One Kansas Author

Late January, Already?

2012-01-24T09:28:00.002-06:00

So, it's been a while since I last posted. Sorry about that. I've been writing quite a bit. I have two new Jake Bonner stories written (he's the hero of Expert Assistance), a third plotted, and I've started plotting a fourth. I'll let you know what happens with them. I've updated my short story page with the covers for the newest stories for sale. I'm always putting up more. Next month I

Some 2011 pictures

2011-12-24T09:40:00.001-06:00

To close out the year, I'd like to post some of the pictures I took while on the road. These aren't event pictures, but shots of the places I was able to get to in 2011. This is a former school building in Brookville in Saline County. An old-fashioned Coke sign painted on one of the buildings in Wilson in Ellsworth County. The Opera House in Grainfield in Gove County. Lost

LISA'S WAY giveaways

2011-12-04T09:13:00.001-06:00

There are two giveaways in progress for the new edition of Lisa's Way. One is for copies of the paperback at Goodreads, while the other is for a Smashwords coupon to get the ebook at Library Thing. Here are the links to both: Goodreads Library Thing I'm going to update the progress of them here: Lisa's Way Facebook Page If you enter, I wish you good luck! If you don't win a copy, I

LISA'S WAY is back!

2011-11-25T14:57:00.001-06:00

YES! Lisa's Way, my second novel, is available once again. It has a great new cover by Matt Orsman. I'm pleased to report that I've been able to lower the prices for the print and ebooks versions. If you don't know what the book is about, here's the back-cover blurb: Teenager Lisa Herbert lives in the small town of Mountain View on the planet Fairfield. The “Savage Rain” decades earlier

Event Report - Colby Author Roundup

2011-11-21T12:49:00.001-06:00

On Friday, November 18, left for a three-day trip. The goal of the trip was to do the Author Roundup at the Prairie Museum of Art and History in Colby, Kansas, on Saturday the 19th. I hit a few museums and libraries on the drive up and sold some copies of Kansas, 1874. At the Roundup I sold seven books, plus placed several copies of three titles at the museum gift shop. I also took several

Event Report - ECSE

2011-11-07T14:05:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I attended the Emerald City Steampunk Expo in Wichita (in my neck of the woods!). There wasn't a huge turnout, but I did okay. I sold 8 books. For the Expo I created a brochure listing my ebooks, with prices, titles, and a few covers. I handed out about a couple dozen of the brochures. I don't know if that will result in any ebook sales, but the feedback was positive. I'm

Event Report - Abilene Author Roundup

2011-10-31T11:19:00.000-05:00

I was on the road again this past weekend, mainly for a new "Author Roundup" (a book fair) in Abilene, Kansas Saturday afternoon. The turn-out was modest, but those that came bought books. I sold four, and I was pleased to see that several authors there sold copies of their books. I talked to some authors I hadn't seen in quite a while. I drove up on Friday and did some business. Looks

2011-10-24T07:22:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I last posted what short story ebooks I've put up, so here's what's new- Dark Futures -Always Have, Always Will: Two groups come into conflict on a vacation planet, and people die; why?First published in “Golden Visions,” Issue Number 4, Oct./Nov./Dec. 2008.Frozen Rock: A group is heading west after an economic collapse has brought down civilization. They encounter a

Event Report - Two in One Weekend

2011-10-17T09:42:00.000-05:00

The weekend of October 15-16 saw me doing two events around the area. On Saturday the 15th I had a signing for my SF books at Blue Dragon Books in Derby. I was joined by Matt Orsman, who created the cover for Expert Assistance. Members of Matt's family stopped by and were kind enough to buy books. The store also picked up some of my nonfiction books to sell. I had a good time, and it was nice

Another EA Giveaway!

2011-10-09T07:22:00.000-05:00

Since there wasn't an author tent at the Ren Fest, no event post this week. Instead, this little reminder: You have a week left to enter the Red Tash Halloween book giveaway. You might win a Kindle! And a copy of Expert Assistance is one of the prizes. Okay, the Kindle is better, but still, free ebooks... This is where you can find the rules and a list of all the books up for grabs.

