Tag Archives: carpe demon

I’m a publisher! THE DEMON YOU KNOW is up at Amazon!

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Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than electrons on speed…it’s digital publishing!The Demon You Know cover art

All kidding aside, I had no idea that the short story I posted yesterday would go up so quickly! But I’m so very glad it did.

So here’s what I learned since my last post:

1) Amazon processes its content fast. Best to have a blog post and any web updates ready to go (ahem) before you hit the publish button. The site for publishing isn’t blatantly labeled on the Amazon site. The url is https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin

You, yes you, can own your very own copy of The Demon You Know. Just click here!

2) The process is super-easy. Just follow the steps. I was pleasantly surprised.

3) The only potential problem I saw was that I included a cover in the .mobi file I created using Scrivener. I was afraid that since Amazon wanted me to upload a cover that I’d end up with two (not a huge crisis; I like my cover!). But apparently the software is smart; I only ended up with one cover. And Amazon took a higher pixel level than the Scrivener software, which is a plus.

In the future, I could leave the cover off the .mobi file I create, but I like having it for gifting and for sending Advance Copies; so I’ll keep it. Look for my E-publishing With Scrivener post coming soon!

4) I can’t speak to the ease of publishing a file other than .mobi. Amazon uses .mobi (or some version thereof) as its format. Whether the story would look clean had I formatted in Word, I couldn’t say. I like Scrivener, and I’ll be sticking with it.

5) I’m still pondering the question of pricing. I think 99 cents is about the perfect price point for a short story (hey, it’s cheaper than a cuppa coffee!) but I’m on the fence about pricing original material and backlist books. Will ponder more here later, but if anyone has thoughts, please drop a comment below.

I’ve also decided to add tips and tidbits and whatnots to the end of my various posts. Today’s is an ePub tip!

ePub tip of the day: Include hyperlinks in the foreword and afterward. As an author, I think this is an awesome way to give readers easy access to related material. As a reader, I love the convenience. (I recently bought the first three Inspector Pitt books by Anne Perry in Kindle and read them back to back by following the Kindle links). Sooooo handy!

I’ve also included a link to a dedicated webpage for the Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom Series (the page, albeit, needs to be updated, but it’s live and it’ll be prettied up soon, hopefully today; in the mean time, it gets readers to my webpage so folks know where to come to learn about what’s happening with Kate and the gang!)

So there you go! If you visit the Kindle page for The Demon You Know (and I hope you do!) please click on the “like” button if you like me or the title or the series or if you’re just feeling charitable to the world at large. And if you’ve read the story, I’d appreciate a review.

Got anything else to add or ask? Drop me a comment!

Adventures in eBooking

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The Demon You Know cover art

The awesome folks at Hot Damn Designs did this for me!

Well, folks, my ebook journey kicked into high gear yesterday (can you say “formatting”) and although I’m hardly the first to blog about it, I also probably won’t be the last.

So why am I going where so many have already gone before? A couple of reasons. One, I think the digital revolution is fascinating and a boon for authors like myself who have the opportunity to bring back series that fans love and miss. And I think that’s worth documenting. For another, I want a record of what I’m doing–what works and what doesn’t–because, and let’s just go ahead and toss out that M word, while I want to write more demon hunting soccer mom stories and more reluctant vampire stories and more superhero stories and more fill-in-the-blank stories, my mortgage doesn’t get paid by hugs and puppies. So it benefits me to not only get product up in the most time efficient way possible, but also to focus on and analyze what works regarding getting stuff out there to the readers, because if folks don’t know about the books, they can’t buy them (or snag them on a free day!)

I’ve mentioned before that I’m diving into the eBook waters. So why did I say the journey kicked into high gear yesterday? Because I am holding in my hot little virtual hands the actual Kindle version of The Demon You Know (and no, it’s not yet available to readers–this week is proofreading week). But for the first time since I started to stick my toe in, it really felt real! It’s a BOOK, people! Yay!!! (And California Demon and The Cat’s Fancy are both coming along nicely — they were scanned in and need more clean-up — but I think I should be calling them both a book by the weekend!)

RESOURCES I’VE USED SO FAR:

Scanning: Thanks to the awesome Dee Davis for recommending Book Leaf Scanning to me for a scanning resource (and congrats to Dee! Her most recent book, Deadly Dance, is featured as Cosmo’s Hot Read!) Blue Leaf did an awesome job of scanning in the backlist books that I’m preparing to put out as eBooks.

