Did you even notice? There was a huge shift in power the other day. one that singles our (America's) demise.
Oh, we would blink out of existance in an instant, but we have started down the slippery slope to the junk heap of history. what Am I talking about? Well pay attention. Let's start with we havethe largest debt in the histroy of the world. Thennthrow in that our government is more concerned with taking away our freedoms and gaining control of our every day lives then building up our country's world position or our economy and then add China's new military. The stealth military. The day before our Secretary of Defense stop by their country to engage in talks on by lateral cooperation, they unveil their newest stealth fighter and talk about the other weapons systems. All of which will make ours obsilete, as in second best. We are no longer the world's super power. We are now no more powerful than France or England, soon if our leaders in Washington have theri way we'll be no more powerful than Cananda or Mexico and just as poor. America has some big problems to overcome and if we don't hurry, it'll be a case of could of, would of, should of as we pass trhe refired beans and rice donanted to help save the starving welfare state that used to be America and Tiawan will be a proveince of China one more without them having to fire a shot, because we would have the money of the technology to challenge them or defeat them. we'll just have to submit to them. Wake up America. What will you tell your children when the ask why you didn't do anything to stop America's collapse. Oh I know, you were tooo busy playing that new video game or to busy watching American idol.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Reprisal!The Eagle Rsies! By Chris Keys
My second book has now been on the market ninety days and it has recieved some excellent reviews and I've actually manged to sell a few dozen copies. By Steven kings defintion, Having recieved a check for my work and actually paid bills with it, I'm now offically a professional author. Yeah Me!
The synopiss for The Eagle Rises! is posted here in hopes it'll peak some interest and under it you'll find an excerpt. Plus you'll see the synopissi for my second Reprisal! Book-Reprisal! The Eagle's Guantlet! and a short excerpt from it as well.
For those of you new to the writing game amd maybe some who aren't so new, I can tell you that the hard part wasn't writing the book. It editing, proofing and now advertising the book. I wrote the first darft of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! over six months span tghree years ago and that wa when it started to get exiting. I had a publisher interested and an agent as well, though both turned out to be con artists just looking to drag out the editing process to make money which really put a damper on my efforts to get to be a successful published author. But i was dterrmente to get my book out to the public and I took on the challenege of getting my book published by myself. Now any of the many authors who have taken this route can tell you that it seems pretty easy when you first start out. It's really a simple step by step process that will end with your being listed on Amazon and a dozen other sites. However, the process as simple as it seemis isn't easy.
All the things that a publisher does, you will have to do. You'll have to find an editor you can work with and who won't try to change what you have written into something they would like to write. This can take time, lots of time. I went through five editors-four of which could have cared less if they actual help me get the book out, they just wanted money. The fifth, I was lucky with and they actually wnat to help me put out the best book I can, while still leaving it in my style of writing. all told the editing process took me more than to years of trial and error, though I have the my future edits covered. So the first step is to find an editor you can work with. Then you have top find a proof reader. I know lots of people think this step isn't necessary, but they'd be wrong. a proof reader is eccential if you hope to put as flawless a book as possible. Thye will ususally find those typo's and forgotten words that you and the editor will skip right over. It's because you've read your novel twenty to thirty times at least and you klow what is supposed to be written there so your mind will automatically skip the little word errors and tell you it is there. There have ben studies done by universities that bare this out. words like to, the, of, are, be, had, a are filled in by your mind because it knows its supposed to be there, but in reality the word isn't there and the first reader to pickup your book
wil spot the mistake instantly. Now that's a problem and can ruin all of your future sales if you're not careful. Okay you've gotten your proof reading done now what?
Now you have to pick a printer for your book. Do you go with a traditinal printer that will require you to print a thousand copies, all paid for up front or do you go with a POD publisher or an Ebook publisher. Do you use a printer/publisher who will handle the books layout and formatting, printing and distribution for a fee or try to do itself? It can be a daunting task, requiring a good deal of reaserch on your behalf. They are not all the same and they charge widely different prices for their sevices. You can spend thousands of dollars or as little as a few hundred. By the way there is no free book publishing unless you publish strictly as an ebook with a publisher that uses word as a platform and they will supply a free ISBN number and you don't care to be officially copyrighted. Remember, free isn't always free, many of the supposed free publishers will simply add the cost of their sevices to the final coat of your book at printing and it'll leave you with little or no royality and a book priced out of the market.
Let's say you've made that decission and you now ready to move on. Okay, now you have to format the book to meet the printers requirements. Its really not that difficult once you learn the terminology and have and understanding of all the features of your computer. Things like internal columns, blank spaces, tab settings and space bar usage gave me fits. It took me two weeks to discover what they were even talking about. While I was trying to learn the terminology, I was also trying to figure out the size, print style, the number of leafs, the paper color and the typeset, I wanted to use. All of these things translate into costs that are added to the price of the printing of your book so choose wisely or you may find you have a book to sell that is priced above and beyond every other book on the market, which usually tramslates into no sales.
In addtion to the printuing of the book, you have at this time got to decide if your going to have a professional create your cover or if your going to try and create one from one of the programs available on the net or from your printer/publisher. When you consider that the cover is what first attracts the reader to your book, I'd preferr to use a professional. Let's face it. The big publishing houses are using professional artists to make their covers and unless your an artist you probably won't create a cover quite as good as the pros do. How many books have you purcahsed that had less than interesting and exciting cover? Exactly. If you wouldn't buy the book with that cover on it, don't use that cover. Covers usually cost a few hundred dollars for a professional to make one up for you. They can also cost thousands of dollars, when you get involved with an artist who is of the impressionthat his or her work is so much better tahn anyone elses that they should be paid big bucks. As new writter, I don't recommend using the high priced artists, seek out the moderate priced artists and reveiw their work before you hire them. If they have made other covers that you like chances are they will be able to make a book cover that works for your book. The cover itself will have to be formatted to meet the printers requirement both of which i believe is best left to the professional because they've done this all before. Part of what the printers require is having the right amount of bleed and the correct thickness of the binding.
Once the Cover and the ineterior have been submitted the printer/publisher will then print a proof copy. This cost a few bucks and once you have your proof you then have to read it over and reply to the printer that its either good to go or point out what the problems are.
at this point the printer publisher will offer you, usually market help. This could be in the form of expanded distribution or specialize programs. The cost of which can vary from a few dollars to thousands, but they typically do not include any market place advertising. They typically include inclussion on different lists, maybe book fair displays, reviews in certain web magazines and other publication, but no actual radio of television ads.
A big part of what the traditional publisher does for you, is they get your book an official copyright. They fill in the application and have it registered at the Library of Congress. If your book is not officially copyrighted and listed with the Library of Congress, most libraries will not deal with you, so no library sales which can be crucial to actually becoming known author and especially if you want to become a bestseller. Libraries can make you a best seller overnight. So I highly recommend that you do this.
Okay now you have a book, its copyrighted, your on the lists that stores and libraries can pick your book from and yet your not selling very many books.
Now you need reviews, actually you should satr trying to get reviews as soon as your ready to upload the book to the printer/publisher. Most reveiwers require only an email-word formatted manuscript to review but some require the actual book, which is a pain because you want the reviewers blub to go the cover. But what you can, when you can. You can't have too many reviews or book blurbs. That would be a short sentence or two telling everyone how great your book is from an established author or celebrity. Expect a lot of rejection and a number fo authors with good intensions that will fail to actually read the book or manuscript you sent them.
