Vampire novella SPIDER WEB by Scott Nicholson & J.R. Rain is 99 cents

SPIDER WEB by me and  J.R. Rain is now out! Spider, a good-guy vampire, is drawn into a battle with a witch doctor on a cruise ship...

Kindle US: http://www.amazon.com/Spider-Web-The-Series-ebook/dp/B00DXNWCIO

Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spider-Web-The-Series-ebook/dp/B00DXNWCIO

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spider-web-jr-rain/1116050028

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/Books/spider-web-the-spider-series-book-2

We're also holding a contest to give away four signed copies of BAD BLOOD, the first Spider book (which is also on sale for 99 cents for a limited time). Details at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorScottNicholson

MEAT CAMP: Happy Camper giveaway

Bloodthirsty mutants attack a camp for troubled teens after a strange infection spreads. Adapted by J.T. Warren and I from my original B-movie horror screenplay, for the real horror fan who likes it spicy.


We're launching at 99 cents until May 2. Now live at Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, and Kobo.

You can also enter the Happy Camper giveaway by writing a review for Meat Camp. Prizes include a savage stack of books (Hudson House--signed, They Hunger--signed, Eaten Alive at a Chainsaw Massacre, and the Dark Faith anthology) and a $25 Amazon gift card. To enter, just write a review of any kind at one of your favorite online stores or sites, then email AuthorScottNicholson@gmail.com.

QuiteDaffy was also recently selected to win a Kindle Fire from my newsletter subscriber list. If you haven't signed up, don't miss the next giveaway and the free prequel to the AFTER series, AFTER: FIRST LIGHT. The newsletter is only for special events and new releases, so sign up now!

Thanks for your input on the cover! We may change later but for now we're using this:

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Kindle Fire giveaway, Nook giveaway, Kobo giveaway

Thanks for helping THE HOME hit the Top 100 on Kindle and Nook. That triggered the bonus ereader giveaway, so now there are TWO free ereaders of your choice! Enter below or you can drop by the book blogs listed to the right and read exclusive excerpts and enter. (Any blogger who wants to host for a day, email AuthorScottNicholson AT gmail)

Amazon 
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble 
Kobo

Experiments at a group home for troubled children lead to paranormal activity--and the ghosts are former residents of the home's past as an insane asylum. In development as a feature film.


To celebrate the launch of The Home, you can win your choice of a Kindle Fire, a Nook HD 8G, or a Kobo Glo (two separate winners total). Other prizes include MP3-CD audiobooks of Liquid Fear and Chronic Fear, and signed copies of Chronic Fear, Monsters Inc., Drummer Boy, If I Were Your Monster, and Dirt. I'll also be randomly selecting Twitter RTs for a $20 gift card each week that use the #HomeForHalloween hashtag. If The Home hits the Top 20 on any of the ebook outlets during October, I'll give away an extra bonus device of the winner's choice. Congratulations to @RinnReads on Twitter for winning the first $20 gift card.

If you don't use social media, you can enter by emailing bigkindleboogie@yahoo.com. Thanks and good luck!

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Posted by Author Scott Nicholson at 8:06 AM No comments:

Free Scott Nicholson Kindle books for two days!

My latest round of free Kindle books rolls out today and Saturday (Jan. 20-12)

For writers, philosophers, and lunatics, treat yourself to the strange bit of non-advice known as The Indie Journey: Secrets to Writing Success!

American Horror, a multi-author extravanganza of vampires, monsters, and zombies, oh my!

Creative Spirit: A Supernatural Screenplay is my adaptation of my paperback The Manor! Spielberg, I'm here when you want me...

The Vampire Shortstop is a standalone short story that won the international Writers of the Future contest in 1999. Now I am just a Geezer of the Future, but hey, it's free!








I hope you enjoy the books, and thanks for telling your friends!
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Win signed copies of Liquid Fear and Chronic Fear!

Preorder Chronic Fear and be entered to win a signed paperback set of Liquid Fear and Chronic Fear! These books will be signed with "First copies off the press."

Chronic Fear is available for Kindle, paperback, and audio at Amazon, and at BN.com in paperback. After ordering, simply email hauntedcomputer AT yahoo.com with "Chronic Fear" in the subject line. Thanks and good luck!

Scott Nicholson's Be Nicholson's Agent giveaway

It's almost September, and you know what that means...autumnal splendor, Labor Day, football, and Be Nicholson's Agent. In the old days, agents sold books to publishers and got 15 percent. Now readers sell books to other readers. I want you to be my agent and spread the word about my books. And I'm giving you 15 percent of my ebook earnings this month.

Here are the participating blogs and the books they are repping. The money will be given away as gift cards to Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winner's choice for each event). The best way to follow is to sign up for my newsletter scottsinnercircle-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. I will also make daily postings here, on Facebook, and on Twitter about each day's giveaway.

