So You Want to Make an eBook?

You'll often hear people talk about using an automated program to convert to eBooks, and say it's good enough. Heck, I thought that too. What I - and so many others - have found, is that no automated converter is perfect. We've found that knowing how to make an eBook by hand gives us control when the programs don't co-operate.

Whether you use another converter or an automated system (like Smashwords), I think it's vital that authors have a reference in order to maintain control over their own work.

It's like having the manual for doing an oil change on your car. Even if you always go to SpeedyWombatLube, having that choice - and the knowledge on how to fix your car if they screw up or go out of business - is real power.

I wrote this book to be accessible to a computer-literate (but not guru, wizard, or sysadmin) level. I avoid lots of obscure technical details, but walk you through the steps to do a basic conversion using free tools - and show you where references are to find out more yourself.

By Steven Saus US$9.99 eBook

Redefining Our Relationships

Loving openly and freely in this day and age, whether you are straight or queer, is a political act. Put together your own vision of an ideal relationship, re-sculpt your own belief system, redefine the potential of a friendship, imagine a thousand ways to make love to yourself and to anyone you care about. Radicalize your relationship by imagining your wildest ideal partnership together. Avoid stagnancy by challenging your old familiar routine and re-inventing new levels of commitment. Face your true desires in life by asking yourself what you really want from all your connections.

Make no mistake, Redefining Our Relationships is not about the pros and cons of monogamy versus non-monogamy. This is a daring and provocative how-to guide book on radically defined relationships and alternative lifestyles. Wendy-O Matik writes about what she has lived and experienced: open relationships. She believes that open relationships reduce the hazards that accompany unhealthy co-dependency. Open relationships challenge us to confront our jealousy and possessiveness. Committing to a relationship not mapped out by our parents or society or Hollywood means tearing down the very foundation of status quo and conformity. It means redefining and rebuilding your own version of an alternative relationship based on your needs and your values.

By Wendy-O Matik US$7.99 eBook

Net Impact

Dick Thornby is not Hollywood’s idea of a spy.

In his rough and tumble job there are no tailored Italian suits, no bimbos eager to please, and no massive underground fortresses built by evil overlords seeking world domination—just an endless series of sinister threats to the safety and security of the billions of mundane citizens of the planet. Sure, Dick’s tough and he knows a few tricks to help him get out of a tight spot, even if his boss accuses him of over-reliance on an abundance of explosives. But he’s also got a mortgage, a wife upset by his frequent absences on "business" trips, and an increasingly alienated teen-age son who spends way too much time playing in gaming worlds on the computer.

When a mission to bust up an arms exchange in New Zealand goes spectacularly bad, ending with the showy destruction of the Dunedin port facility, Dick is thrown into a maze of conflict involving Hong Kong arms dealers, cyber-criminals, Chinese government goons attempting to suppress computer access by dissidents, and even militant Maoris seeking rocket launchers to shoot down tourist-laden jumbo jets. Then a young computer expert back at the Philadelphia headquarters for The Subsidiary, an international espionage agency created in the aftermath of 9/11, discovers that the bad guys are involved in a vast conspiracy. Dick is forced to partner with the espionage neophyte to battle evil on multiple fronts, leading to a final confrontation that incorporates real-world conspiracy theories and cutting-edge technology.

In the end, Dick Thornby can save his partner, save his marriage, save his son, or save the world, but he can’t do it all.

By Donald J. Bingle - US$4.99 eBook, $15.99 paper

The Crimson Pact Volume One

The moment of the demons’ defeat became their greatest victory.

In the carnage after the last great battle against the demons, a doomed general discovers their hidden victory. Instead of being annihilated, unspeakable evil escaped into many unsuspecting worlds. To fight them, the men and women of the Crimson Pact must sacrifice everything—including their own lives.

In volume one, explore 26 stories (over 500 pages in print!) based on the worlds of The Crimson Pact about the valiant men and women who refuse to let the demons win, and those unfortunate souls caught in the epic struggle raging across the multiverse. New York Times Bestselling author and Campbell award nominee, Larry Correia and many urban fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi, horror, and fantasy writers tell the tales in this diverse collection of short stories, flash fiction, and novellas. Volume One has stories by Patrick M. Tracy, Richard Lee Byers, Jess Hartley, Donald J. Bingle, Chris Pierson, Barbara J. Webb, Kelly Swails, Sarah Hans, Patrick S. Tomlinson, Sarah Kanning, Isaac Bell, Elaine Blose, Kathy Watness, Daniel Myers, Justin Swapp, Rebecca L. Brown, Gloria Weber, Garrett Piglia, T.S. Rhodes, Lester Smith, Chanté McCoy, Suzzane Myers, EA Younker, Craig Nybo, and Larry Correia.

