Spotlight: #Fantasy APOCALYPTO OMNIBUS by LK Rigel

Here's a treat for fantasy fans. Today's spotlight is for the best-selling series by LK Rigel. This volume contains three stories, SPACE JUNQUE, SPIDERWORK and BLEEDER. 

Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Apocalypto-Omnibus-Edition-ebook/dp/B006G5COMK


SPACE JUNQUE:
"Don't get excited." Jake lifted Char's necklace over her head. "I'm not going for your precious parts." He zipped the amulet into a pocket in her flight pants. "Okay, Meadowlark." He secured his harness and punched the ignition. "Let's get the hell off this rock."
- - - - -
An Apocapunk Science Fiction Fantasy
- - - - -
Space Junque Edited by USA Today bestselling author Theresa Weir/Anne Frasier

Nominated for Best Romantic Science Fiction/Fantasy in 2010 and Best Debut Book in 2010 by The Romance Reviews.

The DOGs want to destroy the world. The gods want to make a new one. The trick is to survive both.

On the brink of a world-wide ecological cataclysm set off by the Oil Spill of 2010 and the Great Sea Level Rise of 2070, hydroponics agronomist Char Meadowlark has become a recluse. Her fiance was killed by a terrorist bomb, and her twin sister Sky has gone underground to protect a top secret energy project. Warned about an impending eco-terrorist attack, Char tries to get off planet, but the Defenders of Gaia strike while she's at the airport. Shuttle pilot Jake Ardri might offer her only hope.

When the DOGs' onslaught goes global and the material world threatens to implode, the ancient gods reemerge to take control over humanity. Now Char has to juggle two men, a world on fire, and a goddess with an agenda for a new world order.

- - - - - -
SPIDERWORK:
An Apocapunk Science Fiction Fantasy
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Her fate was to hold the world together. His destiny was to tear it apart.

Durga was named for a warrior with twelve arms - and she could use them all. After the events of Space Junque, she's chosen by the goddess to rule Red City, home base of the chalices who provide natural-born heirs to kings. Khai, the scion of Luxor, falls hard for Durga, and he isn't afraid to show it. Khai offers Durga the love she never expected - but to accept him is to disobey the goddess.

Jake Ardri is positioned to become king of an emerging city-state and desperately wants Char Meadowlark to be his queen, but kings are commanded by the goddess to provide natural-born heirs. Can Char share Jake with a beautiful chalice, trained to take Jake to the heights of sexual ecstasy?
- - - - - -

BLEEDER:
Nominated for Best PNR - Alien/Other World (2011) by The Romance Reviews
An Apocapunk Science Fiction Fantasy
- - - - -
The King of Garrick wants to kill her.
The King of Allel wants to love her.
And shapeshifters stole her baby's soul!

A hundred years after sea-level rise and global nuclear war wiped out most of humanity, Mallory is a chalice, one of the world's rare fertile females. Chalices live under the protection of Red City, which contracts with the kings of the Concord Cities to provide natural-born heirs.

It's a pampered and easy life - until Mal is caught between one king's lust for world domination and the goddess Asherah's desperate plays for another god's attention.

When Mal's undeclared - and forbidden - feelings for King Edmund grow too strong to be denied, she must confront the truth of her past and the most terrifying threat of all -- the inevitability of her destiny.


And here's a bonus: FREE today and tomorrow (Jan. 14 & 15, 2012)


Amazon download link: http://www.amazon.com/Give-Me-Tale-Tethers-ebook/dp/B005KHHZXS

World of Symbols: TAURUS

Taurus, the Minotaur, and the Labyrinth

Michelle Snyder: The Symbologist

www.whiteknightstudio.com

http://whiteknightstudio.blogspot.com/

Taurus the bull was one of the earliest recorded constellations; Taurus is Latin for bull. The Lascaux culture of 14,500 BC understood and recorded astronomical patterns and calendrics - this knowledge was critical to their survival. From them come some of the oldest symbols on record, as well as prehistoric calendrics depicted in cave art. One well known image is that of the bull in Lascaux Cave. This painting looks almost exactly like modern depictions of Taurus. Patterns of dots located over the shoulder of the Lascaux Bull could represent the star group Pleiades, sometimes called Seven Sisters, located in the constellation Taurus. Like other zodiac symbols, myths and folklore about the Taurus constellation can be found around the globe.

