Posts Tagged ‘new releases’

  • 20 Apr

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    Erotic short story released!

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    Three years ago, upon invitation to an anthology, I sat down and wrote an erotic short story. STEEL & SKIN (the story I released this week) isn’t it! Due to the economic climate, plans for the anthology didn’t proceed and the rights were returned to me. But, the publisher for that anthology (Publisher A), over a drink with another publisher (Publisher B), (and unbeknownst to me) graciously mentioned my name as someone who could string a few words together.

    Publisher B contacted his editor, Editor B, and asked him to get in touch with me and ask if I had a story for their anthology. Editor B and I exchanged a handful of emails. I thanked him very much for the invite (HUGE squeeing at my end, as you can imagine) asked about deadlines and word count and managed to get a story to him just shy of the deadline date. Now, I sent the story to First Email Address. Editor B acknowledged receipt of the story but asked me to send the story to Second Email Address. This I did. (And I have the email headers and receipts to prove it.)

    Well, as is usual in publishing, some months went by and I heard nothing. After about three months, I emailed Editor B, enquiring after the progress of the story and whether it had even made it into the anthology. (You can never be too sure.) His reply was that as I hadn’t bothered to send my story to Second Email Address, I had completely missed the boat and maybe I might stand a chance next year if Publisher B ever decided to release a similar volume.

    I’ll admit it, I was crushed. And I just put the story from my mind because, for many months afterwards, it was just too painful to relive. Just after that rather brusque and offhanded reply from Editor B, I went through all the emails again, wondering if I had inadvertently offended him but, honestly, every communication was focused on the work I had to do. Having owned several businesses, I knew how to be courteous and professional, but there was obviously something Editor B didn’t like. Maybe he thought his publisher was trying to cram another writer down his throat?

    In any case, it was J who brought up the topic over breakfast one morning. “Remember those two short stories you wrote for those anthologies?” he asked. “Whatever happened to them?”

    And the question fell on fertile ground, took root and…well, the first of those stories (which was actually the second I wrote) is now out. It’s called STEEL & SKIN, is a touch over 5,000 words long, costs US$1.99, and is straight erotica. You can find an excerpt at my website. The blurb is as follows:

    Shanti is a dedicated student…or so everyone thinks.

    Shanti’s family consider her a hard-working student, always ready to head to university and get her assignments done. What they don’t know is that the sight and smell of books does more to Shanti than arouse her scholarly instincts, and she depends on her study partners to help scratch her erotic itch.

    A steamy tale of exhibitionist sex set in south-east Asia.

    If readers like it, I have a bit of an idea for a sequel although, to be honest, there’s more than enough on my writing plate right now. I’m reworking the other short story I wrote, in between bouts on BALANCE OF TERROR, and it should be out next month sometime. (The short story, not BALANCE OF TERROR. That one’s due out in June/July.)

    And that’s my traditional publishing anecdote for this week. Stay strong, stalwart reader, and I’ll catch you next week.

  • 16 Mar

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    RETURN OF THE HANTU is out!

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    A couple of years ago, I mentioned to J that south-east Asia has a rich mix of mythologies, drawing from the many ethnic groups that have visited our shores throughout history. “Wouldn’t it be great,” I said, “if I could incorporate some of that in an urban fantasy series?” You see, I was really getting quite sick of the gun-happy shoot-‘em-up heroines, especially when you had such heroines (a) never training, (b) felling bad guys with the bad ole James Bond move of the single “karate chop”, and (c) razing entire towns to the ground on less than six hours sleep a night. I mean, suspension of disbelief is one thing, but….

    “So do it,” he said.

    And because I hadn’t written urban fantasy before, I didn’t think to myself, “Say, why not start off with a short story in the Asian setting and see how that goes”. No no no. Instead, I thought to myself, “What a great idea! Let’s do a five-book series!”

    To be honest, I have more than enough material to fill five books. And, after finishing the first one, I more or less sat down and roughed out major plot points for the remaining four books. But still, as I sat at the dining table a couple of evenings ago, I was wondering whether it was madness or arrogance that put me on the Check Your Luck path in the first place. (It was probably both, with a good dash of whisky.)

    Anyway, THE CHECK YOUR LUCK AGENCY is the first book and is the general set-up. I was careful to do this because there’s nothing I hate more than not having a universe explained. In Book 1, you meet Ursula Formosa, reluctant paranormal investigator, and some of the gang from the Agency: Alfred Long, witch doctor; his powerful and inhuman wife, Evelyn; impressionable gopher, Deepak; receptionist, Betty; and the owner of the Agency, grumpy middle-aged widow, Fiona Li. In order to illustrate what life’s like in these parts, I send Ursula on a couple of cases, just so you get the texture of the environment.