Now that you have dozens of great reviews why isn't your book selling? The buying public doesn't know your out there try to sell them a book is why. You'll need to do some advertising. Advertsing comes in many forms and at many different expense levels. Typically, the less expensive the advertising the less income it generates. Free advertisng is the best, but it doesn't always translate into sales, be prepared to work three or four times as hard to get your book sold as you di to write it. It is a business, your business.
I recommend that you start with simple things like business cards, posters and book signing freebees, like pens and book markers. I'd go to every independent books store which an a reasinable drive form your home. I say reasonable because, what is reasonable for me, living Southwest Florida may not be reasonable fot eh you living in Great Falls, Montana. I have to cover over a hundreds miles north of my home to get about fifty stores. where as someone living in New Jersey or Conneticut will have hundreds with fifty miles of their home. It all depends on hoiw back you want it and how big your budget is.
I also recopmmend that yoiu advertise on internet sites that are directed towards your type of reader. This will be based on the genre in which you write. You may not want top advertise your romance novel on Rush Limbaugh anymore than you'd want to advertise your polictical commentary book on a round table discussion show for romance novel readers. You need to understand who is likely to buy your book and advertise where you will most likely been seen by those readers.
Don't let the sllw start discourage you. Rome wasn't built in a day and if you haveto save to run an ad for a few months then so be it. Other ways you could advertise that might be a better bang of your buck. that I haven't tried yet are, hire a professional bok seller to take your book around to the book fairs across the country or to hire an bookseller that will go to all the independent book stores across the country. Be prepared to pay some moeny for their help less than ads usually and to provide them with a few dozen copies of your books for them to display. Oh yes, about the independent bookstores. You're new to the book selling market, you may want to consider offering your books on consignment to the book stores as an incentive to carry your books. that way they have to pay until after the book sells. Be sure provide book marks for free at the cashiers, posters they can hang in wondows or in the store and offer to do book signings with newspaper advertising to ensure the signing draws a crowd. Don't forget to to try and place your books in marina's, gift shops, hospital gift shops, even the big truck stops on the highways. if you can find the way into the airport giftshop market that is a huge potential selling platform for your books as well. next time your in the ariport check out the newstand yoiu find only a hand full of books for sale. wouldn't that be nice to only have a few to compete against.
Be sure to check out my excerpts and my synopsis below and good luck. I'll see you in on the best seller list.
Chris Keys
Synopsis for Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
By Chris Keys
After America suffers the two largest terrorist attacks in history, billionaire businessman Steven Howard takes the war on terror to the terrorists. Creating a private army disguised as corporate security.
Howard and the newly retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and ex-Marine Corp General Charles (Chip) Clarett, begin tracking down the terrorist responsible for the attacks on America and the deaths of the General’s grand children, only to discover newly elected President Alan Starks and his administration are inexplicably refusing to go after the real terrorists, proving the true threat to country is from within.
When the hunt for terrorists turns to banking records, Howard and Clarett follow the money trail to the White House. Financial records suggest the new President and his staff have been bought and paid for by the very men long suspected of being the power behind Islamic fundamentalist terror. Their financial influence allows them to dictate America’s foreign and domestic policies, exerting more and more influence over those, who are in positions of power, through bribery extortion and murder.
Battle lines are drawn, with the White House plotting to take more and more control of the country as a whole, while reducing or eliminating the role of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. President Starks’ scheming forces Howard and Clarett to open a second front in their personal war on terror. A political front, fraught with scandal and the no holds barred politics of personal destruction; with the prize to winner, of not only the White House, but the country itself.
Take a wild ride tracking down the terrorists plotting a third attack on America, in the tropical paradise of Cuba, as the Kilauea Security Force begins fulfilling their role as a force for Reprisal!
Excerpt from the Eagle Rises!
The wind was howling and a heavy drizzle, blanketed what seemed to be the entire world, as Steven arrived at the historic Fort Story Beach. The beach is part of First Landing State Park of Virginia. It was the site of the first landing on April 27, 1607, of the Jamestown Colonists, before they moved further upriver to the famous Jamestown settlement.
Steven‟s limousine pulled to a stop in the beach parking area and for a moment he considered not getting out. Beaches in Virginia at Thanksgiving were either mild and sunny, or cold and rainy. Today was definitely a cold, rainy day.
Looking around the parking lot, as he stepped from the safety and warmth of his limousine, Steven noticed that there was only one other car in the parking area and it belonged to Chip. Steven thought he had to be an idiot, to be here in this kind of weather. Hell, he‟d be lucky if he only caught a cold, but Chip‟s secretary, Captain Rutland, had asked him to meet Chip here, saying it was urgent, and so here he was.
Steven pulled his coat collar as high as he could on his neck, opened his umbrella and tucked his head down. He used the umbrella as shield against the wind and rain as he walked. He then strode across the sands towards the solitary figure, standing just off the high tide line, while his security detail fanned out, encircling the two men in a defensive perimeter, similar to the type that the secret service used to protect the President.
All of the security men were dressed in rain slickers, ball caps and no fog rain goggles. They each carried an MP10 in plain sight and Sig-Sauer forty caliber handguns under their slickers. Steven‟s chauffeur, who doubled as Steven‟s personal body guard, provided additional up close and personal protection by walking ten feet or so behind Steven. He was also carrying an MP10, but his was under his overcoat. It had a collapsible stock, which allowed it to be pretty much undetectable to the untrained eye.
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A quarter mile away, at the entrance to the park, was a van with five more men, ready at a moment‟s notice to intervene on Steven‟s behalf.
As he approached Chip, Steven called out. “Hey buddy, why the cloak and dagger stuff?”
Chip didn‟t answer and he didn‟t turn around. Steven stepped up next to him and stood looking, as Chip was doing, out to sea. The white caps danced in the chill wind until they blended with the horizon or were lost in the rain. After a few moments of awkward silence, Steven asked, “What are we doing here, Chip?”
Chip seemed to shrug his shoulders, his gaze remaining focused on the sea. Steven stood quiet for a few more minutes then, touched his friends arm, while looking at his face asked. “Care to share my umbrella?” When Chip didn‟t move, Steven asked. “What‟s wrong, Chip?”
Chip blinked his eyes and sighed before he answered. He then he stated quietly, “They killed them!” His eyes continued to look straight ahead, as the wind driven rain pelted his face.
“Who killed who?” Steven asked.
“The terrorists killed Elaine and the kids! The killed Ryan and Nichol, they were just babies.” Chip stated through a catch in his voice. Chip‟s eyes appeared to be on the verge of tears, or maybe he was already crying, it was hard to tell in the rain.
“Elaine and the kids were in Houston?” Steven inquired.
“They were in San Antonio at the shopping mall that the terrorists hit Friday morning.”
“Oh God no! That can‟t be. Oh, no Chip, I‟m so sorry! Let‟s get you on my plane, I‟ll fly you there. Come on let‟s get you to the airport.” Steven offered, as he started to turn away.
“That won‟t change anything or help anyone. David has his friends to console him. We were never that kind of close, anyway. I‟ll attend the funerals, or rather the funeral, after the medical examiner confirms the IDs and cause of death. Then, I‟ll catch a flight on my own.”
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“I won‟t hear of it. Let me fly you there. I know that Mary will want us to be there for you and David. You‟re family, as far as we‟re concerned.”
“No, David wants a very private ceremony, just a priest, him and I, at the internment. It‟s a cremation. All three will be buried together.” Chip replied with a quiet sob, his pain showing on his face, as well as in his voice.
