Libraries in general do not purchase books written by indie authors. They have their reasons and like many bureaucratic institutions are slow to change. With all the changes in technology and the decline in reading among younger citizens libraries truly have their hands full.
None of this stops indie authors from wanting to get their books into local libraries.
The sale of a single copy of a novel or non-fiction book is not really the goal for most indie authors. Exposure to readers is.
One of the biggest challenges facing all authors is being discovered by readers. Throw in factors like the author’s genre might be narrow, it is a first book, and the seven million or so new books published every year and you can start to grasp the challenge.
One of the best ways for indie authors to get a foot in the door with libraries is for local patrons who frequent the library to request copies of the author’s work to be added to the collection.
Almost all of the paperback copies of my Inspector Sullivan Series that have been sold have been a result of readers asking their local library to add the book(s) to the library’s collection.
If you enjoy the Inspector Sullivan books, please consider asking your local library to add them to the library’s collection.
In fact, if you have other indie authors you enjoy, do the same for that author. We all need to be discovered!
Have you read a hard boiled detective story set in the countryside? Watched a classic crime noir film set in a rural area?
Probably not.
Crime noir stories are set in a city. Not just any city, a large, crowded, gritty city. It’s inhabitants range from the innocent to the most evil criminals an author can imagine.
Not just any city will do.
Most often the cities used in these stories are Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, London, and sometimes Chicago. Sometimes the city is fictional, often bearing no name.
A well written noir makes the come alive for the reader. So much so the city itself can seem to be one of the characters.
Capital City on Beta Prime is meant to be a character of sorts. It is a cold and inhospitable place, dangerous, dirty, and crowded.
It is also a diverse city. It’s humble beginnings were that of a mining colony using the shipping containers used to bring necessary supplies to the planet. In the better parts of town the architecture is modern and elegant. Suburbs for the middle class have sprouted up. Bad neighborhoods can be found adjacent to middle and working class areas.
Transportation is a mess. Just what you would expect from any large urban city. It ranges from individual hovercars to old fashioned but modern subways. Taxis can be found to take you anywhere.
What makes Capital City unique is the people. Spread throughout the millions who inhabit the futuristic city are characters who make the city what it is.
Joe Maynard for example. The proprietor of Joe’s Place, an Old Earth comfort food joint with great ambiance and music. A place to eat, relax, and do business, legal usually but not always.
There’s the crooked (bent) cop Markeson. A strange duck if you ask me. Markeson’s as bent as they come but he’s a skilled detective who periodically takes great offense to other criminals breaking the law in his city.
Weather makes a city unique. Chicago is the Windy City. It rains in San Francisco and the fog rolls in. Capital City is the frozen city. The fog in Capital City is a bit different though. When it’s a bluish green, evil lurks.
Everything necessary for a thriller can be found in Capital City. Transportation to get away, goods and property to steal or smuggle. Innocent people to be murdered and plenty of not so innocent people to do the killing. Corruption is everywhere and so are people who hate it. Most of all, there are plenty of people who just want to take care of their families and live their lives.
Capital City is also home to many who wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. It is more than just the backdrop for a story. It’s integral to it.
Social media can eat up a lot of time. There aren’t too many people who would disagree with that statement. Many avid readers who enjoy social media find it necessary to choose between reading and engaging with others via social media.
The solution?
Social media designed for avid readers!
There three easy methods to connect with other readers and favorite authors:
Goodreads
Amazon Author Central
BookBub Author
Goodreads is essentially Facebook for readers. Fans who open accounts on Goodreads are serious about reading. There are lot of cool features for the avid reader. Here’s a few:
1) Asking the author questions: Authors have to give their consent to participate in this feature so they tend to answer.
2) Updates on the author and upcoming new work: These come in the form of an e-mail. I know, another e-mail. Having said that, the subject line informs you the e-mail is an update from a favorite author. I open these.
3) Reading groups focused on specific topics or genres: I belong to a couple of these and they’re fun. One of the groups has a monthly group read of a book the group picks. You can participate in the discussion on line. Reading groups are also a way to discover new or obscure authors.
4) Book Giveaways: Goodreads runs book giveaways. You can win Kindle or paperback copies of books directly from the authors. I’ll be honest, some of the paperback copies are likely drop shipped directly from CreateSpace or IngramSpark (POD services). But some authors sign the copy for you and mail it directly to you.
Note: You don’t provide the author any of your information to enter the Giveaway. The author is notified by GoodReads when the Giveaway is over and provided contact information to the winners.
Each Giveaway has some restrictions and there are limits to the number of winners in each Giveaway.
5) Access to reviews: GoodReads users are all avid readers. Most of them at least rate the books they read and many write detailed reviews. I find the reviews and ratings to be more just and accurate than those I find on Amazon.
6) Friends that are readers: Like Facebook, you can have friends. GoodReads will communicate updates to you if desired about what your friends are reading. These are avid readers who love books. Not just reading books but discussing them as well.
