Caged

Michael Ferraiuolo, a man of many voices

by

Today, I'd like to welcome the very talented Michael Ferraiuolo to my blog. Michael took on Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas and tackled the myriad accents of the cast with seeming ease... the result is absolutely incredible (and for those who've heard it... wait until you hear Sacrificed!).

Howdy, Michael. Welcome to my blog. Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m a native New Yorker with an overabundant love of reading. Luckily I was able to take a traditionally leisurely pastime and make a career out of it. I also write music for film and tv…and the occasional audiobook.

How did you get into audiobook narration?

My career began in music, but before that I was student of theater who always had a knack for accents and voices. As a studio owner in NYC I was able to meet people from different parts of the audio recording world. One day, I met a gentleman whose career was in audiobook production. One conversation with him planted the seed in my mind. After a few twists, turns, and rocky attempts I found myself in Audible Studios as a fully fledged narrator.

What is your favourite part of doing narration?

There are two aspects of the job tied for first place. I love finding character voices. When you’re given a great character that can stand out with an interesting accent or pattern of speech its easy to have a great deal of fun. The other part of this work that I truly enjoy is when an author is able to tell me that a character has come to life just the way they heard them in their mind. There’s a real satisfaction in helping people bring their characters and worlds to life.

The hardest part?

Often the same thing as my favorite part! Voices can be just as much a challenge as they are fun. If there’s a manuscript with dozens of characters it can be difficult to truly differentiate between them all.

Favourite genre (or subgenre) of books to narrate?

I try not to discriminate. Art is art and I’m proud to be a part of any project I take on. I’m a little quicker to accept fantasy or sci-fi books though.

Are you reading anything right now?

Always! Aside from the books I read for work I tend to read one or two for pleasure simultaneously. I’m currently reading the second Erevis Cale trilogy by Paul S. Kemp. Sadly, the audiobooks have already been made…a missed opportunity!

What are your top 5 books of all time (any genre)?

I don’t feel qualified enough to answer that one! Can I cop out and list some of my favorite writers? If so, I’d have to say…in no order.

Tolkien
Shakespeare
Pablo Neruda
Bill Bryson
Glen Cook
Charles C Mann
Bey Deckard

Those are some great names to be included with... grins Sheesh :)

I’d like to say thank you Bey for your literary contributions and I would encourage everyone to share their enthusiasm for your work and other great literature!

Thank very much, Michael and thank you for stopping by!

Interested in having Michael narrate? Contact him through http://www.ironworkstudios.com/

Want to win an audible copy of Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas or Sacrificed: Heart Beyond the Spires (coming any day now)?

Just comment below with either your favourite audiobook or a book you would love to hear made into audio (any author or genre). I'll pick two winners on Wednesday April 26th

Happy birthday, Caged! Audiobook giveaway

by

Three years ago today I published Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas. It was unedited, the cover was a weird size, I hadn't even given a thought to marketing it. I didn't figure anyone would read it, honestly. I just published it for fun, on the suggestion of a friend, and basically walked away.

Then I got a review. And then another. And then another.

Well, here we are three years later. I've published five full-length novels with a sixth on the way, six novellas and novelettes, and a number of short or flash fics... and I hope to publish many more.

To celebrate the third anniversary of my first published work, I'm giving away five audiobook copies of Caged, narrated by the extraordinary Michael Ferraiuolo. All you have to do is go to this post and follow the instructions :)

Queeromance Ink – New Book Site!

by

There's a new site in town: Queeromance Ink is a directory of LGBTIQA romance and related books, with links to purchase them from a variety of other sources, including publishers, distributors, and in many cases, the authors themselves.

Wonder where you can purchase my books? Check out my page. :)

Back to Kindle Unlimited… Max, Kestrel’s Talon, Caged

by

I've been putting books back on Kindle Unlimited for fun. Seems that Amazon may have improved its fraud problem, so I've thrown Max, Kestrel's Talon, and Caged back into the program to see.

Click on the covers for the buy links :)

 

Cyber Monday at All Romance eBooks – All my titles 50% off*

by

unnamed1All my titles are 50% off for Cyber Monday!*

If you've been waiting to purchase a non-mobi copy of Kestrel's Talon or Max, this is a great time. They'll both be going exclusive to Amazon for the next 90 days (and in KU) starting tomorrow :)

*readers get store credit

Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas – Narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo

by

Now Available!

audio-cover-caged

Amazon
Audible
iTunes

 

 

Happy Halloween Sale!

by

October 30 & 31 ONLY

happy-halloween

Smashwords Sale! - Use coupon code at checkout

Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas -  $4.99 $2.50 w/ code NJ48X
Sacrificed: Heart Beyond the Spires - $4.99 $2.50 w/ code TE66E
Fated: Love and Redemption - $4.99 $2.50 w/ code XU87S
Careened: Winter Solstice in Madierus - $.99 $FREE w/ code EP76C

