‘Murder at Pride Lodge’ now available in print at Barnes & Noble.com

May 22, 2013 By Mark McNease in Author's Journal

‘Murder at Pride Lodge’ was available on the Nook a few months ago. I happened to look at it today, as I prepare for uploading ‘Pride and Perilous’, and I saw that the paperback edition is available, too. Hmm. It must have happened when I paid the extra fee for expanded distribution from CreateSpace. Of the two outlets, I will confess to a strong pro-Amazon bias. Uploading eBooks to the Nook can be a time consuming hassle (using ePub), and when I looked at the paperback sample pages the formatting is off – double spaced and completely left-aligned! But be assured the book itself is fine, since it ships from CreateSpace.

So now when ‘Perilous’ comes out in a week or so I won’t have to disappoint the handful of people who say they have a Nook. It’s all good.

My interview with Philadelphia Gay News on ‘Murder at Pride Lodge’ & the series

May 17, 2013 By Mark McNease in Kyle's World

Excited to see this. Thanks to Jen Colletta and Philly Gay News, online and print editions. You’ve made an old(er) writer’s heart very happy.

Cover arrives for ‘Pride and Perilous’

May 17, 2013 By Mark McNease in Kyle's World

The revised cover arrived and I’ve approved it. Now it’s just another couple weeks to get the hard copy proof from CreateSpace, and days after that to make this book available. Wow! Then it’s on to the ‘Death in the Headlights.’ I’m also seriously looking at Kindle Singles. While we were on vacation in California I discovered 3 older stories on my laptop I’d thought were deleted. At least two of them could make good, longish short stories and I’d put them out there for $.99. At 54 I am finally writing the way I always wanted to, and having my books read. What could feel better, except for the writing itself?

‘Pride and Perilous’ rack cards

May 11, 2013 By Mark McNease in Kyle's World

I got the two cover options for ‘Pride and Perilous’ and have chosen one, but they need to make some changes. I’ll hold off sharing that cover until it’s right. In the meantime, I’m all about promotion, and since I’ll be at a table at OutWrite in DC (as well as sponsoring the book fair via MadeMark Media) I wanted to make sure I had takeaways for the new book. ‘Murder at Pride Lodge’ has its own.

The ad for the upcoming New Hope issue of Philadelphia Gay News was approved, look for that and the interview in the May 17 issue. So exciting!

Voila! Chapter links from the contents page

Apr 25, 2013 By Mark McNease in Kyle's World

I’m tentatively scheduled to be interviewed by Philadelphia Gay News in May for their New Hope (PA) issue. In addition to that great news, I’ve finished ‘Pride and Perilous’ and will have that off to CreateSpace next week.

I wanted everything looking as good as it possibly could, and that meant adding those table of content links that connect with each chapter. To be honest, I don’t pay attention to them when I read books on my Kindle and have never clicked on one. Especially given that most writers do not use chapter titles (more on that later), it doesn’t really tell me anything to click on “Chapter Eighteen.” But it is the standard now, and easy to do once I figured it out. So … any new Kindle readers of my books, including ‘Murder at Pride Lodge’, will now be able to click to each chapter from the contents page. I think chapter titles actually help in this case, since I may want to glance at a chapter titled ‘Natural Causes’ or ‘Unhappy Halloween’ out of curiosity, whereas simple numbers don’t tell me anything.

The tweaking never seems to stop, but that’s okay. I value my readers as much as I value the work and hours I put into all this. In the end I need to know I did the best I could, and now I feel that way.

MadeMark Media sponsors OutWrite Book Festival in DC (August, 2013)

Apr 18, 2013 By Mark McNease in Kyle's World

I just went to the Rainbow Book Fair here in NYC this past weekend and loved it. Coming in August I’ll be at the OutWrite Book Festival at the DC Center in Washington, DC, which MadeMark Media is silver-sponsoring. LGBTQ literature of all kinds is well worth supporting, and I’ll be exhibiting as well, for both the Kyle Callahan Mysteries and our flagship, lgbtSr. See you in August!