If you love an obscure author or genre, here is a way to find like minded readers!
Unlike other forms of social media I actually enjoy the time I spend on GoodReads.
The pitch: Amazon owns GoodReads and it’s slowly becoming a way for authors to connect with and find new readers. The more followers authors have, the larger an audience they can reach.
How to follow an author: It’s easy. First you have to have a Goodreads account.
Author book listing
If you find an author you would like to follow, search for one of the author’s books. In the image above you’ll see the listing for my own The Predator and The Prey. Beneath the title of the book you will find the author’s name listed. Place your cursor on the author’s name and click.
Follow Button
The gentleman depicted above is none other than the famous Ed McBain, author and creator of the 87th Precinct series of novels. Bellow the image you will see a button labeled “Follow Author.” Simply click on the button and you are now following that particular author.
Amazon Author Central is just as easy to join. You can click on the author’s name as it is listed beneath the book title. In addition to announcements and updates about the author’s books and new releases (Amazon wants to sell you books) you can keep track of all of the author’s blog posts without leaving the Amazon website.
How to follow K.C. Sivils on Amazon.
In the image above, you’ll notice beneath the small image of the book cover a caption asking you to follow the author of the book. Usually you’ll see a tiny image of the author and a button to click labeled +Follow. Just click on the button and Amazon does the rest. You’re following the author now.
BookBub is one of the most popular places for readers to find books and learn about deals on ebooks. Like Goodreads and Amazon, you’ll need an account.
Once you have opened an account and logged in, following an author is easy. You can use the search feature to look up an author. In the example bellow, I did a search for Rex Stout, the creator of the Nero Wolfe series.
In the top right corner is the familiar Follow button. Click on it and you’re now following the author.
If you don’t know who the author is but love a particular book and want to either learn more about the author of follow the author, do a search for the book.
In the image below you’ll see the page for The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout. In the lower right corner of the image is the Follow button.
I am working to grow my list of followers on all three of these platforms. If you already have accounts with them, please take a minute and add me to the list of authors you follow.
If you don’t utilize any of the above three, consider creating a Goodreads account. As I said before, it’s social media for avid readers.
It’s taken awhile, but finally, the first box set in the Inspector Thomas Sullivan Thriller series is available for pre-sale on Amazon. On August 2, the Box Set will go live!
The Inspector Thomas Sullivan Thriller Series Box Set: Hard Boiled Noir From The Future
From the Amazon Product Description:
Now in a single box set – the first three hard hitting and action-packed Inspector Thomas Sullivan Thrillers – Hardboiled Noir from the Future!
Fans of classic pulp detective stories from the pens of Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler will enjoy Sully’s deadpan banter and the assorted villains and corrupt officials the Inspector must contend with. Bladerunner fans will enjoy the setting in Capital City, a character itself, set on the frozen world of Beta Prime.
Follow Inspector Sullivan, a man with a harrowing past, as he struggles to clean-up the crime and corruption of Capital City.
The Predator and The Prey (Book 1)
The challenges start before Sully even sets foot on the planet Beta Prime. caught up in a conspiracy while hunting a sadistic serial killer, Sully tries to find the beautiful young woman whose presences is a haunting reminder of a past tragedy.
Last Train To Nowhere (Book 2)
A hated authority figure from Sully’s past reaches out and asks for the Inspector’s help in solving the murder of a military policeman. The enigmatic Sarah struggles with reality as the bodies began to pile up, bodies of clones that is.
Join Sully as he and his associates work to stop a cartel trafficking in human clones.
Grey Sky Blues (Book 3)
No Alliance prison is as tough as Graham Correctional located on the moon Persephone. Sent to investigate a pair of bizarre murders, Sully and friends uncover a sinister criminal enterprise within the walls of Graham. It doesn’t take long for Sully to realize nothing is as it seems.
Bonus Material:
Excerpt from The Fractured Man (prequel to The Predator and The Prey)
Six short stories
Background history and information to the Inspector Sullivan Universe
E-mail from readers can be interesting for an author. I particularly like e-mails that ask specific questions about why a character did this or why did your story line take this twist, etc. I’d like to use this newsletter to answer one reader’s question in particular.
Why did you give Sully a cybernetic eye?
It’s a good question. At least I think so.
Once I made the decision for the Inspector to not be completely human, to have a few parts that aren’t human attached, I could have given Sully just about anything. Legs that would allow him to run super fast or jump over buildings. Arms that have multiple types of weapons built in. Armor beneath his skin to protect his vital organs. The sky was the limit.
But I chose to give Sully a cybernetic eye.
I based my decision on two primary reasons. Not that I intend to fill my stories with deeply profound hidden meanings, but there are things I build in for readers to catch and ponder. If a reader doesn’t pick up on it, it’s not a big deal. If a reader sees the hidden gem, great!
