8 Award Winning Ebooks

Keith here:  What follows is an announcement about 8 ebooks that were selected as best in their respective categories at the 2012 eFestival of Words.  Moses Siregar III was kind enough to pass this along.  His novel The Black God's War won in the fantasy category and has been sitting in my electronic TBR stack for a while.  I'm hoping to make some progress on that this fall after I clear some comiitments, so keep your eye out for a review of that title sometime around October.  Anyway, I'm passing this along in case some of you are looking for something to read.


Readers! Eight award winners in the 2012 eFestival of Words "Best of the Independent eBook Awards" have grouped together to offer you an amazing opportunity. They've reduced the prices of their award-winning novels to 99 cents for August 27 and 28th!

Whether you like to read mysteries, romance, horror, young adult, women's fiction, or fantasy, this group has it. Are you a writer yourself? Do you want to learn all about digitally publishing your next masterpiece? They've got you covered there too.

Get all eight award-winning ebooks for the price of one single paperback!

Award Winners

Best Mystery/Suspense: Dead is the New Black by Christine DeMaio-Rice

Best Non-Fiction: DIY/Self-Help: Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran

Best Horror: 61 A.D. by David McAfee

Best Romance: Deadly Obsession by Kristine Cayne

Best Young Adult: The Book of Lost Souls by Michelle Muto

Best Fantasy/Urban Fantasy and Best Novel: The Black God's War by Moses Siregar III

Best Chick Lit/Women's Lit: Carpe Bead'em by Tonya Kappes

Award for Best Twist ("I've Been Shyamalaned"): The Survival of Thomas Ford by John A.A. Logan

Here's a one-stop shopping link for your convenience: http://amzn.to/MO7qBY



Book Blurbs

Dead is the New Black by Christine DeMaio-Rice

Laura Carnegie gave up on the man of her dreams a long time ago. He's fashion designer Jeremy St. James, and not only is he her boss, everyone knows he's gay.

When the woman who holds the company purse strings is found dead in the office, and Jeremy's arrested for the murder, everything changes. If Laura can just solve this crime, keep the cops off her tail, break up a counterfeiting ring, and get the show on the runway by Friday, she might stop being Seventh Avenue's perpetual loser.

If you love Project Runway, or enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada, try Dead Is the New Black.

Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran

This guide contains over 60,000 words of essays, articles, and how-to guides, as well as contributions from 33 bestselling indie authors including J Carson Black, Bob Mayer, Victorine Lieske, Mark Edwards, and many more.

It covers everything from how the disruptive power of the internet has changed the publishing business forever to the opportunities this has created for writers. It gives you practical advice on editing, cover design, formatting, and pricing. And it reveals marketing tips from blogging and social networking right through to competitions, discounts, reviews, and giveaways.

If you are considering self-publishing, if you need to breathe life into your flagging sales, or if you want to understand why it's a great time to be a writer, Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should will explain it all.

61 A.D. by David McAfee

61 A.D. For ten years, Taras has lived in the young city of Londinium, feeding off the city’s underbelly. But now Theron, his old enemy, has come looking for revenge, and Taras’ nights of living in relative peace are about to end.

Yet not even Theron can slip into town unnoticed, and the Council of Thirteen sends Ramah to deal with the two renegades once and for all. But unknown to the Council, a much older enemy is also in Londinium, and this time even the great Ramah might not be safe.

Set against the backdrop of the Iceni uprising in Roman-era Britannia, 61 A.D. continues the story of Taras, Theron, and Ramah, as they fight their way through history.

Deadly Obsession by Kristine Cayne

Nic Lamoureux's perfect movie star life is shattered by a stalker who threatens any woman close to him. When he meets photographer Lauren James, the attraction is instant--and mutual. She's exactly the sort of woman he craves, but the stalker makes deadly clear Lauren is the competition.

And the competition must be eliminated.

"Stock up on ice cubes because this is definitely one sizzling debut. Readers will be hooked from the first sentence- on the book and on Nic! As rich as a white chocolate cheesecake, Cayne's entrance into the suspense genre is invigorating, explosive and simply intoxicating." ~ RT Book Reviews Top Pick

The Book of Lost Souls by Michelle Muto

When teen witch Ivy MacTavish changes a lizard into her date for a Halloween dance, everything turns to chaos. And when no one is powerful enough to transform him back except Ivy, it sparks the rumor: Like father, like daughter. Worse, someone has used an evil spell book to bring back two of history's most nefarious killers.