Steven took no offense. He knew his friend was hurting bad and he was struggling to vent his pain. They stood together looking out at the sea and after several minutes Steven placed his hand on Chips shoulder. “Come on, let‟s get out of the rain and find a place to have a drink. I know you can use one.”
“I need to know a few things, Steven.” Chip blurted out. He failed to move at his friend‟s touch.
“Like what?” Steven asked, with a puzzled expression on his face, as he turned his back to the rain.
“How committed are you?” Chip asked.
“How committed to what?” Steven asked.
“I turned in my retirement papers this morning. And now I need to know, if you were serious about your private army, or rather your security force?”
“I‟m very serious!”
“I‟m not talking about some half assed operation. It has to be all or nothing.” Chip stated brusquely.
“What would you like me to do to convince you, write it in blood or something?” Steven teased, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
Chip turned and looked his friend directly in the eye. “That would be a start!” he stated coldly, without a hint of humor. After a moment of silence, still staring at his friend, Chip continued in a stern, clear voice. “There‟s going to be lots of blood. The people you‟re asking me to protect you from don‟t care if they live or die, and they certainly want to kill you and me! There is likely to be an ocean of blood, and it‟ll get on everyone and everything close to it. There won‟t be any positive spin to put on this, if the wrong people find out. Everything and everyone, you hold dear, will be at risk!”
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“Like, they aren‟t now!” Steven blurted out. “I‟m a target and my family is a target, just because I‟m successful. The fact that I‟m a westerner, is icing on the cake! Look around,” Steven loudly uttered as he waved his arms expansively, “you think I like, having to travel with this circus? And you know my family has even more people watching them. I don‟t have a choice. I‟ve got to do what I‟ve got to do, to protect my family, my company and my country. Yeah, I‟m prepared to take the heat. The group will provide everything and we won‟t spare the money to do more, or to get the best of both men and equipment. You have carte blanche. You‟re in charge, totally and completely.” Steven stated, with an air of finality.
“I‟ll walk the minute you try to tell me to ace some politico here in the States or a business suit that you simply don‟t like. I‟ll also spill everything to anyone who‟ll listen. The only rules I‟ll accept are the Marguis of Queensbury Rules.” Chip stated flatly.
“What are those?”
“Those I place on myself. It‟s a deal breaker.”
“You‟ll have the final say, on everything we do.” Steven assured him once more.
“The first ops will be to go after the cell that killed my family!” Chip‟s voice was hard and final. His eyes were locked on his friend in a cold stare.
“I can live with that, as long as you also have teams working on the regular protection details and boosting corporate security.” Steven stated, as he looked off in the distance, not wanting to see this side of his friend, he hesitated for a moment. “I know you. You don‟t think the government will do anything about the attacks, right? You feel the only way to get justice is to kill them yourself, right?”Steven asked leading questions, but Chip already knew where he was headed. “Now who‟s on the ego and power trip? Huh?” Steven was reminding Chip of the night they talked about Steven‟s reasons for wanting to do this.
Chip‟s expression didn‟t change and his words were hard as stone. “I don‟t care how you feel about this. It‟s another deal breaker. You know damn well, just as I do, the government won‟t
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bother to find them. They will not take the action needed to ensure that there will never be another attack, because someone, somewhere, will be offended if they do! They‟ll bend over backwards to keep things politically correct.” Chip snarled.
“If you have half the connections and half the intelligence capabilities you claim, we can find them and we can kill every last son of a bitch. It‟s time that we started acting like them and started terrorizing them. That‟s the deal. Take it or leave it!” his voice sharp was as a razor‟s edge
Steven stood staring out to sea for several moments before he spoke again, “So why did we have to meet out here, in the rain?”
“Because I didn‟t come to this decision lightly and I didn‟t want anyone watching or listening. The rain causes problems for prying eyes and ears. But mostly, I didn‟t want to taint my office or yours with talk of treason.” The General stated.
“I am turning my back on my government and my country, which I have spent my whole adult life supporting and defending. That stops today! The assholes in charge do not deserve my loyalty. They‟re inaction has caused the death of my family, and will cause the death of my country, if I don‟t take a stand.
The Declaration of Independence or maybe it was Thomas Jefferson, who said, “For evil to triumph, it only takes good men to do nothing.” I‟ve stopped being a good man doing nothing! So where‟s my post?” Chip curtly asked.
“I think you‟ll find it satisfactory. Have you got time for a trip today?” Steve put his hand on Chip‟s shoulder. This time, Chip let him lead him to the car.
*********
Synopsis for Reprisal! The Eagle's Gauntlet!
A Novel by Chris Keys
In the continuing battle against terrorism, both at home and aboard, Steven Howard and General Charles (Chip) Clarett, discover that the true powers behind the terrorists, have America in a strangle hold of corruption! Ignoring the free falling economy and the growing threats of terrorism, President Starks and his administration, tighten their grip on the American political system through bribes, intimidation and murder, while doing the bidding of the Brotherhood of the Sword.
To placate his new masters and to increase his personal fortune, President Starks agrees to a corrupt deal involving an international arms smuggler and the Brotherhood under the guise of securing refined gasoline for American.
Kilauea Security Forces escalate their actions, opening at battle front at sea against terrorist shipping interests, and Kilauea forces travel to the West Bank in search of the terrorist, David Ashrawl. Ashrawl was the man who supplied the Student Visa’s and the money for the terrorist attackers on Houston and San Antonio. While hunting Ashrawl they learn that there is a traitor among the Israeli Security Forces. The traitor sets up the Israeli Army for ambush when they attempt to capture Ashrawl. Then the traitor sets up the Kilauea team to be ambushed by Al-Aqsa Brigade Forces. To survive, they must fight their way through a gauntlet of ambushes while being chased across the West Bank to the safety of Israel after capturing Ashrawl.
Excerpt for Reprisal! The Eagle's Gauntlet!
“It is time to go!” Ahmed yelled, as he burst through the door of the bedroom where Ashrawl was sleeping. It was just after 11:30 p.m. Ashrawl took several moments to push the sleep away before he asked, “What is happening?”
“No questions! Hurry and get dress! It is time to go!” Ahmed yelled again, giving Ashrawl a withering gaze, while he loaded Ashrawl’s luggage into his arms.
“I need my black suitcase. Where’s my luggage?” Ashrawl asked, as he pulled on his pants and looked about the room for his shirt and shoes.
“I have your luggage. Now move it before they arrive and you are dead!” Ahmed shouted, as he stepped in to the hallway, looking both ways before heading to the stairs.
“Are the Israelis here?” Ashrawl called out, as he slipped his shoes on and stumbled after Ahmed.
“Shut up! Follow me, quickly.” Ahmed turned and walked briskly down the hall, Ashrawl’s luggage tucked under one arm. When he reached the stairs, he threw open the door, which banged loudly against the wall, gave a fleeting glance back, to be sure his charge was following, and then bounded down the stairs as quickly as he could.
Ashrawl stumbled down the hallway, trying to slip his shirt on and run at the same time. A look of terror was etched on his face.
At the bottom of the stairs, Ahmed was waiting for Ashrawl. He held up his hand for him to stop, as he slowly opened the door and peaked into the dark parking garage. Several moments passed, as he listened closely for any sound that should not be there. With his patience low and his fear high, Ashrawl started to speak, but before he could do more than draw a breath, Ahmed turned and cut him off, with a look that could have killed.
Once Ahmed was satisfied that they were alone, he slipped a small pen light from his pocket and fanned it about the garage, as a last precaution before stepping thru the door. Ashrawl followed close behind Ahmed, his eyes searching for anything that might be trouble.
