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New Cover for Forever Boy

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Forever Boy by Lita Burke

In Forever Boy, a dog flees his cruel master, befriends a wizard, and discovers his shapeshifting magic.

The last new cover for the spring clean takes you to the Clockpunk Wizard fantasy world in Forever Boy. There you will find Wizard Kadmeion’s ~twisty~ magic.

Life is dirty, difficult, and all too short for the dogs digging up the deadly mandrake roots that wizards animate with minor demons. A pup named Go Fer has an odd magical talent. He does not die from the fatal screams of newly unearthed mandrakes. Go Fer’s master, a prideful minor magician, sees Go Fer’s talent as a fluke saving him the cost of replacing dogs killed by the mandrakes’ cries.

One morning, a young Wizard Kadmeion and his half-elf assistant Bright watch Go Fer at work. This mandrake extraction goes horribly wrong, and Go Fer runs away during the hubbub. After seeking out the wizard, the dog’s life is not the same. In fact, Kadmeion discovers Go Fer is not a dog after all.

An exciting life as the wizard’s familiar awaits Go Fer. Instead of using mandrakes, Bright has built clever clockwork men who pilot Kadmeion’s wonderful airship. Go Fer would have a new name, a new boy appearance, and he would fly with his new master between islands that float above the sea.

But Magic Guild law makes the mandrake harvester Go Fer’s master, and Kadmeion will not go against the guild. Go Fer must return to the dog-murderer, lose his wondrous boy form, and dig mandrake roots until he dies. Which will be the very next time, unless the clever clockwork man and the kindly wizard can get him out of this fatal mess.

Forever Boy now available on Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble.

New Cover for Tredan’s Bane

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Tredan's Bane by Lita Burke

In Tredan’s Bane, a magical oddities dealer hides her kidnapped husband’s dangerous spell book.

The spring clean for the old book covers continues.

Here is the new cover for Tredan’s Bane. In Tredan’s Bane, a dead Sciomancer told Lanith to beware of fire and kisses.

He should have told her to RUN.

Enchanters are so attractive, most believe they are amoral seducers. The Church considers them a dangerous lure for a soul’s journey to the afterlife. Problem is, Enchanter essence powers all of the magic in Lanith’s world of Sye. Because of the escalating attacks from Church Enforcers, the Enchanters have fled to their impenetrable enclaves.

Lanith’s husband Tredan has vanished. Her home and curio shop have burned. Long ago, she promised Tredan to seek the Enchanters’ help if he ever disappeared, so Lanith teams up with Enchanter Nyle. They discover Tredan wrote a journal filled with spells that will ruin the Enchanters’ magic.

There is more bad news. An Enforcer has come to town, and he will stop at nothing to acquire Tredan’s journal for the Church. Lanith must stop the Church magician from getting the journal and destroying the Enchanters. Lanith must also overcome her desire for Nyle’s delectable essence.

The Church’s warnings are true. Saving Sye’s magic could damn her soul.

Tredan’s Bane by Lita Burke is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Review: Diabolical’s Penny Horror Scope Deadly Prediction

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Stiletto Heels and Cockney Slang

Stiletto Heels and Cockney Slang

Diabolical’s Penny Horror Scope Deadly Prediction by Darcy Blaze

Warning: Story includes explicit sex.

Fiona, a good-looking Essex girl born and bred in Upminster, a part of the Northeast London’s sprawling suburbs, has enough of selfish losers.  She is a certified accountant looking for security and settling down.

Frankie, a small-time business man, owns four pubs, a couple of arcades, and has a villain’s reputation. A three-week whirlwind seduction of gifts and bling, followed by a surprise proposal topped with a three-carat diamond solitaire, has Fiona marrying Frankie in record time. When Frankie’s aphrodisiac of power fades, the only shine he gives her is the one below Fiona’s eye. Passion fades just as quickly as it came.

Fiona has always admired Frankie’s younger brother Reggie, who is a handsome model, an actor, educated, and more sophisticated than Frankie will ever be. A sexy tryst in a romantic slipper boat during a country gala affair at Marlow on the Thames seals the deal for Fiona. She married the wrong bloke.

Beware, Diabolical’s Penny Horror Scope Could Be Here

Beware, Diabolical’s Penny Horror Scope Could Be Here

After Frankie bumps off his bookkeeper, Fiona takes over the record keeping and launders her husband’s money through his arcade businesses. In addition to the love triangle, there is a fourth character, a carnival machine called Diabolical’s Penny Horror Scope. This one-of-a-kind machine has a history of predicting death for a certain few who play its game. Fiona sees how to use Diabolical to escape Frankie’s murderous ways.

