SFFS: The Showdown Begins ("Genesis" continues)

Welcome to another installment of Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday on the blog. Thanks for all the feedback you give on my snippets, but be sure to go visit all of the other writers through the SFFS link above as well.

I'm slowly bringing out snippets from "Genesis," a story that I'd written long ago. So, if you didn't catch the previous snippets,catch the story so far

Well, things are getting downright exciting...and a bit scary. Even Aston knows how dumb it is to face down a Gohr, as anyone who's read Friends in Deed can attest to. But Gabriel is on a mission, and it's time to see who has the strongest will:

There was no fear evident as Gabriel turned to face the beast. “That was the past. You’d do well to leave it there.”

“No, I think I’ll help myself right here in the present.” The burly behemoth wrapped his hand around the top of the satchel.

Gabriel’s hand jerked out and clamped down on Azrael’s fur-laden arm. His tone was low, but still calm and collected as he stood. “These funds are for the Lord’s work. I strongly urge you to take a different course of action.”

Be sure to come back next week for yet another installment. Again, I always enjoy your comments!

SFFS: Blood and Gohr (A "Genesis" Snippet)

Welcome to another installment of Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday on the blog. Thanks for all the feedback you give on my snippets, but be sure to go visit all of the other writers through the SFFS link above as well.

I'm slowly bringing out snippets from "Genesis," a story that I'd written long ago. So, if you didn't catch the previous snippets,catch the story so far.

A little trivia is in order. Those who've read my novels, in particular Friends in Deed, may have faintly recognized the group of beasts at the table when they were first mentioned several weeks ago (and if not, today's snippet will hopefully dredge up those memories). These were the first inklings of what eventually became the Gohr species. But enough reminiscing of old times, the boys and Gabriel just got interrupted by one...and the Gohr don't like to be pre-empted, not even by their own creator:

I glanced up at the grotesque face above us. Mighty fangs hung from the upper half of the beast’s long, broad snout, while yellowish saliva dripped down to the tabletop in long hanging strings. He snarled, “I knew you couldn’t keep it hidden forever.”

Gabriel waved him off. “This is none of your concern, Azrael.”

“The hell it isn’t…” Azrael bellowed pale steam out his nostrils. His eyes flickered red in the candlelight. “This money belonged to my brother, and since he’s dead, I plan on staking my claim to it.” A long, deep snarl pushed his point closer to home.

Be sure to come back next week for yet another installment. Again, I always enjoy your comments!

SFFS: Rude Interruptions (Another "Genesis" Snippet)

Welcome to another installment of Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday on the blog. Thanks for all the feedback you give on my snippets, but be sure to go visit all of the other writers through the SFFS link above as well.

I'm slowly bringing out snippets from "Genesis," a story that I'd written long ago. So, if you didn't catch the previous snippets,catch the story so far

The boys have just had money thrown in their laps, which put to rest most of their concerns about Gabriel (as it always tends to). Now, we're going to find out what happens next:

“So, all we have to do is take you wherever you want to go? There’s nothing more required of us?”

“Transport is all I require at this point. As I mentioned before, the full extent of my journey has not been revealed to me.” His explanation was strange, but another look at the coins littering the tabletop kept me too occupied to care.

“You have a deal, Mr. Peters.” I stuck out my hand to bond our agreement.

“Please, call me Gabriel.”

A furry paw smashed down on the center of the table, as a booming, beefy voice echoed above us. “Peters, as certain as I live and breathe, I knew it would only be a matter of time…”

Be sure to come back next week for yet another installment. Again, I always enjoy your comments!

A Recap of the KDP Select Experience

I've watched several authors (and some publishers) join up with Amazon's KDP Select program, which basically requires the book to be exclusive to Amazon. The promise of shared revenue and free giveaways lures them in. I never really saw the benefit, considering nearly half of my sales come from Smashwords and its affiliates (B&N, Kobo, etc.).

But I'm always open to new methods and opportunities. Maybe it really was all that and a plate of cookies...maybe I was missing out on the pot of gold?

