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| My site, Ximerion, is barely functioning for the moment due to some conflicting scripts that seem to cause an inordinate amount of memory consumption. I'm going to take the “opportunity” to completely reinstall and revamp the site. I'll try to keep you updated, on the site itself and on my LiveJournal, my author's page on Goodreads and Facebook. Also, expect me to complain — a lot — on Twitter. | |
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|  A short message to announce that
The Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit (Book IV of Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse)
is now also available in epub and mobi format on my own website Ximerion, at the same price as the book in azw format on Amazon.
You'll find my other books in epub and mobi format here.
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| A short message to announce that The Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit (Book IV of Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse) went live on Amazon about an hour ago.
I blogged about the book and the choices I made on my own site, Ximerion
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| I posted the fourth and last installment on my blog about the hunt for a cover for The Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit (Book IV of Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse). With progress illustrations and the final artwork. Part 1Part 2Part 3Gambit will be published on Amazon by the end of this week. | |
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| Two new installments on my blog about the hunt for a cover for The Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit (Book IV of Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse). With progress illustrations. Part 1Part 2Part 3I this keeps up, I may be able to publish the damn thing next week. :) | |
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| Maybe you noticed in the previous post that I mentioned the cover was only a provisional stand-in. I'm blogging on my site about my hunt for a "real" cover for this book. Progress illustrations included. | |
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|  The Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit
is the fourth book of
Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse.Anaxantis, prince of Ximerion. The threat of the barbarian invasion by the wild Mukthar tribes has been averted, and Anaxantis is starting to colonize the Renuvian Plains. There still remains a lot to be done — and that goes double for his private life. Meanwhile in the independent city state of Naodyma a young man, Lexyntas, sells himself into slavery to provide for his younger siblings. Another one, Antybion, seeks the hospitality of rich relatives in Rhonoma. Arranulf still pines after Hemarchidas. Then disturbing news reaches Anaxantis. His father, the high king of Ximerion, is marching almost half of his troops toward the capital, Ormidon, to be decommissioned. Is he really disbanding them, notwithstanding the threat in the South? Or is it just a pretext to move them nearer to the territory of his rebellious lord governor and son, Anaxantis? The warlord suddenly finds himself in need of hard intelligence, and it's not that easy to come by… The Invisible Hands is the sequel-trilogy of The Invisible ChainsThe Invisible Chains - Part 1: Bonds of HateThe Invisible Chains - Part 2: Bonds of FearThe Invisible Chains - Part 3: Bonds of BloodThe Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit (will be published in April 2012.) This is a provisional cover, a place holder. It will eventually be changed for the definitive one. | |
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|  I've got a few emails saying that the last time Just Don't Mess With Us went free, it was too short notice and some people missed it.
The book is free again for Kindle on Amazon on Wednesday, March 7th, Thursday, March 8th, and Friday, March 9th.
That's Amazon-time, a.k.a. Pacific Standard Time.
(For reviews: see previous post.)
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| A short message to announce that Just Don't Mess With Us: Family Affairs will be free to download for Kindle on Amazon for one day: February 21, 2012. (That's Amazon-time, a.k.a. Pacific Standard Time) You can read reviews on Amazon, Amazon-UK & Goodreads. Oh, and did I mention it will be FREE? | |
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| In The Guardian of yesterday, January 30th. 2012, Ewan Morrison wrote an article under the title "The self-epublishing bubble." The irony is that his flawed bubble-comparison could be far more accurately applied to traditional publishing. My reaction. | |
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| I blogged, over on my own site, Ximerion, about the latest installment, Book IV, in my historical fantasy m/m-romance series «Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse». | |
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| My novel A Dish Served Cold got an honorable mention (6th place) in the category Best LGBT Coming of Age / Young Adult of the Rainbow Awards, organized by Elisa Rolle ( ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) elisa_rolle). I am hardly a well-known name, even in the M/M-romance genre, so I was pleasantly surprised my book got noticed at all. I must admit I find the classification a bit strange. In A Dish Served Cold the main characters themselves fall under that category (for most of the story), but the novel is not aimed at young adults. Yes, there is a coming-out-theme and young, budding love, but it is only the background against which far more darker events take place. However, I’m certainly far from complaining. Thanks, Elisa and all who voted for Dish. | |
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| Penguin is one of the traditional publishers who finally understands that the publishing landscape has shifted in a major way and that it will keep shifting, but that independent publishing is here to stay. In a rare moment of lucidity one of the company's executives must have thought "If you can't beat them, join them."The problem for the Gatekeepers of Sanctioned Literature is of course not one of quality — has it ever been? — but of how to fleece independent authors, like they are used to get money of their "traditional" authors. This time by doing even less for it. And without taking any risks. So they propose to self-publish your book for you — it even sounds as illogical as it is — while taking some money in advance from you and robbing you of a percentage of your royalties on every book you sell, for ever and ever. Yep, you read that right: you are paying them for the privilege to continue paying them. Sweet deal? Yep, for them it is. Before you decide that this rip-off is actually a good idea, please read this blog by Joe Konrath, and this one by David Gaughran. | |
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| A few days ago, I read a thread on a board where authors convene to exchange tips and experiences.