Me & My iPad

2011-09-27T08:33:00.000-05:00

Back in May I acquired an iPad. I'd like to share with you my impressions of this new device in my life. In short, I love it. I've done so much with it that I don't want to go back to the days when I didn't have one. Let me tell you all the uses I'm getting out of it. Take the three cons I've been to. I was able to record my books sales and sync them when I got home; before I wrote

Another EA Giveaway!

2011-09-21T08:22:00.000-05:00

Quick post: one of the many authors I've met since really getting into self-publishing my fiction is having a Halloween book giveaway to celebrate a new release. A copy of Expert Assistance is one of the prizes! This is where you can find the rules and a list of all the books up for grabs. Good luck!

Event Report - 2011 Frisco Convention

2011-09-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Sept. 17, I attended the convention put on by members of the Frisco Railroad Forum. The convention has moved in the three years it's been put on. This year it was held in Springfield, MO, the city that for years was where the Frisco was headquartered. The convention itself was held at Frisco Crossing. This used to be a Frisco administrative building. It how houses offices, a

Event Reports - Glitch Con & Whitewater Book Talk

2011-09-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend of September 9-11, I attended Glitch Con in Bentonville, Arkansas. I didn't sell very many books there, but it seemed as though attendance was good. I did meet plenty of people, and saw some I hadn't seen in a while. In fact I was meeting people right up to the start of closing ceremonies! Overall I had a good time, and I'd like to go back if they do it again next year. Then,

New Novel - True Friends

2011-09-05T08:48:00.000-05:00

I'm pleased to announce that I have a new short novel for sale, True Friends. It's not science fiction or fantasy, tho' it does feature SF/F fans. It was inspired by some experiences and lessons from high school and just after. Here's what it's about: It’s the fall of 1983. David Chalmers is a high school senior who hangs around with a group of fellow science-fiction fans, but feels few

Event Report - Rose Hill book talk

2011-08-29T08:23:00.000-05:00

On Saturday August 27 I spoke about Kansas 1874 at the Rose Hill Public Library. This was the second time I appeared at the library. At the previous talk I spoke at the south end of the library. Since then the library had finished the north end into an area slightly separate from where the books are. I like the arrangement; it kept my talk from distracting and being distracted by ordinary

Short Stories for Sale!

2011-08-22T08:22:00.000-05:00

Back in May I began uploading some of my published short stories to the Kindle Store and to Smashwords and putting them on sale for 99¢. You can find them by clicking the links to my Amazon Author Page or my Smashwords page. Here are the titles of what's available: What To Change A Stop at Stanford Stories The Camlan Gift Plus these Frigate Victory stories: Dramatic Solution & The Allergy

Book Review - Whedonistas

2011-08-15T08:24:00.000-05:00

At OSFest I picked up a copy of Whedonistas, a book of essay on the various TV series created by Joss Whedon. I read the book while at the con. It's from the same press that published Chicks Dig Time Lords, and follows a similar format. There are essays by women about Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and Doctor Horrible's Sing-Aong Blog. The pieces come from fans, authors, and two interviews

Event Report - Country Threshing Day

2011-08-08T08:44:00.000-05:00

Saturday, August 6 was a hot day to be out. I was up in Goessel at the Mennonite Heritage Museum to do a book signing with Cheryl Unruh (that's her above, reading from her great book Flyover People). We were in the bank building on the museum grounds, which had air conditioning. It wasn't cold, but it was much cooler than being outside. We started the signing before noon. Cheryl read from her

So Long And Thanks For All The Film

2011-08-02T08:31:00.000-05:00

On Monday, June 20, I went to the Augusta library to look at microfilm ordered through interlibrary loan. I've been doing this for about the last 12 to 15 years. That Monday was the last time I'll make such a trip. There was an increase in the price of copies, but this only moved up the day when this was going to happen. The main reason for this has to do with the nonfiction side of my writing

Event Report - OSFest 4

2011-07-27T08:25:00.000-05:00

The weekend of July 22-24 I was in Omaha for OSFest 4, the annual SF/F con. I spent most of my time at the author co-op table. I didn't get to see a great deal of the con, but I met lots of nice people. I told several about Smashwords and how they could get all sorts of ebooks there (and not just mine). One man downloaded one of my free Surgard stories while I was at the table. I'm not sure

