UMBRIEL ... Keegan's latest, launching today

UMBRIEL

Mel Keegan and Jayne DeMarco

Feeling is believing

New on August 1, from DreamCraft,
and premiering an exciting new partnership in m/m fiction...

On the high moors, lonely, storm-swept and silent, stands the ruin of Saint Martin's Abbey. On a summer's afternoon, a feeling of deep peace surrounds the ruin, yet the the broken walls conceal a dark secret, a tragic mystery dating back many centuries. And in the region the abbey has earned quite a reputation. Mention St. Martins to the locals and they'll give you an odd look at once and say, "You know it's haunted."

When Rick Gray buys Rokeby cottage in the nearby village of Little Swinvale, all he's looking for is the peace and quiet to find himself again, after years of working -- succeeding -- in the difficult, demanding trade of the professional photographer. A storm is looming, close to sundown. The lighting conditions are perfect for the kind of spectacular images which have made him famous. Against all advice, he heads out to the abbey to work fast while the light holds...

And when it fades, a tiny fragment of the mystery of St. Martin's finds its way into his hands.

He calls himself John -- just John. For Rick, it's love a first sight. And the next twenty-four hours of his life will be beyond anything he ever imagined. If he had not seen and felt it all with his own senses, he would never have believed it.

But seeing ... feeling ... is believing.

•UMBRIEL
•Mel Keegan and Jayne DeMarco
•Published by DreamCraft
•ISBN: 978-0-9807092-5-4
•44,000 words
•Cover: Jade
•Heat level: 3.5
•Ebook: $5.50
•Ebook formats: PDF for PC/MAC, Kindle (for Kindle & iPad)
•epub and screenreader versions due soon: stay tuned.
•Release date: August 1, 2010
•Read an excerpt online right here! (Caveat: adult themes; glbt content)

Grab the PDF ebook to suit PC, Mac, desktop and laptop:
or,
Grab the PDF ebook designed to suit screenreaders
(BeBook, iLiad, Sony etc):

DreamCraft is working on an epub version, and within a week you'll be able to download this book in formats to suit your Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and so on. Remember, Kindle and iPad read PDFs too, and iPad also reads Kindle. Convenient, right?!

oooOOOooo

This marks the first collaboration between myself and the extraordinarily talented Jayne DeMarco, and I want to say right here, it's been a real pleasure. I come up with so many storylines -- in fact, such a constant rush of them, for years now I haven't even been bothering to even jot them down. This will probably change, because Jayne is a joy to work with, a damn' fine writer, who has a way of taking an idea of mine, running with it, and sending it back to me next month with not only the bones in place but a lot of gorgeous flesh on those bones.

UMBRIEL is one of my storylines from waaaay back, but the truth is, if it had been left to me, this story would never have seen light of day. I simply don't have the time to write the short pieces. I have NARC, Hellgate, vampyres, swordsmen and a whole lot more happening, and my writing time is earmarked for years and years to come.

Jayne, however, has time and is a self-confessed creature of inspiration. Put another way, when inspiration bites, she writes, and she actually does like to take someone else's core idea and run with it. For example, some of you will have had the very great pleasure of reading DON'T GO AWAY, which is actually a free download on GLBT Bookshelf at this time (if you've missed it, click this, and enjoy). This lovely little piece was inspired by a series of renders posted to the 3D Adventures blog by our cover artist, Jade -- who certainly needs no introduction here. The Two J's work on opposite ends of the creative connection. One reads or hears words and renders up the most dazzling artwork I've seen in a long, long time. The other sees images and is inspired to write some of the most evocative and charming fiction being produced today ... and luckily for us, it's what the reading world has come to call "m/m" -- which is not acronymical for murder and mayhem! If you missed JD's debut story back in March, you missed a damned good read. (Click here and catch up.)

So keep a weather eye out for more collaborations between Keegan and DeMarco. At this point I can't tell you want or when, but I know it's out there. In the meantime, here is a new story which comes right out of the blue, and I'm completely delighted to be sharing the cover credits with a writer who will be very well respected in the years to come.

Cheers,
Mel

Keegan for your iPhone and Android -- save 25%!

Want to get Keegan on your iPhone or Android, and save 25% in the process? During July 2010, you can!

Click right here to see the range of Keegans available in these formats -- at this time it's about half the list, and the others will be issued for these special applications by Christmas this year.

Here's where the magic happens: when you click to order you'll be checking out via the Smashwords server, and all you need to do to score the 25% discount is to enter this coupon code:

SWS25
...that's it! Enjoy guys. And don't forget to bookmark that pace at MK Online, because as we drive closer to Christmas all my books will be appearing on it.