It was called “Do good, clean books sell?”
My only contribution to the discussion was a single post. “Good books sell... eventually. Their cleanliness is in the eye of the beholder.”
Only later the stupendous arrogance of the wording of that question struck me. What the original poster meant by good, clean books was of course books that didn't contain sex. Hence implying that the cause of his existence was something bad and dirty, and mentioning it in a book made this a bad, unclean book.
So, Mein Kampf, a rather dull treatise and incoherent rant by one Adolf Hitler would be a good, clean book. In my eyes it is a bad, perverse book.
My books contain explicit gay sex scenes, yet I consider them to be good, clean, healthy books.
There are days I despair of mankind. - Tags:rant
- Mood:annoyed
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| My "The Invisible Chains"-trilogy is about 90% a historical fantasy. Maybe not exactly fantasy. There are no dragons or wizards. Actually, I don't know how to classify it. It is set in a medieval kind of world, but they are not our historical Middle Ages. They're in our future, after society went through some traumatic events.
There is a lot of politics and warfare going on. Moral questions too. Intrigue. Dynastic struggles.
Yet readers of historical novels, fantasy or not, are not likely to read them. Nor will reviewers of historical novels review them.
Maybe I should add that the main character is gay and that there are some explicit scenes. About 4% worth of them. Probably less.
But at once for most people the classification problem is solved. This is Gay Erotica.
When somebody asks me what I had for dinner, I reply "Ketchup." Yes, there was also a burger. And fries. A salad, even. Those are obviously incidental. I had ketchup for dinner.
Makes sense. | |
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| I wrote a blog post about bullying on my site. It is tied in to my books, more particularly " The Invisible Chains"-trilogy. I want to be upfront about this. It is relevant though. The trilogy covers a lot of ground — it is after all nearly 400k words long — and I felt the theme of resistance to bullying, and aggression in general, was a bit overshadowed by the issue of rape and its consequences on the one hand, and the love story on the other hand. Bullying is violence, whether physical or psychological. My opinion is that it must be resisted and that a decent society can't tolerate it. It is pure and naked aggression and it has to be stopped by all means. And so must rape. In my view they share a few characteristics. In this post you'll find out where I got part of my inspiration. Maybe you'll think it is a bit over the top, but that is because I feel very strongly about these subjects. If you want you can read " Of Bullies and Bitter Weeds" on my site. This way I don't have to clutter up your "Friend's Page." Ha... who am I kidding? I could use the clicks. | |
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| I've been interviewed. It's clear I suffer from Foot-In-Mouth-Syndrome. Read all about it here. *le sigh* | |
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|  Book III of Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse, The Invisible Chains - Part 3: Bonds of Blood has been published.
The third book begins right where the second ended, with a banquet that ends with a surprise. Not too confusing, am I?
The same warnings apply as for the two previous books. Again there will be smut. There will also be incest. The graphic description of armed conflict may not be to everybody's taste. Characters you might have grown to love will die and their death will not always be an easy one.
This is the third and final part of a story arc of three, that began with Bonds of Hate and continued with Bonds of Fear. It is 139,000+ words long.
You can buy it here, on my own site, in both mobi (for Kindle) and epub format (pdf later), and on Amazon.
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| I'm done editing "Bonds of Blood," third and final part of "The Invisible Chains."
Just some minor formatting left to do, and I am waiting for the definitive version of the cover.
It will be published on Amazon, begin July at the latest.
And then it's back to writing. I'm actually looking forward to that.
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| This doesn't happen often, but I got another review, for A Dish Served Cold on Amazon. This time by Shira Anthony, herself an author. "An utterly intense read - at times, my stomach was tied in knots thinking of what might happen next. Yes, it started slowly, although I have to admit I loved the irreverent first-person narrative of the main character, Andrew Ashton, even when there was a lot of information being fed to me. But then, about halfway through, I just couldn't put the book down - it was addictive and disturbing, all at the same time. "
I particularly like this review, because she has a few critiques as well. So you can be certain she is not my mother or sister. They would never... Let me think that over again. Most of the things she says, I knew, but I just hoped nobody would notice them. :) | |
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on Amazon, and in epub, pdf and mobi format on my own website, Ximerion