In Greek myths, Taurus represents the Minotaur, kept by King Minos of Crete, whose kingdom was in the Mediterranean. As the story is told, Poseidon, the sea-king-god, was angry with Minos and seduced the king’s wife. From this union was born a Minotaur. This powerful - and some said dangerous - creature was kept in a labyrinth, until Theseus killed it. In later versions the labyrinth was changed to a maze - a place with many possible paths, almost impossible to get out of. It is said the king’s daughter, Ariadne, gave Theseus a spool of thread (called a clue) with which he was able to retrace his steps through the maze and escape, after besting the Minotaur. A labyrinth would not make a good prison, as the geometric design consists of two spirals stemming from a directional cross, with only one opening. One could keep walking in a labyrinth and find the entrance/exit. To decode the symbol of the Minotaur, we must look at the symbolism of the labyrinth - an archetypal image representing the center, the source, the sacred place - a secret. (Some myths state the Minotaur was imprisoned to protect others from the dangerous monster; secrets are sometimes dangerous.)

Placing the characters of this story in context of history and climatology helps decode the symbols of the bull and the labyrinth as stories of ancient sea kings (symbolized by Poseidon), and their knowledge of navigation.  A Minotaur is part bull, indicating a connection to Taurus. Pleiades is associated with the Greek word plein, which means to sail. A labyrinth represents ½ year (spirals symbolize three months each), and so it is a symbol of two seasons. To the ancients, the appearance of Taurus and Pleiades in the sky signaled the beginning of storms during the fall and winter; not great sailing weather, and without superior navigational skills sailing would be deadly. The ability to navigate during these two seasons would have been advantageous for both trade and defense, and a skill worth keeping secret. According to Duncan-Enzmann, the ancient mariners knew how to calculate longitude thousands of years ago; this gave them the ability to sail in bad weather, and thus superior power on the sea. And so, deep in the labyrinth, the Minotaur protects the secrets of calculating longitude.

The practice of symbolizing knowledge to protect it and insure its survival through generations is evident in the zodiac stories - the oldest stories in the world. Taurus is one example of a star-story that has its roots in prehistoric records of astronomical observation, navigation, and “trade secrets”.

Article © 2011 Michelle Snyder, author of Symbology: Decoding Classic Images, and eBooks World of Symbols, and World of Symbols: Secrets of the Mermaids. To find these books, and her symbolism blog, visit www.whiteknightstudio.com. 

To read an interview with Michelle, click here: http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-michelle-snyder.html

Review: THE NIGHT SWIMMER by Matt Bondurant

3.5 of 5 stars

“The Night Swimmer” is a beautifully written novel that tells the story of Fred and Elly and their undertaking in moving to Ireland when they win a pub.  It’s a new adventure for them and they dive into it head-long without much thought. Fred is thrilled with the pub and Elly is free to indulge her own passion—swimming in the ocean. Through a genetic defect, Elly is able to swim in cold water without any adverse affects for quite a long time.

While Fred submerges himself in learning how to run a pub in Baltimore and writing his ever-elusive novel, Elly finds herself taking the ferry to Clear Island on a regular basis to swim.  She befriends only a few. Most of the locals do not like strangers, and they ignore her, but some seem to keep track of her swimming in their waters.  There are a number of interesting characters on Clear Island, a decades old tragedy that no one will speak of, and an enigmatic goat farmer who seems to have a running feud with the Corrigans, a powerful family who runs most of the island commerce and the ferry service to and from the mainland.

The author does an excellent job of keeping to Elly’s viewpoint. I could feel her anguish when her marriage begins to unravel and her hurt feelings when the locals shun her. I enjoyed reading most of the story. However, I did find some things either not explained at all or that they were so subtle that I found myself wondering what just happened especially surrounding the climatic events on Clear Island.  I feel like I missed something important, but just couldn’t put my finger on it.  I found this frustrating and for that reason, I’ve not rated this novel as high as I would have liked.

Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Night-Swimmer-Novel-Matt-Bondurant/dp/1451625294

Copy provided by Goldberg McDuffie, New York 

Interview with Kenneth Janssen

Briefly describe your journey in writing your book.

