Books Read In 2015 And Looking Back

Wow. It's been five months since I last updated this blog. Which shouldn't be surprising, as I've been blogging less and less over the years. I mostly do my blogging now (albeit at a micro level) over on Twitter and sometimes on Facebook. 

So, looking back at the year, I only released one title, and it was really just a re-release of an old title. My zombie novel that's not a zombie novel has always been a favorite of my books, but it's never really sold well. I finally realized that its original title wasn't doing it any favors so I decided it was time to try something new. Hence calling it Land of the Dead and giving it a new cover. And, well, it shouldn't be surprising that within a year it sold about the same amount of copies the old novel did during its entire three-year run. Which of course makes me wonder just how successful the book may have been had I thought better of it and released the book under Land of the Dead in the first place ... 

So yeah, no new releases this year, but that doesn't mean I haven't been writing. I've been writing a lot, specifically on one book that was kicking my ass for a while. It doesn't help that after writing 20,000 words I realized I needed to go back and do a major revision to make the novel work. Also doesn't help that halfway through writing it I had to take a pause to revise a YA novel I wrote years ago so that my new agent could try to shop it around. It's a book that I wrote during the Hunger Games craze, so it's a dystopian YA, and it got some great feedback from publishers but ultimately it came down to the fact that dystopian has overstayed its welcome. Which of course makes me wonder what might have happened had my last agent shopped it around when I showed it to him many years ago, but his excuse had simply been that he'd never had any luck with YA books (should have fired him sooner, in retrospect). Anyway, the book really isn't a YA so much as a SF thriller that happens to have a teenager as its protagonist. Could I have released it on my own this year? Of course. But it's the first book in a trilogy and I didn't feel it would be fair to readers to release the first book in yet ANOTHER series without first finishing a current series. 

See, I think about y'all.

So the new novel is with my agent and we'll see what he thinks. Based on feedback from other pre-readers I think he's going to dig it, but you never know. Either way, as this is a standalone, it will be released at some point. 

What's coming up in 2016? A lot, hopefully. I revealed the cover to my new book to newsletter subscribers last week, and will make an official reveal next week. That book is coming in March. The rest of the year? More Holly Lin. Yes, that's right — more Holly Lin. And, of course, the third and final book of the Man of Wax trilogy WILL be written, though to be honest at this point we're realistically looking at 2017.

Finally, I didn't read as much as I'd wanted to this past year. I clocked in at over 40 books. Here are the books I read in 2015 that I enjoyed for whatever reason and which you might enjoy too. If you have any books to recommend, let me know in the comments. Have a Happy New Year!

NOVELS

• ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr (ebook)
• SHOVEL READY by Adam Sternbergh (hardcover)
• DINNER WITH THE CANNIBAL SISTERS By Douglas Clegg (ebook)
• WORLD GONE BY by Dennis Lehane (ebook)
• BURNING DOWN GEORGE ORWELL’S HOUSE by Andrew Ervin (paperback ARC)
• GHOSTMAN by Roger Hobbs (ebook)
• SIGNAL by Patrick Lee (ebook)
• GOD’S KINGDOM by Howard Frank Mosher (hardcover)
• RED MOON by Benjamin Percy (ebook)
• THE SHORT DROP by Matthew Fitzsimmons (ebook)

AUDIOBOOKS

• UNBROKEN: A WORLD WAR II STORY OF SURVIVAL, RESILIENCE, AND REDEMPTION by Laura Hillenbrand, read Edward Herrmann
• INSIDE SCIENTOLOGY: THE STORY OF AMERICA'S MOST SECRETIVE RELIGION by Janet Reitman, read by Stephen Hoye
• THE SURVIVOR by Gregg Hurwitz, read by Scott Brick
• STEELHEART by Brandon Sanderson, read by Macleod Andrews
• FIREFIGHT by Brandon Sanderson, read by Macleod Andrews
• A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS by Paul Tremblay, read by Joy Osmanski
• SAVING CAPITALISM: THE NEW RULES FOR SHARED PROSPERITY by Robert Reich, read by Robert Reich
• BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME by Ta-Nehisi Coates, read by Ta-Nehisi Coates

BOOKS THAT I'M READING AND HAVEN'T FINISHED YET BUT WHICH WOULD PROBABLY MAKE THE LIST

• ZEROVILLE by Steve Erickson (ebook)
• HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN by James Lee Burke, read by Will Patton
• DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch (ebook ARC, comes out mid-2016)

Second Penultimate Paragraph Contest

Today I was reminded that back in 2010 I hosted what I believe was the first (and possibly only) Penultimate Paragraph Contest. And because I haven't done much with this blog lately, I thought it might be fun to host another one.

The rules? 

