Free for a Limited Time: Blaze! - Stephen Mertz

   If you've been meaning to read the Blaze! series but haven't gotten around to it yet, right now you can get the first book absolutely free for the Kindle. You can't beat that deal!

J.D. and Kate Blaze are two of the deadliest gunfighters the Old West has ever seen. They also happen to be husband and wife, as passionate in their love for each other as they are in their quest for justice on the violent frontier! 

BLAZE! is the first novel in a thrill-packed, all-new Adult Western series created by bestselling action/adventure author Stephen Mertz. J.D. and Kate find themselves facing a deadly ambush by Apaches, then they're hired to track down a gang of ruthless outlaws led by the beautiful, savage bandit queen Rosa Diablo. It's gun-swift excitement all the way in this gritty tale from Stephen Mertz. Rough Edges Press is proud to present BLAZE!

Wind River Free for Kindle

The first book in the Wind River series by Livia and myself, aptly titled WIND RIVER, is free right now for the Kindle. You can grab a copy of it here.

Guest Post: Confessions of an Indie, or: It's Like Making Sausages -- Brian Drake

Before we start, I must once again thank James for allowing me to hijack this space.

It’s not easy to write a book. It’s even harder to self-publish it, even with Amazon KDP. If you’re thinking about doing it yourself, or you’re following the “indie scene”, let me describe my experience so you can avoid my mistakes.

When I started self-publishing in 2010, there was always a nagging doubt about my work in the back of my mind. Reviews were kind, sales were okay, but I couldn’t help but notice that repeat business was slow. I released four books between 2010 and 2012. With each book, I sold less and less. A smart businessman looks at this situation and says, “What’s wrong with my product? Where is it lacking?”

I yanked those four books and set them aside. For all I know they’re perfectly fine but I still have those nagging doubts that somewhere in the manuscript, there’s a problem that kept readers from coming back for more. Perhaps I’ll release them again later; maybe I won’t.

I yanked the books instead of improving them because I had a hot new idea for a series and I wanted this to be where my attention went. I wrote The Rogue Gentleman and set aside $1000 for production costs. I spent a total of $800 on two editors, one for content and the other for copy, and a cover artist. I released the new book, and…nothing.

Hmmmm. Well, I’m stubborn. Books 2 and 3 in the series are in progress and I have just released the first book in the series as a trade paperback. To coincide with the paperback release, the ebook version of The Rogue Gentleman is free starting Tuesday the 16^th and ending Friday the 19^th.

There is no nagging doubt about this new book in my head because it has been edited, re-edited, and edited again by myself and the professionals I hired. The cover is top-notch. If you're going to go the KDP route to release your material, spend the time and money to do it right. With those first four books, I was a do-it-yourselfer. I'm that way by nature. I work on my own cars, the house, etc., but this is one area where DIY need not apply. There's too much for one person to handle.

Here’s the story's description:

"International adventurer Steve Dane never should have set foot in Italy. Witnessing a young woman’s kidnapping, he is drawn into the decades-old vendetta behind the crime.

Hired by the girl's father, racing against time as her life hangs in the balance, Dane battles the mafia who want him dead and the police and international agents who want him out of the way. With the help of his lover, Nina Talikova, Dane plunges along a path that leads him past a mere kidnapping and into an ever-more complex world of high stakes, ruled by a powerful and mysterious woman known only as The Duchess.

Life, it seems, is getting cheaper than Dane could ever imagine and The Duchess has put a price on the ultimate weapon that will make it worthless. Only he and Nina have the power to stop a clock that is ticking away the life of both the girl and the world."

If you download the free copy, all I ask is that you leave a review on Amazon, even a bad review, if you dislike the story. I don’t think you will, though, unless action/adventure isn’t your thing. It’s action mixed with comedy and reviews have been very good so I think you’ll enjoy it indeed.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NU3ED8

Rancho Diablo: The Hold Up Now Free for Kindle

Today and tomorrow you can grab a free copy of THE HOLD UP, the Rancho Diablo novel by Mel Odom.

When Randy Post, a young cowboy riding for the Rancho Diablo brand, gets accused of murdering a saloon girl, Sam Blaylock saddles up to get to the bottom of the matter before they fit him for a hangman's noose. Sam doesn't know that the murder has set off a chain of events that will end up with him swapping lead with a murderous gang of robbers eyeing one of the banks in Shooter's Cross.

In the past, Marshal Everett Tolliver and Sam Blaylock haven't seen exactly eye-to-eye on things involving the ranch hands. Tolliver intends to hold the peace in town no matter what the cost. But he's going to need help if he's going to find out who murdered Jessie Holden in cold blood.

Even after they've set their differences aside for the time being, Sam and Tolliver still have to put their lives at risk to hold the line in Shooter's Cross in a gundown on Main Street that will become a legend.

Free Rancho Diablo!

You can't beat a free book, especially when it's as good as SHOOTER'S CROSS, the first book in the Rancho Diablo series. Mel Odom did a fine job with this, and you can pick it up free for Kindle today and tomorrow. If you haven't tried the series yet, this is a great way to start. Check it out!

Free for Kindle Today and Tomorrow: Hangrope Law and Hallam

My Rancho Diablo novel HANGROPE LAW and Livia's collection HALLAM are both free for the Kindle today and tomorrow. If you haven't tried the Rancho Diablo series or made the acquaintance of Lucas Hallam yet, this is a perfect opportunity to sample both series for free. And you can visit this page for more free books from friends of ours.

