Tagged: Kindle

THE SKINVESTIGATOR INVESTIGATES ON KINDLE

  • News
  • August 9, 2012

For Immediate Release:

(Melbourne, Florida – August 8, 2012): Dermatologist detective series: The second Skinvestigator novel is now available on Kindle

The second novel in a new Florida noir trilogy, The Skinvestigator: Rash Guard has just become available for download on the Kindle, Amazon.com‘s handy digital reader. The novel follows the adventures of Florida dermatologist turned detective, Dr. Harry Poe, as he tries to help the Miami Police with a new murder investigation involving surfers, syphilis, and the State department.

Author Terry Cronin describes the surf noir story as both “an inside look at the exciting world of South Beach” and “a mystery novel that quickly escalates into a medical/political thriller involving tattoos, sexually-transmitted diseases, illicit cosmetic surgery, and murder”.

Ripped from today’s headlines about “scalpel tourism” where Americans travel to foreign nations to get cheaper cosmetic surgery, Cronin’s books have been described as “razor sharp”and “skincredible”. Reviewers have categorized them as “sunshine noir”, and made “for page-turner mystery fans”. The print version of the first novel is distributed by Atlas Books and is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Tower Books.

While the Kindle version of the first novel, The Skinvestigator: Tramp Stamp, is promotionally priced at 99 cents for a limited time only!

The final book of the Sunshine State Trilogy, The Skinvestigator: Sunburn has been released as a print edition. Cronin, who is known for creating the critically-acclaimed horror-adventure comic series, Students of the Unusual and writing for Indie Comics Magazine, took advance copies of this new novel with him to the San Diego Comic-Con this year. “I’m known as a comic book writer but I found that comic readers and genre fans also enjoy reading hard-boiled detective novels and pulp fiction.” The new novel follows Doctor Poe whose been abducted by Venezuelan thugs from his past and is poorly prepared for their increasing level of violence. Sexy mysterious tattoos, illicit cosmetic surgery, and espionage round out book three of the Sunshine State Trilogy and may just mark the end of the career of the Skinvestigator.

The Kindle version of The Skinvestigator: Tramp Stamp can be downloaded here:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Skinvestigator-Sunshine-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B005OCTWVM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1344462348&sr=8-3&keywords=skinvestigator

The Kindle version of The Skinvestigator: Rash Guard can be downloaded here:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Skinvestigator-Sunshine-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008UFHNTS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1344462348&sr=8-5&keywords=skinvestigator

The new print edition of The Skinvestigator: Sunburn is available at:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Skinvestigator-Sunburn-Terry-Cronin/dp/0983766711

BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS– Novel Continues the Apocalyptic Saga!

  • News
  • July 29, 2012
White Rocket Books proudly announces the release in trade paperback and Kindle e-book formats of I. A. Watson’s BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS, a new novel that reveals the shocking secrets of Princess Ariawhile continuing the bold and exciting adventures of John Blackthorn, PulpArk Award winner for “Best New Character of the Year.”

Eldest child of her world’s ruling dynasty, Aria is also the daughter of the evil Black Sorcerer—one of the dreaded First Men of Mars—and has been imbued with his sorcerous might. Rebelling against her father’s tyranny, Princess Aria has joined forces with a human soldier and a savage Mock-Man, and now dares to challenge the First Men’s rule. Will Aria’s power be enough to tip the balance in John Blackthorn’s favor, and free her world—or will she betray the rebels to her father—or worse—and bring all they have fought for crashing down?

BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS, by award-winning author I. A. Watson (Robin Hood; Sherlock Holmes) and with a spectacular cover painted by Adam Diller, takes the saga of John Blackthorn and his brave companions to the next level—and beyond—with a grand adventure stretching down the centuries and across the war-torn face of post-apocalyptic Mars!

Created by Van Allen Plexico (Sentinels, Lucian) in the spirit of “Thundarr the Barbarian” and “John Carter of Mars,” the Blackthorn Saga has already been nominated for seven PulpArk Awards and one Pulp Factory Award.  Now, says Plexico, “ Ian Watson has pulled back the curtain and given readers the chance to dig into the rich history of future Mars, and to witness the rise of Princess Aria from pampered aristocrat to powerful leader of a planet-wide rebellion—along with a couple of guys named Blackthorn and Oglok. If you thought you knew the Blackthorn story, you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

White Rocket Booksis a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Vice-President Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

On sale as of July 28, 2012, BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS is a 250-page, $15.95, 6×9 format trade paperback from White Rocket Books, and a $2.99 e-book for Kindle.

