ozma914 | Entries tagged with ebooks

I got an email the other day about a new book that's out:

Thanks for letting me know! I do know the author, but I didn't know I followed me.

Other than covering it in the newsletter, I haven't even made a public announcement that the newly rereleased The Notorious Ian Grant is out, yet. Maybe next week, if the print version is ready.

Then, the other other day, I was perusing the internet when I stumbled across this:

If you look closely you'll see Hoosier Hysterical is for sale used, on eBay. The print edition goes for ten bucks new; I went over to eBay and some of the used copies were priced at almost twice what they are new. I saw a "new" copy available--from Germany--for $24.88 ... PLUS shipping.

It just goes to show, you gotta shop around.

Or you could just follow our buy links:

· Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

· Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

· Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter

· Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/

· Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

· Audible: https://www.audible.com/search?searchAuthor=Mark+R.+Hunter&ref_pageloadid=4C1TS2KZGoOjloaJ&pf

I'm okay with our already-sold books being passed around--it's nice to gain readers. On the other hand, if you go to our links and buy new, we get a little of the money. I'm okay with that, too. (And no, I had nothing to do with any of these ads ... I mean, as far as I know.)

Facebook Wal-Mart Coming Attractions.jpg

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Read An E-book Week is here! While I know it's no Arbor Day, it does afford us an opportunity to ... well, read an e-book. I don't know who invents these things, but on Smashwords a free e-book sale runs from March 2nd to March 8th.

I don't know if reading a print book is banned during this period. It's not a legal holiday, so probably not. However, the advantage is that you could get a free e-book from me and a whole lot of other people, from this Smashwords link:

https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos

This is the third time in a year Smashwords has had a similar promotion, but it's never a bad time to fill up the reading device of your choice--especially if you fill it with Coming Attractions, the only book of mine that's up on Smashwords. (Other than the two anthologies I have stories in.) The link to Coming Attractions, which you can get on various formats, is here:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

The links to the two anthologies, also free, are here:

The Very True Legends of Ol' Man Wickleberry and his Demise - Ink Slingers' Anthlogy

Strange Portals - Ink Slingers' Fantasy/Horror Anthology

There's still plenty of bad weather yet to come, so grab the beverage of your choice, build a nest on the couch, and read on! It's way cheaper than most other hobbies.

Then you can read our other books:

· Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

· Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

· Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter

· Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/

· Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914

· Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/

· Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter

· Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter

· Substack: https://substack.com/@markrhunter

· Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

· Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

· Audible: https://www.audible.com/search?searchAuthor=Mark+R.+Hunter&ref_pageloadid=4C1TS2KZGoOjloaJ&pf

Remember: When it comes to books, there's very little bad that can be said about "free".

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Yes, Coming Attractions and the short story collection Storm Squalls are now audiobooks, available on Audible and Amazon, thanks to Kindle's virtual voice.

But be warned: The narration is done by, yes, a virtual voice.

I assumed, if you navigated your way over to the site and saw the words "Virtual voice is computer-generated narration for audiobooks", you'd assume that the audiobook had ... well, you know. Computer generated narration. But it's not so obvious, because my rating average for Storm Chaser was brought down by my first bad review, from someone who didn't like AI narration.

I can understand how it might bother some people. It's just that personally, if I didn't like computer narration, I wouldn't buy a computer narrated book.

They also didn't like the lack of adventure or Storm Chasing experiences. You people who've read the book will understand why that puzzled me, until I saw they didn't finish it. I guess if I didn't like the narration, I'd stop on page ten, too.

But never mind that. The point is, I can't afford professional narration right now, so this is the best I can do--and honestly, I think it's pretty good. But you know how writers are: It doesn't take much for us to start doubting ourselves.

Coming Attractions, in all three of its formats, can be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CY9F5L4X

It's a romantic comedy about an epic battle to save an Indiana drive-in from developers, and has absolutely no storm chasing in it.