Cheers,
Mel

MNDSPACE ... in paperback!

If you've been waiting for MINDSPACE to be available in paperback -- today's the day you've been holding out for. The proof arrived this morning, and the book is available direct from the manufacturer:

MINDSPACE
Author: Mel Keegan
Cover: Jade
Publisher: DreamCraft
95,000 words
248 pages
Price in paperback: $21.50
(plus p&h)
Buy now in paperback *



(* this link takes you to the manufacturer's site. Purchases made there are much more lucrative to me and to DreamCraft, and right now we have an agreement: funds beyond what we'd earn from a sale via Amazon will be donated to GLBT Bookshelf. So you can support the Bookshelf without even realizing you're doing it. And ... thank you kindly for same.)

MINDSPACE is also available as an ebook in the PDF format for PC or Mac, desktop or Laptop. (Due in July 2010: files designed specifically to suit iLiad, iPad, iPhone, Sony, Pam BeBook and Kindle).

as a PDF for desktop, laptop, PC&Mac


Click here to read the full blurb; and

click here to read the sample chapters.

CAVEAT: Be aware that the book is a sexy sf romp in which same-gender sensuality, realistic violence and coarse language render the text unsuitable for younger readers. For big kids -- it's a blast.

Readers who bought MINDSPACE also bought...

AQUAMARINE GROUND ZERO DEATH'S HEAD

All Mel Keegan's titles are included in the benefit plan outlined above for Mindspace, so by buying MK SF via these links, you can support GLBT Bookshelf, and the GLBT publishing, writing and reading community, without even being aware that you've made a handsome donation -- and The Bookshelf thanks you kindly!

MINDSPACE ... launching today!

MINDSPACE
Mel Keegan

ISBN 978-0-9807092-4-7

Publisher: DreamCraft

Genre: gay science fiction

Cover: Jade

95,000 words

ebook $9.95 (out now)

paperback: $20.50 (out now)

READ FOR FREE -- Chapters 1 and 2 -- click right here

On the far frontier, life is tough when you’re a transspace pilot stripped of your license to fly. The good jobs go to graduate guildsmen who make the professional grade ... and who play by the guild’s rulebook.

Jack DiFalco broke the rules. Busted, he found himself on the wrong side of the law and the rough side of the guild -- and his crime was mindspacing … playing one of the incredible high-tech games which are changing the future of humanity. Playing not in VR, but in the gamespace, the total-immersion rigs where players enters the realm of the machine. And some of them don’t make it back out.

Kieron Charig is a transspace navigator. He went through guild school with Jack, but unlike Jack he has no patience for the game, or for gamers. Mindspacing is the major tool of the navigator’s trade – the big transspace ships are flown via a symbiotic relationship where the mind/machine interface is dangerously blurry. Kieron works there; he scorns to play there -- and like all transspace flightcrews he fears the consequences.

The irony is that it’s Kieron, not Jack, who will pay the ultimate price, while Jack is plucked out of a rough, dirty underworld and propelled into places more opulent than the games he has played. But success comes with strings attached, and at a high price. Jack will pay his dues with skill, courage and even sex. For Kieron Charig, no price is high enough, and every moment is a battle to preserve what remains of his humanity.

Everything they are, everything they might be, pivots on Max Gorodin -- who stands at the helm of the aerospace giant, Jabalpur Indistries. Max’s own struggle is about sheer survival -- and if Jack DiFalco is his dream come true, Kieron Charig is the gift he could never have expected.

Max stands at a dangerous juncture where his own personal security is dubious and his enemies seem invincible. When Jack and Kieron cross his path, his life -- and the survival plans for a company and a city – have the potential to turn around. But both Jack and Kieron must forfeit everything they have … and Max will discover that falling in love is life’s ultimate complication.

• Read the first two chapters in our free preview


• Return to the Mel Keegan showcase


• So ... give yourself a treat and as a PDF for desktop, laptop, PC&Mac; or...
• Buy now in Paperback...

---

New Mel Keegan Novel ... new cover ... wow!

What ... a new Mel Keegan book? Surely you jest! But no ... the book is launching in a few days, it's called MINDSPACE, and to prove it, here's the cover. The fantastic new cover. Wow. Jade has worked miracles on this. Have you seen the Adventures in 3D blog lately?!

I haven't blogged in months now -- I just don't have the time. In fact, there's so many things to talk about, one hardly knows where to begin...

So we'll make a start with the launch of my new book, plus a quick update on the HELLGATE series, and I'll just make the time somehow to blog about all manner of things -- the state of the industry, the shape of iPads to come, gay news, and a lot more.