ISBN-13: 978-0-61567-654-8  (paperback)

ASIN: B008NYCVLQ  (Kindle)

What Makes Martha Thomases Ridiculously Happy?

I’m writing this just back from the dentist, from which a friend had to pick me up because the dentist gave me drugs. I couldn’t be trusted to get myself home, even though that involved taking an elevator to the building entrance and getting a cab. And my dentist may have had a point. When my friend came to pick me up, I talked her into buying shoes with blue sequins on them.

So this will be a little bit scattered. However, you, the reader, are probably online to see The Dark Knight Rises, so we most likely share a mental state. Let’s not take ourselves too seriously.

• As I mentioned last week, I missed the San Diego Comic Con. Once again, it seems I didn’t miss a lot, at least about comics. I realize that IMDB might not be an impartial editor of Comic Con news, but this makes it look to me like the geeks that were out were television and movie geeks, not comics fans. Or, to channel earlier cons, these are not the nerds I was looking for.

• I find the only time I can concentrate on a real book is when I’m away from home, or I’m in the middle of a good mystery. When I read at home, in my living room, in the comfy chair, I’m always looking at the clock, or the computer, or the phone rings, and I can’t get a good reading rhythm happening. I can read comics, but sometimes I want more than that. As a result, I now have a stack of graphic novels next to my sack of pamphlets next to my stack of knitting books. Waiting, with maximum anticipation, are Dotter of her Father’s Eye by Mary Talbot and Bryan Talbot, Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn’t Work) by Michael Goodwin and Dan E. Burr, and Darkroom: A Memoir in Black & White by Lila Quintero Weaver. I feel very highfalutin’. These are much classier than the vampire books in my Kindle.

• Batman and Spider-Man are heroes. Our troops are heroes. But you know who else are heroes? Garbage collectors. I can think of nothing braver than picking up other people’s rotting refuse when it’s over 100 degrees outside. The smell alone can kill a man where he stands. Lifting bag after bag of the stuff, all day, every day, is a superhuman feat.

• You, constant reader, probably don’t get press releases in your e-mail every day. I do. I’ve also sent out press releases. There are some companies that send me something every day. There are some companies that send me something several times a day, every day. I’ve been the publicist whose client demands a long list of media outlets pitched so I understand the pressure they’re under, but it’s ridiculous. I’m not going to write two or three stories a day, every day, about the same company. I’m going to follow up on a press release that seems like it’s about something in which I’ve expressed interest. Most likely, a carefully written pitch letter, one that references my interests, would work the best. I’m taking this knowledge to my next clients.

• The photo above is swiped from The Beat. It makes me ridiculously happy.

SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman

Dennis O’Neil: Of Trilogies and Kindles

Based on…oh, I don’t know – some observation? A hunch? An angel whispering in my ear? Anyway, based on some darn thing, I hereby guess that some comics writers aren’t as aware of story structure as they might be – not as much as, say, their artistic first cousins, screen writers who, I’m told, are generally very aware of it, particularly if they’ve studied the craft in some college-level course, or read a few of the many books on the subject.

Well, although I do address the structure stuff in the courses I teach, I won’t burden you with it here and now. Not the time, not the place. However, maybe just a teensy bit of structure blather might not be amiss.

But first:

Have you noticed that trilogies seem to be the publishing rage? (Okay, not rage. Whimper?) There was the Girl in the Dragon Tattoo, which was twice a trilogy, as novels and as movies, and may be moving into a third trilogyhood because there’s been an English language film adaptation of the first novel – the other movies were in (I think) Swedish and were directed by (I’m sure) a Dane. (A great dane? Time will tell.)

Did I write “a third trilogyhood?” Yes I did. Wanna make something of it, buddy?

The other trilogy which is crowning the New York Times bestseller lists is Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels. I haven’t read more than a handful of the books’ words, but, ahem, somebody in this house has it on her Kindle and we have it on good authority that these novels are smut! (What’s on my Kindle is Walter Issacson’s bio of Steve Jobs, which is not in any way smutty, at least so far. Probably just as well.) I ask you: does such a thing belong on the Kindle of someone who attended Catholic schools, clear through to a university degree?