Ivy's got a simple plan to set things right: find the real dark spell caster, steal the book, and reverse the spell. No problem! But first, she’ll have to deal with something more dangerous than murderous spirits: the school’s hotter-than-brimstone demon bad boy, Nick Marcelli. Demons are about as hard to handle as black magic, and Ivy soon discovers it’s going to take more than a lot of luck and a little charm if she wants to clear her status as a dark witch, get a warm-blooded boyfriend, and have her former date back to eating meal worms before the week’s end

The Black God's War by Moses Siregar III

Against the backdrop of epic warfare and the powers of ten mysterious gods, Lucia struggles to understand The Black One.

Her father-king wants war.

Her messianic brother wants peace.

The black god wants his due.

She suffers all the consequences.

"Moses is a fine writer deserving of success, and I think that it will follow ... I really enjoyed Moses's work." - David Farland, NYT Bestselling Author of The Runelords

Carpe Bead'em by Tonya Kappes

Hallie Mediate was raised by her (slightly) crazy Great Aunt Grace on the wrong side of the tracks in Cincinnati. Hallie escapes her hometown and never looks back.

That is, until she’s transferred back to the hometown. Not wanting her past to cross paths with her future, Hallie puts her life on hold.

Aunt Grace is still up to her old tricks, but Hallie finds some sanity at a local jewelry-making class where she uncovers a hidden talent for beading.

Will she keep searching for the happiness she may already have found?

The Survival of Thomas Ford by John A.A. Logan

Thomas Ford is the only survivor of the car crash which killed his wife. He is also the only witness who would be willing to identify the young, reckless driver who caused the crash. But the driver would sooner see Thomas Ford dead than ever let that happen.






Happy Reading!

The Authors Guild Shows Where its Loyalties Lie

Paul Aiken, the Executive Director of the Authors Guild sent a letter to John Read of the DOJ addressing the DOJ's suit against Apple and five publishers.  It's rather lengthy, but if you wade through it, as I've been doing from time to time (when my blood pressure drops to dangerously low levels and I need something to raise it), you'll find the following quote:

"Amazon’s vertical integration of on-demand printing eliminated the ability of iUniverse, PublishAmerica, XLibris and others to offer authors better royalties when selling through Amazon.  CreateSpace appears to have thrived ever since."

Now what's interesting about this is the list of publishers named.  I'm not familiar with all of them, but PublishAmerica has been shown to be a vanity press with little to no editorial oversight.  If you aren't familiar with the hoax manuscript some members of SFWA submitted, start reading here.

Rise and Fall Heralds the Rise of a Great New Fantasy Trilogy

Rise and Fall:  Book One of the Blood and Tears Trilogy
Joshua P. Simon
Paperback $14.95  
various ebook formats $2.99: Amazon  B&N Smashwords

Seeing as how he's only published one novel and a few pieces of short fiction, it would be understandable if the name "Joshua P. Simon" were unfamiliar to you.  But if you're smart, you'll make note of it and remember it.  If you're smarter, you'll buy and read Rise and Fall.  

In his author bio, Mr. Simon includes among his influences Robert E. Howard and Glen Cook's Black Company.  Howard is one of my favorite authors, and the Black Company one of my favorite series.  By divulging this information, Mr. Simon set the bar of my expectations high.  Very high.  The question is, did he meet them?

Award Announcements and a Few Initial Thoughts

The shortlist for the Hugo Awards was announced yesterday along with the Campbell Awards.  Locus Online (among others) has posted the list.  I've included the fiction and some fiction related categories below for easy reference (stolen cut and pasted from Locus Online). 

Congratulations to all the nominees.

Here are a few initial thoughts on some changes I see and potential changes down the road.

New Links to Reviews of Small Press and Indie Books

It seems I'm running perpetually behind these days.  I've been intending to put links to all the reviews I've done of indie and small press books in the sidebar.  Tonight I finally got around to it.  You'll find it just above all the other links to posts on various topics.  I've included links to some essays (rants?) as well.  The links are grouped by broad category, either fantasy/adventure or science fiction.  One of the reviews I did for a different site.  I thought about creating a separate list for YA books, but for now I'm going to group them in with whichever category they best fit. 