Suddenly a deep thud reverberated throughout the garage and Ahmed dropped to his knees, where he remained frozen for several seconds, while Ashrawl stood trembling, a few steps behind him. When the sound died away, Ahmed stood and started to run towards a group of a half dozen parked cars. The quickness of Ahmed’s move took Ashrawl by surprise, and in his hast to follow, he tripped and fell face first into the sandy floor of the garage.
Picking himself up, Ashrawl stumbled after Ahmed, but before they could reach the group of vehicles, a series of five explosions, in quick succession, reverberated through the garage.
The force of the shock wave, reverberating through the structure, knocked both of the men to the ground. Sand, dust and small pieces of concrete fell from the ceiling above them. Gathering his wits, Ahmed quickly threw Ashrawl’s luggage into the boot of a dark green Mercedes, and began waving for Ashrawl to hurry.
The sound of heavy machine guns could be heard overhead, as Ashrawl reached the car where Ahmed roughly shoved him into the back seat. Ahmed leapt into the driver’s seat, ordering Ashrawl to lie on the floor and be quiet, threatening to kill Ashrawl himself, if he couldn’t handle it.
They exited the garage a few streets over from the safe house and Ahmed quickly made several turns, all the while checking for anyone following them. He did not turn on the cars headlamps, which made the rapid trip through the narrow streets an exciting adventure, much like a roller coaster ride at an amusement park, with your eyes closed. The alternative would have been to alert the Israelis to a car driving away from the area of the safe house, which was under attack, and invite a rocket up the tail pipe for their trouble.
It took twenty minutes to slip out of Nablus, driving quickly, without the benefit of the headlamps. Ahmed had several close calls, missing pedestrians by inches, as he swung around blind corners. Several times, he even scraped the fenders of other cars and buildings, but at last they had made it out of the city, and no one appeared to be following them. Praise be to Allah!
An hour and a half later, they stopped in front of a one story, mud brick structure, set behind a low stucco wall, surrounded by olive orchards. The house was dark and run down. It appeared to have been abandoned.
Ahmed exited the car and retrieved the luggage from the boot, setting it down in a cloud of dust just inside the wall. He then opened the rear door of the car and ordered Ashrawl out of the car.
David Ashrawl slowly crawled out of the car and stretched. He looked around, peering into the darkness, and seeing nothing but the dark shadow of this old, run down house. “Where are we?” he asked.
“You don’t need to know.” Ahmed stated curtly.
“What are you saying? I’m the one, whose life is on the line here. I need to know where we are.” Ashrawl whined.
Ahmed turned towards Ashrawl, grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Ashrawl’s eyes went wide, as he squirmed and wiggled, but he was held tight by Ahmed’s powerful grip. Pulling Ashrawl close, Ahmed spoke quietly, venom dripping from his words.
“You are a cockroach, who is afraid of his own shadow. You live in luxury, while your people die, struggling to escape the strangle hold of the Israelis and the Great Satan, America. I am a soldier in the service of Allah, so I must follow my orders and protect you. I do not have to like it, nor do I have to protect you further.” With that, Ahmed tossed Ashrawl to the ground, climbed into the car and drove away. Ashrawl sat for several moments, watching the tail lights fade into the distance before he stood. He then stood and began to dust himself off. He was startled by the sudden appearance of a man, who stepped out of a deep shadow to left side of the house, holding an assault rifle in front of him, “Ashrawl?”
“Yes” Ashrawl answered, not at all sure what to do.
“Pickup your luggage and follow me.” the man stated, as he turned and walked around the corner of the building.
*********
The synopiss for The Eagle Rises! is posted here in hopes it'll peak some interest and under it you'll find an excerpt. Plus you'll see the synopissi for my second Reprisal! Book-Reprisal! The Eagle's Guantlet! and a short excerpt from it as well.
For those of you new to the writing game amd maybe some who aren't so new, I can tell you that the hard part wasn't writing the book. It editing, proofing and now advertising the book. I wrote the first darft of Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! over six months span tghree years ago and that wa when it started to get exiting. I had a publisher interested and an agent as well, though both turned out to be con artists just looking to drag out the editing process to make money which really put a damper on my efforts to get to be a successful published author. But i was dterrmente to get my book out to the public and I took on the challenege of getting my book published by myself. Now any of the many authors who have taken this route can tell you that it seems pretty easy when you first start out. It's really a simple step by step process that will end with your being listed on Amazon and a dozen other sites. However, the process as simple as it seemis isn't easy.
All the things that a publisher does, you will have to do. You'll have to find an editor you can work with and who won't try to change what you have written into something they would like to write. This can take time, lots of time. I went through five editors-four of which could have cared less if they actual help me get the book out, they just wanted money. The fifth, I was lucky with and they actually wnat to help me put out the best book I can, while still leaving it in my style of writing. all told the editing process took me more than to years of trial and error, though I have the my future edits covered. So the first step is to find an editor you can work with. Then you have top find a proof reader. I know lots of people think this step isn't necessary, but they'd be wrong. a proof reader is eccential if you hope to put as flawless a book as possible. Thye will ususally find those typo's and forgotten words that you and the editor will skip right over. It's because you've read your novel twenty to thirty times at least and you klow what is supposed to be written there so your mind will automatically skip the little word errors and tell you it is there. There have ben studies done by universities that bare this out. words like to, the, of, are, be, had, a are filled in by your mind because it knows its supposed to be there, but in reality the word isn't there and the first reader to pickup your book
wil spot the mistake instantly. Now that's a problem and can ruin all of your future sales if you're not careful. Okay you've gotten your proof reading done now what?
Now you have to pick a printer for your book. Do you go with a traditinal printer that will require you to print a thousand copies, all paid for up front or do you go with a POD publisher or an Ebook publisher. Do you use a printer/publisher who will handle the books layout and formatting, printing and distribution for a fee or try to do itself? It can be a daunting task, requiring a good deal of reaserch on your behalf. They are not all the same and they charge widely different prices for their sevices. You can spend thousands of dollars or as little as a few hundred. By the way there is no free book publishing unless you publish strictly as an ebook with a publisher that uses word as a platform and they will supply a free ISBN number and you don't care to be officially copyrighted. Remember, free isn't always free, many of the supposed free publishers will simply add the cost of their sevices to the final coat of your book at printing and it'll leave you with little or no royality and a book priced out of the market.
Let's say you've made that decission and you now ready to move on. Okay, now you have to format the book to meet the printers requirements. Its really not that difficult once you learn the terminology and have and understanding of all the features of your computer. Things like internal columns, blank spaces, tab settings and space bar usage gave me fits. It took me two weeks to discover what they were even talking about. While I was trying to learn the terminology, I was also trying to figure out the size, print style, the number of leafs, the paper color and the typeset, I wanted to use. All of these things translate into costs that are added to the price of the printing of your book so choose wisely or you may find you have a book to sell that is priced above and beyond every other book on the market, which usually tramslates into no sales.
