Here’s another Year of Accountability post! A day late, but it’s been a wonderful weekend of relaxing! Now, on to the post!
Continue reading “Year of Accountability – May 11-18th, 2020”
Year of Accountability – May 11-18th, 2020
Tag: reviews
Main Update – The End is In Sight!
The End is Nigh for Iron Tribune Backers!
Good Morning! Happy End of Daylight Savings time to those of you in America. And happy day-after-Halloween hangover day to the same people!
Novellas and the Self Published Author: Remix Part 2
A final look at Novellas, and my opinion on how Self-Publishing Authors should use them.
[This is a continuation of this article from earlier this year, where I examine the idea of creating novellas to supplement author income.]
In the last post, I discussed more the ‘self-publishing’ component of novellas. To summarize that post.
Pros: Can be done quickly, requires less editing, allows you to expand different parts of a story without having to create a fully fleshed out novel, builds out your world and provides other small, continuous income streams.
Cons: Takes you away from your primary goal of finishing novels, too many or the wrong idea can slow you down, still requires effort and money to self publish, can be a low return on investment.
Continue reading “Novellas and the Self Published Author: Remix Part 2”
Following up on the Kickstarter…
A Brief Update on the Kickstarter rewards and an invitation to check out my Facebook Page!
Hi everyone!
So for today’s posting, I’m sharing what is happening here at Roma Central within the Kickstarter department. So far, we’ve got several things happening…
- The thank you post cards have been stamped (some still need special stamps to go to special places!)
- I think I have enough books on hand to deal with those people who wanted paper backs, but I need to do one final count.
- As for the posters, I have enough of them to send to people as well! I just have to make sure they can all fit into the same box!
- Work on Antioch Burns – featuring characters designed by your fellow readers – is progressing slowly but surely.
So as you can see, I haven’t left my kickstarter friends in the dark! Their rewards should definitely be done pretty soon, and thus will be sent out way ahead of the August due date.
By the way, did you know I have a facebook page? Please go there and ‘Like’ me to get more updates, cool pictures and illustrations, and more! Also, I plan on running a mini-competition to get some more ‘likes’ very soon – with a cool, as yet unreleased, prize!
Oh, and there may be a new kickstarter in the far future for Iron Tribune. Copper Centurion is doing much better than I’ve expected, getting pretty low in the rankings chart (i.e. 7th place, 12th place, etc) But Brass Legionnaire has been 2nd place in the Greek and Roman books page for the last few weeks! Yippee!
Check out the novels already!
Made it through the CreateSpace Process – Again!
Copper Centurion is uploaded to Createspace, and I’m still looking for Blog Tour Hosts – Prizes are available!
Hi everyone,
Just finished uploading Copper Centurion’s Files to Createspace, so it should be available on the release date! I had forgotten how finicky Amazon’s Print-On-Demand engine can be sometimes. It was yelling at me about the illustrations, when even my illustrators were telling me that it shouldn’t be. Grr. Any who, Did you know that there are only 17 days until Copper Centurion’s debut? I’m so excited! I’m still looking for people willing to help me out with a blog tour. Considering that I’ll be giving away a Nook or Kindle device (my choice) if I get more than five people, you’ll want to be in on it! Plus, did I mention you get free ebook copies of Copper Centurion (and Brass Legionnaire, should you want that as well!)
So what am I looking for?
- Someone willing to do a book review OR
- Host me as a guest blogger in May! (I’m flexible in terms of time) OR
- Do an interview with me
That’s it! If you’re looking for great blog content, let me know, I’d love to visit your site! I’m particularly good in the ares of self-publishing, using kickstarter, or steampunk discussions.
I hope to hear from you! Leave a message below if you’re interested in signing up for the tour!
Looking for a few good readers
I’m looking for a few good Readers to do some reviews! Read more to learn about this great opportunity!
Hi everyone! Happy Saturday!
I’m looking for a few good readers to read and review some Advanced Reader Copies of Copper Centurion. I’ve got the entire novel ready to go, with the exception of the illustrations, and would like to send it out for people to review prior to it’s drop date. If you’re interested, send me a message or leave a comment with your email below! I’d be willing to give out up to ten digital copies of my novel, so get them before they are gone!
Ciao!
Review – iFeel by Marissa Carmel
A review of the novel iFeel by Marissa Carmel – Part of her book’s blog tour!
Hi all,
I’m doing my first blog tour here and featuring Marissa Carmel’s novel iFeel. I know what many of you are thinking – Daniel, you write historical alternate history with a decidedly non-magical flair, what are you thinking? – Well first, I wanted to review something different, and two, just because I write that now doesn’t mean I always write that. Plus, I enjoy reading a variety of novels, so this one was a good pick for me.
