Erotica & Romance Books, eBooks etc

Thursday, November 6, 2014

1802-1803: Pauline Bonaparte’s St Domingue Stay, Parisian High Society and Voodoo Exploits. Fire! Fire Everywhere in St. Domingue! (A Short Historical Novel by Kevin Levin)


Book Review: Buy a copy of this book as a Nook book from Barnes and Noble right here


Order your copy of "1802-1803: Pauline Bonaparte Leclerc's St Domingue Stay, High Parisian Society, and Voodoo Exploits. Fire! Fire Everywhere in St. Domingue! (A Short Historical Novel by Kevin Levin)




Purchase a copy of this ebook from Smashwords right here

"1802-1803: Pauline Bonaparte’s St Domingue Stay, Parisian High Society and Voodoo Exploits (A Short Historical Novel by Kevin Levin)". Fire! Fire Everywhere in St. Domingue! Married to Napoleon Bonaparte's right-hand man, General Leclerc, Pauline did not have much of a choice other than to board the ship that would seal her fate at St Domingue. Josephine de Bauharnais, her sister-in-law, won that round.

Having been combat-hardened by serving at one time or another under the flags of the Spanish and English forces battling the French for the control of the richest colony in the world, the few black rebel leaders (General Maurepas, Henri Christophe, Alexandre Petion, Capois La Mort, Biassou, Jean Francois, Dessalines, etc) quickly realized that they had to enter the phase of a total war - total change from the bottom up or a revolution.

On that cauldron that was St. Domingue (currently Haiti), the most beautiful woman of Europe had to devise ways to occupy herself. Pauline set out to conquer the men or soldiers who were fighting in her husband's army. She joined the high Parisian society in order to throw lavish parties in Le Cap and Port-au-Prince. But when she caught something and got sick, she let her friends introduce her to a slave voodoo priest and Voodoo priestess who came to perform an exorcism on her body. She confessed that she secretly loved some of the black generals, Toussaint and others, for their courage and determination.

Suspicious of his wife's dangerous liaisons and feelings for Toussaint L'Ouverture, Governor-General Leclerc invited him to dinner where the black general and his men were ambushed. Embarking the ship that would take him away, Toussaint L’Ouverture, the First of the Blacks, proclaimed, “In capturing me, you have only cut down the trunk of the tree of Black people’s freedom. It will spring up again by the roots because they are deep and numerous..”. The Black rebel leaders had to act upon the prophecy of Toussaint who was ambushed, summarily judged, condemned at a Fort-de-Joux tribunal and subsequently sent to the cold mountain of France to die. In his last days, he only had the loyalty of his servant who had been with him along. He made sure to hold his head and ease the passing of that great man, lover of freedom and equality, and a formidable avenger of the New World.

"Nous sommes tous les enfants de la Liberte," Said Jean-Jacques Dessalines who was at one time or another an English, Spanish, and French citizen before becoming a Haitian after freeing and renaming St. Domingue.



Find more info at http://urbanebookspublishing.blogspot.com

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Kandy Belle's Erotic Stories: Tropics Romance Trilogy



You can order this ebook from Barnes and Noble for your nook: Fifty Shades of Hot Lovin' in the Tropics: Hot sun, Rum, Sex, Pristine Sand, and Turquoise Sea

Now Buy a copy of 'Fifty Shades of Love in the Tropics: Hot Sun, Rum, Sex, Pristine Sand, and Turquoise Sea from Amazon Kindle for your Kindle. That is the third part which includes all the main actions.

Purchase all three parts of the erotica novel from Amazon.com right here: Tropics Romance Trilogy: Lonely Rich Tourist women Seek Revenge, Meet Sexy Beach Boys and Paradise Gods

Download Fifty Shades of Hot Lovin' in the Tropics: Hot Sun, Rum, Sex, Pristine Sand, and Turquoise Sea from Smashwords now

Purchase a copy of 'Fifty Shades of Hot Lovin' in the Tropics: Hot Sun, Rum, Sex, Pristine Sand, and Turquoise Sea' from Scribd now.

