The Black Flagged saga continues…

with JET BLACK, a novella written for Russell Blake’s JET Kindle World.

JET with logoWhat does that mean? Glad I pretended you asked. It means that I’ve written a 25,ooo word story (1/4 of a novel) that takes place between Black Flagged VEKTOR and Black Flagged REPRISALS (to be released in late 2015 or early 2016).

JET BLACK mixes Mossad operatives from Russell Blake’s bestselling JET series, with your favorite Black Flagged characters, in an explosive story that reignites the Black Flagged series.

Remember Dr. Reznikov, the twisted bioweapons scientist captured in Black Flagged Apex and “liberated” in Black Flagged Vektor? He’s back in circulation, and everyone wants him dead…as usual. JET BLACK is a pure adrenaline ride, imbedded with the kinds of clever twists and nuanced agency politics that defined the Black Flagged series.

Above all, readers will be introduced to Russell Blake’s femme fatale, Jet. I’ve read most of the JET series, and know you will enjoy getting to know the Mossad agent. She’s like Jessica Petrovich’s refined twin. Deadly, calculating, highly trained…get ready for an epic clash that will leave you reeling.

Grab a copy of JET BLACK now for $1.99!

Also, check out my interview with Russell Blake to learn more about my experience writing JET BLACK. 

BLURB for JET BLACK:

“At a luxury resort on the coast of Uruguay, Jet prepares her Mossad team for a daring attack against a Russian mafiya boss suspected of selling bioweapons to the Iranians. Simultaneously, Jessica Petrovich readies a small team of Black Flagged operatives with order to kill Dr. Anatoly Reznikov, the source of the mafiya bioweapons.

There’s only one problem—BOTH TARGETS ARE LOCATED IN THE SAME SUITE, and neither team knows the other is coming!

Two of the most lethal femme fatales in recent thriller history are about to come face to face in the explosive return of the Black Flagged saga.”

 

 

Surviving KU 2.0

1235 Steve Konkoly KWPC cover_7I’ve thought long and hard about my strategy moving forward, and I’ve decided to…

WRITE THE BOOKS I LOVE AND PUBLISH THEM WITH AMAZON. 

THE SAME THING I’VE DONE SINCE THE BEGINNING. 

Somehow this has worked for me amidst all of the changes, controversy, new programs, tweaks to the programs and general shifts in the publishing landscape. I suspect it wasn’t a fluke. 

AND I’m not suggesting that I don’t have a plan. I DEFINITELY HAVE A PLAN, but it involves a steady, non-reactionary approach to building a career. In fact, I’ll share some exciting news with you next week that casts more light on this plan.

STEADY ON THE HELM WITH AN EYE ON THE HORIZON. 

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The Definitive Interview by Robert Bidinotto

photo-robert-bidinottoRobert Bidinotto (pictured left) and I share a little history. Our first novels were featured by Amazon (in the same promotion) during a CyberMonday sale three years ago, essentially launching our book writing careers. Robert’s political/espionage thriller HUNTER sold untold thousands of copies. It became an overnight sensation, and rightfully so. We’ve kept in touch over the years, sharing strategies and comparing notes. I was thrilled to hear that Robert would feature me in an interview, adding me to an incredible list of authors that have “sat around the table” with him. Check out his interview page HERE. Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Lee Child, J. Carson Black, Ian Graham, Allan Leverone…this list goes on. Well, I’ve rambled on long enough.

Check out the Definitive Steven Konkoly Interview

One Year Anniversary…

As a full time writer.

Actually, it was  September 17.  The day, one year ago, that my regular paychecks stopped, my cell phone allotment ceased, my ridiculously generous healthcare insurance ended, and “the man” quit paying for my car (and gas).

ONE OF THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE!  

Life has been hectic…no doubt about that…but I have never once looked back. Probably because I don’t have the time! Here’s what I’ve accomplished in the past year.

Published 423,772 words broken down into:

3 NovelsThe Perseid Collapse, Event HorizonPoint of Crisis

3 Novellas for Kindle WorldsFirst Contact, Last Betrayal and Sanctuary (coming very soon)

1 Non-fiction collaboration on personal readiness and disaster preparedness—Practical Prepping: No Apocalypse Required.

Pursued several franchising opportunities:

Re-edited and re-issued 2 books—The Jakarta Pandemic and Black Flagged.

Launched 4 audiobooks through Audible—The Perseid Collapse, Event Horizon, Point of Crisis and Black Flagged Redux. The rest of the Black Flagged franchise is on the way.

Signed a deal with Amazon Crossing to translate and publish The Jakarta Pandemic in German. E-book and hardcopy.

Signed a deal to translate The Perseid Collapse into German. I’ll publish it as an e-book.

Sounds like no time for fun and games, right? Don’t shed any tears for me. I had plenty of downtime.

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Where I write…

Most of the time.

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I realized I should explain each of my “offices” a little better. I posted this on Facebook, and one of my friends thought the tall glass was a beer. He missed the 4:30 in the morning part from an earlier post…not that I have a blanket prohibition against beer at 4:30 AM. Here it is. My version of “zero dark thirty,” except it’s no longer dark when I enter. The sun peeks above the horizon far too early in Maine.