They're pretty simple, actually. In the comments section simply post the penultimate paragraph of one of your short stories. The stories don't have to be published, but if they are published online, please provide a link so we can check out the rest of your story (note that if you do provide a link, my site might think it's spam and hold it for moderation, so if that does happen, don't fret, it will appear shortly).

Deadline is the end of the month, so 7/31 midnight EST, with winners announced at some point during the weekend. This giveaway/contest will have two winners: one person whose penultimate paragraph I'll pick as my favorite, and another person selected randomly.

What do the winners win? How about first place will win a copy of the Hint Fiction anthology, as well as a copy of my flash fiction collection Phantom Energy. The runner-up will win a copy of the Hint Fiction anthology. And, because I stumbled across some old issues of literary journals, a few random people will be sent back issues of journals just for participating.

Have fun!

Better Weird Is Here

Now available from Cemetery Dance:

Better weird than plastic…

For a generation of horror fans, those four words signaled a momentous occasion: the arrival of a new issue of David B. Silva's seminal publication, The Horror Show. For nine years in the 1980s, Dave and his magazine published some of the biggest names in the genre and introduced the world to countless others, nurturing dozens of careers along the road from first publication to major success. A man of limitless talent, Dave also earned a reputation as one of the field's finest writers, producing a handful of brilliant novels and a vast collection of award-winning stories.

Following Dave's untimely death in 2013, authors from around the horror world came forward to honor his memory. Those who grew up reading his immortal magazine, those who learned from his kind and careful tutelage, those who admired the editor, the writer, the man – they are all here, gathered in the pages of this special anthology: Kealan Patrick Burke, Brian Hodge, Joe R. Lansdale, Robert R. McCammon, Bentley Little, Elizabeth Massie, Brian Keene, J.F. Gonzalez, Steve Rasnic Tem, Billie Sue Mosiman, Kathryn Ptacek, Thomas F. Monteleone, Gary Raisor, Yvonne Navarro, Robert Swartwood, G. Wayne Miller, and Paul F. Olson.

With brand new tales of terror, lovingly-chosen classics, and heartfelt tributes, these writers have come to raise a chill, bring a tear, and remind you of the truth in Dave's immortal words:It's always Better Weird…

Currently available in ebook, a limited edition paper copy is forthcoming.

Full Throttle

From USA Today bestselling author Robert Swartwood, a collection of six breathtaking thrillers just in time for summer.

Included are the USA Today bestseller The Serial Killer's Wife, No Shelter,Bullet Rain, Legion, Man of Wax, and The Inner Circle.

The combined retail of these books is over $30.

Grab it now for just $14.99, because this collection will only be available for a limited time.

Kobo user? You can purchase Full Throttle here. 

Why only Kobo? Well, why not? 

Hitting The Bestseller Lists

Recently I saw a writer running a 99 cent promo on his ebook and state that he was hoping to hit the USA Today bestseller list. 

As someone who hit the list a few years ago, I can testify that it's possible for any writer to hit that list nowadays. Usually it involves a Bookbub promo, with either the mystery category or thriller category, to really push the book up the charts for a couple days. Depending on the time of year, only a few thousand units sold within a week's time will be enough to land you on the list — most likely near the tail end, but still. 

However, this particular writer's book is currently exclusive to Amazon. In fact, he was running a Countdown Deal. Not that it matters one way or another, but the simple fact is that no matter how many units he sells within a week's time, he won't hit any national lists. 

Why? 

Well, because of the exclusivity. 

There's a reason Amazon Publishing titles never hit the New York Times bestseller lists, despite the fact they can at times outsell most of the other books listed. I don't know where the fine print is, but a book has to be available on more than one platform, and has to sell a certain number of copies on each platform before it can even be considered as being added to a list.

As publishing is a rapidly changing landscape, where books are constantly selling as different speeds, it's impossible to say how many units an ebook needs to sell to make a list, though I have heard that over 10,000 units is needed to hit the New York Times list, while with the USA Today list you're probably looking at close to 5,000 or more. Really, it depends on what other books are selling well that week, the time of the year (certain seasons are busier than others), etc. 

I forget how many copies of The Serial Killer's Wife sold when it hit the USA Today bestseller list — at least 5,000, I know that. And I know that the next year when I ran a promo on the same book I sold the same amount of copies, if not more, and yet it didn't make the list. The same with No Shelter — I sold close to 5,000 that week without it hitting the list.

So really, when it comes down to it, it's all about luck. Selling as many copies as possible between Monday and Sunday, of course, but also selling more copies than the thousands and thousands of other books out there. 

Is it possible hitting a list without having a major publisher to back you? 

Yes. 

Is it something you should depend on when running a promo? 

Absolutely not — not even if you have a major publisher backing you.