I've got a number of indie published books in the queue to review, if I can ever get to them.  That perpetually behind thing again.  Right now I'm reading Mark Finn's revised biography of Robert E. Howard.  Or at least trying to; daily life things keep getting in the way.  I hope to have the review done by the time I go to ConDFW next weekend.  Anyway, I intend to review a great many more indie published work over the course of the year.  Some of the most exciting work seems to be published by indie writers these days, and I intend to share as much of it as I can with you.

Now, back to trying to get some reading done.

Dunsany's Heir

The New Death and Others
James Hutchings
0.99, various ebook formats (Kindle)(Smashwords-various formats)

About one hundred years ago or so, give or take a decade, there was a fantasy writer named Lord Dunsany.  Some of you may have heard of him.  He wrote a couple of novels, but most of his reputation was built on short stories, many of them about a chap named Jorkens who had all sorts of fantastical adventures.  Other stories, though, the ones that weren't about Mr. Jorkens, ah, those were a delight.  They were often brief, what would be referred to today short-shorts.  Dunsany was known for his irony and wit.  And while writers who wrote witty, ironic tales, often about chaps who have fantastical adventures, have continued to this day, none have mastered the short-short the way Dunsany did, certainly none with his bite.

Until now.  James Hutchings has taken up that mantle, and he wears it well.  The New Death and Others contains 44 short stories and 19 poems.  And to quote from the promotional copy, there are no sparkly vampires.

Franzen Says Ebooks not for Serious Readers

Literary author Jonathan Franzen says that ebooks aren't for serious readers.  You can read  his comments here.

As a person who considers himself a serious reader, I take great offense at these remarks.  The medium through which a person chooses to read, whether paper, electronic, or (as in my case) a combination of both, is in no way a reflection of whether that person is a "serious reader". 

Of course, Mr. Franzen doesn't define what a "serious reader" is.  Is it someone who places a high priority on reading and buys numerous books every year or month or in some cases every week?  Or perhaps it's a person who only reads serious Literature?  (Capitalization mine.)  

Aside from the brain-dead connection Mr. Franzen tries to make between paper books and responsible self-government, his remarks show just how out of step he is with vast numbers of readers, both here in America as well as other parts of the world.  Franzen is a darling of the literati, those arbiters of taste and snobbery, most of whom wouldn't deign to read genre fiction.  At least not in public.  Franzen clearly seems to share this elitist view, despite the fact that his books are available in electronic editions.  He states that paper books provide a level of permanence.  He's also gone on record saying that "It's doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction."  I strongly beg to differ, but good fiction is in the eye of the beholder.

Still, I doubt Franzen would recognize good fiction if it bit him in the ass. 

Of course, Franzen's remarks illustrate one of the results of a recent survey by Verso Digital.  Among their findings was that resistance to ereaders is growing, even among avid readers.  If I'm understanding the survey correctly, the resistance is from people who have never been inclined to read on an ereader.  Frankly, I don't care what format you choose for reading.  Just don't take a condescending attitude toward those of us who don't choose the same as you.

Franzen also says that if printed books become obsolete, he's glad he won't live long enough to see it.  Given his attitude, I find it hard to disagree with that statement.  In the meantime, I'm going to read some good indie fiction.

On my ereader.

Entering the Dark Realm of the Fey

Feyland:  The Dark Realm
Anthea Sharp
Various ebook formats, $3.99 (B&N, Amazon)

It's been a while since I read a YA novel.  Not quite as long as it's been since I was YA myself, but close.  (Don't even think about asking how long that is; I'll only plead the fifth.)  But there's been some exciting writing going on in the YA world for some time now, and much of it is either science fiction or fantasy.  Since my son will soon be moving into that age bracket, I'm going to be familiarizing myself with what's out there and passing on some of my recommendations to you. 

The first of these recommendations is Feyland:  The Dark Realm by Anthea Sharp.  Before I discuss the book's plot or its themes, I want to say something up front.  I have no sisters, my wife has no sisters,  we have no teenage daughters, nor have I ever been a teenage girl.  Teenage girls are some of the hardest characters in fiction for me to relate to.  I can usually relate to children or women, but teenage girls don't think like I do.  At all.  I taught high school for a couple of years, so I have spent time around them.  They just weren't on the same planet I was much of the time.  (You could argue I'm not on the same planet as most people most of the time, but that's the subject of another post.)

Why do I bring this up?  Ms. Sharp has created two distinct characters, one male and one female, and not only made me care about them but made me see the world through their very different eyes.  I had some reservations when I first agreed to review this book because I wasn't sure I would be able to relate to the teenage female character.  I'm very glad to say those reservations turned out to be completely unfounded.

