99cent SALE IS OVER TONIGHT

The 2012 Olympic games  closing ceremony is tonight  so it’s also the end  my 99c sale.   My novels will be available for 99 cents at only one site after tomorrow .  To commemorate the new opening  of http://eprintedbooks.com/Store/index.php  for the remainder of August, e-printed books will have my novels discounted to 99c. 

Take advantage of the opportunity.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2012 & MY BOOKS

Several weeks ago I was commenting on the Wimbledon tennis tournament.  It was so poorly executed I predicted that the Olympics being held in London would probably be FUBAR.  I WAS WRONG!  So far it appears the games have been run smoothly from where I sit here in Panama.  We have two local stations that are broadcasting the Olympics almost exclusively.  

All of my novels and screenplays went on sale with the provision that the sale would last until Panama won a medal in the Olympics.  Panama’s best chance, Irving Saladino the broad jumper who won the gold medal in 2008, scratched three times and didn’t even qualify to compete.  So, there are three other competitors that may have a chance.  The 99c sale is still in place!

The Olympic Games in my day were just for Amateurs.  Professionals were forbidden and if one received money from endorsements or direct pay from any professional sport,  that person was disqualified.   Jim Thorpe, one of the USA’s finest athletes in track in field, was stripped of all his medals when it was discovered he'd earned a few hundred dollars over one summer playing semi-professional baseball.

I have strong opinions about Professionals in the Olympics.  When I witnessed what the USA basketball team (all big name millionaire professionals) did to Nigeria.  I believe the rules need to be reconsidered.  Maybe each professional should be required to run the 3000 meter steeplechase just prior to their performance; with the ladies from Somalia and Kenya setting the pace.  In events like tennis, maybe Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Del Potro should have been forced to play left handed.  I’m certain that their third set wouldn’t have gone 19 games.  Something needs to happen to level the playing field.   

In the meantime we can always hit the off button whenever the pros appear.

99 CENT E-BOOKS ARE BACK!!!

As of August 1, 2012, my nine novels are on sale for only 99 cents.  This is a limited offer to help introduce a new e-book seller, http://www.eprintedbooks.com/Store/.  I’ve been working closely with Steve Caresser, the owner of this enterprise.  We’ve bounced a few ideas back and forth with the result being.  An e-book retailer that offers authors eighty percent royalties and said royalties are paid immediately.

If you ever considered owning all nine of my novels, now is the time.  As I mentioned above, this is a limited time offer and also exclusive to Steve’s new store and Amazon Kindle store.  http://tinyurl.com/csgjaj8

http://tinyurl.com/ccoa5c6 .   

QUICKSAND AHEAD!

As an independent author/publisher I’m able to view the future of the publish industry with a certain objectivity.  I’m not contracted to the standard AGENT/PUBLISHER/PUBLICIST paradigm. 

At one time I was part of that program as I had no choice.  It was sad and unrewarding; traveling to all the bookstores; sitting in some corner signing my novels and then waiting six months to be paid by the publisher.  Paying the agent and publicist out of my meager revenue and then proving to the IRS that; Yes, I did sell four-thousand books but I lost eighteen thousand dollars because of the travel expenses involved. 

Also, many of the sales to bookstores were bogus.  The big box stores order the books but they have the right to return them if unsold.  The author gets slammed and has to return the royalty. Well, the big box stores are going under.  That is their quicksand.

That was then – this is now.  No one is taking my e-books off the shelf.  I can adjust the prices anytime I choose, and my royalties are paid monthly. My e-books are sold around the world and are not limited to store hours. E-books can be downloaded to almost any reading device; Kindles, Nooks, PC’s, Mac’s, tablets, and even some cell phones.  I use my kindle but also have several e-books downloaded on my android cell phone.

The near future for e-books looks grand.  However, our quicksand will come somewhere in the distant future.  Reading is already on a downward spiral due to video games and other forms of electronic entertainment. 

TRADITION SUCKS!

I normally don’t comment on sporting events; most don’t affect my life one whit.

I enjoy watching certain sports.  I’m a baseball fan, I like some professional American football and I’m enthusiastic about Rodeo, Boxing and Bullfighting.  I try and watch some of the tennis grand slam tournaments as well.

This year, Wimbledon, is an all out cluster F…k! My take on this “Traditional” grass court event was never opinionated except for the repulsive uniforms of the officials, linesmen, and ball boys. 

This year, however, their judgment calls regarding dealing with the rain and their convertible center court, their start and stop times demonstrates why there is no longer a British Empire.  Great Britain (oxymoron?) is hosting the Olympics that begin in just a few weeks.  I suspect if Wimbledon, a professional event, can used as an example, the Olympics will be FUBAR! 

NUMBER NINE IS ON THE BOARDS

Writing a novel, either good or bad is a personal achievement of grand proportions.  From the original idea or inspiration, one has to develop characters, establish an outline, and then start the story; one character after another.  Being cognizant of where the plot points need to be, when to telegraph red herrings, and which characters you want totally exposed.  These tasks need to be determined ahead of all the other factors involved before one word is written.

REVOLUTION OF FOOLS was released by Amazon Kindle and B&N Pubit over the last two days. This novel is the sequel to MURDER IN PANAMA. 

Check out my page on Amazon.com http://tinyurl.com/csgjaj8

Join Jimmy Hart and his crew of zany characters as they thwart the takeover of the Panama Canal, take on South America’s bad guys and outperform all intelligence agencies, and avert an all out war in the Americas.  Set in tropical yet volatile Central America, Panama is the plum that other countries want to pick.  55,000 words of action-adventure. 

ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

Whether we admit to it or not, writers are part of the entertainment industry.  Every word uttered in a play, a song, a commercial, or a movie is the result of someone penning it on paper.  Every lecture on history or a documentary on a particular event or situation has been scripted by someone or adapted from a book.  Even so-called reality shows are scripted.  Political speeches are seldom written by the politician; someone writes every letter of every word.

All that being said, it’s galling to see most authors; especially fiction writers ducking the “Tag” entertainer. Personally, I like the tag.  I’m entertained when I write the story; even entertained when I’ve read it for the fortieth time. When I’m really entertained is when I’m releasing a new novel or screenplay.  That’s happening in several days.  REVOLUTION OF FOOLS, the second of my Jimmy Hart series will be released within a week.  MURDER IN PANAMA has been moderately successful.  Not earth shattering but it remains in the top ten percent of Amazon e-book sales.  Hopefully REVOLUTION OF FOOLS will receive that same moderate success.