And while we’re on the subject of Kindles: the ninja fairies who work for Amazon snuck into my Kindle the other day and left a message informing me that the voodoo-hoodoo that runs the cyberworld has been upgraded, or at least fiddled with, and pretty soon I’ll be able to read comic books on the gadget. In two formats, if my understanding is good. Am I rejoicing? Moaning with happiness? Doing a celebratory dance? Nope. Still don’t trust technology, despite the fact that I’m really digging the Steve Jobs book. But I’ll probably give Kindlecomix a try when the ninja fairies make the machine hospitable to them, if only to demonstrate that, while you may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, some old dogs are at least willing to try jumping through the friggin’ hoop.

But weren’t we discussing story structure? Well, consider yourself taught by bad example because this column is ill-structured, at least for story purposes – indeed, it’s structured only by association of topics. Not the best approach to dramatic storytelling. But maybe one of you can make it work.

RECOMMENDED READING: Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder. If you want to learn something about story structure, give this a try.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Mike Baron Tells Us A Story

FRIDAY MORNING: Martha Thomases Gets Worldly

 

GET YOUR EXECUTIVE ORDER ON WITH ‘PRESIDENTIAL PULP’ FROM PULP EMPIRE!

  • News
  • June 22, 2012

Jim Beard’s superb cover (for his story “The Thing Under the House”)
Have you ever wondered what Presidents do in their spare time? As it turns out, a good chunk of them went on amazing adventures!
Pulp Empire proudly presents Presidential Pulp! Thrill at the adventures of Dick Nixon and the Swingers of the Unknown! Experience the supernatural adventures of James K. Polk and Ulysses S. Grant! Experience the secret missions of Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt!
With five great new stories fo adventure by Jim Beard, Travis Hiltz, Robin Reed, Caine Dorr and Robbie Lizhini, Presidential Pulp may be the most fun you will read in a New Pulp book this year!
Print copies are now available through Createspace (with Amazon editions out shortly). To sweeten the pot we are giving everyone that buys the book this weekend a $2.00 discount (only $10 a book). Just enter discount code DNPCAWQA to get the reduced rate!
Ebook fans can also get Kindle and Smashwords editions of the book for the low, low price of $2.99!
Grab your copies today!

The Bootleg War is now Available

  • News
  • June 15, 2012

Latchkeys #4, “The Bootleg War”, is now available for Kindle and Nook. Author Paul Kupperberg talks about the writing experience.

By Paul Kupperberg

For writers, ideas are like stacked up airplanes circling the fogged in airport. We want desperately to have all of them land safely, but some are going to have to stay up in the air a little longer than others until the weather clears or a runway opens up. As a result, we’ve all got lots of ideas circling our brains but no opportunity to bring them in for a landing on paper as quickly as we would like.

A few years back, Steven Savile, on a writers email list to which we both belong, suggested that a bunch of us join forces to take some of those high-flying ideas, throw them into a hat, and pick a few on which a dozen or so of us could work together. The idea was to hasten the development and writing of these various concepts by sharing the workloads. The result of Steve’s suggestion was a collective we came to call the HivemMnd.

While Steve has already related the secret origin of the HiveMind in an earlier post here on the Crazy 8 Press blog, the work of actually writing Latchkeys takes place not as a community activity, but in the individual workrooms, offices, and minds of our fourteen writers. The current episode, “Chapter 4: Speakeasy, Part One: The Bootleg War” began with a story by Kris Katzen, which landed on my desk for fleshing out and was a particularly fun story for me to work on. It incorporates elements that play to several of my strengths as a writer: It takes place in New York, the city in which I was born and about which I have an insatiable curiosity (I have shelves containing nothing but histories and biographies related to this, the greatest city on earth), and is set against a historic backdrop, in this case the Prohibition era of the 1920s (coincidentally, I recently read Daniel Okrent’s fascinating history, Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition).

I love to pepper period stories like “Bootleg War” with interesting little historic tidbits, whether about its locale or some incidental information (did you know Converse All-Stars sneakers were introduced during the First World War?)…just enough to give it the right flavor and a dash of verisimilitude. Of course, stories have to come from out of the characters first, but those characters need to be rooted in a world that’s as real as they are. The use of the wrong slang or an anachronistic prop and the reader is yanked out of the moment and all the mood and drama the author was hoping to set up is ruined.

And speaking of characters: Latchkeys stars a roster of good ones. I was already familiar with two of them, twin sisters Mercy and Marguerite, from writing one of the later Latchkeys episodes (#13, “Emmett”), but “Bootleg War” gave me the opportunity to get to know a couple of the other fascinating teens who populate this world. I hope you’ll find their intelligence and resourcefulness as interesting as I did while writing them.

