• Jake: Well, hello there, Jake.

    Jake: Howdy.

    Jake: So what’s up? Anything new going on?

    Jake: Tons, man, tons.

    Jake: Care to expand on that?

    Jake: Released two new novels. One finishes up my Apex Trilogy which started with DEAD MECH. The other is my YA zombie novel that helped get me a literary agent.

    Jake: Cool! And the names of these novels?

    Jake: Metal and Ash and Little Dead Man.

    Jake: And where could readers find these novels?

    Jake: Okay, this is getting cheesy.

    Jake: What is?

    Jake: The whole interview myself to shill some books. Not why I wanted to start this series of posts.

    Jake: Then why did you want to start this series of posts? Do tell!

    Jake: Don’t say things like “Do tell!”. Please.

    Jake: Ok… Uh…

    Jake: I wanted to start this series of posts because this way I could express my opinions on subjects without having to be nailed down to one point of view or one answer. In this internet age everything you say is saved and analyzed and taken as THE WORD. If you change your mind you get lynched.

    Jake: Do you change your mind often?

    Jake: I’m talking to myself right now and have already contradicted myself a couple of times. I change my mind all the time. I’m a natural contrarian. I tend to see the flip side of every opinion. I don’t always agree with the flip side, but I can easily see the argument that side presents. Sometimes, especially as I grow and mature and gain more wisdom/experience, I see that my earlier opinions and thoughts were just plain immature. Or stupid. I do say a lot of stupid things.

    Jake: You know the old adage: “Better to stay silent and play the fool than to open your mouth and prove it.”

    Jake: Yeah, I know, I know. But I’m a talker. I have opinions. I like to explore theories and concepts by communicating. It’s part of my process. I don’t always believe everything that comes out of my own mouth, but I say it anyway to try it on and see how the thoughts feel out there in the world.

    Jake: Interesting way to live.

    Jake: To say the least.

    Jake: Anything you want to talk about today? Maybe publishing wise?

    Jake: Maybe. I have been thinking about the whole “free model” thing. You know I started by giving my writing away for free as a podcast, right?

    Jake: I’m you, dumbass. I know that.

    Jake: Don’t get snippy. I’m trying to build a narrative here.

    Jake: You’re talking to yourself. All you’re doing is building a case against your sanity.

    Jake: Are you done?

    Jake: Probably not.

    Jake: Who’s the good cop and who’s the bad cop in this interview anyway?

    Jake: Does it matter?

    Jake: Not really.

    Jake: Then get on with it.

    Jake: Soooooooo, I gave away my first novel as a free podcast. Why? Because at that time it was a great way to get exposure for my writing. It reached a large audience and built some serious buzz. Back then it was the only way for independent writers to put their work out there without a publisher. Some also blogged their writing or just gave away free PDFs, but I come from a theatre background and love to read and perform.

    Jake: And this has all changed?

    Jake: Yeah, it’s changed! There’s freakin’ ebooks now! I don’t have to spend 30 hours recording a podcast and another 30 hours editing and another 30 hours uploading and promoting. I can now spend 30 hours writing a novel, another 30 editing it, and then the last 30 promoting it. And make money! In theory, at least.

    Jake: So you’re down on podcasting?

    Jake: No, that’s the thing. I like podcasting. I just hate the time suck that it is. Putting out a weekly episode is a great way to promote my writing. But it takes so much time to get that episode together that I have to wonder if it is worth it.

    Jake: Is it?

    Jake: That’s the question.

    Jake: So, are you going to quit podcasting?

    Jake: Not yet, no. I will be releasing Metal and Ash as a free podcast in the next couple of weeks. Because of the length of the novel, even with a weekly release, it will take up most of 2013. So I don’t really have to revisit the podcasting thing until 2014.

    Jake: Then you’ll quit?

    Jake: I’m not saying that. Again, I like podcasting, just hate the time suck. If the time was profitable then I’d look at it differently.

    Jake: Maybe Audible.com?

    Jake: Not viable. I’d have to yank all free content from my feed. Audible doesn’t allow free duplicate podcasts to be out there.

    Jake: Subscriptions? Charge for the podcast?