We're not Divorced Yet, but We're Definitely Separating

It began like many relationships do.  At first there was the allure, the excitement, the promise of adventure and romance and suspense, of new experiences and unique horizons opening up.  As time went on, the relationship deepened and became one of the central focuses of my life.  There were many good years together.

But as often happens, one party began to take the other for granted, with give and take becoming less give and more take.  I was expected to take what was offered, with little or no input.  And what was offered weren't the things that drew me to the relationship in the first place.  The relationship became stale, predictable, dull.  Furthermore, my wants and needs meant less and less to the other party, with decisions about the things central to the relationship being made with the apparent expectation I should be thankful the other party was there at all.  Everything became the same, and I began to be unfulfilled.

I began to seek fulfillment elsewhere, with new partners.  And I found it.  All the adventure and excitement that first attracted me so many years ago were there, all the-

What's that?  My marriage?  It's just fine, thank you.  Why do you ask?

A Review of the Final (?) Issue of Realms of Fantasy, Plus Some Suggestions

Well, I had hoped it would never come to this.  While Realms of Fantasy hasn't exactly been my favorite magazine, I'm very sorry that it has ceased publication and this will be my final review.  For the time being, at least.  It's come back twice before, so we can always hope. 

This issue wasn't planned as a final issue, so I don't know if there were any stories still in inventory.  I imagine if there were, the authors were paid a kill fee and hopefully some of them will see publication elsewhere.

Publisher William Gilchrist said in his farewell post on the magazine's website that the October issue would appear in print and would be late. He indicated that the issue should be available by November 15.  I haven't seen it, but it might not have arrived yet.  B&N tends to be late getting the print copies.  I bought the PDF version from the website.

Anyway, let's look at the fiction.

Indie Books: A Tsunami of...?

You hear a lot of talk in the publishing world these days about indie published ebooks.  Some think they're nothing short of the salvation of western civilization because they allow authors to connect directly to readers.  Others, to a large extent publishers, editors, and agents, insist that indie publishing will bury us all under a tsunami of crap.  And of course you every possible position in between those two extremes.

A couple of days ago, Passive Guy at The Passive Voice, posted something about a publisher reporting ebook sales.  In the comments section, Mick Griggs included a link to this essay.  (Thanks, PG and Mick.)

Mark Williams, the author of that essay insists, quite convincingly, that instead of  a tsunami of crap, we're starting to see a tsunami of excellence.  If you have an ereader, are thinking about buying an ereader, or even interested in what effect ereaders and epublishing will have on your future book buying, you should check that essay out.

I decided to do a little commentary myself, based on some things I've posted lately.

A Review of Stones by Gerald So, Yet Another Well-Done Ebook

Stones
Gerald So
various ebook formats, $0.99

Long ago, when the world was young, the Moon was new, dinosaurs ruled the land, and I was in high school, two of the three television networks decided to do what networks have always done.  (Yes, children, at one time there were only three television networks instead of half a million; if you didn't like what was on, you read a book.  There was no internet.  I told you, the world was young.)  They decided to cash in on the popularity a little movie entitled Raiders of the Lost Ark by airing shows in a similar vein, namely adventures set in the Pacific in the 1930s.

I don't remember which networks they were, and I'm too lazy to look it up.  One show was entitled Bring 'Em Back Alive, the fictitious adventures of real life big game hunter Frank Buck, author of a book of the same title, and starring Bruce Boxleitner.  The other was Tales of the Gold Monkey.  It starred Stephen Collins and several of the characters were spies.

It's Tales of the Gold Monkey that Stones most closely resembles.

Tisarian's Treasure: An Example of an Indie Published Ebook Done Right

Tisarian's Treasure
J. M. Martin
Cover by Peter Ortiz, interior illustrations by Julie Dillon
ebook 0.99, paperback $5.99

There's been a lot of discussion online over the last year about the quality of what are called indie published books by their proponents and disparagingly called self-published books by the publishing, agenting, and critical establishment.  You can probably tell from the title of this post as well as how I worded the previous sentence which side of the issue I come down on.

So, rather than simply discuss the merits of the story and the writing itself  in this novella, which I will do, I'd like, begging the indulgence of the author and artists, to go beyond that and discuss the qualities of the publishing as well. 

First J. K. Rowling; Who's Next?

It's been a busy week, and I've not had time to post as much as I'd like.  (I did manage to submit a story to a top pro market, so the week hasn't been a total wash.)

