Do I Have Suggestions For Young Teen Readers?

Recently I received an email congratulating me on writing a good book that could be read by adults and young teens. They were referring to Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins, and it wasn't the first such email. While I didn't write Origins as a YA novel, I'm happy that parents feel comfortable sharing that book with their kids. I never really had discussions with my parents about books when I was young, even though I had phases where I'd go through paperbacks like a young pup goes through chew toys.

What made this email different from the others about sharing Origins was the parent asking me if I had suggestions for other books that she might share. I immediately looked through my bookshelves and picked five that weren't intentionally written for the YA audience but I thought would be great picks. Here's the list:

Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Shatter - Elizabeth C Mock

The Chrysalids - John Wyndham

Hero Wanted - Dan McGirt (Almost finished reading this one, and it belongs here)

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

I was also invited to post about this on the Kindleboards, since she frequented the forums, so I did. No need to go looking for my post, which turned into an article, I'll just repost it below:

I normally read a young adult book every month or so, mixed in with the fiction and non-fiction I go through regularly. I started reading YA regularly when several readers contacted me to tell me how happy they were about being able to hand my work down to their young teens. I hadn't even realized that my work fit in that age group, to be honest, so I was curious.

Since then I've found that things have changed since I was a young lad. When I was ten or eleven, I started turning to family for recommendations of what I should be reading and over the next couple of years I found everything from Stephen King to Frank Herbert to J.D. Salinger or even Kurt Vonnegut in my growing hands.

Now, if a young reader asked me what they should be reading I'd have a whole stack of books to place in their hands that would feature characters like Harry Potter instead of Holden Caulfield. Young adult fiction has provided pleasant surprises as well as thorough disappointment. In adventure books like Halo: The Fall Of Reach, I've found a novel that could stand on its own outside of the franchise - not a massively impressive scifi yarn to be sure - but a good, simple adventure book that doesn't underestimate the reader's intelligence. On the other hand, books like Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice are condescending, flat, obvious and unpolished. For such a large, well funded franchise, those books should be more polished, and present more complex, if not challenging content. 

There are many non-franchise YA books out there, but in my small-ish city of Sudbury, the franchise books are stacked tallest and widest on the shelves. I also find that most books written for the YA audience take place in high school, which is great for teens who need to find characters who are very easy to relate to, but I can't help but think that it's not very challenging.

Almost ten years ago, my young cousin (who is now six foot four), asked me if I knew of any good books. I think he was fourteen. What did I put into his hands? From my own shelf I gave him my tattered copies of Lord of the Flies, the Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy and Druss The Legend. None of these are considered YA, but he loved them all (especially Hitchhiker's Guide), and everyone agreed with my choices.

What would I put in young hands if someone asked if I had anything good to read now? I have to be honest - I like challenging young minds, so I'd probably still hand them (this list comes from me glancing at my bookshelf right now), the Lord of the Flies, The Chrysalids and a copy of one of my own books, of course. They'll eventually find Harry Potter on their own, and as for high school dramas, well, they'll find plenty of those too.

So, I'm wondering: what would you recommend to parents who want to share a reading experience with their kids or teens?

RL

Amazon Sets Broadcast 0: Origins Free!

After reading my blog post about the trouble I was having persuading Amazon to offer Origins for free, Dan McGirt (author of fine comedy adventure books), was kind to offer help. He pointed out a loophole in the contract located in the pricing section. After following his directions and adding my own little twist, Amazon reduced the price to $0.00.

I have to admit, the solution is simple. I won't go into a great amount of detail. All any author has to do is look at the competitive pricing clause in the contract for the Digital Text Platform and then read any listing for a Kindle book, where they'll find a place to report a lower price. With those hints, anyone who really wants to offer their book for free can do so.

Now, on to the less boring, non-contract involved stuff. In the roughly 36 hours since Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins became free it has been downloaded over 12,700 times. It's also the #2 free book on Amazon.com (US) site wide.

Honestly I'm amazed, and hope that this pure space opera novel (or collected trilogy, if you want to be accurate), has a broader appeal than expected. I don't generally expect non-science fiction fans to enjoy this work much, but I'm happy that I've been wrong about this where some readers are concerned. I have to thank Scheherizade MQ for lighting a fire under me and accelerating this issue towards a resolution.

This book is also available for free at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, the iBookstore (sorry, you'll have to look for it on your iDevice), Diesel and other big or small outlets.

The other version of this book, The First Light Chronicles Omnibus, will be retired soon, since it's much easier to navigate the Spinward Fringe series if you start with Origins. For anyone who doesn't know, Broadcast 0: Origins and the First Light Chronicles Omnibus have exactly the same contents.

If you are new to Spinward Fringe, thank you and welcome to the crew! I owe thanks to the readers who are already aboard for supporting me to the extent that I can write and produce full time. On that topic, things are going very well with this final draft of Broadcast 7: Framework - I'm about half way through it after only a month's work. The draft and a half that came before took much longer. Thank God this is the last draft.

RL

[Before you ask, no, the other eBooks will never be free, sorry. The prices are more than fair, however.]

