A suggestion: My novel, THE PENCIL ARTIST
is available as an e-book on Smashwords, Kindle,
and Barnes
and Noble; as a paperback on Amazon.
Showing posts with label The Hero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Hero. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Outstanding download status for THE HERO by Kenneth C. Crowe
My free e-novel, THE HERO, realized 25,198 downloads last month. Originally, I intended to list it in my stats as a best seller, but of course that is an old fashioned traditional publishers term and it is not for sale. So in search of another designation, I arrived at “outstanding download status.”
THE HERO is available on Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Apple and Sony. I compare a free e-book download to someone taking a novel from a library shelf. The borrower might read it or return it to the library unopened or having decided it is not worth reading. So I am not under the illusion that every download means a book read.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Disdain for the unpaid novelist
I looked into the eyes of a novelist friend over lunch last week and sensed disdain as I told him that I was approaching 45,000 downloads of my free ebooks, three novels: THE DREAM DANCER, THE HERO, and THE JYNX.
He put the old fashioned notion of writing for money that I saw in his eyes into words: “And how much have you been paid.” No question mark. It wasn’t a question, but I will answer it:
I wasn’t paid in cash, but the profit has come in other forms. Before I made the novels free I charged to read them, managing to sell a few dozen. I wanted a larger audience and I have achieved that along with the occasional review or “like it,” or stars.
My novelist friend’s one novel, published many years ago, is still for sale as previously owned on Amazon with other reaping the cash; and it is available in public libraries as a free read. No money to be made there either. He hasn’t been able to find a traditional publisher for his later works; I know that empty feeling.
In case you are curious, I do have three more novels for sale at modest prices on the various internet sites (Kindle, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple iTunes, Sony, etc. They are: OOOEELIE, THE TRUCKERS, and THE ABSCONDER.
He put the old fashioned notion of writing for money that I saw in his eyes into words: “And how much have you been paid.” No question mark. It wasn’t a question, but I will answer it:
I wasn’t paid in cash, but the profit has come in other forms. Before I made the novels free I charged to read them, managing to sell a few dozen. I wanted a larger audience and I have achieved that along with the occasional review or “like it,” or stars.
My novelist friend’s one novel, published many years ago, is still for sale as previously owned on Amazon with other reaping the cash; and it is available in public libraries as a free read. No money to be made there either. He hasn’t been able to find a traditional publisher for his later works; I know that empty feeling.
In case you are curious, I do have three more novels for sale at modest prices on the various internet sites (Kindle, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple iTunes, Sony, etc. They are: OOOEELIE, THE TRUCKERS, and THE ABSCONDER.
A suggestion: My novel, THE PENCIL ARTIST
is available as an e-book on Smashwords, Kindle,
and Barnes
and Noble; as a paperback on Amazon.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Attention Matt Damon: review of THE HERO
Two four-star reviews of THE HERO on Kindle:
The Hero is a keeper, September 11, 2011
By ohara:
Most of the self-published books on Kindle that I've bought have been duds, but not The Hero. Interestingly, it begins as a romance, then morphs into a mystery/thriller that I couldn't put down. Retired reporter Ken Crowe has woven together a great story and engaging characters, with just enough color to securely anchor it in time and place. This could easily be the basis for a Matt Damon film.
Don't miss it, November 23, 2011
By M. Simpson "Kindle lover"
I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. It took a while for the mystery to develop but I didn't mind. The book was good even when it was a romance. It was a truly entertaining story from the beginning to the very end.
The Hero is a keeper, September 11, 2011
By ohara:
Most of the self-published books on Kindle that I've bought have been duds, but not The Hero. Interestingly, it begins as a romance, then morphs into a mystery/thriller that I couldn't put down. Retired reporter Ken Crowe has woven together a great story and engaging characters, with just enough color to securely anchor it in time and place. This could easily be the basis for a Matt Damon film.
Don't miss it, November 23, 2011
By M. Simpson "Kindle lover"
I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. It took a while for the mystery to develop but I didn't mind. The book was good even when it was a romance. It was a truly entertaining story from the beginning to the very end.
A suggestion: My novel, THE PENCIL ARTIST
is available as an e-book on Smashwords, Kindle,
and Barnes
and Noble; as a paperback on Amazon.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Bibliotastic review of THE HERO
An editor at Bibliotastic (www.bibliotastic.com), the London-based publisher and distributor of free ebooks, gave my novel, THE HERO, four stars and a very nice review:
I liked this story. It kept me interested and guessing as to where it would end up. I particularly liked Ryan as the character who is delving into things that bring up a past he would much rather forget. His character is really well written and has his own secrets. I also liked how Nicky's story was interwoven with his. Overall I thought the story was full of intrigue and well worth reading. It had plenty of twists and turns!
In addition, Bibliotastic redid the cover of THE HERO. I like their version much better than my own. Check out the Bibliotastic website to see it.
I liked this story. It kept me interested and guessing as to where it would end up. I particularly liked Ryan as the character who is delving into things that bring up a past he would much rather forget. His character is really well written and has his own secrets. I also liked how Nicky's story was interwoven with his. Overall I thought the story was full of intrigue and well worth reading. It had plenty of twists and turns!
In addition, Bibliotastic redid the cover of THE HERO. I like their version much better than my own. Check out the Bibliotastic website to see it.
A suggestion: My novel, THE PENCIL ARTIST
is available as an e-book on Smashwords, Kindle,
and Barnes
and Noble; as a paperback on Amazon.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Bibliotastic an inviting new outlet for indie authors
Every indie author hungers for a review, no less a number of reviews. Bibliotastic.com, the latest indie author outlet on the scene, not only urges its audience to review the ebooks downloaded but also provides a team of in-house reviewers. Potentially, you can get inside and outside reviews.
