Identity Crisis?

Caribbean Murder Mystery

or maybe a cozy?

I wrote this story a while ago. It's a short story, basically a mystery, that takes place on a Caribbean island that is remarkably like Carriacou, Grenada, West Indies where we lived for a time. What a coincidence. I've written a number of Caribbean stories and for some reason they seem to have an identity problem. Readers of mysteries don't seem to discover them, and people who like reading adventures in tropical locals don't either. This isn't a hard boiled story, so maybe the cozy readers aren't excited by a story that isn't in a rural village.... I'm not quite sure. What I do know is that the characters are fun and the story is only 99 cents at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and iBooks

Amazon.com

Some kinda stranger is sitting out on the boat of that nice French couple looking all suspicious. Worse, Martha's cast-iron skillet, that special one she loves, has gone missing. She's starting the morning fixing up and it ain't in its place. It gotta have been thieved!

Nameless Mountain

I'm really excited that my story Nameless Mountain has just been released and is now available through Audible.com, Amazon and iTunes. This is an important story for me, as it probably does a better job of reflecting the strange world I see than anything else I've writter. You can hear a sample at the sites listed and it's available in ebook and paperback for those who still prefer to read the written word.

(If you are a reviewer and the story interests you, please send me an email at publisher@floatstreet.com for an audible download code.)
The photo on the cover was taken by Guy Prentice.

Written by: Ed Teja

• Narrated by: Jeff Bower
• Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins 
• Unabridged Audiobook
More ▼
• 
  

  Whispersync for Voice-ready

• The craziness that comes with the summer heat gets into your bones, fraying friendships and making even thought a chore. A road trip to some place - maybe a mountain without the weight of a name can change things. Getting three people in synch complicates things. Even choosing a route requires more tact and diplomacy than real people can muster. And finding the place might not be the right goal anyway.

Writing and traveling

Writing and traveling are rather compatible, if you can work in strange places. For me, it is an inspiring combination. Traveling and publishing are less compatible, but as things worked out that's exactly what I'll be doing soon. We are making a trip, a road trip to Colorado to see family for the first time in a while. The timing coincides with the release of my next Martin Billings book DEATH BENEFITS from Float Street Press. Of course, there is never a right time for much of anything in this world, especially not enough time to do things right, and I am trying to get this right. So I am being more methodical than I am normally prone to be.

Jes Richardson put together a wonderful cover for the new book.

I like it because it suggests all the elements in the story. Jes did a good job of winnowing out all the junk I tried to get into it and focused on the key things.

I'm doing some last minute things to the text and getting the formatting done. I'll be doing a pre-release of the book (at a discount) through Kobo and Barnes & Noble while I'm on the road, and then it will go live in both ebook and paperback on July 10th. I'll announce the pre-release when it is up.

For those of you who haven't read the first Martin Billings book, UNDER LOW SKIES, I'll be reissuing it with a modified cover and dropping it to the price for a short time. Naturally I am hoping you will want to read both. And book #3, which takes place on a tropical Caribbean isle, is in the works. It will be out later this year. I want to get you addicted to Martin's adventures in the Caribbean, and to feel the rhythms of life there.
 Meantime, I am looking for to contact reviewers who like mystery/adventure stories. If you have a book blog and are interested in getting an advanced review copy of DEATH BENEFITS, please contact the publisher at publisher@floatstreetpress.com

Here is the blurb for the new book.

Martin Billings goes to Venezuela to get some documents signed for a friend, but the man who is supposed to sign them has gone sailing. Martin finds his sailboat burning on a beach but it's too far gone to know if he was still in it. If he was, who left him there? Who is the mystery woman he sees taking pictures of the burning boat? And why is an ex British spy interested in the man's whereabouts? Martin needs to find some answers, and preferably before Ugly Bill gets too tired of him playing detective.

Promoting promotion

I find promotion awkward, or rather I feel awkward promoting my own stuff. That doesn't mean I don't do it, but that it is uncomfortable and never feels quite right. But promotion is part of publishing, which is the logical consequence of writing book you want  people to read.

At the moment I am trying to let people know about my book about Ron Anejo. The people who have read it tell me they enjoy it; it's gotten good reviews. But it isn't visible. I reduced the price, but people don't see prices much. So now I am working other angles. Here is the newest.

My book is being featured on Friday May 9th 2014 at eBookSoda, a new readers' site where they'll send you ebook recommendations tailored to your taste. www.ebooksoda.com.

It's worth a try. They reach readers who don't know me or my books yet.

A taste of Traveling Ed's crime fiction

Here is a great chance to get acquainted with my new fiction at no risk. The ebook of my crime short story A Mexican Divorce will be free on Amazon from March 30, 2014 to April 3, 2014.

Here is the blurb:

How is a girl supposed to have fun on vacation when blackmailers are going to try and make her pay them for pictures of it all? And what will Bart say if he finds out? Of course she can't little thing like a greedy blackmailer ruin a perfectly good setup.  