    In Book 2, RETURN OF THE HANTU (“hantu” is Malay for “ghost”), I’ve done the set-up and now we start delving into the meat of the story (hints of which were in Book 1). There is a dark plot looming and it involves the most reclusive member of the Agency, the mysterious Ashida. Meanwhile, Ursula is dragged, kicking and screaming, to confront the paranormal world. How will she react?

    Book 3 backtracks a bit, by concentrating on aspects of Ursula’s life that whizzed by in Book 2, but we also ratchet up the tension when Ursula’s good intentions don’t go unpunished…but you’re going to have to wait till September for that one. The current word count for the entire series is estimated at around two hundred and twenty thousand words so, if you’re about to start THE CHECK YOUR LUCK AGENCY, just relax into it and rest assured that I’m writing as fast as I can!

    Reviews of Book 1 have tended to describe my tale as “quiet”, more along the lines of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (by Alexander MCall Smith), rather than – say – Anita Blake (by Laurell Hamilton). I hadn’t thought of it like that before but, as I like both series (well, Anita Blake before she turned into a raving sex addict), I’m rather happy with the comparison.

    If you’re interested in sampling a “different” urban fantasy, you can check out the first chapters at the series website: www.CheckYourLuckAgency.com And places where you can buy the first two books are at www.SandalPressOnline.com

     

  • 13 Jan

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    Not one but TWO new releases and an appearance

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    Well, maybe one and a half.

    Welcome, stalwart reader! I have news! My latest novel, QUINTEN’S STORY, about a bitter and maimed man and the crewmember he buys is now percolating through your favourite etailers. This means Amazon, XinXii, Smashwords and Omnilit/All Romance Ebooks. The price for his novel (approx. 70,000 words) is currently set at US$3.99, with it going up to US$4.99 at the end of the month. So, if you’re hankering for a copy, I’d get one now rather than later.

    As is usual, you can read a bit of the background, and the entire first chapter, of the book at my website. If you’re after a summary page of where you can buy it, please click on this link to be taken to Sandal Press.

    And that brings up the second piece of news. Sandal Press has also put together a sampler of all its 2011 releases, which includes the first two chapters of QUINTEN’S STORY. It is available from Sandal direct for the princely sum of…FREE!

    That’s right, partials of all of Sandal’s 2011 releases plus a bit of our first 2012 release. All in all, that comes to 39,000 words. I’m hoping it will generate some interest, and drive paying customers to my door but, regardless, I think it a valuable annual exercise and have already started to construct the 2012 sampler to make my life easier this time next year.

    Having been brought up in a repressive Roman Catholic environment, it’s difficult for me to really trumpet about my latest novel, but I know it’s required, so here are some summary points:

    • It’s set in the Republic
    • There is a love story at its heart but no romantic happy ending
    • The novel gives greater insight into the Transitional (shapeshifter) species and how it fits into Republic space
    • Yes, I will be releasing a sequel, hopefully at the end of this year or the beginning of 2013.

    BLURB:

    Quinten Tamlan was once the scourge of the Republic. Then he disappeared….

    It’s been seven long years for Quinten Tamlan. Scarred and bitter, he has lost direction and the spark of idealism that once fired his resolve.

    Until he decides to take on a new crewmember. Quinten believes he has his own problems. He believes he is alone and forgotten. He is wrong. Quite wrong.

    Again, links to my website and Sandal Press for your convenience.

    I am not resting on my laurels. I am still finishing up the first draft of Cara d’Bastian’s next book, THE RETURN OF THE HANTU. Once that is off my plate, I’ll be plotting out…the sequel to IN ENEMY HANDS, currently titled BALANCE OF TERROR. I know its basic structure but will need to sit down and see if Kad Minslok can’t throw a few spanners into the machinery of Srin and Moon’s pharmaceutical dependency problem.

    And, lastly but not leastly, Katiebabs is holding a 2012 Lesbian Appreciation Event at her blog, Babbling About Books, and a few of us authors (Cathy Pegau, Jessica E Subject and myself) will be having posts up during this event. I believe mine will appear on Sunday. For some great books for you to add to your reading list, make sure you visit. You won’t be disappointed.