Covers: There are some awesome eBook covers out there, and I feel so fortunate to have found a cover designer that really gets the tone of my books. I’ll be showcasing the other covers that are coming soon, but if you’re looking for help with covers, I highly recommend Hot Damn Designs!

Formatting: This is the biggie. And, frankly, it was the part that scared the crap out of me and kept me from spending the time to dive into the formatting aspect once I had my covers ready to go. (Well, that wasn’t the only reason. I had books under contract to finish, and kids to school and a mom to move, but you get the idea). Anyway, it turned out to be No. Big. Deal. At least so far. And by “so far” I mean that I’ve only done the formatting for Kindle, and only for the short story. But from the tiny test I did for The Cat’s Fancy, I don’t think the scanned books are going to present a problem either.

So what resource am I using? The same one I use to write my books: my beloved Scrivener. I can’t even begin to say how easy it was to go from document to finished eBook. Coming soon – a How-I-Use-Scrivener Vlog that demonstrates just what I did to get it to work so beautifully. In the meantime, give it a try. Hey, there’s a free trial period, so how can it hurt, right?

People: You really can’t discount friends and colleagues when slipping into an adventure like this. In addition to Dee, Julie Ortolon has been a huge help as I’ve tried to get my footing.

WHAT I’M PONDERING NOW:

In addition to finishing up Book 6 of my Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series (PAX DEMONICA) and cleaning up the formatting on the scanned backlist books, I’m now pondering timing. The demon-hunting short story is ready to go (or close to it). But when do I post it? Based on everything I’ve read and conversations I’ve had with folks smarter than me on these issues, I’m leaning toward a release date right about the time that PAX comes out, essentially so that the two can drive traffic together. That, folks, is tentatively scheduled for late May (PAX is an original work, so it has issues the others don’t have: revising, copyediting, etc. But we’re getting there!). I’m pondering using The Demon You Know as a contest prize in the meantime. Maybe one winner per week until release. Hmmmm.

So there you have it. My first eBook Diary entry. And many more coming soon.

Have you used Hot Damn Designs! or Scrivener? How about Blue Leaf? If you’re an eBook author, what are your favorite resources?

What do you think of the cover for The Demon You Know? And have you got any thoughts on the timing or eBook releases? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Carpe Demon a-go-go! Kate’s coming back!

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Pax Demonica - Carpe Demon series, Book 6, picks up not long after Demon Ex Machina ended. Now Demon Hunting Soccer Mom Kate Connor must face one of her most trying challenges yet: international travel with a toddler!

I’ll admit it, I was totally bummed when Berkley decided to drop my demon hunting soccer mom series after book 5 despite decent sales and the fact that I know folks (me included!) want to keep following Kate’s adventures. (Thanks so much to everyone who sends me email about Kate and company!). That was the bad news. The good news is that the rise of indie publishing means that Kate’s stories don’t have to be stuck in my head and, yes, Kate is back in action!

If you’re not already familiar with the series, I hope you check it out, starting with CARPE DEMON (which, cross fingers, will be a movie soon! Andre Ovredal, whose Troll Hunter has been getting all sorts of buzz, is set to direct and is working on the script with producer Chris Columbus — you can read more about that by following the link in the sidebar to the right). I could give you a back cover copy blurb, but I think Charlaine Harris (the New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels now airing as True Blood on HBO) summed it up beautifully: “This book, as crammed with events as any suburban mom’s calendar, shows you what would happen if Buffy got married and kept her past a secret. It’s a hoot.”

I’m currently working on Book 6 in the series, PAX DEMONICA, which picks up not long after DEMON EX MACHINA ended. Kate and family are off to Rome, and I’m having way too much fun with this book and this setting.

I’ve also already started thinking about Book 7 (title ideas anyone?) so I’m hoping that this dive into the deep-end of the epub world works out, because Kate’s like a best friend to me now, and I don’t want to abandon her stories!

CALIFORNIA DEMON, Carpe Demon Book 2 re-release plus bonus content!

So, when is PAX DEMONICA coming out? I don’t have a firm release date, as I’m still navigating the epub and Print-On-Demand waters, but I’m shooting for late Spring, hopefully the last week of April.

THE DEMON YOU KNOW, a demon hunting soccer mom short story featuring Kate and allie

Before that, though, I should have some other Kate nuggets up, including a short story, THE DEMON YOU KNOW, and a digital release of CALIFORNIA DEMON with some bonus content added at the end.

I’m also working on THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS, which will be an anthology of short stories featuring Kate, Allie, Eddie and others!