So, I decided to toss my latest Triple-Shot into the fray, to see what all the fuss was about.

One of the stated benefits of  the KDP Select program is that you get 5 days every quarter where you can give away free copies of your title. I chose the first weekend the book was available for two days, and then set up Labor Day weekend as the final three days.

So, now for the stats:

The first weekend, the US site gave away 181 copies of the book. I do know others who have far more fans who've given away several thousand copies in a giveaway. So, maybe I just need more fans (who doesn't?). I put together a little breakdown of the stats at random points (whenever I felt like going on and checking) during that weekend. I've never really understood the way in which the Amazon rankings are calculated, but I've offered those up as well, along with the genre ranking (where I was able to get up to the #35 spot in Sci-Fi)

Time: Sales Rank = copies "sold" (genre ranking)

Saturday Start: 3271 = 47 freebies
2:00 PM:     2007 = 54 freebies (#78 in Sci-Fi)
3:30 PM:      2007 = 58 freebies (#78)
4:30 PM:     1886 = 62 freebies (#68)
7:30 PM:     1751 = 82 freebies (#62)
9:00 PM:     1784 = 92 freebies (#66)
10:00 PM:     1720 = 103 freebies (#64)

Sunday 7:00 AM:    1048 = 143 freebies (#35)
1:00 PM:     1210 = 159 freebies (#41)
4:00 PM:     1344 = 166 freebies (#48)
9:00 PM:     1488 = 172 freebies (#56)
Finish:     181 freebies

 

The giveaways are across all of the Amazon sites...for simplicity, I'll just do the totals for each, where a copy was given:

UK: 28 freebies, 1208 highest ranking (#53 in Sci-Fi...which ironically wasn't even in the same day as the highest ranking)

Germany: 8 freebies

Spain: 1 freebie

 

So,  not too bad...but giveaways don't make an author money by themselves. How many sales did it generate of this title after the giveaway? 2 copies (ironically, one person bought a copy before it went up for the giveaway)

Now, it's quite possible that this giveaway acted as a entry point for folks to discover more of my work. In the time period on Amazon following this giveaway (before the next one), I sold 2 copies of Death Brings Victory and 1 copy of Seeker, but no copies of The Cure nor of my other Triple-Shot. Ironically, my Smashwords (and affiliate) sales were 1, 1, 6, and 0, respectively (I don't have a line of sight on sales of my publisher's titles during this time period, so am ignoring those for the purposes of this discussion). So, even with a free giveaway on Amazon, it looks like I did just as well elsewhere, without the freebies.

So, Labor Day weekend...I didn't have as much time to check over my stats. Truth be told, I have a feeling that a holiday weekend probably wasn't the best choice for a giveaway, since readers (and potential buyers) likely had the same issue. But I offer these stats (since I didn't hit any genre-topping stats, just quantities and sales ranking).

Saturday night:

26 US giveaways (4356)
5  UK giveaways (3189)

Sunday morning:

32 US (3651)

5 UK (3088)

Sunday afternoon:

39 US (4430)
5 UK (3656)

Sunday evening:

41 US (3703)
5 UK (2998)

Sunday night:

43 US (4294)
5 UK (4067)

Monday morning:

48 US (5034)
5 UK (4064)

Monday noon:

49 US (3989)
5 UK (3883)

Monday afternoon:

51 US (4586)
5 UK (3116)

Monday evening:

51 US (4925)
5 UK (3036)

Monday night:

55 US (4805)
5 UK (3532)

Final totals:

58 US (4591)
11 UK (3607)

So, not so good...and like I mentioned, it's possible that the holiday weekend cut down the amount of time I could devote to promoting, as well as removing potential readers from seeing the giveaway. It's also possible that all the readers who wanted to get a copy had done so during the first giveaway. But no matter the reasons for the low turnout, we'll go through the same exercise of sales stats (granted, this is only a week removed, so I may have to do a follow-up post later):

How many sales did it generate of this title after the second giveaway? 1 copy

For my other titles? In the past week, I've sold no copies of Death Brings Victory, 2 copies of Seeker, 1 copy of The Cure and 2 copies of my other Triple-Shot (this, even after I raised my prices near the end of August--another post for another time). Unfortunately, because of the delay in Smashwords reporting, I won't be able to put together numbers there just yet.