In addtion to the printuing of the book, you have at this time got to decide if your going to have a professional create your cover or if your going to try and create one from one of the programs available on the net or from your printer/publisher. When you consider that the cover is what first attracts the reader to your book, I'd preferr to use a professional. Let's face it. The big publishing houses are using professional artists to make their covers and unless your an artist you probably won't create a cover quite as good as the pros do. How many books have you purcahsed that had less than interesting and exciting cover? Exactly. If you wouldn't buy the book with that cover on it, don't use that cover. Covers usually cost a few hundred dollars for a professional to make one up for you. They can also cost thousands of dollars, when you get involved with an artist who is of the impressionthat his or her work is so much better tahn anyone elses that they should be paid big bucks. As new writter, I don't recommend using the high priced artists, seek out the moderate priced artists and reveiw their work before you hire them. If they have made other covers that you like chances are they will be able to make a book cover that works for your book. The cover itself will have to be formatted to meet the printers requirement both of which i believe is best left to the professional because they've done this all before. Part of what the printers require is having the right amount of bleed and the correct thickness of the binding.
Once the Cover and the ineterior have been submitted the printer/publisher will then print a proof copy. This cost a few bucks and once you have your proof you then have to read it over and reply to the printer that its either good to go or point out what the problems are.
at this point the printer publisher will offer you, usually market help. This could be in the form of expanded distribution or specialize programs. The cost of which can vary from a few dollars to thousands, but they typically do not include any market place advertising. They typically include inclussion on different lists, maybe book fair displays, reviews in certain web magazines and other publication, but no actual radio of television ads.
A big part of what the traditional publisher does for you, is they get your book an official copyright. They fill in the application and have it registered at the Library of Congress. If your book is not officially copyrighted and listed with the Library of Congress, most libraries will not deal with you, so no library sales which can be crucial to actually becoming known author and especially if you want to become a bestseller. Libraries can make you a best seller overnight. So I highly recommend that you do this.
Okay now you have a book, its copyrighted, your on the lists that stores and libraries can pick your book from and yet your not selling very many books.
Now you need reviews, actually you should satr trying to get reviews as soon as your ready to upload the book to the printer/publisher. Most reveiwers require only an email-word formatted manuscript to review but some require the actual book, which is a pain because you want the reviewers blub to go the cover. But what you can, when you can. You can't have too many reviews or book blurbs. That would be a short sentence or two telling everyone how great your book is from an established author or celebrity. Expect a lot of rejection and a number fo authors with good intensions that will fail to actually read the book or manuscript you sent them.
Now that you have dozens of great reviews why isn't your book selling? The buying public doesn't know your out there try to sell them a book is why. You'll need to do some advertising. Advertsing comes in many forms and at many different expense levels. Typically, the less expensive the advertising the less income it generates. Free advertisng is the best, but it doesn't always translate into sales, be prepared to work three or four times as hard to get your book sold as you di to write it. It is a business, your business.
I recommend that you start with simple things like business cards, posters and book signing freebees, like pens and book markers. I'd go to every independent books store which an a reasinable drive form your home. I say reasonable because, what is reasonable for me, living Southwest Florida may not be reasonable fot eh you living in Great Falls, Montana. I have to cover over a hundreds miles north of my home to get about fifty stores. where as someone living in New Jersey or Conneticut will have hundreds with fifty miles of their home. It all depends on hoiw back you want it and how big your budget is.
I also recopmmend that yoiu advertise on internet sites that are directed towards your type of reader. This will be based on the genre in which you write. You may not want top advertise your romance novel on Rush Limbaugh anymore than you'd want to advertise your polictical commentary book on a round table discussion show for romance novel readers. You need to understand who is likely to buy your book and advertise where you will most likely been seen by those readers.
Don't let the sllw start discourage you. Rome wasn't built in a day and if you haveto save to run an ad for a few months then so be it. Other ways you could advertise that might be a better bang of your buck. that I haven't tried yet are, hire a professional bok seller to take your book around to the book fairs across the country or to hire an bookseller that will go to all the independent book stores across the country. Be prepared to pay some moeny for their help less than ads usually and to provide them with a few dozen copies of your books for them to display. Oh yes, about the independent bookstores. You're new to the book selling market, you may want to consider offering your books on consignment to the book stores as an incentive to carry your books. that way they have to pay until after the book sells. Be sure provide book marks for free at the cashiers, posters they can hang in wondows or in the store and offer to do book signings with newspaper advertising to ensure the signing draws a crowd. Don't forget to to try and place your books in marina's, gift shops, hospital gift shops, even the big truck stops on the highways. if you can find the way into the airport giftshop market that is a huge potential selling platform for your books as well. next time your in the ariport check out the newstand yoiu find only a hand full of books for sale. wouldn't that be nice to only have a few to compete against.
Be sure to check out my excerpts and my synopsis below and good luck. I'll see you in on the best seller list.
Chris Keys
Synopsis for Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
By Chris Keys
After America suffers the two largest terrorist attacks in history, billionaire businessman Steven Howard takes the war on terror to the terrorists. Creating a private army disguised as corporate security.
Howard and the newly retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and ex-Marine Corp General Charles (Chip) Clarett, begin tracking down the terrorist responsible for the attacks on America and the deaths of the General’s grand children, only to discover newly elected President Alan Starks and his administration are inexplicably refusing to go after the real terrorists, proving the true threat to country is from within.
When the hunt for terrorists turns to banking records, Howard and Clarett follow the money trail to the White House. Financial records suggest the new President and his staff have been bought and paid for by the very men long suspected of being the power behind Islamic fundamentalist terror. Their financial influence allows them to dictate America’s foreign and domestic policies, exerting more and more influence over those, who are in positions of power, through bribery extortion and murder.
Battle lines are drawn, with the White House plotting to take more and more control of the country as a whole, while reducing or eliminating the role of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. President Starks’ scheming forces Howard and Clarett to open a second front in their personal war on terror. A political front, fraught with scandal and the no holds barred politics of personal destruction; with the prize to winner, of not only the White House, but the country itself.
Take a wild ride tracking down the terrorists plotting a third attack on America, in the tropical paradise of Cuba, as the Kilauea Security Force begins fulfilling their role as a force for Reprisal!
Excerpt from the Eagle Rises!
The wind was howling and a heavy drizzle, blanketed what seemed to be the entire world, as Steven arrived at the historic Fort Story Beach. The beach is part of First Landing State Park of Virginia. It was the site of the first landing on April 27, 1607, of the Jamestown Colonists, before they moved further upriver to the famous Jamestown settlement.
Steven‟s limousine pulled to a stop in the beach parking area and for a moment he considered not getting out. Beaches in Virginia at Thanksgiving were either mild and sunny, or cold and rainy. Today was definitely a cold, rainy day.
Looking around the parking lot, as he stepped from the safety and warmth of his limousine, Steven noticed that there was only one other car in the parking area and it belonged to Chip. Steven thought he had to be an idiot, to be here in this kind of weather. Hell, he‟d be lucky if he only caught a cold, but Chip‟s secretary, Captain Rutland, had asked him to meet Chip here, saying it was urgent, and so here he was.
Steven pulled his coat collar as high as he could on his neck, opened his umbrella and tucked his head down. He used the umbrella as shield against the wind and rain as he walked. He then strode across the sands towards the solitary figure, standing just off the high tide line, while his security detail fanned out, encircling the two men in a defensive perimeter, similar to the type that the secret service used to protect the President.
All of the security men were dressed in rain slickers, ball caps and no fog rain goggles. They each carried an MP10 in plain sight and Sig-Sauer forty caliber handguns under their slickers. Steven‟s chauffeur, who doubled as Steven‟s personal body guard, provided additional up close and personal protection by walking ten feet or so behind Steven. He was also carrying an MP10, but his was under his overcoat. It had a collapsible stock, which allowed it to be pretty much undetectable to the untrained eye.
