Judith Lown is the author of A Match for Lady Constance (Avalon) and A Sensible Lady: A Traditional Regency Romance (eFrog Press). She is hard at work on a sequel but still makes time to blog. Today she pays tribute to Georgette Heyer during the week of her birthday. Note that A Sensible Lady: A Traditional Regency Romance will be free to download from Amazon on August 16, Heyer’s birthday.

Georgette Heyer:  What Makes An Incomparable?

Georgette Heyer might not have been the first writer to use Incomparable to designate a lady whose beauty is sufficiently compelling to thaw the hearts of icy Lords, turn erstwhile warriors into babysitters, or, most importantly, transform notorious rakes into faithful, monogamous husbands.  However, she can be credited with establishing the Incomparable as a fixture of the Regency Romance, just as she established the Regency as a staple among romance novels.

But of all the Incomparables brought to life by Heyer, none is as deserving of the title as she is, herself.  No.  She was not a great beauty.  No. She did not have a dashing career as the most sought-after debutante.  She did not even participate in a London Season. Indeed, before she was of an age to do so, she was writing her first novel, The Black Moth, in order to entertain her seriously ill brother. All the same, she well earns the title Incomparable.

Founder of a Literary Genre

Who else founded a literary genre?  Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Louis L’Amour?  The list is short.

What other writer whose career extended from 1921 to 1974 has her own Amazon page with audio, paperback and e-editions available—all with 4+ star ratings?

What is it about Heyer’s novels that set them apart from so many other historical novels that have their time of popularity and then fade? The answer, I believe, is that Georgette Heyer, while wholly absorbed in the mores and fashions of a specific time in history, had a keen eye for ageless human foibles and eternal human values.

Heyer’s Era

Think about what was happening in England and the world during Heyer’s writing career. It began just after World War I had concluded, which left behind widows, orphans and single young women whose chances for marriage and family had died in the trenches of Normandy.  The Ottoman Empire was collapsing.  Armenians were the victims of genocide.  Maimed and shell-shocked veterans were struggling to find their bearings in civilian society. Then came the worldwide Depression.  Fascism, Nazism, and Communism gained adherents.

World War II consumed the ‘40’s.  Heyer’s beloved London barely survived the Blitz.

And when the war ended Britain withdrew from its Empire and experienced the longest period of food rationing of any country following the war.

Then there was the Cold War and the specter of a nuclear holocaust.

When Heyer died in 1974, long held social customs were being abandoned, and it was not at all clear that The West would win the Cold War.

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The Unknown Reader writes about all things to do with ebooks. In today’s blog she helps you find free books. Over the holidays the Unknown Reader ventured West to San Diego so we took advantage of the opportunity to capture a portrait of her in front of a mosaic in Solana Beach, CA, doing what she does best–reading!

How to Get Free Ebooks in Your Inbox

Are you wondering where to find new, interesting and free ebooks? Well, you’re in luck! Plenty of ebook sites are more than happy to help.  My personal favorite is Freebooksy, since my favorite genres show up free in my inbox once a week. Getting those books has a great way to stay up-to-date with the indie ebook market, too.

So let’s get started on filling up your inbox with ebook freebies!

 3 Tips for Getting Started

Before you start subscribing to all the ebook email announcements (which, I admit, is hard to not do), consider how manageable your inbox will be afterward. Check out these tips and questions before diving in headfirst

1. Create a new email address to catch all the incoming ebooks, or use a preexisting that you check periodically (or, as I’ve found simplest, resurrect one that’s fallen into total disuse). If you don’t make a new address, try using your email provider’s filters. I’m most familiar with Gmail, which lets you filter and tag your incoming mail, but most other email providers have similar options (and folders) to explore.

2. Decide how you want to centralize your ebook notifications. Is email the best way for you to get updates about new books? I also have a dedicated corner of my RSS feed (Feedly) for ebooks news and incoming ebooks. Perhaps Facebook, Google+, Twitter or Pinterest are better for you (that is, if the blog or site provide the option).

3. Take advantage of deciding how often you get an email. Is once a week an option for this site? Or do you like the daily update?

10 Places to Subscribe to Free Ebook Emails

To get you started, I’ve created a list of 10 places to simply start easily collecting ebooks. There are many more sites–especially for Kindle readers.