So, to torture my opening airplane analogy just a little further, bringing Latchkeys in for a landing has been, in some ways, a long and sometimes bumpy ride, but now that we’re safely home, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss a moment of the trip. For readers, on the other hand, there’s nothing but clear skies and some good reading ahead.

TALES OF THE ROOK MOVIE POSTER STYLE AD DEBUTS!

Pro Se Productions, a leading New Pulp Company, released an ad designed by Pro Se’s own Sean Ali, in the style of a movie poster spotlighting TALES OF THE ROOK, the latest release from Reese Unlimited,  an imprint of Pro Se Press!  Get your copy today at www.amazon.com and www.prosepulp.com! Ebooks available for Kindle, Nook, and at www.smashwords.com!

WHITE ROCKET BOOKS ANNOUNCES ASSEMBLED 1 AND 2 NOW ON KINDLE!

ASSEMBLED! and ASSEMBLED 2: Avengers books now on Kindle!

Best-Selling Trade Paperbacks Covering Marvel’s Avengers — Now on Amazon Kindle

(May 29, 2012)  White Rocket Books proudly announces the release in Kindle e-reader format of ASSEMBLED! and ASSEMBLED 2, the wildly popular guidebooks that cover all five decades of Marvel’s AVENGERS superhero team—the comics, stories, creators and characters.

ASSEMBLED! breaks down the history of the Avengers comics by “era,” with chapters focusing on the greatest and most memorable stints by the top Avengers creators, from the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby run and the Roy Thomas period, through George Perez’s two eras,  all the way to Brian Michael Bendis, and everything else in between.  Each chapter was authored by a different noted Avengers expert, presenting the good and the bad of that creative team’s run, as well as commentary, humor, and analysis of the characters and events involved.  Additional chapters explore the Ultimates, West Coast Avengers, Thunderbolts and more. The book concludes with a massive chronology of Avengers history and a look at the top Avengers highlights of every single year from 1963 up to publication.  The book’s Introduction was provided by Keith R. A. DeCandido, editor of the Marvel Novels line from Byron Preiss Multimedia.

ASSEMBLED 2 presents an in-depth look at the “Big Three” Avengers:  Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, individually and as the leading forces behind the team itself.  The Introduction to this volume is by none other than Marvel Comics Vice-President and longtime Avengers editor Tom Brevoort.  The volume also includes multiple chapters exploring the histories of the greatest Avengers villains, Ultron and Kang (not to mention Thanos), as well as a look at Young Avengers and the epic Avengers Forever.  The book concludes with an in-depth chronicling of all the Avengers appearances in prose novels through the years.

The two books were created and edited by Van Allen Plexico (Sentinels, Lucian), who originated the very first and longest-running Avengers fan web site,AvengersAssemble.net, way back in 1995.  Contributors—collectively known as the “Jarvis Heads”—include such comics-culture luminaries as Sean McQuaid (MarvelHandbooks), David Medinnus (Star-Spangled Site), Joe Crowe (RevolutionSF), Ian Watson, Karen Walker (Back Issue), Mark Bousquet, Sharon Karibian, Rob Clough, Scott Harris, and many more.

Proceeds from the sale of the books go to the HERO Initiative charity for retired comics professionals, as chosen by legendary artist George Perez.

“These two books have become absolute favorites of so many Avengers fans,” notes Plexico, “and we Jarvis Heads are very proud to have brought them to the public. With the astonishing success of the Avengers movie, and with these new electronic editions, we hope to reach a whole new generation of fans and turn them on to the rich and epic history of our favorite group of assemblers!”

White Rocket Books is a leader in both New Pulp adventure and nonfiction pop culture commentary books.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Vice President Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

ASSEMBLED! and ASSEMBLED 2 are $2.99 each in the Kindle store at Amazon.com.  They are also available as trade paperbacks.

ASSEMBLED!  Five Decades of Earth’s Mightiest

248 pages in print edition

ASIN: B00820UESS

ASSEMBLED 2: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Villains

186 pages in print edition

ASIN: B0082PXQH4

ASSEMBLED!

ASSEMBLED 2


Dennis O’Neil Is NOT Tony Stark!

I’m not as good-looking as Tony Stark – not even close. And I’m not a billionaire – not even closer. And as for technology…well, let’s just say that I’m not exactly an early adopter – more like an after-the-sun-cools adopter.