"Fifty Shades of Hot Lovin’ in the Tropics: Hot Sun, Rum, Sex, Pristine Sand, and Turquoise Sea" is the third part of the erotica novel, Tropics Romance Trilogy. When three Upper West Side and Upper East Side NYC, rich, middle-aged women got tired of being called 'too old, too fat, too ugly, and too plump,' Magna, Deanna, and Martina decided to do something about their mating lives. They set out to conquer ripped beach guys, hard-bodied young men, and black studs on the Caribbean beach and bar resorts. These island lovers go by their performance names (Rent a Rasta, Rent a Vibe, Rent a Dread, Rent a PastaRasta) and sometimes break into fights over those middle-class and western women, divorcees, and grandmothers rejected by the men of their own culture in spite of all the nips and tucks. Magna, Deanna, and Martina are all too happy to find out that they have a second life and are in high demand by the locals who'd rather see a little bit of meat on their curvy women. Every year, the mating season is open on those far flung Caribbean islands. It's an eternal Spring Break for the Romance travelers!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

UrbanFantasyPublishing and Tropics Romance Trilogy Released Kandy Kosher Belle Doucette's Erotic Novella

Here is where you can find Kandy Belle's new book:

Find this new book on Amazon Kindle by clicking on the link shown below:

If you thought E.L James's 'Fifty Shades Trilogy' was hot, then think again!

Kandy Belle's book: Tropics Romance Trilogy (TRT): Lonely Rich Tourist Women Seek Revenge, Meet Sexy Beach Boys and Paradise Gods: Tropics Romance Trilogy

Book Review

This romance novel series 'Tropics Romance Trilogy or TRT' promises to be riveting. Author Kandy Belle empowers lonely western women to seek and create their own happiness. Rejected in their own culture for being too old, too fat, unattractive, and too ugly despite all their beauty products, nips and tucks, these women take it upon themselves to get out and travel to meet accepting and willing men of another culture who can provide them with the healing sugar or the new elexir. Many of these women are successful business women and entrepreneurs who broke through the glass ceiling by creating great businesses in corporate america. Now that they've reached the peak of the summit and have been considered the epitome of success by any other means, they are making time to seek sensual, erotic pleasures on the best, pricey all-inclusive beach hotel resorts spread over many Caribbean and Latin American countries. Without any financial stress and kids to tie them down, they are up and about in their search for rejuvenation and pleasure for pleasure's sake.

Author Kandy Belle invites you to follow the adventures of these three lonely but brave women on the beaches of the Caribbean, extending from Barbados, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and all the way to Brazil. Throughout 'Tropics Romance Trilogy,' author Kandy Belle has done a great job of showing that three women (Magna, Deanna, and Martina)are not ready to accept their American males' condemnation and blatant rejection. For them, it's about people's most basic need to connect, express and feel through sexuality. These women will reconsider the notions of love, attraction, the mating dance, and the challenges of keeping up with societal norms.

Enjoy your reading of this trilogy that could be titled 'Lonely Rich Western Women Hit the Tropics.' And why not them now? Men, European or western men, have done it for centuries.

Here is where you can find my friend's new book:

Kandy Belle's book: Tropics Romance Trilogy: Lonely Rich Tourist Women Seek Revenge,Meet Beach Boys and Paradise Gods: Tropics Romance Trilogy

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Here is where you can find Kandy Belle's new book:

Kandy Belle's book: Tropics Romance Trilogy: Lonely Rich Tourist Women Seek Revenge, Meet Sexy Beach Boys and Paradise Gods: Tropics Romance Trilogy

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Listen to Haitian Folktales - Koute Kont Ayisyen: Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People

"Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People - Bouki ak Malis Pran Kanntè"

Sharks, Seas, Summer, Sun, Storm, Smugglers and more!

Authors, Charles J. Desmangles and Kevin Levin, have done a great job writing this novella in Haitian Creole, Spanish, and English. Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People:Bouki ak Malis Pran Kanntè. It is based on the plasticity and richness of the Haitian folklore. Two of the most recognizable characters of Haitian folktales play a central role in this story.

Purchase a PDF Copy of "Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People...."

Purchase a PDF Copy of "Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People...."

Read a Free Sample of "Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People....

Listen to a Free Sample Audio of "Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People: Bouki ak Malis Pran Kannte.

Read a Free Sample of "Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People....

