Progress Update: Motive: Unknown

Motive: Unknown is a story that’s been with me for about five years now. It spent some time on the back burner, but I’ve been returning to it whenever I can find the time, and it’s been fun to rediscover the story with fresh perspective. Over the years, the book has changed direction a few times as the characters developed and clearer, stronger paths emerged.

The story is now mostly locked down. My current focus is editing, expanding a few sections that need more room to breathe, and trimming others that no longer serve the narrative. While the project was originally inspired by a film, it has since diverged sharply from that source. The opening still carries some resemblance, but the story quickly becomes its own, shaped by the characters and the decisions they’re forced to make. If all goes well, I’m hopeful Motive: Unknown will be ready for publication by February.

Below is the updated prologue. This version reflects the tone and direction the story ultimately took and is intended to better set up the themes and character choices that follow.

Kindheart Free on Dec 2nd

I am running a promotion for Captain Kindheart on December 2nd to correspond to an ad campaign.

If you haven’t read the book yet, this will be a good day to download it on Amazon. This is just a one-day event, so be sure to download it on the 2nd.

The promotion is being run using Freebooksy, which is a mail list for people that want to be kept up-to-date on free books that are available. I’ve used this company before and got a few sales from it. I’m hoping to get some new reviews for the book so that it features better on Amazon.

Kindheart Now Available On Kindle Unlimited!

I’m excited to announce that Captain Kindheart is now available on Kindle Unlimited.

Get Your Copy Now!

I’ve been a subscriber of Kindle Unlimited for years. In that time, I’ve read hundreds of books, far more than I would have been able to afford if I had to pay for them individually. It was only natural for me to want my book to be on Kindle Unlimited.

Unfortunately, to be on Kindle Unlimited requires that I enroll in KDP Select, a program that Amazon offers that requires exclusivity to their platform. This means, Captain Kindheart will no longer be available via Smashwords, Google Play, Apple Books, etc.

Kindheart Free Until May 31st

If you haven’t picked up your copy of Captain Kindheart, Scourge of the Seven Sectors yet, you might want to do it soon. The promotion for the free version ends on May 31st.

Only SmashWords has it for free, so make sure you download it from there.

Get Your Copy Now!

Once the promotion ends, I plan on signing up the book for Kindle Select. Unfortunately, this means that I will have to remove the book from all the other distributers (Kindle Select requires the book be exclusive to Amazon).

My plan has always been to make my book available on Kindle Unlimited. I’ve been using this service for years, and have ready hundreds of books on it. I’m excited to see if it will help with book sales.

Next Book, Motive: Unknown

I’m excited to announce that I’ve started on my next book, Motive: Unknown. It’s a spy action/comedy set in the far future featuring a high-school student who failed her citizenship exam so her father has to send her on a class trip to Central, the planet that the federal government calls home. A mistaken identity sets our heroine on the adventure of her life as she is mixed up with an elite spy and uncovers a devious plot to subvert the government.

Sound familiar? The basic plot is based on one of my favorite spy movies from the early 90’s, If Looks Could Kill, starring Richard Grieco. Unfortunately, you won’t find this film in any of the streaming services that I’m aware of, but you can buy it on DVD from Amazon.

Here’s a glimpse at the prologue for the book:

Kindheart Released Today

I’m excited to announce the general availability of my book, Captain Kindheart, Scourge of the Seven Sectors.

It is currently only available in Smashwords ($FREE), but should soon be available in both e-book and print (via Amazon) formats at many popular online retailers.

Get your copy now! (The linked page will be updated as new retailers become available)

My first notes for Captain Kindheart were from all the way back in April of 2018. Now, after over two years of work, the book is finally completed and available.

I have to admit that I’m a bit apprehensive. This is my first book, and I have no idea if it is any good. I’ve gone over it dozens of times, making hundreds of edits in each iteration, including some major edits.

According to Grammarly, my most egregious errors were commas. I’m pretty sure the rules for commas are completely arbitrary. Grammarly and Word don’t even always agree about them (I have no idea which one is right). There were plenty of complex sentences that I had to simplify as well.

I like how they have a medal for “Top 3 Mistakes” :)

It got to the point where I had no idea if I was making the book better or just making changes for the heck of it. That’s when I figured I must be done. Hopefully, it was the right number of iterations and people can enjoy the book without stumbling too much on grammar issues.

Honestly, I’ll be happy if just a few people enjoy the book. I had fun writing it and learning about all the ins-and-outs of publishing a book (though there is still a lot that I don’t know).

I’m making the book available for free, at least at some of the online retailers. I figure that we are all in need of a bit of distraction from what is going on in the world today, what with the pandemic and all. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can make it free on Amazon, so you will need to use one of the other retailers if you want the free version.

Stay tuned for news about my next book that I’ve got planned. I probably won’t announce it for a few weeks (maybe months, depending on how things go), but I’m excited to get started on it.

Kindheart Release Date Set for Sun, Apr 26th

Content is done. Editing is done. Cover is done. So close now.

I just have a few more housekeeping items before I can release my first book. The plan is to release it next Sun (Apr 26, 2020), assuming I can have everything ready to go.