Am I back -- will I be blogging daily, as I used to? Well, not if you want HELLGATE finished by the end of 2010! The work ahead of me is still looking like a hiking holiday through the Himalayas. In winter. But I've knocked a good dent in what needed to be done and there are still six months left. So -- we'll call this an update on how the series is going: nicely. Stay tuned. Take nothing for granted. Expect the unexpected. Don't applaud, throw money...

So what's MINDSPACE about? Well, I'll share that in another post because I just used up the entire 11.27 minute window for posting to this blog, and I have to run! I'll give you few hints right here: gay science fiction, transhumanism, gaming, revenge, survival, technology, love, war. And that's a potent mix.

Cheers,
Mel

Jarrat and Stone are back ... and I'm stunned

Words fail me. I mean ... words ... just ... fail. What can I say? Have a look at these, and be amazed:

Ooof. It's like looking at stills from the movie. These are two "renders" out of a set of 10, all of which are online at Jade's Adventures in 3D -- and they're also uploaded at about twice this size, so go ahead, click the pic to see the larger shot. The Jarrat renders went up first, telling a scene from his POV. The Stone renders went up yesterday, telling the same scene from his POV.

They leave my fingers itching to write NARC. And I can't, because I'm churning my way steadily through Hellgate, and 2010 is about getting that whole series finished. This is sheer, unmitigated torture! I ask myself, could I possibly squeeze in a Jarrat-and-Stone short piece, something "only" around 50,000 words or so? In fact, there *is* a story which has been slated to be the high-action prologue to the next NARC novel -- and you all know what happened last time I did this. STOPOVER was supposed to be the opening "kaboom" for APHELION, and it ended up being taken right out and published on its own, because at 45,000 words it was a) too long to be an opening act, b) would have pushed the overall length of APHELION to 230,000 words, which is monstrous; and c) was quite large enough to be published as a pocket-size thriller.

Hence, I find myself literally, and enthusiastically, adrool ... and asking the question in all seriousness: can I squeeze in a NARC short, if I work, very very hard, fueled by the rush of seeing these pictures?

Stay tuned!

And please do link over to Jade's blog, where pictures like this are commonplace, what's more, she'll tell you how to do it yourself:

Cheers,
Mel

ICE, WIND AND FIRE ... break out the bubbly!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this one, above, only needs to say a half a dozen or so:

IT'S HERE, IT'S PERFECT ... THANK GODS!

To be just a little more wordy about it: the proof copy of ICE, WIND & FIRE was delivered to DreamCraft a few minutes ago. It was checked thoroughly, and Jade popped this shot and emailed it over to me. I'm uploading it right now, and I can tell you that the journey to Amazon.com has already begun. However, if you want the paperback ahead of time, you can already get it direct from the manufacturer, CreateSpace. (Amazon takes about an extra 10 days to get a title into their catalog). If you're in a hurry, you can in fact get it right now. If you need if for a birthday, something time-sensitive, here you go:

Buy the damn' thing now!

And a heart-felt apology to Rie, who donated the copy to be quite literally guillotined out of its bindings. Rie: You are looking at YOUR copy in the above image. Jade assures the both of us, it will be back in the mail to your address tomorrow -- it's too late to make it to the post office today.

Speaking of Jade, did you see this:

This was a mockup cover done to illustrate a point she was making about how 3D art is perfect for book covers ... notice the byline. The illustrious author of this piece is one John J. Doe. I took one look at that cover and said, I WANT IT. Now, don't hold your breath, folks: I have Hellgate to finish this year, and a NARC novel to do, and MINDSPACE is being packaged very soon. But this piece here is calling to me. It's seducing me. When the book comes back your way, it probably won't be called by the same title, but you will see it wrapped around a Keegan. Because every time I look at it I get this weird feeling that whispers in the back of my writer's brain, "You know this book, you've told this story, you just have to remember what it is..."

Is that weird, or what?

Cheers, guys!
Mel

ICE, WIND AND FIRE: the saga continues.

ICE, WIND AND FIRE: the saga continues.

No, I'm not writing a sequel ... I'm just tracking the process of trying to get a paperback proof here from CreateSpace. And it's becoming bizarre.

CreateSpace swears up and down that they shipped it to DreamCraft eons ago -- and (get this) it was returned to them as undeliverable. They quoted Jade and Dave at DC the delivery address, and it's 100% accurate. Which means that either US Mails or Australia Post chose to sling the parcel back at CreateSpace instead of delivering it.

Now, CreateSpace appear reluctant to ship another proof: Customer Service has kicked it up to the gurus in charge of their department for "investigation."