Still, I can't help but wonder whether these sales (since they're along the same lines as the first giveaway's) were just random, or if they were indeed driven by the giveaway. I did notice that at least one reviewer had posted something up on the latest Triple-Shot, and then proceeded to post reviews (verified purchases by Amazon) on DBV and HDY, so it's quite possible that the giveaways did have some effect on sales.

But is it worth it to set yourself up exclusive with Amazon? I'm still not convinced...which is why once my KDP Select contract is up at the middle of October, my book will be pulled from the program and sent off to the affiliate sites (though I'm contemplating the idea of going direct through B&N and Kobo...stay tuned). Sorry, Amazon, I just haven't seen the benefit to your program...

Guest Blog: A Snippet From ALONE IN PARADISE

Welcome, fellow blog travelers, to today's guest post from Patrick Stutzman. Today, we'll be offering up a snippet from his new novel, Alone in Paradise. So, without further adieu, I present:

Standing on top of the vessel next to the dorsal hatch, nothing looked out of the ordinary with the exception of the silence that filled her ears again like when she first arrived on Paradise. But, Anna could not help the feeling that something was not right. She glanced all around her for anything that appeared unfamiliar. Nothing. Walking to the aft section, she stood next to the tail fin above the engine assembly and searched again. This time, she caught the glint of something in the woods a fair distance behind the ship. She pulled the binoculars out of her belt and hunted for the source of the reflected light.

A few seconds later, Anna located what looked to be an air cycle parked about a hundred meters back just beyond the tree line. No, she saw two of them there. But, where were the drivers? They had to be somewhere, and why didn’t they make themselves known? Any company would be welcome at this point. Scratch that. Any company would be good, as long as they weren’t trying to kill her.

Was that movement ahead?

Before she had a chance to find out, she felt a sharp blow on the back of her head, and everything went black.

 Never a good sign, I'd say!

Now, Patrick has graciously agreed to give out a free e-book copy of Alone in Paradise to one lucky commenter (of his choosing). So, be sure to comment on this post so you can be entered to win!

And if you don't happen to win the free e-book, you can always pick up a copy over at the usual haunts (Amazon, B&N, etc.) or head over to Patrick's site for a paperback copy.

SFFS: Trouble Comes Knocking (a snippet from "Genesis")

Welcome to another installment of Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday on the blog. Thanks for all the feedback you give on my snippets, but be sure to go visit all of the other writers through the SFFS link above as well.

As mentioned last week, I'm slowly bringing out snippets from "Genesis," a story that I'd written long ago. So, if you didn't catch the previous snippets, here are a few links to get you back up to speed.

The story so far

The boys have found out Gabriel's background as one being sent by the Maker. Colin is expecting trouble, and today's snippet reveals the trouble they've gotten themselves into. Those who were hoping to find out what's in the satchel are going to enjoy today's feature:

“I’m not here for trouble,” Gabriel complained. “I need you to help me complete my journey.”

“We don’t have the resources to transport you, and have no money to contribute to your ‘cause’, so why don’t you just move along?”

“I would not expect you to do this for free and neither would the Maker.” He tossed the satchel into the center of the table, where it landed with a metallic crash, before a handful of round, golden coins bounced out. I grabbed one and examined it closely.

“Galactic credits?” The blue ring around the circumference denoted the value of ten thousand, which meant the stacks inside the satchel, had to be worth…

I gulped. Who was this Gabriel Peters?

Be sure to come back next week for yet another installment. Again, I always enjoy your comments!

Exclusivity: An Author's Arrogance

I've been noticing a trend throughout the Internet that I wanted to ramble about today...it has to do with establishing exclusivity for one's books with particular online retailers. In this case, it's the big boy on the block, Amazon.

