Happy New Years

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe New Years. Don't drink too much!

Mobipocket.com

Maverick Spur Publishing is now on Mobipocket with both The Assassin and Escape available to purchase. For those who don't know, Mobipocket is an e-book site that allows you to download books to your pc, phone, or pda. Right now they are both on sale with The Assassin priced at $2.99 and Escape at $3.99. Here are the links for both:

http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/BookDetails.asp?BookID=135578&Origine=5036

http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/BookDetails.asp?BookID=135580&Origine=5036

Happy Holidays

Just hoping that everyone had a nice Christmas and got lots of presents! I got club box seats to a Flyers game against the Penguins in January, pretty excited about that. Also hope that everyone has a good New Years.

Contest

Some of you may or may not know, reviews can really help an author out. They can help people to buy or not buy. The contest is for one of two $20 Amazon gift cards. To enter simply write a review of one of the books (on whatever site you'd like). After you've written the review send an e-mail to ryejames77@aol.com. In the subject line write Contest. In the body just write where the review was posted and I'll send a confirmation e-mail letting you know you've been entered. The contest will go on until the end of January and the winners will be drawn on Feb.1. The winners will be randomly selected. You do not need to write a book report. Winners will not be chosen by type or quality of review or what kind of review is written. Any review will be entered. If you've bought one of the books and would like to enter the contest but really do not want to write a review you can still do so. Just send an e-mail like stated above and answer one of the following 2 questions:

1) Who hired Matt Beck in The Assassin?
2) In what location did Samantha lose the FBI in Escape?

New Books

I have started working on one of the new books, a Fantasy novel, as of right now called Empire. I'm only about 10 pages into it as I've been trying to construct a lot of the background for it. I am also planning on beginning to write the yet to be titled supernatural thriller within the next week or so. Will have an update on that when I actually do break ground on it, or should I say keystrokes! I will also be announcing a new contest within the next few days in which I would be giving away some Amazon gift certificates. Keep checking back for that!

Bounty Hunter

Just wanted to let those of you who weren't aware of it that you can read the 1st chapter of Bounty Hunter at my Authorsden site which is linked to the left of the page. I will have another post tomorrow to talk about how things are coming along with the trio of new books that I've been talking about.

Barnes and Noble coupon

Just wanted to let any of you know that weren't aware of it that Barnes and Noble has a 10% off one item on their website. It lists the coupon code on the main page. So if you're a member you could wind up getting Escape for $8.08 or The Assassin for $8.95. Just thought I'd pass it along.

Deadlock

Well, I've finished Deadlock and it's now in the hands of an editor. It will most likely come out towards the middle of next year....I'm thinking probably June/July in that area. I've started on the other projects I've been talking about and hope to start the writing in the next week or so. So far I've been working on different ideas and getting backgrounds on the stories.

November interview

Here is Novembers interview from the website:


Q: So how is life now with the new baby?
RJ: Pretty good so far. He's pretty quiet so far and he's not up too much during the night so we can't complain. Probably a lot better than what we were imagining.

Q: Baby and mom healthy?
RJ: Yep. They're both very healthy. The baby was 9lbs and it took 34 hours which was a really long process but we really can't complain as long as everyone was healthy.

Q: What's the latest on Bounty Hunter?
RJ: It's just about ready for distribution. Everything's ready to go. There were a few delays with us having the baby, and the cover took a little longer than expected, and editing took longer than expected also.

Q: So when should we expect it to be released?
RJ: Probably late January or February. That really depends on how fast it gets into distribution.

Q: You've said that Deadlock would be the next book that comes out, how is that coming along?
RJ: Pretty good. I've made a lot of progress in a short amount of time so it's really coming together. I'm pretty happy so far with how that's going.

Q: With a new baby what's the writing process like for you right now?
RJ: It's a little difficult to be honest. The only time I really have to concentrate on writing is late at night. By the time midnight rolls around I'm usually so tired that I can't concentrate on writing. But I'm not worried about it. It'll get better and easier and I'll find what works best.

