Lincoln Cole's Raven's Peak

Lincoln Cole's popular horror thriller Raven's Peak begins the World on Fire series.

A quiet little mountain town is hiding a big problem. When the townsfolk of Raven's Peak start acting crazy, Abigail Dressler is called upon to discover the root of the evil affecting people. She uncovers a demonic threat unlike any she's ever faced and finds herself in a fight just to stay alive.

Abigail rescues Haatim Arison from a terrifying fate and discovers that he has a family legacy in the supernatural that he knows nothing about. Now she's forced to protect him, which is easy, but also to trust him if she wants to save the townsfolk of Raven's Peak. Trust, however, is something hard to have for someone who grew up living on the knife's edge of danger.

Can they discover the cause of the town's insanity and put a stop to it before it is too late?

A world of intrigue for only $3.49, or free with Kindle Unlimited.

Lincoln Cole is a Columbus-based author who enjoys traveling and has visited many different parts of the world, including Australia and Cambodia, but always returns home to his pugamonster and wife. His love for writing was kindled at an early age through the works of Isaac Asimov and Stephen King and he enjoys telling stories to anyone who will listen.

He has won more than twelve literary awards for his novels from Reader's Favorite, Literary Classics, New Apple, and many other organizations. He has also reached the top #50 rank for all books in the Kindle store on Amazon and bestseller in many different categories.

If you would like to follow and find out what is happening with Lincoln, sign up at:

http://www.LincolnCole.net/signup

...and get two free stories!

H. B. Moore's Slave Queen

H.B. Moore's popular and well-reviewed thriller, Slave Queen, continues the Omar Zagouri series, combining the ancient world with today's mysteries.

Special Agent Omar Zagouri’s latest case is his most dangerous—and his most personal yet. The discovery of secret sixteenth-century letters unveils a plot between the sultan Suleyman and his chief wife, Roxelane, to change the course of the Ottoman Empire. A descendent of Roxelane, Zagouri learns he has an enemy whose revenge has been centuries in the making.

Targeted by an antiquities collector who’s also descended from a chief rival for the ancient throne, Zagouri soon uncovers a modern-day conspiracy that threatens the lives of his family and the security of a nation.

To expose the plot, Zagouri must team up with Naim, the son of his nemesis, who heads an international black-market operation that may have ties to the killings. From ancient Constantinople to the present-day Middle East, Zagouri is on a collision course with history. Time is running out to solve a royal mystery and stop a ruthless killer—one who has Zagouri’s name on his hit list.

All this excitement for only $1.99—or free with Kindle Unlimited!

Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen historical novels and thrillers, written under pen name H.B. Moore. She writes women's fiction, romance and inspirational non-fiction under Heather B. Moore. This can all be confusing, so her kids just call her Mom. Heather attended Cairo American College in Egypt, the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in Utah.

Please join Heather's email list at: HBMoore.com/contact
Blog: MyWritersLair.blogspot.com
Website: HBMoore.com
Twitter: @heatherbmoore
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Goodreads Book Giveaway

Seven Noble Knights

by Jessica Knauss

Giveaway ends December 14, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Branching Out as a Writer: An Interview with Armand Rosamilia

Fellow Kindle Press author Armand Rosamilia is stopping by today. For his Kindle Scout experience, he branched out from his usual writing routine.

Armand Rosamilia 

JK: What is Dirty Deeds about? Have you written many crime thrillers?

AR: Dirty Deeds is my first official foray into crime thriller fiction. It started out as a much darker idea... about a hit man who kills children. It luckily evolved into a story I wanted to make more mainstream and for more potential readers to enjoy, so it is still about a guy who is paid to kill children... but he doesn't actually do it. He saves them and gets them into better situations, although one of these supposed deaths from years ago comes back and his cover might be blown.

JK: What inspired these ideas?

AR: I think what inspired me is all of the horror fiction I read and write coupled with my wife watching Investigation Discovery every night. 

JK: Did you enjoy your Kindle Scout experience? How was it different from other publishing you’ve done?

