Work, work, work

Now that we're fully relocated in Albuquerque, it's time to catch up on the paying work. Lots to report:

I'm busy promoting the three novels published in the last few months -- CALABAMA, THE BIG WINK and LOST VEGAS. Those novels and FIREPOWER, which came out a year ago, are $2.99 each via Kindle and Smashwords. All my other crime novels, including the Bubba Mabry series, have been marked down to 99 cents each. More info here.

Debuting next week is a new online anthology called WEST COAST CRIME WAVE, which includes my short story "Surf City." More about that this weekend.

I've started sketching out a new Bubba Mabry novel (working title: PARTY DOLL. What do you think?), and will begin the first draft soon. Plus, I'm bouncing around some screenplay ideas with a Hollywood friend. Nothing we can talk about yet, but lots of potential.

Now that we have a functioning mailing address, I'm again accepting manuscripts for editing and polishing. Albuquerque is a much bigger market for the one-on-one coaching I prefer, but I also take in manuscripts from afar for $3 a page. For more info, e-mail me at abqbrewer@gmail.com.

Lots of other reading to do, too. I'm teaching "Hard-boiled Fiction and Film Noir" at the University of New Mexico in the spring, and I haven't taught that class in nearly a decade. Time for a refresher course. I'm looking forward to being in the classroom again.

All this, and getting reacquainted with our New Mexico pals, too. This autumn promises to be busy and rich.

How I published 3 books in 3 months

My E-book Empire is complete -- for now -- as I've published LOST VEGAS, my latest crime novel, on Kindle and Smashwords.

LOST VEGAS is the story of a casino heist, but with a twist: The casino owner hires the robbers to rip off his establishment. Just when it looks as if he might get away with it, another small-town casino owner and his giant Samoan sidekick jump into the fray. LOST VEGAS is an action-packed thriller with lots of humor mixed in, and I think you'll love it. Only $2.99!

LOST VEGAS is the third original novel I've self-published this summer. Here's how that happened:

My agent had been shopping my manuscripts around New York the past few years, but having no luck in the ever-shrinking market. I optimistically kept writing away, and developed a backlog of unpublished material.

A year ago, I dipped my toe in the e-book waters by publishing a quirky hitman thriller called FIREPOWER. It was well-received, and the process taught me how to load books to Kindle and Smashwords. Soon, I secured the rights to my backlist and re-published all my earlier work as e-books.

This summer, I got tired of waiting on New York, and I asked my agent to reel in the submissions on LOST VEGAS as well as my novels THE BIG WINK and CALABAMA. While Kelly and I have enjoyed our foggy summer in Santa Cruz, we've also been busy publishing these books -- I did the proofing/formatting, and she did the cover art.

Self-publishing allows us to get books to market quickly (THE BIG WINK, with its medical marijuana storyline, is particularly timely), and to charge less for them. These novels are only $2.99. From each purchase, I earn about the same as I'd make on a $24 hardcover. And no trees died.

I haven't given up on New York publishing altogether, though my faith has been shaken. My agent is currently shopping around my latest manuscript, A BOX OF PANDORAS, and I hope some publisher picks it up. But if that doesn't happen, I'll happily publish it myself.

Big e-book sale

Nearly all my published novels now are on sale as 99-cent e-books. Everything I read about e-books says successful self-published authors are the ones who use the 99-cent price point, and I want to catch that wave.

The sale features books published before 2010 -- essentially everything previously printed on paper. (The one exception is BOOST, which is offered as an e-book by a different publisher.) The 99-cent books include all the mysteries in the Bubba Mabry series, the two novels starring sportswriter Drew Gavin and such standalone thrillers as BULLETS, BANK JOB, WHIPSAW and CUTTHROAT.

My latest e-books -- the medical marijuana novel THE BIG WINK, the hillbilly noir CALABAMA and the hitman thriller FIREPOWER -- remain $2.99, as does my hilarious "1000 RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL LIVING."

