This is what we like to see

At this moment, WHOSE HAND? IS


    Free till midnight in California

    Hey, wanna read a good book for free? WHOSE HAND? A Skeeter Hughes Mystery is available for free from Amazon.com today.














    The Memorial Day special tomorrow will be DEAD IN THE WATER, a Short Story, also on Amazon.com.

    Get 'em while they're hot!

    So I met this guy on a bus ...

     I don't remember who sat next to whom but we were on a tour to see the home of Georgia O'Keefe outside Santa Fe, NM, which happens to be a city I just love, but I digress. 
    Anyway, he introduced himself as Drew Kaufmann, an indie author whose work had been summarily dismissed by several paper publishers. It was a long ride to the O'Keefe place so we had a lot of time to talk about our work. We learned that we had very independently come to the conclusion that the future was in ebooks, and paper publishers just weren't worth the effort. 
    The conversation continued on our way back to Santa Fe (the O'Keefe place was fascinating) and for the next three days of mystery writers convention we were both attending. We sat together at many of the seminars, and decided together, that they weren't worth our time because the speakers were still stuck in paper. 
    Drew and I kept up our friendship, talking on the phone and emailing occasionally. Well, flip through those pages and see that Drew is suddenly a star, the SanFrancisco Examiner reported today. I'm so happy for him. He works very hard and goes his own way. Check out his website:  
    Drew, you are an inspiration to us all. 

    We eSelf-Publishers

    I have a theory about self-published authors who write for ereaders. I think we're in the midst of a gold rush of writers who've always thought they "have a book in them somewhere" and see the quickly changing technology as their opportunity to jump into publishing and make a bizzilion dollars. So they write that book, throw it on line and wait for the doubloons to fall in their pockets. And wait. And wait. But soon they learn that one ebook does not an author make. More important, they learn that writing books, e or print,  is very hard work. So they fade away. No harm no foul.
    Then there are the writers who do it because they love the work -- most of the time -- and keep going mostly to feed their own need. If it pays, well, so much the better.
    Taleist recently surveyed those authors who earn a living off their writing. I find the results of the survey very reassuring and suggest that you check it out.