much more serious.

Come join the trio on a humorous adventure filled with jewel thieves, a despondent wolf, an alligator gangster, a kingdom of hungry mushrooms, a shocking skunk wedding, and a mysteriously powerful chameleon known as Crazy Ned.

But don’t take my word for it. Read the following fake quotes for more convincing words:

"This is one the funniest books about bloated goats and talking animals I've ever read." - A random, imaginary kid

"If I was stuck on a deserted island with nothing but this book, I'd probably read it at least once." - An important kid, possibly your best friend or son or daughter

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

The crazy characters and off-the-wall situations saturated in humor, humor, and more humor.

Q: Why did you go indie?

The simplest and quickest way to get my book to the masses.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

Publish Post

I like Roald Dahl and Kevin Bolger.

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bloated-Goat-ebook/dp/B0044KM1CW

Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bloated-Goat/Manley-Peterson/e/2940012695802

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Jessica Barksdale Inclan- The Only Thing I See

Jessica's debut novel Her Daughter's Eyes was a final nominee for the YALSA Award, and many of her novels have been published in several languages. A recipient of the CAC Artist’s Fellowship in Literature, Jessica teaches literature, creative writing and mythology at colleges, universities, seminars and workshops throughout the U.S. A full-time writer, she lives in Oakland, California. For more information on Jessica, please visit www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com.  Meet the author in this fun video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51jpAB7OnoA

Q&A:

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

 

Personally, I think e-readers will like that they are getting a Jessica Barksdale Inlcan book for 2.99.  I suppose that's the bottom line, but it's true.  And also, I think that readers will like they are getting a book that I have certainly edited but a book that has not been effected by the ideas of "platform" or "market."  This is simply a story I really wanted to tell.

 

Q: Why did you go indie?

 

Back in 2001, my first novel Her Daughter’s Eyes was published by NAL to enough acclaim and showed a good sales record. My traditional career has continued since then (I have had romances come out 2006-2010), but I am really very excited about publishing myself.  People can read work that slipped through the publishing cracks, but it is work that I believe in and stand by, work that “my” readers would recognize and love.  Maybe New York doesn’t want them, but enough people do that I will continue to publish myself as the situation presents itself.  Fellow writers have warned me that I’m diluting my “brand,” but I’m sick of that idea.  I started to write because I wanted to tell stories that people wanted to read.  And they are reading my stories, even if they are indie books, even if they aren’t traditional.  Even if there is a heart attack, right there, on the page.

 

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

 

I am a big fan of many authors, not all in my genre.  Actually, since I write contemporary fiction and romance, I'm actually not sure what my genre is!  But I love Anita Shreve, Jodi Piccoult, Julia Glass, John Irving, and just about anyone else who can tell a good

tale.

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CH Bunn-- The Hawk and the Boy

The Hawk And His Boy is the first book of the Tormay trilogy. It begins with a young thief named Jute. There's nothing special about him, other than a knack for being quiet and having quick hands. One night, his masters in the Thieves Guild instruct him to break into a wizard's house and steal an old wooden box. They have a client for the job who is eager to pay a lot of gold for the box. It should've been an easy job. Climb down the chimney, find the box, and get out fast. His master tells him, on pain of death, do not open the box. Of course, being a boy, Jute opens the box and sets off a chain of events that soon has him on the run from the wizard, the entire Thieves Guild, and their client, who happens to be the Lord of Darkness himself. Jute is aided by an odd assortment of friends, including a guilt-ridden assassin, an overly-talkative ghost, and a hawk who just might be able to teach him how to fly. But the Darkness will do anything to find Jute, even if it means plunging the whole land of Tormay into war.

I've worked on six of the seven continents. I've done construction in the Amazon, relief work for the United Nations in Thailand, television documentaries in Australia, interactive animation production in Chicago, orphanage consulting in Ethiopia, and I've worked as a cook in Switzerland. Currently, I work on a farm in central coast California.

Readers will enjoy The Hawk And His Boy if they want some old-fashioned escapism. The story is a fantasy adventure, full of danger, odd characters, mysterious evil, action, and a hint of romance. 