AR: The 30 days my book was in the Kindle Scout program were nerve-wracking. It felt like forever and I hadn't been that nervous in years about a submission.

JK: I know what you mean. Mine was the longest February of my life!

AR: I'm glad I did it, though, because I learned quite a bit about marketing and engaging new readers. I felt like I'd become stagnant with the wonderful fan base I have. Complacent. With Kindle Scout and promoting a crime thriller, something I don't normally write and in a slightly different focus (no profanity, no over-the-top sex or violence) it helped me to reach new readers. I am so glad I tried because it has definitely taken me to the next level. Plus, all of my back-list has started to sell even better and I'd like to think a big chunk of that is because new readers loved Dirty Deeds and wanted to read more from me. 

JK: Podcasts seem to be the up-and-coming new platform for authors, and you have two. What topics do they cover? 

AR: I started out about four years ago on an AM station, which turned into a small FM station. Then I did internet radio. I got into podcasting because I saw it would be a definite plus for me as an author. I'd been on a few great podcasts and I saw it helped sales and getting my name out there. I started Arm Cast Podcast about two years ago and I'm coming up on my one hundredth episode soon. I interview other authors and it is very casual. Two writers having a chat about the business and the craft. I've had on musicians, filmmakers, actors and actresses as well, entertainment people. Each episode lasts about an hour and has two interviews. Every Friday you can hear it on Project iRadio. 

The second podcast I do now is Arm N Toof'sDead Time Podcast, co-hosted with author Mark Tufo. We run about an hour every Wednesday and interview one guest. We talk to quite a few film makers, actors, and actresses. We also run it very casual and leave the bloopers and screw-ups in. It is also on ProjectiRadio and I couldn't be more happy about the reach and the interaction with listeners. 

JK: We’ll be sure to tune in! Thank you for stopping by.

AR: Thanks for the interview!

Be sure to check out Dirty Deeds and find all the latest from Armand at his website: armandrosamilia.com

Prescient Reporter Releases Topical Political Thriller: A Guest Post by Kindle Press Author Rick Pullen

Fellow Kindle Press author Rick Pullen has managed what seems impossible: he wrote about what interested him, and now that the time for publication has come around, his topic is hotter than anyone could have planned. Naked Ambition is available for preorder. Make sure to get it now and it will download to your device on May 3. Take it away, Rick!

Author Rick Pullen

Naked Ambition is my first thriller, and believe it or not, it’s about the Republican establishment trying to take down a Republican candidate for the Presidency. Talk about timing! But it was written long before Donald Trump came onto the political scene.

It all began with a court scene I had stuck in my head for a decade. What if a federal prosecutor leaked an explosive story to a newspaper reporter and then—due to an uncontrollable twist in circumstances—he suddenly was forced to prosecute the reporter to reveal who the leaker was? How would you resolve that scene?

For years I couldn’t. I talked to friends trying to unravel the dilemma and still couldn’t. Then one day over beers with a colleague at a sports bar across the street from my office, it came to me. That night I went home and began to write.

I’ve been a journalist my entire adult life. I was an investigative reporter for newspapers for years before becoming a magazine editor. Of course being an investigative reporter meant I was constantly accused of writing fiction long before I ever attempted to.

So in 2011 I took a class on novel writing at the Washington Independent Writers Center and began to understand how difficult it was and how totally different the structure of fiction was from straight news reporting. The inverted pyramid? Forget it. Magazine feature story writing? Fiction wasn’t even close. It wasn’t a style question, but one of craft.

Over the next two years I read more than 40 books on the craft of writing fiction—everything from point of view, to pacing, to how to write a sex scene—all while writing the first and second drafts of my novel. I learned quickly that the real craft of writing was actually rewriting and first drafts were little more than glorified outlines.

I’ve worked in Washington most of my career, so I know quite a lot about how the city operates and thinks. Writing a political thriller wasn’t a big stretch for me. But I wanted my novel to examine more than just political skullduggery, power, and sex. I wanted it to be an examination of the flawed human element that makes up our power structure and how overblown egos affect real lives. I wanted it to cover everything from how journalists often fail to shed any light on what really goes on in the nation’s capital, while powerful politicians do everything they can to thwart the truth from ever surfacing. Instead they cynically preach God and patriotism while lusting for power and their administrative assistants.