These blogs will also be hosting events and giveaways during the month (and they are cool blogs anyway, so why not follow them?)

Kindle Obsessed ...Liquid Fear

Rex Robot Reviews ...October Girls

Wendy’s Minding Spot ...Speed Dating with the Dead

Bewitched Bookworms ...Disintegration

Fictitious Musings ...Crime Beat

My Reading Room ...The Skull Ring

What Book Is That? ...Burial to Follow

JoJo’s Book Corner ...Transparent Lovers

Vvb32 Reads ...Zombie Bits

Booked Up (UK) ...Creative Spirit

Candace’s Book Blog ...The Red Church

Curling Up By The Fire ...Ghost Box

Parajunkee's View ...Forever Never Ends

Jenn’s Bookshelves ...Drummer Boy
Book Faery ...Flowers
Great Minds Think Aloud ...Gateway Drug
Fang-tastic Books ...Ethereal Messenger

Motherlode ...These Things Happened
I Smell Sheep ...Head Cases  
Insatiable Readers ...Nicholson's Ghost Stories
Kindle on the Cheap...The First
The Top Shelf...Ashes
Castle Macabre...American Horror 
Earths Book Nook...Curtains
Kindle in the Wind...As I Die Lying 

The first giveaway will be on Sept. 1 to spread the word about the contest: $10 giveaways to tweet, $10 for Facebook post, $10 to a random newsletter subscriber. Help me kick it off big and help me give you more money!

If you want to be on Team Scott and get some "promotion internship" as well as a book listing in one of my books (for authors," email me at benicholsonsagent@yahoo.com. Let's rock. 

Stephen King Week & Book Giveaways

(This week's giveaway: sign up for my monthly newsletter at scottsinnercircle-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and a new subscriber will be selected on Aug 1. to win a hardcover of From a Buick 8. A random subscriber will also be selected to win a hardcover of The Regulators, written as Richard Bachman. US/Canada shipping only, international winners receive a PDF of my graphic novel DIRT)

I was reading on some forum or other about Stephen King and the inevitable "He lost me at..." Like with many modern writers of dark, imaginative fiction, King was one of the main inspirations for my writing--not necessarily because he was the writer whose books I grew up on (I didn't start reading him until probably halfway through his career), but because he is a talented writer achieving success in a genre that every publishing insider says doesn't sell, doing it his way and succeeding.

I've always considered him a mutant talent--a combination of intense literary gifts combined with a storytelling genius, mixed in with a commitment to the craft, a love of words, and a desire to push the boundaries. Not the least of his talents is the ability to sit in his chair and crank out thousands and thousands of words, which is an admirable trait in itself. I can't say I've read everything King has written, and I'm a bit behind on the newer stuff, but that's okay, because he's writing about as fast I can read, anyway.

I read Stephen King, and I say, "I'll never be that good." But something about him inspires me to be okay with what I do, and, more importantly, to dare to do it the best I can.
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Where I Am Today...

...besides sitting at my computer in ratty old sweatpants:

Infinity Books, blog of UK star Keith Brooke
Lost for Words (with signed paperback giveaway!)
Books and Things with Melissa

Aaaaaand the $200 gift card giveaway still has four days left, so hop your little buns around to these 11 blogs and tweet and Facebook from each to increase your odds!

Rewind: If you missed my post last week, I chimed in on some indie math at Indiereader.com. Thanks for all your support. I'll be off typing in the woods later this week, so don't forget to pretend to be me on the Internet while I'm gone!

Oh, yeah, while doing my taxes, I found I had written a check to an (alleged) double murderer who delivered a load of firewood to our house. He dropped a log on my finger and mashed the heck out of it (I eventually lost the nail) and he just laughed like crazy. Lesson is never let strangers come to your house for any reason. Keep an eye on the mailman!

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Liquid Fear Fool's Gold Rush

Edging toward that $100 gift card giveaway at Amazon or BN.com--check these blogs and win your $10 gift cards for the Liquid Fear launch and I hope you enjoy the book!

It's simple. On April 1, stop by one or all of these 10 blogs featuring my new thriller LIQUID FEAR. You get one point each for commenting, tweeting, or Facebooking from that blog or about that post. I give away a $10 gift certificate to Amazon or BN.com at each stop. You can enter at each of the 10 stops if you like. If LIQUID FEAR hits the Top 100 by April 1, I give away an additional $100 gift certificate.

