From the Desk of J.M. Poole

My wife took this pic and asked me to post it on the blog.  What is it?  Well, have a look:

Figured out what you’re looking at?  This is my wife’s printed copy of the first three chapters of TfaP (Tales of Lentari #4).  Has she read ’em?  Yep.  Does she like it so far?  Yep!  Has she offered suggestions?  Of course.

Progress is jumping forward by leaps and bounds.  I just passed the 25,000+ word mark on ToL4.  Anyone who knows how fast I write will admit that’s a pretty decent pace.  Who do I have to thank?

My wife, of course.  She really, Really, REALLY wants me to finish.  Each day I hear, “have you finished the next chapter yet?”.  Over and over.  But you know what?  That’s okay.  I love that she’s encouraging me to finish.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

J.

How many times have you started a new year, made a resolution or two, and promised to keep them?  Were you successful?  I fall into that category, too.  The difference this year, in my honest opinion, is that I really want this to happen.  This is not an I-want-to-lose-weight type of resolution by an actual determination to do something in particular.  What is it, you might ask?

I want to go pro.

That means no more computer tech.  No more helping little old ladies troubleshoot why their computer won’t turn on.  I truly want to become a professional writer, like several of my friends are.  So can I do it?  Well, it means an enormous amount of work.  I have to become more prolific in my writing.  More book releases.  More consistency.

I have more adventures set for Lentari, but I’m also itching to try something new.  I have a few possible stories that would make great books.  If I can increase my number of titles then I can certainly give it a try.

So, can I do it?  I sure as hell am gonna try!

That’s it.  That’s my resolution.  If I want to become a profressional writer then I need to write more.  I need to release more titles each year.  I need to increase my word count.  Exponentially.  It’ll mean a lot of work for me, but I think I can do it.

What are some of your resolutions?  Anyone care to share?

J.

How would you like to be one of the first people to own a signed print copy of A Portal For Your Thoughts (Tales of Lentari #3)?  It’ll be hot off the presses, I guarantee you!

What do you have to do?  Well, this contest will be open to any and all fans of the series, regardless of where you live.  To enter, all you need to do is to answer the following questions, which I will hide behind the collapsible bar:

Post a comment with your answers.  Try not to look at what everyone else has answered!

Good luck!

Ok, since I’m rapidly approaching tfe finish line for aPfyT, I thought I’d start offering up some copies on ebook of Lost City, the first novel in the Tales of Lentari series.  Here’s what we’ll do.  I’ll post some useless movie trivia and the first three people who answer correctly will win Smashwords coupon codes for a copy of Lost City (Tales of Lentari #1) for themselves or else someone they know.

Unless, of course, you just want to test your movie trivia against mine, which is completely fine.  If you’re playing for one of the codes just tell me.  🙂

Remember, no Googling!!  This is a test of your memory banks.  If you know the answer then post it below, along with your favorite Lentarian character, and you are entered!  Good luck!

J.

Are you an indie author getting ready to release a book?  Whether it’s your first title or your fifth, there are always a list of preparations you probably go through to ascertain your launch is as successful as possible.  If you’d like to hear what we do (myself, Lindsay Buroker, and Jo Lallo) when we’re ready to release a new title then check out the latest episode of our Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast.

We take turns interviewing each other, asking about:

• Previous book launches.  What have we done?
• Current book launches.  What do we do now?
• What types of advertising do we or are we planning on using?
• And so on…

Hello my fellow citizens of Lentari!  As promised, I have posted my third short story, The Hunt for Red Oskorlisk, free of charge to whoever would like to read it.  Oh, what’s this?  The post is password protected?  Well, whatever might the password be?

What could it be?  Well, since everyone did such a fantastic job translating the runes to learn what the title of the next full length novel in the Tales of Lentari series will be, I hereby propose another challenge:

The password

You might recognize a few letters from the book title.  What does this word mean?   The only thing I’ll say is that this unique word shows up in one of the books.  Good luck!

If you’re an Indie Author then chances are you’ve asked yourself the following questions:

• How do I go about getting my manuscript self-published?
• What do I do about the cover?
• Now that I’ve published/released my book, what now?  How do I attract a following?

I was asked (& I accepted!) to be a part of the “Marketing SFF” group spearheaded by fellow authors Lindsay Buroker and Joseph Lallo.  What we (plan to) do is interview other authors and ask them what they’ve done, or are doing, to achieve the success that they have.  What’s important to them?  How did they make their covers?  What type of marketing have they done?

Thus far we have learned about the importance of editing, selecting the right book cover, how to find an editor, how to build up a fan base, what NOT to do when finding a publisher, and so on.  My turn in the chair happened last night.  If you don’t mind hearing my boring voice drone on and on then I would encourage you to have a listen!

Yep, that’s me.  Our hope is to help our fellow indiw authors avoid our mistakes, take advantage of our advice, and release a good quality book.  For those that’d prefer to download just the audio, here’s the link:

Download mp3 audio for Jeffrey M. Poole’s interview