If this process gets any longer, DreamCraft will have a major problem: CreateSpace will not send a book to Amazon without a proof being delivered, checked and approved ... and if they won't ship a proof, because the post office(s) pulled the oldest trick in the book -- and took the postage before slinging the book back as undeliverable!! -- then DC won't be able to use CS to get MK to the Big A.

The solution is to revert to Lulu.com, obviously, and this is the next step, if CS continue to mess DC and MK around.

Well ... I'm trying to make light of this, but my patience wore thin about Christmas, when the fun began. What can I tell you? We might be switching right back to Lulu.com, in which case you might or might not be able to get ICE, WIND AND FIRE from Amazon, because it's rather expensive to get a book from Lulu to Amazon, and the old, old title hardly warrants the investment.

I can only keep you posted as to developments .. you WILL be getting the book on paper as soon as humanly possible, but it could be ex-Lulu. And to Rie, who sacrificed the copy which was literally destroyed to facilitate the OCR process ... my gods, I am *so* sorry about this. We'll put this situation right one way and another: trust me.


Do you want to cal it gay art? 3D Gay art? Gay 3D --?! Call it what you like, but scroll down and feast your eyes --

This one definitely begs the "Gay Art" label. Or Gay 3D, if you prefer

And again ... gay fantasy. What *is* gay art anyway? That's far from an simple question, and it's much too easy to say "porn," or "Yaoi." Gay art, surely, should be a vastly wider field, and ... between you and me, I reckon my esteemed cover artist, Jade from DreamCraft, has got the niche down. The site, Adventures in 3D, is one of the most gloriously beautiful sites I've ever seen, and if you're unaware of it, you're in for a tremendous treat. Go there now, and enjoy.

Cheers,
Mel

Where the [expletive deleted] is that proof copy?!!

Many people continue to wait with varying degrees of patience for the paperback of ICE, WIND AND FIRE, and I'm posting today to bring you up to date. We are still waiting for the proof copy, which was shipped out of CreateSpace before Christmas ... and that was the second proof to be shipped, because the first -- shipped in October -- was a no-show. (My own patience expired a loooong time ago; about the time people were trimming trees and making eggnog.)

DreamCraft informs me that if the proof isn't delivered by the end of this week (Feb 5th), a third copy will be ordered ... and this is getting absolutely ridiculous. The new copy, if needed, will take another 2-3 weeks, minimum, for delivery to Australia, by which time we'll have been trying to usher the paperback of this book into the world for four months.

To one and all: my apologies for the delay. If I knew where the proof copies were vanishing to, rest assured, I'd be in there and salvage them. The next one will be sent via some sort of shipping system that allow es for tracking. The reason this is not usually an option is the cost -- it really is the last option! However, there comes a time when they've painted you into a corner and you have no other choice.

To Rie, who put up the original book which was cut out of its bindings to facilitate the OCR process: I am so sorry about this! I couldn't possibly have imagined this would happen ... it's never happened before. Proofs have always been delivered in 9 - 21 days, max, and one never went missing before this. Now, it looks like two have vanished -- give me the odds on this! Rest assured, the third copy shipped out of CreateSpace will be sent by some international express post, with tracking, regardless of cost -- and if one of the two proofs (I don't care which!) doesn't show up by Friday, the third will be ordered at the weekend.

I know they say patience is a virtue, but this is ridiculous.

Cheers,
Mel

ICE, WIND & FIRE -- five stars at Rainbow Reviews!

Many thanks to Rainbow Reviews for reviewing the twentieth anniversary reissue of ICE, WIND AND FIRE, and it's my pleasure to report ... five stars!

Here's the complete review: http://www.rainbow-reviews.com/?p=4141

Brilliant ... I'm gratified -- delighted!

Now, if the proof copy of the paperback would just be delivered. And I know it's Christmas holding everything up, but it's 10 January already and patience is wearing thin.

While I'm on the subject of thanking people vastly for their input, feedback and assistance, I must thank Jade yet again, for the most amazing NARC visualizations! Have you seen these:

Capt. Kevin Jarrat

Capt. R.J. "Stoney" Stone

Sgt. J.C. "Gil" Cronin: and look at the unit badge!!

Sgt. J.C. "Gil" Cronin displays the descant squad's much vaunted physique!

I'm reliably informed that the next character to be tackled head-on is Harry, and I can't wait to see this. Makes my fingers itch to get back into these books. However, I just picked up the threads of HELLGATE, and am promising myself that I'll go right through both books without letting myself be diverted again. (This should have been the plan for 2009, but GLBT Bookshelf came along, and the rest is history.)

