All the Literature and Reading Stuff...

[ManifestedISO]

Sorry for the blurry image, this may not be literature related ... I can never tell, since I play for team speculative-fiction ... we lose most matches of wit.

 

Anyway, saw this gem in BTAS, the Batman cartoon from '92, I thought the mistake was too obvious, and of course it was ... William Morrison published 'Crime and Its Causes' in 1891. 

 

[Guard Dog]

George RR Martin interviewed Stephen King. I hope like hell he paid attention to what King said. That guy could teach Martin a lot about productivity!

 

http://grrm.livejournal.com/490515.html

[majestic]

I'm not sure it is a good idea for Martin's health to start using Bolivian marching powder to up his output. /scnr

[Raithe]

To boost the signal for any of those US side who might be interested in this experiment...

 

Readers supporting readers - Military book newsletter

 

 

The Worlds First Book eNewsletter Giving Kindle Paperwhites to Readers forward Deployed in Our Military.

Focused on introducing Indie Authors to Readers in the United States, using Amazon Affiliate Links to power the purchasing of Kindle Paperwhites to give to Active Serving Readers.

The more you read, the more We can give away.

　

click here to sign Up for the ACTIVE MILITARY KINDLE GIVEAWAY newsletter.

　

Click Here to Nominate a forward Deployed military person to win.

　

Here to learn how this book newsletter will work?

Then you are in the right place!

How It Works

You sign up to receive email newsletter with Indie Book Announcements in it (more like a catalog separated by Genre) – Arrives at MOST 1 time a week.

When a book interests you, click the link to see more on Amazon.

 

Should you buy anything, often a small advertising fee will be paid by Amazon to me a few weeks later. This money helps to pay for the effort (which includes Paperwhites, email costs, hosting, services, shipping, blah blah blah)

 

Who Does It Help?

Active Deployed Military members that love to read – they receive Kindles (Using Rafflecopter to choose the winners each time).

Indie Authors who get opportunities for discovery they did not have before.

You!

Find New Authors – By getting chances to learn about new and undiscovered Authors who don’t have a platform (email list, money or skills to advertise themselves etc.)

 

Get Advanced Copies Before They Come Out – ARC opportunities (Advanced Reader Copies – usually given away by new authors or authors with new books in exchange for a review if you are willing).

 

Get Free or Cheaper Books – Free or lower priced books advertised for this newsletter

 

What Do You Need to Do?

Click this link, sign up for the email and make sure to opt-in.

Open for the newsletter and see if any books interest you. If not, just close the email and wait until the awesome and amazing next one!

 

HOW DO ACTIVE (Forward deployed) SERVING MILITARY MEMBERS WIN?

You (or someone) Nominates an Active Serving Member Here: https://www.facebook.com/TheKurtherianGambitBooks/app/228910107186452/

 

Each time we pull a name (first one, July 4th, 2016) we go to this raffle list above and tell it to pull a name. We will contact the Active Serving Personnel and place their name in the next email going out. Once we have confirmation of the member and their Forward Deployed address, we will have the Kindle shipped to the Active Serving Military Reader.

Pictures with the Kindle when you get it would be really cool, but aren’t a requirement.

 

You can place your name in the list, but you will need to provide a name when we contact you. This will not be sent to a standard U.S. address. We need to confirm this Kindle for a U.S. Serving Military Member (on base somewhere).

 

FAQ’s (Or Frequently Asked Questions I think you might ask?)

 

Is this a non-profit?

NO! I have no idea if this is even going to last beyond the two (2) Paperwhites I’m personally committed to buying and giving away. So, I’m not about to setup a bunch of overheard to do that. I am, however, interested in if I can make a profitable marketing effort that helps those in the Military, Indie Authors (something I’ve been doing for a while) and readers all at the same time. I’m not charging the Indie Authors, either. Most early (newbie) Indie Authors don’t have any money, and what little they have, they NEED to spend on a freaking good cover. Just saying.

 

Who is paying for this stuff, anyway?

Well, me right now. I’m going to give away about $450 in Kindles (2), $170 in Rafflecopter Fee’s (2 months), Email stuff, email setups blah, blah, blah. Should any Affiliate income happen, it will go against these expenses.

 

You, the reader, aren’t hit with any extra cost. You click on a link and shop at Amazon as normal. Amazon pays us who find products (in this case books) and put them in front of buyers (in this case readers). The commission is between 4%-7% for me so far. So, if you buy a $0.99 book, say I’ll get $0.07 and for a $3.99 book, I’ll get about $0.30 commission. Amazon pays nothing for KU Borrows and other stuff for weird reasons I can’t fathom, yet. I have been paid as much as $7.43 one time when a person purchased a DeWalt 20v tool. I’ve heard of the Unicorn purchases at Christmas time when someone clicked a link, but then went on to purchase a Sony Playstation. That would probably be at least a $25.00 commission. Ten of those and I can buy a Paperwhite! (So, you know, go buy your kids PlayStations once you click on a book, ok?)