In this novella, the authors show Bouki's desperation and push factors contributing to his agreement with a sleek, sophisticated local criminal and people smuggler / trafficker known as 'Captain Katastwòf Natirèl.' Bouki was deep in debts because he wanted to maintain a lifestyle he could not afford on the meager catches of a fisherman. Caught and deported several times by U.S. Border and Coast Guard, Captain Katastwòf Natirèl (Captain Natural Catastrophe) was on a black list. Bouki thought he was smart enough to pull this trip on his own. He refused to be known as the butt of his brother's jokes, a simpleton, a fool. He did not want Malis, his intellectual brother, to know about the details of that trip. All the while, Malis never hesitated to put him down and make him realize that he needed his expertise, language skills, and critical thinking.

Charles J. Desmangles and Kevin Levin interweave elements of the Haitian culture in this remarkable Haitian Creole, Spanish, English novella. Things must have been really harsh in Haiti if these two famous characters of the Haitian folklore finally decide to leave the country on a perilous raft to cross illegally to the U.S. shores. When faced with an upcoming storm, Captain Katastwòf Natirèl led his crew to Santiago, Cuba to seek temporary refuge. He forced everybody to learn Spanish in order to pass for Cuban refugees. Will Booki, Malis and Captain Katastwòf Natirèl make it to the dry grounds of Florida?

This story is set against the backdrop of Haiti's devastated agriculture, political upheavals, insecurity, presence of UN troops or Minustah, series of natural disasters such as hurricanes and 2010 earthquake, barren lands and tree-less mountaintops causing widspread floodings, destroyed ecology, infrastructures and educational institutions with a local population that depends more and more on imported goods and used clothes euphemistically known as 'pèpè.'

In this novella, the authors also implicate and relate the complicity of the catholic church whose priest, Father Francois, refuses to use Haitian Creole and French in his mass in his dogged efforts to cater to a dwindling but rich and powerful group of Latin language enthusiasts, les Bourgeois Commercants Mulattres (native Haitians of Syrian, Lebanese and.. descent). He did not heed Professor Malis' advice to start leading mass in Creole just like the Voodoo priests and protestant churches do all over the country with great success. What's worse is that Father Francois never said a word or raisee his stubby pinky finger against the clandestine smuggling and chaperoning of Haitian children who took these rickety boats to get reunited with their parents in Miami. Sister Marie Lafontant made her money chaperoning children and paid the priest under the table without counting her generous tithes to the church.

"Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People - Bouki ak Malis Pran Kanntè" is a book that will make you laugh and cry in the same sentence or paragraph. This book should be a required reading for anybody who wants to understand Haiti and the 'Boat People' phenomenon. Definitely, it should be required reading for any NGO, tourist, international workers in Haiti. It should be a required reading for any sociology students. This novella is edited by Prof. Joseph J. Charles

Now you can find out whether Bouki shows any signs of intelligence here:

"Excerpt from "Bouki and Malis Turned Boat People.."

“They said that I am supposed to pass the shark test too,” Bouki said to Malis.

“What are you talking about?” Malis asked.

“I was told that it is a test developed by the American authorities to separate Cubans from Haitians. They say that sharks like Haitians’ blood and flesh. They eat Haitian migrants whose boats capsize in high seas between Haiti and Bahamas. “

“Come on, Bouki, think straight. Respect yourself. It looks like you are losing your consciousness, you are coming in and out of consciousness. It appears that the waves of the sea and the crossing made you lose your mind. Americans are not like that! Where can they find these sharks?”

“Malis, I am not crazy. You always think I am crazy!”

“Crazy people hold this kind of talk!”

“I am a fisherman, but I am afraid of sharks. Their teeth are like saws.”

“Hello Bouki, you are no longer on the ocean now. You are on firm U.S. soil!”

End of excerpt

Friday, June 29, 2012

You Are Your Own Publisher: The Newbie's Guide to Sucessful Self-Publishing and Why You Should SelfPublish


Purchase your copy of "You Are Your Own Publisher: The Newbie's Guide to Successful Self-Publishing" from Kindle now.

Purchase it as a Nook eBook from Barnes and Noble now.

