Midlist Writer: Starting a new blog

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Starting a new blog

As regular readers of this blog know, I've been shopping around my Missouri Civil War horror novel, A Fine Likeness, for some time now. This was a finalist in ChiZine and Dorchester's Fresh Blood contest but because I was traveling in Ethiopia I wasn't able to garner enough votes to win.

Well, I've decided that with the Civil War sesquicentennial already upon us, now is the time to publish this, so I've going to self-publish with Kindle Direct Publishing, Createspace, and Smashwords. A Fine Likeness will be published in September.

I've started a blog dedicated to the book and its series called, unsurprisingly, Civil War Horror. I posted there today about why a professional author is self-publishing on Amazon. I hope you'll join me on this venture into the uncertain world of modern publishing.

5 comments:

Donna Volkenannt said...: Hi Sean,
I'll check out your new blog.
Donna; 14 July 2011 at 06:00
Kathleen Jones said...: Hi Sean - thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. Yes, more and more of us are going down the Indie publishing route - this is going to be an interesting journey. Let me know how it goes for you!
Kathleen; 7 August 2011 at 14:36
Dianna Graveman said...: I'll be following this closely, Sean, as I'm curious about what the future of publishing holds for all of us. Best of luck with this!; 7 August 2011 at 18:40
Shannon @ A Mom's Year said...: I've just read and enjoyed your article on midlisters in the 9/08 issue of The Writer. From where I sit as a former editor (now a stay-at-home mother of four), the midlister life looks great! I appreciate the information you shared in the article; it's given me a lot to think about. I'll also be interested to hear about your foray into independent publishing.

BTW, your other (personal?) blog is stunning.; 3 October 2011 at 18:04
Sean McLachlan said...: Glad you enjoyed the article! Wow, that was published three years ago. Nice to hear it's still being read by people, or at least one person.

Thanks for your kind words on my blog. Which one are you referring to? My Civil War blog is personal, set up to promote my novel and my obsession with the war west of the Mississippi. The Ethiopia series is on Gadling, a travel blog I and about a dozen other bloggers write for.

Don't give up! The economy is bad, but there are still plenty of opportunities for hardworking midlisters.; 4 October 2011 at 08:00

The Case of the Purloined Pyramid

The Last Hotel Room

He came to Tangier to die, but life isn’t done with him yet. Tom Miller has lost his job, his wife, and his dreams. Broke and alone, he ends up in a flophouse in Morocco, ready to end it all. But soon he finds himself tangled in a web of danger and duty as he’s pulled into scamming tourists for a crooked cop while trying to help a Syrian refugee boy survive life on the streets. Can a lifelong loser do something good for a change? A portion of my royalties will go to a charity for Syrian refugees.

Warpath into Sonora

Arizona 1846: Nantan, a young Apache warrior, is building a name for himself by leading raids against Mexican ranches to impress his war chief, and the chief’s lovely daughter. But there is one thing he and all other Apaches fear—a ruthless band of Mexican scalp hunters who slaughter entire villages. Nantan and his friends have sworn to fight back, but they are inexperienced, and led by a war chief driven mad with a thirst for revenge. Can they track their tribe’s worst enemy into unknown territory and defeat them?

Radio Hope

In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . . A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son. A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump. The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command. One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.

Refugees from the Righteous Horde (Toxic World Book 2)

When you only have one shot, you better aim true. In a ravaged world, civilization’s last outpost is reeling after fighting off the fanatical warriors of the Righteous Horde. Sheriff Annette Cruz becomes New City’s long arm of vengeance as she sets off across the wildlands to take out the cult’s leader. All she has is a sniper’s rifle with one bullet and a former cultist with his own agenda. Meanwhile, one of the cult’s escaped slaves makes a discovery that could tear New City apart. . . Refugees from the Righteous Horde continues the Toxic World series started in Radio Hope, an ongoing narrative of humanity’s struggle to rebuild the world it ruined.

The Scavenger

In a world shattered by war, pollution, and disease, a lone scavenger discovers a priceless relic from the Old Times. The problem is, it's stuck in the middle of the worst wasteland he knows--a contaminated city inhabited by insane chem addicts and vengeful villagers. Only his wits, his gun, and an unlikely ally can get him out alive. Set in the Toxic World series introduced in the novel Radio Hope, this 10,000-word story explores more of the dangers and personalities that make up a post-apocalyptic world that's all too possible.

Trench Raiders

September 1914: The British Expeditionary Force has the Germans on the run, or so they think. After a month of bitter fighting, the British are battered, exhausted, and down to half their strength, yet they’ve helped save Paris and are pushing toward Berlin. Then the retreating Germans decide to make a stand. Holding a steep slope beside the River Aisne, the entrenched Germans mow down the advancing British with machine gun fire. Soon the British dig in too, and it looks like the war might grind down into deadly stalemate. Searching through No-Man’s Land in the darkness, Private Timothy Crawford of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry finds a chink in the German armor. But can this lowly private, who spends as much time in the battalion guardhouse as he does on the parade ground, convince his commanding officer to risk everything for a chance to break through?

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Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Starting a new blog

5 comments: