Cover for "I Never: A tale from the Tavern at the Edge of Forever"

Here is the working cover for the final novella which will be included in my Reflections on Midnight collection at the end of the year, along with Digs of War, King of the Merge and FotoShop of the Gods".  More gangster/fantasy with a horror element.  Really defies all attempts to shove it into a single genre.

To read Dean Koontz or not to read Dean Koontz, that is the question

Ahhh, the tease that is Dean Koontz.  A new book comes out every year, and after serious consideration about whether or not I think I will enjoy it based on the description, I almost always buy it.  It may take years, but I always get it.   But why the hesitation? 

Because of huge, relatively recent disappointments.  Like The Good Guy and the Husband and My Heart Belongs to You.  And Relentless.  I wish I could scrub that book from my memory.  They all started with such promise.  And they all fizzled.  Bad.  Some worse than others.  One in particular crash and burned.

Now, I know that he, like King, will never reach his pinnacle again.  I doubt we will see such masterpieces as Midnight and Whispers and Phantoms again.  I don't know if it is a lack of interest in writing such epic stories, or his simple enjoyment in writing shorter works.  Whatever the reason, it doesn't mean that Koontz can not still write fun, engaging books.  And that is why I comes always come back.  Because for every crappy The Good Guy, there is a fun romp like Life Expectancy.  For every dull The Husband, there is a truly frightful The Taking.

New Free Books

After the success of Last Dance of a Black Widow (17,000 downloads in 10 days, 5 5-star reviews, Shelfari updates by a fan, and a significant amount of paid-for books sold), I have released 2 more books for free.  The first is an original 3,500 word short story, The Butcher:

Flesh Gothic by Edward Lee review

I have started to write quick reviews for EVERYTHING I read, whether it be a 600 page book by a traditionally published author or a 5 page short story I downloaded for free from Amazon.  I will start with the book I just finished  20 minutes ago:  Flesh Gothic by Edward Lee.

Do Free Books on Amazon Help?

It's amazing what selling a book for free on Amazon can do.  Not for your career, mind you, but for that free book alone.  Sadly, at least for an Indie author at the beginning of his career, free book sales do NOT automatically convert to paid-for book sales.  Don't get me wrong.  I didn't expect it to.  And I understand why it happens.  So I am not disappointed.  Let's look at why:

Last Dance of a Black Widow, a 3,000 word short story went on sale yesterday for free.  Within 24 hours, it became:

• #1 free short story
• #2 free horror
• #49 in free Kindle (All)

Pretty good, right?  Well, it will stay up there for a day or two and then slowly slip down the ranks (as unknown books by unknown authors do), replaced by the good-old standbys by established authors and the classics.  I passed Dracula and Amanda Hocking, but they'll slip by me again soon.

Now, let's take a look at the true effects of free books.

Thanks For Participating!

Okay kiddies, thanks to everyone who participated here. Very entertaining. Anyway, since I'm not giving away anything physical, and since I appreciate your interest, I've decided to just give away coupon codes here for my 2 novellas for everyone if they are interested. Please don't post these everywhere, please. Anyway, coupon code for Dogs of War is FZ76Z and it expires 12/1/11 and the code for King of the Merge is WE84T and that expires 11/9/11. If you decide to download and read either of these stories, I hope you enjoy them. And if you enjoy them, please, write a review at Amazon. I hope everyone had fun hopping around. Thanks.

We had a great time trick-or-treating.  My son was Optimus Prime, my daughter was, as previously noted, a chicken.  She basically ran around all night screaming "Bok bok!"  And now my wife and I get to steal all of the chocolate because both kids are allergic to milk.  

Hope everyone else had a great Halloween.