The Complications of T - $1.50 $.99 w/ code SS98X
The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel - $2.25 $.99 w/ code HQ45P

Kestrel's Talon - $5.99 $2.50 w/ code BU28Z

Max - $2.99 $1.50 w/ code EN53Z

Sarge - $1.75 $.99 w/ code NK98T
Murphy - $1.75 $.99 w/ code EF85U

divider

Better the Devil You Know - $4.00 $1.99 Buy here

divider

All Romance eBook sale! - All books :)

All my books 50% off at All Romance eBooks! (readers get store credit)
All my books 50% off at All Romance eBooks! (readers get store credit)

Click here to buy my books at 50% off at ARe

☞ 50% off Memorial Day Rebate ☜

by

ARebanner

Clicking on the titles will bring you to the books at ARe:

Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas =  $4.99 $2.50 (after rebate)

Sacrificed: Heart Beyond the Spires =  $4.99 $2.50 (after rebate)

Fated: Blood and Redemption =  $4.99 $2.50 (after rebate)

The Complications of T = $1.50 $0.75 (after rebate)

The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel = $2.25 $1.12 (after rebate)

Better the Devil You Know = $4.00 $2.00 (after rebate)

Goodbye, Kindle Unlimited, Goodbye! (for now?)

by

bye-racoon

I've made the decision to pull my books from Kindle Unlimited for the time being. Why am I saying things like "for now" and "for the time being"? Well... it is a hard decision to make.

Here, I'll show you why:

Pros of being in KU

Cons of being in KU
  • Increased visibility with Amazon customers
  • Use of Amazon stuff like Kindle Countdown Deals
  • Only have to upload my files to one place
  • Less people return my books
  • I make more money overall
  • I might make more money but at less than half a cent per page read, it really devalues books overall, and not just mine.
  • It's less than half a cent per page because the money comes from a pot that is split up every month amongst everyone enrolled in KU, and there are a lot of scammers publishing fake books or books that are rigged to make the reader reach the end (in which case Amazon pays the scammer for every page in the book), so us non-scammers have to share the pot with these assholes. (tl;dr: Authors have to share profits with scammers)
  • When you are enrolled in KU, you can only sell your books through Amazon. So I might get great visibility with Amazon customers, but folks who prefer to buy elsewhere are shit out of luck.
  • I am at the mercy of Amazon's sudden policy changes - which have largely failed to curtail the scammer problem. *two-finger salute*
  • Amazon continues to censor, ban, and stonewall its authors and paying customers.
  • I have to deal with the uploading files all over the place when I make a change... but... enh. *shrug*

So there you have it folks: my decision making process.

As of today, Caged, Sacrificed, Fated, The Complications of T, The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel are out and will be followed by the F.I.S.T.S. books on June 1st and Careened on June 20.

Kestrel's Talon will be out around August 13.

By pulling out my books, it means that I stand to make less money, which is what makes it such a shitty decision: Ho hum... do I stay in a fucked up system, chained to their exclusivity clause to make more cheddar, or do I go wide and make my books available to a wider audience... at a possible loss? (Oh yeah... Something else about the exclusivity thing? You have to stay in the program for 90 days. Then you can either opt out—so no KU and you can sell your books in other places—or renew like a chump.)

Ultimately, I don't write for the money... Even with my books in KU I don't make anywhere near a living wage. It's hard work but I write because I love doing it, and I get to share my stories with like-minded folk.

But. Well. Money is nice. *shakes head*

Anyway... I think from now on (unless I cave and go back to wearing the golden handcuffs) I'll put new releases into KU for the 90 days but not renew. Who knows.

(and feel free to chime in... what's your opinion on this?)

Happy Second Anniversary to Me! + Kindle countdown sale

by

Today marks two years as an author. Time flies when you're having a blast!

Two years ago I hit "publish" for the first time... and send Caged out into the wild.

To celebrate, I've put Caged up for a Kindle Countdown Sale. What does that mean? Well, right now, you can get Caged for 99¢/£0.99 at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, but the price will continue to increase every two days until it goes back to the usual.
Just follow this link and get your copy today! :)

I know what I'm going to listen to today:

This will close in 0 seconds

Wondering which retailer pays me the most?

#1 is Payhip. Not a retailer, but an online shop that I've set up myself. This is where I make the most return on my books.

Then after that it gets a little complicated, but these are the three best choices:

At Eden Books*, I make 70% royalties for all titles.

At Smashwords, I make 60% royalties for all titles.

At Amazon, for books OVER $2.99 (USD) I make 70% royalties and for books UNDER $2.99 I make 35%

So... if the book is under $2.99, buy from Eden Books or Smashwords.

If the books is over $2.99, buy from Eden Books or Amazon.

But best of all, buy from my Payhip store :)

Questions? Contact Me!

*Not all my titles are available at Eden yet as of 25/09/23 - I'm working on it.

This will close in 0 seconds