Monday, February 17, 2014

Harem - FREE for a limited time

Harem is the new book that's been plaguing me like mosquitoes on a picnic.

And I thought I'd try out the FREE promotion thingie that KDP (Amazon / Kindle) offers. It will be free from 2/18/14 - 2/22/14.

Originally I'd thought about posting it for free on Fictionmania. I haven't posted a story there in months and I miss it. Fictionmania has been good to me. It's been good to a lot of us. Far back at the beginning of the internet (gather round the fire, children), I found a few TG fiction sites. It was an eye opener. It was the first time that I realized other people had the same fantasies as I did.

I'd written some little knock-off stories by then, but nothing dramatic. My writing was mostly in other genres. I knew other people had the same fantasies as I did because their stories fit into my head perfectly.

Sites like Fictionmania made me feel almost normal and for someone that prides himself on being a little different, this was strangely important. So I posted a few stories here and there, nothing really good, but by the time I began posting on Fictionmania I was writing the kinds of stories I wanted to read, and they weren't cheap knock-offs anymore. They were stories that came right out of the root of my head.

Harem is such a story. It's in first person and it takes me back to the kind of stories I remember loving. It's about a far-off place in the Middle East that offers the ultimate fantasy: being a Harem girl.

Harem girls are sexy. One part stripper, one part Geisha, they're submissive and fun and in this story our hero decides to sign up and be one for four weeks. It is, at its heart, a hypnotic tale. My two top fantasies combined: TG and hypno (or it could just be the subby girl that drives them both).

When he gets there, all the control easily slips from his grasp. He slips down the rabbit hole and by the time he realizes what's happened, it's too late.

I ended up liking the story too much. I always do this. I write something for free to post on Fictionmnia, then turn around and fall in love with it.

So, it's free for the next 5 days.

If you like it, write a review. I'm learning not to read them, because the negative ones just ruin my day. If you really like it, write me an email.

If you don't, well you don't. There's nothing I can do about that.

I swear, the second I finished it, I turned right around and started revising it. I couldn't wait to get it up. I stopped revising only  long enough to design a cover. I find I'm enjoying designing covers much more now that I'm not drawing my own. Maybe it's just the chance to look at a lot of photos beautiful women.

On another point: Belief is still selling strong. Surrender (which I only published a few days ago) is off to a weak start. Redemption at the Rose Saloon is still outselling it. Everything else is just a trickle. Well, I didn't really get into this for the money, did I? Still, it's nice when I see the numbers, but then I only second guess myself anyway (Oh, they're just buying it for the cover). Well, maybe so, but I write because I like doing it. It's easy to forget that.

 ~ttt

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Series-interruptus (Oh, yeah, and a new book!)

I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!

I knew I would start this long nine part series and some other story idea (a.k.a. fantasy) would pop into my head and interrupt everything.

Also, I wonder about timing in publishing. "Surrender" was ready to publish a few weeks ago, but I'd just put out "Belief" so I wondered if I should wait and pace it or just plop them all out there. Well, I waited for a bit and watched. I'm not sure there is a benefit to waiting, except I guess I was trying to keep a nice, regular publishing schedule.


Anyway, I've had 2 stories plaguing me, wanting to be written, nagging my daydreams and last weekend I started on one of them. The Nine Portals universe has 4 stories written. I just need to revise the next 2 before publishing.

I saw a review on Belief, which always bittersweet. Sweet when I get good ratings (I know I shouldn't care, but I do; it's a matter of pride, ego?); bitter when someone doesn't like it. I try to remind myself that I write because I like it, not because others like it, but it's something that I struggle with. The review was positive, but it talked about "a few typos". Agonizing. I did a quick spell / grammar check and only found one typo, so now I'll have to go through the whole thing and see if there are any others.

If anyone cares to spot them for me, that would be awesome. I'll even throw in a free copy of a future work. Free stuff! See?

So the 2 stories that are to come in the Nine Portals Universe find Henry in the body of a futuristic cam girl (in a bubble in space of all things, always on display, always available). I hope it's nice and intense. The one after that has Henry in an android maid's body, programmed to find sexual ecstasy in chores and of course the usual sexy good times with her owners. These are both written and just need revised. The last one, which I have not yet started, has Henry in the body of a prostitute, a "kitkat" girl, a little neko (kitty girl) who is rescued / abducted by a space pirate.

The 2 stories I'm working on outside of the Nine Portals Universe are hopefully fun, too. I tried to find a way to fit them into Nine Portals, but they didn't seem to want to go there. The one I'm writing on now is called "Harem", where a nice young man indulges in the ultimate girly vacation (Harem Girl Bootcamp) and finds it far more seductive than he imagined. And finally, "A Tale of Two Maids" (also not yet written), about a husband and wife who decide to work at a resort for the insanely rich as maids.

So, there you go. More stories on the way, even with my normal job keeping me hectic and exhausted, and hopefully more fun.

Lastly, I worry that I'm charging too much for Nine Portals. I had this little conversation with Ann Michelle on her site about such short word counts for 2.99. In the review on "Belief" there was that remark. "...a bit short".

I'm still undecided. Should the Nine Portals series be .99? I can always put together a compilation when they're all done for a decent price.

ttt