Alivyanna Christianni is one of those people with too much emotion and too little control. As she slides between one near-breakdown to the next, fate throws a new wrench into her otherwise isolated and lonely life. As though she needs a new problem. Liv is being hunted by a spirit walker, a big-old-nasty thing that enjoys sucking souls out of people for food and fun. After a terrifyingly near-death attack, she meets her savior and protector, Justinian, or Justice. As Justice tries to get Liv to realize who and what she really is, she fights her own battles on the inside, waging between love, hatred, disgust, and acceptance, leading up to an excellent stopping point for the next novel in the series.
The Good: The novel was quick and had little downtime, the scenes were well described and the world was both involved and believable. The characters are realistic, even if the story behind them is somewhat supernatural. I’ll admit, I figured, for a while, that vampires would feature prominently into this story. But they don’t, barely being a blip on the radar screen. I really liked the Seraphs, semi-angelic humans who are supernatural and have gifts, as well as the involvement of other types of supernaturals. Too often we focus on one type in a story, when mythology and history are full of many, many different types of supernatural entities.
The Bad: There are times when you go “what just happened?” and you go back to reread and it still doesn’t make sense. The flow throws you out and you get confused. Also, some of the sayings the author uses are just… Here’s a good example “It was like an A/B conversation she could C into.” Liv’s mind is sarcastic, but it’s a tad bit overdone in this aspect. Oh, I admit I also didn’t really like how some words were emphasized like THIS but in completely different font. Maybe I’m a finicky reader, but little things like that detract from a story’s experience. Liv is never really the master of her emotions and lets them lead her around by the nose, but that’s what happens when you are an Empath and that’s your skill, so I can’t fault her for it.
Overall: Good story, engaging. Definitely for the fans of supernatural books and shows. People Who enjoyed Vampire Diaries or Twilight will enjoy this book, but don’t read it expecting vampires, and Liv at least has some capacity to think for herself when she isn’t overwhelmed by emotions. 3 1/2 stars in my book.
You can purchase her book, iFeel (The Vis Vires Trilogy) for $4.99 and check out her website here.
Getting the Most from Social Media
Use social media to get the most out of your book release.
Brass Legionnaire drops this May! Check out the website at http://www.brasslegionnaire.com.
Greetings all!
It’s been a busy week. As a teacher, this time of year is always hectic with the myriad of responsibilities and in-school required activities that fight with your goal of teaching as much as possible until the end of the school year. Roughly 25 days give or take, but who is counting?! Anyways, onwards and upwards!
On the book front, I received the preliminary formatting for Brass Legionnaire and
noticed they forgot to put in a ‘social media’ page. This is a great addition Must Have for any ebook. It is especially important that you put it right at the end of the book. Why do you ask? Well, after you’ve poured all that time and effort into writing such a engaging, interesting, and thought provoking book, don’t you want people to simply read and forget now, do you? Provide a handy page with all of your social media information – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – (Anything else!?) plus the locations of your website/blog if the same or different.
Some authors use a subscription based service such as MailChimp to get readers as well. As I’ve also got a subscription component of the blog, I’m not sure if that’s quite what I want to do yet, but I’m probably going to set one up before the book drops.
Speaking of that, have you been promoting your book? Have you released a sample chapter of your story (Check out mine – you won’t be disappointed!) and started tweeting, facebooking, and generally talking up your book? This is the hardest for me. I’m someone who is generally talkative, but I feel almost embarrassed explaining the backstory of my novel. It’s not that I’m embarrassed by the book or the writing or the content, but rather that I don’t want it to sound boring, nor too wild, for the average person who asks me (That and the people who ask about it at work aren’t my book’s target audience!)
Another point – pick your audience and figure out how to reach them. I’ve got some free vouchers for use in google adsense and on facebook for my book, so I’ll look around for the groups and ages that are in my target range – young adults, 16-30, as well as older sci-fi and alternate history fans, and target the ads there. I’ll also look at fans of authors who write alternative history novels or steampunk novels, such as Harry Turtledove, S.M. Stirling, Cherie Priest, and others, whose audiences are similar to mine.
Finally, scope out some book blogs that may be willing to feature your book or review it pre-release. It takes some time for book reviews to happen, so doing this when your book is finished, but just awaiting minor things – formatting, cover art, etc – lets their reviews match your release date. You can also set up a discussion board at goodreads to give away a book or two for promotional purposes/review getting purposes!
Brass Legionnaire drops this May, 2012. Check out the book website for more information at www.brasslegionnaire.com
Review – Dies the Fire
Hey All, I know we’ve been a bit remiss lately in providing timely updates and reviews, but we have regular day jobs that keep us from doing what we love all the time! Anyways, Now that it is summertime we’ll have more time to write reviews for you! The first book I’d love for all of you to take a peek at is the book Dies the Fire.
Modern Papyrus 