Storm Squalls, a short story collection that does indeed include some weather-related adventures, can be found in all three formats here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKRBR9NV

It has three stories in it that weren't in the original version, which was unfortunately named Storm Chaser Shorts. My personal favorite is the never before seen "High Horse--Or, a Horse Tail", which is about a girl, her horse, and a wildfire, and an unreliable narrator.

Storm Squalls is a sequel to Storm Chaser and, with a few exceptions, a prequel to The Notorious Ian Grant, which we hope to get re-released when people stop getting sick. You'll recognize one of the characters, Beth Hamlin, from my young-adult adventure The No-Campfire Girls.

Try them out! In the format of your choice.

Or, of course, you can pick up any of our other books at the usual places:

· Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

· Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

· Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter

· Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/

· Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914

· Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/

· Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter

· Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter

· Substack: https://substack.com/@markrhunter

· Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

· Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

· Audible: https://www.audible.com/search?searchAuthor=Mark+R.+Hunter&ref_pageloadid=4C1TS2KZGoOjloaJ&pf

Remember: Audiobooks make those chores go faster.

Current Mood: hopeful

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Once again we're giving away Coming Attractions on ebook, as part of the Smashwords 2024 End of Year Sale. I'm sure we're all looking forward to the end of this particular year.

So starting December 12th and going on until January 1st (of what I'm sure will be as better year) get my novel Coming Attractions on e-book for free! That's a 99 percent price cut.

I think 99%. I became a writer because I hate math.

The catch: Since its a Smashwords sale, let's face it, you have to get it on Smashwords. The other catch is that I won't make any money, but if it attracts attention to our other books it's what sales people call a loss leader.

You can find the promo here: https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos starting, as mentioned, on December 12th. This is also a great chance to get the books of other authors, for free or at a promotional discount (after you get mine).

If you want to go directly to my account, it's at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914. There are two other books there, anthologies that I have short stories in: The Very True Legends of Ol' Man Wickleberry and his Demise: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/700221, and Strange Portals--Ink Slingers' Fantasy/Horror Anthology: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/499789.

You can get Coming Attractions (and the two anthologies) on epub, mobi, and pdf formats, or as an original document, so it should be readable to anyone with an e-reader, cell phone, or computer. The print version, sadly, is not part of the promotion.

This is indie author paradise, and indie authors could always use the help. So please, check it out and share the promo with your friends and family, and anyone looking for their next favorite book.

Happy reading!

Meanwhile, we and our books can still be found ... everywhere:

· Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

· Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

· Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter

· Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/

· Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914

· Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/

· Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter

· Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter

· Substack: https://substack.com/@markrhunter

· Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

· Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

Remember: A free book is like a get out of jail free card: You don't get charged.

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It occurs to me that time is running out to convince you to buy our books for Christmas. Okay, time actually has run out, depending on how you take delivery, but there are New Year’s presents, of course. It’s traditional in many parts of the world to read a book New Year’s morning while nursing your hangover.

*I use this photo a lot because it’s handy to remind me about that one book I always forget when listing them.*

Say, maybe I could sell more books by lying! After all, that’s what fiction is: Making up stories. Some people would say that’s what advertising is, too. Advertising is also short, so I’ll just give you a tasty sample, as if the books were made out of chocolate. (They aren’t—don’t try it.)

At the bottom of this blog, as always, are sites where you can find our books and/or find us. I use "us" in this case because without my wife/editor/cover designer/setup person/IT Department/butt kicker Emily, most of these books would have never seen the light of day.

Have you ever wished your history teacher stopped lecturing, and did a standup routine making fun of the subject, instead? That's Hoosier Hysterical. I've started taking notes for a sequel.

Imagine you attended a summer camp, and it turned out to be a series of disasters in which you and your friends must become heroes and save everyone. It's like getting a taste of what Harry Potter and his friends do over summer break, only funnier. That's The No-Campfire Girls.

I used to write a weekly humor column for some small town newspapers. Being paranoid, I wrote a bunch of columns in advance so I wouldn't miss a deadline. Not being paranoid enough, I didn't see it coming when the papers were bought out by a larger newspaper. They went in another, not funny, direction.

