Around 2008 or so I started getting back in to writing at a good pace again, fascinated by the idea of bypassing the "gatekeepers" and getting my stories out there on blogs and the like. I considered going with CreateSpace to print my first book. I did some audio of a short story set on my world and put it up on my retro computer blog, the C64Walkabout. It got thousands of hits/downloads, so I was encouraged.
Enter 2010. eBooks were finally out of their decade-long infancy and were becoming more popular and easier to read on a variety of devices. iPads were number 1 on X-mas wish lists. I started taking this approach seriously.
Dr. Marc H. Miyake, a long time friend and writing companion, expressed his interest in the new and revised backdrop for my stories. I presented ideas and he put them through the wringer, throwing them back at me with question after question, helping me firm up the lore. With Marc's constant feedback I ended up taking the world of Globe-Hurler in a creepier and more deadly direction. Where there were once green terraformed fields, nightmarish crawling "mega" flesh carpeted and stretched out across the land, threatening the home of the hero. Energized by the new setting, I wrote it in roughly two months and spent the last month or so tweaking and revising, again with Marc's input.
After finally taking 3 months out of my life to get the first story out and onto digital ink, I'm very happy with the results. Marc, a linguistics expert with experience in the comic book industry acted as my unpaid editor, reading extensively every bit of what I wrote. My father, a fan of similar settings like Planet of the Apes and Dune, offered his input as well on my early drafts.
I went with Smashwords, a site that has exploded in popularity, that allows authors to self-publish for free and get assigned ISBNs. It also acts as a gateway to other digital publishers if you meet certain style guidelines and get into their "premium catalog". The eBooks get sent off to Amazon, B&N, etc. and are sold there as well.
For now it is here, available at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/51238
Now that it's finally done, I look forward to writing more!
Reading It!
"Do I need an e-Reader device?" people have asked me. No, you do not. If you are reading this text on a computer now, then you can read an eBook.
The "Online Reading" option at Smashwords is the simplest and requires installing nothing. You can read a preview of the book right now using that method, here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/51238
If you decide to buy the book (many thanks if you do!) I recommend a free e-Reader software download. A local copy / download of the book file allows you to read the full book without a connection to the Internet or logging in to Smashwords.
An e-Reader like a Kindle is a portable convenience that can be easy on the eyes, but many devices can act as eReaders. Smashwords has already ported my book to multiple formats including support for mobile phone readers.
Chances are that you already have Adobe Acrobat for reading PDF files on your PC right now, but if you don't:
A nice free eReader for your laptop or desktop is Kindle for PC: http://tinyurl.com/yja443f Just click the big blue button and run the install program. Easy peasy.
If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat Reader already, it's also free, and available here: http://www.adobe.com/products/reader.html
Both are simple download and run installations that take a minute.
Once you've downloaded them you can take advantage of all of the cheap and sometimes even free eBooks and short stories at Smashwords.
I hope you enjoy my book!