When the site was officially launched on Feb. 6, 2011, London-based bibliotastic proclaimed that it “aspires to be to the free ebook market what YouTube is to user-generated video.” That is pretty ambitious, but what really caught my eye was the statement by Bernard Gerard, one of the co-founders, said: “What our authors long for more than anything is feedback from the reader.” No kidding. All of us indie authors hunger for just that.
I have added my novel, THE HERO, to bibliotastic.com’s list in the mystery category. I look forward to a review of THE HERO by the bibliotastic.com editors with some excitement and trepidation. Will they get around to reviewing it; will they find it marvelous, mundane or somewhere in between? My personal opinion: I consider THE HERO a really good book, better than most, but nowhere as good as my novel, THE DREAM DANCER, which is the closest I have come to a work of art.
The bibliotastic site lists three regular reviewers; it is worth going to the page to read their brief bios. With just three regulars it could be a while to read your book reviewed, if ever. So indie authors had better hurry to list their books before the queues for reviews go around the block.
When the site was officially launched on Feb. 6, 2011, London-based bibliotastic proclaimed that it “aspires to be to the free ebook market what YouTube is to user-generated video.” That is pretty ambitious, but what really caught my eye was the statement by Bernard Gerard, one of the co-founders, said: “What our authors long for more than anything is feedback from the reader.” No kidding. All of us indie authors hunger for just that.
I have added my novel, THE HERO, to bibliotastic.com’s list in the mystery category. I look forward to a review of THE HERO by the bibliotastic.com editors with some excitement and trepidation. Will they get around to reviewing it; will they find it marvelous, mundane or somewhere in between? My personal opinion: I consider THE HERO a really good book, better than most, but nowhere as good as my novel, THE DREAM DANCER, which is the closest I have come to a work of art.
The bibliotastic site lists three regular reviewers; it is worth going to the page to read their brief bios. With just three regulars it could be a while to read your book reviewed, if ever. So indie authors had better hurry to list their books before the queues for reviews go around the block.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Three radically different novels
Over the past year, I have uploaded three radically-different novels, OOOEELIE, THE HERO, and THE TRUCKERS, onto the web primarily via Kindle, Amazon, and Smashwords.
Writers often tend to tell the same story in different forms in their train of books. Obviously, I have successfully avoided that dip in the road:
OOOEELIE’s protagonist is an Airedale, the reincarnation of a canine creature on an interstellar journey who crash-landed on earth tens of thousands of years ago. Ever since, as in all good dog stories, Oooeelie has been trying to find a way home to his planet in the Sirius (Dog Star) system. He has come down to modern times through a chain of lives as a dog with two natures: the superior being and the animal.
Ryan Garrity, whose dream of a career as a professional soldier was shattered on a battlefield in Korea, is the protagonist of THE HERO. Ryan is a bookstore operator, who suffers from the guilt of failing to have expressed gratitude to the soldier who courageously saved his life. After returning to civilian life Ryan’s savior is killed saving a young woman from an onrushing subway train in Queens. The plot of THE HERO spins around Ryan’s effort told against a background of mysticism, arrogant duplicity and murder to determine why the soldier was denied a Congressional Medal of Honor.
THE TRUCKERS is a novelistic sequel to my nonfiction book, COLLISION, about Ron Carey’s successful campaign to capture the presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from the union’s old guard. There are two protagonists in THE TRUCKERS: Tommy Kerrigan and Helmut Knall who are uneasy allies dedicated to transforming the nation’s largest union, the Truckers International Union, into a progressive force capable of dragging the American labor movement out of the quagmire that is sucking it under. Tommy emerges as a legendary hero experiencing great triumphs and tragedy. Helmut is the unwavering force behind the Truckers rank and file reform movement.
A suggestion: my novel, THE TRUCKERS, has been described as a fun read. It is serious and tragic too. Try it free on Kindle, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, or Apple.
Writers often tend to tell the same story in different forms in their train of books. Obviously, I have successfully avoided that dip in the road:
OOOEELIE’s protagonist is an Airedale, the reincarnation of a canine creature on an interstellar journey who crash-landed on earth tens of thousands of years ago. Ever since, as in all good dog stories, Oooeelie has been trying to find a way home to his planet in the Sirius (Dog Star) system. He has come down to modern times through a chain of lives as a dog with two natures: the superior being and the animal.
Ryan Garrity, whose dream of a career as a professional soldier was shattered on a battlefield in Korea, is the protagonist of THE HERO. Ryan is a bookstore operator, who suffers from the guilt of failing to have expressed gratitude to the soldier who courageously saved his life. After returning to civilian life Ryan’s savior is killed saving a young woman from an onrushing subway train in Queens. The plot of THE HERO spins around Ryan’s effort told against a background of mysticism, arrogant duplicity and murder to determine why the soldier was denied a Congressional Medal of Honor.
THE TRUCKERS is a novelistic sequel to my nonfiction book, COLLISION, about Ron Carey’s successful campaign to capture the presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from the union’s old guard. There are two protagonists in THE TRUCKERS: Tommy Kerrigan and Helmut Knall who are uneasy allies dedicated to transforming the nation’s largest union, the Truckers International Union, into a progressive force capable of dragging the American labor movement out of the quagmire that is sucking it under. Tommy emerges as a legendary hero experiencing great triumphs and tragedy. Helmut is the unwavering force behind the Truckers rank and file reform movement.
A suggestion: my novel, THE TRUCKERS, has been described as a fun read. It is serious and tragic too. Try it free on Kindle, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, or Apple.
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