So all those unpublished columns ended up in a book. Later I collected some of the older published columns and put them in another book, so you can read Slightly Off the Mark and More Slightly Off the Mark without getting newsprint on your hands. And that saves soap.

My first published novel, Storm Chaser pairs a disaster photographer with an overprotective cop who just wants to get rid of her. In real life the whole thing would have led to arrests and protective orders, but this is romantic comedy land. Much to my surprise, it's now a series, including the short story collection Storm Squalls, a spin-off with the cop's sister, The No-Campfire Girls, and The Notorious Ian Grant, currently being prepared for republication. There is, of course, another sequel in the works.

As I said, in real life most romantic comedies would end in legal action of some sort. "She's stalking me!" "He's trying to destroy my world!" Coming Attractions involves an actual legal battle, to save a drive-in theater. I put the climactic scene in a courtroom right here in my home town, and although it's completely unrealistic, it's also a lot of fun.

Sadly, there are no (current) plans for a sequel, although just for fun I did once cross this world over with Storm Chaser in a Christmas short story.

Storm Chaser and Radio Red were originally released by the same traditional publisher. After that publisher was bought out, I got the rights back to the Storm Chaser stories. Radio Red doesn't get as much love because I don't have those rights back yet, and in my opinion they have the e-book price set too high for seven year old book by an unknown author. You're welcome to spend the $3.99, of course! And I had a lot of fun writing Radio Red, a romantic comedy pairing a small radio station owner with his new air personality.

But am I an unknown author, really? Well, according to official sources there are some 50,000 book authors traditionally published in the U.S. Including self-published works, about four million new books are published every year. So yes, unknown, just like everyone else. This is why I'm ~~begging~~ working for an audience.

Finally we have Images of America: Albion and Noble County and Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century or So With the Albion Fire Department. They were a lot of work, but well received by anyone who's read them. But both are local history books, which by nature are usually of interest only to local readers. My newest local history book, Haunted Noble County, Indiana, is with the publisher right now, but should come out late in 2025.

So that's it ... for now. But I have--brace yourself--no less than ten other books in various stages of production, from initial note taking to submitting completed manuscripts to publishers. Meanwhile here's a list of websites where you can peruse books, buy books, or just ponder my genius or lack thereof.

· Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

· Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"

· Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter

· Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/

· Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914

· Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/

· Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter

· Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter

· Substack: https://substack.com/@markrhunter

· Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

· Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

Remember: Every time a book gets rung up, an author gets his wings.

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Never mind how much a book is worth to you; how much is an author worth to you?

After all, a book is only a shaving off a tree, or a little blip of electricity. An author, on the other hand, is a living being who needs not only reviews and sales, but also coffee (or in my case tea), food, electricity, and occasionally a new laptop. My wife bought me a keyboard that feels and sounds just like a typewriter: It brings me great joy, but also cost about a month's worth of book sales.

Not that it was expensive, I just don't sell that many books.

Desks, computers, chairs, swords ... writing can be expensive.

How much a reader should pay for a book is a question that's been debated since Gutenberg bought too much ink and ran his first Black Friday sale. Among other things, it depends on your level of fame. The ebook edition of Stephen King's newest book is priced at $14.99, more than some of my print books. Our traditional publisher has our photo-heavy history book Images of America: Albion and Noble County priced at $12.99 as an ebook, and another publisher has my romantic comedy Radio Red at $3.99.

Guess how many books King sells, compared to me? Yep: The answer is "lots".

We do better with our self-published books, which run from 99 cents to $2.99 as ebooks. Fun fact: Some readers refuse to buy 99 cent books, assuming at that price they can't be any good. This assumption is both foolish and wrong. I suspect that price is often an act of desperation by good writers.

On the other end of it, Hoosier Hysterical has lots of pictures, and we can't sell it at less than $2.99 without losing money. That's the best we can do without just giving it away. Hold that thought.