1. Freebooksy (deals from Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble)

What’s great about this email signup is the custom setup. You choose your device, genres, and whether you want a daily or weekly email. Plus you can opt in for discounted ebooks alongside your free ones.

2. Bargain Ebook Hunter (mainly Kindle)

Subscribe to get their blog posts via email. Click on the envelope icon that’s in the right sidebar under “Also Find Us Here.” (more…)

Nancy Johnson is a retired school teacher and an active author. She envisioned a trilogy of books for children about the Civil War from different points of view: a Yankee drummer boy, an African-American soldier from Boston, and a VMI cadet and young people from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  As she explains on her website: “As a teacher I realized there was a need for historical fiction about the Civil War. I believe many of the issues which divided our country during the Civil War still touch us today.”

 To mark the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, My Brothers’ Keeper: A Civil War Story for middle grade readers, will be free on Amazon on July 2, 3, and 4.

When I was a little girl, my mother read letters to me which had been written by my great, great uncles, two brothers from Rochester, New York.  The brothers left home to fight in the Civil War when they were very young.

Mother kept their letters and pictures of the brothers and their little sister, Carrie, in a black box which was decorated with gold hearts and flowers.  I was heartbroken when I learned that the youngest brother, George Peacock, had been killed in an ambush in Virginia while he was still a teenager.

In my young mind, I made up stories about the brothers, based partly on their letters and partly on my imagination. I think I knew then that someday I would write a story about them.

I still have the letters. They are yellow now, the edges bent down and crinkled, and the ink has faded. The letters, and the stories my mother wove as she was reading them, were the inspiration for my book My Brother’s Keeper: A Civil War Story.  I used parts from the letters in the story. For example, in August 1861, my great, great uncle, Charlie Peacock, wrote:

As I passed through one of the back streets of Alexandria I saw a building 3 stories high built of brick with the sign Price Birch & Co Dealer in Slaves. It struck me as something different from anything I had ever seen before.

When you read My Brothers’ Keeper, you will find Price Birch & Co mentioned in Chapter 7, The Road to War. On my website, you can view  a photograph of Price Birch & Co.

In addition to the letters and stories from my family, I did many months of research in books and by traveling to the places I was writing about. My husband and I climbed the rocky hill of Little Round Top at Gettysburg. We stood in the peaceful Virginia woods where my great, great uncle had been killed in an ambush in 1863. We found that three-story brick building in Alexandria with the lettering, Price Birch & Co Dealer in Slaves, still visible. We followed the path of Lee’s Retreat which led General Lee to Appomattox.

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Pamela M. Kircher, MD, is a childhood Near-Death Experiencer as well as a Hospice Physician.  For over 20 years, she has worked with people with NDEs and spoken internationally about the profound effects that mystical experiences and being with the dying have on our daily lives and how we live those lives.  In this updated version of Love is the Link: A hospice doctor shares her experience of near-death and dying, she shares how the fields of NDEs and the hospice movement have evolved since the original version of the book.  She also reflects on how her own NDE continues to influence her life.  Hew newly updated book is now available as an ebook and can be downloaded free on Amazon on March 26, 29, and 30.

Dr. Kircher lives with her husband on a ranch in southern Colorado.  To learn more about her, go to her website, www.pamkircher.com.

Near-Death Experience (NDE)

After a Near-Death Experience (NDE) during an episode of meningitis at age 6, like most people with a NDE, I found my world forever changed. My fear of death was erased, my interest in living from love greatly increased.  My particular version of a life of service has included being a family practice and hospice doctor, talking with health care professionals about the reality and importance of NDEs, introducing integrative medicine into the hospital setting, and providing Tai Chi for Health to thousands of people through my work as a Master Trainer in Dr. Paul Lam’s Tai Chi for Health programs.

When I began publicly speaking about NDEs in the 1980’s, people began sharing their stories and I wrote them down after each encounter.  As these stories accumulated over the next 6 years, I knew that they should be shared with a larger audience to inspire us all to expand our view of reality.  Here is one of those stories:

“A nurse had cared in the hospital for a terminally-ill adolescent for six months prior to the teenager’s death.  One night at 2:35 a.m. the nurse awoke at home from a sound sleep and felt that the boy was standing next to her bed.  She could see him very clearly and was surprised to see that he was wearing a new baseball cap.  She asked him what he was doing in her room.  The boy said that he had come to tell her that he was all right and that the nurse should hug his mother for him when she saw her in three months.  The nurse then went back to sleep, thinking that she must have had a very vivid dream.  She couldn’t shake the feeling the next morning, so she called the hospital to check on the boy.  After a long pause, the other nurse told her that the boy had died unexpectedly at around 3 a.m.

