Workflow 2013

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I’m currently working on The Fall of Macharius and, since I am right in the middle of a new novel, now seems like a good time to talk about the tools I use and my workflow. It’s on my mind and a nice easy subject to write a blog post about and, hey, I’m all about taking the easy way out whenever possible. I am constantly trying to optimise my use of time. I’ve streamlined my working process a little since the last time I discussed it so here are my current methods. I still use Evernote to gather ideas, information, Read more…

The End of Free?

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Over on Lindsay Buroker’s excellent blog there is a post which very lucidly points out all the reasons Amazon may be making it less and less attractive to release free ebooks. Rather than rehashing Lindsay’s arguments here I recommend you simply go read the post and the comments. I’ll still be here when you get back. I say may be making rather than is making because, as with everything related to the Zon, the only people who can be sure what Amazon is actually up to are the people who work there. It’s a black box as far as the Read more…

Indie Publishing a Print Book

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So, how much does it cost to independently produce the print version of a book these days? Well, Stealer of Flesh (currently available from Amazon, the Book Depository and any bookstore where you care to place an order ISBN: 978-1483969541) cost me somewhere under $125. To those of you who, like me, grew up in the world of Quark Xpress, offset printing and warehouse distribution, that number is probably jaw-dropping. Welcome to the new world of Print On Demand (POD) publishing. Let’s take a look out how the figures break down. I used CreateSpace, Amazon’s print on demand subsidiary for the Read more…

Father’s Day on the Assassin’s Road

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Quite by coincidence I celebrated Father’s Day by reading the new Dark Horse Lone Wolf and Cub Omnibus. This concerns the adventures of a man even less likely to win the Father of the Year Award than Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones. Ogami Itto travels Tokugawa Shogunate Japan pursuing his career as an unstoppable assassin. A man capable of slaughtering squads of highly trained ninja, scores of bandits and small armies of Ronin with his trusty dotanuki battle-blade, what makes his feats of butchery even more impressive is that he often performs them while pushing the pram containing his Read more…

The Man Who Came to Blog – Vincent W. Rospond

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I first met Vince Rospond in Nottingham many, many moons ago. He was then North American Sales Manager for Black Library. This, the fact that he was a very affable chap and that he was from New Jersey were the things that stuck in my mind during that first meeting. We went out for dinner with some friends. At the time I had been watching a lot of the Sopranos, and they were on my mind. As you know the mob family also hails from New Jersey and something misfired within my brain. During the course of the evening I kept Read more…

The Inquiry Agent Free on Amazon

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I thought I had better mention the fact that my Victorian detective novel The Inquiry Agent is free on Amazon today. I have cancelled the automatic renewal on Kindle Select and I won’t be renewing it in the foreseeable future so this may well be your last chance to pick the book up as a freebie. The Inquiry Agent is not very typical of my usual style or genre but it is, in many ways, the best book I have written and it’s one I am very proud of. If you need any more encouragement, here is the blurb. London Read more…