I went indie for several reasons. First, the ease of the internet as a marketing medium. Second, I'm not interested in spending years in agents' slush-piles. Third, I don't want to lose control of my books. Fourth, I love the indie community; it's full of wonderful people telling great stories that, pre-internet, would never have been read by other people. Fifth, I work on a farm. Farmers don't wait for anything except the weather. That mentality has affected how I view publishing.

My favorite authors in the fantasy genre are Tolkien, Lewis, MacDonald, and Chesterton.

The Hawk And His Boy can be found at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004DCB5SC/

Zachary Harper- Leviathan

Raised on a stiff diet of poetry and classics, Zachary Harper is returning to a form of literature long abandoned. Writing long poetic works, faery-tales and parables, Leviathan is his first full work that combines the lyrical voice of Samuel Coleridge with the intense story-telling of George MacDonald.

Product description:

The day Leviathan, Serpent of the Heavens, sent Death to collect Beauty's soul, the vengeful Hero is swayed to confront God himself and demand payment for the wrong done. A parable of modern man's response to the guilt and pain of death, Leviathan is an old story but retold.

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

Though short in length, Leviathan provides a philosophical depth many of our modern stories lacks. Like much of the classic fantasy literature, children enjoy it for its story, while adults enjoy it for its meaning.

Q: Why did you go indie?

In this day and age, there is no need to please an agent or publisher in order to release a book. Without the restrictions of more formal bonds, I am able to write what I will as I will it.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Samuel Coleridge, George MacDonald, G.K. Chesterton

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/26191

--
Zachary Edward Harper
http://unrevealedcreatures.wordpress.com/

Rodney Walther- Broken Laces

Rodney Walther is an award-winning author who brings his perspective as a father and a "baseball guy" to BROKEN LACES. An experienced manager, coach, league director, and volunteer umpire, Rodney knows firsthand the characters that populate Little League fields.

Writing awards include contest wins from the Houston Writers Guild, Maryland Writers' Association, North Texas Professional Writers Association, Panhandle Professional Writers, and West Virginia Writers, plus finalist status at the prestigious 2008 Writers' League of Texas manuscript contest.

 

Judges have consistently praised Rodney's strong narrative and his ability to evoke powerful emotions. Comments include:
-- "You have an excellent sense of story and a native ability to infuse the story with emotion." (Houston Writers Guild)
-- "There is intelligence, verve, and sensitivity in your style." (Crested Butte)
-- "Good 3 dimensional characterizations... making us like [Jack] and not like him at the same time." (Writers' League of Texas)
-- "Powerfully compelling." (San Gabriel Writers League)

Rodney is an active member of the Houston Writers Guild and the Writers' League of Texas.

 

Product Description

BROKEN LACES is an emotion-packed story which features Jack “The Cannon” Kennedy, a suburban workaholic who doesn’t understand the importance of family until he faces life as a single parent. Set in a fictional Little League in the Houston suburbs, BROKEN LACES explores the importance of father-and-son relationships, the struggles of shared grief, and the redemptive power of baseball.

 

Here’s the back cover blurb:

 

Everyone deserves a second chance.

Jack "The Cannon" Kennedy thinks he's living the American Dream. A fancy house in the Houston suburbs. A promising career. And a loving wife who tolerates his long hours and selfish ways.

In one horrific instant, he loses his wife. Then his job. Then his hope. And that just leaves Kellen, the young son Jack hardly knows or understands.

Jack realizes he must reconnect with Kellen or they'll never get past their shared grief. But Jack's biggest obstacle is staring back from the mirror.

Desperate to reach Kellen, he turns to baseball, the game he once loved. With Jack, a win-at-all-costs former star pitcher, coaching his son's Little League team, what could possibly go wrong?

What will e-readers like about your book?
Readers like my realistic portrayal of a traumatized man who faces an uncertain future as a single parent, while also being haunted by the mistakes of his past. The first-person narrative has a strong voice, a unique male perspective for the genre. Spiced with humor and subtle wit, BROKEN LACES provides an honest take on grief, fathers and sons, and regret.

 

Why did you go indie?
Although I’ve had the full manuscript reviewed by various agents, the timeframe for publishing BROKEN LACES through traditional means didn’t meet my plans anymore. This story has been in progress (and recognized with multiple awards) for a number of years. After significant editing and polishing, it’s ready for prime-time.