“The nurse had nearly forgotten the “dream” when she was attending a funeral of another patient three months later.  The first patient’s mother walked up to her at the cemetery—even though she had always sworn that if her son died, she would never return to that city.  The nurse told her about her vision and asked if she had ever seen that baseball cap.  The mother laughed and said that she had bought the hat for her son, but had not yet had time to take it to the hospital on the night that her son died.  She said that she, too, had felt the presence of her son intermittently over the past three months. It was very comforting to her that her son had wanted to reassure her, but still puzzling as to how he knew about the baseball cap and how he knew that his mother would be in the city in three months and would meet the nurse at that time.”

Love is the Link

The original version of Love is the Link: A hospice doctor shares her experience of near-death and dying was written some 18 years ago.  This updated version retains the original timeless stories of people forever changed by their NDEs or other spiritually transformative experiences (STEs.)  It goes on to discuss how healthcare professionals have gone from considering NDEs and STEs as aberrant psychological events to an awareness that a NDE occurs in one out of five people who have a cardiac arrest, that thousands of people have had them, and that they are life-changing events that deserve respect. It discusses how healthcare providers can be of assistance to people who had had NDEs and other avenues of assistance in integrating the experience.

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eFrog Press is delighted to share the publishing journey of another indie author. Lindsay Woolman is a freelance writer and young adult (YA) author who has always wanted to write books for teenagers. Her favorite kinds of books are ones that make her laugh and make her cry. She loves when she can get so engrossed in a story that she simply cannot put it down. She likes fast moving, funny books with twists and turns and quirky characters who tell the story and make her forget everything else.

Every author has a different story of how their book was born. My “first born” (The Perfect Pull) is actually a nine year old—a book that I wrote over a nine-year period of time that is. While I don’t recommend taking almost a decade to write your first book, it is what happened to me, partly because I was playing the traditional publishing game.

Everything about my book, from the topic to how I approached my query letter, was always designed to sell it to a publisher. That is what I had been taught—that getting a publisher is the end goal.

I’m happy to say that the process of navigating self-publishing a print and ebook has been a million times more satisfying than I expected and actually a blessing. For authors who are new in their career, handing them a contract and allowing them to “sit and wait” must be exciting, but it could also be to their detriment.

The fact that my success is solely dependent on me (and not a faceless publisher “out there”) is, I think, more of a recipe for making it long term. Maybe it doesn’t come with fast cash with an advance, but knowing I can log right into my Amazon account and see the sales numbers makes it all the more real.

What Is the Story That Only You Can Write?

When I was growing up I had this weird disorder that I never spoke of. I loved how it felt to touch and twirl my hair and one day I started pulling it out without knowing why. When it came to a topic for my book, I decided that exploring a character with this same problem (but 10x worse) would be something unique and potentially interesting, as I know teenagers are drawn to anything out of the ordinary.

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Today eFrog Press welcomes veteran children’s author Karen Mueller Coombs to share thoughts about the process of writing and publishing her latest YA novel–Sexted! Coombs is the author of ten published fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults. Born in Wisconsin and raised in Northern Alberta, Karen is a former elementary school teacher now living in Southern California, where she ice curls and plays golf when she isn’t reading and writing. You can learn more about her and her books at www.karencoombs.com.

A book about sexting? Written from a boy’s point of view? A teenage boy who gets a racy photo from an anonymous girl? Where the heck did that idea come from?

At the time I began Sexted!, reports of sexting were beginning to permeate the media. Kids were being charged with disseminating and possessing child pornography, going to juvie hall because of it, even being threatened with having to register as sex offenders for life. It seemed like a perfect topic for a young adult novel. Enter Sexted!, first called U Sho Me Yrs, Il Sho U Myn after a text the main character receives.

So why write from the viewpoint of a teenage boy, since, obviously, I never was one?