“People, friends and family always ask the same question when they find out that I’m a writer, in addition to having a day job. When do you write? 4:30AM, pretty much every day of the year. 5:30 on weekends. It has simply become a habit. There are variations in that schedule, depending on where I am (vacation, overnight trip, visiting family). The picture shows how I start each day, with one notable exception. I’m in between books, so my desk is way neater than usual. For those that are curious. The beverages include, fresh juice (from a juicer…carrot, celery, apple, spinach, ginger, cucumber) and an espresso.”

Find a Niche, and Expand It

In today’s fiction market, you either need a sizable backlist, a ready-to-go fan base, or a traditional publishing deal to come out of the gate bursting with sales. Your Twitter following of 800 other authors doesn’t count as a launching pad, either. The most common problem for new authors, is the search for readership. Unless you’re writing to fill your own bookshelf, you share the same dilemma. I know…we all have an incredibly interesting, unique novel, ready to unleash upon the unsuspecting world…but so does every other writer reading this essay. And this is just the tip of the iceberg! The key term here, is “unsuspecting world.” I’m fairly confident the world will push onward in blissful ignorance of your book, if you don’t find a way to start a small fire. You need to find a niche, and expand it.

I’ll be blunt with my story. I published The Jakarta Pandemic in October of 2010, and had no clue what to do with it. I was just glad to have finished it. Three years of disorganized part time writing, and now what? I had no marketing plan…or concept. I had started research into the traditional publishing world, but quickly came to the conclusion that this would be a long process. Fine, except it bothered me that friends and family couldn’t read the culmination of three years’ effort, and might never read it, if I waited for a New York deal. So, I uploaded my book to Kindle, Nook and CreateSpace…and made the big announcement to friends and family.

I had a modest burst of sales in October and November, which tapered off as I exhausted my supply of friends and family (thank you for the support!). A few reviews on Amazon followed (I recognized the names…thank you again!), and then it all fizzled. To be honest, I didn’t expect anything different. I started writing query letters to literary agents, but felt dirty each time I wrote that little personal note in there…you know, the one that lets the agent know that you did about two minutes of “in-depth” research into their background. I wrote seven queries (5 e-mail and 2 paper) before I read Joe Konrath’s blog, and said “screw this.”

Something very fortuitous occurred around the same time. Previously, I had decided to classify my book as a thriller (accurate), and weakly pursued the thriller market on a few web forums. If you haven’t figured it out, there are a lot of thrillers out there. Labeling your book a thriller is like selling grass seed and advertising the color. No shit, it’s green. No shit, you wrote a “thriller.” But I was a first time author, new to the writing world, and thrillers always top the best seller lists. Dominate the lists, actually. My wife showed me an article that proved it.

So, what knocked me out of this “thriller” silo? I received a 5-Star review from someone that lauded the survivalist aspect of my novel. He liked the thriller aspect of the book too, and said “move over Robert Ludlum.” Over the top for sure, but I could tell that the survivalist aspects struck home the most with this reader. My book does have a strong survivalist and prepper theme, so I started to wonder what I could do with this. I did a little research into the survivalist community.

I found one particular forum that dealt exclusively with survival prepping and related topics. They had a lively fiction/story-telling thread, so I joined the forum, introduced myself, and committed to releasing my entire novel (one chapter at a time). I was warmly welcomed, and kept my word over the next four to five months. Many readers couldn’t wait for the next installment, and purchased hard copies or e-books. Reviews poured in, and the book started picking up steam on Amazon. Of course, I made sure that the search terms reflected survival, so other like-minded readers could easily find it. I had found my first niche. My book’s thread is still in the top ten viewed story threads on this site.

As my Amazon ranking climbed (modestly), I started to pick up more readers, from a wider spectrum. Out of nowhere, I was contacted by another author, to participate in a Post-Apocalyptic (PA) blog tour. Uh…I suppose so…never really thought of my book in this genre. Really? A book about a devastating pandemic? WTF was I thinking. I eagerly agreed, and started joining PA forums everywhere. Unbelievable. These were truly my people, for this book. A dedicated crew, like the survivalist/prepper group, Post-Apocalyptic readers devour everything written in the genre. I started this in mid-February, and pushed heavy through March. It is no coincidence that my sales jumped from 160 in January, to 645 in February…to 1400 in March. My Amazon ranking (overall Kindle store) dipped into the 800’s. The good old days. I had really found my true niche, and a supportive group of hard core readers.

I have a new book launching in late October, and I can’t wait to see how the two will synergistically work together. I don’t have thousands of readers eagerly waiting by their Kindles for this book, but I do have a sizable core of ready readers that will immediately buy it, and probably review it. There are also over 9000 people (total downloads) out there, who have read my work, and might look me up again, when they’re searching for something to read this fall. Now I just need to work on a niche to go with my “backlist,” and give prospective readers a reason to gravitate toward the Black Flagged series.