One thing that did happen, which is still echoing, was the announcement by J. K. Rowling that she will be publishing the Harry Potter books herself through a new website.  She's able to do this because she retains the rights to the electronic editions.  (If you want to know more about this, start with this series of posts by Passive Guy at The Passive Voice.)

There's been a lot of talk (mostly from publishers and agents) about how Rowling is an outlier, that most writers won't be able to do this.  I'm not so sure.  This could very well change publishing permanently.  For the first time an author will control access and price, not a publisher, not a distributor, not a buyer for a major chain, not Amazon. 

While the ramifications of this development are still being debated, I thought I would throw out a question:

What other authors, fantasy in particular but other genres are open to consideration, could be the next to pull something like this off?  Which ones would you like to see next? 

From what I understand, it takes some financial resources to put together a deal like this.  Forget the interactive website for a minute and just think about books.  Who do you think is a big enough name to self publish their works and sell directly from their website only without going through an intermediary?  I'm not talking about a newbie who doesn't have the audience, but someone who is a brand name.  I'm also not talking about an author like J. A. Konrath, who sells through Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, etc.  I'm talking about the author being the only source for the book.

Stephen King and Tom Clancy come to mind.  George R. R. Martin is riding high right now with a successful adaption of A Game of Thrones on HBO and the upcoming release of A Dance with Dragons.  He could probably pull it off.

I realize that many of the top names may not own the electronic rights to their works or have other contractual restrictions.  Let's assume for the sake of this discussion that those things don't apply.  Also, Rowling's announcement says she wants her readers to be able to read he books on any platform.  So let's assume that the ereader isn't an issue.

Who is next?

The Latest on ebooks

Passive Guy over at The Passive Voice has been doing an amazing job of keeping up with changes in the publishing world, frequently posting two or three items a day.  Today he posted this little tidbit about ebook sales surpassing paperback and hardback sales combined at Amazon.  If you're interested in where publishing is going, he's one of the people you ought to be reading.

More on Ebook Prices

My wife had surgery yesterday morning.  She's home now and doing fine, but I have been and will be a little distracted.  Also it doesn't help that I'm in the middle of final exams.  Point being, posts for the next few days, when there are any, will tend to be short and sweet.

So for your education and edification, let me refer you to the following post about ebook prices by Nik Fletcher, at the end of which he makes a couple of good suggestions.  And thanks to Passive Guy at The Passive Voice for making me aware of this post.

E-Book Prices: A Not-So-Brief Rant

Ok, the main point of this post is to vent my spleen.  I'm not sure what good it will do other than perhaps get some frustration out of my system.  But if you're reading this, you're probably among the people who would most understand.

I was browsing in the local Barnes and Noble over the weekend.  There were a number of books there in multiple genres that looked intriguing (no big surprise).  One in particular seemed to be a really good fit for this blog.  It was a new release in mass market paperback, and no, I'm not going to tell you the title.  I'll refrain out of respect to the author.  You'll see why in a minute.  It appeared to be something that would move quickly to the top of the TBR pile, both because it looked like something I would really enjoy as well as something the people who read this blog would be interested in.

Now, before I go any further, you need to understand something to get some context.

E-books, Self Publishing, and the Blog That Kicked a Hornet's Nest, Plus a Few Questions

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
Chris Anderson
Hyperion, 228 p., $15.95

You're probably wondering what a book on economics has to do with sword and sorcery, heroic fiction, and historical adventure?  Well, I'm going to tell you.  Everything.

Over at Dean Wesley Smith's site, he's been doing a number of blog posts on different topics.  One of them is a series on the New World of Publishing.  They're fascinating, thought provoking, controversial, and well worth your time if you have any interest at all in writing.  I'm still reading through them, and more are being continually added, but one of the first deals with self-publishing. 

It was once a stigma to self publish your book, to the point that many considered it to be the kiss of death.  Conventional wisdom at numerous convention panels aimed at writer wanna-be's said don't do it.  Ever.  Or else A Real Publisher Will Never Take You Seriously.  Well, perhaps it wasn't quite that extreme, but it was close at times. 

Now Mr. Smith, along with a number of other writers, are beginning to sing a different song.  One of the things I like about the comments to these posts is that a number of smart people don't hesitate to speak up.  In one of them, Laura Resnick, daughter of science fiction author Mike Resnick, and a bestselling author in her own right, mentioned this book along with a followup one that I'm going to read next. 