 

Clay McKenzie

Although writing moves on, THE LEGEND OF CLAY MCKENZIE slowly gains traction. We've gotten some wonderful reviews (thank you reviewers) and good reader feedback. So I keep looking for ways to promote it, to let more people know.

Part of the interest in the book is in the character of Stephanie Masters, a young editor who takes a risk to make certain a great book (in her opinion) gets published despite all odds. Her interest isn't entirely altruistic and she is hoping to make her mark in the industry. Taking the gamble, what it does for her and to her, is a core theme. She goes about it knowingly and here is a quote from the book, a thought she has when she irrevocably makes her decision.

Las Cruces Booksigning

Yesterday, Jim Beckett and I drove to COAS Books in Las Cruces, NM for a book signing. The focus was on THE INVENTION OF CLAY MCKENZIE, but we had copies of UNDER LOW SKIES and Jim's two science fiction short stories as well (MURPHY'S LOSS and Proton: Heroine of Chem). We had a nice time, sold a few books, and Mike Beckett (no relation to Jim) who owns the store took a few copies to have on hand (in case you missed the signing but don't want to miss the book). It always feels good to be in a bookstore (among old friends, as it were).

Kudos for Clay McKenzie

We recently got a review for THE INVENTION OF CLAY MCKENZIE that I want to share. Glenda Bixler at GABixler Reviews really "got the book" as we say. It is always exciting to get such a positive and thorough review from people who love books.

Here is a brief teaser from the review(it's a long one!)

This is both a fun and uniquely different romp into book publishing. An ambitious individual who can look at an issue and figure out how to get things done is A future entrepreneur if...  But when it turns into one scam after another... For the reader, we sit back and laugh because of the "dumb" people who were involved. Well, no, not dumb--rather, the "trusting" people who get involved and don't immediately realize that if something does not sound right, there is, indeed, probably something that is not right. There's not too much mystery involved for readers; it's more an adventure watching to see how far this will go!

The key issue are the characters. The author, reclusive, remains true to himself. Stephanie is the main character and before long, you will be wanting to help her, maybe even slap her into recognition! Still, even if nobody slapped her, it is a wonderful and fitting ending that totally satisfies, even if it certainly is a surprising one! A totally enjoyable tale in the ever-changing world of today's publishing! Check it out!

Naturally I hope you will read the entire review and it will encourage you to buy a copy and read it if you haven't yet. It is available in both ebook and print formats. It is available everywhere, but here are some links to make life easier.

Amazon
Kobo
Barnes & Noble

A weekend at a writing festival

This weekend is the Southwest Festival of the Written Word here in Silver City, NM. It is the first time this has been tried and I returned just in time. I hope it becomes a regular event. It is still on, but already I have had a chance to hear, and talk with, people in the business of getting words sold. Peter Riva, a literary agent, gave an information-packed talk on the state of the market. I wish he had been given twice the time, as he had much to say. Mark Medoff talked about screen and play writing from both conceptual and lifestyle perspectives. His talk was both entertaining and informative.

I also spent some valuable time with Diana and Jaime Andrade, the owners of Brook Forest Voices in Colorado, who make audio books and enhanced ebooks. You can learn a great deal online, but it is more fun when you can interact, asking questions and watching body language. Besides, they are likeable people and it was an enjoyable talk. Like most of the people I've been encountering, they seem to get excited about what they do. 

As I look at the things I want to accomplish this year and into the next, all this information provides food for thought, as well as ballpark ideas for the cost of doing things. And it is fun to see the other authors who are at the festival trying to do exactly what I want to do -- sell books.

The organizers have done a great job with this inaugural event and my hat is off to them.

Book stores and readers

We are in the process of scheduling some book signings and readings (aka "events") for THE INVENTION OF CLAY MCKENZIE. The people who have read it are few, but have been enthusiastic and we are determined to help it find more readers.

 

 This is the story of a reclusive New Mexican author (whose name is not Clay McKenzie) and a brilliant first novel. It is about an ambitious (and young) New York editor who wants to prove herself; and mostly of her well-intended attempt to make things appear as they are not, and the consequences of putting that in motion.

As an avid reader and a fan of bookstores (real bookstores, where the people who work in them know and love books), logic dictated working through bookstores to encounter the elusive reader. 

The attitudes of stores toward author events prooved mixed... some enjoy them and see their value (authors and readers in the same place and maybe some sales), and some do not. Fair enough. We work with the willing.

COAS Books in Las Cruces, New Mexico is one that does work with authors willingly, and we have scheduled a book signing there on Saturday October 26th from 10 am to noon (during the Farmer's Market!). Jim Beckett and I will be there to chat with readers and sign books. It should be fun.

On January 4th we will travel to Albuquerque's North Valley, north of Griegos, in the Flying Star Plaza, for an 3pm event at Bookworks.

We hope to do a few more, perhaps in Tucson or elsewhere in the Eastern part of Arizona.  Our intent is to try and convey some of our excitement about the book and meet readers. If you are in the area, we'd love to meet you. If your favorite bookstore is open to such things and not too far from New Mexico, let us know and we will see what is possible.