Month: December 2012

Sneak Peek: John Farrell Is Utrinque Paratus

John Farrell Is Utrinque Paratus
by T.D. McKinnon

John Farrell has to be ‘ready for anything’ (Utrinque Paratus) as he is taken on a rollercoaster journey from his coalmining community origins in County Durham to Aldershot, the home of the British army, and to war torn Belfast; from London to the poverty ridden streets of Mexico City; from inside the infamous Wormwood Scrubs, to the South of France, to Glasgow, the Scottish Highlands, Berlin and Bangkok.

Along the way, influenced by the evil men do, inadvertently it seems, John kills: in desperation, in fear, in anger, in ignorance accidentally. Does that make John Farrell a bad person? You decide! Orphan, boxer, soldier, convict, writer, fighter, loyal friend, protector, loving family man and killer. Killing is something not only evil men do.

Continue reading “Sneak Peek: John Farrell Is Utrinque Paratus”

Smashwords Sunday Synergy

Mark Coker’s Smashwords is a great alternative to Amazon for book-lovers. Coker is not selling boil-in-bag toast and camouflage snuggies. Smashwords is all about eBooks.

Joe Amazon sells eBooks too—for Kindle. If you happen to have Kobo, Nook, Sony or some other e-reader, well that is not really Joe Amazon’s concern. He’ll be happy to sell you a Kindle.

Coker himself is an indie author who experienced the same reflexive rejection from traditional publishing as have most of us. He founded Smashwords to help indie authors. The royalty percentage from Smashwords is far more generous than that offered by Joe Amazon.

Smashwords is not perfect. They have some areas of operation that still need improvement, but I do believe they have the indies’ best interests at heart. Can you say the same about Joe?

Let’s take a few moments today to spread the love a bit and support indie authors and Smashwords. Take a peek at some of these titles. If you see something you like, just click the cover and learn a little more—maybe even buy a book. Continue reading “Smashwords Sunday Synergy”

IU Holiday Shopping

The holiday shopping season is in full swing. If you’re looking for original gift ideas, look no further than Indies Unlimited. Why squander money on another stuffed Dodo or glow-in-the-dark Snuggie, when you know those will just end up in the back of someone’s closet?

Whether the writers on your holiday gift list were naughty or nice, you’ll find just the right present for them here. Continue reading “IU Holiday Shopping”

The Competition?

The establishment would have us believe that, as writers, we have to compete and that, regrettably, there is no level playing field on which to conduct the competition. To begin with, just knowing all the rules of the game is an almost impossible task, there is a secret covenant; just when you think you’ve got the rules they change them.

According to the establishment – the established, traditional publishers, the established, traditional media, some of the established, traditionally published authors, all of which make up the established, traditional mind set – there are only so many readers to go around; and they don’t want to share! Continue reading “The Competition?”