Another one bite the dust!

Last week I finish the first draft of my next novel. The tittle it is on revision, since things move in directions that I wasn’t expecting, and therefore the old title may or may not fit.

This new story is the continuation of my last book Putsch that was published on December 5th and had been so far enjoy it by many.

On that original story, Hannah Fisher is the name of the main character, she is a hired-for-kill assassin; and life give her an unexpected twist when she fall in love with victim of one of her crimes. There is a lot of adventure, this is a fast paced book, and also include a couple of conspiracy theories on a country in Latin America. On this second story we get more into the inside of Hannah while she is looking to get even with her old boss, or the person that use to hired her for most of her jobs, including her last set of adventures in Latin America.

The novel take a set in Panama, Mexico, Colombia, United States and Spain, again in a fast paced novel full of adventure and twists.

Now comes the fun, see how much of that you write need to be deleted, and how much is useful, and how much you need to re-write. I will be working on that the next weeks, and I am sure I will be reporting here what it is happening with the book and Hannah!

If you are interesting in read the book, it’s available on ebook and paperback in Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple iBooks, Smashwords, Kobo and Sony eReader.

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Is Barnes and Noble trying to expedite Chapter 11?

There are a lot of noise about Amazon vs Barnes and Noble recently on the Internet. Barnes and Noble is saying that they will stop carrying books that Amazon prints, and I am guessing that Amazon is afraid, really afraid. NOT!

The reality is that people go to Barnes and Noble and browse, wait for others, have a coffee and leave. The problem is that there is no book or volume purchasing, or at least not on my local one. People walk in, and leave, empty handed.

I can remember when was the last time I stop on Barnes and Noble to buy a book, but I guess was more than a year ago, since that was the time we quit on the Nook Color. Yes, we even try the Nook, (my wife didn’t like the Kindle for periodicals), so we got the black and white and later the color one. The devices where OK, the Barnes and Noble service not so much. After a mess caused by a Groupon, we decided to stop using the product. Barnes and Noble was simply unable to figure it out the problem, we forgot about the books, my wife got the Kindle, iBooks and Magazines in the iPad. For her the Nook was dead, and there was no interest ever on bring those memories back.

I have been an Amazon Kindle costumer since the first gen Kindle, guess how many problems Amazon has not resolve to my satisfaction; none, not even one. All had been resolved above and beyond my expectations. (and I have high expectations)

So, back to my original point, Barnes and Noble is not going to sell Amazon books. That’s actually great news to Amazon; guess what’s going to happen when people get used to their Prime Membership and the fact that books arrived now on two days (or less) with free shipping, to make things even worst, guess how many people will be willing too get a Kindle on Target, or Walmart, or Best Buy and never look back.

I only know two people that use the Barnes and Noble Nook, they got a nook, just because when they got the device, they want it to test the product before buy it, and at that time the Kindle was only available trough Amazon. Guess witch device they will consider when time is right to upgrade: The Kindle (or the iPad) (The rest of the people I know that use e-readers use an iPad/iPhone/iPod or a Kindle)

In my experience, people want to bet on the winner horse. Barnes and Noble doesn’t look like the winner one to me. As Borders didn’t a little bit ago.They need to make people fell in love with their stores, go there with the same illusion and emotion you go to an Apple Store; otherwise the paper lovers will continue getting the books cheaper in Amazon and when the want instant gratification they will drive to their local Target or Walmart and get a gallon of milk on the same trip.

There is no reason to stop in a Barnes and Noble unless you are looking for a book that it is in the Best Seller list, oh wait, those are already at Walmart and Target, by the way, most likely cheaper… Why I need to stop on Barnes and Noble? They don even offer anymore a comfortable area to sit anymore (our old Barnes and Noble use to, since we moved my local one only have uncomfortable ones)

Bring it on Barnes and Noble, stop carrying all Amazon Books, while you are on that, stop carrying all self publish books that are not exclusive to Pubit (your self-publish platform); and then make sure you remove the chairs (even the uncomfortable ones) so people come to what they suppose to come to your stores, Buy a book.