I never even considered writing from the girl’s point of view. Girls whose photos go viral sometimes end up committing suicide. Too dark for me. Besides, the topic seemed more charged with humorous, tantalizing possibilities when approached from the viewpoint of the thrilled, confused, titillated male receiver than from the viewpoint of the romantic, flirtatious, naïve girl.

And my male characters appeared quickly. They became real to me long before the sender of the photos even emerged. It was their story, not hers. And I enjoy writing from a boy’s viewpoint, possibly because I grew up sandwiched between two brothers. I scarcely played with dolls or other girly toys. Not me. I played cowboys and Indians, hockey and softball. I climbed trees, collected baby mice, rafted on the pond, and owned my own .22. (Don’t freak. I never killed anything.) In other words, I was a tomboy.

My Writing Process

Once I nailed the characters and the basic idea, I began to write—and write. I avoid plotting before I begin. I dive in and then go where the current carries me, which makes for a meandering journey with lots of back paddling. In my first draft, I had two subplots, and my two narrators, Finn and Josh, didn’t sound distinctive enough, as pointed out by my editor, Deborah Halverson, former Harcourt Brace Children’s editor and author of young adult novels and the book Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies. I stewed for a while, spying on the boys while they went about their lives and eavesdropping on their conversations. Suddenly, I began truly hearing their voices, the cadences of their speech. I felt I was channeling those two, hormonal, fifteen-year-old geeks. What a ride!

Josh—edgy and anxious, the scientist. A guy who stutters and speaks in short bursts with a staccato rhythm and who is prone to tossing out a few curse words here and there.

Finn—confident, modest, more literary, a young man who utters complete sentences and eschews (for the most part) any four-letter words.

A year passed as I wrote. My subject was timely. Perhaps too timely. The media were now full of news about how the punishment for sexting doesn’t fit the crime, how the laws need to change. I had to get my book out there before it became historical fiction. But still I revised. Finally, once the extensive revisions and re-revisions were complete (two subplots removed, one later reinserted), I began sending the manuscript to agents and editors. Months passed. The manuscript got a few sniffs. Finally an editor expressed interest. But the publisher streamlined the company and closed the imprint before the editor could make an offer.

Taking the Leap

Knowing that even if I received an immediate offer from another editor or from an agent, it might be one or two years before the book became available, I took a leap of faith and decided to publish Sexted! as an eBook, followed by a printed edition. I had previously dipped my toe in the eBook waters with one of my middle grade, out-of-print novels, Beating Bully O’Brien, which I had extensively revised and improved, then released as Bully at Ambush Corner. Although the publisher of Bully did an excellent job of the publication process, I became disillusioned, because I was unable to access sales figures on my own, and had to wait for the company to release them. Those figures were also a few months behind, so, unless I phoned them regularly, I had no immediate feedback about the success of my extensive promotional efforts via my blog, also called “Bully at Ambush Corner,” Facebook, Twitter, etc. Enter eFrog Press.

The most challenging aspect to self-publishing is acquiring a cover. I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to some things—A BIT? hubby hollers in the background—and eFrog not only put up with my numerous requests, they came through big time, thanks to cover designer Suzanne Santillan. If those legs, the cell phone, and the police tape don’t grab a teen’s attention, nothing will.

After approving the cover, I nitpicked about copyediting suggestions and formatting. And still eFrog didn’t tell me to take a hike; they were exceedingly accommodating. Cover. Conversion. Publication. Easy peasy with eFrog. Sexted! is available now in digital format and will soon be out in print as well. And it’s still a contemporary novel, not historical fiction! Whew!

For those of us who have previously published books with the reassuring support and backup of a traditional publishing house, self-publishing an original manuscript can be an experience filled with trepidation. eFrog made the actual nuts and bolts of the business relatively painless—for me at least. I can’t attest to how much pain I caused them. Here’s hoping my leap of faith into the world of teenage sexting pays off.

If cell phone cameras had been available when I was a teenager, would I have sent a photo of my bare boobs, or any other private body part, to a guy I’d never met? To a guy I knew and liked? I DON’T THINK SO, even though my teen boobs were appealing enough at fifteen to warrant an obscene phone call from some unknown, drooling adolescent obnoxiously praising them. Thank goodness cell phone cameras didn’t exist back then. That creepy adolescent might have sexted me a photo! Aaaaaaack!

