Jim Rudnick's Blog

Not often enough, I’d suppose, do I get the chance to sit and visit with other Science Fiction readers….

But I have been asked to be the Author at The River Trading Company’s “Science Fiction Night” on February 25th about two weeks away!

You can find details here — https://www.facebook.com/events/732249416922465/

And if you want some background on me and my own Science Fiction works, try here — http://jimrudnick.ca

Please, if you’ve a chance to drop by, and chat, I’d LOVE to have you there. I understand I’ll do a short reading and then it’s discussion and Q&A time too….

And if The River Trading Company is new to you and you’ve never been there–it’s well worth the time to get to know this great “new-to-Hamilton” book store…solid reading material lines the shelves and the owners KNOW books, eh!

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Okay, first I know how to write and yes, this was using the Crimson Worlds world from Jay Allan so it was easy and hard all at the same time.

I wrote what I’d describe as a ‘military marine’ type adventure and I got to use the French Foreign Legion as my host military grouping.

That made me feel good and yet also it has been done by others and that’s okay in my world…my writing is my own and check out my hero, Jonas Rouyn if you want a great read!

The Crimson Worlds area is the newest KindleWorlds “world” and you can find it here. There were I think only seven of us who wrote new adventures and we were all launched just two days ago.

So….imagine my surprise when I get the first ratings of my book–I’m #1 in the KindleWorlds store!!!!

That is an important launch I think for me–never ever been #1 before, so let’s just watch what happens. And yes, I know that the sales rankings are updated all the time so by the time you read this, Planetary Breach might have dropped but still, #1 at launch is such a nice thing to an Author! Yes, rankings are fleeting but still so so nice to see once and awhile!

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Been very busy but did think it apropos, to just remind all my readers, that National Science Fiction Day is always January 2nd every year–it’s Isaac Asimov’s birthday. Well as much as can be remembered….you see back in , Russia. Way back in 1919 in that area, records just weren’t like our own nowadays, and his real birthday was between October 4th, 1919 and January 2, 1920. He always celebrated it on January 2nd and who are we to disagree with one of the BIG THREE SciFi writers of the golden age (the other two are who?).

I think about him often. I think that I just was not confident enough to call him or write to him or his agent, just to tell him how much I loved his work. And loved it enough to have my own bookshelf with two rows of his works. When I found him, he had just published The Naked Sun. And as I read it for the first time, I was stunned by his complete world-building including robots. Robots. Never heard of them.

But after The Naked Sun in the late fifties, I went and bugged my Dad so much that he offered to let me cut the grass to earn the few dollars it would take to buy the rest of his robot series. Soon, The Caves of Steel, was on that bookshelf, then The Robots of Dawn, Robots and Empire, Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation, Foundation and Earth and more. I remember being un-able to find the short story Mirror Image but did about a decade later.

Yes, I know. this blog piece is the rambling about a SciFi writer who passed away twenty five years ago.

But he was such an important writer for me. And for millions of other readers too. What followed of course was his classic Foundation Series and that I’ll reserve for another blog post.

So….happy belated birthday Isaac….when I get to where you are, I’ll buy the first round lad. Maybe the second one too!

 

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WooHoo!

My #13 book “Inwards Bound” in my RIM CONFEDERACY Series was just launched today! Already she’s doing well and I’m so pleased that readers are still along for the space opera ride! To those who emailed me asking when it would be out — it’s out! And I’m back to the “one new Series book per month” schedule too!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0ZK1QT

“Tempted by the dissolution of the huge empire inwards, Duke Scott and the Baroness and the Caliph join forces to send a ship inwards bound, to find new planets for the expansion of the RIM Confederacy—led by the new captain, Bram Sander. Making a mind-reader a ship’s captain means more than one might expect, and Bram has to worry about the issues that arise.

Broken now into smaller Warlord realms, the first thing to do is to find allies and that becomes a major thrust in the RIM Confederacy ships first voyage inwards—and that leads to various new allies and antagonists too. One Warlord wants to join the Confederacy and one wants to take it over by force and the chances of that happening are real.

As the new secret mine for Xithricite is found by the Confederacy who now mines the red ore in secret, the Warlord fomenting war sends declarations to the Confederacy ship and Bram must respond. Aided by his own red ship and the Leudies gifts, he foists the Confederacy wishes on the Warlords—and the battles begin…”

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Public libraries recognize publishing in Canada and around the world is undergoing great change, and that the publishing industry plays an important role in the development and expression of the Canadian identity and literary culture.

But libraries also play an integral role in a vibrant book industry. Libraries are places of discovery, places that introduce people to new authors, genres and topics. Libraries have significant purchasing power as buyers of books and ebooks. Imposing unreasonably high prices – and creating a barrier between people and the books they love – is not the answer.

These are profound issues, not just for libraries but for authors and even publishers who want to connect with new readers. Canadian public libraries are committed to raising awareness of this issue and finding a solution.

In some cases libraries pay 3–5 times more for ebooks than consumers.
Penguin Random House is leading the way to a more flexible pricing model for library ebooks. We hope other multinational publishers will also make progress on pricing issues.
Public libraries are key players in the publishing industry, both as major purchasers of books and ebooks and promoters of reading and literacy.
In February 2016, we wrote to all multinational publishers to advocate for a reasonable pricing model

This is a problem for us all….we all need to let the publishers know that their pricing is too too too much!!!