I write because I feel there is a story that needs to be told. I keep a file of newspaper and magazine articles about topics that interest me and they often become the source material for my novels. To this is added an exhausting amount of research to assure accuracy. I truly believe that my storytelling is unique and interesting enough to grab the reader and not let go until the unique ending. The characters are varied and have all the qualities that the reader would expect, including a range of emotions that includes love, hate, fear and horror. The dialogue is relaxed and believable.

Over the years I have written poems and short stories, several of which have been published by Nights and Weekends, Writing Raw and Long Story Short. A small volume by a Norwegian, Jostein Gaarder called Sophie’s World inspired me to write my first novel. My favorite authors are Stuart Woods, John Sanford, Stephen Frye and Stephen King.

Writing is my destiny.

What genre are your books?

Mostly Thrillers and Suspense.  

Do you write in more than one genre?

Yes, one of my novels is Paranormal and one is Inspirational.

If you write in more than one genre, do you use a pen name?

I did for the Inspirational novel, Everyman, Revisited, written by Michael St. James.

Did you query agents and traditional publishers?

I did both. In the process I received some excellent formatting and character advice. I made several improvements because of the kind advice of several agents and publishers. Of course many did not reply or just sent e-mails telling me that the market dictated a shift in the number and genres that they were interested in.

Did you receive an offer of representation or a book contract?

I received offers from several publishers, but I couldn’t agree with their contract terms.

What factors influenced your decision to sign with Untreed Reads?

Jay Hartman sent an e-mail telling me how much he liked the book. Their contract offered the flexibility I was looking for. I checked them out online and was impressed with the growth they were experiencing and what some of their authors had to say about their dealings with Untreed. On that basis, I accept Jay’s offer. I have never regretted my decision. Working with K. D. Sullivan on the details of the contract and subsequent editing and proofing was a joy.

How involved were you during the creative process for your book’s cover design?

I made some suggestions and was very pleased with Dara England’s final design. It is an eye catching cover.

Do you plan to self-publish any other books or will you stay with Untreed Reads?

I am finishing the second Mark Matthews Mystery (Fatal Dose). If things work out, I would be very happy to continue with Untreed Reads. I have two other novels that are completed. The first, Mysterious Forces will probably be an e-book. The second Everyman, Revisited, I hope will find a hardcover or paperback publisher.

What kinds of social media [twitter, facebook, webpage, blog, writing forums] are you involved with trying to garner attention for your book(s)?

At the moment, only Facebook.

How do you feel about the world of digital publishing?  Do you think it will replace traditional publishing one day?

There is no doubt that e-books will continue to grow as the cost of Kindle type readers continues to plummet. I see a continuing market for those who need the feel, smell and cozyness of a printed book, but sometime in the future they will be in the minority. Authors will have to deal with both in the interim.

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned during your journey as an author?

I learned a lot about the publishing business, but mostly I learned that writing gave me the opportunity to share with the world my thoughts, beliefs and dreams.  When a reader chooses your book, generally it’s because of the cover, book jacket blurb, a book review or description by the seller. They are taking a leap of faith that you will satisfy some need they are harboring. If you deliver on this, you have a fan. If you deliver to enough readers, you’re a bestselling author. What an exciting opportunity.

Do you have any advice for new authors?

Keep reading and keep writing. You must read the latest books in your genre in order to know, not only what is selling, but the style of successful writers. There is room for descriptive and dialogist styles and for a mix of both.

What’s next for you?

I will continue to write daily, although the hunt for publishers for my completed works takes up a lot of my time. I am still looking for an agent so that I can spend the majority of my time on writing.

I’m beginning to formulate the third Mark Matthews Mystery and sequels to both Mysterious Forces and Everyman, Revisited.


Author bio:

Ken’s debut novel centers on the exploits of Mark Matthews, a private investigator turned FBI agent. In Blood Money Mark helps topple an association funneling money to terrorist organizations. Blood Money was published as an e-book in November, 2011.

Fatal Dose, the second Mark Matthews Mystery exposes a drug mafia distributing counterfeit prescription drugs. Mark tangles with Marco Vennuti who is responsible for the death of an FBI agent and his family and finds himself protecting his lover from the threat of the psychopathic killer.

Hampton Manor is a multi-genre work about three generations of the Hampton family and their interactions with five townspeople in the peaceful community of Old Brooking, Connecticut. One of the five hires an assassin to kill Adam Hampton and his father and to burn Hampton Manor to the ground. The resulting sequence of events leaves the town reeling. Hampton Manor is an emotional rollercoaster that doesn’t stop until the last word is read.

