Tag Archives: books

Why The Nine Greek Muses Are Better Than Prometheus

If you know anything about Greek mythology, you probably know some part of the story of Prometheus, the hero who stole fire from the sun and gave it to the fledgling human race. You probably also know how Zeus punished … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Ray Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine”: A novel for all time, yet also of its own time.

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury is a world. It’s the author’s fictitious Green Town Illinois, but it’s also a fairyland where boys are young forever. It’s a town where a new pair of tennis shoes can make boys run and … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Ray Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine”: A novel for all time, yet also of its own time.

Elderdown: Book Four of The Hidden Houses. A sales pitch, and a personal comment.

This is the fourth and final book in my “Hidden Houses” modern fantasy series, and my sixteenth published book overall. And now, it’s done. Here’s the Kindle edition on Amazon, and here’s the paperback edition, direct from the printer. The … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Elderdown: Book Four of The Hidden Houses. A sales pitch, and a personal comment.

My marketing experiments: and what I think the first job of a writer should be.

Recently, I spent $100 advertising my novels on Facebook for two weeks. Here’s the results so far: 13,600 impressions. 151 clicks. 18 sales of the Kindle editions. 3 sales of the paperback editions. 0 sales of the Kobo editions. More … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Is this what success looks like for an indie writer?

Suppose I took a narrow, economic view of what success looks like for a writer who, like me, doesn’t write full-time, but has a day-job (which, let it be stated for the record, I do enjoy). The advantage of an … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Self published books have (almost) no quality control. Here’s something we can do about it.

Here’s a reason to support my Kickstarter campaign to hire an editor for my novels, which has nothing to do with me or my books. It’s that a lot of self published books, perhaps most of them, have almost no … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Self published books have (almost) no quality control. Here’s something we can do about it.

JK Rowling does care about writing, and that’s why she should keep doing it.

In the last day or so, I’ve been seeing a lot of this op/ed piece on The Huffington Post: If JK Rowling Cares About Writing, She Should Stop Doing It, by Lynn Shepherd. A brief summary of Shepherd’s thesis might … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , | Comments Off on JK Rowling does care about writing, and that’s why she should keep doing it.

Two facts about ebooks that every writer should know

Prompted by messages from readers of my books, and various agencies and professionals offering to sell me various services, I feel the need (yet again!) to dispel some illusions about the nature of self-publishing. It seems to me that the … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Bren’s Adventures in Self Publishing

In January of last year, I decided that my “theme” for 2012 would be “the year that I re-invent myself.” And I decided to use self-publishing to do it. Back in the last months of 2011, I re-opened a novel … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Review of Autumn Violets by Nuala Reilly.

“Autumn Violets” by Nuala Reilly is a romance novel about the long and measured courtship of Moira and Jack, the former a small bakery owner, and the latter an advertising designer. Both of them begin with cynical attitudes towards relationships. … Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , | Comments Off on Review of Autumn Violets by Nuala Reilly.