    Jake: How the hell do I even do that? And I don’t want to have to worry about the podcast being perfect quality. If I were to charge money for it then I’d have to up my game. I don’t want to be a professional podcaster. I’m a writer. That’s where I want to make my money.

    Jake: How about that donate button on your site?

    Jake: Dear God, did we just go there?

    Jake: Well, you put it up for a reason.

    Jake: Yeah, true. If people want to donate they can. But I’m not going to push it. I’ll mention it in the upcoming podcast, but probably only in the first episode. I’d rather folks bought my novels.

    Jake: Or helped spread the word?

    Jake: Yes! Word of mouth! That is the best payment a reader can offer! Bestsellers don’t become bestsellers because they have a ton of marketing and promotion. When was the last time you bought a book because you saw the floor stand in Barnes & Noble? Or because Amazon sent you a suggestion email?

    Jake: Never.

    Jake: No, you buy books because you either like the author or have heard good things about the book FROM SOMEONE YOU TRUST!

    Jake: I do like some book reviews. If I read a good review that may make me buy the book.

    Jake: True. But that goes back to time. It takes a shit ton of time to promote a book and get it in the hands of reviewers. And guess what?

    Jake: What?

    Jake: Reviewers aren’t too keen on reviewing self-published novels.

    Jake: They aren’t?

    Jake: Nope.

    Jake: Huh. Who’d a thunk it?

    Jake: Really?

    Jake: No, not really. There is a ton of awful crap out there. I don’t blame them for not wanting to sift through it all.

    Jake: Which leaves word of mouth.

    Jake: You’re on the Twitter and the Facebook, right?

    Jake: I am, but that’s just the echo chamber. I’m talking to the same audience over and over. I can only say “buy my book” so many ways before I get tuned out.

    Jake: You need the echo chamber to make their own echoes.

    Jake: Exactly. Word of mouth.

    Jake: Huh. How do you do that?

    Jake: Not a clue. Guess that’s why I’m talking to myself.

    Jake: Guess so. Good luck with that.

    Jake: Thanks. You too.

    Jake is a writer that has published four novels, has two out for submission with his agent, and is currently writing a new novel that will be released under a pen name. Which means he’ll have to figure out word of mouth for a whole other person that doesn’t actually exist. He’s excited about this. No, really, he is. Check out his novels, his podcast, his free weekly drabble release, or anything else by clicking on the links to the side. Oh, and spread the word if you’d like. He wouldn’t mind at all.

  • So, did you shop your fingers to the bone? Pics or it doesn’t count! No, seriously, I totally want to see your fingers all worn down to nothing.

    Just kidding! ….or am I?

    It’s Friday and that means it’s time for another Drabble Party!

    Tonight’s is, well, pretty spot on for today. Hope you dig it.

    And send those pics!

    Enjoy!

    That Time of Year

    Cheers!

    Disclaimer: Time machines are not toys!

  • Here we are again, folks! It’s Friday! It’s Night (where I am) and there be a Drabble Party about to happen!

    Tonight’s drabble is completely true. It has been proven by science! SCIENCE!

    Enjoy!

    If Not For The Elves

    Cheers!

    Disclaimer: Believe what you read! Writers never lie!

  • Well, I missed last week’s Party. Why? If you follow me on the socialized media then you know I had a bit of a fight with my gallbladder. It wanted to let a 2cm gallstone run willy nilly through my bile duct and I didn’t want it to do that.

    It won.

    I didn’t have to have surgery, but it came close. I passed that puppy while waiting in the emergency room!

    Too much information? Oh, please. I’ve written about way more disgusting stuff. Get over it.

    What does that have to do with Friday Night Drabble Party? Nothing. I just thought I’d clue you in on what’s going on.

    Get on with the drabble? Okay, okay, keep your corsets on, people.

    Enjoy!

    Bottom Rung

    Cheers!

    Disclaimer: What you don’t do is felt just as much as what you do.

    And don’t forget to check out Metal and Ash! The grand finale to the Apex Trilogy which started with DEAD MECH and The Americans! Just click that cover of DEAD MECH to your right there. CLICK IT!