So ... massive thanks to Jade, whose blog/site has developed into one of the most gloriously beautiful sites on the web: http://3d-adventures.blogspot.com/ ... and to Rainbow Reviews for a wonderful review of ICE, WIND AND FIRE!

Cheers,

Mel

Merry Christmas, 2009!

May your holidays be filled with peace and joy;

may the world be a little less dangerous and painful to live in;

and may the New Year bring a whole lot of dreams come true...

Merry Christmas ... Merrie Yuletide! ... to all,

Cheers, Mel (on Christmas morning).

Jarrat and Stone on Christmas Eve...

It's Christmas Eve here, but I could swear it was Christmas morning. I just received one of the best presents I ever had, and better yet, it's something I can share with you. It's this:

They came through as attachments on an email about 90 minutes ago ... and I'm floored. I am seriously still on the deck, wondering what hit me. These characters just came to life -- they just walked out of my imagination and onto the screen, as surely as if a movie were being made! Jarrat and Stone have become real, live entities.

You can see the original blog post where they appeared here, and also the excerpt from EQUINOX which they were used to illustrate, here. (I've chosen an excerpt from each of the 27 titles on my backlist, and I'm putting up 2 or 3 a week. I have half a dozen up now -- Jade put up a couple of them for me, in particular those which are ... illustrated. Like this. Jade: "thank you" is too simple a thing to say, but if there's better words, I haven't learned them!

Oof.

Christmas Eve is warm, humid; the overcast is breaking up at last -- it actually rained last night! We were supposed to get a storm, but if it broke, I didn't see it. Christmas is upon us, so...

Merry Christmas to all! May the season be happy, safe, and one to remember!

Cheers,

Mel

ICE WIND AND FIRE: the paperback and the black hole

A swift update on the ICE, WIND AND FIRE situation:

We've passed the "delivery deadline" for the proof, and DreamCraft has officially categorized it as DBU -- Down Black Hole. It's been too long since it was shipped to hold out much, if any, optimism that it'll show up.

The proof has been reordered. Allow 14 days minimum for it to be delivered here, so it can be eyeballed and given the OK, and cleared for sale.

Alas, this puts us right in the middle of the holidays, so it looks like the paperback launch of IWF will have to be put back into January, 2010.

Rats. You can get it as an ebook, but ... what can I tell you? US Mails and/or Australia Post strike again.

In the meantime, here's some eye-candy, guy-candy, to put the smile back on your face:

...and it would be fair to say, in all sincerity, that I am so gobsmacked, my bog has never been so smacked. Want more: you need to be on Jade's Adventures in 3D. There's a new digital fantasy every day -- makes me feel like I'm stuck in reverse! I have GOT to get my creative act in gear in 2010. I'm supposed to be a writer, not a website administrator ... right?!

NARC ... Hellgate, The Swordsman, the Vampyre, all need to be finished. Okay: deep breath. The work starts (I said starts!) in January.

Bear with me...

Cheers,

Mel

FREE ONLINE GAY FICTION! (A post for the Google 'bot)

FREE ONLINE GAY FICTION! Get your free gay stories online --

In all seriousness, folks. I'm trying to attract the attention of the Google Bot. This post is about search engines, and getting properly listed by them. So, once again, being pellucidly clear:

FREE GAY STORIES ONLINE!!! (Click here)

Well -- they're GAY, they're FREE, and they're STORIES, right?

As in,

• not straight, bent, counter-het, curvy;
• not charged for; without cost; sans price; gratis;
• fiction, as in ... well, as in fiction. You know, stories, not documentaries or text books. In other words, interesting stuff not likely to serve as a sleeping pill.

Therefore, GAY FICTION, which is FREE, and on the Internet. Online. Downloadable. To be downloaded without payment.

(Have I jammed in enough keywords yet? You see, Google doesn't read the sense of anything you're saying. You could be William Shakespeare; Google wouldn't care. You could be trying to get the Gettysburg Address crawled, indexed and on Page One -- Google would curl its lip. You see, the 'bot reads something nasty called keyword density. It also recognizes when words are embiggened and emboldened, and made into headlines, like this:

GAY FICTION, FREE ONLINE -- GET YOURS HERE!

So, having said all that (and not forgetting to speak the 'bot's language and shove in some more associated keywords along the way, such as GLBT, and Manlove, and M/M, and Gay readers, Gay Books and GLBT publishing) where do you actually get the aforementioned (here comes the keyword again Free Gay Online Fiction ...?

This rather idiotic post is intended solely to wave a red flag at Google because I'm currently beating my brains out to launch a new blog: http://gay-romance-fiction.blogspot.com/ -- ALL GAY ROMANCE.