Review of the book: Purchase your copy right on Smashwords.com now

You Are Your Own Publisher:
The Newbie’s Guide to Successful Self-Publishing -
List of Urban Fantasy Success Stories, Contemporary, Historical Romance
... is a new ebook that motivates you to write the book that is in you. It will help you make time to write the book that you have always wanted to write. Not only will it help you write it, but it will give you all the new tips on self-publishing platforms, print on demand publishers such as Smashwords.com, Lulu.com, KDP.Amazon.com, BN.com/Pubit etc. This ebook will give you a list of the hot genres that are selling well. This way, you will know which category to focus on.

Authors: Benito J. Latortue and Charlaine Cohen, self-published authors invite you to write and publish your own story to a worldwide audience, made possible by technology, the Internet, e-reader devices such as Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle and publishing plaftorms such as Kindle Digital Publishing, BN.com/pubit, and Smashwords….etc.




Purchase your copy of "You Are Your Own Publisher: The Newbie's Guide to Successful Self-Publishing" from Kindle now.

Purchase it as a Nook eBook from Barnes and Noble now.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

John Locke's Donovan Creed Novel Series, Ladies' Long Legs Branding His ebook Covers, How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months, The Reigning King of ebooks

If you have never heard about John Locke, then you must have not been paying attention to the new revolution in publishing. John Locke is the new reigning king of selfpublishing. He is a crime fiction writer who has been releasing his books on the Kindle Digital Publishing which makes them available on Amazon.

If you want to get to know him, just look for some of his titles. Better yet, you will recognize his books by the ladies' legs on the covers of his ebooks except for "Saving Rachel."

Here is a complete list of his ebooks published on Amazon Kindle: Lethal People, Lethal Experiment, Saving Rachel, Now & Then, Wish List, A Girl Like You, Vegas Moon, The Love You Crave, MayBe etc.

On most of the author's ebooks, you will find the long legs of women which form his image trademark. It is a way for him to make you remember his ebooks which have earned him the honor of being among Amazon's bestsellers. These ebooks have brought him not only money but also fame all over the world. What stands out in this story is that the man knows to spin stories. He also knows how to market them using the kind of revolutionary publishing platform created by Kindle Digital Publishing. If Amanda Hocking, JA Konrath and many others have made it, John Locke has been able to write the book on epublishing/selfpubbing/selfpublishing/indiepublishing.

After selling over a million ebooks using KDP.Amazon.com, John Locke set out to make disciples and help aspiring authors. He decided to become a mentor to the zillions of weekend writers who want to follow in his footsteps. He published on AmazonKindle or Kindle Digital Publishing the ebook manual which will be a classic for sure. "How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months" is the must-read ebook that most people who want to mix writing with advertising and revolutionary publishing platforms to get ahead and stop the struggling artist/writer's sad stories.

John Locke is a writer whose words must be followed by those of us who aspire or expect to make a living by the word. He saw a great investment opportunity and ran with it. Just like any writer, he had to learn to discipline himself. He had to sit down to take advantage of his fertile mind and ideas.

No wonder that his sales on Amazon Kindle and elsewhere have made him the new king of ebooks.

A very unselfish writer, he is now using his position to promote the works of new and established writers he likes. If you check his tweets on twitter.com and elsewhere, you will find out how he goes about it. https://twitter.com/#!/DonovanCreed

Where can you find his ebooks?

His Webiste: http://donovancreed.com/donovan-creed-novels
His GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/series/58878-donovan-creed
Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/John-Locke/e/B003ATT1YO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1









Purchase your copy of "You Are Your Own Publisher: The Newbie's Guide to Successful Self-Publishing" from Kindle now.

Purchase it as a Nook eBook from Barnes and Noble now.

Review of the book: Purchase your copy right on Smashwords.com now

You Are Your Own Publisher:
The Newbie’s Guide to Successful Self-Publishing -
List of Urban Fantasy Success Stories, Contemporary, Historical Romance
... is a new ebook that motivates you to write the book that is in you. It will help you make time to write the book that you have always wanted to write. Not only will it help you write it, but it will give you all the new tips on self-publishing platforms, print on demand publishers such as Smashwords.com, Lulu.com, KDP.Amazon.com, BN.com/Pubit etc. This ebook will give you a list of the hot genres that are selling well. This way, you will know which category to focus on.