While you do that, and expedite the process to file Chapter 11, I will be browsing Amazon catalog to order my next book…

UPDATE: Since I wrote this, Books a Million is claiming that they wouldn’t carry Amazon Books either. The problem is that in the case of Books in a Million they don’t even have their own platform to compete with self publish books, and with Amazon getting more and more writers under their imprints, and more deals on printing, I wonder what and how Book a Million is going to differentiate from Walmart or Target… But as I said before, unless a really extreme transformation happen to bookstores, Indies or the likes of Barnes and Noble or Book a Million they will be soon in extinction soon.

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A new direction for this blog

I have been thinking what to do with this blog for a little while. Yes, close it and abandon it had been an option, also for a while. Even if you check, the last time I was here was around December 13, 2011 and I am not apologizing for it.

I am a writer, but I didn’t want to talk about being a writer, or how to write or why I should be writing, there is so many people doing such a wonderful job that I don’t want to get there. I am also a reader, I love technology and many other stuff, but had been unsure on how to work this blog. I even consider for a moment to open another set of blogs so I have a place to talk about writing, a place that I can go and talk about productivity and a place when I can vent about technology and more.

This is suppose to be a place for me to post about my writings, my books and more. Then I began to think about what I would like to see from my favorite writers, and then it hit me, this is a place that people should see what I see, where people should learn what I enjoy, but from the eyes of a Fiction Writer, my own eyes. This is a place that will work as a hub when I want to talk about productivity, or my fiction writing, or how cold or hot is the weather where I live.

So for 2012 I decided that I will do 2 weekly short blogs, Tuesday and Thursday. This is the first one. What I am going to talk? I am not even sure, and almost doesn’t matter. I may talk bout my books, my story, technology or the fact that I am at home dealing with our baby or the dogs that I love and drive me crazy at the same time. I will also will talk about my books, my frustrations with my own stories, and more.

I am looking to show that behind a writer, and more specifically this writer, there is a human, for the first time since I begin blogging, I had give myself the permission to have fun.

So in 2012, I plan to have fun with the blog, and write short or long, sad or not, but more importantly have fun.

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Day 2 – 12 days of Christmas! Ebook Edition

Today is the second day of the Indie Book Collective book blowout!

For the next twelve days you can enjoy many books for just 99¢ each.

You don’t need a Kindle to read them, Amazon has a Kindle App for almost any platform including Mac and PC.

Everyday there is a group of feature authors, and more titles that what you can begin to imagine!

Today’s Featured Titles:

Featured YA Titles

The Legacy of Kilkenny – Devyn Dawson
NoahZark – D. Robert Pease
Born a Refugee – Dixiane Hallaj
Bandits – LM Preston
Nate Rocks – Karen Pokras Toz

Featured Mainstream/Literary/Historical Titles

The Color of Heaven – E.V. Mitchell
Jockeys and Jewels – Bev Pettersen
Looping for Love – Ginney Etherton
Driving to Bel Air – William G. Jones
The Cahokian – Zoe Saadia

Featured Science Fiction and Fantasy

Doodling – Jonathan Gould
Plato’s Gateway – Brian Jeffreys
Fezariu’s Epiphany – David M. Brown
Timepiece – Heather Albano
Excelsior – George H. Sirois

Featured Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance

Rook – J.C. Andrijeski
Vampire Vacation – C.J. Ellison
Secrets – Liz Schulte
Wanted – Amber Scott
Alone – Marissa Farrak

Also, you can win a new Kindle plus $100 on gift cards!

So stop reading here, and go to Indie Book Blowout and have a blast!

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Book Review: The Muir House

Welcome to my site. Pardon the dust, we have been moving boxes around, launching a new book (or getting ready at least for Monday December 5th and more)

I hope you have been enjoying this tour, and making sure you stop in all the different places, you should have come from Rachel Wojnarowski page, otherwise, make sure you stop there. After you read here, make sure sure you go to tomorrow to Ivan Bickett site.

Now to the Review…

 

Secrets… Secrets…  Many people have them, most people do their best to keep them that way, secrets are supposed to stay that way, until they don’t anymore.

But this story is not only about the secrets, even that, you will hunt the secret with Willa for a long time during the novel, but more to find home, the real home.

There was one thing I really enjoy about Willa, her determination, after she decided that she need it to discover the truth, uncover the secret, fill the void, she did not stop, she look for it, and hunt it down. That’s most likely the most important lesson of this book, and one of the reasons I enjoy this very much.