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A quarter mile away, at the entrance to the park, was a van with five more men, ready at a moment‟s notice to intervene on Steven‟s behalf.
As he approached Chip, Steven called out. “Hey buddy, why the cloak and dagger stuff?”
Chip didn‟t answer and he didn‟t turn around. Steven stepped up next to him and stood looking, as Chip was doing, out to sea. The white caps danced in the chill wind until they blended with the horizon or were lost in the rain. After a few moments of awkward silence, Steven asked, “What are we doing here, Chip?”
Chip seemed to shrug his shoulders, his gaze remaining focused on the sea. Steven stood quiet for a few more minutes then, touched his friends arm, while looking at his face asked. “Care to share my umbrella?” When Chip didn‟t move, Steven asked. “What‟s wrong, Chip?”
Chip blinked his eyes and sighed before he answered. He then he stated quietly, “They killed them!” His eyes continued to look straight ahead, as the wind driven rain pelted his face.
“Who killed who?” Steven asked.
“The terrorists killed Elaine and the kids! The killed Ryan and Nichol, they were just babies.” Chip stated through a catch in his voice. Chip‟s eyes appeared to be on the verge of tears, or maybe he was already crying, it was hard to tell in the rain.
“Elaine and the kids were in Houston?” Steven inquired.
“They were in San Antonio at the shopping mall that the terrorists hit Friday morning.”
“Oh God no! That can‟t be. Oh, no Chip, I‟m so sorry! Let‟s get you on my plane, I‟ll fly you there. Come on let‟s get you to the airport.” Steven offered, as he started to turn away.
“That won‟t change anything or help anyone. David has his friends to console him. We were never that kind of close, anyway. I‟ll attend the funerals, or rather the funeral, after the medical examiner confirms the IDs and cause of death. Then, I‟ll catch a flight on my own.”
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“I won‟t hear of it. Let me fly you there. I know that Mary will want us to be there for you and David. You‟re family, as far as we‟re concerned.”
“No, David wants a very private ceremony, just a priest, him and I, at the internment. It‟s a cremation. All three will be buried together.” Chip replied with a quiet sob, his pain showing on his face, as well as in his voice.
Steven took no offense. He knew his friend was hurting bad and he was struggling to vent his pain. They stood together looking out at the sea and after several minutes Steven placed his hand on Chips shoulder. “Come on, let‟s get out of the rain and find a place to have a drink. I know you can use one.”
“I need to know a few things, Steven.” Chip blurted out. He failed to move at his friend‟s touch.
“Like what?” Steven asked, with a puzzled expression on his face, as he turned his back to the rain.
“How committed are you?” Chip asked.
“How committed to what?” Steven asked.
“I turned in my retirement papers this morning. And now I need to know, if you were serious about your private army, or rather your security force?”
“I‟m very serious!”
“I‟m not talking about some half assed operation. It has to be all or nothing.” Chip stated brusquely.
“What would you like me to do to convince you, write it in blood or something?” Steven teased, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
Chip turned and looked his friend directly in the eye. “That would be a start!” he stated coldly, without a hint of humor. After a moment of silence, still staring at his friend, Chip continued in a stern, clear voice. “There‟s going to be lots of blood. The people you‟re asking me to protect you from don‟t care if they live or die, and they certainly want to kill you and me! There is likely to be an ocean of blood, and it‟ll get on everyone and everything close to it. There won‟t be any positive spin to put on this, if the wrong people find out. Everything and everyone, you hold dear, will be at risk!”
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“Like, they aren‟t now!” Steven blurted out. “I‟m a target and my family is a target, just because I‟m successful. The fact that I‟m a westerner, is icing on the cake! Look around,” Steven loudly uttered as he waved his arms expansively, “you think I like, having to travel with this circus? And you know my family has even more people watching them. I don‟t have a choice. I‟ve got to do what I‟ve got to do, to protect my family, my company and my country. Yeah, I‟m prepared to take the heat. The group will provide everything and we won‟t spare the money to do more, or to get the best of both men and equipment. You have carte blanche. You‟re in charge, totally and completely.” Steven stated, with an air of finality.
“I‟ll walk the minute you try to tell me to ace some politico here in the States or a business suit that you simply don‟t like. I‟ll also spill everything to anyone who‟ll listen. The only rules I‟ll accept are the Marguis of Queensbury Rules.” Chip stated flatly.
“What are those?”
“Those I place on myself. It‟s a deal breaker.”
“You‟ll have the final say, on everything we do.” Steven assured him once more.
“The first ops will be to go after the cell that killed my family!” Chip‟s voice was hard and final. His eyes were locked on his friend in a cold stare.
“I can live with that, as long as you also have teams working on the regular protection details and boosting corporate security.” Steven stated, as he looked off in the distance, not wanting to see this side of his friend, he hesitated for a moment. “I know you. You don‟t think the government will do anything about the attacks, right? You feel the only way to get justice is to kill them yourself, right?”Steven asked leading questions, but Chip already knew where he was headed. “Now who‟s on the ego and power trip? Huh?” Steven was reminding Chip of the night they talked about Steven‟s reasons for wanting to do this.
Chip‟s expression didn‟t change and his words were hard as stone. “I don‟t care how you feel about this. It‟s another deal breaker. You know damn well, just as I do, the government won‟t
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bother to find them. They will not take the action needed to ensure that there will never be another attack, because someone, somewhere, will be offended if they do! They‟ll bend over backwards to keep things politically correct.” Chip snarled.
“If you have half the connections and half the intelligence capabilities you claim, we can find them and we can kill every last son of a bitch. It‟s time that we started acting like them and started terrorizing them. That‟s the deal. Take it or leave it!” his voice sharp was as a razor‟s edge
Steven stood staring out to sea for several moments before he spoke again, “So why did we have to meet out here, in the rain?”
“Because I didn‟t come to this decision lightly and I didn‟t want anyone watching or listening. The rain causes problems for prying eyes and ears. But mostly, I didn‟t want to taint my office or yours with talk of treason.” The General stated.
“I am turning my back on my government and my country, which I have spent my whole adult life supporting and defending. That stops today! The assholes in charge do not deserve my loyalty. They‟re inaction has caused the death of my family, and will cause the death of my country, if I don‟t take a stand.
The Declaration of Independence or maybe it was Thomas Jefferson, who said, “For evil to triumph, it only takes good men to do nothing.” I‟ve stopped being a good man doing nothing! So where‟s my post?” Chip curtly asked.
“I think you‟ll find it satisfactory. Have you got time for a trip today?” Steve put his hand on Chip‟s shoulder. This time, Chip let him lead him to the car.
*********
Synopsis for Reprisal! The Eagle's Gauntlet!
A Novel by Chris Keys
In the continuing battle against terrorism, both at home and aboard, Steven Howard and General Charles (Chip) Clarett, discover that the true powers behind the terrorists, have America in a strangle hold of corruption! Ignoring the free falling economy and the growing threats of terrorism, President Starks and his administration, tighten their grip on the American political system through bribes, intimidation and murder, while doing the bidding of the Brotherhood of the Sword.
To placate his new masters and to increase his personal fortune, President Starks agrees to a corrupt deal involving an international arms smuggler and the Brotherhood under the guise of securing refined gasoline for American.