Only $4.99 as an eBook, $17.99 print.

Join the pact. Fight the demons now.^*

^*Note: The proceeds from the sale of this book go to the continued eradication of every red-eyed, soul-stealing, shadow-lurking, flesh-eating, baby-stealing demon in the entire multiverse.

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The digital Special Edition of Volume 1 includes sixteen bonus behind-the-scene "about the stories" essays from the authors for only 50¢ more - a steal at $5.49!

 

        

The Crimson Pact Volume Two

The Pact is back and demons are as devious as ever in The Crimson Pact Volume 2.

Read 28 original stories (over 500 pages in print!), including many sequels to stories in volume one. Suzzanne Myers’s powerful flash fiction piece, “Withered Tree” continues with the exceptional short story, “Seven Dogs.” Chanté McCoy’s “Inside Monastic Walls” is followed by the literally gut-wrenching follow-up short story, “Body and Soul.” Urban fantasy mayhem is off the charts with rising star Patrick Tomlinson’s “Monsters in the Closet” and D. Robert Hamm’s “Karma.” Steampunk your thing? EA Younker’s steampunk apocalypse tale “Stand,” Sarah Hans’ sequel about professor Campion, “A More Ideal Vessel,” and Elaine Blose’s steampunk Western “Wayward Brother” will whet your appetite.

The dark fantasy and adventure continues in “Dark Archive,” Sarah Kanning writes how Danielle from “Hidden Collection” must deal with the lingering effects of being possessed by a demon. Volume two mixes sequels from Gloria Weber, Justin Swapp, and Isaac Bell with new stories from Lester Smith, K.E. McGee, Adam Israel, Valerie Dircks, T.S. Rhodes, Elizabeth Shack, Daniel Alonso, and Nayad Monroe.

New York Times Bestselling author and Campbell award nominee Larry Correia presents an exclusive short story, “Son of Fire, Son of Thunder” co-authored by Steven Diamond, about an FBI paranormal investigator and a bad ass marine who knows the exact moment of his own death. Travel to the alternate history Earth of the “Red Bandanna Boys” by Patrick M. Tracy and find out how ruthless you have to be to survive the slums of St. Nikolayev. Follow “The Trail of Blood” by Alex Haig, a horrifying Western about a bounty hunter who wants vengeance, not money. Hunt for Nazis in a disturbing 1950’s America in “Hunters Incorporated” by Kelly Swails. Patrol the steaming jungles of Vietnam with a squad of soldiers in Lon Prater’s “Last Rites in the Big Green Empty.” Then enter the mind of a godlike demon in Donald J. Bingle’s ambitions tale, “Dark Garden,” or visit the creepy shadow world created by Richard Lee Byers in “Light and Dark.”

Only $4.99 as an eBook, print editions $17.99 (coming soon).

Watch your back, the demons are coming.

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The digital Special Edition of Volume 2 includes eleven bonus behind-the-scene "about the stories" essays from the authors for only 50¢ more - a steal at $5.49!

 

        

Pencils Made This Scar

We only see glimpses of other people’s lives.

In this collection of over 60 works of flash fiction, you will see into the lives of monsters and saints, homemakers, warriors, and astronauts.

Nearly every page is a complete story, a brief glimpse into the things and events that make us who and what we are.

By Steven Saus - US$1.99 eBook

Memories of Light and Sound

Even when you can go anywhere, anywhen on your honeymoon, sometimes you have to backward to move on.

Set in 1920’s New York City, it takes us from fancy hotels to immigrant landings, to speakeasies. This short story about family, love, and time travel originally appeared in the DAW anthology "Timeshares".

By Steven Saus - US$0.99

The Burning Servant

During the American Civil War, Grant’s march to the sea is still a (in)famous event. Yet in this dark fantasy story, told in the Wanderer’s Club, we find that the strangest and most horrific parts of that event never reached public knowledge.

This story first appeared as part of Mike Stackpole's Chain Story project.

By Steven Saus - US$0.99