This book is a major reason I was late in getting the previous post up. I couldn't put it down.  Finally, I had to so I could finish The Heretic Kings.  I still haven't written the essay on "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune", the next in the series on Kull. 

The whole premise of the book is that in the 20th century, production and distribution of popular media (books, magazines, movies, music) was in the hands of a few people and/or corporations.  This lead to a front loaded filtering process whereby content was filtered preconsumer.  The result became a hit oriented business model in which the companies gamble on a small number of products every month, knowing that many or most wouldn't recoup their costs and hoping that one or two would make enough to cover the losers.  This led to a fairly uniform culture catering to the lowest common denominator.  Niche interests and markets tended to be marginalized due to cost effectiveness concerns.

Since the advent of the internet, desktop publishing, and related technologies, such as iTunes, ereaders, file sharing software, etc., the market is moving away from hits and more toward niches.  Anderson's argument isn't that hits are going away (they aren't), but that they are and will become less important than in the past.  More and more business will be done in what is known as the tail of the distribution, where niche markets for the first time can thrive, and those who cater to the niches can actually make a living without having to go through a corporate gatekeeper.  Instead, the gatekeeper will be the consumer, who through the use of technology (e.g, search engines, reader reviews, blogs) can find items (music, movies, books, etc.) that fit individual tastes.

Where this applies to publishing is that authors now have the power (if they recognize it and choose to use it) to publish their own books.  Indeed, many midlist authors are doing this with their out of print backlists.  But it's not just authors who have been published by New York.  I followed links through several sites and blogs a little over a week ago, and I ended up on a site run by a young woman (20-something) who, after being rejected by the major publishers, simply decided to self publish electronically.  In something on the order of a year, she was able to quit her day job.  She also had foreign publishers knocking on her door asking about foreign rights.  Now she was writing teenage vampire angst type stuff, so I don't know how well her experience would translate to sword and sorcery or historical fiction.

Much of the book content sold through some sort of electronic medium is not available in stores, even if a print copy from a major publisher exists.  My unscientific observation is that this is especially true for sword and sorcery, historical adventure, and any fantasy that isn't a Tolkien clone, sensitive vampires, or steampunk.  I had to special order Scott Oden's Lion of Cairo because my local Barnes and Noble didn't carry it.  (Look for a review here sometime in the next couple of months.)  Borders' announcement on Sunday that it was delaying payment for a second month just strengthens the arguments that brick-and-mortar stores may be in more danger than publishers.

The dicussions I've read have been lively, thought provoking, and often heated.  What Dean Wesley Smith and some others are essentially arguing is that now is the best time to be a writer.  While New York and traditional publishing won't ever go away, the action is shifting to the author who treats writing as a business rather than art. because they are the ones who will have the best of both worlds.

A challenge Smith has set for himself is to write two stories a week and publish them electronically.  The most recent will be available for free on his web site and will remain up until the new story is finished.  These stories are published in all the main electronic formats and available for sale on his site as well as e-book outlets such as Amazon.  With two weeks off for vacation, Mr. Smith will have written 100 new stories this year if he completes the challenge.  Furthermore, they will be for sale bringing him income.

Now, for those of you still with me, here's how this applies to the type of fiction readers of this blog want to read.  I see the possibility of an untapped source of sword and sorcery fiction and historical fiction..  This all sounds good in principle.  Writers of good adventure fiction could actually have careers without having to deal with sales numbers killing their books because their books will only be removed from the market when they, the writers, choose to remove them.  Reader reviews would guide potential readers to new authors.  Those who want to write this type of fiction could, and those who want to read it would have something to read, and what get published (and therefore read) would not be influenced by the marketing departments of New York conglomerate publishers.

Of course I could be completely off base with what I've been thinking.  Wouldn't be the first time.  So I want to run a brief informal survey.  Please feel free to respond in the comments.

Would you be willing to buy a story, collection, or novel electronically if it was self published by an author with name recognition?

Would you buy a self published story, collection, or novel if the author were unfamiliar to you but had good reader reviews?

How much would you be willing to pay?  Assume a short story would sell for 99 cents, which is pretty much the floor imposed by the existing royalty structures of Amazon, B&N, etc., and go from there.

Would you be willing to buy a collection of essays or nonfiction?

I'd really like to hear from some of you, especially those who have been following this blog since the beginning or close to it.  What do you think?  Are we on the cusp of a potential explosion of good adventure fiction, or am I dreaming?