Monday, March 28, 2011

Making Good, Better!

Well, today I'm glad to announce that all three of my novels are now available in Kindle/e-Reader format.  Beyond the Darkness in eBook form is a revised version of what is still, temporarily, paperback.  Like Predators of Darkness, I found places that needed to be strengthened and did so before sending these to www.ebooksforpleasure.com.

The novel samples and links are as follows:


http://www.ebooksforpleasure.com/bookstore/sci-fi/predators-of-darkness-aftermath.html
http://www.ebooksforpleasure.com/bookstore/sci-fi/beyond-the-darkness.html
http://www.ebooksforpleasure.com/bookstore/sci-fi/the-game-of-pawns.html

"Why eBooks?" you may ask.

During our current economic crisis, this route is simply more affordable, and the sales of Kindles, Nooks, and other e-Readers are also on the rise.

The paperback versions of my novels and a lot of other authors have gone up to $13.95 to $16.95 or more.  Hardback books are even more than that.

The Kindle/e-Reader versions of my novel are:  $6.99 PoD: Aftermath (102,000 words), $5.99 Beyond the Darkness (85,000 words), and $5.99 The Game of Pawns (78,000 words).  You save a lot of money and still get to venture into my dark worlds filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end.

"But I don't have an e-Reader or a Kindle."  For those of you in this situation, if you have Adobe on your computer, you can download (free) Adobe Digital Editions and upload ePub documents to read.

Leonard D. Hilley II

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Ground Floor: Moving UP

First, there's no amount of words to express my thanks and gratitude to all the wonderful people who have left reviews for Predators of Darkness: Aftermath at Amazon, Goodreads, other book sites, and their Blogs.  For those of you reading my series right now, I'm on the ground floor in the publishing world, and with your feedback and comments that allow others to learn about my series, I'm moving UP.  Readers are hearing about these books, and it's because of your help.  The really exciting thing is that we're on this journey together!

Thanks!!!


Best,
Leonard D. Hilley II

Monday, March 21, 2011

First Contest Drawing: April 2nd

I will draw from the list of people following my personal blog on April 2nd (not Goodreads link).  Since April 1st is "April Fools' Day," I don't want anyone to conclude the contest is a joke.  But someone will win two free copies of The Game of Pawns (one with the missing text and the corrected version).

Friday, March 18, 2011

Latest Amazon Review for Predators of Darkness

Creepy End of the world Sci-Fi, March 16, 2011
This review is from: Predators of Darkness (Paperback)
I read the first two books a while ago, and then decided to pick up Predators of Darkness again after seeing how many people loved it like I did and the fact that I hadn't read the third book yet. I can say that it is just as good the second time around. Even knowing what happened and who the clones were, I was captivated, still reading with new/old eyes in to the nuances of the characters and subtle shifts that were telltale signs I didn't see the first time around. The plot is your basic survival/end of the world story line. We have a community of people, there are power struggles and physical struggles, but the survivors seem to have a hierarchy system in place that actually works. This is where we meeting our hero Daniel, while not the `leader', or even the one who herded the survivors into the fallout shelter to begin with, he's a leader all his own. He and his best friend Lucas are the main ones who go out looking for caches of supplies and food. This is where the story twists.

While the plot line is about the politics and struggle of daily life for survivors, it's also about their main enemies, the Shifters. These are genetically mutated beings who, as far as Daniel can tell, mutating even more... not good for the survivors. I'm not going to give away any more of the story. And there is so much more. Not all shifters are evil, people aren't who they seem, and the good Doctor has a hunch of why the world has collapsed. You need to read it for yourselves; it's a great end of the world sci-fi novel that leaves a lot more of the plot line open for future books. In fact there are two more; in addition I was just informed that the writer is currently finishing up the screen play. While some readers claim it starts off slow... well it does a little... I think it's necessary in order to introduce the readers into the world the way Hilley wants them to be. The next two books are Beyond the Darkness and The Game of Pawns, each fantastic and more disturbing. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Predators of Darkness: Aftermath available on Kindle

I'm pleased to announce the new, updated version of Predators of Darkness: Aftermath  is available on Kindle and eReaders for $6.99.  Order your copy at: http://www.ebooksforpleasure.com/bookstore/sci-fi/predators-of-darkness-aftermath.html  There is also a sneak peek excerpt at this site.  If you love dark thrillers, this book might be for you.  Tread carefully.  Fear what lurks in the shadows.

Amazon reviews for Predators of Darkness are here: http://www.amazon.com/Predators-Darkness-Leonard-Hilley-II/dp/1432704869

If you are an avid eBook blogger and are interested in a free copy to blog about, please leave a blog link in a comment and I'll get back to you.

Also, if you love cats, you'll love Morton, a cat phenom in himself.

Book Tags: sci-fi, suspense, thriller, paranormal, biotech

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Welcome Readers

Welcome to everyone.  

Contest number one:

As I  build my reading audience, I'll be posting "Chance to Win" contests from time to time for those following my blog.  The first giveaway prize is two signed copies of the third book in my series: The Game of Pawns (book excerpt is in an earlier blog).  One of the copies is a VERY limited edition.  Only 20-30 copies of it exist because the publisher had somehow left out a few paragraphs in the text, so it's flawed, but maybe one day worth something.  Who knows?  The second copy (same title) to the lucky winner has the missing text.  BOTH will be signed and shipped to the name drawn.