For this reason, my working title was “Professional Ethics.” I wanted my thriller to examine all types of ethical dilemmas—from questionable journalistic integrity to political hypocrisy. But in my mind that still didn’t rise to the level of being distinctive enough. All of the great detective and thriller series have something unique about their flawed main characters. I needed to create such a character. That’s when I came upon the idea of the “Naked Series,” an honest portrait of the warts beneath the polished patina of pinstripe Washington.

To the outside world, my main character is an award winning, swashbuckling hotshot investigative reporter. Inside the confines of his condo, he’s an insecure jumble of contradictions who couldn’t write his way out of a paper bag without the aid of his secret mentor.

I’m already writing my second thriller. Naked Truth is about the underpinnings of the stature of the Supreme Court. Is Lady Justice really blind or just winking at us? My third book in the series is Naked Aggression. It will examine who holds the real power in Congress.

Of course these are all thrillers, so they are filled with suspense, sex, murder and intrigue. In Naked Ambition, the main character learns about political manipulation and how nothing is as it seems to be—not his job, not his story source and not his new love interest. In the end, everything is stripped bare—well, almost everything. It is Washington after all. So do we ever really know the whole truth? 

Naked Ambition is now available for preorder. Get it today and receive it on your device automatically on the release date of May 3. And check out Rick Pullen at his website.

The Unconventional Path to Publication with Author Katie O'Rourke

Continuing the celebration of my fellow Kindle Press authors, today I welcome a guest post on the publishing process from women's literary fiction author Katie O’Rourke. Her accomplished novel Finding Charlie is on sale for only 99 cents until April 15.

Katie O'Rourke

A hundred years ago, when I first started to consider writing to get published, I did the research on how it was done. I bought a copy of The Writer's Market, worked on crafting the perfect query letter, mailed out manila envelopes with sample chapters and SASE (self-addressed stamped envelopes), and collected numerous rejection letters while I waited for a literary agent to discover me.

Now the process has changed a bit, with most agencies accepting email queries. I've perfected my pitch and my rejection letters have gotten nicer. I've had many requests for full manuscripts, more specific advice and encouragement. I even spoke on the phone with an agent from one of the leading literary agencies in New York.

Somehow, these rejections hit me harder than the form letters of my past. I still don't have an agent, but I have three published books. I used to think my path to publication was unusual, but when I talk to other published authors, they all have a different story to tell.

With my first book, Monsoon Season, my publisher found me. I had posted my work on an online writers' site called Authonomy. The publisher was a new imprint of an established company and I hired a literary agent to look over my contract. (Best $100 I ever spent.) Sales were really good, but I didn't like how they handled the release of my second novel, so I got out of that contract and published on my own. They've since merged with Little, Brown and I've been much happier as they continue to sell Monsoon Season.

My second book, A Long Thaw, was released in 2014 under my own imprint. This book sells fewer copies than the first (so far), but I have complete control over how it's marketed and I get daily sales reports about how it's doing. I think this has been a great way for me to compare each method and see what matters to me. Is it reader response? Sales? Cover design?

I entered my latest book Finding Charlie, into a crowdsource competition and it was selected for publication by Kindle Scout at the end of last year. I had been slightly apprehensive about entering into this deal because in some ways, it sounded like the worst parts of my previous experiences: the independent struggle of self publishing combined with the lack of control of traditional publishing. But I have been pleasantly surprised. I had creative control of the cover and book content, but help from a professional editor. The team has kept me involved, returns emails promptly, and I can depend on them for the kind of promotional deals I have going on now: Finding Charlie is currently just 99 cents!

My experience with publication has been diverse and educational. I like it that way. Publishing has changed a lot and the path is no longer as cookie cutter, if it ever was. Sometimes publishers come before agents; sometimes agents never show up. From what I hear, it may be that my path is just as unconventional as the next person’s.