And if this post doesn't get Google's attention, and get the URL in front of you -- YOU, the surfer who is actually looking for (here it comes again) FREE GAY ONLINE STORIES, well, I give up. It's all about keyword density, you understand ... meaning, you only need to put in just enough semi-coherent babble between the keywords to get Google to literally count the words and divide by keywords which its peanut-sized intellect can understand. "Free gay fiction online" is a keyword. "Squashed banana" is not a keyword. However, if you put in too much semi-coherent babble between the keywords, Google can't understand what your page is about...


This next, from Google's perspective, would be the perfect paragraph:

FREE GAY ONLINE FICTION teddy bear's picnic and the pet dragon bit off Tigger's head, so Captain Ron had to glue it back on, and FREE ONLINE GAY FICTION when the aliens brought back Elvis, who'd been run over by Mad Max's new lawnmower, but FREE ONLINE GAY FICTION would be the last thing Uncle Joe expected when he tore up the old carpet to polish the floor and discovered FREE ONLINE GAY FICTION in the trunk of Eddie's rusted-up old Ford, but he'd been dead for three days before FREE ONLINE DAY FICTION.

That' to Google, makes perfect sense. It's not the beauty of the language; it's not the wisdom of the content, nor the harmony of the prose, the artistry of the literature. It's the KEYWORD DENSITY.


And according to the rules, I have to say the keyword one more time, and include a link to the pertinent subject matter at the end of the page. So here we go:

FREE ONLINE GAY FICTION ... available (free) here.

There. Let's see Google misunderstand this!

Sorry. I promise to speak English next time, and make sense to humans.

Cheers,

Mel

New blog launching ... new cover art inspiring me!

Two items I *must* blog about today -- though I know I haven't blogged in a loooong time; too busy, folks; only so many hours in a day!

But -- two things to blog about today!

GLBT Bookshelf has just launched its fiction wing ... free gay fiction, online, glbt romance in any of its thousands of permutations: ALL GAY ROMANCE is launching at this time. There's quite a nice range of fiction online even now, and it's very early days as yet. A good time is being had by all, and we hope readers will soon find the site, bookmark is, and return often.

The other piece of news is personal: I just received the cover proof for my next-up novel, and to say that I'm thrilled to bits is a terrible understatement:







Will you take a look at that! It's by Jade ... who else?! ... and it was done in the new 3D art prog to which I intriduced the artist back in August. I'm still trying to figure out my specular from my ambient --! Jade, meanwhile, is doing stuff like this:





Is that amazing, or what? One of the best things about this is that Jade actually tells you how to do this stuff ... not in any great detail, of course, because these are not tutorials. But enough to point me in the right direction, and give me have a clue about where the tools are!

And I guess, now that the cover art for MINDSPACE is done and waiting for me, I better get on and finish the story! It's about 75% done, I just need to find the time to hammer out the rest of it and then send it over to DreamCraft for the edit and proof phase ... and somewhere along the line, maybe I'll find the time to blog again!

Cheers,
Mel

ICE, WIND AND FIRE ... the ebook is launching now!

At last! You might have wondered what the *&@! was going on behind the scenes, and you'd have been right to wonder. All hell has been busting loose, and several times "Mephistopheles skated to work" (as in, the day did arrive when hell actually froze over, and whatever wasn't supposed to happen before the great ice age down there ... happened).

However, we all survived, we've almost dug ourselves out from under, and we're launching the ebook version of the novel on the blog right here, right now.

It will eventually be at Kindle, but don't wait for that: it'll also be $2 more expensive at Kindle ... and *our* prices have NOT risen. Amazon whacked 20% on the price of Kindle books recently, at the same time as still paying the publishers only $3.50, and paying affiliates zip. Zero. Nada. However (and this should interest you strangely), they also have a free file conversion service. You can send a PDF to them, and they'll convert it the the Kindle format, and then you download it again, directly to your Kindle.

Whenever you do this with a book published by an indie press, the publisher gets the full price to divvy up between press, writer, editors, cover artist, advertising, review copies ...

On the other hand, whenever you buy an $11.99 direct from the Kindle store, the publisher receives just $3.50 to divvy up among the above.

Is it any wonder indie publishing is having a bloody rough time? Is it any wonder writers and artists have to work part time jobs to keep the lights on?

So do us all a favor, folks, next time you're thinking about downloading books for your Kindle: buy the PDF direct from the publisher, and use the free file conversion process --

And to get you started on this new habit, here are the buy-now buttons for ICE, WIND AND FIRE, as PDF:

EBOOK DESIGNED FOR PC & MAC: $9.99


EBOOK DESIGNED FOR SCREENREADER: $9.99

This mini-launch is actually intended for my newsletter members who know all about this book, and have known about it for a very, very long time indeed. The general book launch will be happening in a few weeks, when the paperback comes along.