You can see all my e-books by clicking either of these links: Kindle or Smashwords.

Please tell all your friends. Thanks!

New life to older books

My current bestseller on Kindle is a good example of how backlist books get new life as e-books.

"End Run," first of two mysteries featuring Albuquerque sportswriter Drew Gavin, came out in 2000. It's still available in hardcover/paperback, but sales had slowed to a trickle by 2011. Same with the sequel, "Cheap Shot," which was published only in hardcover by Intrigue Press.

But those two books are leading the pack this month on Kindle. "End Run" has sold a couple more copies than "Cheap Shot." Coming in third so far in May is my first novel, 1994's "Lonely Street," which was second to "Cheap Shot" in April.

I've got my entire backlist up on Kindle and Smashwords, along with several humor books and "Firepower," a thriller that was an e-book original. Another new novel is coming soon!

E-book sales accelerate

My plunge into e-books is showing signs of success. April sales on Kindle and Smashwords were double those in March, which had been up 50 percent over February.

Much of that increase comes from having more titles available, but the rate of sales is growing as well. It helps that I've been able to price novels at $2.99 and shorter work for 99 cents.

As reported earlier, over the past few months, I've secured the electronic rights to my entire backlist (with one exception), and have published all the books via Kindle and Smashwords. (The exception: My novel "Boost" was put out by the publisher as a $9.99 e-book. I have no control over that.)

My bestseller for April was "Cheap Shot," the second book featuring sportswriter Drew Gavin, who was introduced in "End Run." I think "Cheap Shot" is selling well because it was never issued in paperback. It's a good novel, and I'm glad people are finally getting a chance to read it.

Bestselling 99-cent work was my novella "Sanity Clause," a funny Bubba Mabry tale that's set in a mall at Christmas.

You can see all of my e-books via Kindle here and via Smashwords here. Smashwords also distributes my work for Nook, Kobo, etc., so you should have no problem finding them for your favorite platform.

And, of course, most of my books are still available in printed form. Order them from your local bookseller!

Thanks!

Not drowning. Waving . . .

Toughest part of the e-book publishing boom is getting the word out about new or re-released books. Hard to get people pay attention to one drop of water in a tsunami. Authors are forced to flog our work on our blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon's Author Central and a zillion other sites, and we never can do enough.

Some authors are banding together to form their own e-book publishing/marketing groups. Others are allying with existing e-book publishers or magazines. And some are doing it ourselves and hoping for the best.

My story is a mix of the above. Some of my books are offered through other publishers and others (mostly the humor stuff) I publish on my own. The results have been mixed, but I try to look at the long term. Once an e-book is available, it's available forever and some trickle of income will be coming my way.

My newest Kindle publication is "600 Rules for Successful Living," a compilation of Volumes 1-6 of my goofy self-help rules. These twisted adages and worthless bits of advice have developed a following on Facebook, and now they're available at Amazon.com for $4.99. What a bargain!

Also out recently is "Baby Face," second in the Bubba Mabry private eye series. This one was re-issued by the folks at Suspense Magazine. Check out their website to see the cool ad they made for "Baby Face."

Finally, I'd like to mention "Firepower," the only novel I've published straight-to-Kindle (so far). "Firepower" is an action-filled story about a hitman who tries to save an inventor from Big Oil. It fell through the cracks when I changed agents/publishers, so I put it out there myself, and it's received a great response. Five-star reviews, etc.

Thanks for listening to my tiny splash in the e-book ocean.

FIREPOWER is here

Available now on Kindle (and soon in other
e-book formats): My new thriller FIREPOWER.

I've already put a few titles (including my all-time bestselling book, LONELY STREET) on Kindle, and e-books offer a perfect venue for a timely novel in which the villains are backed by Big Oil.

FIREPOWER is the story of a hitman called Bob who's sent to kill a Silicon Valley scientist. Alice Porter has invented a new hydrogen fuel cell that threatens to make oil obsolete. The bad guys want her gone.