Everyman, Revisited, Ken’s latest novel takes narrative license from a fifteenth century allegorical morality play and Philip Roth’s modern day adaptation, both simply called Everyman. In Everyman, Revisited, the protagonist is portrayed by Reverend Aaron Masters, minister of the New Thought Metaphysical Center. The novel is not about “new thought” per se; rather about new ways of thinking. Everyman, Revisited is as provocative as it is inspirational.

Ken has epublished several short stories at Nights and Weekends, Writing Raw and Long Story Short.

Ken lives in Ohio, with his wife Jeannette. Contact:  kjans3@yahoo.com

Buy link: http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68_7_48_63&products_id=229

Kitty Funnies: Homework and Mama

We interrupt your regularly scheduled posts about writing and books.  Found these pics over at I Haz a Cheeseburger site. They made me laugh out loud.

This cat looks like my Isabelle and this is exactly something she would do if given half a chance.

And my favorite for the day: Mama, I need a hug!

OK, now that you've smiled, break is over. You may now get back to overly-scheduled lives.

WRITER vs. AUTHOR by Dean Wesley Smith

Indie Publishing and the Author

— How an indie AUTHOR thinks:

When a person who is an Author at heart finishes their “master work” known as “their novel,” their attention turns at once to making sure all their work on “their novel” isn’t wasted.

Most of the time, even though “their novel” has been rewritten into a bland paste, they still fear it is not “good enough” and give the book to an “editor” who then makes it into even more white paste. And don’t forget all the copyediting because “their novel” must be perfect. (At this point the Author has so lost track of telling a story it’s sadly funny. “Their novel” is nothing more than pretty writing, made perfect in grammar and spelling. Story and voice and character means nothing. Only pretty writing done in what the Author thinks is a perfect manner.)

So now the Author has two choices. Send it to an agent, as is the myth, or indie publish it. Most Authors go the traditional route because of a thousand reasons, all silly, such as “My book will get more attention.”  Or, “I want the publicity team on my book because it’s special.”  Often these Authors will run into a new agent who will play into their need for perfection and have them rewrite “their novel” a number of times more, turning it from white paste to pure nothingness.

Or the Author can indie publish, but this brings on other issues such as silly needs for “editors” and “cover designers” to make sure “their book” doesn’t get hurt.

And then the big day when the book is published on Kindle. (Forget all the other places, right??? Only Kindle matters, or so the Author has heard…) Now the Author watches “their book’s” sales numbers every hour, getting discouraged when there are no sales in two hours.

And then the Author starts the promotion on Twitter and Facebook and so on and so on and so on. Promotion is now all the Author thinks about day and night, because after all this is their “master work” and “their novel” so it deserves their respect and time and promotion.

— How an indie WRITER thinks:

Story is done. Cool! Get a few friends to proof it while the Writer gets started writing the next story.

Proofing is done, Writer spends a little time learning how to do a cover and blurbs, gets the story up on all the sites, all the while working on the new project, annoyed that the last project is taking his time away from the next project.

Book is indie published quickly and Writer goes back to work on next project, finishing it and getting it proofed while he starts the next project.

And so on and so on.

Writers, besides announcing a book or publication on a web site, don’t do promotion like Authors do. They can’t, because their focus is on writing the next book and the next story. They don’t have time. Writing time is more valuable than promotion of an old book.

Writers tend to believe that their own writing is the best promotion.

A Better Distinction

So maybe a better way to define Author and Writer these indie publishing days is this:

— A Writer is a person who writes the next story.

— An Author is a person who spends their time promoting their last story.

Yet maybe yet another way of looking at these two diverse camps is this:

— A Writer gets feedback from the simple act of writing and finishing stories.

— An Author must get feedback from external sources such as reviews, sales, promotions, editors, workshops, and so on.

Full post can be find here:http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=6190

#SS Assassin's Curse - FREE today only

Here's a sample from our new book, "Assassin's Curse, Book 1 in the Witch Stone Prophecy." As an added bonus, the book is FREE today only. What do an assassin's guild, a witches coven and 2 twin girls have in common? Check out our book and find out. Enjoy!

The Prophecy of the Witch Stone

From the line of power twice born

To the power born twice

Shall arise the seekers of the Stone.

