# 0.99c Special



## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

Hi all

I've been enjoying these boards since a friend directed me over here to check them out. I thought I ought to do the shameless self-promotion thing while I was here and mention my books. I have two dark fantasy novels available in print and ebook, including Kindle editions at Amazon and Kindle-friendly format editions at Smashwords. Also, both books have recently been reduced to just $2.89 each.

The first book is RealmShift and the sequel is MageSign. Some reviews have included comments like "an inventive and action-packed story", "a gripping, thought-provoking tale", "entertaining and thought-provoking", "a novel I am loath to put down. A most surprising read. Quite a ride", "fast-paced and engrossing" for RealmShift and "a fast-paced ride through a visceral reality", "a fast paced supernatural adventure that will leave readers rethinking how they view the Cosmos", "a gritty tale of blood rituals, mystery, and mysticism… grabs hold of the reader and doesn’t let go", "fantastic qualities … horrific at times... I highly recommend it", "Don’t let fear of Yath-vados stand between you and a great read!" for MageSign.

You can see the books in my signature (those are links to Amazon Kindle editions), and there's also a link to my website where you can learn a lot more as well as read the first three chapters of both books for free to see what you think. There's also a bunch of reviews over there as well as lots of other examples of my writing along with my blog.

I'm always happy to chat about my work, so if you do have a read, reply here or drop me a line and let me know what you think.


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

I went to download a sample of your works but Amazon says that they are not available. Are they recent adds that need to go through that new review process?


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

No, they've been on Amazon for a good while. They have just been reduced in price, so not sure if that has an effect. Can you usually download samples from Kindle?

You can find the first three chapters of both novels as PDF downloads on my website, and I also have a free novella available via Smashwords and DriveThru. You can find all the links and details here: http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/books


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

It's not just a Sample issue. Your books are not available for purchase at the moment. 

This is probably because you just reduced the price. It should correct itself in a day or two.


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

Wow, that's weird. They showed at the new price on Friday. I'll check into this and let you know what's happening.

Thanks for the heads up.


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## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

Welcome!
I downloaded from Smashwords a free copy of _GHOST OF THE BLACK: A 'VERSE FULL OF SCUM_ a couple of days ago and just finished reading it. I liked the book and it kept me interested until the end. I was glad to see from your website that you plan to make this a series.


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

Hi Sheryl

Thanks for reading and thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed it. I have plans for the next one, but it's hard finding the time to write all the things that I want to write. There will be more though! Keep an eye on my site for updates.


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

OK, further to the whole Kindle disappearing books thing, it appears that Amazon have had complaints and even returns of Kindle books because they're upset with the quality. Therefore, Amazon are reviewing Kindles. Annoyingly, if you make any change to a Kindle, it gets pulled down until it can be checked and put back. Otherwise your book would just sit there until it got checked. Looks like I chose a bad time to reduce the prices of my books!

Anyway, I have no concerns about the books returning as all Blade Red Press books are of excellent quality and design, but who knows how long they'll be down for.

In the meantime, you can get Kindle compatible editions from Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/alanbaxter, Where you can also get the novella that Sheryl mentioned. I'll let people know when the Amazon Kindle editions are back up.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

AlanBaxter said:


> OK, further to the whole Kindle disappearing books thing, it appears that Amazon have had complaints and even returns of Kindle books because they're upset with the quality. Therefore, Amazon are reviewing Kindles.


I understand you to say they are doing a review of Kindle titles posted for sale.

I can't say, as a reader, that this is a bad thing. There have been several books that I purchased that were almost too hard to read because the 'uploader' didn't bother to check that it was going to be formatted properly on the Kindle. (Note I'm not addressing editing, i.e. grammar and punctuation, etc.)