Authors: Benito J. Latortue and Charlaine Cohen, self-published authors invite you to write and publish your own story to a worldwide audience, made possible by technology, the Internet, e-reader devices such as Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle and publishing plaftorms such as Kindle Digital Publishing, BN.com/pubit, and Smashwords….etc.




Purchase your copy of "You Are Your Own Publisher: The Newbie's Guide to Successful Self-Publishing" from Kindle now.

Purchase it as a Nook eBook from Barnes and Noble now.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

The World of Amanda Hocking From Amazon.com to Wal-Mart: Amanda Hocking's Blog: New Wesbite, More Info, & Happy Holidays!



Author Amanda Hocking has a brand new spanking website designed with the collaboration of St. Martin's Press that signed the author earlier this year.  The site has all the ebooks which she successfully published before signing with the press.  According to The World of Amanda Hocking, her new book is going to be released on January 3, 2012.  It will be ready for sale on the same day.  However, if you can not wait, you can pre-order the book from the above site.  "Switched" which the mega-selling selfpublished author had published in ebook format will be available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, Indie Bound, Macmillan, Powell's, and Wal-Mart.

Now, that is what we are talking about.  Amanda Hocking, plucked from the followship of self-published authors who made it big by herself, can now rely on the distributing arms and power of an established press such as St. Martin's Press.  With this release, the queen of self-publishing will be able to devote much needed time to her writing.  The troubles of money will have been in a long distant past.  Amanda will be able to tap into the resources of the press for editorial works and guidance with her career.

A writer knows he/she has made it when his/her books can be found on the shelves of Wal-Mart all the country and the world.

Congratulations to Amanda!


Amanda Hocking's Blog: New Wesbite, More Info, & Happy Holidays!

The Benefits of Freemium to Kindle Owners: JA Konrath's Free eBooks Deals Three Days after Christmas

Joe Konrath is giving free holiday presents to all the owners of Kindle.  These free deals are good for a few days after the holiday.  JA Konrath knows that many of you have received gadgets such as the Kindle Fire, iPads, and Nook.  So he wants you to use them to download free ebooks.

J.A. Konrath is making 23 of his titles free on Amazon Kindle.  JA Konrath is the writer and publisher of the successful, highly trafficked blog, "A Newbie's Guide to Publishing (Jakonrath.blogspot.com).

Well, think again if you thought he was the only one who is offering these free deals to his potential readers.  He announced that Blake Crouch is doing the same
Check his free deals at Amazon Kindle too.

Now if you are interested in buying the ebooks, you can read for free from the following authors:
This author published several language books on Amazon Kindle.  You can read for free some of his titles.
Author Joseph Charles invites you to check his other titles published at <a href="http://urbanbookspublishing.blogspot.com">http://urbanbookspublishing.blogspot.com</a>

Monday, December 12, 2011

Let's Get Digital: Selfpubbing, Self-publishing and Indie Publishing News: List of Indie Authors Who Sold Thousands of eBooks per Month

Thanks to KDP.Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, bn.com/pubit, and many other sites, indie writers are finally connecting with the readers who purchase ereaders and ebooks. Indie authors have been wise enough to use this direct connection and relationship with their readers. Doing so allows them to nurture this relationship. Selfpubbed writers have found a new gold mine. As long as their stories are relevant to their target audience, they will sell ebooks. The arrival of tablets has simplified the consumption of selfpublished stories and novels in various genres.

Here is a list of top sellers of ebooks on the Kindle Amazon publishing platform. Think again if you thought that Amanda Hocking was the only mega money maker of selfpubbed ebooks. John Locke has done it his way after realizing that this was a great business idea. He even wrote the book about it.

Take a look at this monthly sales list of top Kindle indie authors:

Blake Crouch – 2500+
Nathan Lowell – 2500+
Beth Orsoff – 2500+
Sandra Edwards – 2500+
Vianka Van Bokkem - 2500+
Maria Hooley – 2500+
C.S. Marks – 2500+
Lee Goldberg – 2500+
Lexi Revellian – 4000+
Zoe Winters – 4000+
Aaron Patterson – 4000+
Bella Andre – 5000+
Imogen Rose – 5000+
Ellen Fisher – 5000+
Tina Folsom – 5000+
Terri Reid – 5000+
David Dalglish – 5000+
Scott Nicholson – 10,000+
J.A. Konrath 10,000+
Victorine Lieske – 10,000+
L.J. Sellers – 10,000+
Michael R. Sullivan – 10,000+
H.P. Mallory – 20,000+
Selena Kitt – 20,000+
Stephen Leather – 40,000+
Amanda Hocking – 100,000+






Purchase your copy of "You Are Your Own Publisher: The Newbie's Guide to Successful Self-Publishing" from Kindle now.