The book is celebrating its own 20th Anniversary at this time! Here's the back cover material from the original edition:

"A raunchy gay adventure with a Caribbean setting..."

Alex Connor and Greg Farris are investigative journalists on holiday in Jamaica to escape their usual hectic schedule of worldwide assignments. But their tranquility is shattered by their discovery of a skeleton in the wreck of a light aircraft which went down in shallow waters just off the coast. Reporting the incident to local officials only marks the start of their troubles, and they are soon caught up in car chases, kidnapping, drug smuggling and murder, with events complicated by a hurricane and a bushfire raging across the island. Cover notes from the original printing: "Ice, Wind and Fire introduces the work of an exciting new Australian writer, in a fast-moving and colourful thriller set against the skillfully evoked background of the Caribbean."

REVIEWS: "This rip-roaring and colourful new gay thriller zooms along with a breathless enthusiasm that never flags" — Time Out.

Now, sample chapters are not available yet, but if you've been waiting to get your hands on the ebook for eons, you don't need to read the first 10% ... you've been hanging on for this moment!

If you're not a member of the above party -- bookmark this page and come back in about 48 hours. I'll be out of the office tomorrow, but on Tuesday I'll be making the pages on my own site and at the wiki, and the sample readings will be right there, in both places.

Suffice to say, the new cover looks fantastic ... this is what I imagined when I wrote the book 20 long years ago. Imagine my joy when I saw the new cover proof a few weeks ago. Jade has come to the rescue again. The book is absolutely the same, interior-wise, but the packaging (which left a lot to be desired in the original) is astonishing.

Incidentally, if you want ICE WIND AND FIRE for your Blackberry, iPhone, smartphone ... Tuesday. It's also going to Smashwords, where these formats are provided.

Cheers,
Mel

Further updates from the Keegan Zone

At last! The post you thought would never actually appear here ...

GROUND ZERO has finally, and I mean finally, shown up in the Amazon engine, as a paperback. It's been month getting there. The proof was delivered and approved weeks ago, and ... well, it's probably that Amazon is fairly overwhelmed with the volume of prep work for Christmas that's going on behind the scenes. Because we've never seen them take so long to process a book through from proof to "buy it here."

Anyway --

...there is it, on PAPER. At last.

I'd intended to have a booklaunch for this one, but the fact is, the book has been out for so long now, and the ebook has been announced, advertised, tweeted, promoted, reviewed, massaged -- it's actually too late to have a booklaunch for GROUND ZERO, so ... we'll have a book punt. That is to say, the book is already out there, floating in mid-stream. It drifted off from its moorings almost unnoticed, and now is gently dragging its anchor in midwater. So let's give it a punt.

Consider it punted. If you've been waiting for the paperback, this is your chance to give yourself a Christmas gift!

So much is happening behind the scenes, one hardly knows where to begin. GLBT Bookshelf is still growing ... I just wish it would grow faster. Why? Because when it's twice the size there will be enough members to raise enough funding to hire a professional programmer and get the whole thing automated! Right now, we're in a kind of twilight zone, with about 500 members, *all* of whom would have to put up a ten-spot to get together the five grand to get the programming done. Not going to happen.

So, as the wiki sloooooowly grows, the amount of work involved in nurturing it, keeping it running smoothly, continues to increase, and increase, yet at the same time the growth curve (the rate of acceleration ... if you know anything about logarithmic curves?? No?? Don't worry about it) has flattened right out. We're riding a plateau right now, with about 10 new members per week. That's not bad at all, but it means another YEAR to get to the 1,000 member mark.

Now, what would make the wiki grow faster? Advertising! But that would also cost more funding than can be raised at this moment, so -- nose to the grindstone, Keegan! Stop being daft, get your head down and do some work. And in fact -- am doing. Am doing.

My apologies if I sound a little "out there" today. The weather is not cooperating. It's 141 degrees Fahrenheit in the courtyard at the side of the house, and if you step away from the a/c, you're swiftly reduced to a slurpy, blubbery mass of semi-congealed goo. This doesn't tend to contribute to sanity and clarity of thought.

Meanwhile, we've FINISHED the new design for the GLBT Bookshelf bookstore. It's part-way based on the Diesel Ebooks model, but with a greater depth of content, and a lot of "free listings," as well as numerous "sponsored ad" spots, with various rates of "oomph factor." They range from a big leaderboard ad which will grab anyone's attention, to "micro-ads" which give a cover and a slogan. Prices will range between $2/month (with a minimum "spend" of $4 ... now, there's a hardship...) and about $12/month for the leaderboard

Here's the plan: funds raised through the advertising on the bookstore are pumped into advertising FOR the bookstore. And we might even register a new domain for this, something like (!) gaybooksonline.com, or gay-books-galore.com, something that even Google, in its infinite density, couldn't fail to understand.