Look for the sign of the witch in two joined

For they shall be the saviors

Who shall grasp the power from darkness

And bring it into the light

For when the flower blossoms

Then will be the time

For their powers shall be twined within a single aspect

And stand balanced on the sword’s edge of good and evil.

False guidance shall lead to the path of doom

And will spell destruction of all

                                                That they were brought about to save.

***

Mave saw the boy look his way and inwardly smiled.  He knew the boy was scared, and rightly so.  It was not chance that brought him here today, but a carefully orchestrated scheme to make sure he tested the boy.  He felt Jeda was no more than a third-year upstart who did not deserve the opportunity to test for apprenticeship.  Most novices trained for five or six years before petitioning to test.  Mave was going to make sure that the boy did not pass.  That was as it should be, for it was Mave who had brought Jeda to the guild in the first place.  He should be the one to put the boy in his place and teach him humility.

Jeda finally reached up and took a pair of fighting knives off the wall.

Mave shook his head at the boy’s choice.  I knew it.  The boy may know how to fight, but he knows nothing of winning.

“Begin,” said the dispassionate voice of the master-in-attendance judging the test.

Mave strode forward, closing the distance and eliminating the only advantage knives would give the boy.  Without the distance to throw them, they were completely useless against swords. 

The boy stood stock-still, visibly trembling as Mave approached.  His frozen fear was pathetic and almost embarrassing.  Mave would cut him slightly with his first blade and knock him out with the handle of his second, putting a quick end to this charade of a test.  Twirling his swords in a deadly dance, Mave felt no sympathy for the boy.  Today’s failure would set Jeda back at least a year and give him more time to learn proper respect and modesty, traits Mave felt he was sorely lacking. 

The young fool doesn’t know what he’s in for.   

As Mave swung the first blade to catch the boy across the cheek, something unexpected happened.  Jeda dove forward, under the first blade, and whipped one of his knives at Mave’s exposed side.  Mave deflected the throw with his second sword.  If he had not been such an excellent swordsman, the throw would have a scored a hit.

Maybe not quite the fool I took him for.  Mave spun around swinging the sword in a deadly arc to face the boy as Jeda jumped to his feet.  The swing cut the boy high on the arm and he cried out in shock and pain.  The cut was deep and bleeding heavily, rendering the arm useless.  The boy went down on one knee, but Mave moved cautiously forward.  He would not be caught off-guard a second time by the boy’s cleverness.  When Mave came within a sword’s reach of him, the boy jumped forward into a diving roll and threw his second, remaining knife.  Mave anticipated the move and easily deflected the throw, shaking his head at the boy’s stupidity in throwing away his last means of defense.  As he turned to face Jeda, he realized his mistake.  He felt a blade slice through his trousers, burning and drawing a bright-crimson line along his leg.  Jeda had used the second throw to distract Mave from his true objective: the first blade that Mave had deflected.  The boy had used his diving roll to reach that first blade, left forgotten on the floor.  

How did he get that knife so quickly and throw it so precisely? Mave wondered, looking down at his bleeding leg.     

“Enough.  Blood has been drawn by Novice Jeda,” said the master’s voice from the balcony.  “He is elevated to the rank of apprentice.”

Mave studied Jeda with a smoldering anger.  He was a good fifteen feet away and was wobbling on his feet from loss of blood.  It didn’t seem possible that he could have thrown that knife in his condition.  Mave knew the boy must have somehow cheated. 

This is not over; no one makes a fool of me.

Amazon link: FYI, if you are an Amazon PRIME MEMBER, you can borrow the book for FREE anytime.

http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Curse-Witch-Prophecy-ebook/dp/B006T3HN2A

It's Here! NEW #fantasy: ASSASSIN'S CURSE

Dave and I are so excited that our newest fantasy, ASSASSIN'S CURSE, is now available for sale.  If you like assassins, intrigue, betrayal, witches and a battle against evil, we hope you'll give our new book a try.

Book blurb:

When elite assassin Jeda received his assignment to kill a witch and deliver her twin daughters to the Countess of Berkshire, he had no idea it would be his last. The witch stuns him with an elemental blast, but not before he's able to throw his knife. When Jeda regains consciousness, the dying witch is performing a compelling spell between him and her twin daughters .