A story may be great but if it's too hard to read because there are no paragraph indents or words are split in weird places, or carriage returns are honored only sporadically. . .well. . . .I completely understand why someone would complain and possibly ask for a refund too. Even if it was only a buck or two! Now, such things don't bother everyone, and, realistically, my response is more likely to be, "well, that was totally not worth the money." I'd then delete it from my Kindle and make a note that it is an author who's books I don't want to purchase ever again. But for some readers, it is a total deal-breaker

So, I realize it slows the turn around time for "good" indie authors  but, hey, if you were with a traditional publisher we'd be talking months! So a few days doesn't seem like too much to insure that Kindle edition purchasers get a truly quality product.

I would also note that I've seen some less than perfect formatting even on 'big publisher' titles. . . .

This is MY opinion ONLY as a reader of indie authors, small presses, AND big publishers.


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

Hi Ann. I couldn't agree more. The annoying thing is that my books have been selling well on Kindle for several months, so a quick check of sales figures compared to complaints should be enough to prevent Amazon having to look any further at my titles. However, I presume that given the volume of stuff on Kindle there has to be some kind of process that makes it easier for Amazon staff, however annoying that may be for me!


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## koland (Nov 24, 2008)

I think you authors are going to have to start using a "special edition" for sales, leaving the original up and running while waiting for the new one to get posted (with the sale price).  Or just run sales on Smashwords (via price or coupon codes, you can even get down to "free") and put info in your description or on your website about the alternate location (not that it will help with the other purpose of sales, which is to improve sales rankings).


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

My books are still available in print on Amazon (and other places) and ebooks from Smashwords and DriveThru. It's just particularly annoying as the best selling format for my books is Kindle, so it sucks that they've been hung for now.


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

Hi all

For anyone interested, Amazon have finally started catching up and my books are available again in Kindle editions. You can click on the book cover links in my sig to find them. The price has been corrected also, so they're back to $2.89 each as they should be.

If anyone reads them be sure to let know what you think!


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## Jasonmh (May 7, 2009)

Hi Alan,

I would like to check out your book, but when I go the RealmShift I get this:

This title is not available for customers from: 
United States

Not sure if it is happening to everyone, but thought you might want to know.

Jason


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

That's ridiculous! It's marked as not available in Australia when I check it, but that was expected. The US is the one place it should be available. Can you check MageSign and see what that says for me?


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## Jasonmh (May 7, 2009)

MageSign says the same thing.  I have heard this could be a glitch from when the International Kindle was rolled out, you might want to talk to someone at Amazon about it.  When it is available, I will check it out.  Let me know if you need me to test it again.

Jason


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

Will do - thanks for letting me know. Although talking to Amazon is about as easy as swimming on the moon, so it might not happen soon!


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

OK, I believe that it is all finally sorted out. You should be able to see both RealmShift and MageSign now, anywhere in the world. Amazon have tacked on an additional couple of bucks for international orders, so my advice would be to go to Smashwords if you're outside the US and get the Kindle friendly (.mobi) editions from there. If you're in the US, you should be able to get both books now from Amazon.

Let me know if you encounter any problems.


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

Hi all

Sorry to flog a dead horse here, but just wanted to confirm that all is back to normal... well, as normal as it ever gets around here. The links (book covers) in my signature work now too, so everything is finally sorted out. Apologies to anyone that had dramas trying to get hold of these books. And remember, they're $2.89 each on Amazon Kindle in the US, but $4.89 on Amazon Kindle everywhere else. If you're outside the US, go to the Smashwords page and you can get Kindle friendly .mobi editions there for $2.89 wherever you are in the world. Here are links to the Smashwords pages:

RealmShift: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376

MageSign: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1072

If anyone does read them, be sure to let me know what you think!

Cheers


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## Jasonmh (May 7, 2009)

Looks good to me now, I just bought the first book on the Amazon Kindle site (US) and it worked fine.


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

Ah, that's great. And thanks for buying!


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

I haven't been too active around here lately, so I apologise for just wandering in to pimp my own stuff! However, my publisher is offering my first novel, RealmShift, at a special price of 0.99c for one month. If you like your dark urban fantasy/horror kinda stuff, you might want to check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/RealmShift/dp/B001S2QIMI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234274418&sr=8-2

Now I'm off to see what else is happening around these boards. It's been too long since I checked in.


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