  • 06 Jan

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    The Janus post

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    Yep, it’s the time of the year for the inevitable retrospective. In all honesty, that’s always been a bit difficult for me as, once I have a story published, I half-forget about it and move on. So if you ask me when a particular book was released, don’t be surprised if I don’t have a clue! BUT, I think I can tell you what happened this year. Roughly.

    * I published a short SFR story set on Europa (one of Jupiter’s moons) called, appropriately enough, EUROPA EUROPA. This story was included in Total-E-Bound’s SEEING STARS anthology, as well as being released as a standalone short in digital and audio formats.

    * I was chuffed enough about EUROPA EUROPA to write another short for Total-E-Bound, called TAINTED LOVE. My first evah vampire story, I now think I should have published it under the Cara d’Bastian pen-name, just to give a bit of additional focus to that new name. Ah well, what’s done is done. I thoroughly enjoyed writing TAINTED LOVE and might revisit Cleo and Bryce at some point.

    * J and I started up Sandal Press and published an SF novel as our first self-published release. At 90,000 words, WAR GAMES was the book that several agents said they loved but couldn’t sell. I could either let it languish in a drawer, have it and my career hog-tied to an otherwise well-respected small press with the vilest contract terms imaginable, or publish it ourselves.

    * A vacation to Poland provided the impetus for a small travelogue on the Silesian and Moravian regions of Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively. It was called IT’S 10AM, WHY AM I STILL SOBER? (Sandal Press) and is currently making the rounds of the family, so it’s just as well I kept my normal swearing to a minimum while writing it.

    * The vacation itself and release of the travelogue pushed out the publication of THE CHECK YOUR LUCK AGENCY (Sandal), which still emerged in October (yay!), although Kobo only managed to get it listed in December and then without its cover. Sigh.

    With those three releases, J and I met our initial milestone of three Sandal releases in 2011, even if they weren’t the three we had initially envisaged.

    Have we made any money with Sandal? No. We’ve spent hundreds of dollars in editing, cover art and sundry business expenses without making a tenth of it back. BUT…I didn’t expect to. When I was first pitching the idea to J, I told them that self-publishing was a long-term proposition and that I wasn’t expecting to see any serious money come out of it for three years. Yep, we have a thirty-six month event horizon on Sandal Press. At the time of this writing, we’re barely five months in. Sure, I’m disappointed I’m not an overnight sensation ;) , but we’ll just stick to the plan for now.

    What does this mean for 2012?

    We all have plans and I’m sure that whatever I put down now will change by the time the next release comes out, but 2012 looks like fast becoming The Year of the Sequel.

    * I’m planning on releasing the next two or three books in d’Bastian’s Check Your Luck series (Book 2: RETURN OF THE HANTU, Book 3: WRATH OF THE HARIMAU).

    * Okay, a space opera set in the Republic coming out in January (QUINTEN’S STORY) is not a sequel but bear with me.

    * A few of you might be pleased to know I’m also contemplating the sequel to IN ENEMY HANDS.

    I thought I’d still have time to write some stories for some other publishers but wonder if I’m being overly ambitious about that, so I think I’ll just stick to my Sandal plans for the time being.

    What about you? Anything you’d like to share about what you did this year or what you’re planning for 2012? Is there any other Augustin title you’d like to read the sequel to?

  • 11 Nov

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    Happy Polish National Day & new release!

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    Today is the 11th of November, and that means Polish National Day. It is particularly important this year for a personal reason tied in with my newest release…I thought that it would be nice to publish a small travelogue on our family’s recent trip to Poland and what better day to do that by than the country’s National Day?

    So, while it’s making its rounds of various etailers, I’m here to tell you that IT’S 10AM, WHY AM I STILL SOBER? is now available at XinXii and Smashwords. Because of today’s significance, I thought I’d give you an appropriate excerpt from the chapter on Kraków (appropriate, not because it has to do with Polish National Day but because it’s about a battle and Poles love battles; they’re very Klingon like that):

    The initial view [of Kraków] is favourable and entertaining, from the cobbled streets to the artistic, renovated buildings. I posed for a photo in front of one of the places where Stanisław Wyspianski (Stan-is-wahv Vis-pee-en-ski) once lived. (He moved around a lot, it seems.) I’ve been a fan of one particular work of Wys ever since I saw his take on the Battle of Grunwald (Groon-vault). Grunwald was where, five centuries ago, a whole bunch of mostly Germanic Crusaders went up against a whole bunch of mostly Poles and got their arses thoroughly whipped. (There’s a recreation every year right at the spot. One day, we’ll make it there.) Wys, although painting around the end of the nineteenth century, delivered an extraordinarily modern interpretation of one of the archetypal paintings (by national hero, Jan Matejko) of the battle.