I enjoy reading this book, the story allow you to move forward, to hope that Willa answer all those questions, make you think, laugh and cry. Each chapter give you a clue, and make you feel one step closer.

This is one of those books, that will make you think about your life, while I don’t had Willa’s life, it make me think on my own, on the good things, on the things I miss, and the secrets that were kept from me over the years.

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Blog Tour de Troops: A simple way to say thank you!

Welcome to Blog Tour de Troops. Yesterday was Day 1 of this incredible blog hop and I’m so glad to have you here on Day 2.

You should have joined me from Jackie Channel’s Blog. I hope you enjoyed that stop and left a comment. I’m sure you’ll enjoy Untitled. Don’t be fool by the tittle, it should had been call ‘I will grab you’ at least that what it did with my attention. After here, the next stop on the tour will be at Jill Paterson’s blog were is you leave a comment you will be able to enjoy Murder at the Rocks. If you’re new here, WELCOME! If this isn’t your first time on my blog…check it out,

If you were here on the last Tour, we were having a party, today isn’t about a party. Without a doubt is a celebration, but not a party. It’s certainly a celebration. Twice a year Americans are given the opportunity to say thank you to our Troops; Veteran’s Day and Memorial. Actually, for what they do for us, I think, as a foreigner, that we should do this every day and not only thanks then on Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day.

I don’t have an extraordinary story about what made me appreciate our men and women in the Armed Forces. No one had to teach me to be thankful and appreciative of our troops. I always say “our” because they are protecting our country and our freedoms. That level of commitment and effort is to be always recognized, not just a couple of times a year.

I’m honored to be able to participate in Blog Tour de Troops. I’m thrilled to give a free copy of “The Writer” as well as a coupon for a free copy of my new novel “Putsch” on december 5th when get’s released to any solider that wants one. Leave a comment and for each comment that this post gets, I’ll be giving away copies of my books to the commenter and to a solider.

Please don’t forget to leave your email address in your comment so I can send you the book…

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The most important lesson I learned from NaNoWriMo

Tomorrow we begin NaNoWriMo 2011. It is that crazy month in witch writers push ourselves to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I have participate twice before, one time I won the other one I quit because I noticed that I wasn’t to be able to do it. I was doing the last corrections for my novel “The Writer” and I was unable to focus on a different story. This year I am doing the first draft of my next novel.

There is something that I learned from NaNoWriMo when I participate the first time that I consider really important. The result of NaNoWriMo can be trash (and most likely will be) so don’t be afraid of get your diploma, select all the text (yes the whole 50,000 words) delete them and start again the novel. You will remember a lot of stuff and the second writing will get a much better book.

When I wrote “The Writer” (that had been or over a week in the #1 best seller list of SmashWords) I delete the whole story twice, it was painful, but I am glad I did. The final story is much much better than any of those I simply delete.

Take NaNoWriMo as a playground, enjoy the writing, enjoy the click clack sound, enjoy that you can say and do things that you maybe not do otherwise, and don’t forget, you can also delete all and start again with new eyes on December 1st.

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Big milestone reach

Yesterday, I add to my project list: Prepare launch for Putsch. (My Next Novel)

I as having a conversation this morning with my awesome cover designer about the book, while I am getting ready to begin the next project. Cover is on the works, and manuscript is in final edit stages, to avoid (I hope) the problems I had with grammar on the first novel. I hope the book is much much cleaner. The same editor that is checking this book is the one that check a really famous writer, so I hope we do much better. She will also revise The Writer, so I can update the file by the time the Spanish version of the book came out.

That is another big thing coming soon. The Writer is in the works of being translated into Spanish, so I hope that in the beginning of 2012 you will have it on your hands, or at least on the hand of the people that speak Spanish ;)

Finally, this week (Sunday) The Writer hit the #1 spot on the best seller list on Smashwords. I am really grateful to all that had read the book, buy the book and enjoy the book. In celebration of that milestone I decided to move my book to $2.99 for the rest of the year. Soon every copy of The Writer will be available for that price.

Thanks for the support, thanks for all… Honestly, I am grateful and honored to be able to share these accomplishments and big milestones with you, the readers, soon more to come. (I hope)

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Blog the Tour: Masquerade!: The AfterMath

THANKS A LOT! LAST NIGHT THE WRITER HIT THE BEST SELLER #1 SPOT ON SMASHWORDS! THANKS!

