Pulled out Iron Falls

The other day I talked about the need for good well rounded characters, and that my story Iron Falls kind of lacked them as I opted to go with a more action driven story. Well, after about a week online through e-Quill Publishing, I got my first honest review of the story. Let me just say that it's awesome to see that the reviewer in question opted for discretion over humiliating little old me on the big bad web. Evidently, despite long hours editing and getting it proofed by several others, there were still a few consistencies and typos found on the final copy. So, I pulled it after finding that no one has purchased a copy.

Does this mean that I'm going to throw in the towel, pack my toys and join the circus. Yeah, you'll be so lucky! Far from it, I'm going to fix what needs fixing and streamline inconsistencies that had nonetheless found their way into the submission. The reviewer was kind enough to provide me some pointers where I've gone pear shaped and where I did rather well, so it's going to be a lot of work - but fun work as I rediscover once more the basics of writing.

Iron Falls

The 22nd century was to be a time of peace and prosperity, while
humanity moved out beyond its cradle that is planet Earth . . .

It was to be an era where lessons learned from an earlier time were to
be humanity's salvation to go forth . . .

It was a time for peace . . .

It was a time for unity . . .

It was a time new lessons to be taught, and old ones refreshed.

___________

The weekend was pretty busy for my friends over at e-Quill Publishing, as they were releasing three new titles at the start of this month. One of these titles was Iron Falls, a near futuristic military science fiction novella set in 2115 in and about the African continent. It's also one of those stories that had taken me on what had been an interesting journey that had me rediscover the joy of writing, relearn the basics and pick up new tricks of the trade. The fact that I was doing it with one of my favourite characters, Gene Bukowski, made it all the more fun.

Bukowski had been the star of many a story that I had written, and am glad to see him in print. So, what is the story about. This is what it says on my website:

September, 2115. Shock waves follow in the announced intentions of South Africa becoming incorporated into a neighboring continental union. Amid a media frenzy and general panic, as the country has managed to gain more displaced persons due to never recovering from the Third World War, the Afrikaner Freedom Front is determined to put a stop to this, and sends Emilio Heerdan out to test the resilience of emergency services throughout South Africa and neighboring Mozambique.

Sergeant First Class Gene Bukowski, a U.S. Army Special Warfare operator, and his team are uprooted from a mission in Mali when Heerdan's group kidnap the daughter of the NorSec Energy Secretary. Yet his mission proves more dangerous than his team can handle. Bukowski is therefore forced to seek aid against the Afrikaner's sinister plot. Aid that comes at a steep price.

Not bad if I say so myself.

Please go check it out and purchase a copy over at e-Quill Publishers, as it's only $2.50 in Australian currency.

________________

So, where to from here? That is a good question. I've started working on the sequel to Iron Falls, and there's the whole Project Lucky 13 thing I'm working on as well. So the rest of the month is going to keep me busy with two first drafts and rewrites. Tomorrow I have a job interview as well, so add to it nerves of waiting if I get it or not.

Read an E-Book Week March 6-12, 2011

This morning I was going through my usual facebook fix, before settling in for a couple of hours of mapping and researching for a couple of my stories, when I came across a note from Steven Lyle Jordan that it's Read an E-Book Week starting tomorrow. Now, considering that I just stumbled across it and was -- still am -- wading my way through what it's all about, I asked Steven to tell you all about it:

Read an E-Book Week is enjoying unprecedented interest in this year, the fortieth anniversary of the ebook! (Forty years? Yes, it's true! Check out the Read an E-Book Week site for details!) The week's creator and strongest supporter, Rita Toews, has rounded up plenty of authors, booksellers and hardware vendors who are offering special deals, contests and other promotions for ebooks, and lots of incentive to get others interested in ebooks who may have not looked at them before.

On the main site, Rita is holding contests to give away a Barnes & Noble Nook, and three Kobo readers! The E Ink corporation is sponsoring the Nook giveaway, as well as a contest on author Steven Lyle Jordan's website that will give away two E Ink watches. Steven, a champion of ebooks for years, accepted an invitation from Rita a few years ago to build and help maintain the REBW website, and he volunteers his time to the cause yearly. He's also created a flyer that enthusiasts can download and either email to others, or post on local bulletin boards, to attract more notice about Read an E-Book Week and grow its support.

Ebooks have shown a strong rise in popularity in the past few years, partially due to the success of devices like the Kindle, Nook and iPad, and partially thanks to the consolidation of formats, hardware and software that have been taking much of the unneeded complexity out of the market. The ebook market still has a ways to go to become really competitive against the existing print market; but as the economy forces change upon the publishing industry, and on consumers, some say the day ebooks compete one-on-one with printed books may be closer than anyone thinks. Visit the Read an E-Book Week site for more information on ebooks, promotions you can enter, and ways you can help spread the word!

Personally, I'm becoming a big fan of e-books of every size and genre, and not because of my disability.

E-books are good for the environment.

So, what can you do? Well, may I suggest something written by Steven. Alternatively, check out the fiction list available at e-Quill Publishing.