No matter what the price, it's hard for lesser known authors to get into brick and mortar stores.

So, ten or twelve bucks for an electronic book. Crazy expensive, right? I mean, we don't have to pay for paper, ink, shipping ... how greedy can we be?

But how much is an author worth?

Three times I've written the rough draft of a book in thirty days. That's great, but it took a few weeks to prepare for the writing, then a month or two after to revise it before the story was decent enough for my wife to read. Then there's the revision after she returns it to me. The month of actual writing, when I push it hard, consists of working my full time job, writing, eating while writing, and nothing else. Some people can get books out the door faster, but I have to think they don't have full time jobs.

The old joke: An author can't make enough money to write full time until he's written and sold enough books, which he can't do until he writes full time.

So it goes.

So, a dollar for something it took me at least three months to produce, not including all the time spent on promotion and advertising? Writers are worth more than that. Even me.

Which brings us to giving books away for free.

Some authors swear that giving their ebooks away gets them so much attention that people come back and buy their other books, thus advancing their career in the long run. That seems to work for them, but it's not been my experience. Just the same, every July for the last few years I've entered the one novel I have up on Smashwords, Coming Attractions, into the Smashwords Summer/Winter sale.

Has it resulted in more readers for the other books? Not that I've noticed. It doesn't even lead to that many readers picking it up for free. Smashwords has a lot of authors, so my deal has to fight for attention with all those other deals. On the other hand, my sales aren't great in July to begin with, and it doesn't seem to be doing me any harm, either.

I'm curious how you, both the reader and the writer, feel on the subject. Maybe I'll try other giveaways at some point, even though I don't think authors should have to do that. I also don't think authors should have to spend so much time promoting and advertising, but welcome to the real world. How do you feel on the subject?

Oh, and Coming Attractions is free here:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

But you already knew that.

Summer themed. Well, kinda.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter
Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter
Substack: https://substack.com/@markrhunter
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

Remember: Every time you get a book for free, it counts as a free book.

Current Mood: contemplative

Tags:

books,
coming attractions,
ebooks,
giveaway,
hoosier hysterical,
images of america: albion and noble coun,
promotion,
publicity,
publishing,
romance,
romantic comedy,
smashwords,
writing

Four of our books are finally up as audiobooks! Do you hear me?

I know what you're thinking: "But Mark, you can't afford to engineer an audiobook!"

What's that? You're actually thinking, "I wonder if white socks have to be dyed, or if colored socks have to be bleached?" Fine. But just the same, they're up on that audiobook powerhouse, Audible.com.

https://www.audible.com/search?searchAuthor=Mark+R.+Hunter

The books, not the socks. I guess the socks would be in the category of Sole Music.

Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, in one of those cases of "We should have seen it coming", is offering authors a chance to use Virtual Voice to make their works into audiobooks. I was contacted to beta the service, as was, I suspect, every other writer on Amazon. But audiobooks have become a big thing, and I can't afford a service, or the equipment and time to do it myself.

The first one I tried was Storm Chaser. I found the process easy, and the voice acceptable. It is a virtual voice; the term "virtual" has become a dirty word among artists, but this one isn't stealing from someone to make something. Anyone interested in trying it should read a sample first, to see if they're okay with the voice.

https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Storm-Chaser/dp/B0CYB9RHFS

Pay no attention to the voice behind that book!

The second I converted was The No-Campfire Girls. Since the book is almost entirely from the POV of a teenage girl, I chose a female narrator for that one. The price I used for all four books is $3.99, which is low for an audiobook but within reason. Amazon's "free" service gets a cut of that, of course.

https://www.amazon.com/Audible-the-No-Campfire-Girls/dp/B0CY9TVJKC

Seriously, there's no one there. You're imaging those legs.