So do drop by this link and sign up for the email that can tell you how to help…

 

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WooHoo!

My #12 book “Captured Aliens” in my RIM CONFEDERACY Series was just launched today! Already she’s doing well and I’m so pleased that readers are still along for the space opera ride!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSYSTWI

“While Duke Tanner Scott takes over the reins of the Duchy, there are other forces at work that will challenge his new role. The alien Praix suddenly show up off Ghayth to begin to take over the RIM Confederacy and the Issians appear to not be able to help. Add to his woes as his sister charged with the two murders at his wedding goes to trial for murder and that his protege declares his love for her too.

Meanwhile the Leudies offer to help the upcoming battle with the Praix by lending their new Power Belts to the RIM Task Force and that is matched by the offer of the Caliph to lend his Xithricite clad ships as well. Even the Baroness knows that these aliens are a superior race and their technology is something to be feared as she pushes her navy to come up with a plan.

Added to all of this, is the sudden find of more Praix technology on the wreck on Ghayth. And the secretive move by the Praix as they are attacked by surprise by a rogue Barony navy captain means that once again, on the RIM, lines are drawn in the sand.”

 

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WooHoo!

My #11 book “Honeymoon Bottle” in my RIM CONFEDERACY Series was just launched today! Already she’s doing well and I’m so pleased that readers are still along for the space opera ride!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N458X23

“Recovering from almost fatal wounds at the hands of his sister, Tanner finds the time spent on the beach on Bottle a great way to recharge and think about his future too. Finding a way to save his sister is one major item on his plate but then there is the late Duke’s Will and the codicil offer that was beyond his wildest expectations—what to do?

The Barony had other issues, from the new discovery of more ancient relics on the crashed alien ship on Ghayth to the news that the Baroness was out once again, trying to expand her realm. When a mysterious package arrives sent to the Ambassador in charge of the Duchy, the secret is out and the hunt for a new Duke is now public news.

As the RIM Confederacy Council meeting convenes to decide the fate of the Duchy of Neen, the whole Confederacy is surprised and Provost Guards enter the room to keep the peace—which may or may not last past the end of the meeting, never mind lasting for the whole RIM Confederacy!”

 

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I was chuffed when once again, the huge Chapters Bookstore on Fairview Street in Burlington, offered me another Author’s Signing Day event–and I grabbed it up right away too!

And my title above notes that it was a Success–from my own sales numbers, I did better than last time–times two!

Folks actually came up and said “hey, saw you back in June and never got to buy one cause I was busy–but I’ll take one right now…” kind of comments.

The addition of a big bowl of Hershey’s Kisses didn’t hurt either! I was surprised at the number of kids who dragged over a parent who then looked at the display of my books and said “oh….SciFi…yeah….tell me about your worlds!” Thanks Hershey’s!

Once again– a BIG THANK YOU to Rebecca over at Chapters for giving me the opportunity to be at the store for an Author Signing Day–and to Kat too, that wonderful young woman who stopped by to ask how it was going and yes, to chat SciFi too! So helpful…and so nice!

 

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If you’re in the Burlington area, on Saturday November 12th, then please do drop by the huge Chapters store at 3315 Fairview Street!

I’ve been invited to sit and offer up my RIM Confederacy and Bones Series of books and I’ll sign every single one too! What a great gift to get for your Dad or brother in time for Christmas, eh!

I’ll be right up front just inside the main doors from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm and would love to see you!

So please drop by and let’s chat about Science Fiction….would love to hear your own reviews on my books too!

The post Author’s Signing Day in November! appeared first on Jim Rudnick.

I write my books and self-publish them. You all know that. But do you know any of the following…cause some were brand new to me!

1- More than 50% of all traditionally published book sales of any format in the US now happen on Amazon.com. (Author Earnings, May 2016)

2- Audio book downloads increased by 38.1 percent in 2015. (CNBC, 2016)

3- The Big Five Publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster) now account for less than a quarter of all ebook purchases on Amazon. Indies are closing in on 45%. (Author Earnings, Feb 2016)

4- The top-selling books of all time are the Quran and the Bible (KJV), selling an estimated 3 billion and 2.5 million copies, respectively. Other top-sellers across time include Don Quixote (500 million), the Harry Potter series (450 million), and A Tale of Two Cities (200 million). (The Stylist, 2014)

5- In January of this year, 11 out of the top 35 books on Amazon were adult coloring books. Of those 11, 5 were published by indie authors. (Author Earnings, Feb 2016)

6- The average price of a Big Five ebook was $10.31 in January 2016. It had dropped to $8.67 by May 2016. (Author Earnings, May 2016)

7- The highest-paid author of 2016 is James Patterson, earning $95 million pre-tax. Others in the “highest-paid authors” camp include J.K. Rowling and children’s book writer Jeff Kinney. (Forbes, 2016)

8- Less than 50% of unit sales of print bestsellers in January 2016 were published by a Big Five Publisher. (Author Earnings, Feb 2016)

9- Indie authors earn close to 40% of total ebook dollars going to authors. (Publisher’s Weekly, 2014)

10- Fewer than 700 Big Five authors who debuted in the last 10 years currently earn $25,000 a year or more on Amazon—from all of their hardcover, paperback, audio and ebook editions combined. (Author Earnings, May 2016)

So….and yes, I’m grinning big time…see what might happen if you get the laptop out, sit down on the couch and start writing your own best seller?

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