    Matejko's painting of the Battle of Grunwald

    In essence it was an interpretation (or, er, parody) of a portrayal of a battle. Poles are generally aghast that I’d want a copy of such a parody of Matejko’s much loved and admired masterpiece but there’s such an unbridled exuberance and clear understanding of space to Wys’ work that I find myself smiling each time I see it.

    Wyspianski's parody of Matejko's painting

     

    I know I’m going to end this excerpt with an unfair question. After all, Matejko’s painting is an undoubted masterpiece, full of symbolism, a merging of three events during the historic battle, passion and emotion. BUT…which do you prefer?

    ***

    While IT’S 10AM, WHY AM I STILL SOBER? will be available at Amazon, and so on, I would really recommend that — should you consider purchasing a copy of the book — you get it from XinXii and that you get the PDF copy in particular. This is because there is quite a bit of advanced formatting and a fair number of photos in the book and PDF is still the best way to present such information. However, if you’re a diehard Amazon fan and can’t do without that format, then rest assured that you should have a copy available at Amazon US by the end of this coming weekend.

    I should have the first chapter (after the Introduction) of the book up at my website by the end of today, if you’re interested in reading a longer excerpt. IT’S 10AM, WHY AM I STILL SOBER? is 30,600 words long and will set you back US$2.99 It would be a nice gift for Thanksgiving or Christmas (hint hint) but I wouldn’t get it for any God-fearing, puritanical armchair traveller…unless you want them to have a heart attack. Your choice. (Never know, might be fun.)

    We shall return to regular (homeschooling) programming next week but, in the meantime, have a good weekend.

    POSTSCRIPT: I’ve never considered doing this before, hence the ad hoc nature of this offer, but if you can’t countenance XinXii and would still like to buy a copy of the book (and I really really think PDF is best), you can Paypal me the money and I’ll forward you the book via return email. Contact me at KS -at- KSAugustin -dot- com for the Paypal details if you’re interested in that option.

     

  • 09 Aug

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    War Games book trailer!

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    I uploaded it to YouTube last night. Hope you like it.

  • 05 Aug

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    Friday giveaway news

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    If you have been following along, stalwart reader, you would have noticed an interview with me at Diane Dooley’s blog. That’s one chance to win a copy of WAR GAMES.

    You can go back to last week’s blog post (just look down below this one) and make a comment. That’s a second chance to win a copy of WAR GAMES.

    You could sign up for my newsletter (click the envelope in the sidebar) and ask for a copy, but then I’ll be asking you to pretty please post a review somewhere. Third chance.

    And next Monday, I’ll be at Charlie Allden’s blog, Smart Girls Love SciFi. Fourth chance.

    Don’t say I’m not helping you out here! I’ve got more jobs than time available at the moment. If someone could please make a day last 48 hours, instead of 24, I think I may just get all caught up.

    Have a good weekend and I’ll catch you next week.

  • 01 Aug

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    WAR GAMES is out! Win a copy! Winner drawn 16 August!

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    Dear long-suffering and stalwart reader. Yes, you read that right. WAR GAMES is out, my very first release from my own press, Sandal Press. That link goes to the Sandal Press page, where you can choose an etailer, if that’s your heart’s desire. While I’m on Amazon, Smashwords and XinXii, I’m still waiting on Kobo. And it takes time for the electrons to propagate to such places as Sony, Apple and Diesel.

    With a new release comes the inevitable competition, which tweep @RowanLarke kindly jogged my neurons about. If you, kind visitor, would like a digital copy of WAR GAMES (in EPUB), you have two choices.

    Choice one is signing up for my newsletter. Just ask and you will receive.
    PROs: It’s free!
    CONs: I will be asking that you put a review up somewhere. Plus you have to put up with my bi-monthly rantings for at least one newsletter. And the August/September newsletter will be out at the end of this week, so you don’t have much time.

    Choice two is commenting on this post.
    PROs: Limited exposure to my rantings and no gentle reminders to put up a review. You have till the 15th to enter a comment on any of my blog posts.
    CONs: You have to think of something to say.

    The choice is yours.

    If you’re piqued, you can read the book’s Prologue and a bit of its background here. Meanwhile, I’m hard at work on the next two releases for this year and trying not to compulsively check Amazon/Smashwords every fifteen seconds.

  • 22 Jul

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    WAR GAMES ready for 1 August release! / Society-FAIL

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    Well, it’s been a long haul so far…and it isn’t over yet. BUT, I can tell you that WAR GAMES is on schedule for official release on Monday, 1 August. And the fully-edited Prologue is up at my site for your reading pleasure.