Kilauea Security Forces escalate their actions, opening at battle front at sea against terrorist shipping interests, and Kilauea forces travel to the West Bank in search of the terrorist, David Ashrawl. Ashrawl was the man who supplied the Student Visa’s and the money for the terrorist attackers on Houston and San Antonio. While hunting Ashrawl they learn that there is a traitor among the Israeli Security Forces. The traitor sets up the Israeli Army for ambush when they attempt to capture Ashrawl. Then the traitor sets up the Kilauea team to be ambushed by Al-Aqsa Brigade Forces. To survive, they must fight their way through a gauntlet of ambushes while being chased across the West Bank to the safety of Israel after capturing Ashrawl.
Excerpt for Reprisal! The Eagle's Gauntlet!
“It is time to go!” Ahmed yelled, as he burst through the door of the bedroom where Ashrawl was sleeping. It was just after 11:30 p.m. Ashrawl took several moments to push the sleep away before he asked, “What is happening?”
“No questions! Hurry and get dress! It is time to go!” Ahmed yelled again, giving Ashrawl a withering gaze, while he loaded Ashrawl’s luggage into his arms.
“I need my black suitcase. Where’s my luggage?” Ashrawl asked, as he pulled on his pants and looked about the room for his shirt and shoes.
“I have your luggage. Now move it before they arrive and you are dead!” Ahmed shouted, as he stepped in to the hallway, looking both ways before heading to the stairs.
“Are the Israelis here?” Ashrawl called out, as he slipped his shoes on and stumbled after Ahmed.
“Shut up! Follow me, quickly.” Ahmed turned and walked briskly down the hall, Ashrawl’s luggage tucked under one arm. When he reached the stairs, he threw open the door, which banged loudly against the wall, gave a fleeting glance back, to be sure his charge was following, and then bounded down the stairs as quickly as he could.
Ashrawl stumbled down the hallway, trying to slip his shirt on and run at the same time. A look of terror was etched on his face.
At the bottom of the stairs, Ahmed was waiting for Ashrawl. He held up his hand for him to stop, as he slowly opened the door and peaked into the dark parking garage. Several moments passed, as he listened closely for any sound that should not be there. With his patience low and his fear high, Ashrawl started to speak, but before he could do more than draw a breath, Ahmed turned and cut him off, with a look that could have killed.
Once Ahmed was satisfied that they were alone, he slipped a small pen light from his pocket and fanned it about the garage, as a last precaution before stepping thru the door. Ashrawl followed close behind Ahmed, his eyes searching for anything that might be trouble.
Suddenly a deep thud reverberated throughout the garage and Ahmed dropped to his knees, where he remained frozen for several seconds, while Ashrawl stood trembling, a few steps behind him. When the sound died away, Ahmed stood and started to run towards a group of a half dozen parked cars. The quickness of Ahmed’s move took Ashrawl by surprise, and in his hast to follow, he tripped and fell face first into the sandy floor of the garage.
Picking himself up, Ashrawl stumbled after Ahmed, but before they could reach the group of vehicles, a series of five explosions, in quick succession, reverberated through the garage.
The force of the shock wave, reverberating through the structure, knocked both of the men to the ground. Sand, dust and small pieces of concrete fell from the ceiling above them. Gathering his wits, Ahmed quickly threw Ashrawl’s luggage into the boot of a dark green Mercedes, and began waving for Ashrawl to hurry.
The sound of heavy machine guns could be heard overhead, as Ashrawl reached the car where Ahmed roughly shoved him into the back seat. Ahmed leapt into the driver’s seat, ordering Ashrawl to lie on the floor and be quiet, threatening to kill Ashrawl himself, if he couldn’t handle it.
They exited the garage a few streets over from the safe house and Ahmed quickly made several turns, all the while checking for anyone following them. He did not turn on the cars headlamps, which made the rapid trip through the narrow streets an exciting adventure, much like a roller coaster ride at an amusement park, with your eyes closed. The alternative would have been to alert the Israelis to a car driving away from the area of the safe house, which was under attack, and invite a rocket up the tail pipe for their trouble.
It took twenty minutes to slip out of Nablus, driving quickly, without the benefit of the headlamps. Ahmed had several close calls, missing pedestrians by inches, as he swung around blind corners. Several times, he even scraped the fenders of other cars and buildings, but at last they had made it out of the city, and no one appeared to be following them. Praise be to Allah!
An hour and a half later, they stopped in front of a one story, mud brick structure, set behind a low stucco wall, surrounded by olive orchards. The house was dark and run down. It appeared to have been abandoned.
Ahmed exited the car and retrieved the luggage from the boot, setting it down in a cloud of dust just inside the wall. He then opened the rear door of the car and ordered Ashrawl out of the car.
David Ashrawl slowly crawled out of the car and stretched. He looked around, peering into the darkness, and seeing nothing but the dark shadow of this old, run down house. “Where are we?” he asked.
“You don’t need to know.” Ahmed stated curtly.
“What are you saying? I’m the one, whose life is on the line here. I need to know where we are.” Ashrawl whined.
Ahmed turned towards Ashrawl, grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Ashrawl’s eyes went wide, as he squirmed and wiggled, but he was held tight by Ahmed’s powerful grip. Pulling Ashrawl close, Ahmed spoke quietly, venom dripping from his words.
“You are a cockroach, who is afraid of his own shadow. You live in luxury, while your people die, struggling to escape the strangle hold of the Israelis and the Great Satan, America. I am a soldier in the service of Allah, so I must follow my orders and protect you. I do not have to like it, nor do I have to protect you further.” With that, Ahmed tossed Ashrawl to the ground, climbed into the car and drove away. Ashrawl sat for several moments, watching the tail lights fade into the distance before he stood. He then stood and began to dust himself off. He was startled by the sudden appearance of a man, who stepped out of a deep shadow to left side of the house, holding an assault rifle in front of him, “Ashrawl?”
“Yes” Ashrawl answered, not at all sure what to do.
“Pickup your luggage and follow me.” the man stated, as he turned and walked around the corner of the building.
*********
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A Needed Marketing Spark by Chris Keys author of The Fishing Trip-A Ghost story! and Reprisal! The Eagle Rises!
First off, I'd like to thank Tony for allowing me this opportunity to provide a guest blog for him, despite the fact that I'm not a recognized marketing expert. My claim to fame or infirmary is that I'm an independent author with two books to my credit. The Fishing Trip-A Ghost Story and Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! Both are available from CreateSpace and Amazon, and have received great reviews. I've even managed to actually sell a few dozen copies of each, which brings us to the real issue. If you're reading this, you're probably an author yourself or an aspiring one and you're reading this with the hope of finding that one gem of marketing wisdom that will provide a much needed spark to your writing career. I'd really like to say, "Here it is!", but that wouldn't be true.
Prior to deciding I could write stories well enough to be understood and enjoyed by most people, I worked in marketing, sales to be more precise. For over twenty five years, I sold things, lots of things. I sold construction services, trash services, food (Wholesale), cars, landscaping services, transportation services, stereo's (when that used to be the state of the art), appliances, real estate and myself (politics).
The overall theme, that all of these different endeavors taught me about marketing, is that there isn't a single method of marketing that works to sell all things, all the time. It has always taken a mix of approaches to marketing to catch the public's attention. Some products required flyers and yellow pages ads. Some require newspaper ads and phone calls. Others, required mailers and others still, require mailers and billboards, while making hundreds of cold calls. Writing is no different.
