Yes, yes, I know. You’re tired hearing me talk about the books I’ve got on sale this week. Well this will be the last time I talk about this set of books for a while. From now on, they’re on auto-pilot.

The rest of the evening will be spent watching The Jungle Cruise and preparing the house for a new resident! I’ll have exciting news about that tomorrow!

Until Next Time!

Stay Awesome!

Since putting the Golden West series on sale (first one is free), I’ve seen little action. Back in the day, when you made a book free, people would dogpile and snap up the book. I’ve never done that with Golden West, so thought, maybe this is what that series needs is a little push to get things moving.

Nope. Not happening. I love the covers, but that might not fully convey the story. The blurbs are a little clunky. I probably need to fix those.

Even so, I can address those another time. I chose to do a short TikTok video and put that up on all the social medias. It had a little help, I think. I gave away a few more copies, and sold a print version. Can’t argue with that. All I wanted to do was see what’d happen if I tried a little harder.

Still, seems SteamPunk doesn’t currently have the allure it once held.

Through the entire “sale” I’ve only sold one copy of the other two books (oddly, book 3). It’s also stayed in the top 100 Steampunk titles the entire time. I’m happy it there, but this is what got me wondering how few the entire top 100 must be selling (or giving away).

I do have another sale planned on a more popular book. Paradise Palms will be on sale next week. This has been one of my more popular books over the years and I’ve only done a free give away once with it. There’s fresh editing in there now, and I’ll drop it to .99 for a week and see if that helps that one out. Over the weekend I plan to revisit the description and get that cleaned up as well as make a short “It’s on Sale!” Video like I did for Golden West.

I don’t consider this sale/giveaway a failure. I learned a lot this week. I did some new things. It’s time to try again and see what happens.

I’m off to go get things done in preparation.

Until Next Time!

Stay Awesome!

I’ll have to admit, I’m a bit perplexed. A few years ago, Steampunk was all the rage. Seemed everyone was reading and talking about Steampunk. Several authors were very big into the genre and the spotlight shone bright on those who wrote in that area.

Why am I curious about this today?

Because I’m running a sale on my Steampunk Western trilogy. I’ve only given away 2 copies of book 1 and it was #50 on the free chart. Meaning it’s not difficult to get onto that chart and stay there. Meaning…Steampunk isn’t selling?

This struck me as odd given it’s popularity just a short time ago. I’m looking at other books on the free list and most were published at least 2 years ago if not more. One of the more popular free titles was published in 2015. So I kept digging.

Though I was spot checking and didn’t click every single title, none were published in 2020 or 2021.

This led me to question, has Steampunk time come and gone already? Is this a genre that’s gone to die an untimely death?

I realize the pandemic may have had an adverse effect on those writing into the genre, but it didn’t have that big of an impact on other genres in the way steampunk seemed to suffer. Epic Fantasy has been considered an evergreen field to write and it’s doing quite well. Space Opera? So many new books. Mystery? Thriller? All doing well.

Looking online, you can still see interest in steampunk fashion. Girl Genius is still going strong after all these years. Maybe that’s the trouble with writing in this genre. Steampunk has become a more visual form of entertainment. The written word doesn’t convey the grandeur of the genre. There are also no current movies out that would re-spark interest.

That said, no, I won’t stop (for now) writing or enjoying the genre. I do enjoy the freedom it offers and the alternate histories that can be written with it. But being that I’m having a difficult time even giving away books for steampunk leads me to wonder just what happened and how it feel off after burning so brightly.

What are your thoughts?

Until Next Time!

Stay Awesome!

I’ve said since I restarted this blog, one of my goals was to be completely transparent in what’s happening. One of my other goals was to make $100 with my writing within 6 months. Organically. Meaning no advertising. Write, publish, mention it on the blog and Social Media, and move on.

That’s what I’ve been doing.

We started in May and since then, we’re at ~$50. Meaning about half that money was made this month alone. That’s where I keep reading on forums and FaceBook groups that each release pushes the previous release.

