Adventure Beyond the Stars – Written for Readers Who Want More

Tag: marketing

  • Gresham Institute of Science and Technology

    Gresham Institute of Science and Technology

    Spooky Spectacle report, dissected puzzles, Tea Cakes, academic institutions and the Little Rock Bible. All this week’s Secret Knowledge is below…

    No author appearance this weekend.

    Spooky Spectacle was a disappointment in sales at the show, but most of the books improved their sales rank, so there may have been some significant Kindle and/or Audible sales after the show. Something improved the ranking.

    After their visit to Visita de San Miguel Arcángel, Sekmet observes that they have the edges, but not the center of a dissected puzzle. You see, in 1894, they weren’t called “jigsaw puzzles” yet, because the jigsaw was too new. They also didn’t have the peg and notch arrangement that modern puzzles have. They did have pictures, or often maps, called “dissected puzzles” – like the pictured ones about Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show pictured.

    Walter, Eleanor, and Sekmet have a discussion in The Corridor That Wasn’t about what they might find behind various doors. Sekmet and Eleanor decide a room full of tea cakes would be nice and Walter has a difficult time being the stern father figure, especially after Sekmet invokes his favorite type of tea cake. (Hint: it has pecans…)

    I wanted George Washington Carver to do his Agronomy and Extension work in Galveston instead of Tuskegee. That meant I needed an academic institute for him to work at – The Gresham Institute of Science and Technology. That meant I had to detail Crystal Keep University, Crystal Keep Holdings, Booker T. Washington, and the replacement for the Tuskegee Institute – The Arkansas Institute of Applied Science. Since it was at the University of Arkansas, I needed to detail that. Since the University of Arkansas had four founding colleges, I had to detail those: The College of Nations, Little Rock College of Medicine, Iron Legion Military Academy, and Arkansas Baptist College. The Arkansas Baptist College had to be founded by a Baptist organization, so I had to detail the American Baptist Convention. As those two were detailed, it became obvious that a Seminary was needed, so the American Baptist Theological Seminary was detailed. And since the Arkansas Baptist College and Seminary both took on an approach to missions that included translating the Bible into the people’s vernacular, it became obvious that they would translate the Bible into late 19th Century American English, hence the Little Rock Bible. And all of that is secret knowledge behind bits and pieces in the stories.

    The new job is really eating into my writing and the Universities project didn’t help, progress this week:
    Weird The Third I: The House of Doors – finished
    Weird The Third II: The Corridor That Wasn’t – progress

    Word Count is 70,260 65,096 in 15+ chapters of an estimated 70,000-130,000 in 32 chapters.

    Since Artemis Rising was originally published in the middle of the month, my sales cycle ends on the 20th. July/Aug Sales: Artemis Rising sold 6 ebooks, 776 pages on Kindle Unlimited, and 3 paper books off Amazon, 1 in-person. Celestial Accord sold 1 ebook and 599 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Forging the Chain Breakers sold 1 ebook, and 735 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Selene Unchained sold 1 ebook, and 523 pages on Kindle Unlimited. Antarctic Honeymoon sold 3 pages on Kindle Unlimited and 1 book in-person. Mirim’s First Christmas had no sales. Surprisingly, Goth Galore sold 1 ebook.

    High Adventure is available as a stand-alone novelette. It is #1,755 on Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,014 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,087 in Action & Adventure Short Stories (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Goth Galore is available as a stand-alone novella. It is #2,337 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store), #3,541 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books), and #10,219 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store). It is ebook only available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #2,673 in Steampunk Fiction, #9,721 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #14,705 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #240 in Steampunk Fiction, #281 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), and #759 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is #509 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #573 Steampunk Fiction, #1,671 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review but two ratings so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #535 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #636 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,744 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #514 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #613 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,676 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #6,920 in 90-Minute Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads,  #12,306 in Colonization Science Fiction, and #12,758 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

  • Steampunk, OODA, and Cons

    Steampunk, OODA, and Cons

    I’m at a family reunion this weekend, so unless you’re one of my siblings, nieces, or nephews – no books available this weekend.

    I created several pieces of marketing collateral (signs) for Steampunk Galveston. It also included a picture of Endeavor.

    One of the most useful models I’ve even found on decision making is Col. John Boyd’s OODA Loop. In many ways, it can explain the success or failure of competitions or conflicts better than almost anything else. For example: during the Vietnam war, many significant decisions had to cycle through Washington D.C. before action could be taken on the battlefield. Both because those decision makers tended to be civilian bureaucrats instead of military officers, and Washington was literally on the other side of the world (11-12 hours difference), often US actions were too late to be meaningful. During the various conflicts in the Middle East in the last several decades, one of the first aims of US forces was to damage the ability of central dictators to coordinate with their forces. At the same time, civilian authority in Washington has tended to provide strategic direction, and leave tactical decision in theater. The OODA loop for US forces could often cycle several times before the Dictator could get word back to troops that were no longer in anything resembling the same situation. All that to say, Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Action may show up in chapter titles—and now you know the secret behind those choices…

    I went to the Galveston Steampunk Festival. Sold Jam and Books. Revenue was so-so. Jam sales sucked. Book sales were several times better than any other event. I think If I have 2 more titles, I’ll be ready to go to cons with books alone. I’ve decided to try out the following at least:
    http://www.fencon.org/
    https://guides.mysapl.org/popmadness
    https://www.comicpalooza.com/
    https://soonercon.com/
    https://www.texasbookloverscon.com/
    https://rebelscumconventions.com/
    https://www.san-japan.org/
    https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpodallas/
    https://armadillocon.org/
    https://www.p-con.us/
    https://texasbookfestival.org/
    Let me know if you can think of others I should try. It is looking unlikely that I’ll get into any of these this year…