Book Review - Chicks Dig Time Lords

2011-06-27T09:30:00.007-05:00

This week's book review is Chicks Dig Time Lords. It's a collection of essays by women who are fans of Doctor Who. I picked up my copy at ConQuest 42. There's a wide variety of essays in this collection. Some are about the contributor's life in Who fandom. Some feature critical analysis. There are pieces from women who have written Who novels. There are also interviews with India Fisher and

Event Report - Author Extravaganza

2011-06-20T11:44:00.000-05:00

Saturday the 18th was the 5th Annual Author Extravaganza at the Town Crier Bookstore in Emporia. About 40 authors were there this time. I was there to promote my Kansas, 1874 book. Two copies of that book did sell. A couple of railroad books were also sold, but it seems everywhere I go at least one moves. What was surprising was that two copies of Fun Tales of Fantasy and the Future and a copy

Book Review - From Ice to Ashes

2011-06-13T09:02:00.000-05:00

I picked up this book at the Sunflower State Book Festival last October. The author, Maia Carlson, sat in front of me. At the time she was a high school senior who had self-published several SF/F novels. From Ice to Ashes tells the story of a young woman, Glace, who seeks revenge on the warlord who had murdered her family. Fleeing from a failed assassination attempt, Glace meets up with a magic

Book Review - Celestial Voyages: The Moon

2011-06-06T09:14:00.000-05:00

This is another of the books I picked up at the Oklahoma Steampunk Expo. I was with the author in the Artists Alley during OSE. CV: Moon is an alternate history tale in the spirit of the science fiction of 100 years ago. A young man from Ohio, Curtis Matricks, is enlisted by the wealthy British businessman Mason Star to join the crew of his new spaceship. On New Year's Day 1901, the "Star's

Goodreads Giveaway Mini-post

2011-06-02T08:43:00.000-05:00

Over May I held a giveaway at Goodreads for Expert Assistance. I wanted to let you know how it went. Almost 650 people entered the giveaway, and over 50 marked the novel as "to read." I mailed out the two winners' copies yesterday morning. I don't know if I can announce them; if you're on Goodreads, see this, and want to announce yourself, go right ahead. Thanks to everyone who took part. To

Event Report - ConQuest 42

2011-05-31T09:51:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day weekend I returned to ConQuest in Kansas City for the first time in a few years. This time around I wasn't a guest but a vendor, selling my books. Over the first two days of the con I only sold 3 books. Then on Sunday sales jumped; I sold 10 that day for a total of 13. Just as strange is that most of the books I sold were my nonfiction books rather than my SF/F. Attendance seemed

Book Review - Rowan of the Wood

2011-05-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

This week's review is of Rowan of the Wood by Christine and Ethan Rose. This was another of the books I picked up at the Oklahoma Steampunk Expo. The story starts off with Cullen, a put-upon 12-year-old who's an avid fantasy reader living in present-day northern California. Things shift to post-Roman Britain and Rowan, a druid who escapes an attack by raiders by disappearing into a wooden wand.

Event Report & New Event (May/June)

2011-05-16T09:36:00.000-05:00

On Saturday the 14th I had a signing at The Bookshelf in McPherson with Marci Penner. As you can see from the picture, I had a few more books to plug. We met some nice people and had a good time, despite her sniffles and my klutziness. I was there to promote my Kansas 1874 book; oddly enough, I sold only one copy of that at the signing, but sold three copies of Ghost Railroads of Kansas. My

Book Review - The Pirate Bride

2011-05-09T08:51:00.000-05:00

This week's review is of The Pirate Bride by father-and-daughter authors Ryan and Anna McKinley. This was one of the books I picked up at the Oklahoma Steampunk Expo. This short novel features 13-year-old Rachel. She gets a brief respite from her wild younger brothers while on a vacation in the Caribbean by taking surfing lessons. Towards the end of the day she gets to surf by herself. A