Deadly Prediction immerses the reader in a gem of a fantasy world. Fiona’s confident narrative mixes London’s rainy weather and the sizzling make-believe bedroom antics with the playacting Reggie in to an unforgettable romp.

The story all but had me, a born Yank who has never been across the pond to London, talking cockney slang and strutting in stiletto heels. The sex scenes were explicit, but well written. The ending was delicious revenge mixed with the music of a Calliope. I recommend this story to anyone who loves evil carnival worlds, Brit Lit, and reading about a sure-of-herself Essex girl who doesn’t take gruff from her men.

Warning: Story includes explicit sex.

Deadly Prediction on Amazon USA

Deadly Prediction on Amazon UK

Darcy Blaze Website

Come to the Book Launch Party for Ephraim’s

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Time for more talk about the Clockpunk Wizard world in Ephraim’s Curious Device. Wizard Kadmeion’s airship departs from here this Sunday, January 13th. Come as your are–it will be an informal affair.

Step on up to read more about Clockpunk Wizard

Step on up to read more about Clockpunk Wizard

Starting at 8 o’clock this coming Sunday morning, Lita will talk with the magicians about matters from the just-released eBook, Ephraim’s Curious Device. Be sure to drop by and catch posts about Dragon Betrayal’s hobbies, fey care, and wildebeest.

Kadmeion will discuss the differences between magical thingummys, dodads, and whatnots. Sir Bright will cover sibling rivalry between elf sons. Furgo sets us straight about what he hides under his bed. Fairy Izlyesende will give advice about romantic relationships. Lita will also share a few words about the next Clockpunk Wizard story, Old Bony Blue Eyes.

Before you come aboard, you might want to pick up a copy of Ephraim’s Curious Device at Amazon, Smashwords, or Barnes & Noble. Don’t miss the book trailer on YouTube.

eBook Pricing for Indie Fiction (Part 2)

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Stop wandering in the indie eBook pricing forest

Setting indie eBook fiction prices is like wandering without a path in a misty forest. Take my hand, and let us find our way together.

This is the second of two posts discussing eBook pricing for new indie fiction authors. In Part 1, we looked at other indies’ pricing suggestions. In today’s post, I will present a pricing model based on samples and story length.

FREE Loss Leader

These freebies are your samples. Their purpose is to hook a reader on your writing style, tease them with taste of a longer novel, or they are the first installment of a series. These items are short stories–novelette length at the most (I describe fiction lengths below). Post flash fiction or ultra-shorts of 100-500 words on your website. These tidbits catch the interest of readers window shopping at your website. They are like delicious sample trays at chocolatiers’ shops.

Long stories have smaller price per word

Long stories have smaller price per word

Put longer short stories and novelettes on your usual sales channels (i.e., Smashwords and Amazon) so you can track how many people have downloaded them. Be sure to enable sampling the first 20% or so of all fiction on your sales channels. The key is to let your readers try your writing before they buy. Have at least one teaser, prequel or loss leader in your collection. Put some freebies on your website, and offer one in your usual sales channels. The eBook price? Free.

Length Matters

The number of words is one of the few pragmatic measurements for a story. No need for fancy (and confusing) formulas based on manuscript pages–use the word count feature of your word processor. You will be rounding it to whole numbers anyway.

Lita’s recommended eBook pricing model uses word count, but it isn’t linear. Your shorter stories will have a high price-per-word value than the longer works. For example, a short story at 1000 words would be priced at a dollar (valued at 10 cents per word), but a 120,000 epic fantasy would not be priced at ten cents a word–it would cost a whopping $120. It would not sell, no matter how wonderful the tale.

The Shocking Pricing Model

Take a deep breath. Ready? Here is Lita’s humbly suggested eBook pricing model for just-starting-out indie authors. When you’ve grown a following, you could adjust the prices to what your market can absorb.

These indie eBook prices are shocking!

These indie eBook prices are shocking!

