12-22-2009, 10:13 PM | #76 |
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I just signed up for Smashwords so I can snag a copy Thanks for the coupon!
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12-23-2009, 08:47 PM | #77 |
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Free Book - Xenolith
Liz Bowen, wife of mission doctor Frank Bowen, goes missing in the wilds of Belize. The constables of San Ignacio can find no trace. On a pilgrimage years later to her remote 'grave', Frank is abducted and whisked away to a place he can't identify, by people whose motives and origins baffle him. Is this what happened to Liz? Might she still be alive?
1. Visit: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/4612 2. Add to shopping cart, enter the following free coupon code: XY39L 3. Download in any of several formats: (pdf, rtf, txt, mobi, pdb, epub). |
12-23-2009, 09:39 PM | #78 |
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I downloaded this last night, thanks for the coupon code
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12-26-2009, 04:25 AM | #79 |
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Downloaded from Smashwords and read, thank you.
I enjoyed reading Xenolith and I'll re-read it soon, so I get more out of the first few chapters. The learning curve was a bit steep for me at first. I found so many characters with short names confusing, but as I became more familiar with them, I could separate them and identify their different personalities and roles. The story was fast paced and never boring. I don't finish books if they don't grab me in the first couple of chapters, but this one did. I like the idea of travelling via the Xenoliths and it was interesting where Frank went, although somewhat scary and violent at times! This book is begging for a sequel. I'll be happy to pay for it and I'd like to read more about Frank. Please, please bring back Liz! And more about Tezhay - I really like him. Oh, but it's your book, you can write what you want to! I approve |
12-26-2009, 06:22 AM | #80 | |
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Quote:
You'll be happy to know that there's lots of Liz in the second book, but she's had a rough life, and is not quite the same person that Frank knew. |
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12-27-2009, 10:11 PM | #81 |
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Hope you enjoy it.
Any feedback you can offer is most welcome. One thing I'm looking to learn, for example, is why readers can relate to Frank, but not Seor. Last edited by ASparrow; 12-28-2009 at 05:30 AM. |
12-27-2009, 10:16 PM | #82 |
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12-30-2009, 08:18 AM | #83 |
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Still free, but only for a short while longer. Xenolith has surpassed the goals I set for it for 2009. I don't have goals for 2010, except to retreat and finish the sequel, "Peregrin."
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01-02-2010, 08:45 PM | #84 |
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Smashwords #1 Best Seller (last 90 days), #2 all time
Thanks everybody and Happy New Year! |
01-02-2010, 09:06 PM | #85 |
It's about the umbrella
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CONGRATULATIONS, ASparrow!
I really enjoyed the story and I'm waiting to find out what happens in the sequel |
01-05-2010, 06:26 AM | #86 |
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A second draft of Peregrin is now complete and undergoing further revisions. It will be about 90k or so words when it's done (~300 pages), quite a bit shorter than Xenolith (120k, 400 pages).
Here's a draft of a blurb to give you the gist of the storyline: Dr. Frank Bowen rediscovers long-lost wife Liz in the war-ravaged back hills of Gi, but the reunion is awkward, almost hostile -- nothing like his dreams. Liz, scarred emotionally and physically, assimilated into Giep’o culture, scarcely resembles the woman he married. What secrets and traumas account for Frank’s cold reception? Can he regain her heart by saving her gravely wounded child, a boy Frank suspects might be his own son? Can he convince her to return to the land of her birth in the face of a rapidly worsening guerrilla war? |
01-07-2010, 12:44 PM | #87 |
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FYI - Yet another revision was posted to Smashwords today for those who have yet to read.
Two things prompted me to revise: 1) recording for a (crude!) podcast version 2) receipt of a hard copy proof from CreateSpace. Both let me see the book from a fresh perspective and revealed a bunch of little errors, awkward or inelegant phrasings that I felt compelled to correct. Chapter Two probably received the most attention, but all in all the revisions were not invasive at all. |
01-09-2010, 12:50 PM | #88 |
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Peregrin
Sequel to Xenolith is chugging along at 87k words. I expect it to be between 90-95k when finished. I'm just filling in gaps and line editing now, although one scene has to be completely re-written. I'm aiming to have it ready for copy-editing by mid-February.
By the way, There's some great writing that just popped up as a #1 best seller on Smashwords. ("Dr. Frankenstein's Gift to Women by Patrick Whittaker). You all should check it out. I'm curious if you all are as impressed as I am. It's the kind of thing that makes you wonder how it doesn't have a mainstream publisher. |
01-10-2010, 07:45 PM | #89 |
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Someone purchased my book today. Whoever you are, thank you, but you really didn't need to do that. I'm committed to keeping this free coupon thing going until the sequel is ready. Only then, will I re-assess.
626 full versions downloaded as of today. 1,234 full plus samples. |
01-13-2010, 07:05 PM | #90 |
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Woohoo! Good stuff, Sparrow
BTW, I like your revised blurb, too. Punchier! |
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