Q: Are you working on anything else besides Deadlock right now?
RJ: Not right now. I'd like to finish that before I start on anything else. I'm kind of accumulating ideas and planning on a couple other things before actually starting to write them.

horible week

Sorry for not having posted anything in the last 10 days but it's been one of those weeks. My daughter was sick and needed to go to the hospital, then my wife got sick, then I got sick with 3 different things and wasnt able to get out of bed for a few days. It was just one ailment after another. I'm finally starting to feel better now and will resume my regular postings. Decembers website interview should be going on the site tomorrow and I'll post Novembers here.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully everyone had a nice day with friends or family.

The Assassin half price

Just got an e-mail from IUniverse stating that books are 50% off till Nov. 30. I don't really have a lot of good things to say about them but it's a pretty good discount if you're interested in picking up a copy. The coupon code is NOVBOOKHALF. I assume there is a shipping charge though I don't know for a fact. Here's the link if you want to check it out.


http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000086558

The Assassin

I was informed, and have verified, that The Assassin has dropped in price on Amazon from $10.95 to $9.85. Just in time for Christmas! It's actually about time. I wanted it dropped in price over a year ago but my plea fell on deaf ears. Both Assassin and Escape are available for free shipping if you spend over $25 so order away!

SMS Book Reviews Interview

I was just interviewed at SMS Book Reviews. There is also a giveaway if you're so inclined to enter. Here's the link to it:

www.smsbookreviews.blogspot.com/2008/11/author-interview-with-rye-james.html

Bounty Hunter on Kindle

It's looking like Bounty Hunter will be released first on the Kindle. The actual release date for it has not been determined yet but I am thinking it will most likely be either the middle of December or late December to coincide with those that get the Kindle as presents. So it may be around the 25th-28th range, that's just a guess at this point. The paperback version will follow that in late Jan/Feb.

Bookworm Interview

I was just interviewed for The Bookworm website. You can check it out here:

http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/2008/11/interview-with-rye-james-and-book.html


A copy of Escape is also being given away for leaving a comment.

Breeni Books

I am on the Breeni Books blog today. There is a contest where one reader will win a copy of Escape. Check it out if you have time.

breeni books: Guest: Rye James, author of 'The Assassin' and 'Escape'

Bounty Hunter price

Just thought I'd pass along that when Bounty Hunter is released the price will be $9.98. It will also be released on the Amazon Kindle most likely in the $3 range.

Octobers Interview

Here is October's interview from the website.

Q: During our last interview you stated you were just putting the finishing touches on Bounty Hunter, how is that coming along?

A: We're getting there. I've got someone doing the cover and we're trying to come up with something that appeals to me.

Q: Is December still the targeted date?

A: Yeah. It depends on how soon the cover is done. Hopefully it'll be ready sometime in December. If not, I can't imagine it not being ready by the end of January, but it's also somewhat in the hands of distribution and how fast they get things going.

Q: Is Deadlock still next?

A: Yeah, I've pretty much mapped out most of what I want to do with that story, so it'll definitely be next.

Q: Have you chosen a charity for it yet?

A: No, not yet. I've got some really good choices to pick from. That's one of the hardest things is that there's so many organizations that I'd like to help that it's tough to narrow it down to one.

Q: You mentioned Wanted in our last chat. Is that still on the horizon?

A: It's definitely on the horizon but probably will not be one of the next couple releases. I originally thought it'd come out after Deadlock but I've been contemplating releasing a couple non-westerns first.

Q: Really? Can you shed any light on these?

A: One would be a Thriller and another would be like a supernatural Thriller.

Q: Do you have titles and plots for these yet?

A: No titles yet. The basic story I have down. I know what I basically want to do with both of them. It's just flushing out the details and getting from one point to another.