  • Short Story
    • 1000 to 7500 words
    • Free if loss leader, otherwise 99 cents
  • Novelette
    • 7,500 – 20,000 words
    • 99 cents
  • Novella
    • 20,000 – 80,000 words
    • $1.99
  • Novel
    • 80,000 – 110,000 words
    • $2.99
  • Epic or Sequel
    • Over 110,000 words
    • $3.99

Lita made the mistake of pricing her début novel much too high. I set the eBook value on what I thought it was worth, and the readership disagreed. Other marketing blunders also slowed sales down, but that’s a topic for another post.

These pricing numbers are based on Lita’s experience. If Gentle Reader uses a different pricing approach and wishes to share the pros and cons, please comment. After all, we are wandering together in the misty forest of indie eBook pricing.

Wrath, Prequel to Tredan’s Bane Book Trailer

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Here is the just-release book trailer for Wrath, Prequel to Tredan’s Bane. If you haven’t read the short story Wrath, check it out on Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords.

The back cover blurb explains more about the story.

Read Chapter 1 FREE now.

See reviews about Wrath.

Ephraim’s Curious Device – Available Now

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Celebrating Ephraim's Curious Device

A toast to Ephraim’s Curious Device

Wizard Kadmeion’s airship awaits at the aerodrome, and it is ready for you to come aboard for another adventure.

With great pleasure, I announce the release of the next Clockpunk Wizard story, Ephraim’s Curious Device.  The eBook is on sale now at Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble.

If you haven’t yet viewed the Ephraim’s book trailer, be sure to take a minute (literally, it’s about a minute long) and see it here on YouTube. Here is the back cover blurb for Ephraim’s, and a little something about the earlier story Forever Boy.

I have also talked at some length about the Ephraim’s Curious Device book cover design in an earlier blog post. And here is a free look at Chapter 1.

It pleased me to update the original draft of Ephraim’s that I wrote over 18 years ago, and make the story available now for Gentle Reader. I humbly say that time has improved my writing craft. I increased the story’s length by almost a third. Those extras passages add depth to Kadmeion and Bright’s world. I also sprinkled in some history about both magicians to better explain their current actions.

Fey Izlyesende's home on Hurt Isle

Fey Izlyesende’s home on Hurt Isle

Let Me Introduce You Around

Ephraim’s features new people in the Clockpunk Wizard world that you will see in future stories. A few of these folks are humans, and the rest are magical sentient creatures. Here are some of the new faces:

  • Wizard Nob and his employer Lord Hissalumieon
  • Fairies Izlyesende, Tessa-marine and Allura-ella
  • Harpy Queen Tkun’winddance
  • Dragon Lady Betrayal

Our heroes Kadmeion, Bright, and Furgo return. Kadmeion’s automaton Copernicus is there, but this clockworks man is usually busy in the airship’s pilot house. The story presents some non-clockwork homunculi (called “Goons” in wizardly circles). These “Meat-Men” automata bodies were grown in vats and animated by minor demons summoned by Wizard Nob. They are none too smart and cause headaches for Bright in Ephraim’s Curious Device.

Kadmeion's magic makes the thingummy look like this

Kadmeion’s magic makes the thingummy look like this

What is the Curious Device?

In the story re-write, I adjusted the back story about Ephraim’s thingummy and related it to Kadmeion’s current circumstances. The thingummy’s magic is still the same, but Lita (I’m also a magician in these situations) changed its true appearance.

Kadmeion disguises the Curious Device in the form of a beautiful chalice when he presents it to His Lordship Hissalumieon. The story explains why.

In the Clockpunk Wizard world, appearances mean everything. They teach this to undergraduate magicians at Agatha University, and call it Wizard’s Style. Others call it flim-flam. Lita calls it story fun. I intended for Ephraim’s Curious Device and the other stories about Wizard Kadmeion’s world to be absurd at times. I cannot resist a good pun (I know, “good pun” is an oxymoron, but I love them anyway). The poetry in the magician’s spells are factotum, but please understand that most of the time they are in a hurry.

A floating island in the Clockpunk Wizard world

A floating island in the Clockpunk Wizard world

Take an Airship to the Clockpunk Wizard World

How I do go on! I love to talk about Kadmeion and Bright’s world of airships, floating islands, and fun magic. Lita already has the next story in the works. Check out the back cover blurb for Old Bony Blue Eyes.

I will close today with another beautiful image of a floating island in Wizard Kadmeion’s world. It must have a lot of floating rock to make the base so thin.

Don’t forget to get your boarding pass for Ephraim’s Curious Device at Amazon or Smashwords. Welcome aboard.