Book Review - Con & Conjure

2011-05-02T09:30:00.003-05:00

This series of book reviews starts with the latest in Lisa Shearin's "Raine Benares" books, Con & Conjure. The heroine, Raine, is still bonded to the soul-stealing rock known as the Saghred. She's trying to run an elaborate con to prevent the elves and goblins from going to war. In the novel we meet a new member of her family of pirates and the assassin who was Raine's ex-fiance'. The story

Event Report & New Event

2011-04-26T09:54:00.000-05:00

Monday night, April 25, I spoke about Kansas 1874 to the annual meeting of the Butler County Historical Society. The meeting was held at the Butler County History Center in El Dorado. I used to go to these meetings every year for a while, when I was entering the Jesse Perry Stratford essay contests and placing in the top three. I read a few excerpts from the book and took a few questions. No

Event Report - Oklahoma Steampunk Expo

2011-04-18T11:36:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I went to the first OSE, as an artist/vendor selling my books. The hotel was decent enough, but for some reason management only opened the restaurant for breakfast and dinner. Most of the activities were on the ground floor, but the panel and reading rooms were on the second floor. I know there were some hiccups with the con. For one thing, the panel and reading schedules

Event Reports

2011-04-12T12:10:00.000-05:00

Wow. It's been something like six weeks since my last post. Well, I've been busy, and I caught a sinus virus, and I strained some muscles in my right hand, and did I mention I've been busy? I'll try not to let so much time pass between now and the next post, but no promises. So, I've done my first events for the Kansas 1874 book since the last post. First was a signing at The Book Grinder in El

Spring Events

2011-02-23T18:20:00.000-06:00

My spring event schedule is a bit thin; I might add an event or two between now and the end of March. So far, here's where I'll be & what I'll be doing: March 26: The Book Grinder 2222 West Central, El Dorado, KS 12:30 to 3:30 PM; Kansas 1874 signing March 29: Marion City Library 101 Library Street, Marion, KS 7:00 PM; Kansas 1874 book talk April 15-17: Oklahoma Steampunk Exposition Stone

Side Benefits to Online Book Promotion

2011-02-07T14:26:00.000-06:00

As you know from my last post, Expert Assistance is back. Last week I sent out several review requests; posted a book trailer at several places; created a Facebook page for the novel; and joined the Kindle Boards and the Kindle Forum. This week I'm planning on sending out a few more review requests and joining one more author forum. Saturday and yesterday I was doing some forum posting and

Expert Assistance returns!

2011-02-01T11:44:00.000-06:00

Good news! My first published SF novel, Expert Assistance, is back again after a year's absence. I have a cool new cover, thanks to Matt Orsman, an old friend who I got back in contact with through Facebook. For those of you new to this particular party, here's a short blurb: To get out of debt, spacer Jake Bonner takes on two odd jobs. The first, chauffeur pop star Evvie Martini on her tour;

My Books as Gifts: Monitor

2010-12-01T14:00:00.006-06:00

And now, the final day of plugging my books as holiday gifts. Today it's Monitor, which you can get (in ebook format only) from: Whiskey Creek Press And Monitor also has a Facebook Page for updates. Finally, unless I put up a new post: have a Happy & Safe Holiday Season! See you in 2011!

My Books as Gifts: The Sagas of Surgard

2010-11-30T14:00:00.003-06:00

Today is the second day of my holiday book plugging effort, featuring The Sagas of Surgard. Here's where you can get it: Smashwords (ebook only) Amazon (print & Kindle ebook) And don't forget the Facebook Page with event info and the occasional giveaway.

My Books as Gifts: Lisa's Way

2010-11-29T11:18:00.002-06:00

Every year at this time authors ask you nicely to buy their books and give them as gifts for the holiday season. Well, I don't intend to be any different. For the next three days I'll provide links to where you can get print editions or ebook versions of the three SF/F books I have out now. Today it's Lisa's Way. Here's where you can get it: eTreasures (print & ebook) And don't forget the

Thoughts on Publishing: Self-Publishing; is it Legit? Does it Pay?

