Last chance for free ebooks

Ok, ad first:

The whole series:

If not priced "free", then "reader sets price".  (And yes, they allow $0.)

Why?  Because it's Human Rights Day and Radomir Lascek, pirate captain of the Solar Wind, is campaigning like mad for human rights in his year, 2116, 100 years from today, in a world gone totalitarian.

Here is the link:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/24238https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/24238



This will only last until 2pm tomorrow, GMT+2.


So, enjoy!!

3 different kinds of "free" on Smashwords

This is interesting.

Smashwords owner Mark Coker recommends a free pilot sequel to a series.  So, Solar Wind 1 is up there for free, until a certain amount of downloads have been achieved (my personal experiment, see?).  And the glossary is up there perma-free because it is an add-on that is - while not really necessary, handy to have.

Then, he has an option "reader sets price".  This means of course that the reader can decide the book must be free. 

Thirdly, right now there is a promotion where one can get up to 100% "discount" on a book "purchase" (meaning, it's free once more).  There are other options too, e.g. 75% discount, 50% and 25%.

So for savvy readers, the entire series is momentarily up there for free!!

1.  The Mystery of the Solar Wind:  Free until a certain number of downloads (my experiment).
2. The Assassin:  Reader sets price.
3.  Freedom Fighter:  On promo with 100% discount.
4.  Raider: Ditto.

The Morrigan (Solar Wind 5) is sadly not up yet, I'm formatting it right now, it will not be in time for the promo which ends in 2 days; but as for the first 4 books, grab your copy while they are up there for free!!  And if you then actually read them, and you like them - show the Solar Wind's crew your love and tell a friend or two!  :-)

One book short of a full series

Yesterday I uploaded "Raider" to Smashwords.  4 up, 1 to go.

Raider!  (Solar Wind 4)

Alien Touchdown! If the crew of the Solar Wind thought the Unicate and the Rebellion were tough cookies, they haven't yet met the Danaan - from Planet New Dome. Coming to take over Earth - or destroy the planet. Or alternatively, for a mango daiquiri in the subtropical paradise of Southern Free. And then destroy the planet.


 Raider took a while to finish.  I was also waiting for an opportunity to create a local run and launch, but that is not going to happen in the near future.  Locally printing costs too much now, the margin between printing and the full retail price is too small for bookshops to buy small-run books.

Regardless. I think this is the first book so far that does not feature a freak wave.  (I also think, the next book has none.  "The Morrigan".)

Anyway here's the link to the book:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/620780

And here's the link to the series:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/24238

And now, dear sweets, I'm buggering off here so I can get on with the rest of these shambles I call "life"  :-D. 

(Author burn-out alert.  It's not the authoring or publishing burning me out, it's the need of a change.)

Glossary (finally!) for the Solar Wind and Shooting Star series

Formatting for Smashwords is not a small job.

One of the largest reasons is that I borrow quite a lot of expressions from various different languages (the mother tongues of the various crew members).  These expressions of course have to be italicized, so formatting each book is basically reading through it again and hand-italicizing everything that needs to be.  (The first step in the Smashwords formatting routine is to de-format the entire manuscript by pulling it through a simple program like Notepad.)

In the process I decided that it is time.

I was asked before to create a glossary at the end of each book dealing with foreign terms; but it always looked like such a lot of work.  So, instead, now I've created a separate booklet, for free download, where people can grab the glossary that spans all the books in both series.  As I publish them one by one, I'll be updating the glossary, so be sure to get your free download (it will stay free) to update the one you had before.

I added a section on ship jargon because some people do find this a bit daunting.  My wonderful editor, the intrepid yachtsman Les Noble, has once again corrected and completed this section for me.

So here she is:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/620257

Enjoy!

... aaand she's up! Freedom Fighter, on Smashwords.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/619116

"Keep an eye on them, Federi!"

Captain Rushka Donegal on the bridge! But the young girl doesn't feel up to running a ship full of unruly young crew. And then they come across disaster... So it falls to Federi to pick up the pieces while his Captain is not aboard. And while he rolls his dramatic eyes and gets things done, Paean Donegal arms up and signs on for the Fight for Freedom.


Enjoy!!

First of a series: Free

So Smashwords has this concept - put the first of a series out there for free to build readership.  I've been playing with that idea for a long time because - well, let's say I'm disappointed with the trickle.  If it were more of a stream I'd probably think twice of throwing that away.

Pros and cons for putting out the first one for free are still the same - people tend to think that if something's for free it is worthless.  Will they put down money for the second in the series, or will they wait for it to become free too?  ('snot gonna happen, fenfriends!)

Then again, Smashwords has this sensible way of throwing their stats at you - brilliant move, Mark Coker, and btw many thanks for the personal attention when I got stuck with formatting!  And here are they:

65%.  You see, I can remember figures.  65% of their bestselling series have a free first volume.  And:  Putting out an ebook for free is a fantastic way to build a readership.

I tried it with P'kaboo, but perhaps, perhaps, P'kaboo simply doesn't get quite as many clicks as Smashwords.  So here's to a fresh start.  I'm putting out the Solar Wind 1 ("The Mystery of the Solar Wind") on Smashwords for free for 1000 downloads, just to see what happens to the rest of the series.

Then of course he also mentions the WOW factor.  (Did he have to?)  Only a book that will absolutely addict its reader will have them take out money for the sequel.  Well, we'll see what stuff SW1 is made of...  Otherwise, I'll have to wait until I'm ready with the Shooting Star series and start putting out the first of that for free and see if that works better.

  Click here to find this free e-book on Smashwords - limited time

Here's to luck!  (Nobody knows what sells a book - except, Smashwords do seem to know, via observation!)

That fantasy tale

That "Friday Fairy Tale" I started for a joke is turning into something else.  It's fantasy - but not the fantasy it set out to be, or at least not purely so.  It is fusion.  I'm having fun writing it, hoping that others will also have fun reading it.

By now it's about a moonstone pendant.  I'll say nothing more for now.

He dug in his hoard with his massive jaws and picked out a small stone which he delicately passed to her. It was glowing softly.

“A moonstone,” Nadisda breathed, impressed. “Loaded with moonlight!”

“Light from Luna, the moon of Earth, twelve thousand years back. Use it wisely,” warned Faff. “And bring it back when you are finished!”