More about Sexted!

Finn McCarthy and Josh Hadley feel like typical tenth-grade übergeeks who don’t really stand out or fit in . . . until the day Finn is texted a racy photo from an anonymous female with the tantalizing proposition: Wan 2 c mor?

Feeling flattered, confused, excited, and nervous, Finn seeks the counsel of his best friend, Josh, and together they attempt to unravel the why and—most importantly—the who of this enticing message.

This task proves difficult, yet it’s an intoxicating escape from the difficulties both boys face at home. Finn’s mom is an alcoholic and his dad seems to accept her destructive behavior as status quo. Josh and his sister, Paige, are children of divorce living with a mom who is always working, and an absentee dad who has news that will change their lives forever.

While unraveling the mystery of these seductive texts, both Finn and Josh must face their demons and desires—and decide which risks are truly worth taking.

“Karen Coombs, yet again, tackles a hot topic from the perspective and authentic voice of today’s teens. With genuine characters and authentic emotion, she reveals how seemingly innocent curiosity can lead to damaging consequences.”

 Please share

Do you know of any incidents where teenagers were involved with sexting? What were the consequences? What should the consequences be for sexting?

A friend who loves to read and wants to support indie authors, decided to buy all indie for her holiday gifts. Much to her disappointment, the majority of the ebooks were so poorly edited that she returned them. At eFrog Press our mission is to provide a menu of professional services so that indie authors can publish titles that are a pleasure to read.

This year I have read many ebook novels written by indie authors that my friend could have gifted  without worry. Here are just a few such books—some we had the pleasure to work on and others we just had the pleasure to read. Buy with confidence. To learn more about any of these titles, just click on the cover.

Not sure how to gift ebooks? Read Ebooks Make Great Gifts for Kids!

Cozy Mystery

My first recommendation is the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series by M. Louisa Locke. I heard Locke speak at a conference in January and immediately purchased Maids of Misfortune: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery. Locke’s success as a writer allowed her to retire early from her job as a history professor, but her attention to detail and historical accuracy shine through in every volume. I went on to read all her books and think you will too!

Maids of Misfortune Free for 1 Day Only on Kindle (December 28, 2012)

Uneasy Spirits: Free for 2 Days on Kindle (December 28-29, 2012)

Regency Romance?

Until I began working with Judith Lown, I had no idea what a Traditional Regency Romance was. I have learned it is not a bodice-ripper but a more genteel, historically accurate tale that takes place during the Regency Period. Want to know more? Read Lown’s definition in her blog post The Roots of Regency Romance. I don’t read romance but I do love Jane Austen and Lown’s strong women characters, her witty comments, and plot twists appeal to me. Her first book, A Match for Lady Constance, was published by Avon (now owned and republished by Amazon) and her second  (with related characters) is an indie title—A Sensible Lady.  Lown is hard at work on the third. I have had a sneak peak and highly recommend that you start reading the first two now, so you will be ready when the third is published in 2013.

Historical Fiction

The Wedding Shroud: A Tale of Ancient Rome by Elisabeth Storrs is a gem of a story coming to us via Australia. This gripping tale of a young Roman woman who is married to an Etruscan nobleman as part of a peace treaty follows the young bride’s journey to a new land and a new culture. Ever gaze in wonder at Etruscan jewelry in a museum case? Learn more about this fascinating culture. Storrs spent ten years researching and so the novel is saturated with historic details that compel the reader to keep reading. Her characters are beautifully developed and her plot evolves naturally and yet still surprises. The book ends with you wanting more, but, fortunately, there is a sequel on the near horizon! Learn about the author’s publishing journey and view a video on her blog post What’s an Author to Do?

I have read The Thinara King,  the second of the nine-book series, “The Child of the Erinyes,” set in ancient Crete. Now I plan to go back and read the first title and Recbecca Lochlann is finishing the third. Here is what the author has to say to readers about her series:

“The Child of the Erinyes” is not for everyone. Along with some mature subject matter, it’s an extended series, beginning in the Bronze Age and not wrapping up till the near future. It’s a story that requires commitment and patience. Things hinted at in Book One, “The Year-god’s Daughter,” might not be resolved until Book Nine–the conclusion.