Now, exclusivity isn't always a bad thing. Perhaps it's doing quite well for you as an author (though it hasn't seemed all that great to me, but that's another blog post I'm planning for the future).

The trouble is when you, as an author, began to exhibit signs of arrogance when it comes to your titles being exclusive, and this is the trend I've been seeing. One particular celebrity I follow on Twitter (and who, ironically enough, gave a blog review to one of my books in the far distant past) is notorious for this with his two e-book titles. I constantly see him tweeting responses to fans. They ask him if his books are available anywhere besides Amazon, and he just keeps telling them that there's a free Kindle app...get that and read the books.

Now, I don't have a business degree...but I always thought that the "customer is always right" (some examples not withstanding). If I, as someone who is trying to sell books to readers (the customer) continue to get requests for the book to be available at all of these other retail outlets, I'd think that it would behoove me greatly to start putting it up there. It's not all that difficult to do with sites like Smashwords, and apparently, there would be a ready-made market for the books on these other sites.

I personally would like to read these two titles from this celebrity, but I own a Nook. Certainly, I can get the free Kindle App on my netbook, but the entire point behind an e-reader is the convenience of downloading the book and reading it on the device. Why would I want to circumvent the device I already own, when the author could just as easily upload the book to the other stores?

Now, I did upload my latest Triple-Shot as an Amazon exclusive (through the KDP Select program), as a test to see if it made any difference in the amount of downloads I received from readers. Though I do plan a follow-up post later on the statistics involved, my personal experience has not been positive. So, come October 16, my book will be sent off to the other online stores for consumption...

And who knows? Perhaps with a celebrity, the money was just too good to pass up the exclusivity...but myself, I don't see how alienating your potential readers makes good business sense.

The Story So Far ("Genesis")

Those who've been following the blog the past several weeks would have already know that I've been presenting a short story in snippets (for Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday). Since clicking on individual snippets each week is getting a bit burdensome, I figured I'd post the full story that's been presented thus far...so, enjoy! And of course, stop by each week as the story continues...

“Surely there has to be something,” insisted my companion.

He was always a little slow to believe me. “There’s no money left, Duff, nothing at all.”

“How did this happen, Colin?”

I tried not to roll my eyes, though I’d warned him many times about this very situation. It wasn’t as if he’d listened. Instead, his spending had continued, regardless of the fact neither of us could remember our last job.

“Money goes out, but nothing comes in,” I muttered.

“We don’t even have enough to eat?” He tilted his head and trained his sad, brown eyes on me.

I shook my head and interlaced my fingers above the table. Duff would definitely think of his stomach at a time like this. Myself, I was worried about the fact we had no way to pay for more fuel for our ship, which currently sat idle at the local spacedock. We wouldn’t have enough to get ourselves anywhere unless we found a way out of this predicament.

I turned and looked out into the darkness, through a nearby window half-covered with snow. The spacedock could be seen off in the distance, a mess of steady and flashing lights, as ships came and went at random. Rief, the city in the foreground, was dimly lit in comparison, its citizens mostly asleep, warm and comfortable in their beds. Duff and I had made our way here through the blizzard just to have a place to sit around for daybreak, since running the heat in our ship would have lasted only half the night, before the fuel ran out.

Duff rested his dark-skinned forehead on the table, while his blonde hair remained plastered to his head. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t have a clue,” I said with a sigh, turning my stare back inside.

A single counter stretched along the left side of the building, from about the center of the room to the far corner, with a small pass-through at the far end. A handful of round, four-place tables were scattered around us, while tall stools were fixed to the floor just this side of the bar.

We almost had the place to ourselves at this late hour. A lone bartender polished glasses behind the bar, while an old mine worker sat on one of the stools with his gray-haired head passed out next to a black, dented helmet. A half-empty bottle was loosely gripped in his hand, with his dirt-covered face turned in our direction, eyes closed.