Now bonded to the girls, Jeda's old life is forfeit. His only thought is to take the girls and run as far away as he can. He has no idea that the twins are the ones spoken of in the long-lost prophecy of The Witch Stone. Forces are gathering: the white witches want to teach them; the Countess wants her grandchildren back, and the guild has sent their best assassin to bring Jeda back, dead or alive.

Jeda must use all of his assassin skills to stay one step ahead of them all, but will it be enough to save himself and keep the children of prophecy alive?

Buy Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Curse-Witch-Prophecy-ebook/dp/B006T3HN2A

FREE - THE PATH, Dark Future Series

If you like post-apocalyptic fiction, you may be interested in our 3-pack of Dark Future novelettes, THE PATH.  It is FREE for Thursday, January 5 ONLY. 

Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Path-Dark-Future-Stories-ebook/dp/B0069X0DHM


A collection of 3 post-apocalyptic stories of survival and new found friendships.

PATH TO DESTRUCTION:
Can a ragtag band of soldiers save what's left of the USA?

In a last ditch attempt to turn the tide in a desperate war, General Matthew Smith of the American Freedom Fighters asks Samurai Master Kenzu to make a batch of the famed memory weapons--weapons that infuse its user with the skills and memories of a samurai warrior. But, in the wrong hands, the users can become uncontrollable killing machines who don't care whom they kill - friend or foe.

When General Smith orders Commander Hurley and his unit of augmented soldiers test the weapons, he believes that he's doing the best thing for all of the men under his command. What General Smith believes, however, and what is true is entirely two different things and Smith must live with the consequences of his decision.

THE RIGHT PATH:
Fifteen-year-old Abraham "Ham" Jones, a cripple, and Zia Slate, a fourteen-year-old tomboy with an attitude, find themselves unlikely partners in this post-apocalyptic tale of survival. It is decades later since the world blew itself apart. Life is harsh, gangs rule the streets, the system cops keep the peace anyway they can. Being a kid in this world isn't easy, being a cripple is about the worst sentence handed down. Being a girl with no protection is only slightly better.

Ham and Zia's lives are irrevocably changed when they meet a mysterious old man bearing gifts - a cane for Ham and a knife for Zia. But, nothing is as it seems. Everyone wants something and no good deed goes unpunished. Forced into a desperate encounter, they must fight for their lives when it's discovered they now have possession of two of the legendary memory weapons, the very weapons that ultimately destroyed the world.

ZIA'S PATH:
In this novelette featuring crippled teenager, Abraham "Ham" Jones, and his tomboy partner, Zia Slate, the stakes are even higher. They have agreed to accept the memory weapons from their new guardian, Henry Lloyd, but with the power of the weapons comes the responsibility to follow "the right path." It's suppose to be simple: help one person at a time, but nothing in this harsh world is ever simple. It's a dog-eat-dog world where food is scarce and gangs rule the street.

When Ham decides to go into the worst gang-ridden area of the city to save a little girl, Zia doesn't think it's a good idea. It's too dangerous, but eventually she agrees and the two set off in search of the girl. When Zia goes off to scout ahead, Ham's worst nightmare comes true. Zia is snatched by slavers. Can Ham find out where she has been taken and mount a defense to save her in two days before she is sold as a sex slave?

Interview with Michelle Snyder

Briefly describe your journey in writing your first or latest book.

I have loved art and images since I could see. Drawing was something I could not help but do passionately since I was two years old. For decades I taught drawing and design. But in 2000 I was diagnosed with a progressive condition that made me rethink my life, and my future with teaching art. The year Dan Brown published The DaVinci Code, I became quite entranced with what Robert Langdon did; I had no idea someone could be a symbologist. That was fascinating; I pursued a postgraduate degree in decoding symbols at the University of Wales. During my research I published a column about symbols in a newspaper. They became part of my first print book, Symbology: Decoding Classic Images.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon?

My mother was an editor. When I was younger she sent me to Little Brown and MacMillan in Boston with edited manuscripts. She had also written one, and spent years sending it out and being rejected. She was never able to publish. In 2005 I began working with a colleague’s material, preparing it for publication. I searched for traditional publishers who accepted unsolicited manuscripts. I didn’t find any – you had to be published already to submit something to be published.... Catch 22? I researched agents, and with the ridiculous money they got paid, low royalties, the loss of rights to, or control of the material, we were discouraged. And even if you made it through all that, there was no guarantee they would market your book. Then I stumbled upon BookSurge (now CreateSpace). We published his, then our own material.