Purchase it as a Nook eBook from Barnes and Noble now.

Friday, August 5, 2011

List of Indie Authors Who Have Sold More Than 1000 eBooks a Month; Others Sold More

Amanda Hocking*
Michael Sullivan*
J.A. Konrath*
Victorine Lieske
H.P. Mallory*
Lauren Saga
Terri Reid*
Imogen Rose
Nathan Lowell*
Ellen Fisher*
Vianka Van Bokkem
David Dalglish
Sandra Edwards
C. S. Marks
Sibel Hodge
Julie Christensen
Holly A. Hook
David McAfee
Danielle Q. Lee
Valmore Daniels
Steven L. Hawk
Edward C. Patterson
William Meikle
Maria Hooley
M. Louisa Locke
Beth Orsoff*
Eric Christopherson*
Monique Martin
Ellen O'Connell
Karen Cantwell*
Stacey Wallace Benefiel
Aaron Patterson*
B. Tackitt
Bella Andre *
Blake Crouch
David McAfee
J.R. Rain
James Swain
Karen McQuestion*
L.J. Sellers
Lee Goldberg*
Lexi Revellian
Melanie Nilles
Paul Levine
Robert Burton Robinson
Robert W. Walker
Scott Nicholson*
Simon Wood
Tina Folsom*
Zoe Winters
Chris Graham
AlexisHarrington

Bear in mind that the asterisk denotes more than one book that individually sold over the 1,000 threshold (so a minimun of 2,000 sales)

LJ Sellers
David Wisehart
B. Tackitt
Vianka Van Bokkem
Maria Hooley
Tina Folsom
C.S. Marks
Melanie Nilles
Robert Burton Robinson
Bella Andre
Lexi Revellian
Michael Sullivan
Victorine Lieske
H.P. Mallory
Lauren Saga
Terri Reid
Imogen Rose
Nathan Lowell
Ellen Fisher
Vianka Van Bokkem
David Dalglish
Sandra Edwards
C. S. Marks
Sibel Hodge
Julie Christensen
Holly A. Hook
David McAfee
Danielle Q. Lee
Valmore Daniels
Steven L. Hawk
Edward C. Patterson
William Meikle
Maria Hooley
M. Louisa Locke
Beth Orsoff*
Eric Christopherson
Monique Martin
Ellen O'Connell
Karen Cantwell
Stacey Wallace Benefiel
Aaron Patterson
Zoe Winters
Karen McQuestion
JR Rain

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Secrets of Successful Self-Published Authors: John Locke, JA Konrath, Amanda Hocking and Others: Kudos to John Locke's Kindle Million Club

Kudos to John Locke who has become the first independently published author to have joined the Kindle Million Club. Locke joins Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lee Child, Suzanne Collins and Michael Connelly in the Kindle Million Club. Platforms such as Kindle Digital Publishing, PubIt, self-publishing sites such as Lulu.com, Smashwords.com and many others have given the opportunity to independent authors to compete on a level playing field with the giants of the book selling industry. John Locke said it more eloquently, “Kindle Direct Publishing has provided an opportunity for independent authors to compete on a level playing field with the giants of the book selling industry. Not only did KDP give me a chance, they helped at every turn. Quite simply, KDP is the greatest friend an author can have.”

John Locke has been working at his craft on a daily basis. He has been able to develop it to the point of wanting to help others now. He has released a new how-to marketing guide for self-publishers.

John Locke, of Louisville, KY., is the internationally bestselling author of nine novels including "Vegas Moon,” "Wish List,” "A Girl Like You,” "Follow the Stone,” "Don't Poke the Bear!" and the New York Times bestselling eBook, "Saving Rachel." Locke's latest book, "How I sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months," is a how-to marketing guide for self-published authors.