A trio of other mine workers sat at a table in the corner, and were the only others present. Unlike the old man at the bar, who seemed a feeble one, they were big burly beasts covered with fur. They’d removed their helmets earlier, which now rested on the floor next to them. Their voices were quite loud for such a confined area and occasionally, the group would erupt into raucous laughter, beefy guttural sounds to throw off an otherwise peaceful evening.

The bartender polished glasses, trading glances between the rowdy bunch of beasts and our table, occasionally watching the passed-out miner for signs of life. None of us were helping his bottom line, even if Duff would have been more than willing to completely finance the bartender’s retirement fund if we had any money.

The front door popped open and snow rushed inside on a blast of frigid air. Every conscious customer turned to watch this new arrival step inside, slamming the door closed and stomping snow off huge black boots.

I finally got a glimpse of the man underneath as he peeled off his white scarf and lowered the matching hood. He also had the added bonus of a patch on his left eye, jet black to match his disheveled hair. A rather vicious scar ran underneath his one good eye, and I idly wondered whether the scar and the patch were related, but only for a moment before I went back to my business.

Duff, unfortunately, was socially inept and continued to gawk. A few moments passed before I smacked the back of his head. He turned to me, eyes narrowed.

“What’cha do that for?”

I mumbled, “It’s not polite to stare.”

“You didn’t have to hit me.” He rubbed his head.

I shot a sideways glance at the stranger as the rowdy group in the corner grew quiet for the first time. They were strangely interested in the new arrival, with each peering over, then leaning back in for a huddled conversation with the others.

I became very uncomfortable as his gaze fell on our table. I turned and scowled, but he smiled, reached inside his coat and pulled out a large cloth satchel. He made his way towards us in absolute confidence as I sat there totally confused.

As he neared our table, he uttered, “I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever show.”

I looked over at Duff, who simply shrugged while I turned my attention back to the stranger and asked, “Do we know you?”

“You, my friends, are to be my guides for the journey.” His smile broadened, eyes twinkling.

His words sank in and I retorted, “Whoa, hold on!”

A big smile appeared on Duff’s face. “Journey? Colin, where are we going?”

“To the farthest reaches of the universe, if need be,” the stranger responded, “as the full extent of the journey has not been revealed.”

“I’ve always wanted to travel,” my dullard of a companion mused.

I pounded my fists on the table. “No, we aren’t going anywhere!”

The stranger was insistent. “The vision has foretold…”

I held up my hand to stop him. “Listen, friend…”

“Gabriel Peters,” he corrected.

“I’m sure you mean well, but even if this vision of yours has merit, we can’t take you, or anyone, even as far as the upper atmosphere.”

“But the vision was very specific that I would find a pair of travelers from a foreign land who would take me on my journey. You’re the first aliens I’ve seen here since I had the vision.”

I rubbed my temples. “Where’d this vision come from, the bottom of a bottle?”

He scowled at me. “My vision came from the only One who can bring the truth.”

“And who would that be?”

“The Creator of all things, the Maker of the universe,” he tried to explain.

I cringed, remembering my previous run-ins with his kind. They either wanted money as a tribute to their gods or threatened force if one denied their supremacy. Though the gods and the methods always changed, they all ended up causing problems.

“Listen, friend, we want no trouble,” I told him, holding up my empty hands with palms faced forward while scooting away from the table.

“I’m not here for trouble,” Gabriel complained. “I need you to help me complete my journey.”

“We don’t have the resources to transport you, and have no money to contribute to your ‘cause’, so why don’t you just move along?”

“I would not expect you to do this for free and neither would the Maker.” He tossed the satchel into the center of the table, where it landed with a metallic crash, before a handful of round, golden coins bounced out. I grabbed one and examined it closely.

“Galactic credits?” The blue ring around the circumference denoted the value of ten thousand, which meant the stacks inside the satchel, had to be worth…

I gulped. Who was this Gabriel Peters?

“So, all we have to do is take you wherever you want to go? There’s nothing more required of us?”