What have you learned during your self-publishing journey?

My biggest learning experience has been how to market my books. I bought books on how to market books. It was, perhaps, a paradigm changing realization that just because you write and publish a good book, does not mean sales; with the ease of publication, the opposite is true. Desktop publishing has made it possible for almost anyone to enter into the Mass Media market place. You can write and upload a book, and get it listed with online distributors without much difficulty, sometimes for free. The market is flooded with “anyone can publish a book” quality books. I think the best, most promising, and most exciting aspect to self publishing is eBook technology. As a consumer, buying eBooks means my already huge research library can grow without taking up more space. And the books are cheaper. Great opportunities lie in this new aspect of Indie publishing.

Did you design your cover art? 

My husband Jay and I are partners in graphic design, multi-media production, and publishing. We do the covers together. He is does the layout using my artwork.

What kinds of social media [twitter, FaceBook, webpage, blog, writing forums] are you involved with trying to garner publicity for your book(s)?

My first attempts to market included finding reviewers. CreateSpace has a community forum where there is a good list of them. It was there I found Debra Martin. I contacted her, and she invited me to publish a column on her blog. I was very excited. Then I bought books on marketing. I highly recommend eBook: How to Make, Market, and Sell eBooks, All for Free, by Jason Matthews. His advice is comprehensive, with how-to included. We have a website, WhiteKnightStudio.com, where we post information about the books, and links to where they are sold. Finding a local publication that would feature an excerpt was recommended: I landed another newspaper column in the local paper, which also publishes online. This gives me publicity twice monthly in print, and archives the articles online; I tag the end of each article with my books and website.

I use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for professional networking. We also put up a blog: Once Upon a Time, the world of symbols. A great way to get some name recognition is to comment on other people’s blogs that are relevant to your genre or material. You find them by setting up Google alerts to be sent to your email, using search words. For me they were symbolism, mythology, and fairy tales. I have driven a lot of traffic to my blog doing this; people tend to click on your info when you comment. The greatest lesson to be learned is you can only sell what the audience wants. In the long run – Audience is King. Ask yourself, who are you writing for?

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?

Symbology: Decoding Classic Images is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online, and a local bookstore. The two eBooks are available in multiple formats through Smashwords, for Nook at Barnes & Noble, and Kindle at Amazon.

What is the best advice you can offer new authors?

Have long-term vision. I read a newspaper article that said a major difference between print and eBook marketing is that in print-sales, your book, if it makes it to the shelf, is there for maybe six months then removed to make room for new books, whereas eBooks get put up and stay up. This gives you more time to make them known and gather some momentum in sales. And if your first book is not a smash hit, try again. My husband reminds me that if you don’t have a product to sell, you won’t make any money. If you have one, at least you have a chance. If you have more than one, your chances get better. Like the menu at MacDonald’s - need to diversify? Make a new sandwich.

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?

Honestly? Yes, even though my kids are grown. What I want to be doing is not always what needs to be done. Marketing and writing are both full time activities. Can I put off having a life until my books sell? Do I believe they will? Do people even like my stuff? How much can I put off, and for how long? These are tough questions to have nagging at you. The drive to create opportunities for publicity is sometimes all consuming. But without a book, there is nothing to market, and my first love is symbology. That is my passion, so I write when I am inspired. Then I invest a lot of time here, communicating with the online world. Just keeping up with the list of Google alerts takes a lot of time.

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest books?

Our newest eBook, World of Symbols, is about symbology, and includes the meaning, origins, and historic context of symbols like dragons, unicorns, and the Green Man. The eBooklet, World of Symbols: Secrets of the Mermaids, is a short introduction to symbology, focused on mermaids, and the symbols associated with them. Some of this information is a result of my postgrad research, and is published for the first time in my books. Jay and I are now co-authoring a new series The Sally Knight Mysteries, a collection of short stories, the first of which is “The Lost Unicorn.” Summer 2012 is our target date. 

Buy links:

Symbology at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Symbology-Michelle-Snyder/dp/1456548441/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312398072&sr=1-1

World of Symbols Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/World-of-Symbols-ebook/dp/B00669TSDE/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325452487&sr=1-2

Secrets of the Mermaids Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/World-Symbols-Secrets-Mermaids-ebook/dp/B0066A9V9Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325452487&sr=1-1