Barry Eisler, Amanda Hocking and a few unanswered questions.

I say "unanswered questions" but possibly they've been answered somewhere, and I just haven't seen it. So if you have the answers to the following questions -- or even good guesses -- feel free to chime in.

Recently, twitter, blogs, etc. were a-buzz with news of authors Barry Eisler and Amanda Hocking. Eisler turned down a traditional publishing deal worth half a million bucks to self-publish. Hocking has parlayed her self-publishing success to grab a sweet traditional publishing deal. But even as these two ships cross in the night, I wonder what , if anything, this information means to me. These authors are pretty high profile. I'm not. But I'm watching this whole kindle thing with interest. I'm not smart enough to know what's going to happen. But I do sense things are changing, and it would be silly not to pay attention and ask a few questions.

Such as ...

What about film rights and foreign rights? As a very non-high-profile author, I've been very pleasantly surprised to have some good luck selling translation rights, and a number of my books are under option, a few even tantalizing close to getting the greenlight. If I'd self-published these book would they have been noticed by Hollywood types? Would they have been picked up for translation. If it sounds like I'm trying to make a point, I'm not. These aren't rhetorical questions. I'm really asking. In a couple of cases, I've actually made much more from subsidiary rights than from the original advances paid by publishers. Not enough for that beach house on Maui, but I was glad for the checks. And if all the pending film projects come to fruition (a HUGE if) it'll officially be the most cash I've ever made in my life. Can we count those chickens yet? Hell no. But the potential dangles out there like a .... uh ... a dangly thing. (I'm a writer!)

Again, I don't think this will matter to authors Like Eisler or self-publishing guru and author J.A. Konrath. But for those of us slinking through the bowels of the midlist ...

Hey, I know. We'll try an experiment. Dear Hollywood producers: Please go here. Bring money.

Hello, Italy ... Again!

My pals at Meridiano Zero tell me that the Italian edition of The Deputy -- Night of Blood at Coyote Crossing in Italy -- will hit stores March 23. That's only 2 days away! I need to say that I don't just see Meridiano Zero as my great Italian publisher, I also think of them as friends. They work harder than anyone I know to get my name into magazines and newspapers and really spread the word. The reslut is that I feel very welcome and very much at home when I visit Italy and sign books for Italian readers. On top of that, they really believe in my work. The writing itself seems important to them, and in a business often slightly over-concerned with "marketing platforms" that's a pretty cool thing. I consider myself lucky to be hooked up with such a great crew.

UPDATE: I forgot earlier to thank the excellent translator Luca Conti. Tops in the field. Thanks, Luca.

Hello, Italy !!!

Hello, you wonderful Italian readers. I've had some nice comments come in recently from some of you, and I just wanted to say thanks. I'm glad you're enjoying Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse ... called BLACK CITY in your country. I will come visit you in June and again later this fall. I can't wait!

This is another blog post

Seems a little quiet around Blogpocalypse, so I figured I'd better post something to prove I haven't slipped into a coma.

Random tidbits:

Kudos and thanks to director/producer Jake Dickey for renewing the option on the PULP BOY screenplay co-written with pal Anthony Neil Smith. And we're on IMDB now. I really appreciate Jake's hard work and continued faith in the project as he closes in on funding.

The kind folks at Meridiano Zero are publishing the Italian version of THE DEPUTY in less than two weeks. Coolness. I really appreciate my Italian publisher and all those great Italian readers.

Thanks for the kind words on TO THE DEVIL, MY REGARDS the hardboiled poke at the private eye genre ... also co-written with buddy Neil.

Much Marvel Comics doings in the works, but that's hush hush.

So ... what's new with you guys? Anything I shoud know about?

NOW AVAILABLE

X-MEN #8

Bring money.

(And thanks for all the kind words on this issue. You folks are tops.)

Kindle Bargains: Part Deux

Yesterday, I blogged that the hardboiled detective novella I wrote with Anthony Neil Smith To the Devil, My Regards is now available on Kindle and Nook for the sassy bargain price of .99 cents. Under no circumstance am I looking to duplicate the incredible e-book sales of authors like J.A. Konrath or Lee Goldberg. But I hate the thought that I've taken the time to write something and it's not available for readers. The Kindle solves that problem. This isn't my first Kindle experience. I also put my collection of linked short stories Three On A Light on Kindle onto Kindle. I don't pimp it too hard because I wrote it a looooong time ago while working on my master's degree, but again, it's available for anyone who is curious at the cheap-ass price of 1.99.

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse and Vampire A Go-Go are also on Kindle, but not at what you'd call a bargain price. However, my most recent novel The Deputy is priced at 4.99. That's cheaper than a mass market paperback!

Yesterday, I downloaded To the Devil, My Regards from Amazon to test the Kindle app on my Droid. I found that I wouldn't mind reading another short novel on my Droid. Especially if I can get something at a bargain price.

SO tell me please what Kindle novels you suggest. You can pimp yourself or suggest an author you discovered. There are a lot of kindle novels out there. I don't want to wade in alone. Tell me your suggestions. I like gritty hardboiled crime, science fiction and fantasy.

CHEAP-ASS KINDLE NOVELLA

It seems like a long, long time ago that Anthony Neil Smith and I decided to write a novella together called To the Devil, My Regards -- our stab at a very pulpy Private Eye story. To me, the title sounds like something Mickey Spillane might have written ... or maybe I'm thinking of Emerson LaSalle. You can see what Neil has to say about it right here.

I confessed to Neil in an earlier e-mail, that I actually remember very little about the story. For me, this is a big nostalgia trip because what I DO remember is how Neil and I sent the computer file back and forth as we co-wrote this crazy thing. We'd try to shock each other or make each other crack up. I think it was an act of friendship as much as it was a writing project. It was fun, and I think that fun shows in the story and the characters. It's gritty, goofy, hardboiled and odd.

So maybe it'll be one of the best things you've ever read on a Kindle or the worst thing since since the last terrible self-published thing you read as an e-book. But for .99 cents, does it really matter? Come on! 99 effing cents for crying out loud. That's worth it just to see what sort of goofy nonsense Smith & Gischler were up to a decade ago. (That's right, the novella has been in a cave with Bin Laden, waiting for the Kindle revolution to come along.)

Oh, and you can get it on the NOOK too.