Oh, check out the excerpt to Predators of Darkness, too.  We're almost finished with the screenplay.  Leave a comment and let us know if you think it's going to make a great, dark movie.

Best to you all and good luck,

Leonard

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Show, Don't Tell

In order to fill a novel with action, you must show, not tell.

Not too long ago, an author approached me to blurb her novel via Facebook for her self-published book.  I asked her to send an eCopy of the manuscript so I could read it.  I read about seven pages before I had to stop.  There was no action, no urgency that set a pace to demand I keep reading.  Don't get me wrong, she had great ideas and a strong storyline, but she was telling how a character got from A to B, rather than showing the action.

The novel was tattered with he/she "Began to, tried to, continued to, attempted to, felt," etc.  These phrases clutter writing and hurt the pace of any story.  In most cases, these can be dropped and tighten up the prose dramatically.  And since her novel would be self-published, she didn't have an editor to point this out to her.  I explained this to her, based on my own personal experience, and suggested she revise her novel to remove linking verbs to strengthen the action.  After all, as I had learned, what you publish puts your reputation on the line.  First impressions happen only once.

This is just one of the dangers of self-publication (I plan a future post about the pros and horrors of self-publishing), and why having an editor is very important.

The art of writing is RE-writing.  Revision is key.  I revise constantly and never totally feel satisfied.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Converting Predators of Darkness into a Screenplay

Greetings all,

As many of you know, I've been steadily converting Predators of Darkness into a screenplay with co-writer, Prof. Ann Linden at Shawnee State University.  This undertaking is a lot different than writing a novel or a short story.  The hardest part is taking a 340 page novel and condensing it down to 120 pages of script, which isn't an easy thing to do and why I solicited Ann's help.  She has a great eye for what needs to stay and what must go.

Many people have contacted me after reading Predators of Darkness and said that they could visualize my book as they read and could see it made into a movie.  But, my writing comes to me through visualization.  I clearly see the scenes as the story unfolds, how the characters act and react, and hear their conversations as if I was sitting in the room with them.   

One benefit of having visual images of my novels is that it's less likely I forget what happens.  I draw on the visualization mapped out in my head.  However, one disadvantage is when I cannot foresee what happens next and have to wait until the characters resolve their dilemmas and invite me to watch and listen.

Images of past novels that I've yet to revise are still prominent in my mind.  Often I find myself reflecting on what has happened and want to get back to finishing those projects.  However, I'm more pressed for time in writing the fourth novel in the "Darkness" series that I can't pry myself away.  Indeed, there never seems to be enough hours in the day.  As I press on later this year to publicize my novels, I know time will be more restrained, but I do hope that I can continue the flow of writing without too much disruption.  Networking demands time.  A LOT of time.

Cheers!

Leonard D. Hilley II

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

2011 Goals

Hi all,

After I began the process of turning Predators of Darkness into a screenplay, I was appalled at all the errors I discovered in my novel.  A lot of these were supposed to be corrected in my galleys, and sadly, many of the remaining ones were due to using Microsoft Works instead of Microsoft Word.  Now, I'm a devoted Word user and see the handicap of not having it while writing PoD.  Needless to say, I promptly pulled the novel from sales to prevent further embarrassment.

I anticipate the revised edition of Predators of Darkness: Aftermath to be released by this summer.  The new edition is tighter and more in depth than the original.  Also, I've changed a lot of elements involved that foreshadow events in Beyond the Darkness and The Game of Pawns.  The new edition will be available on Kindle and in paperback format.

My Deimosweb website should be up and running again by the time Predators of Darkness: Aftermath becomes available.

Ann Linden and I are almost finished with the screenplay for Predators of Darkness.  Without her help and editing, I know this project wouldn't have happened.  Now, again, more hunting and searching for an agent/movie producer.  I am excited and hope we get a director to make this dark novel into a movie.  Many have expressed their hope in seeing the same.  Fingers, lots of fingers, are crossed.

I plan to attend a few writers conferences this year for the first time.  Not sure which I will choose, but I will post once I know.  Once "Aftermath" is in print, I plan to start locally to promote my novels.  I want to schedule Meet and Greet: Q&A at libraries, books stores (used and new), and get online and radio interviews.

Currently, I'm working on the fourth book in the series, Death's Valley.  Some new twists and turns, and believe me, you'll be as surprised as I am about some of the developments.  As things unfold right now, I do see book five in the future as well.

New ideas came to me a few weeks ago for two short stories or possible additions to my dark fantasy works.  Finding time is an issue, but as ideas come, I write them down.  I've learned the hard way.  If you don't write down sentences or ideas that intrigue you, you will forget them.  Muses seldom repeat themselves.

I greatly appreciate all of you, my reading fans.  Without you, I'd still be writing, but it wouldn't be near as fun.  Please tell your reading friends to join me.  Upcoming contests in the near future!

Cheers,

Leonard D. Hilley II