 

Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

Similar authors who feature damaged protagonists with dysfunctional (err… complicated) family dynamics include Jodi Picoult and Pat Conroy. Of course, Nicholas Sparks mines similar themes as well. Sparks is the 900-pound gorilla, but I’m confident my writing and story compare favorably. Very favorably.

Links

Author website:  RodneyWalther.com

Facebook fan page:  Facebook.com/rodney.walther.author

Buy BROKEN LACES on Amazon, Createspace, on in the Kindle Store

You can also find BROKEN LACES at Smashwords

 

Luke King-- Koening's World

Luke King writes for children and young adults. He lives on the east coast of Australia. To support his writing, he has worked as a delivery driver, a storeperson, a taxi driver, a sales assistant, and retail manager. Some of his favourite authors are John Wyndam, Jeffrey Eugenides, William Golding and Sonya Hartnett.
 
Koenig's World is about a boy who is left alone on a forbidden planet after his father's ship crash-lands. His father and sister die in the crash, and Jacob is left alone with Marron, a synthetic human.

The two attempt to survive, but there is something strange about Koenig's World. The company has demarcated the planet (it is off-limits), and Jacob begins to feel that he is being watched, and that the planet is somehow responding to his wishes.

They set up a camp near a stretch of forest, but soon learn that there is a dangerous predator in the forest -- a krecknel: a reptilian humanoid creature that can only move in the darkness.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book? Readers of science fiction will appreciate the unusual plot, the strange atmosphere of Koenig's World and the relationship between the synthetic and Jacob.

Q: Why did you go indie? I wanted to maintain control over what I write and where I choose to publish it.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre? My favorite science fiction authors are Robert Silverberg, John Christopher and John Wyndam.

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Koenigs-World-ebook/dp/B004DCB6EK/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291262842&sr=1-8

Link to Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/30848?ref=scottnicholson

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M.G. Scarsbrook- The Marlowe Conspiracy

M. G. Scarsbrook is a prize-winning screenwriter and author of the historical suspense novel THE MARLOWE CONSPIRACY. He recently adapted THE MARLOWE CONSPIRACY into a screenplay and won the nationwide Writers On The Storm Screenwriting Contest, placing first out of 1000 entries. This script has also ranked within the top 30 at the Nicholl Fellowships, the most prestigious screenwriting contest in the world. He currently lives in Southern California and is now at work on a new detective series.

1593, Elizabethan England: In a turbulent time of wars, famine, and religious persecution, Christopher Marlowe struggles to balance his life as England’s most popular playwright with his duties as a government spy.

Suddenly, when he falls under suspicion of atheism, a capital crime, Marlowe fears his many powerful enemies have launched a conspiracy to have him executed...

With only a few days to clear his name, he quickly enlists the aid of a young William Shakespeare – one of the few friends he can still trust. Together, they race through Marlowe’s tangled life of crime, espionage, and noble connections to expose the conspiracy and save him from the hangman’s noose.

But will anything save a man as troubled as Marlowe?

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Smashwords, Inc.

Publisher's Address: 15951 Los Gatos Blvd., Ste 16, Los Gatos, CA 95032

Publication Date: Oct 21, 2010

Price: eBook - $2.99 / Paperback - $11.99

Number of Pages: 400

ISBN: 978-1-4524-7696-4

 
Q: What will e-readers like about your book?
It is based on the dramatic life and death of Christopher Marlowe. Not only was Marlowe a famous playwright, but he was most probably a spy, and a bit of a criminal, too. The murder-mystery surrounding his untimely death is fascinating (he was stabbed in a tavern while in the presence of several espionage operatives).

Q: Why did you go indie?

I like the freedom it offers for both my writing and my career. It allows me to be fully responsible for my life as a writer.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
Two of my favorite authors in the historical genre are Ken Follett (always a solid entertainer), and Robert Harris (his series on ancient Rome is excellent).

Website: http://www.mgscarsbrook.com

Amazon Product Page: http://www.amazon.com/The-Marlowe-Conspiracy-ebook/dp/B0047T7D64?&camp=212361&creative=383837&linkCode=wss&tag=mgscarsbrookc-20

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