 

Are you intending to make it a non-profit?

Hell no. I’d like to eventually make this email newsletter powerful enough to do some awesome stuff with the concept for a lot of people. However, pushing a Non-Profit (I’m thinking) limits me. So, you will have to decide if you believe I’m trustworthy enough to be doing some good for you, for the people who receive the Kindles and Indie Authors. If I’m not? PLEASE don’t sign up. It’s that easy. I’m pretty open, and usually I’m around on the FB page, so hit me up if you have any questions! (Or, on the Amazon Forum where I’ve been known to chat as well… Like all the damn time).

 

Are you going to stop writing?

Holy crackers, have you seen how many books I have to go? Damn, I can’t stop writing for like… 25 books minimum. My latest ‘oops’ was with Michael. Now, he has a series coming out called ‘The Second Dark Ages’ which will parallel books 15-21 in The Kurtherian Gambit. So, no. This is an effort to do some good, create a freaking killer marketing effort that pays for itself and is cool as … um… something I shouldn’t say… to be a part of, nothing more. If I also make some money doing it? I’m happy to do that.

 

Are you going to stop cussing?

Only when everyone in the Military stops cussing, so basically never.

 

Will you get more sales from doing this?

Please, I hope so! I’d love to get more fans, but I am not doing this to GET fans. I have another email list already being worked on to accomplish that goal. However, if you want to support me (personally, the Author Michael Anderle) then sign up for my Kurtherian Gambit email list and buy a new book when it comes out, WOOHOO!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THAT EMAIL LIST.

[Gromnir]

George RR Martin interviewed Stephen King. I hope like hell he paid attention to what King said. That guy could teach Martin a lot about productivity!

 

http://grrm.livejournal.com/490515.html

hmmm.  reminds us o' the following:

 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Guard Dog]

Now reading Soldier Dogs by Maria Goodavage. It's about the training and use of K9's in Iraq & Afghanistan. Also reading The Great Gatsby because why not. 

[Agiel]

Been re-reading "The Plot Against America" by Philip Roth, which tells an alternate history story of Charles Lindbergh, a purported self-made man catapulting to the top of the Republican Party presidential ticket, winning the election after a two-term President who built his platform on increased benefits for all, comes to admire a fascist with paranoid delusions and delusions of grandeur who is running roughshod over Europe, allowing said fascist to carve out his sphere of influence and in the process throwing the United States' European allies under the bus, and advocates mass persecution of a minority under the pretext that they were all complacent in undermining American security. By no means Roth's best material (though it has one of my favourite passages he's written), but, you know, totally has no relevance to today's going-ons.

 

Said favourite line:

 

 

 

“And as Lindbergh's election couldn't have made clearer to me, the unfolding of the unforeseen was everything. Turned wrong way round, the relentless unforeseen was what we schoolchildren studied as "History," harmless history, where everything unexpected in its own time is chronicled on the page as inevitable. The terror of the unforeseen is what the science of history hides, turning a disaster into an epic.”

Edited July 2, 2016 by Agiel

[Raithe]

For the random interest and those who might be curious in how it all works...

 

Amazon KDP and Kindle Unlimited: What it means for authors

[Guard Dog]

Now reading All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda. Crime fiction isn't really my thing but I was assured this one is really good. So far... it is. Also reading Fred Bear: The Biography of an Outdoorsman by Charles Kroll. Fred Bear was a world renowned archer and bowhunter and founded Bear Archery. 

[Malcador]

Being impressive and reading The Beast Arises series. Black Library series with a fixed length is always welcome (Horus Heresy will hit 100).

 

Also have exciting .Net books to read.

[Leferd]

 

 

 

 

 

Now I get it!

 

[Guard Dog]

Now reading Valley of the Shadow by one of my all time favorite writers Ralph Peters. It's historical fiction that tells the story of the Shenandoah Valley campaign in 1864 from both armies perspectives. 

 

Also, nearly finished an excellent book called A Fort of Nine Towers by Qais Akbar Omar. It's a memoir of his family and growing up in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion to the Taliban and the lengths his father went to to keep them safe. Very compelling story. 

[Heijoushin]

Currently reading "Starship Troopers", the book (it's somewhat different to the movie version). There's something really funny about reading a sci-fi book written in 1957, set in around 2300. It's kind of past-future overlap where character stereotypes from the 50s (with post-WW2 mentality) wield space-age technology to fight a space-age war.