2010-10-27T13:53:00.002-05:00

Ten years ago, no author of any stature would consider self-publishing. That’s starting to change. J. A. Konrath is a thriller author who’s fully embraced self-publishing and the ebook. Wil Wheaton chose to self-publish his book Star Trek, Memories of the Future. However, "starting to" isn’t the same as “already happened.” Many review websites won’t even consider self-published books; some won’t

Thoughts on Publishing: The Ebook and the Bookstore

2010-10-20T14:30:00.001-05:00

The ebook is a real threat to the bricks-and-mortar bookstore in more ways than one. First is the impact of the technology itself. Ebooks can be bought anywhere at any time. That’s a direct challenge to the idea of going someplace to buy physical product, like going to a store to buy a book. There’s also the effect the ebook might have on major publishers. The ebook makes it easy to self-publish

Thoughts on Publishing: The Future of the Ebook

2010-10-13T14:20:00.001-05:00

I’ve written before about the ebook and where it might be headed. I’d like to go into a little more detail this time. The ebook is the future of publishing, of that I have no doubt. When is that future going to arrive? Is it here now, or are those that say it’s here overhyping the situation? It’s true that in the last couple of years the ebook has boomed after years of broken promises. Amazon’s

Thoughts on Publishing: Small Press Publishers

2010-10-06T10:12:00.000-05:00

Right now there’s lots of talk about whether you should publish with one of the majors or whether you should self-publish. There is another option for the author with a book to sell: the small press. Small press publishers are defined by how many books they put out a year and how many copies of those books they print. Some small presses release only a few books a year; others release a few every

Thoughts on Publishing: Pro Author Pitfalls

2010-09-29T09:15:00.021-05:00

It’s still the dream of most authors to get an agent, have the agent sell their book to a big publisher, and have a bestselling book. The major publishers are still the only game in town when it comes to that dream. But you might want to think before you decide to play that game. There are potential pitfalls, and not just getting lots of rejections. Trend Trouble: Right now in the SF/F genre "

Thoughts on Publishing: Where We Stand

2010-09-23T09:00:00.004-05:00

Right now the publishing industry is in flux. Ebooks are a growing share of the book market. Writers like J. A. Konrath are working to make self-publishing respectable. Some publishers are cutting paperbacks, some are dropping authors, yet the money is still rolling in. Here’s what I think the situation is right now. Ebooks: the ebook is gaining momentum thanks to the Kindle. Ebooks are already

Supertrain!

2010-08-28T19:24:00.001-05:00

For some reason I’ve had “Supertrain” on the brain. You probably know that some of my nonfiction deals with railroads and railroad history. That work sometimes leads me to ponder other things about railroads. In this case, Supertrain, an NBC series about a passenger train that became legendary, and not in a good way.Here’s the premise of the show: the dying CEO of the “Trans-Allied Corporation”

Too Many Cooks

2010-08-12T13:33:00.002-05:00

There's an old expression: "Too many cooks spoil the broth." I had an experience like that recently when a story of mine was rejected.The first problem with the rejection was that I found out the periodical in question had a word limit; this was not at their website when I found them and submitted the story. Next was the rejection itself. It wasn't from the editor, but from a "team" of editors

Interview with T. M. Hunter

2010-07-27T00:44:00.006-05:00

Today is something special at the blog. Below is an interview with Todd Hunter, author of two "Aston West" sci-fi novels and several short stories. Todd asked me questions at his blog; find 'em here.RC: What is your latest novel?TH: My latest published novel is Friends in Deed, a playful

Monitor

2010-07-11T08:33:00.005-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I strained my left wrist on the drive back from the Pittsburg train show some weeks back. It's been slow to heal.This past week, my third novel, Monitor, was "Book of the Week" over at Book Town. This was a surprise because I wasn't doing much to plug the novel there. I had only just given them information about my second novel, Lisa's Way. I hope the honor

Boodle

2010-06-09T08:53:00.002-05:00

I was going to post about ConQuest, but thanks to a few bothersome muscles in my ankle, I wasn't able to go. So I'll move along with this new post, "Boodle.""Boodle" - what the Heck is that? According to Wikipedia, the word boodle arose in mid-1880s New York as a term for bribes paid to local politicians by a company building a street railway. It came to be another word for graft. The term