I love discovering a series I enjoy as there are always new titles to look forward to. Try the first volume—The Year-god’s Daughter.

Thriller

Thirst by L.A. Larkin is a page turner! Ready for thrills and excitement? Antarctica is the coldest, most isolated place on earth. Luke Searle, maverick glaciologist, has made it his home. But soon his survival skills will be tested to the limit by a ruthless mercenary who must win at any cost. The white continent is under attack. The Australian team is being hunted down. Can Luke stay alive long enough to raise the alarm? Can he avert a global catastrophe?

Thirst named to the Best Crime Fiction 2012 list!

Go Indie

Today I am here to dispel the myth that there are no well written ebooks. Download any of the ebooks above, cuddle up in a comfy chair, and disappear into another time and place.

Please share ebooks of worth you have enjoyed in 2012.

I just smile when people tell me that kids don’t like ebooks. Have you ever seen a small child with an iPad scrolling through a vibrantly colored picture book? Have you seen the soaring stats on the sales of digital children’s books?

“Children’s ebooks grew by 89% in July 2012 versus the same period last year — a fast growth rate, to be sure, but much slower than in early 2012 when children’s ebooks saw monthly growth rates of 475.1% in January and 177.8% in February.” — Jeremy Greenfield, Digital Book World, November 1, 2012

How Can You Gift an Ebook?

All of the big ebook sellers provide a simple way to give an ebook as a gift. I don’t mean a gift card. I mean there is a method to send a person a specific ebook that you think they would enjoy reading. For example, Barnes & Noble’s website allows you to select the book you want to gift and then click on “Buy as Gift” (to the right of the Buy Now button) to send the gift to the recipient. On Amazon, find the book you’d like to send and select the “Give as a Gift” button (to the far right of the page, under the Buy button).

A Few Recommendations

Now for some surefire recommendations for quality ebooks as Christmas gifts for those special little ones and teens from eFrog Press.

Hershey: A Second Chance by L.C. Scott
A story about an endearing Doberman who is adopted by eight-year-old Dylan and his family. Readers learn about the advantages of adopting an older dog and also about the Doberman breed.  Dylan struggles with reading and Hershey struggles with sitting still. When Dylan decides to enroll Hershey as a reading dog at the local library, they embark on a new adventure filled with twists and turns that neither could have predicted. Ages 7 & up.

FREE Saturday, December 29, and Sunday, December 30.

The Legend of Atticus Rex Book 1: The Amulet by Philippe de Vosjoli
In this adventure fantasy set in ancient Rome, an Italian mastiff plays a pivotal role (another good read for dog lovers!). In the first book of this trilogy, the Great Spirit Dog, Atticus Rex, is summoned from the Underworld to protect life on Earth and vanquish the wicked shadow creatures brought forth by evil Volgoths. This page turner is beautifully illustrated by Santiago Jborra . Want to know more? View the book trailer. Ages 7 & up.

Barbara McClintock: Nobel Prize Geneticist by Edith Hope Fine
This biography of Barbara McClintock, the first woman ever to receive an unshared Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, is an inspirational read for budding scientists—especially young girls. McClintock research maize and discovered “jumping genes” which was a breakthrough for geneticists. Read this fascinating portrait of a scientist who harnessed her dreams and her intellect to challenge the world’s understanding of heredity. Add a little nonfiction to your gift list.

Vertical: A Novel by Janet Eoff Berend
High school freshman Josh Lowman comes alive when he skateboards but almost falls asleep when he goes to class. Josh struggles with a moral dilemma in this realistic portrayal of a young teen struggling to figure out who he is and what he believes in. His friendships with a fellow skater, a girl in his English class, and a cool math tutor (a college student who skates) slowly steer him toward a new kind of courage.The skateboarding scenes give the reader a real understanding of the sport and will appeal to teens who love this sport. Ages 11 & up.

The Perfect Pull by Lindsay Woolman
Free on  Amazon, Wednesday, December 19
Fifteen-year-old Alyssa Simone suffers from trichotillomania, a compulsive urge to pull out  hair. She attempts to blend in at a new high school while her mother, a Barbie doll look-alike thanks to plastic surgery, stars on a reality show and coaxes Alyssa in front of the camera. As if that were not enough, Alyssa worries about never having been kissed while her best friend from her old high school constantly texts her updates of her numerous romantic conquests. Ages 11 & up.