FIREPOWER is only $2.99. Click here.

You don't need a Kindle to read it. The Kindle app is available free for computers and smart phones.

Coming soon . . . FIREPOWER

Sonny's busy gaze roamed the room, finally settled on the coffee table between them.

"Hey, Bob. How come you always wear cowboy boots?"

"I'm no cowboy, if that's what you mean. But I grew up wearing boots."

Bob looked at his feet up on the coffee table. Plain brown boots, scuffed around their tapered toes. Latest in a long line of serviceable shitkickers.

"They some kind of exotic leather?" Sonny asked.

"If you think 'cow' is exotic."

"I thought maybe you were one of those guys who collects different kinds of boots. Got a whole closet full at home. Python and ostrich hide. Shark."

"I'm not a nut for them. I just like boots. They're comfortable."

"But to work in? How do you run in them?"

"I don't run much."

Sonny gave him a prison-yard squint. "You're a bad man. You're too tough to run."

"I just don't like it much. I prefer sitting around. If I wanted to be on my feet all day, I'd be a mailman."

"Sometimes you gotta run," Sonny said. "Things get fucked up. Sometimes running's the best thing."

Bob took the Beretta out of his jacket's deep inside pocket, started screwing on his suppressor, too.

"See these babies?" Sonny turned his feet on the coffee table so Bob could admire his red-and-black Air Jordans. "That's superior footwear right there. Two hundred and sixty bucks."

"Hell, you can get three pair of boots for that."

"Yeah, but I can run faster and jump higher. Things get fucked up? I'll be first one over the fence."

Bob chewed on that a second, then said, "Things get that fucked, I've got to run?"

"Yeah?"

"Boots won't make a difference. Tie bricks to my feet, it won't matter. I'll be a running motherfucker."

"Maybe the other guy's wearing a nice pair of running shoes. Some cop, in good shape, younger than you. He'll chase your ass down."

"I hope he does it quick. Then I'll pop a cap in him, get it over with."

"He might pop you first."

"Either way, I won't have to run around no more."

Coming soon . . . FIREPOWER

Plano, Texas
6:04 p.m. Friday

Red and gold leaves gusted along the asphalt streets, a stampede of confetti, the only color in a lifeless landscape of lumpy-oatmeal stucco and petrochemical siding and plain gray concrete under a low gray sky.

"Fucking suburbs."

From behind the wheel of the stolen Oldsmobile, Sonny Tharp said, "What's that, Bob?"

Sonny's chin was slashed crosswise by his trademark scar, his French Quarter souvenir. He was a few years younger than Bob, maybe thirty, still an exercise nut and a fresh-air fiend. His elbow hung out the window, and the chill breeze riffled his black hair.

Bob's brown suede jacket was zipped to his chin, but his ears were freezing. He wanted Sonny to roll up the fucking window, but they'd had that argument before. Better frozen ears than ears full of Sonny.

"Suburbs all look the same," Bob shouted over the Cajun music honking from the radio. "We're officially in Plano, but it could be any neighborhood in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Could be Richardson. Could be Arlington."

Sonny glanced at the passing houses. "Could be Houston."

"Sure. Could be California, this time of year."

"A rare cloudy day in Phoenix."

"Nah. In Phoenix, they'd put cactus everywhere, remind you how the place looked before they bulldozed it."

"Cactus." Sonny grimaced. "Those fucking yuccas."

"Developers rip everything out, then put it back again, re-arranged. The cacti are like hunting trophies. 'Congratulations to us. We tamed these fuckers and took their land.' They might as well put dead Indians out on the lawn."

"Indians?"

"That's why they call it 'native' landscaping."

Sonny slowed, checking a green street sign in the fading light. "You're a deep guy, Bob."

"I pay attention." Bob scratched at his week-old whiskers. "I try to think about things. See how they make me feel."

"That's good," Sonny said. "A rich inner life is a healthy thing."

"Up yours."