Review: Bewitched & Betrayed

2010-05-16T13:48:00.005-05:00

I didn't think I'd be posting an entry so soon, but I wanted to get my review up of Lisa Shearin's new book, Bewitched and Betrayed. It's the fourth installment in the "Raine Benares" series. I hope this will not only be the first of many reviews, but that it'll lead to some of my books being reviewed elsewhere too.B&B takes off with Raine Benares, an elf and "finder of things lost," still

Writing for "free"

2010-05-12T09:52:00.003-05:00

There might be some changes to Scoopfire, the online newspaper I'm a columnist for. The editor and I were talking about this, and he said he wasn't sure he could pay me during the transition. I replied that I'd be happy to let him publish my columns for no payment. I don't usually write for "free," but I thought in this case I could make an exception. That got me thinking.Many years ago a

Conestoga 14

2010-04-28T09:39:00.003-05:00

It's been a few days since I got back from Conestoga 14 in Tulsa. Now seems like a good time to put down my impressions of what I did and saw.For some reason, I didn't get to as many other panels as I might have wanted. I missed one because I was taking a late afternoon nap Saturday. Looking over the list of panels from the pocket program, I think I just didn't find enough panels that I was

Making Time to Write

2010-04-14T09:04:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I held a writers' workshop at the Andover library. Even though the weather was awful, 8 women braved the cold and showed up. I covered my planned topics and answered lots of questions. I hope I was helpful.One question that came up, or maybe it was a topic on my list, was how to find time to write. It's a question that published authors get asked a lot.I think if you want to write

Chronicles: Risen wrap-up

2010-03-17T11:19:00.004-05:00

So, this past weekend "Chronicles:Risen," the second installment in Wichita's sci-fi/gaming/anime con, was held at the La Qunita Inn on the east side of the city. Now that a few days have passed, I'd like to let you know how it was for me.First off, yes, there was some behind-the-scenes drama at the con. I won't go into details; I'm a nice guy, and I don't want to get into trouble. Let me say

When Was It Fun To Be Sick?

2010-03-04T14:40:00.002-06:00

To those few who follow this, sorry it's been so long since posts. I caught a cold at the Wichita Train Show (I think) and though it's mostly over, the cough still lingers. I don't enjoy being sick, and I especially don't like this cold, since its distinguishing feature has been the cough. That got me thinking: when was it even fun to be sick?I thought it was fun when I was in school; I

New Events!

2010-01-19T17:36:00.003-06:00

I have some readings for "Lisa's Way" set for late February and early March. Both places are in Wichita.Poetic Justice, 550 N. Webb Road:Saturday, February 27, 2-3 PMTuesday, March 2, 8-9 PMMead's Corner, 430 E. Douglas:Saturday, March 6, 2-3 PMTuesday, March 9, 8-9 PMI'll also be doing a writers' workshop at the Andover Public Library on Saturday, March 20, from 10 AM to Noon. For my full

Happy Winter?

2010-01-16T08:38:00.003-06:00

I recently got to wondering why there are so few upbeat winter songs. Two things got me on this track. One was Jay Price's blog entry about Advent songs (check the blog links to the right). The other was a car commercial running using "Let It Snow."Now, I'm not a huge fan of winter. I really don't like the cold or driving in snow. I also don't like being able to get out and sell books; the

Clearing out the junk

2010-01-06T10:20:00.004-06:00

Saturday I decided to clear out some of the clippings files I have, mainly the folders marked "News," "Humor," "Movies/TV/Music," and a couple of others. I was stunned at how much stuff I'd acquired, and how many clippings I hadn't read since I first saved them (Buffy's changing networks! MST3K is going off the air!). I threw out everything I no longer wanted or couldn't use.I suppose if you're

An Introduction

2010-01-02T10:05:00.002-06:00

For those few that may have stumbled here by accident or referral, I'm Robert Collins, I'm an author living in Kansas, and this is my blog. If you want to learn more about me, check my profile, or visit my website. I can wait.Okay, so now that's done, you're probably wondering what I intend to blog about. Well, there will be some shameless self-promotion here. I'll blog about my books, my