[Leferd]

Currently reading "Starship Troopers", the book (it's somewhat different to the movie version). There's something really funny about reading a sci-fi book written in 1957, set in around 2300. It's kind of past-future overlap where character stereotypes from the 50s (with post-WW2 mentality) wield space-age technology to fight a space-age war.

I revel in Starship Troopers' unabashed brown-shirted, fascist propaganda glory. Robert Heinlein's quite the character.

[Heijoushin]

 

Currently reading "Starship Troopers", the book (it's somewhat different to the movie version). There's something really funny about reading a sci-fi book written in 1957, set in around 2300. It's kind of past-future overlap where character stereotypes from the 50s (with post-WW2 mentality) wield space-age technology to fight a space-age war.

I revel in Starship Troopers' unabashed brown-shirted, fascist propaganda glory. Robert Heinlein's quite the character.

 

 

I haven't finished yet, so I can't comment on the overall political message but...

 

Generally speaking, I think it's safe to say that men of the world are getting less macho overtime (I read an article the other day saying that the average man's physical strength has decreased in the last 30 years since more people are doing desk-work now). If this continues, the average gent should be pretty tame by the year 2300. Which is why it's funny to read about such fascist, hardcore WW2 guys in this book set in the year 2300 (^O^) 

[the_dog_days]

Currently reading "Starship Troopers", the book (it's somewhat different to the movie version). There's something really funny about reading a sci-fi book written in 1957, set in around 2300. It's kind of past-future overlap where character stereotypes from the 50s (with post-WW2 mentality) wield space-age technology to fight a space-age war.

The book is military sci-fi about a grunt in the midst of a pan planetary war while the movie is about media propaganda. If anything, the writers for the movie script went out of their way to mock the book.

Edited August 22, 2016 by the_dog_days

[obyknven]

Read newest book by Viktor Pelevin "Methuselah's Lamp, or the Last Battle of the Chekists and Masons."

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31368327

[Raithe]

When you see this in a synopsis, you have to read it out of sheer curiosity...

 

 

WARNING: “Good Intentions” contains explicit sexuality, violence, nudity, inappropriate use of church property, portrayals of beings divine and demonic bearing little or no resemblance to established religion or mythology, trespassing, bad language, sacrilege, blasphemy, attempted murder, arguable murder, divinely mandated murder, justifiable murder, filthy murder, sexual promiscuity, kidnapping, attempted rape, arson, dead animals, desecrated graves, gang activity, theft, assault and battery, panties, misuse of the 911 system, fantasy depictions of sorcery and witchcraft, multiple references to various matters of fandom, questionable interrogation tactics, cell phone abuse, reckless driving, consistent abuse of vampires (because they deserve it), even more explicit sexuality, illegal use of firearms within city limits, polyamory, abuse of authority, hit and run driving, destruction of private property, underage drinking, disturbances of the peace, disorderly conduct, internet harassment, bearers of false witness, mayhem, dismemberment, falsification of records, tax evasion, an uncomfortably sexy mother, bad study habits, and a very silly white guy inappropriately calling another white guy “****” (for which he will surely suffer).

[ShadySands]

I really want to read this now

[Guard Dog]

Definitely an odd mix of topics

[ShadySands]

I actually read one of his books before and I really liked it

[Guard Dog]

So I haven't read any fantasy lately so I tried out Gardens of the Moon which is the first book in a series by Steven Erikson.

 

Jesus what a steaming pile of mess this book it. I got about 3/4 of the way through and I've had enough. There is no plot. It's a book of subplots and enough characters to fill a Grizzly's games and not one of them are interesting. Maybe this will start to make sense in book 2 or 3 but I won't find out because I just remembered why I don't read much fantasy. 

 

I've read Elder Scrolls fan-fiction that was better than this.

[Malcador]

Reading Kloos' Frontlines series some more. Going downhill, rather tiresome main characters even for a military sci fi series.

[Raithe]

Okay, this anecdote proved amusing to me.

 

 

I went to HonorCon last weekend and I really ought to thank Steve White and Chuck Gannon for the copies of Extremis and Imperative that I grabbed.

Of course, later, when passing through airport security, I had my bag pulled aside while I got quizzed on anything unusual that might be in it, as they ran the chemical residue swabs all over and inside it.
It turns out that the X-Ray tech found several 'blocks of unusual solidity' within my bag.
I guess the 848 pages of the mass-market Extremis - plus a sample chapter from a David Weber book - proved to be too solid to ignore.
Then there was the trade-sized Imperative.
Yes.
I'll have to thank them, the next time I see them.

[Azdeus]

Trying to get hold of Katharine Kerr's Deverry series as audiobooks, it's proving to be quite difficult.