Sully sees the universe differently. Using his robot eye and not a human one to tell that part of the story brings attention to what Sully sees and thinks. He’s a damaged individual who sees things differently. Being a cynic, he trusts little of what he sees and hears. Actions and motives are what Sully looks to see.
More important than a story telling device is the fact I love the first two Terminator films! My kids and I also loved the short lived television franchise Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
I am convinced the show’s short run was due to the fact the writers and producers did not understand one very important fact. Sarah and John Connor are key elements of any Terminator story. But let’s make one point clear. They are NOT the stars
The Terminator is!
Summer Glau, who brought Cameron to life in the TV show, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who brought the first Terminator and Uncle Bob to life, were the stars of the franchise. Miss Glau did a wonderful job as Cameron and the show would have been better served had the story line evolved around Cameron more.
I digress.
One of the features I found fascinating was the HUD Terminators used within their cybernetic eye, or optics if you prefer. Terminators can replay old memories, access data files, call up protocols, identify objects and individuals, and most importantly, select whether not to terminate a human.
In one episode of TSCC Cameron dressed up in an enticing outfit and visited a bar frequented by employees of a nuclear power plant in order to obtain the bar codes the Connor’s needed to gain access to key parts of the plant. Acting like a naive and unknowing young woman, she flirted with a pair of males from the plant who happened to be playing pool.
It didn’t take Cameron long to get invited to play a game she “didn’t know how to play” and wager money. Like fools the men let Cameron break. She promptly pulled up her HUD, used her targeting software, calculated the optimal break point, and sank four or five balls in the break.
I follow developments in robotics and artificial intelligence. Both technologies are coming whether we like it or not. In some ways these new technologies will be of great benefit to mankind. I can also see the potential for evil and great harm to society. All too often we as humans never stop to ask the question should we. We just plunge ahead and focus on “how do we?”
Given how fast technology advances, I don’t think it’s far fetched for Sully to have a cybernetic eye. I’d even venture to say within a hundred years humans will have the ability to replace a damaged biological eye with a cybernetic eye with some of the same features Sully possesses in his replacement eye.
So now you know.
If you have any questions about any of my characters that you would like to ask, please do! Just drop me an e-mail (SciFiThriller@kcsivils.com) and ask. I might even include the answer in a future issue of The Inspector’s Report.
This was first published in The Inspector’s Report, Volume Two, Number Eight.
The Fractured Man is available now from online book retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and others! It is available in both paperback and ebook versions!
The first of two prequels to the Inspector Thomas Sullivan Thriller Series will be released this March! The Fractured Man tells the story of Sully’s days as a Space Marine, an SP, and his early days as a civilian inspector. Written it the style of classic pulp crime stories with a crime noir flair, readers will enjoy this futuristic thriller.
It’s here! Grey Sky Blues is now available for a limited time for .99 cents from the Amazon Kindle store!
Here’s what other authors have to say:
“Inspector Sullivan is Mike Hammer in space, and he’s fast becoming my favorite sleuth in the sci-fi noir genre. In Gray Sky Blues, his series’ third adventure, K.C. Sivils delivers on enough raw knuckled action, break neck pacing, and colorful descriptions that the reader won’t be able to put down the book until they finish the final page. If you’re a fan of classic pulp noir you’ll like it… if you like sci-fi too then you’ll love it!”
Matt Abraham – author of The Dane Curse
“As usual, K.C. Sivils has guided his main Character, Inspector Thomas Sullivan in a great thriller. Intrigue and suspense rule the day in Grey Sky Blues. This book is a page-turner that will make you stay up at night. Very well done!”
K. Allen Cross – author of Flight of the Hellcat
You should think twice before committing a crime.
Because getting convicted in Alliance space means you’ll do time.
Ask yourself, how much trouble can one young woman and a parish priest get into in one night?
In Capital City, on the frozen planet Beta Prime, the answer is…you’ll have to read the story to find out.
My short story, Just One Night, has been included in the newly released anthology, Eight in the Chamber.
Eight in One Chamber
The anthology is collection of noir styled detective and crime fighting stories with a twist. The stories feature superheroes, the supernatural, or science fiction settings. Just One Night focuses on two characters from my Inspector Thomas Sullivan series, the mysterious Sarah and Father Nathan. Readers will also meet Joe Maynard, owner of Joe’s.
Included in the anthology are two of my favorite novels, modern story tellers who have mastered the noir genre, albeit in a bit different manner than expected, Matt Abraham and Alex P. Berg.
Inspector Thomas Sullivan and his team have to solve two homicides.
In a prison. On the aforementioned moon.
In a prison filled with gangs, guards running rackets for profit, and an undercurrent of looming danger, Sullivan has to solve the case quickly.
Oh, and there’s the issue of a clone. A missing clone.
Grey Sky Blues
Grey Sky Blues will be available this November!
Missed the first installment of the Inspector Thomas Sullivan Thriller series? Download your FREE copy (Kindle or ePub) of The Predator and The Prey by signing up for The Inspector’s Report. Click here to get your copy.
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