Announcing the Release of Forever Boy

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Everyone is partying at Lita’s place until our paws turn white.

It’s time to break out the silly party hats and set your dessert on fire. Clockpunk wizardry is here.

I am pleased to announce today’s release of Forever Boy. In the novelette Forever Boy, a dog flees his cruel master, befriends a wizard, and discovers his shapeshifting magic.

Forever Boy is the first story in the Clockpunk Wizard series. These stories feature Wizard Kadmeion and his clockworks assistant Sir Bright. They are magicians-for-hire in a world of airships, floating islands, and homunculi powered by minor demons.

Magic in the Clockpunk Wizard world is twisty, inverse, and just not logical.  Even certain vegetables can animate and kill a man. It is a place where Da Vinci’s doodles have become science. A wizard’s curses have leather-like wings and torment the magician assistants. You will see that Luck is no lady.

But before you discover all of this, you must first meet Go Fer. He is a cynanthrope who digs for deadly mandrake roots and wants to become Kadmeion’s familiar. Tick tock. Time is running out for Go Fer. Forever Boy will explain why.

Forever Boy is an eBook, available now for downloading and immediate gratification from Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble.

Forever Boy: Sneak Peek at Chapter 1

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Read the first chapter of Forever Boy now, free. No crystal ball needed.

Let’s get things going with a taste of clockpunk fantasy.

It is only a few more days to go before I kick off my new Clockpunk Wizard series with the release of the novelette, Forever Boy. All efforts are going well for hitting next week’s date for Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble. Forever Boy will be available for download and instant gratification on all popular eReader devices.

If you haven’t yet had a look, I’ve made a page for the Forever Boy book trailer on my website. I also have the back cover blurb available for your enjoyment. Be sure to come right back because I have another treat for you below.

While I’m getting the remaining details done this weekend for the Forever Boy release on October 30th, I thought I’d be a shameless tease and post Chapter 1. Yes, you must wait until Tuesday to get the rest. I know I’m being a meanie. I’m told it is one of my better personality traits. But nevermind me. Please take a few minutes now to meet the new wizard in town and his clockworks assistant.

Forever Boy by Lita Burke

Copyright 2012 by Lita Burke. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

Old Gallows Field, Holcomb Island

“Are you sure the mandrake’s demon won’t hurt us, Kadmeion?”

The wizard crossed his arms and released a sigh. “You worry too much, Bright. We are a safe distance away.”

“I don’t like Meat-Men.”

“Squeamish over a little dirt and drama?”

“I can’t abide the death of a Go Fer in exchange for a homunculus. Tell me again why we’re here.”

“We need to be here.”

“Magical reasons?”

“Correct.”

Bright turned back to the men and dogs down on Old Gallows Field. Looked like the Meat-Men had dug a trench around the mandrake plant. They now huddled and talked. Two men waved their arms.

“Something’s wrong,” Bright said. more…

Review: The Library of Lost Books

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The Library of Lost Books by Darius Jones

The central character Darius, an ad copy writer by day, plunges into the mystical world of The Library, where all of humanity’s lost or destroyed books live. A rich world awaits Darius. He experiences situations with misty temples, lashing thunderstorms, and forests filled with monkey chatter. Darius learns that The Library is threatened with destruction, and he sets out to investigate.

The Library’s steward is simply the “old man,” a mysterious sage who feeds Darius tea by the fireplace. Assistant librarians are Friedrich, a bourgeois with a handlebar moustache, and Heraclitus, a toga-clad Ephesian.

Darius’s adventures are sequences of dreamy images. I saw gritty beaches, surreal sand castles, and vine-encrusted edifices. The very best part of The Library of Lost Books is its homage to the literature in the accumulative canon of humankind. My compliments go this indie author for presenting a story with solid writing craft. I did not find a single flaw in the grammar, spelling, or formatting.

The only negatives about this story is that it is a complex reading experience. Some descriptive paragraphs filled a page or more, a technique that many readers frown upon. The multiple historical references, while enjoyable for me, again may not be to everyone’s tastes. The action sequences were description-filled narrative not having much movement. I would have loved to learn more about Friedrich and Heraclitus. The ending satisfied me, but others may miss the more typical nail-biting story climax found in other fiction.

I recommend this book.  It is a thoughtful read filled with lovely description and rich with languages.

The Library of Lost Books on Amazon

The Library of Lost Books on Goodreads

Darius Jones on Goodreads