Tag Archives: Kindle Scout

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Not selected, but on track…

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By now, most of you, who nominated O’Cegan’s Legacy with Kindle Scout, know it was not selected for publication by them.  My intention was always to release this book in March and that is still the plan. The Kindle Scout program is fairly new and this was the first time I placed a book in it.  I learned a few things about it and how it works, so down the road, I may give it another try.  I think it’s a great opportunity and a win-win even if you aren’t published.  It’s given me more exposure and I’ve gained a few more readers.

I am making a few tweaks to the story and double-checking for typos and spelling errors, not that I do that, but sometimes my fingers hit the key in the wrong order. At any rate, this process is taking a little longer than I had initial thought it would, but I am getting close to the release.  I am targeting this coming weekend to release it.

Free Download for Nominators

For those who nominated my book, I will be having a free Kindle download day once it is ready.  Given that Amazon can sometimes take a few days to activate the book once it’s uploaded, I won’t designate the specific date until it goes live and the free book is live, then I will notify the Kindle Scout site that it is live and they will send out an email to everyone who nominated.  I will also post an update here, on Twitter, and on my Facebook page.  I really want you to have the chance to get it for free.

The book will also be available on Kindle Unlimited for an indefinite time, three-month minimum, where you can read it for free and I get credit.

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You’re A Book Reviewer and Critic!

Reviews are very important to an author.  A good review is a pat on the back saying that someone enjoyed your book.  A fair review with specific feedback means the author has some things to improve on.  A bad review?  Well, based on how many I get, it can tell me I’m a sucky writer, but if there are only a few, then I have to figure the book doesn’t appeal to everyone.  Nonetheless, the reviews, and at least the star ratings, are important to me and they tell other readers that maybe this is a book they’d like to read.  Please read and review!

What’s next?

I’m already into the first rewrite of the next book in the Funeral Singer series, A Song for Menafee.   Gillian Foster is coping with the events that occurred in A Song for Marielle while still keeping up with singing and the bill-paying job.  But one of her funeral singing jobs leads to a ghost with an old secret.  In order to help him cross over, she needs to learn the truth.  

I’m going to be taking a trip to Tennessee in April to do a little research for this book and get photos.  I’m excited and looking forward to “walkin’ in Memphis” and in other parts of the Volunteer State and to chowing down on some good BBQ.

 

blog, Book planning, Book Promotion

Support My New Book

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Banshee image by Michael 1010, licensed through Wikimedia Commons. Book cover image by FantasyArt, SelfPubBookcovers.com

I need your help to have success with my new book, O’Ceagan’s Legacy! I am hoping to get enough nominations on Kindle Scout to get the opportunity to have it published through Amazon. What this means to me is possibly a publishing contract and promotion through Amazon rather than an independent writer publishing through the usual stream of self-published authors via my small publishing company, Pynhavyn. I will publish that way if this doesn’t work out for me, but I would sure love to be with a bigger house.

How can you help? Simple. If you haven’t yet nominated my book, simply go to:

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/14BNE1O3WUOM1

Look at the information on my book and read the first three chapters if you’d like, then click on the Nominate button. If you aren’t logged in to your Amazon account, it will ask for your email address. Enter that and you’ve nominated me.

Here’s the bonus: If my book is selected for publication, you will receive a Kindle copy free from Amazon when it’s released as a thank you for scouting the book.

I was on the hot list for over a day, but I need more votes to continue to hit that list. You can nominate from now until March 12. Getting a publishing contract would be an awesome birthday present for me!

You can do three nominations over the month, so while you’re at it, check out the details for some other books that you might like and help another author out. One that is out there now is a Young Adult by Shaunta Grimes, the author of Viral Nation called Wasted. Shaunta is a great author, so check it out.

blog, Book planning

“O’Ceagan’s Legacy” on Kindle Scout NOW!

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Grania’s first time as captain of her family’s interstellar freighter plunges her ship and crew into dangerous space.