Paperback Dolls (Dr. Sebastian Briggs)
VVB32 Reads (Wallace Forsyth)
Rex Robot Reviews (David Dunn)
Kindle Obsessed (Martin Kleingarten)
Jenn's Bookshelves (Roland Doyle)
Not Really Southern Vamp Chick (Anita Molkesky)
2 Read or Not 2 Read  (Mark Morgan)
Minding Spot  (Sen. Dan Burchfield)
Bewitched Bookworms (Wendy Leng)
The Unread Reader (Dr. Alexis Morgan)
More Ebooks Please (Scott Nicholson)
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David Niall Wilson--Crossroad Press

(While I help the world discover As I Die Lying and what happens when a demonic serial killer's novel gets rejected while he's falling in love, David Niall Wilson is holding down the fort here. A truly gifted writer, he's also proven progressive with his digital publishing efforts at Crossroad Press. And to make this guy even more likeable, let's give away a hardcover copy of his supernatural thriller DEEP BLUE, the first of David's books I read, but certainly not the last. Simply comment within seven days to enter. Take it away, Dave)

My sons and I keep threatening to do a Kindle commercial where a guy is left tied up by kidnappers, or CIA agents, in a room where there is a kindle on the desk.  He hops his chair over, uses a pencil in his teeth to operate the keyboard, and the next thing you see is the door closing, a pile of ropes on the chair, and the cover of an eBook titled "Harry Houdini- How to Escape From Anything" on the Kindle.

When it comes to information, storytelling, and publishing, it's a very new world from that of only a few years back.  Arguments about whether electronic formats will ever "make it" have been replaced with discussions of how far can it go, and how can I get on board before this train leaves the station.  Half the time it seems that the entire train gets re-routed mid trip and you end up somewhere completely unexpected - and ultimately cool.

 As a writer, it's no longer good enough just to tell stories. You have to pay attention, because the audience is shifting, and so are the venues they choose for entertainment delivery.  We jumped from document files to pdf files to eBook files, to files you can read fully formatted on your phone in a matter of a couple of years.  You can personalize and adjust your reading experience in endless ways, have it delivered to you in the middle of a busy city street while you wait, and follow links to more books, or to places you can provide your input and feedback, without taking a step.

 Books used to come and go.  There was a pretty set time you could expect them to remain available, and then, if you wanted to find them you had to slog through piles and piles of used volumes, search libraries, and in only slightly antiquated times, crawl eBay until you found a copy.

 That's how my own love affair with digital publishing began. I wanted to bring back the books that came and went and give them new readers and new life.  I wanted to find those books people always bring up wistfully in comments like, "you remember that one book by so-and-so back in the seventies?  Wish I could read that again - it changed my life."

 At Crossroad Press I've been privileged to help a number of readers with quests like that, and a number of authors whose words languished in forgotten bins and on dusty shelves, and that makes me happy.  I've also found a wealth of books that never made it to audio format, and I've been able to bring a number of those to life, as well.  See, now Tolkein's words can be applied to other words … they have been there, and back again.  And there's no end to how far they can go in this wild, crazy digital world surrounding us.  I'm happy to be seeing a small mountain of them on their way.

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Debbi Mack-- Stumbling into Indie Publishing

(Debbi has been one of the bright spots of my indie journey, both for her mystery fiction and her professional comportment. While she's here, I am over at her Midlist Life blog, making wildly speculative predictions about the future of publishing and giving away three digital comics as well as Kindle giveaway entries. If you're on Twitter today, follow the "#pubfuture" meme for even wilder guesses!)

Debbi Mack is the author of Identity Crisis, a hardboiled mystery novel in which Maryland attorney Stephanie Ann "Sam" McRae gets in over her head while investigating murder and identity theft in one of her cases. Five Uneasy Pieces is her first short story collection. It includes her Derringer Award nominated story "The Right to Remain Silent," as well as stories she's had published in two of the Chesapeake Crimes anthologies. The collection also includes an excerpt from Least Wanted, the next Sam McRae mystery.

A "recovering attorney" who practiced law for nine years, Debbi has also worked as a journalist, librarian and freelance writer/researcher. Her Web site is http://www.debbimack.com and she blogs about her adventures in authorship.
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Stumbling Into Indie Author Publishing

I'd like to thank Scott for letting me post here today. I've been a big fan of his work since I read THE SKULL RING and DRUMMER BOY. Since Scott's focus is on indie authorship, I thought I'd share my story about how I ended up taking the indie path to publishing.

I'd like to say it was part of a big plan, but it wasn't. It wasn't planned, it wasn't a big political statement and I wasn't thumbing my nose at the traditional publishing world. It just seemed like a sensible thing to do at the time.

I started off about 13 years ago, after finishing my first novel, looking for an agent. The mantra back then was "Don't self-publish! It'll kill your career." So I queried and got rejections, multiple times. I got a few nibbles from agents who wanted to see the manuscript, but ultimately the answer was no.

So, instead of continuing to send that manuscript out, I worked on another story with the same protagonist. This novel was titled IDENTITY CRISIS and I thought it was better than the first one. So I queried agents and got nothing but rejections this time. Not even nibbles.

