This morning I received a nice email from Heather Massey over at The Galaxy Express. She let me know that Encrypted had been mentioned in the latest issue of RT Book Reviews.

Oh, that’s neat, I thought. It wasn’t until I Googled the site and looked around that I realized this was a) a print magazine and b) one I’d actually seen before at the bookstore. Apparently they’ve started a new column called “What’s Hot this Month in Self-Publishing.” (How cool is that?)

There’s no way I’d be able to find a copy of the magazine down here in Australia (though they’ll probably get a subscription out of me when I get home — part of their master plan, right? ), but Heather was nice enough to type up the blurb:

Encrypted By Lindsay Buroker
Genre: Fantasy
Print or e-book: E-book

Summary: A young professor may be the only one who can decode old runes, which is why the enemy has kidnapped her from her home. Her only hope may lie with a fellow prisoner as threats to their world increase.

Why you should read it: With more than 10,000 e-books sold, Buroker is certainly making a name for herself in the world of self-publishing. Her most popular books are part of her Emperor’s Edge series, of which she just completed her third book.

I’m guessing they got the sales numbers from Amazon, because I haven’t even tallied things up yet for the year (it’s kind of a pain to separate free downloads from paid ones). I figured I’d hit that mark though, so many thanks to all of you who have tried my books! And thank you, too, to RT Book Reviews for starting a column to highlight self-published authors.

If you’ve stumbled across this post and haven’t read Encrypted yet, you can try the first couple of chapters on my site. The ebook is, of course, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords too. Paperback coming later this winter.

Also, if you like steamy science fiction romances, check out Heather’s books, Once Upon a Time in Space and Queenie’s Brigade.

Hi, folks. Just a quick “news” update today. The first half of this post is for the Kindle folks, and then there are a few story teasers at the end.

Why my ebooks aren’t in the Amazon Prime Lending Library

If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ve probably already heard about the new “lending library” where you can check out an ebook a month for free. I believe just about every author and publisher is getting the option to put their ebooks into the library, and, while they won’t make as much as they do on book sales, they’re supposed to get a little compensation (there’s a set pot and participating authors get to share it).

I’ve opted not to participate because Amazon requires 90 days of exclusivity for titles enlisted in the program, meaning I wouldn’t be able to continue to sell my ebooks at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, iTunes, etc.

I also wouldn’t be able to sell them on my own site, and I’m hoping to add a little store here in the not-too-distant future. I’ll have all of the ebooks for sale, of course, and I also plan to make it so you can order signed paperbacks. I know that’s something a few folks are interested in. Since author copies are cheaper than typical copies, I should be able to offer the signed paperbacks here for the same price as if you were to buy unsigned paperbacks through Amazon or B&N.

Anyway, I’ll be keeping an eye on the Lending Library, and if Amazon gets rid of the exclusivity clause, I’ll enroll my books.

Other places to borrow a copy…

In the meantime, if you’re looking to borrow rather than buy, I know the Flash Gold stories and Emperor’s Edge books come up from time to time on BookLending.com, and I imagine they are on other lending sites too. (If anyone has one to recommend, please let us know in the comments below!)

Story updates

For those who wonder how future stories are coming along, I’m working on the rough draft of EE4 now and am about a third of the way into the novel. Some teasers?

Emperor Sespian, as you probably guessed from the way 3 ended, will be coming back in this one. Yes, he, Sicarius, and Amaranthe will get a chance to “chat” (well, you know, Amaranthe will chat and Sicarius will try not to loom as menacingly as usual), though I haven’t yet decided if all the details of certain relationships will come out in that conversation.

Sergeant Yara, from Book 2, will also have a role, and we’ll finally get to meet someone from Maldynado’s family (though his story won’t be the focus until Book 5). Akstyr is the secondary point-of-view character in this one, and he’s already scheming up trouble.

For the steampunk fans out there, I finished the fist draft of the next Flash Gold story (Peacemaker) during NaNoWriMo, and, though I’ll probably wait until I finish the rough of EE4 to start editing it, a few teasers…

There’s a murderer killing native women in Dawson, leaving Cedar worried that Kali will be targeted. To make things worse, his past is coming back to haunt him. Or, perhaps hunt him is the better word. Also…there will be airship pirates, up close and personal this time. Kali will have to build herself a new weapon to escape their clutches.

(More blog posts should end with the word clutches, don’t you think?)

As many of you know, the third Emperor’s Edge book is off with the editor, and I’m patiently (okay, impatiently) waiting to get it back so it can go live this month.

The novel came in at 110,000 words (so no reading it in one night!), making it a little longer than the first two stories, and will be priced at $3.99 for the ebook. For those who don’t mind getting their ebooks through Smashwords, I’m planning to send a 50%-off coupon out to my newsletter peeps, so you might want to sign up for that if you’re a fan of the series — the subscription form is in the menu bar on the right).

I’ll put out a paperback version for Deadly Games and Encrypted after the holidays.

I’m working on the “blurb” this weekend, but, in the meantime, here’s a look at the first chapter for those who are wondering where the story will pick up again.

I’ve been eyeballing the iPad since it came out, but haven’t been willing to pony up the $500+ for one yet, but now that the Kindle Fire Tablet is on the way, I might give that a try. Is anybody else thinking of getting one?

In case you’re just hearing about these devices, here’s the information from Amazon:

The Kindle Fire Tablet

Features:

• Color display that lets you watch movies and tv shows, read picture-filled children’s books and magazines, and (of course!) play games.
• Free no-commercial movies and shows for Amazon Prime members.
• “Ultra fast” web browsing (I sure wouldn’t mind an upgrade to my Kindle’s web-browser)
• Free cloud storage (you can access any digital Amazon purchases you’ve already made — this would be nice for me since I bought some stuff from their instant video library only to find out I couldn’t download them onto my Mac, so I can only watch my shows online)
• MP3 player (I believe the Kindle has this, too, but I’ve thus far stuck with my iPod)
• Amazon’s free “WhisperSync” wireless technology (I’m all about the no extra monthly costs)
• Compact size with 7″ screen (this makes it smaller than the iPad, but perhaps more convenient for travel too)
• 7.5-8 hours of battery life on a charge
• $199 price tag (this sounds much more reasonable to me than the hefty iPad prices)

So, what do you think? Are you getting a Kindle Fire or sticking with a basic ebook reader? Or do you already own an iPad and have no need for Amazon’s offering?

Hi folks,

Just a reminder that this is the last day to enter my giveaway for signed copies of Emperor’s Edge and Dark Currents. I’ll do the official drawing (the part where I close my eyes, spin around, and point to a random entrant) tonight and contact the winners this weekend.

Thanks for reading!