  • Well, hello there, my good friends!

    I know I have been away from the site for a while. Some of you even noticed that the Friday Night Drabble Party has been missing. Why, you ask? Because I have been hustling my butt to get Metal and Ash done!

    That’s right, folks, the third book in the Apex Trilogy is finally here! Metal and Ash brings together DEAD MECH and The Americans in one epic finale!

    “What began in the wasteland of DEAD MECH, continued alongside in Europe and Asia in The Americans, now has its epic conclusion in Metal and Ash!

    Commander James Capreze and his team of mech pilots no longer must battle just zombies, cannibals, religious cults and the ever dreaded dead mechs. Now they will be put to the test by the forces of the Three as the evil alliance bent on dominating every inch of the world attacks from two fronts, forcing Capreze to split his forces and make alliances with those he had been sworn to defeat. The wasteland becomes the setting for an epic fight for basic human survival like it hasn’t seen in hundreds of years.

    Will fifty foot battle mechs be enough against hundreds of thousands of techno-zombies ready to wipe everything living off the scorched map that is the wasteland?

    Join Capreze, his mech pilots, the refugee Americans, end every denizen of the wasteland as they make one final stand to keep the Three from bringing humanity’s downfall. Alliances are formed and broken, mech pilots are made and murdered, secrets are revealed and agendas destroyed, and thousands of bodies fall and rise again in the Apex Trilogy finale: Metal and Ash!”

    How the hell does that sound? Pretty damn good!

    So, now you are probably asking, “How do I buy this sexy beast of a book?” Good question! While the trade paperback won’t be available for a couple more weeks (have to get the proof from the printer first) the ebooks are ready to go!

    Just click on one of the links below to go to your favorite retailer (B&N is sloooooooow to upload so I just have my author link there):

    Amazon Kindle

    B&N Nook

    Smashwords

    Kobo

    And there you have it! The Apex Trilogy is final!

    Wondering about the podcast? Yes, there will be one, but probably not until December. Why so long? Because I am finishing the manuscript for my YA zombie novel, Little Dead Man. What is that? Glad you asked!

    “Garret Weir has just turned seventeen. For any normal teen this would be quite the milestone. But for Garret it’s even more amazing he’s made it to this age, because in Garret’s life the human population of the Earth is gone, changed and turned into flesh hungry zombies, or “necs”, as he calls them. In the world he was born into, except for his parents that have kept him safe in a small compound hidden in the mountains of southern Oregon, Garret has never known another living soul. However, he is not the only seventeen year old in the family. Just the only one living. For Garret is alive and breathing and his twin, Garth, is undead, has been since birth, leaving him the size of an infant and attached to Garret’s spine. And he won’t leave his brother in peace.

    Set decades after the zombie apocalypse, Little Dead Man tells the story of conjoined twins Garret and Garth Weir. A fast-paced, high-action tale that doesn’t pull any punches as Garret, with Garth always attached, must struggle with a mother that is mentally unstable, a missing father that has kept too many secrets and the fact that the world he had always been told was completely dead, actually has well-developed human survivor pockets. And not all of those are friendly. Not even close.”

    This is perfect for middle school ages and up. It is a Jake Bible story so even adults will like it. There is plenty of action, action, action! Be on the lookout for this bad boy mid-November! Just in time for the holidays! Be sure to get one for every single member of your immediate and extended family!

    For now, please help get the word out about Metal and Ash. Post about it on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, forums, school lockers, a banner streaming from the back of your 1976 Ford Pinto (with wood paneling, of course), wherever you like! Facebook has throttled the reach of fan pages (and even personal pages) so please post about it as much as possible there. Remember, if we can make this thing sell, sell, sell then the likelihood the series gets picked up by a big publisher increases ten fold. Which could lead to deals with graphic novels, video games, movies, etc.

    Also, just be prepared for a shit ton of promotional tweets and FB posts! I’ll probably get very close to douchebaggery, but such is the price paid for success!

    Let’s rock this puppy!

    Thanks to all of your support and I look forward to hearing feedback on how y’all like the ending.

    Cheers!

    -Jake