Origins - The Final Edit

At long last and great expense, Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins has finished undergoing an extensive edit. The purpose of the work was to bring the book up to par with most conventionally published material, and to make the whole thing easier to read.

The plot and characters remain the same, but I did take the opportunity to make some scientific tweaks partially thanks to the editor that was hired on to the project: Jason Black. This has been in the works for months, and now that it's been done once, Broadcasts 1-6 will eventually get the same treatment.

Regardless of how much time and money was invested, Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins is, and will remain free wherever vendors allow free eBooks to be offered. Amazon does not allow authors to offer their eBooks for free, sadly, so I'm charging as little as they will allow: 99 cents. This new version of Origins should appear on Amazon.com in the next few days (It just appeared here!), and the current edition of The First Light Chronicles Omnibus is being updated at the same time.

You can get the final version of this book for free at Smashwords right now. They have versions for every type of eBook reader. If there was ever a time to tell your friends about Spinward Fringe, this is it. Broadcast 0: Origins is in fine shape, and there's more news but the timetable is still uncertain, so I can't talk about those upcoming events just yet.

RL

[Questions? Concerns?]

The Re-Launch of Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins

I know, everyone wants to know what's going on with Broadcast 7. All I can say right now is that things are going very well, but I'm not ready to talk story just yet.


There have been a lot of things going on in the background in the meantime, and I'm finally ready to start talking about some important progress.


Everyone is aware that the First Light Chronicles Omnibus has required some polish, and as I write this there are two edits floating around the Internet, one worse than the other in terms of quality of writing. Thankfully, I've grown as a writer since, but that doesn't change the fact that the Omnibus (also known as Broadcast 0: Origins), needs some TLC.


I'm the kind of novelist most mainstream publishers outright despise because my focus is on story rather than technical brilliance. I don't care if every single line of prose sings, or that it has a Edgar Allan Poe level of polish, nor do I have any notion that I'm a fantastic word smith. I have my great moments, but my real concentration goes to telling a gripping story and delivering that tale using interesting and relatable characters. The prose functions as nothing more than a vehicle.


That's not to say that I don't work to improve my prose, I do, and my word smithing has grown since 2008. Looking further back, to novels completed in 2004 and before, it's like night and day, but that's another matter.


This spring I looked at The First Light Chronicles again and decided that I wouldn't be re-writing it. Instead, I hired an industry editor who can bring an objective eye and a high quality set of tools to the project. The level of workmanship he brings to the table is so high that it's beyond any help that would come free. He's been polishing the First Light Chronicles for a couple weeks now and predicts that work will be complete shortly.


The verdict is good so far, which is excellent news since the fundamental story in the First Light Chronicles Trilogy won't be changing. He'll be sending me a few notes that'll help improve my writing style going forward, and the quality of the prose will finally match what one would expect from a New York publishing house. Considering that every publishing house has editors just like this polishing every book that comes off their presses, it's only fair that this book, which has been read and enjoyed by thousands of people, gets the same treatment.


Important things to know about this new edition:


- It will be available for free on Smashwords, where they will have a version for every type of reader.


- Readers who already have a Smashwords edition will be able to update to the final revision.


- A listing for Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins will appear at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk for $0.99 (since Amazon will not allow me to list it for free). This version will be exactly the same as the free version available at Smashwords.


- If you see a signed copy of Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins for sale anywhere, it's fake. The only way to get a signed copy of this book will be through the store launching on this site in November, and it'll be addressed to the receiver. (This note is in response to a company who tried to sell fake signed copies of my books online).


- The only way to get copies of Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins in print for the foreseeable future will be through my store. My signature is free, you just have to tell me who to make it out to. copies of the print editions of Broadcast 0: Origins will appear on Amazon.com sometime early next spring.


- Without your support, I would have never been able to hire this editor. If things continue to go well, the rest of the Spinward Fringe series will receive the same treatment. 


There are other things stirring in the background, and I'll be revealing details as these projects are ready. For now, I can't wait to see the final, professionally edited version of Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins online and in the web store. The few of you who have requested signed copies over the last year will finally be able to get one, thanks for waiting!


RL

First Light Chronicles Omnibus Becomes Spinward Fringe Origins

The idea of bringing the First Light Chronicles firmly into the Spinward Fringe series from cover to title has been on the table for over a year. I finally bit the bullet and did it.

Starting with Smashwords, then extending out to the iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony and other eBook stores, the First Light Chronicles Omnibus will become Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins. The original intention was for the Spinward Fringe series to easily stand apart from the First Light Chronicles, so you didn't HAVE to read the original trilogy to understand what's going on.

Anyone who has read the series knows that it didn't turn out that way. There's just too much established in the First Light Chronicles Omnibus, so it's wise for any reader to start there. I'm hoping that, by changing the name to Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins, it'll unify the series, and make it much easier to understand its place in the story.

The price of this book isn't changing. It's still free at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, and the iBookstore. Change will come much later on sites like Amazon.com and it won't happen at all at Mobipocket.com for technical reasons.

It's important to mention that this wouldn't have happened if Smashwords wasn't so flexible as a retailer and distributor. They do great work over there, and their system is always improving.

RL