What you see in the above graph with the Gold and Blue, are Almost-Super Heroes 1 an 2. When book 1 dropped, I sold a few copies. When 2 dropped, I sold a few copies of book 2 and also a few copies of book 1. I had expected some of this, but I’m surprised at how well this month was. Honestly, I didn’t think that $100 goal was in reach. I see now, it very much is in reach.

My goal is still the same. $100 in 6 months. Very doable. V&A book 3 will drop on the last month and we’ll see what happens there. Also, I’ll have a collection of short stories drop from all the individual releases. And more short stories dropping.

By the time we get to a year into this, we’ll have dropped 6-8 books and 25 short stories. I’m very excited to see where this goes and grows.

That said, don’t forget, I’ve got a sale going in with my Golden West Trilogy. For $1.98 you can pick up all three books. And for some strange reason, the print editions are currently under $3 each? I mean, what have you got to lose?

Until Next Time!

Enjoy!

It’s been a very long time since we’ve been to a concert. My Favorite Daughter had gotten her ticket some time ago and asked the Mrs and I if we’d like to go. So she got us tickets because she’s awesome like that.

I’d seen Greenday way back when. They were more of an opening type act and not headlines. Sure, they were still huge, but nothing like now. Fall Out Boy we saw when MFD was 7 or 8. She’s always been a fan of them. Weezer was the only main act I hadn’t seen. Then there were the Interrupters.

The Interrupters reminded me a lot of the Pretenders. Female lead, good, groovy bass lines. Tight playing. Good songs. Really enjoyed them.

Weezer is that band you forget how many songs they have that you know. Then you hear them and go “Oh yeah!”. I’m not a major fan, but I do enjoy their music. They had an interested stage set up and played before it got dark.

Fall Out Boy started when it was still light out, but finished when it was dark. They’re a solid band and put on an incredible show. They’re a band that, to me, was always destined to play big places with a full sound and an active stage presence.

Then there’s Greenday. As I said, saw them back in the day. I’ve enjoyed their music since Dookie. I was a skater punk in my teens. I was in a punk band in the early 90s. So it was natural for me to love their music. Back in the day, it always seemed like they were trying to be bigger than they were ready for. To me, at least. Yes, they put on a good show, interacted with the audience. Got rowdy and all that.

Last night, Greenday was amazing. Billy Joe can really get a crowd motivated. Their stage show has grown so much from the trio they originally were. Yes, they’ve an incredible catalog of music now and they played all the hits, old and new.

We had a great time last night. I’m glad live music is back. Can’t wait to do that again. Well, once my old body feels better and I get my voice back.

Until Next Time!

Stay Awesome!

Tonight, we’re headed the Hella Mega tour. I’ve seen Green Day (way back when) and Fall Out Boy (when they first broke out). I’ve never seen Weezer. Given how much all these bands have changed over the years, this should be an incredible concert.

Yes, all precautions will be taken including self-quarantine for several days afterwards. Very excited to see this show. We haven’t been to a concert in so very long.

Spent some time today doing remedial bass practice. I’ve always played with a pick and it’s interested to play with my fingers instead. I’ve never had focused instruction in this area. I’ve always used a pick and learned songs I wanted to learn. I felt now was the time to knuckle down (pun intended) and learn better technique. I’ll keep you posted on that progress as well.

I need to send an email to my newsletter. I’ll be doing that next. I never told them ASH2 is out and there’s a sale starting tomorrow! I’d best get on that.

Until Next Time!

Stay Awesome!

I spent a good deal of time this week getting the next collection of short stories uploaded and ready for pre-order. My Favorite Daughter got me a new set of covers and I’m excited to have all this done. Next step will be to get everything updated on the Webpages so you can click and order (if you like).

For those that have been waiting, Murdockian Tales Vol 1 will be coming soon. The last short story for that collection drops next week. It’s such an exciting time.

Other news, that I will reiterate Monday, My Steampunk Trilogy will go on sale next week. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that, so, for $2 you’ll be able to pick up all three books. Again, I’ll drop a bigger announcement Monday.

Until Next Time!

Stay Awesome!