Q: Can you tell us the storylines?

A: Hmm...not just yet. Maybe next month I'll divulge a little more once I get working on them a little more.

Q: You look pretty well rested so I imagine the new baby hasn't arrived yet?

A: Good observation! No, he hasn't come yet. We're at 38 weeks right now but my wife is measuring at 42 weeks so we actually have another ultrasound tomorrow so we'll see how things go from there. It's possible that we could have the baby by the end of the week depending on what the doctors recommend

Bounty Hunter cover

The cover for Bounty Hunter is finished. It was completed by Greg Banks a few days ago. Took a little longer than I had planned but we went through a few designs before we found one that I really liked. Still not sure on a release date but it most likely will not be before the year's over.

Barnes & Noble

I usually include links from my books to Amazon cause thats what I usually use but I know some can't stand them and prefer Barnes and Noble. If you have a members card for B & N the books are $1 cheaper than Amazon. The Assassin is $9.95 and Escape is $8.98 there. Just thought I'd pass it along if people weren't aware of it already.


I'll be passing along some news about the cover for Bounty Hunter tomorrow, so be sure to check back.

Kindle

For those of you who have the Kindle....The Assassin has dropped in price to $3.19, and Escape is now $3.99. No idea how long these will be on sale for but I thought I'd pass it along to those who have the Kindle and are interested in downloading those books.

baby news

My e-mail box has been filled up this past week since I've been very quiet with people wondering if we'd had the baby yet. Well I can now say..yes! We went to the hospital Sunday night and the baby was delivered Tuesday morning at 8:12am. It only took 34 hours! The baby was 9lbs 2oz. Both mother and son are both very healthy and will be released today. Thank you everybody for your support. It is appreciated.

Book Piracy

I've finally got to putting this post up. I know a few people have been waiting to see my thoughts on it. So here it is: I've seen that my books have finally made it into the file sharing craziness. I don't know where else they are but I know they're on www.scribd.com . My view is this...I'm fine with it. I think online file sharing is a bigger problem for the music and movie industry and that's for them to figure out. I think with books most people still want to read the actual book or have it in their hand via the kindle or sony reader. I take a different view than most other authors in that I don't think I lose any sales if my books are distributed online. If someone downloads my book, and they like it, I'd hope that they'd decide to buy it. If they don't like it, then they don't lose any money buying something they didn't like. I've seen and heard some authors say they're losing thousands of dollars to book piracy. I think that's crazy. If someone is gonna download your book and not pay for it then guess what? They weren't gonna pay for it anyway so you weren't gonna get the sales. If someone downloads my book and likes it but doesn't wanna pay for it, chances are they were never gonna buy it to begin with. And if thats the case then it just makes me a bigger name and will still help my sales in the long run. It's a controversial topic and there's no right or wrong view but that's my take on the subject.

Not yet

For those of you who are wondering (I've gotten some e-mails on it) we have still not had the baby yet. We had another ultrasound the other day and they put the baby at 8 1/2 pounds. So we will be at the doctors office on Monday again and see what she says. My wife is ready to have the baby out of her! Our daughter will actually go up to my wife's belly and say hi to the baby and give him a hug.

In other notes, I have not forgotten about my book piracy post. It will be posted a little later tonight so watch out for it.

Septembers interview

Every month I have an exclusive interview up on my website. I've decided that when a new interview is posted that the old one will be put up here on the blog so it can be archived and people can read the old interviews if they so choose. Here's the one from September:

Q: How soon is Bounty Hunter to being published?
RJ: Pretty close, I think. Within the next few days or so I'm gonna start looking for someone to do the cover. The story's basically done, just putting the finishing touches on.

Q: How does it stack up in your mind to Assassin & Escape?
RJ: I think it's pretty similar to Assassin in terms of there's a chance for more books or stories about the character.

Q: So do you have anything else in mind already for it or a short story coming soon as well?
RJ: Not right now but the possibility exists for more depending on how it's received.

