October is Fan Month!

So as we draw to a close on September (huh? what? where did that month go, eh?) I thought I’d let you in on just ONE of the cool things that will be happening in October. I happen to love October. It’s my birthday month, it was my late father’s birthday month (we usually celebrated together, which was always nice) and Halloween happens to be at the end. So I thought it would be fun to turn this October into “Fan Month.” Everyday throughout the month, I will be calling one fan each day, thanking them for their support, and having a quick chat with them. It’s completely unscripted stuff and it’s your chance to ask me pretty much anything you want (within reason). I’ll be doing these video calls over Skype and recording them for everyone to watch. They’ll last about 10 minutes and it’s my way of saying thank you to a select group of folks who have been kind enough to buy my work and stand behind me as I travel this crazy path of being a writer.

All you need to do to throw your name into the hat and possibly get picked is be a fan of my work: and by that I mean you should be up-to-date on all of my writing, whether it’s Lawson or some of the standalone work I’ve done. Ideally, you’ve read most of my stuff and have questions about my writing process, my venture into indie ebooks, traditional publishing, TV production, etc. etc. etc.

Now, you’ve got to be okay with the fact that I’m recording these calls and using them as I see fit (which means I’ll make them public, cross-post them on Youtube and Facebook, and generally make them available for anyone to see and comment on) as well as be available on the day of the call (winners will be notified beforehand in order to schedule things properly.) But I think this will be a ton of fun. Each day Monday-Friday, we’ll do a fan call and then post them. I’m sure they’ll be amusing, entertaining, and will lead many people to the spiritual enlightenment they seek.

Well, maybe not that last one.

But they will be fun!

HOW TO ENTER: Okay, so let’s get to it. Want to chat with me? All you have to do is send your name, email, and your favorite line from one of my works (something a character said or something written in the narrative) to jonfmerz AT verizon DOT net. That’s it. I’ll start picking the winners immediately and scheduling the calls. Not up to speed on my work and want to get caught up? For Kindle users, you can find my work here. And for Nook users, the list of available work is here.

Get going! 🙂

30,000 EBooks

Today marks a nice milestone: since February of this year, I’ve sold 30,000 ebooks. When I started putting up my backlist in late-January, I had no idea what I was in for. Would everything flop? Would it take off?

The results are pretty damned awesome, actually. 30,000 is a great number (although I’m obviously shooting for 100,000 by the end of the year) and knowing that I’m finding an audience for my work is truly a blessing. The majority of my sales are for my Lawson Vampire series and that’s good news as well. Given everything (hint, hint) that will be happening soon around THAT, it’s good to know that more people are discovering Lawson every month. In fact, out of the 30,000 ebooks I’ve sold, I’d say roughly 25,000 are sales of my various Lawson adventures, more on the Kindle than on the Nook, but strong everywhere. Lawson has proven his worth as an enduring and endearing character. He’s not for everyone (only the sexy people, lol) but those who know him seem to enjoy him.

Even with the summer slowdown, my ebooks have continued to sell consistently across the board. I’ve got new releases coming soon, plus plans to offer pretty much everything in print. And audio as well. Big things are afoot for the Autumn months. But you’ll hear more on that in the coming weeks. Plus, I hope to finally be able to reveal who my publisher is for my new Fantasy series. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I’d like to add one final thought: thank you. Thank you for being a supporter of my work. Thank you for talking it up to friends and family. Thank you for hopping on-board the adventures I create and allowing me to whisk you away into the crazy chaos that is my fiction. With your permission, I’ll gladly be doing it for many, many years to come.

Have a great day and thanks again!

What Is #wintel?

So this morning, I started a little something new out on Twitter. I read a lot of material relating (sometimes directly and often indirectly) to the world of writing and publishing. After all, I consider this a business and as such, I need to constantly monitor information that may help me grow my business or otherwise avoid certain pitfalls.

Some of this material is pretty good stuff. And so, this morning, I started tweeting about some of it, using the hashtag #wintel after my tweets. What is #wintel? It’s “writer’s intelligence,” in other words, intelligence/information that I think writers should know about.

We started today with three articles (although I may post a few more) and it’s my hope that you all find these things interesting, especially if you’re in the biz. Here’s what we looked at:

1. Donna K. Fitch highlights three books she found useful for e-publishing (full disclosure: my book, “How To REALLY Sell EBooks” is one of them”)

2. India experiences a new wave of scam literary agents, which is especially important given that Amazon will be opening a storefront there later this year.

3. A lawsuit alleges that the Big 6 publishing houses have vastly under-reported ebook sales figures to their authors. The same law firm handling this case is also alleging Apple is engaging in price fixing.

Each day I will try to contribute some good stuff I think writers should know. If you like the articles, please retweet or repost them with the hashtag #wintel at the end. It’s writer’s intelligence, but it’s also a “win.” 🙂

3-Book Deal

So, last Friday on my way to Canobie Lake Park, I got a nice call from my agent who told me that we had a nice offer from a new publisher for a 3-book deal. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited. I’ve wanted to work with this particular editor for a while and I’m really looking forward to his tutelage and being able to expand my writing skills. This is a new genre for me: specifically, sword & sorcery, but I’ve always wanted to do a series in it since I grew up devouring Fantasy series as fast as I could read ’em.

I can’t reveal the publishing house just yet, nor can I tell you the editor’s name, or the actual working title of any of the books (although I will be able to hopefully soon), but let’s just say it’s good to know that I’ll have three new books coming out into bookstores – and I’ll be reaching a whole new audience for my writing.

I’ll still be doing my indie publishing of ebooks and the various projects I have going on there will continue. But I don’t like putting all of my eggs into one basket; I like knowing that I’ll have print books out in stores, ebooks for the ever-growing global community that loves them, and TV/film projects as well. I’m an entertainer – so I’ll make sure my work gets out into whatever format it needs to be in in order to make sure it reaches its audience.

In the meantime, if you haven’t read my ebook NINJA yet, which is available for the Kindle, perhaps you should.

Just sayin’

>wink< >wink< 🙂

PREY or PRAY?

There comes a point every summer when we start longing for the cooler temperatures of the fall. It’s August and by now, the sun’s rays have baked the earth around us. Humidity makes it feel like every step you take is in the deepest, darkest jungle where breathing is hot, wet, and just painful. We drink, but it never seems to be enough to stave off the blistering solar assault above us.

So, our thoughts naturally turn to those days when cool breezes wash over us, bringing relief. When the dancing leaves are harbingers of the first flakes of snow, drifting down in a delicate ballet reflective of nature’s own ethereal rhythm. At this time of year, we look forward to those days, with the bite of promised snow in the air, the gathering clouds of some far off storm bloating the heavens, and the eventual crackle of wood upon a blazing hearth.

With that in mind, I hereby present my offer of solace from the August heat. PREY will transport you the bottom of the world to the snowy mountains of Antarctica, where the frigid winds carry the promise of something sinister and hidden, locked away in an icy tomb until a group of scientists discovers it.

Now, they’re being hunted.

And as darkness falls at the bottom of the world, the real terror begins.

Prey is available for both the Kindle and the Nook. It’s a ticket to adventure in the frozen reaches of the Antarctic wilderness.

And the horrors that await.