PotterMore Strikes Out Publishers and Retailers Who Complaint of eBooks Exclusivity

There is much rumbling and complaining in the publishing world with PotterMore's decision to publish J. K. Rowling's Happy Potter ebooks on the new site.

Retailers hit out at J K Rowling’s decision to sell the Harry Potter e-books directly through her Pottermore website, which will launch in October. A Pottermore spokesperson said: “Pottermore is designed to encourage the reading and re-reading of the Harry Potter books in all formats and editions, both print and digital, to both existing and new generations of readers. We think this will have a positive effect on those selling physical books as well as on sales of digital ones.”

Furthermore, the spokesperson added, “The decision to make e-books exclusive to the site was to ensure ease of availability across all reading devices and to the widest possible audience and also to support the ultimate intention of the site to be an online reading experience.”

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Kindle Million Club: Michael Connelly Joins Ranks of Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lee Child and Suzanne Collins: Authors Who Sold More than 1 Million eBooks on Kindle

Who is Michael Connelly?

Mr. Connelly is the bestselling author of "The Lincoln Lawyer," a book that was made into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey. He is a consumate storyteller as his bestselling Harry Bosh series of novels have shown over the years. His next Bosh novel is scheduled to appear in the next few months. The Drop will be his next Harry Bosh novel. He is also the New York Times best-selling author of "The Reversal," "The Scarecrow," "The Brass Verdict," and "The Fifth Witness."

Connelly's books just like any other author's books benefit from Amazon Kindle's famous "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" mission. It is better explained this way, "customers can purchase these books and read them on the third-generation Kindles that start at $114 with the new high-contrast Pearl e-ink display, as well on iPads, iPod touches, iPhones, Macs, PCs, BlackBerrys, Windows Phones and Android-based devices. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off. With Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon, where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.

With the arrival and high sales of e-readers since 2009, we can anticipate that many other writers will also benefit from getting their works published online or self-published.

When we consider that many foreign countries have not even started using the technology facilitating epublishing and ereading, we can predict a fertile field of self-publishers. No matter what, the key question will remain whether or not a writer has a story that connects with the reader. Content or story will reign for ever!

Why You Should Consider ePublishing Your Next YA Fantasy or Romance Novel

Attitudes have come a long way. Thanks God, they have also changed! Self-publishing no longer has the stigmas attached to it for a long time. Since the arrival of publishing platforms such as Lulu, Smashwords, KDP or Kindle Digital Publishing, BarnesandNoble's PubIt, many writers who would not otherwise be published have taken the plunge. If we count the success of the few millionaires, there is a lot of progress to be made and recognition to acquire in this field. We should not forget either that blogging platforms such as blogger and blogspot, livejournal, tumblr, wordpress, tripod, etc have also greatly contributed to the emergence of new works created and published on the new platforms. Many writers started blogging before taking the eleap.

Here are some of the benefits of publishing yourself:

You own the rights when you self-publish.
• You don’t have to pay an agent 15% of everything you make.
• You earn more royalties. I’ll get about $6 per copy self-published. But just $1-$2 if I had a publisher.
• Publishers decide in advance which books get the marketing dollars, and only 20 percent of any list has a major budget.
• The self-published author has total control.You can choose your own editor, your own artwork. A traditional publishing house will not give you this much control.

An author once said, "Self-publishing used to have a real stigma attached to it. To be self-published meant your work was SO BAD that not one publisher would take you seriously. But that’s just not true anymore. Readers just want a great book to read.”

Now if we look at Amazon's press release, we know that this is just a scratch of the surface

"SEATTLE, May 19, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- (NASDAQ:AMZN)--Amazon began selling hardcover and paperback books in July 1995. Twelve years later in November 2007, Amazon introduced the revolutionary Kindle and began selling Kindle books. By July 2010, Kindle book sales had surpassed hardcover book sales, and six months later, Kindle books overtook paperback books to become the most popular format on Amazon.com. Today, less than four years after introducing Kindle books, Amazon.com customers are now purchasing more Kindle books than all print books - hardcover and paperback - combined.

"Customers are now choosing Kindle books more often than print books. We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly - we've been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years," said Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon.com. "In addition, we're excited by the response to Kindle with Special Offers for only $114, which has quickly become the bestselling member of the Kindle family. We continue to receive positive comments from customers on the low $114 price and the money-saving special offers. We're grateful to our customers for continuing to make Kindle the bestselling e-reader in the world and the Kindle Store the most popular e-bookstore in the world."

