A lot of authors talk about holding their books in their hands. In the early days of digital publishing, some authors thought it was too bad that you couldn't hold your own, physical book in your hand if you epublished. And I used to agree with them. After all, there's something lovely about holding a bound book, even a paperback, feeling its weight and inhaling its scent.
But I'm not sure if it can still be argued that authors can't hold their ebooks. Because I got to hold mine in my hands. :-)
Earlier this month, I got my author copy of THE LAST SLAYER from Carina Press. The production coordinator sent me two different versions -- PDF and epub. I was a little nervous. As some of you may know, I have self-published and formatted some of my other books, where I had 100% control over everything from cover to layout, etc. Here, I had some control -- such as suggesting back-cover blurb wording changes -- but I wasn't the one coding everything from scratch.
When I double-clicked and opened both formats of The Last Slayer, I squealed at how beautifully they've been formatted. Since I have a Kindle, I converted the epub version to mobi on Calibre and sideloaded it. The book looks perfect there too.
Thanks to advancements in technology, it no longer matters if you publish in print or electronically. Either way you can hold your book in your hand. Isn't technology wonderful? :-)
Ashera del Cid is a talented demon hunter, but when she kills a demigod's pet dragon, the hunter becomes the hunted. Her only potential ally is Ramiel, a sexy-as-hell demon. Now the two must work together to battle dragons and demigods...and the chemistry crackling between them.Ramiel has his own reasons for offering Ashera his protection. He knows her true identity and the real reason the demigods want her dead. What he can't predict is how she'll react when she discovers he knew who she was all along...
Ashera is shocked to discover that she is the only daughter of the last slayer. To claim her destiny, she and Ramiel must join forces to face down danger and outwit their enemies. Only then will she be able to truly accept her legacy...
I'm giving away a copy of THE LAST SLAYER (open international; pdf, epub or mobi). Please ask me a question about the book, writing process or anything else you wanted to know about me and/or The Last Slayer to enter! Thanks!
A big thank you to Nadia for stopping by the blog and offering a copy of her book. Please leave an email in the comments if you are entering the giveaway.
Find Nadia at:
I love that authors can get the word of mouth out about their work through reader blogs. I have discovered so many great reads through the blog world. Thanks for the giveaway, I'm out to find The Last Slayer.
ReplyDeleteJnmt3@hotmail.com
THE LAST SLAYER sounds awesome! Definitely adding to my wishlist. I see that it's supposed to be a trilogy... is the next story about the same characters? When does it come out?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great giveaway!
yadkny@hotmail.com
I am going to keep my eye on your book Nadia. The Last Slayer looks and sounds fantastic. When you set about building a world, where do you begin? Thank you for the chance.
ReplyDeleteCambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com
Tell us about your first sale. I always love to hear those stories. How long have you been wrtiing. Love the cover for this book and am adding to my wish list.
ReplyDeletescrtsbpal at yahoo dot ocm
Can you define demi-god? I think I know what the term means but I'm not totally sure. Thanks for the giveaway. The book sounds like something I would enjoy reading.
ReplyDeletejepebATverizonDOTnet
I love stories featuring dragons, and The Last Slayer sounds fantastic. I'm looking forward to reading it. I guess holding your book loaded onto a Kindle is holding it in your hands, but would you ever want to have a print copy? I guess I'm a traditionalist when it comes to books, judging by my bookshelves. :D
ReplyDeleteBarbed1951 at aol dot com
I actually prefer to read in ebook format, so I don't mind at all that this is e-version only. Best wishes on the release.
ReplyDeletejen(at)delux(dot)com
Rain -- Thank you for stopping by! :)
ReplyDeleteYadkny -- Yes, the next book is about the same set of characters, plus a few new ones. It's currently being written, but I hope to have it out next year! Thank you for your interest!
Na -- As for the world...I'm not very systematic, I'm afraid. I usually start with a few key characters and their job and/or position / status in their world. I do that because we spend so much of our time at work, and what we do and how we feel about it have a big impact on our lives. :)
Pamk -- My first sale happened years ago to another fairly large epublisher. I got an email, and it was very exciting. :) I've been writing seriously for over 5 years as of today. Thank you for the cover love! Frauke is the one behind the gorgeous cover. :)
Jen B -- The term is used to describe mortals whose father or mother was a god/goddess in Greek / Roman myth. I took the term and used it to indicate an extremely powerful supernatural being who is on the top of the demon / supernatural hierarchy. :) I hope this helps.
Barbara E -- I own tons of print books myself too, but I must must declutter my tiny apartment because my baby's going to start crawling soon. I used to think that I want to have a print book in my hands, but not anymore. What gives me the most satisfaction is that the book has been edited and produced in ways I think enhance the story. I did have a chance to hold print books of my own, but the not-so-great editing / production experience made me feel rather blah about it.
JenM -- Thank you for stopping by! I love e-format too! :)
This sounds like a great read and I would love to get my hands on it. Where did the idea for this book come from? Thanks for the chance
ReplyDeletejune111(at)att(dot)net
I'm just now getting into the ebook world. I loved having my printed books signed by the authors. How do you feel about digitally(?) signing your books for readers? Is it a difficult/lengthly process?
ReplyDeletebarbbattaglia@yahoo.com
@Jolene -- Thank you. The idea came from a snippet of dialogue I read in a graphic novel in Asia that went something like "I never wanted you to know what blood smells like." It's not the exact translation (I read it in Korean). I'll blog more about that later when the book's released. :)
ReplyDelete@Barbara -- There's a website called Kindlegraph that lets you sign Kindle ebooks, but I'm not sure how that really works for the reader. I've tested it from my end as an author, and thought it was interesting, but very simple. Maybe it's very easy for readers as well. I've never requested autographs from anybody using that website because I've never been really into collecting autographed books.