Thanks for being here, Katie.

Get all the latest from Katie at katieorourke.com.

Interview with Mystery/Thriller Author Katherine Hayton

As if having Awash in Talent accepted for publication wasn’t thrilling enough, with it came acceptance into the literary community of Kindle Press authors. It’s my pleasure to present some of their wonderful work for you here.

New Zealand author Katherine Hayton writes thrilling mysteries. The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton, in which a detective must solve a cold case or meet the same fate as the victim, will be published by Kindle Press tomorrow and is already available for preorder.

JK: Tell us about your last release.

Katherine Hayton: Breathe and Release is about a woman who wakes in hospital with amnesia, and the parallel story of a woman who is being held captive in an underground cell. Can she remember in time? Can she escape her prison? Can everyone hold their breaths long enough to get to the end of the book? All these and other questions can be answered by purchasing a copy.

JK: What are you working on now?

KH: I’m working on a sequel to The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton called The Second Stage of Grief. (That’s the stage with all the anger and the resentment and the “how dare you die” kind of stuff going on, so expect a fair bit of inflicting misery on other people.) It should be off to the editor for April so I can sit back and relax for a few minutes before I start drafting a brief outline for the third Ngaire Blakes Mystery.

JK: You’ve met with great writing success recently. Is your life anything like it was two years ago?

KH: Oh yes, but with slightly less time. I thought the writing was the hard part, and then I found out about the marketing and the website and the maintenance and the panels and the promotions and the... Changed for the better, obviously!

JK: What part of the writing process do you dread?

KH: Which bit am I working on now? That bit. That bit sucks the bomb.

JK: Any weird writing rituals to get you through those tough spots?

KH: Why? What do you mean? Who’s looking? Nothing that seems weird to me. I do talk to myself a lot, usually when I’m typing, but I’m happy to do that in front of people as well, so I don’t think that counts.

JK: What is your favorite quote and why?

KH: It’s never too late to be the person you always wanted to be – George Elliot. I think I like it because I’ve started again later in life to try to make something of myself, and this saying reminds me that I can keep doing that until I’m dead.

JK: What are your future ambitions?

KH: I’m looking forward to when I can retire from work. I enjoy my day job a lot most of the time, but I think I’d prefer working if I didn’t have to. Like volunteering for things. You stand on a street corner with a bucket and the job sucks for the most part, but if you turn in your bucket and walk away when you feel like it, what are they gonna do? Yeah. That’s some awesome power there. Going in every day to a job you enjoy but which you can walk out of at a moment’s notice if it comes down to it. That would be good. Anyone reading this, if you’d like me to experience this as a reality please feel free to order thousands of copies of my book so I can bring my retirement date forward. You’re awesome. No you are.

JK: Are you a romantic?

KH: Ahhhh, no. I’m a realist. A realist who would actually appreciate it if her partner bought her flowers for her birthday or her anniversary or just because once in a while. But not in a romantic way. In a “Look at what I got while you received nothing you bunch of losers—In Your Face” kind of way. Maybe I’m a competitive romantic?

JK: Let’s test that theory. What is the sweetest thing someone has done for you?

KH: Stayed with me for twenty years.

JK: Aww. You might be a romantic. Let’s test you again. What’s the best movie ever made? 

KH: Being John Malkovich. And why? Malkovich. Malkovich. Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich. And that bit about the 13^th and a half floor was genius. And making Cameron Diaz look frumpy. How’d they manage that? And dropping out of the Malkovich dimension onto the New Jersey turnpike. You can’t write that stuff. Well, you may be able to if your name’s Charlie Kaufman, but I can’t write that stuff.

JK: I adore Malkovich and Charlie Kaufman’s writing, too. They way they follow their own illogic while always inviting the viewer to come along for the ride is something I’m always aiming for in my writing.

Thank you so much for stopping by. All best for your Kindle Press release, The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton.

Find out about Katherine’s latest work and sign up for her mailing list at her website. She’s always ready to share short stories and funny thoughts with her readers.