The Trouble With Demons, a demon hunting soccer mom anthology

The covers were done by Hot Damn Designs, and I think they rock.

I’m super excited about this venture…hope you are, too! And since TROUBLE isn’t finished, if you have characters you’d love to see in a story, hey, shout it out! For that matter, shout out titles (if I use it, you’ll get a the book free!). For that matter, feel free to comment about anything at all! I love to hear from you!

New release and a free read!

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Lots of cool stuff. First and foremost, THOSE WHO FIGHT MONSTERS IS OUT! Get your hot off the press copy! From the B&N SciFi and Fantasy Blog:

Revolving around the theme of occult detectives, the 14 stories included within feature beloved heroes and heroines from some of the most popular paranormal fantasy series on the shelves: private investigator John Taylor from Simon R. Green’s Nightside novels, Lilith Saintcrow’s bullwhip-wielding hellbreed hunter Jill Kismet, Julie Kenner’s demon-hunting soccer mom Kate Connor, and Petunia “Pete” Caldecott from Caitlin Kittredge’s Black London saga, to name just a few…

…Kenner’s “The Demon You Know…” is a cautionary tale for all rebellious teenagers – pitting Connor and her 14-year old daughter Allie against someone (or something) who spiked party punch with something much more dangerous than alcohol.

And a nice review from All Things Urban Fantasy: “This was my first foray into this series and I found the mother daughter relationship to be a refreshing changeup from the normal UF relationships. A fun, smart story that manages to convey a lot of series/world building info while still delivering a satisfying story.” Yay!

I’m relatively new to the short story format, but I had a BLAST writing this. I’m thinking there are more Kate and Allie stories in my (and your) future!

And I’m starting a new project…writing an ongoing story with my nine year old daughter. We were going to do it on our own and then surprise her dad when it was done (and if you know her dad, don’t mention it to him, okay? Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll miss this post so we can present him with the whole thing once it’s done). But then we decided it would be fun to Post-As-We-Go. Because, honestly, when you’re nine, doing all that pesky research and plotting ahead of time is just no fun. So we’re going with it.

We’ve got the first two chapters up right now, and we’ll post new content at least once a week. Enjoy…and please feel free to leave comments! You can check it out here or click on the Hour of the Dragon link in the lefthand side bar.

The Occult Detectives are coming!!!

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Oh yeah! Almost release date for Kate’s short story…and is she in dang good company or what? Check it out:

Got Vampires? Ghosts? Monsters? We Can help!

Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives, is your one-stop-shop for Urban Fantasy’s finest anthology of the supernatural. 14 sleuths are gathered together for the first time in all-original tales of unusual cases which require services that go far beyond mere deduction!


Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives brings together popular characters from many Urban Fantasy paranormal investigative series, for your enjoyment.

Meet the Detectives:

Danny Hendrickson – from Laura Anne Gilman’s Casa Nostradamus series.
Kate Connor – from Julie Kenner’s Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series.
John Taylor – from Simon R. Green’s Nightside series.
Jill Kismet – from Lilith Saintcrow’s Jill Kismet series.
Jessi Hardin – from Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series.
Quincey Morris – from Justin Gustainis’ Morris/Chastain Investigations series.
Marla Mason – from T. R. Pratt’s Marla Mason series.
Tony Foster – from Tanya Huff’s Smoke and Shadows series.
Dawn Madison – from Chris Marie Green’s Vampire Babylon series.
Pete Caldecott – from Caitlin Kittredge’s Black London series.
Tony Giodone – from C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp’s Tales of the Sazi series.
Jezebel – from Jackie Kessler’s Hell on Earth series.
Piers Knight – from C. J. Henderson’s Brooklyn Knight series.
Cassiel – from Rachel Caine’s Outcast Season series.

Demons may lurk, werewolves may prowl, vampires may ride the wind. These are things that go bump in the night, but we are the ones who bump back!
***

Don’t be shy! Pre-order now :)

And remember….”Those who fight monsters should take care that they never become one. For when you stand and look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.” ~ Frederich Nietsche

Just a little demonic tease….

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Cross your fingers if you’re a fan of Kate and her demon-huntin’ ways (for that matter, cross your fingers even if you aren’t; I mean, I’m not proud).  Got some really cool news re the Carpe Demon movie.  I can’t say anything more now–and as I’ve said before, I won’t say it’s done until I’m wearing the premier dress and eating the popcorn–but things are looking good.

Yeah, I know. I’m a tease…