Book Brouhaha

About a year ago I went on this kick of reporting all the sales I had for works under 10,000 words.  It eventually got too complex (for me) to keep track of due to the increasing number of published works that I had out along with the fact that Smashwords wouldn't always update in time to do accurate monthly reports. I honestly don't know how some people can keep track of their sales on huge spread sheets.  They must only have like five books published or something.  Psh.  Novelists. However I do feel it's important for prospective short story writers to have a realistic understanding of what the market is currently like.  And in light of my third year of being published anniversary, it felt as good a time as any to divulge some numbers. I don't feel like it would be useful at this point to give a breakdown of everything I've sold in the past three years.  I'll be honest, I don't move thousands of copies and some months I didn't get paid at all for...

We would like to thank everyone that took the time to submit to the Short Fiction Writers Guild's first flash fiction contest. We received an impressive number of submissions for this contest. So it made us very happy to see that flash fiction seems to be alive and thriving in the literary world. And now for the results! First Prize goes to Al Stevens for his story “The Old Tenor Player.”  You can buy the collection containing this story on Amazon . Second Prize goes to Travis Hill for his story “Capture at the Hive.” Third Prize goes to Kaye Linden for her story “My Soul is Driving.” You can buy the collection containing this story on Amazon , Barnes & Noble and most other ebook retailers. Always be on the lookout for future contest announcements!

Summary: Captain Torren, the warden of the Dormigan Prison, knows that the mysterious Prisoner 34 is much more dangerous than the authorities think. Torren does his best to guard him, going so far as to break some of his orders, but the new governor’s sudden wish to personally inspect the prison threatens to destroy the shaky balance the warden has achieved. Review: A really interesting fantasy piece by Lond.  It was bordering  on psychological which is unusual for the genre but Lond was able to pull it off without the story feeling forced. I was immediately fascinated by Prisoner 34.  Lond does an excellent job giving us just enough backstory to whet our appetites and yet not bog the flow of the short story down with mountains of exposition. What dropped the story from a 4 star to a 3.5 for me was the the fact that it didn't feel complete at the end.  This is a part one of a series but it doesn't change the fact that the story needs to have an end. ...

When I write these publishing anniversary posts there's this strange feeling that I just finished writing the last one and yet when I go back to read the last one I can't help but think, "Holy crap that was a long time ago.  I was so innocent!" Greater cosmic forces than I decided that October should be my milestone month.  It marks the start of both my teaching and publishing careers.  This October marks my third year of being published.  So I think this now makes me a minority in the indie publishing world?  Sweet. As I look back I would say this has been a year where I've grown more as a writer than a publisher.  My publishing strategy hasn't really changed all that much.  Other than blogging and the occasional Facebook post, I'm really not into social media anymore for book promotion.  It was such a major time drain and I just don't have enough hours in the day to really make an effective presence. I've stuck to my plan of releasing mo...

Summary: The concubine Ránača, despairing over her dead family and status, agonizes when Mother Volhuxa, oldest of Master Hergesto's bed-slaves, informs her that they will be sent out of the main house to live with the other slaves. Ránača fears what this will mean--and wonders whether she wants to live at all. Review: Over the past years that I've done reviews on this blog I've read several stories by Leighton.  In this particular piece I couldn't help but notice how much the author's writing voice has matured.  The characters are deeper and the story concept more powerful. As with past works, however, my main issue with Leighton's work is the grandiose idea crammed into the confines of a short story.  While this story definitely feels more streamlined than others (fewer characters, more direct plot), it goes on just a little  too long.  It's a short story, not a novel. But it doesn't change the fact that this is a very enjoyable read.  The ...