Not What She Seems by Victorine Lieske

Over 60,000 eBooks sold since April 2010

Available for 99 cents from Amazon.com and Smashwords and 70p from Amazon.co.uk

Steven Ashton, a billionaire from New York, and Emily Grant, on the run from the law... and when they meet he can’t help falling for her. What he doesn’t know is that interfering in her life will put his own life in danger.

Not What She Seems holds you in suspense from the moment you begin down the path of murder and romance.

Synopsis:When billionaire Steven Ashton couldn’t stand his high society social life anymore, he left the stress of New York on a vacation for his soul. The need to meet real down to earth people lead him to a small Nebraska town he remembered visiting as a child. He didn’t want to lie about who he was, but he couldn’t exactly tell them the truth.

Emily could have easily fallen in love with Steven, under different circumstances, but her past was catching up with her and she needed a new life. If the authorities found out about her, she could lose the one thing that meant everything, her four year old son.

Not What She Seems is approximately 67,000 words long.

This book is a "sweet" romantic suspense, appropriate for all ages.

About the author:
Victorine and her husband live in Nebraska where they manufacture rubber stamps for the craft industry. They own and operate Victorine Originals Rubber Stamps from their home, where they raise their four children. Victorine has a degree in Art from BYU Idaho, and designs many of the rubber stamps they sell. She has always loved to read, and in her spare time she writes.

Four Years From Home by Larry Enright

Over 12,000 eBooks sold since October 2010

Available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and B&N

Good book! Very funny and definitely kept me reading to find out what happened. I was very surprised by the ending, I didnt have it anywhere near figured out! Great first novel, I will be waiting for more from him. — Joy Unger, Librarything.com

Tom Ryan — firstborn of five children in an Irish Catholic family, smart and acerbic, a cheat and a bully — calls himself the future king of the Ryans. There are other opinions. His mother calls him a holy terror. Mrs. Ioli calls the police on him. His father says that had Trouble been a saint, that would have been Tom’s middle name. But his parents, neighbors, peers, and siblings all must bow down before him or suffer the consequences. Just ask the Christmas turkey leftovers he buried in the side yard.

Harry, the youngest Ryan, was the shining star of the family. Bright, sensitive, and caring, he was protected by parental radar, called by God and Grandma Ryan to the priesthood, and was in Tom’s eyes, a brown-nosing little punk who had become a threat to his kingdom and the primary target of his search and destroy missions.

Then Harry changed. He abandoned his vocation and quit the church, and when he left for college, he left for good. He never called. He rarely wrote. His picture disappeared from the mantle. It was as if he had ceased to exist and his shining star had been but a passing comet. The enemy had retreated and Tom’s war was over.

“Four Years from Home” begins on Christmas 1972 during Harry’s senior year at college. The Ryan family has gathered without Harry for another bittersweet holiday celebration. When an unexpected and unwelcome gift arrives, the family demands answers and Tom Ryan, bully cum laude, must make a reluctant journey of discovery and self-discovery into a mystery that can only end in tragedy.

Written by the son of Irish Catholic immigrants, “Four Years from Home” redefines brotherly love in the darkly humorous and often poignant actions of its principal skeptic, Tom Ryan.

And the point of this blog is....

In a recent interview as part of an excellent series on e-publishing, Spinetingler Mag asked me the goals of this blog. I replied, "Very simple: to showcase ebooks that sell and bring them to the attention of a wider audience. I love the indie spirit and as an agent I know there are an awful lot of excellent novels that are never going to find a home in traditional publishing these days."

 

So receiving the following message recently on a Kindle forum was extremely pleasing. I've asked permission to post it here.

 

Allan, following a link on your profile I have downloaded and am reading Crack-Up by Eric Christopherson.

This is fantastic and I cannot believe I am reading a book of such quality for a few pence. It is going to be up there with one of the best books I have ever read over a great number of years. It's great of you to promote the author. It always amazes me that a book of this quality is not sold or distributed in the normal way via bookshops and writing material of this quality deserves to be showcased.

