February
28
February
28
Outside the Pages
In a publishing masterstroke (yeah, right) I decided to change the font color for the rear cover – to highlight the great review from the UK. A subtle change, but just makes a clearer division between the brief story outline and the review. I hope potential readers also enjoy the change.
February
15
Free is better than $3.99!
Take advantage of the free Kindle promotion of 3 WISE MEN – starting in just over 24 hours. Let you reading friends know about this great offer too. Being free, it means that you can now read this highly-acclaimed thriller and be able to afford a coffee at the same time! Click here for the details.
February
8
$3.99 is nothing. I will order mine now!
I was having a meeting with a colleague over coffee earlier this week, when the conversation moved onto the subject of ‘reading’. I mentioned that I had just finished my first novel and that it was available on Kindle. My friend got out his phone and quickly looked it up.
“Only $US3.99! That’s nothing – I will order it now.”
I was surprised and delighted that he wanted to read 3 WISE MEN, and even more delighted that he found the price to be so reasonable. But, when I thought about it, it was about the same price as the coffee I had just ordered for him.
I hope you also enjoy reading 3 WISE MEN at less than 1.5c per page!
February
8
How long should a Thriller be? Part II
In a previous post, I discussed the ideal number of words for a thriller. Publishers recommend anywhere between 80,000 and 100,000 words. As an author, should I agree with this? Well, from my experience with 3 WISE MEN, I am mostly in agreement, and here are my reasons for this. First, at just over 80,000 words, using Times Roman in 12 point and a 6 x 9 inch format, the approx. 80,000 word novel feels ‘right’ in paperback. The only reason that it might not actually be ‘right’ is when poor writing pads out the story. At 80,000 words, the novel will be sitting close to 300 pages and that is a good read for devotees. Much less – at say 280 pages – and the novel will be short of room for a sub-plot, or lacking dramatic tension. In 3 WISE MEN, my early word count was only 70,000 words and I pumped that out to about 86,000 before falling back to 78,000. On critical review, I needed to add about 3000 words in order to give the story more substance in a few places, and help build the necessary tension at a pace that engaged my readers – rather than over-shock them. I hope you agree?
February
7
Stormy Clouds Gather over Italy
Cumulonimbus clouds are those rising columns of unstable air that you often sea on a hot summer’s day. In 3 WISE MEN, Jak’s flight from Rome is directed away from these ‘serpent heads’ soon after takeoff. Let’s pick up the conversation between the control tower in Rome (at Fiumicino Airport) and Jak’s flight.
[“Fiumicino tower, Alitalia ten-twenty-six. Climb and maintain thirty-two-thousand.”
“Up to thirty-two-thousand, Alitalia ten-twenty-six,” Captain Bruno replied.
“Roger, flight ten-twenty-six. Head three-two-zero to Genoa to avoid cumulonimbus storms building over Tuscany. Genoa will guide you into Milan. Have a pleasant flight, ten-twenty-six.”
“Copy, Fiumicino. Roger and out.”
As they leveled off, the cockpit brought an update.
“This is Captain Bruno speaking. We have now reached a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet and are on a heading that follows the Italian coast to Genoa. This will take us away from bouncy air over the Apennine Mountains. Although we have clear skies ahead of us, we advise all passengers to remain seated with your seat belts fastened.
“Expected landing time in Milan is now 4:15pm and local weather is cloudy with a ground temperature of 15 degrees Celsius. Rain is forecast for later in the evening. I will give you an update closer to our arrival. Now please sit back and enjoy your flight.”
He turned to the Co-pilot.
“It’s all yours from here.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Captain Bruno released the controls, sat back in his seat and scanned ahead to a large expanse of blue sky. At 1 o’clock, a bank of dark-gray clouds rose above the horizon, their billowing serpent heads appearing angry through his polarized glasses. To his trained eye, they seemed stationary and too distant to bother them.
“It should be a comfortable flight,” he announced confidently, unaware of the severity and speed of the brewing storm – ]
3 WISE MEN is available in Kindle or paperback format from Amazon.