 

TO CELEBRATE, THE WRITER WILL BE SOLD @$2.99 UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR! 

Welcome to the AfterMath of this Blog the Tour: Masquerade! I want to begin giving thanks to the incredible people of Indie Book Collective that make this event possible. I hope the people that receive the book, can enjoy the book as much as I enjoy writing it. Second I want to thank Vicky Kreire who did an incredible job Masquerading in this blog. It was a blast!

Third I want to say thanks to Ann Charles, who smile at my crazy comments in her blog, in case you are reading here and are wondering, I use a Gorilla mask during this event, and I had a blast!

Fourth, the Writer with more votes was Blank (no votes) followed by Maxwell Cynn. Only nine people out of the 100 pick the great Vicky Keire. Again Congratulations to all the players!

Finally, let’s talk about some fun stuff. By now you should have in your email the code for the free book, and it is time to give away the pack of Coffee, the Autograph Book and the Coffee Mug, after a lot of deliberation on the numbers, and looking into all the factors the winner is: CassandraG

 

Thanks a lot to those that leave a comment and play! I hope you all enjoy the book!

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Welcome to Blog the Tour: Masquerade!

So, you’re here for the party? Yesterday was quite the event over at Belinda Boring and Vicki Keire’s, hmmm? Fallen angels and swoonworthy shifters… would they be tricks, or treats? Or both? Don’t forget to pop on over to award winning romantic suspense writer Ann Charles’ site to check out her new book, Dance of the Winnebagos! And right now, I’m at Augusto Pinaud’s, author of the crime thriller The Writer. So, you’re in the right place. Welcome to The Blog Tour de Force’s first virtual Halloween gala, Masquerade!

Yes, party people, I’m hanging out here at Augusto’s, perusing his novel The Writer en masque. So that makes this more than a blog tour; more than a prize fest; more, even, than a masquerade.

What we have on our hands, ladies and gentlemen, is a mystery.

Ah, a mystery. George Mason, the main character in Augusto’s The Writer, also faces a mystery: he’s published three books that aren’t really his. They arrive in unmarked envelopes with the promise of money. Three hit books and some unwanted attention from the FBI later, and George Mason wants out. After refusing to publish a fourth manuscript, suddenly everyone’s out to get him. Quite the hook, isn’t it? Here’s what Augusto’s reviewers had to say about it: here and here.

I have so much in common with George, including drinking too much coffee. Waaaay too much coffee. And like George, I wish real life would just go away and leave me in peace to write my masterpiece. (Ha! As if.) But who am I, really? Since every correct guess gets you closer to winning that Kindle, let me give you a little hint: “My Halloween costume is blue this year, and a maybe a little too close to the edge.”

And if a brand new Kindle isn’t enough, Augusto is giving away a free ebook with every comment. Be sure to leave your email! He’s also got a great giveaway of his own: One of the lucky commenters will get a signed copy of The Writer and a bag of George’s favorite Coffee. Also a Mug, so you can drink the coffee.

Besides Augusto’s novel, I found a lot of Kindle and Smashwords bestsellers that are going to keep me up at night this entire Masquerade tour!

Belinda Boring’s swoonworthy shifters in Cherished, where you meet an Alpha who’s both strong and intensely loving. Mason’s not afraid to show it, either, especially where his mate Darcy is involved.  (Did I mention swoonworthy?)

Lacey Weatherford’s The Demon’s Kiss is a YA Paranormal treat, with a few tricks thrown in for spice! If you love a good bad boy, this one’s for you.

Amber Scott’s first book in her new Soul Thieves series, Soul Search, introduced me to the sizzling, tormented Grant, who struggles (literally) with his inner beast. What’s better than a hot guy with inner demons? An inner wolf, of course!

So what do you think? Do I write horror? Will my novel thrill you, chill you, or romance you? Good luck with your guesses, and remember that every single comment wins you a free book! Don’t forget to leave your email, so Augusto can keep you updated about forthcoming books! Stop by the main Blog Tour de Force site at http://www.blogtourdeforce.com/Blog_Tour_de_Force/Home.html for more authors, prizes, and a chance to win that Kindle!

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