    Cover for War GamesThe main problem with telling you that it’ll be released on the first of August, however, is that it takes time for the uploads to propagate to various etailer sites, so I wouldn’t go looking for the book on the Monday, if I were you. Best to leave it a couple of days.

    By now, stalwart reader, you would know the history of this novel. It’s been more than two years in the making. The book has gone through increases and decreases and now seems to be settled happily at almost the 90,000 word mark. I’ve taken out scenes and fleshed out others and I’m pleased with the result.

    WAR GAMES is also important because it’s my first self-published title and the first release for my own micro-press, so I had to dot many more “i”s and cross many more “t”s to ensure that things fitted together well. But we’re not done. There are still other plans in the works, other books, other offers, other enhancements. I am the ultimate tinkerer.

    For now, though, looking towards the end of the month, it all appears doable. And, for that, I’m very happy.

     

    ***

     

    I don’t always do this. In fact, I can’t remember ever putting a section break in my blog posts, but I had to share something with you. I was taking The Wast through English and he had to pick the appropriate verb in order to satisfy subject-verb agreement. (That is, single subject, singular form of verb; multiple subjects, plural form of verb, that kind of thing.) I won’t go through the exercise with you but I do want to share the output. A case of English-pass but Society-fail, if you will.

    Darren told Alan, “Walking is a good form of exercise. We have to exercise to stay healthy.”
    “You have been telling me that for a long time,” replied Alan, who is used to other activities like playing football. “Jenny and Liza were out walking yesterday when they were robbed. It’s really not safe to walk on your own.”
    Darren said, “They were foolish. They chose to walk at night. Plus, they were not paying attention to what was going on round them. And it’s not like they don’t know about safety measures. Whatever it is, everyone is responsible for his and her own safety. They should have been more careful.” *

    Of course Malaysia can’t be described as libertarian-leaning by any stretch of the imagination. But I’m sure the average Malaysian knows just how, um, hard-working the local police are. They are paid for with public money but, as you can see from the above passage, they are absolutely NOT responsible for public safety.

    I’m not sure what revolts me more about this passage:

    (A) The fact that women’s safety is so easily glossed over
    (B) The “blame the victim” mentality inherent in the piece
    (C) The absolution of police from any kind of behaviour to protect the public
    (D) The fact that two out of three authors of this Guide are women (see below)
    (E) The inculcation of contempt for women being woven into education from a tender age
    (F) The complete incomprehension of locals to the heinous nature of this drivel
    (G) All of the above

    With this in mind, I hope you have a  better weekend than me and I’ll catch you next week.

    * Taken from “Longman Essential English Form 2 Revision Guide” (2011) by Sheela Prabhakaran, Doreen Da Costa, K. N. Vasanthy

  • 20 May

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    New contract!

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    In order to grow (build? mutate?) some paranormal chops, I decided to write a short urban fantasy for an anthology. What I like about anthology specifications is that they force me to focus. This anthology is due for release on Halloween. Any romance is allowed as long as it has vampires in it! LOL

    Oh my, was my first thought. I hadn’t ever thought of writing a vampire story. In fact, vampires aren’t even my favourite paranormal creature, what with them being all sparkly and sun-resistant nowadays. Hmmmmm. Tackling a topic like this, especially if it comes from left field, is very useful because it gets you out of your comfort zone. I love writing science-fiction so of course it made sense for me to tackle a contemporary vampire fantasy. How else can you improve as a writer if not by tackling challenges?

    TAINTED LOVE is about a vampire. And a human. And a grudging relationship they build. Here’s the blurb:

    Bryce Craven is different but, until he meets Cleo, he doesn’t realise how different he really is.

    As a serial killer stalks the streets, the city is in terror. People stay home, afraid to venture out in the dark hours lest they too are discovered, murdered and drained of blood.

    But one person who isn’t afraid is Bryce Craven. He seeks a woman. A special woman. And he won’t rest until he finds her and she delivers to him his heart’s desire. Only her. Only him. And the blood that courses through both their veins.

    Of course, blood doesn’t really course through veins, it courses through arteries. It just gets pushed along in veins, but “And the blood that courses through both their arteries” just doesn’t cut it, does it? So I’m sticking with the coursing-through-veins thing for now.

    The ink is still wet on the contract so no first chapter for at least another couple of months, but at least you know I’m not just concentrating on this self-publishing malarkey.

    The paranormal bug…I haz it.

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