Q: What will be after Bounty Hunter?
RJ: I'm not sure just yet. I would probably say Deadlock or Wanted if only for the fact that they have more written pages than the others but they're not that close to being done as yet.

Q: Will Bounty Hunter be out by the end of the year?
RJ: It's tough to say. Ideally I'd like to say yes. But my wife and I are expecting our 2nd child in October so I know things will get a little crazy around that time which will most likely push things back a little. I'd like for it to be available by Christmas so people can get it as gifts but we'll see how that goes.

Q: You've been having nice success with your short stories on Amazon with all of them reaching the top 10 in their respective genres, has that surprised you at all?
RJ: I don't know if I'd say surprised but it's definitely not something I was expecting. I kind of knew that Day Of The Assassin would probably get there since there were quite a few people asking for more stories with Matt Beck, so I knew there would be at least somewhat of an audience for it. Mason Files I really didn't know what to expect with it. There was no buildup or clamoring so I figured it could go either way. I wasn't really sure what to expect with Misconduct either. You know, that's a story about a hockey fighter battling through his rookie season, not really something I figured would have a lot of appeal, and I really only skimmed the surface with that. Looking back I could've delved a lot deeper into other issues involving a host of people but that probably would've wound up turning into a book or something.

Q: Could we see a book based off of Misconduct or other stories going further?
RJ: Well, I'm not gonna say no, but it's not something I'm planning on.

Q: What's the feedback you've gotten on your first 2 books?
RJ: Pretty good, actually. I know I'll never be compared to one of the literary greats or win any writing prizes or anything like that but I'm ok with that. The only goal I have is that when someone reads something I've written they enjoy what they're reading and they want to keep turning the page. I think I'm a good storyteller, and when you're done one of my works you'll be glad you picked it up.

Cheryls Book Nook part 2

I would like to thank Cheryl for having me on her website today. You can check it out here www.cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/search/label/Rye%20James

Book Nook

I will be on Cheryl's Book Nook on Oct. 15th. I will talk a little about The Assassin and Escape as well as the charities they both benefit. There will also be a few autographed copies given away. The website is www.cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com

Look for another post in a few days from me about book piracy. I've been informed that my books have made it into the land of file sharing and I will give my thoughts on it.

Escape on Kindle

For those of you who have the Amazon Kindle, Escape is now available to be downloaded for $4.99. The Assassin is also already available on Kindle for $3.99. If you're not sure what Kindle is it's basically an electronic device that lets you download e-books. I have made sure that the prices for the Kindle versions of these are half, or in The Assassin's case, more than half of the print version. There are some books on Kindle where the price is close or equal to what the print version of the book is. I think an e-book should be half of the print version since you don't have to worry about printing costs and expenses.

Escape book trailer

Ramblings

The book trailer for Escape is done and is on Youtube right now. I'll have it on the website within the next few days and I'll post it to here also. Also, the book cover for Bounty Hunter is being worked on right now and should probably be done within the next 2 weeks. I also will have some details coming up on some websites that will be reviewing/interviewing me in the coming weeks. I'll keep everyone posted when I have further details.

Book Deal

For a limited time autograph copies of both The Assassin and Escape will be available for a special price of $5 each. This is only available at my authorsen site. www.authorsden.com/ryejames

Escape

Escape has been released and is now available to purchase. It is selling for $9.98 in most places though if you're a member of Barnes & Noble I believe their price is $8.98. A portion of the proceeds from Escape will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation so any help will be appreciated. Amazon still has not updated the cover on their site though it is up on B&N if you're of mind to look. For those who don't know Escape is a Mystery/Suspense/Thriller published by Maverick Spur Publishing. Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

"Ray Spencer is on the run. After a contract is placed on his head, he is framed for a murder he did not commit. At every turn there could be someone waiting for him. There's only one thing he can do--escape."