“Transport is all I require at this point. As I mentioned before, the full extent of my journey has not been revealed to me.” His explanation was strange, but another look at the coins littering the tabletop kept me too occupied to care.

“You have a deal, Mr. Peters.” I stuck out my hand to bond our agreement.

“Please, call me Gabriel.”

A furry paw smashed down on the center of the table, as a booming, beefy voice echoed above us. “Peters, as certain as I live and breathe, I knew it would only be a matter of time…”

I glanced up at the grotesque face above us. Mighty fangs hung from the upper half of the beast’s long, broad snout, while yellowish saliva dripped down to the tabletop in long hanging strings. He snarled, “I knew you couldn’t keep it hidden forever.”

Gabriel waved him off. “This is none of your concern, Azrael.”

“The hell it isn’t…” Azrael bellowed pale steam out his nostrils. His eyes flickered red in the candlelight. “This money belonged to my brother, and since he’s dead, I plan on staking my claim to it.” A long, deep snarl pushed his point closer to home.

There was no fear evident as Gabriel turned to face the beast. “That was the past. You’d do well to leave it there.”

“No, I think I’ll help myself right here in the present.” The burly behemoth wrapped his hand around the top of the satchel.

Gabriel’s hand jerked out and clamped down on Azrael’s fur-laden arm. His tone was low, but still calm and collected as he stood. “These funds are for the Lord’s work. I strongly urge you to take a different course of action.”

Azrael baited with a mocking tone. “Perhaps I should finish the job my brother started instead? Matching eye patches would suit you perfectly.” More strings of saliva dripped from his bared fangs.

"Do what you think you must, but this money must remain with these two.” He motioned toward Duff and me. Was he trying to get us killed?

Azrael turned to face us. His tongue darted out and slipped from side to side across his lower fangs. “You don’t mind if I reclaim money which is rightfully mine, do you?”

I shook my head as fast as I could. I valued my life, wasn’t suicidal, and didn’t plan on going toe-to-toe with this beast. Whether Gabriel wished to die, or was just plain stupid, remained to be seen.

A hearty, evil laugh passed from the beast’s throat as he turned back to Gabriel. “This is turning into an excellent evening. Not only do I get to reclaim my brother’s money, but I get to finish his handiwork.”

With a quick flick of his wrist, a blade appeared in his right hand, and gleamed in the candlelight. The bartender dove below the counter, while the other furry beasts stood from their chairs, and made their way over. The old passed-out miner still hadn’t moved.

Azrael’s eyes flashed red once again. “I shall enjoy slicing you apart.”

Gabriel made no move of self-defense, from the blow everyone knew was coming. Instead, he merely gave a stern look at his attacker. “Leave us be, before you do something you’ll regret.”

The hairy beast growled in anger. “Defend yourself, fool!”

The sternness continued. “My Defender is all I need.”

“I’ll take great pleasure in gutting you, then.” Azrael’s laugh came from deep in his throat, and made me shiver.

The beast made a fast step with his left foot, just before the strike, then his face contorted into shock. His eyes widened and his hands trembled violently. The knife clattered to the floor, and his body followed a moment later. He writhed and convulsed on the floor. His companions jumped back, unsure of what just happened. They traded glances between Azrael and Gabriel, who shook his head with a furrowed brow.

“I tried to warn you, Azrael,” Gabriel muttered. “The Maker is not to be trifled with, and His plans reign supreme. I only hope He takes pity on your miserable life, for you know not what foolish things you do.”

I stared with wide eyes at the fallen beast. What just happened? By all logic, Gabriel should have been a bloody corpse on the floor. Instead, Azrael’s body jerked around like a puppet on strings. Was it some sort of mind-control? Had he injected the beast with a drug? The last thing I wanted to believe was the most obvious answer, it had been the doings of the One Gabriel spoke of.

Azrael’s convulsions ceased and Gabriel gathered loose coins into his satchel. He lifted his face and looked over at me. “I believe we had a deal, Captain?”