As an independent writer especially, our job, mine included, is to get our work noticed, (I.E. to sell books), otherwise, it's just a hobby. It is not an easy task. Which explains why the big publishers, are so reluctant to give new authors a chance. Unless they can be confident they will make money off of a book, usually based on the writer's celebrity status or their industry or political connections or their previous track record, they don't offer a contract. In today's market, the big publishers are totally unwilling to take a chance on an unknown. Many of the authors, you may think are new authors. Really are seasoned independent authors, who finally managed to get the attention of a publisher by selling a large number of books on their own. A writer I really enjoy is Vince Flynn. He started as an independent author just we are. He struggled to get the public to take notice. But through perseverance, he found the right combination of marketing approaches and he managed to sell enough books, that a publisher took notice and as they, say the rest is history.
In the last two years, due to limited finances, I have strived to promote myself through the internet using social interaction sites and word of mouth. It has worked to some extent but it hasn't exactly made me a household name. My next step is going to be a more direct approach. I will be contacting every independent bookstore within a hundred miles of where I live (that's because of where I live, your area may be smaller or larger) and request they carry my books. I'll be doing this on a consignment basis, so that there isn't any cost to them, other than a little bookshelf space. This is a twist on a marketing concept that has worked many times for me in the past, known as cold calling. It's far more difficult for the customer, the bookstore owner or manager, to ignore or refuse you, when you're standing right in front of them.
I know many of you are saying, "I can't do that. I'm not a salesman. I'm a writer." Well, I hate to be the one to tell you, but writing is selling. You're selling your visions, your beliefs, your hopes and dreams. Your first customer, as an independent author, is the bookstore manager, who has to be convinced that he will be able to sell your book, because that is how they make a living. If the books don't sell, they lose their job. So it's important that you be able to demonstrate why your book should be there, rather than someone else's. As an independent author, you don't have a big marketing department placing ads across the country in big publications that the bookstore manager can count on to bring customers into their store to buy your book. So you have to sell him or her, on you. Plus you'll need to make it as painless as possible, for them to help you.
The way that you can do that is by providing them with copies of your positive reviews. You can also provide them with cheap but tasteful posters of your book covers suitable for hanging in their stores or in their store's windows. You may also want provide them with a list of any social networking sites you're on and have been using to promote your books, along with your Website address. The more you can show them that you're actively promoting yourself, the better. Don't forget to offer to do book signings in their store. Be sure have a plan for promoting those book signings and explain it to the store manager, so they can be reasonably sure that if they agree, the signings will draw as many people as possible, because that is still a very good way to sell books. Yes, it is a lot of work. What? You were thinking, you'd just write a book and then just sit back and count the money coming in?
My best advice, based on my experience thus far in promoting my own books, The Fishing Trip-A Ghost Story and Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! is to do as much self promotion as possible, utilizing as many different methods as possible. The second thing I am hoping to be able to do this year is to actually buy ads on different internet sites like Facebook, My Space, and others. I know, it is expensive, but even a small ad on a site that is influential with the type of person who is your target reader, with pay for itself, if the story you've written is at least half decent. Whatever promotional choices you make, be sure to keep your budget in mind and don't spread yourself too thin or too thick. It will more than likely take a mix of marketing efforts to make the sale. Plus remember, writing is now your own small business and treat it that way. If you work at it and work it smart, you can't help but become successful. Good Luck and I hope to see you on the best sellers list.
Chris Keys-author of The Fishing Trip –A Ghost Story and Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! Available from Create Space and Amazon. Look for my next book-Reprisal! The Eagle's Gauntlet! Due to be release in February 2011
Prior to deciding I could write stories well enough to be understood and enjoyed by most people, I worked in marketing, sales to be more precise. For over twenty five years, I sold things, lots of things. I sold construction services, trash services, food (Wholesale), cars, landscaping services, transportation services, stereo's (when that used to be the state of the art), appliances, real estate and myself (politics).
The overall theme, that all of these different endeavors taught me about marketing, is that there isn't a single method of marketing that works to sell all things, all the time. It has always taken a mix of approaches to marketing to catch the public's attention. Some products required flyers and yellow pages ads. Some require newspaper ads and phone calls. Others, required mailers and others still, require mailers and billboards, while making hundreds of cold calls. Writing is no different.
As an independent writer especially, our job, mine included, is to get our work noticed, (I.E. to sell books), otherwise, it's just a hobby. It is not an easy task. Which explains why the big publishers, are so reluctant to give new authors a chance. Unless they can be confident they will make money off of a book, usually based on the writer's celebrity status or their industry or political connections or their previous track record, they don't offer a contract. In today's market, the big publishers are totally unwilling to take a chance on an unknown. Many of the authors, you may think are new authors. Really are seasoned independent authors, who finally managed to get the attention of a publisher by selling a large number of books on their own. A writer I really enjoy is Vince Flynn. He started as an independent author just we are. He struggled to get the public to take notice. But through perseverance, he found the right combination of marketing approaches and he managed to sell enough books, that a publisher took notice and as they, say the rest is history.
In the last two years, due to limited finances, I have strived to promote myself through the internet using social interaction sites and word of mouth. It has worked to some extent but it hasn't exactly made me a household name. My next step is going to be a more direct approach. I will be contacting every independent bookstore within a hundred miles of where I live (that's because of where I live, your area may be smaller or larger) and request they carry my books. I'll be doing this on a consignment basis, so that there isn't any cost to them, other than a little bookshelf space. This is a twist on a marketing concept that has worked many times for me in the past, known as cold calling. It's far more difficult for the customer, the bookstore owner or manager, to ignore or refuse you, when you're standing right in front of them.
I know many of you are saying, "I can't do that. I'm not a salesman. I'm a writer." Well, I hate to be the one to tell you, but writing is selling. You're selling your visions, your beliefs, your hopes and dreams. Your first customer, as an independent author, is the bookstore manager, who has to be convinced that he will be able to sell your book, because that is how they make a living. If the books don't sell, they lose their job. So it's important that you be able to demonstrate why your book should be there, rather than someone else's. As an independent author, you don't have a big marketing department placing ads across the country in big publications that the bookstore manager can count on to bring customers into their store to buy your book. So you have to sell him or her, on you. Plus you'll need to make it as painless as possible, for them to help you.
The way that you can do that is by providing them with copies of your positive reviews. You can also provide them with cheap but tasteful posters of your book covers suitable for hanging in their stores or in their store's windows. You may also want provide them with a list of any social networking sites you're on and have been using to promote your books, along with your Website address. The more you can show them that you're actively promoting yourself, the better. Don't forget to offer to do book signings in their store. Be sure have a plan for promoting those book signings and explain it to the store manager, so they can be reasonably sure that if they agree, the signings will draw as many people as possible, because that is still a very good way to sell books. Yes, it is a lot of work. What? You were thinking, you'd just write a book and then just sit back and count the money coming in?
My best advice, based on my experience thus far in promoting my own books, The Fishing Trip-A Ghost Story and Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! is to do as much self promotion as possible, utilizing as many different methods as possible. The second thing I am hoping to be able to do this year is to actually buy ads on different internet sites like Facebook, My Space, and others. I know, it is expensive, but even a small ad on a site that is influential with the type of person who is your target reader, with pay for itself, if the story you've written is at least half decent. Whatever promotional choices you make, be sure to keep your budget in mind and don't spread yourself too thin or too thick. It will more than likely take a mix of marketing efforts to make the sale. Plus remember, writing is now your own small business and treat it that way. If you work at it and work it smart, you can't help but become successful. Good Luck and I hope to see you on the best sellers list.
Chris Keys-author of The Fishing Trip –A Ghost Story and Reprisal! The Eagle Rises! Available from Create Space and Amazon. Look for my next book-Reprisal! The Eagle's Gauntlet! Due to be release in February 2011
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