    One of the problems with ChatGPT is that it does its most useful work when cornered like a rat in a trap. One of the ways to do that is be very detailed about the considerations for anything it does (assess chapters, outlines, etc.). I added some more rules about, specifically, what Dolores believes a good wife looks like. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Counsel_on_the_Worthy_Wife

    Another minor character and image only available to those who have access to Secret Knowledge. This is Countess Swallows. https://greshamverse.fandom.com/wiki/Countess_Swallows_Returning_at_Twilight

    Selene Unchained Audiobook is about half way reviewed. It should be released sometime next week.

    I made a little progress on Martian Phoenix, but it was mostly in outline and realignment of previous scenes with where I’m going next in the story.

    A little progress on Martian Phoenix. Chapters this week:
    Observation and Orientation – finished
    Decisions – started

    Word Count is 25,248 in 7+ chapters of an estimated 80,000-95,000 in 24+Epilogue Chapters.

    Advertising: Between May 1-20, I sold 1 ebook for $4.99 in revenue. Since I spent $42.46 on advertising, I’m still upside-down there. Still, every book sold is the chance of getting another review, the more reviews the better the chance of making sales, the more sales the closer I get to break-even…

    Antarctic Honeymoon is #1,508 in Steampunk Fiction, #5,752 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #9,677 in Exploration Science Fiction. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. The audiobook is available here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Artemis Rising is #635 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #2,051 in Alternate History, and #3,066 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books). If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here or the kindle version here. There is also an audiobook version here. Seven reviews for Artemis Rising. More will help others find the series as well – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Celestial Accord is ranked now. #1,272 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,515 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,672 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Forging the Chain Breakers is #591 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #693 in Steampunk Fiction, #1,920 in Alternative History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, the kindle version here, or the audiobook here. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Selene Unchained is #1,122 in Steampunk Science Fiction (Kindle Store), #1,244 in Steampunk Fiction, #3,296 in Alternate History. If you don’t have yours yet, you can get the paper version here, or the kindle version here. Audiobook should be finished next week. No reviews yet. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here

    Mirim’s First Christmas is #7,628 in Colonization Science Fiction, #11,003 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books), and #13,986 in Science Fiction Short Stories. You can find the paper version here or the kindle version here. One review so far. If you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    Just for grins-this is the list of books currently written, in progress, planned, or conceptualized.

    Selene Reborn Series

    Walter & Eleanor Stories

    • Antarctic Honeymoon on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible
    • Secrets of Kilimanjaro forthcoming
    • Riddle of the Sphinx forthcoming
    • Return to Mars forthcoming
    • Martian Clue forthcoming
    • Venusian Ratanaba forthcoming
    • Saharan Atlantis forthcoming
    • Palestine’s Ghosts forthcoming
    • Floating Cities of Venus forthcoming
    • Dwarves of Mercury forthcoming

    John Graves on Mars stories

    • John Graves and the Queen of Burnished Towers forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Sky Kingdoms forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Four Canals War forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Crown of Mars forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Hidden City forthcoming
    • John Graves and the Lords Below possible

    Other stand-alone stories

    The War of the Worlds series

    • The Texas-Martian War forthcoming

    Walter 3 in the Space Navy series

    • Lt Gresham forthcoming

    War in Heaven series – possible

  • Ads, Hala, and Charlie

    Ads, Hala, and Charlie

    Artemis Rising is #1,987 in Steampunk Fiction, #2,130 in Steampunk Fiction (Kindle Store), and #5,325 in Alternative History. Still at 3 customer reviews. I need a few more to get Audible to take notice – if you’ve finished the book and haven’t left a review, please do so here.

    I finished the chapter that introduces Hala. I must admit, I’m really disliking Zafir – in the words of the old Texas salt, he needs a good killin’. I really like Hala – if you’ve been reading these you know her name means moon, but has the additional connotation of ‘ethereal beauty’. I thought that was perfect for the character and the role she would play in Book 4.

    I spent some money on ads on Facebook and Instagram. We’ll see if they are worth it. Even if they only make 50% of the investment back, there is enough information about the efficiency of the ads that I may be able to get to break-even on the next round. If I can do that, with some tweaking, I should be able to get beyond break-even. Even if it is only break-even, if I’m selling ten or fifteen books a week, that will help me get some momentum.

    Honestly, I found it really hard to concentrate this week. I was really bummed over Charlie Kirk’s assassination. I know he is with the Lord. I know we will see him again. I know that, like many Christian martayrs, he is likely to have more impact in death than he did in life – and he had a huge, history-changing impact in life. I’m still bummed that one of the biggest advocates for dialoge and free speech, the peaceful exchange of idea, was taken from us. Over and over I thought about Obi-Wan’s words to Vader, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine”

    Selene Unchained chapters this week:
    1: An Air Car Ride
    2: Plotting Freedom
    5: Hala – finished
    6: A Sorceress, A Marine, and A Spy – started

    Selene Unchained word count is 9,248, not counting Dramatis Personae (775 words).

    If you want to be a beta reader and comment on Book 2 chapters, write a nice review for Artemis Rising on Amazon or Goodreads, and email me that you’ve done it.