Friends, Romans, Countrymen...Lend Me a Dollar (Or A Review)!

Well, not exactly lend, but you get the point...

As I have finally made progress is completing Unwritten, so I can finally get Stories from the Forester: Volume One ready for public consumption, I've had to make some tough choices, mostly economic.

That, of course, means, the end of Dilemma being free. The PDF, like the Kindle version, is now 99 cents and in on sale at Lulu.com. That's the bad news. Then again, it may not be if you're one of the people who were good enough to download a copy.

For those people, I have another mission. Please post your reviews on the Dilemma Amazon page and the Lulu.com page. And no, I don't care if you think it was the worst piece of garbage you've ever read. As far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as bad publicity!

So, go ahead. You know you could use the diversion!

The Kindle iPhone App - Yes, Virginia. There IS Santa Claus!

Dear Apple,

But I didn't get you anything!

Sincerely,

Bob McDonald

For some time now, I have written about the emergence of the Amazon Kindle (and now its subsequent upgrade) and how my target demographic wouldn't exactly plunk down the $359 for one when there are cooler gadgets like, say, the iPhone, for their enjoyment.

Well, apparently Christmas has come early. Amazon has released a Kindle app for the iPhone!

So, what does that mean for the Quest? A great deal, I hope!

First of all, like the throngs of music downloads that undoubtedly populate people's iPhone, so, too perhaps, they can add some e-books, like, oh, I don't know, Dilemma, which is now on sale for 99 cents?

I have noticed that iTunes hasn't gotten to the point where they're selling e-books outright. But, of course, when they do, you know I'll be there!

Stories From the Forester - Volume 1 Drops June 20th

The Quest has begun anew...

In connection with my 1,000th update on Twitter, I thought I'd add a little spice to the occasion by throwing in this major (well, at least for me) announcement:

Stories From the Forester - Volume 1, which includes the stories Dilemma and Unwritten, will be released on June 20, 2009, first exclusively on my Web site, www.flagrantfoul.com, then to bookstores everywhere!

For those of you scoring at home, Dilemma is the first story of the series, in which Reggie McCaffrey, fresh from a full-time newspaper gig, returns to Forest State University and the school paper defeated, down-trodden, but hopeful of winning the affection of Brenda Alvarez, the Forester's News Editor. The second story, Unwritten, centers around the inevitably of graduation for Reggie and Editor-in-Chief Jim Case, and their uncertain futures.

But there's more! Because Dilemma has been finished for some time, I am giving it away as a PDF e-book absolutely FREE and as a Kindle Book for only $0.99! Apparently, Amazon doesn't want me giving stuff away, so I apologize in advance!

So, with four months until the release, there's plenty of time to get ready, as opposed to the rushed approach taken with Flagrant Foul. Maybe I can avoid repeating the same mistakes twice!

On thing's for certain, I will be doing some promotions, which I will announce in the coming weeks. Two events I know for sure will be happening, with more on the way. And the more the merrier! Advance copies of the entire book will be available in early May, so anyone interested in reviewing can go ahead and drop me a line, and I'll have you on the mailing list!

And with that, off we go!!!

Early Adopters vs. Target Audience

You always wonder if you've made the right move.

With the advent of devices like the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader, and with news of another competitor, Plastic Logic. projected to come to market next year, it's no real secret that authors like myself are slowly but surely trying to latch on.

Amazon's made it the simplest by allowing authors to self-publish their work using their Digital Text Platform site or, in another end-around, using Mobipocket, which was snapped up by Amazon in 2005, most likely as a precursor the the development of the Kindle.

But the early adopters, are they really my demographic?

Amazon hopes so.

BusinessWeek had this story about Amazon prepping for the next version of the currently-bulky Kindle and how the company's gunning for the college crowd. They're banking on the same crowd who gobbled up iPods and iPhones like they were going out of style will find the new Kindle a viable alternative to the hundreds of dollars in books they're currently lugging around.

For me, however, this prospect, which may include a price drop from the current $359 down to as low as $249, doesn't necessarily benefit me now.

So what shall become of Flagrant Foul and Dilemma? Oh, they'll be there...

...and maybe a couple of additional Kindle Books along with them, perhaps?