Thanks, sir!

Observations from the e-front

Some early thoughts on selling ebooks:

1: it's an impulse-driven market, particularly in the UK
2: price is paramount (see above: $2.99 works in the US but not in the UK)
3: readers don't care one iota about an author's sales track
4: Amazon doesn't care one iota about an author's sales track
5: to sell ebooks, it helps to go where readers of ebooks hang out
6: an Amazon customer review is priceless
7: Amazon know how to sell books
8: the more you sell, the more you sell
9: promotion is much more efficient and enjoyable when you have access to your sales figures
10: the US and the UK are completely different markets and it's extremely rare to do well in both

Feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments.

Remix by Lexi Revellian

Over 13,000 eBooks sold since August 2010

49p on Kindle, 99c on Nook and Smashwords

Caz Tallis restores rocking horses in her London workshop. When shabby but charismatic Joe and his dog turn up on her roof terrace, she is reluctantly drawn into investigating a rock star’s murder from three years before – an unsolved case the police have closed. Somebody is prepared to kill to prevent it being reopened – and is Caz's judgment clouding as she falls in love?

REMIX is a feel-good page turner, that you won't want to put down until you reach the satisfying ending.

About the author:
Lexi Revellian is a London jeweller/silversmith with a passion for writing. She enjoys novels that compel you to keep reading, with believable characters and a satisfying ending. That's the sort of book she tries to write.

Cyberdrome by Joseph Rhea

2,350 eBooks sold in 2010

Available on Kindle and many other formats

 

Winner of the 2008 PODBRAM Award for Best Science Fiction of the year!

When the human race is threatened by a deadly plague, our salvation might be found in a group of computer-generated virtual worlds, each populated by digital "people" and allowed to evolve in ways divergent from our own. These beings have no idea that they are only programs, living simulated lives and secretly monitored for new technology that could save us all. This is Cyberdrome.

When rogue programmer Alek Grey is called in after one of his programs inadvertently attacks Cyberdrome, he is shocked to learn that his ex-fiancée has become trapped in the system, unable to be removed from interface without risk of brain death. Alek knows of only one way to rescue the woman he still loves, but will he risk all of humanity to save her?

 

About the author:
Joseph Rhea is a research scientist whose preoccupations include writing and game design. Although a "hobby" writer all of his life, his first work of major fiction is the science fiction techno-thriller, Cyberdrome, winner of the 2008 PODBRAM Award for Best Science Fiction of the Year. Cyberdrome was co-developed and illustrated by David Rhea, a mechanical special effects artist whose preoccupations include drawing and 3D computer modeling.

Please visit the Cyberdrome website for previews, reviews and much more.

The Gift of Fury by Richard Jackson

3,000 eBooks sold since November 2010

$0.99 on Kindle, Nook or from Smashwords

Enter the world of Count Albritton. It is a world where magic and the supernatural are very real. Creatures of legend, sorcerers and other powers walk among us. As a paranormal investigator, Count helps people with supernatural problems the authorities are either unwilling or unable to deal with. It's dangerous work. Luckily he has Kara, a beautiful guardian angel to help him.

Over the years, magic has grown weaker as mankind has made more and more technological advances. Many things that were possible in the past are no longer possible or easier to accomplish using technology. One man seeks to change all of that. He plans to bring back the golden age of magic. To do so, means sacrificing the technology that mankind depends upon and unleashing horrors best left forgotten.

Count isn't about to let that happen. Even with the help of his friends, it’s a fight he isn’t sure he can win.

Author bio:

Richard Jackson was born in New York and raised in the Bronx. He has been writing off and on since high school. Over the years, he has held a variety of jobs and worked in a wide range of fields. It’s given him a very diverse skill set which has come in handy on numerous occasions. His interests include the martial arts, costuming, travel, gaming and just having fun. He enjoys meeting people and talking to people with similar interests. His blog can be found at Kyrin's Insight.