What do you recommend?

We would love to hear your recommendations for ebooks for children and teens. Please share your favorites with us.

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Elisabeth Storrs is the author of The Wedding Shroud, the first book in a trilogy set in early Roman times. Elisabeth has long held a passion for the history, myths and legends of the ancient world. She graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Arts Law having studied Classics along the way. She lives in Sydney with her husband and two sons and over the years has worked as a solicitor, corporate lawyer, governance consultant and is now a corporate writer.

So you’ve been writing for years—slaving over one novel until a transfusion is needed to replenish the blood you’ve sweated.  Confused over varying opinions, you’ve murdered enough of your darlings that you’d be gaoled for life if your words were children. And after constant editing you find yourself murmuring each noun, verb, phrase and sentence of your manuscript by heart.

Rejection has strengthened your character (you hope). Perseverance has become your mantra. Above all, the need to escape into a world of imagination has become as vital to you as eating, sleeping and working at your ‘day job’. And then, if you are lucky, the impossible happens. The stars align and suddenly your novel is accepted, not only by an agent but by a publisher as well. You start upon a giddy ride, not quite believing that you are now moving through a process that you’ve only visualised: structural reports, copyediting and proofreading.  Suddenly your words are typeset, not just typed upon a screen. The heft of the paperback in your hand is a marvel. Seeing your name upon a cover is like a dream.

Expectations are high. Your publisher’s reps work hard to sell your title to bookshops, and a lot of money is expended to market it in magazines and newsprint. The launch is celebrated with laughter and bubbly. And then the publicity merry-go-round begins. . .

After ten years of researching and writing my novel, The Wedding Shroud: A Tale of Ancient Rome,  I was fortunate enough to have it traditionally published. The experience was wonderful and I was delighted to have commissioning and copy editors who helped me polish it to publishable standard. What I didn’t realise, though, were two basic facts: releasing a book is a gamble, and success needs to be immediate.

Publishing houses place a large bet when financing a book.  In the past, they were prepared to back debut authors in the belief that, over time, such writers could build up a following. Alas, no longer.  If a writer is unable to sell enough books in the first few months of publication, their novel is soon “spine” outwards, then no longer stocked at all, as the relentless release of new titles pressure the booksellers to make room on the shelves. Soon the only avenues left to sell a novel are online or as an ebook. Yet publishers tend to price digital books far too high due to a business model with a supply chain built on bricks and mortar. In effect, the author’s cheaper e-version is in competition with their higher priced paperback. Guess which one a publisher would prefer to promote?

I’m an Australian author. The paperback version of The Wedding Shroud was only published in Australia and New Zealand. This proved a problem because I soon discovered that my main readership is located in the USA and the UK. For an overseas reader to buy my novel involves prohibitive delivery costs. As a result, being able to publish an ebook is crucial in order to reach a world-wide audience.

Sales of The Wedding Shroud were respectable but far from meteoric.  After six months I found myself in the predicament of many other midlist authors—marooned! I was expected to generate my own publicity and market my book via a constant presence in social media. And yet I had no control over its high price as both an ebook and a paperback in online bookstores.

So what was I to do? (more…)

Edith Hope Fine has  taught school, tutored, run after-school programs, and done a lot of writing—newspapers, magazines, books. She’s written 15 books and today she is blogging about her first venture into ebooks.

Is your book out of print? Do you own the rights? Think about heading to the Wonderful Land of ebooks. That’s what I did. When my Barbara McClintock: Nobel Prize Geneticist went out of print that seemed the end of the trail. Instead, as of April, it’s an ebook with gorgeous new cover, color illustrations in the interior, a hyperlinked table of contents, and cool links, thanks to eFrog Press.

Here’s the step-by-step process to create an ebook.

• Scrutinize Original Book
Does your research hold?

My research in the late ‘90s included trips to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island and the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, across from the Liberty Bell. Maize scientists gave me input as I worked to make her complex discoveries understandable for readers sixth grade and up. I knew the research was solid.

Is your topic noteworthy?

Barbara McClintock has been called one of the most important figures in twentieth-century science. Key figure? Yes.

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