Now Free for Kindle: Witch Got Your Tongue - Livia J. Washburn

Livia's urban fantasy novel WITCH GOT YOUR TONGUE is now free for the Kindle for a limited time, in celebration of Halloween. Also the sequel A PECK OF PICKLED WARLOCKS has been reduced in price to $2.99. I'm not exactly an unbiased reader, of course, but I think these books are fast, funny, and very entertaining. If you've been meaning to check them out but haven't gotten around to it yet, now's the perfect time.

Robbers Roost Free Today for Kindle

ROBBERS ROOST, the first of three novels I wrote in the Powell's Army series, is free today for the Kindle. This is a good series about a team of three investigators for the Army in the Old West. If you haven't given it a try yet, this is the perfect chance.

Free E-Book Friday from Black Dog Books

Due to a technical glitch at Amazon our free eBook offering last week of Horse Money was only made available to Kindle Prime users instead of the general public.

We are offering Horse Money again today as a free eBook download through Amazon. Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity and get this great collection of  four hard-boiled novellas of crime and intrigue around the Sport of Kings.

Horse Money—The Cases of Chief Van Eyck, Race Track Detective. With an introduction by Robert J. Randisi.

Known from Saratoga to Belmont and throughout the racing circuit, Chief Van Eyck keeps the bookies and fix games in check—whether using a little strong-arm, or the nickel-platted death securely tucked in his shoulder holster.

And Van Eyck is never above picking up a few greenbacks on the side himself, thanks to an inside tip or two from the jockey club.

Grab a stool, order a strong one and slid to the edge of your seat as the ponies and Van Eyck both give a thrill ride from wire to wire!

Free E-Book Promotion from Black Dog Books

Tom Roberts of Black Dog Books has tipped me off to the fact that the e-book edition of the novel SECRET OPERATIVE K-13 by Joel Townsley Rogers is going to be free on Amazon tomorrow and Tuesday. If you haven't picked up any of Tom's publications yet, this is a great chance to try one of them for free.

Free Rancho Diablo!

Today only, you can get Bill Crider's Rancho Diablo novel DEAD MAN'S REVENGE absolutely free on Amazon. Grab this one while you can!

There's Still Time to Get "Devil Wings Over France" for Free

My paranormal air war/pulp story "Devil Wings Over France" is still free on Amazon for the rest of the day.

Pulp Adventure Free on Amazon!

My World War I air-war/horror adventure yarn "Devil Wings Over France" is free on Amazon for the next three days. This 8700 word novelette first appeared in the anthology RETRO PULP TALES, published by Subterranean Press in 2006. I intended for it to be the first in a series, but so far it's the only appearance of the courageous American pilot Dave "Dead-Stick" Malloy. I had great fun writing it, though, and you never know, one of these days good old Dave might fly again. If you're in the mood for chattering Vickers and strut-straining Immelmanns, have at it.

Guest Post on Petticoats & Pistols, plus Free Books

Livia and I have a guest post on the Petticoats & Pistols blog this morning, all about the way we collaborate on our books, and everyone who comments will be entered in a drawing for a couple of copies of my new Redemption, Kansas novel HUNTERS. So check it out, leave a comment, and maybe get a free Western novel. (And a pretty good one, if I do say so myself.)

Hallam: Bigger, Better, and Free

Now with more than 34,000 words of fine hardboiled fiction, Livia's collection of Lucas Hallam stories is free this weekend on Amazon. Two more stories have been added for this promotion, "The Blue Burro" (very BLACK MASK-like and one of my favorite Hallam stories) and "Ladysmith", one of Hallam's adventures when he was still working as a Pinkerton agent. So even if you picked this one up before, you'll want to get it again because it's, did I mention, FREE.

One More Day to Get "The Red Reef" Free

Just a reminder that the Kindle version of my short story "The Red Reef" is still free on Amazon for the rest of the day. Those of you who are pulp fans will recognize nods to several of my favorite authors in this one.

Free Lucas Hallam Stories! Today Only!

Livia has made HALLAM, which collects two long stories featuring her private eye character Lucas Hallam, free for today only. This e-book volume includes "Hallam", the 10,000 word story that introduced the character, which originally appeared in the first Private Eye Writers of America anthology, THE EYES HAVE IT, and "Hollywood Flesh", a 7000 word yarn that has Hallam coming up against zombies in Hollywood. (That's right, Hallam was fighting the Zombie Apocalypse before it was cool!) This one originally appeared in the anthology THE BOOK OF ALL FLESH. These are fine stories, and you sure can't beat the price.


And don't forget, my short story "The Red Reef" is still available for free today and tomorrow.

Free Reasoner!

Several years ago I wrote a pulp-inspired adventure story called "The Red Reef" for the final issue of Dave Zeltserman's HARDLUCK STORIES. Since that version is no longer on-line, I've just published an e-book version of the story on Amazon, and for the next three days it's absolutely free. This is a 4300 word short story, not a novel, but I think it's pretty good stuff. Check it out!

Free Rancho Diablo!

If you've been meaning to try the Rancho Diablo series, today is the perfect time because the first book in the series, SHOOTER'S CROSS (by Mel Odom writing as Colby Jackson), is absolutely free on Amazon. Today only, though, so grab it while you can.

The Only Things Better Than Free Books . . .

. . . are free books as good as these. Really, don't pass up this opportunity to get started on an excellent series.