About two feet from where I sit, there languishes an iPod Touch that Mari got at no cost when we bought this computer because she’s a teacher. I don’t know how to make it work. Neither does she.

Her Kindle sat on a table for a month before the lovely and accommodating Perri Pivovar did some wizardry and now Mari’s reading the second volume of the Hunger Games trilogy off the Kindle screen (and enjoying it, you very much.) But without Perri’s kindness? Maybe Mari could have used the Kindle as a bookmark.

I’m reluctant to buy electronica because I fear the frustration I feel when the things don’t perform.

So when the editorial fates landed me the job of writing the monthly Iron Man comics a couple-three decades ago, I wondered what there was in the Tony Stark/Iron Man character for me to identify with. The first Iron Man I ever did was a single issue fill-in and I had Tony able to solve a problem only by shedding the armor that enabled him to claim superhero status (and feel free to read into that anything you like.) But when I agreed to do 12 Iron Mans a year, I knew that Tony’s metallic striptease was a one-time-only trope, best not repeated anytime soon, if ever.

So I had a hero whose very existence was based on gadgetry and I was cursed by Crankus, the evil god of technology, and how was I to bridge the gap between high tech fiction and the Luddite real life me?

Ah. A realization. I drive cars, don’t I? And Tony “drives” his armor and maybe therein lies the commonality between Mr. Stark and me that would save me whatever woe might come from doing stories about a guy I neither knew nor liked. Anyway, good enough. I embarked on what was, for me, a very satisfactory three-years as Iron Man’s chronicler-in-chief.

But I still had trouble with technology, even after I dropped dead in a café and was revived by John Ingallinera, Lizzie Fagan, Michael O’Shea and Bryan Holihan, who knew where a defibrillator was and how to use it. The gadget literally brought me back to life.

Maybe Crankus was easing up?

So a month ago, I decided that I’d had enough of not being able to understand song lyrics, conversations at parties and my wife’s comments on television shows we were watching, among other irritants. I had hearing loss. And a technological remedy existed. And that being the case, it was foolish vanity to go through life saying, “Huh?”

We went to the hearing aid place in a nearby town. I got tested and yep! – loss of hearing in both ears. Conversation was held, a down payment proffered and off we went, to return a few weeks later. I now owned two nearly invisible hearing aids. A new dawning? Should I have another shot at the iPod? Maybe get my own Kindle? A tablet with a Skype attachment? How about those video games the youngsters like?

I put ‘em on, went home and…

Discovered that the one for the right ear didn’t work.

Maybe Crankus has downgraded me to half-cursed.

FRIDAY: Martha Thomases

 

UCHRONIC PRESS RELEASES -THE HORN!

  • News
  • March 12, 2012

The Uchronic Press is proud to announce that “Uchronic Tales: The Horn,” our second release, is now available for Nook and Kindle. This thrilling 17,000 word novella by W. Peter Miller has a stunning cover by the talented Mike Fyles (Amazing Spider-Man and Iron Man Noir covers) and features the Ace Insurance investigator Clark Tyler, a man that trouble seems to find. Or perhaps he is just good at finding it. This story is available now at the special introductory price of 99 cents on Kindle and Nook with other formats to follow.

Uchronic Tales: The Horn follows Clark Tyler, an investigator for the Ace Insurance Company, as a simple job spirals toward an Earth-shattering conclusion all set against the backdrop of the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. What is the Horn and why do some distinctively nasty visitors want to get their hands on it? What would happen if someone decides to give it a blow? Clark is there to stop that from happening. Clark is joined in “The Horn“ by a daring aviatrix, a charming archaeologist, and a strange mercenary from Clark’s past.

Join us for the mysteries, the thrills, and the startling conclusion of…
The Horn.

The Uchronic Press is here to serve all readers that crave action, excitement, and a bit of an edge in their pulp adventure fiction. Our stories take place in an alternate past, a Uchronic world greatly like our own, but with a dash more mystery, danger, and the macabre. Here you will find heroic adventures, outlandish science, ferocious alchemy, mystic forces, and an alternate history just slightly larger than our own.

In the months ahead, danger will put Clark in middle of many Uchronic Tales. Look for stories featuring the classic days of Hollywood, earth-shattering danger, lost civilizations, and bizarre visitors from the unknown aether.

The special 99 cent introductory pricing on Uchronic Tales: The Zeppelin will be good until March 23, so get ’em while they’re hot!


Welcome to Uchronic Tales

More information can be had at www.docsavagetales.blogspot.com

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