Recent milestones for Kindle include:

Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books. This includes sales of hardcover and paperback books by Amazon where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and if included would make the number even higher.
So far in 2011, the tremendous growth of Kindle book sales, combined with the continued growth in Amazon's print book sales, have resulted in the fastest year-over-year growth rate for Amazon's U.S. books business, in both units and dollars, in over 10 years. This includes books in all formats, print and digital. Free books are excluded in the calculation of growth rates.
In the five weeks since its introduction, Kindle with Special Offers for only $114 is already the bestselling member of the Kindle family in the U.S.
Amazon sold more than 3x as many Kindle books so far in 2011 as it did during the same period in 2010.
Less than one year after introducing the UK Kindle Store, Amazon.co.uk is now selling more Kindle books than hardcover books, even as hardcover sales continue to grow. Since April 1, Amazon.co.uk customers are purchasing Kindle books over hardcover books at a rate of more than 2 to 1.
Kindle offers the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read. The U.S. Kindle Store now has more than 950,000 books, including New Releases and 109 of 111 New York Times Best Sellers. Over 790,000 of these books are $9.99 or less, including 69 New York Times Best Sellers. Millions of free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available to read on Kindle devices. More than 175,000 books have been added to the Kindle Store in just the last 5 months.

All Kindle Books let you "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" - on all generation Kindles, as well as on the largest number of devices and platforms, including iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Android-based devices, and soon HP TouchPads and BlackBerry PlayBooks. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off. With Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon, where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle with Special Offers and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, and www.amazon.it. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

SOURCE: Amazon.com, Inc."

Digital Publishing or ePublishing Allows Many Writers and Books to Find Global Audience and Success: The Minting of Self-published Millionaires such as Amanda Hocking, JA Konrath, John Locke...

What is Self-publishing? What are the Self-publishing resources?

Here is the definition in case you did not realize this yet. It is open to anybody who loves to write and can publishing an ebook either on their blog or one of these publishing platforms. Use any of these platforms (listed below) and you are on your way to catch up with the likes of Amanda Hocking, HP Mallory, JA Konrath, John Locke and many others

How is it done? What do you need?

"Self-publishing is done without the involvement or vetting of an established publisher and uses a publishing system such as Lulu, Smashwords, Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing or Barnes & Noble's PubIt! Many traditional media outlets do not review self-published books."

No matter what you do and which novel publishing way you use, a good story remains the central part of the whole thing. Knowing how to tell a story, how to write and market it or promote it is very important too. For this, you can follow the leaders such as Amanda, JA Konrath, HP Mallory, John Locke etc.

What are the current hot genres or categories in self-publishing or romance fiction publishing?

Romance novels continue to sell very well. YA Urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels are doing very well. Sci-Fi continues to do very well too.

This was unheard of in the past. Self-publishing is making new millionaires. Amanda Hocking's goals are to be a billionaire. Believe it or not, she can reach her goals if her books continue to sell like hot pies. Selling they are, based on the recent reports. Amanda is the maker of her own destiny.

The Role of Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter, Popular Genre, and Storyselling skills, Self-promotion (there is no other way)

Hocking credits her success to aggressive self-promotion on her blog, Facebook and Twitter, word of mouth and writing in a popular genre — her books star trolls, vampires and zombies.
And she's making money.
"To me, that was a price point that made sense for what I would be willing to spend on an e-book," says Hocking, who sets her own prices. "I use iTunes a lot, and it's 99 cents and $1.29 a song."
For every $2.99 book she sells, she keeps 70%, with the rest going to the online bookseller. For every 99-cent book she sells, she keeps 30%.
H.P. Mallory, another self-published paranormal e-novelist, has sold 70,000 copies of her e-books since July. Her success caught the attention of traditional publisher Random House, with whom she just signed a three-book contract. "Selling e-books on Kindle and Barnesandnoble.com basically changed my life," Mallory says. "I never would have gotten where I am today if I hadn't."
Others are profiting, too:
• The No. 4-selling Kindle book (it has been as high as No. 1) is The Hangman's Daughter by German novelist Oliver Potzsch.