The other two are my straight humor books, Slightly Off the Mark and More Slightly Off the Mark. (This is as opposed to books like Hoosier Hysterical, which are a mix of humor and other things. But they're still funny. Trust me.)

https://www.amazon.com/Slightly-off-Mark-Unpublished-collected/dp/B0CYP4SR1J

https://www.amazon.com/More-Slightly-off-Mark-reconditioned/dp/B0CY7WWQPK

I'd love for these books to get popular enough to generate a series--I have lots of columns to go.

It was only, oh, this week that I found out Audible is now an Amazon owned service, so ... yay!

Of our other books, some I can't get converted to audio right now due to technical problems, which we're working on. Some I just don't think would work as audiobooks. Images of America: Albion and Noble County is a photo-heavy book, and I'm not sure I could do this without permission of its traditional publisher, anyway. Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights is a toss-up, but being a local history book on a niche subject, I'm not sure there's any point in trying.

Listen to a sample and let me know what you think. If it works, it's a great chance to expand our audience. If it doesn't ... well, all it took was a little time out of my life when I would have been watching "Resident Alien".

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter
Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter
Substack: https://substack.com/@markrhunter
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

Remember: If you're going to hear voices, it's better to know where they're coming from.

Current Mood: hopeful

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On most of my blogs I end with links to our website, along with Amazon, and Barnes and Noble links. But Coming Attractions is distributed through Smashwords, which is a bit of a different story. (Smashwords also distributes the two ebook anthologies I have stories in.)

Wait, what?

So, just in time for Christmas, here are the links where you may find some of our other books, but can always find that particular one:

Smashwords (naturally):

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ozma914

(There's a dashing photo of me in my turnout gear on the page ... but the lack of a beard indicates it's an old one.)

Apple Books (which actually has five of our books):

books.apple.com/us/author/mark-r-hunter/id1025271801

Barnes and Noble, of course, has a handful:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Mark%20R.%20Hunter%22

Gardners Extended Retail!

https://www.gardners.com/Search/KeywordAnonymous/eBook?Keyword=mark+r.+hunter&searchPreferences=0&fq=14123

No, I've never heard of them, either. I was able to find several of our books there, but you have to have a free account with them to view the details.

Kobo has a few:

www.kobo.com/us/en/author/mark-r-hunter

Then there's Odilo, of course:

https://marketplace.odilo.us/opac/#index

Never heard of them; but if you search for Mark R. Hunter you'll find Coming Attractions and our Images of America book.

And naturally, there's Scribd!

~~https://www.scribd.com/author/340537901/Mark-R-Hunter~~

I actually have heard of them, but never mind. Apparently they've sent all their ebooks to a place called Everand, https://www.everand.com/author/340537901/Mark-R-Hunter, which is a subscription service.

So, when you add to those our Amazon account:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO

(Amazon is why some of our stuff doesn't get around to other places--long story.)

And our website:

http://www.markrhunter.com/

You have ... a list!

I've also shown up on a lot of those sketchy sites where I never put it; the internet equivalent of some guy selling books out of the back of his van. "Hey, mister ... check out this romantic comedy. I also have watches and used wallets."

Honestly, the list is partially for me, so I remember, but I'll take sales wherever I can get them. Have any of you encountered any of our books elsewhere on the net? Let me know, and I'll add it to the list.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0058CL6OO
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/"Mark R Hunter"
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4898846.Mark_R_Hunter
Blog: https://markrhunter.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.markrhunter.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ozma914/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRHunter914
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrhunter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkRHunter
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRHunter
Substack: https://substack.com/@markrhunter
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/ozma914

Remember, if you give books instead of bigger presents, Santa has more room on his sled. Hold out for that second present!

Current Mood: hopeful

Tags:

Slightly Off the Mark

Writing Star of Stage, Screen, and ... Well, Mostly Screen

Free E-Book, Again

Coming Attractions and Storm Squalls are now audiobooks

You Deserve a Free Book This Year

Books For Holiday Buying or: It's Not Promotion If I Keep It Fun

How Much Is An Author Worth?

Four Of Our Books Are Now Audiobooks, Or So I Hear

More Places To Find Coming Attractions ... and Others

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