As I was going through all this, I had the opportunity to submit a short story as a blind submission for the anthology CHESAPEAKE CRIMES. My story was accepted and I was thrilled. My first actual fiction publishing credit. So I managed to stumble into getting my first fiction published by being in the right place at the right time.

Then, I submitted IDENTITY CRISIS to the publisher who issued the anthology. It was accepted and I was even more thrilled. I signed a three-book contract to do a series of Sam McRae novels. The novel was released in June 2005. During the (ever too brief) time it was in print, it got some great online reviews and reader reviews. My joy, however, was short lived as the publisher that released it failed to pay its authors royalties about nine months after the book was released. It was clear that the situation was bad, so I requested my rights back. Thus, my novel went out of print. And the small press soon went out of business.

In any case, since I'd been revising the first novel to make it the next in the series, I finished working on that and began a third Sam McRae novel (called LEAST WANTED). The third novel ended up being better than the first one, too. Hold that thought and I'll get back to it, in a moment.

As I went through the process of querying and sometimes talking to agents, I kept hearing them say, "We're not interested in a dead series. Write a stand alone." They didn't use those words exactly, but that's what I was hearing between the lines. That seemed weird, because I'd always thought that mystery readers liked series books. Well, anyway ... as I was looking for another agent or small publisher (who'd take submissions directly from authors), I went ahead and wrote a stand alone novel. A crime caper.

Meanwhile, the CHESAPEAKE CRIMES anthology (which was published by that same small press that went under -- remember?) was reissued through Lulu.com. I figured why not reissue my own novel through Lulu, since I thought it deserved another chance. So I did. Shortly before I actually published the book in July 2009, I heard about publishing ebooks for Kindle through Joe Konrath's blog. That seemed like a really good idea, given the incredible growth in the ebook market. I'd been keeping track of these things. So, again, I stumbled across the right resource at the right time and knew it was good idea to act based on having the right information.

I figured I'd market and promote my first novel and try to build a readership. Meanwhile, I continued to query agents and small publishers. I had two novels to pitch and I was working on a fifth novel -- an unusual thriller. I figured I'd put Sam McRae stories on the back burner until I found an agent or publisher. I was getting a few more nibbles this time. Agents were asking to see partial or full manuscripts. And I was getting the loveliest rejections. Things like, "You are a really talented writer. Your characters are interesting, the plot is well-paced and well thought out. And you have a really distinctive voice. But ..." No matter how lovely the rejection, there was always a "but" followed by "I'm just not in love with it" or "it's just not quite what I'm looking for" or ... well, fill in the blank.

At some point, it occurred to me that it might take years to find an agent or publisher (assuming I ever did). Marketing and promoting IDENTITY CRISIS would only take me so far. Sure there have been one-hit wonder authors, but I wasn't Harper Lee and my book wasn't TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. It seemed important to keep new work coming out. So, when I could, I worked on short stories. I sort of stumbled into writing those just to keep my name out there. And I managed to get two more of those published through MWA-approved publishers.

However, I still couldn't find an interested buyer for LEAST WANTED or the crime caper. So, I gave it some thought, and when I looked at my ebook sales and considered the possibilities for marketing those and even my print book online, I realized something. I asked myself, "Why am putting so much energy and time into querying agents and publishers who may or may not like my work? Isn't the whole point to appeal to readers? And why can't I do that through grass roots marketing?"

I'd run two businesses already -- a law office and a freelance writing business -- so I knew something about marketing and promotion from that.

Okay, so I wouldn't get big bookstore distribution. I knew traditionally published authors whose books weren't showing up routinely (or at all) at Barnes & Noble or Borders. And as for marketing and promotion, most Big Six authors get very little support from their publishers. I knew this from talking to other authors who'd been completely let down by their publishers. As their sales numbers dwindled, their publishers became even less interested in them.

So, even though I knew it would be difficult, I decided to take the plunge and become an indie author. And I decided to publish LEAST WANTED (the better of my two other Sam McRae stories) as the sequel to IDENTITY CRISIS.

Oh, and since I'd written all those short stories, I recently stumbled into publishing a collection of them as an ebook called FIVE UNEASY PIECES. The collection includes two stories from the CHESAPEAKE CRIMES anthologies and one that was nominated for a Derringer Award this year. Talk about feeling validated! :)

I had absolutely no idea at the time I reissued IDENTITY CRISIS that the ebook version would go on to become the #1 hardboiled mystery on Amazon and sustain that rank for quite a stretch of time. I had no idea that I'd sell more than 8,300 downloads of the book in a year and three months. I had no idea at the time of the possibilities for indie authors. But I do now.

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As part of today's guest posting gig, Debbi will be giving away a free autographed copy of IDENTITY CRISIS to a randomly drawn winner who leaves a comment here. The winner will be announced on her blog, My Life on the Mid-List at http://midlistlife.wordpress.com/ this coming Saturday.