My Kindle Scout page for O’CEAGAN’S LEGACY is live now! To read about my new book, read the first three chapters, and VOTE for the book, just click on the book’s title, which is highlighted above.

The Scout program allows readers to preview an unpublished novel and vote whether they would like to read the rest of the book or not. If enough people vote for it, then Scout will review the book and consider an Amazon publishing agreement.

I I am successful, this means that the author will be published through Amazon. The readers will get a free Kindle copy of the book if they voted for it. So it’s a win-win; I get the book published with Amazon promotion behind it and you get a free copy of the book.

“O’Ceagan’s Legacy” is the first book in the “O’Ceagan Saga”, which is a planned series about a family of Irish-heritage spacers from Erinnua or New Ireland who have a family-owned and crewed cargo ship called Mo Croidhe (My Heart, in Gaelic). It’s a story I’ve thought about writing for several years and it all came together in the past year and a half.

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My Scout page has a little information on the book, but the length of the entry was limited, so here is the full teaser for it:

A bain sidhe’s calling is to warn family members about impending death. For Sheilan, it’s complicated when her last charge in Ireland dies and the rest of the family are now across the galaxy. If she is to have any purpose for existence, she must cross the stars to them.

The routine run from Erinnua to Earth is Grania O’Ceagan’s first time acting as captain of the family’s space freighter. Delays at the station allow her to shepherd her youngest brother to the family seat in Wicklow and to acquire an unusual passenger at London Spaceport. Meanwhile, her middle brother Rory books a merchant with cargo who’s willing to pay handsomely for the ride.

Once underway, Grania’s easy trip home transforms into a nightmare as unexpected perils threaten the integrity of the ship and thrust them into deadly circumstances that test the mettle of Grania and her crew. Can they save the ship and their lives?

In case you didn’t catch it, the story does involve a bain sidhe or banshee in more modern terms. Drawing a little on Celtic legends and myths, this story is a fun ride from start to finish. As one of my beta readers, Nancy Sorbets, put it;

“The Rolling Stones with Space Banshees and a healthy dose of cozy mystery stirred in, done up in a style reminiscent of Mercedes Lackey! I look forward to watching this world unfold.”

Please check out my Scout page for “O’Ceagan’s Legacy” and vote for my book. I would be ever so grateful for your support. You have from now until midnight Eastern time on March 12th to read and vote, but do it early, please.  Thank you!

blog, Book planning

My New Book in a New Program

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Hi, Guys!  I have a little news that is exciting for me and I am really going to need your help to pull it off.

Have you heard of the Kindle Scout program?  No?  Well, simply put, it allows the reader the opportunity to read a few chapters of a new, unpublished book and vote for the book if they enjoy it and want to read more.  If the book gets enough votes, then it might be considered for an Amazon publishing contract.  That’s a really attractive offer to me as a writer because I want to reach as many readers as possible.

legacy-72dpi-1500x2000So, I am delaying the publication of my new book, O’CEAGAN’S LEGACY in favor of submitting to the Scout program.  I have gotten notice that my book has been accepted and will be available for readers to preview and vote on as of February 11, this Thursday at 12:01 a.m. EST. Over the 30 days after it launches, you can cast a vote for the book, talk to your friends about it, encourage them to read it and vote, then pass it on to their friends.  Post the link on Facebook.  Tweet it!  Spread the word however you can.

If we’re successful and the book is selected by Amazon for publication, I will be an extremely happy writer.  What’s in it for you?  I heard you ask that.  Well, if my book wins a contract, you get a free Kindle copy of the book for voting for it.  You will also have my gratitude and I will happily say, “Best tribe ever!”

I will be posting the link for O’CEAGAN’S LEGACY when it goes live on Scout on February 11.

So I hope I can count on you to help me to have a successful launch by taking the time to do this, passing the information along to your friends and letting people know about the program.  It’s a win-win for all of us.