More about this in due course. Right now, we've hit a wrinkle with the OpenX code which handles the actual content placement for the page ... this is a plug-in from an external server and something got stuffed up when we set up the account. It could take a few days to sort it out, but then we'll be off and running.

Right now, I want to thank everyone who's been helping with the Bookshelf -- there's a couple of dozen people whom I'm calling "angels," and they've been amazing, indispensable. THANK YOU!

And I must give a plug to one of my favorite new blogs: Adventures In 3D. If you're missing this, you need to skedaddle over there and check it out. Here's enough to get you interested --!

...all of which brings you about halfway up to date with what's been going on in the Keegan Zone. We're getting there ... slowly but surely. My most fervent wish is for a sudden rush in memberships on the Bookshelf, and then a really, really successful fund-raising campaign, enabling us to hire a programmer, automate the whole shebang ... and I can get back to doing what I used to do. I, uh, used to be a novelist! Really.

I all seriousness, I would like to get back to writing, but I'm also completely committed to GLBT Bookshelf. This project WILL work, even if I have to get out and push.

Cheers.

Mel

DON'T PANIC!!

Hi guys, don't panic: DreamCraft's ISP, iPower, is having an outtage ... it's under control and will be back up before long. My main website -- Mel Keegan OnLine -- is currently showing a blank page ... doesn't mean the site has been taken down. iPower will be back "up" before long, and my website will go right back up with it.

Sorry for the inconvenience, folks.

ICE WIND AND FIRE ... the cover proof is here!

Having done several laps of the room without touching the floor, I am now back in contact with the ground, and have command of enough brain cells to blog.

About the ICE, WIND AND FIRE cover, for which I just got the proof. This is the cover I've been seeing all along ... this is what I'd imagined, when I mailed a stack of paper over to GMP, 20 years ago last March or April:

Good golly, will you look at that?! It was done using some new software ... those guys are digital. Totally. They were designed in the computer and are seeing light of day right now, as they're pasted to this blog page! Jade is romping it, with the software -- it's called DAZ Studio 3, and it has to be the most amazing app I've seen in eons.

In fact, Jade just launched a blog -- http://3d-adventures.blogspot.com/ -- which is well worth a look, if you like exotic artwork. The blog is very new, but it's already a thing of beauty. I, for one, will be watching this one unfold. Talk about eye candy?!

The OCR work for the book is 90% finished (in fact, as soon as I hit "publish" on this post, the next items on my agenda are a cup of tea, and a date with the scanner, to get it all done. With the cover designed, it'll be 4 pairs of eyeballs on the proofreading, and then the launch of the ebooks and paperback, in time for the novel's 20th Anniversary.

So, why don't I get to work, and get it done?!

Cheers,
Mel

Updates from The Keegan Zone

At last -- my long neglected website has had a facelift and a minor rebuild. If you've been trying to find the "Keegan on your phone" type ebooks (those formatted for smartphones, Blackberries and so forth), and have been wondering where in the vaults of Hades they've been hidden -- you'll be relieved to know, my bookstore is now loaded for bear with the salient icons. Also, you can find the new titles right there on the homepage, rather than having to excavate for them...

(Click on the above to see it at 1:1 size ... new titles are up, and you can access the Kindles and smartphone files right there on the first screen you get when you click on a book cover to choose a title.)

So here's the 2009 "look" for the site, with 90 days left in 2009! Brilliant. I know I've neglected the site big time during this year, but seriously -- look at what's been happening with GLBT Bookshelf. Something had to go on the back burner, and my own website was tagged as "can be left till later." In fact, I think I left it a little too long. I'm sure the neglect cost me sales after mid-year, what with titles not being listed and so forth.

So, to make up some ground I'm investing in a small ad campaign .. laying down a few dollars and tracking stats. Doing very nicely so far. I love the Project Wonderful ad server. Targeted visitors for 5c a head, many of whom are turning into customers ...?! It's made in heaven, and I have to take my hat off to these guys. They nailed it. This is how advertising should work.

News re: GLBT Bookshelf is all good: the wiki appears to be virtually running itself right now. No major cockups to repair, everyone making pages and having a great time ... book sales happening, advertising chugging along nicely. Traffic is a constant average of about 5,000 pageloads per day -- double that at a time when we're advertising.

And Keegan is presently content enough with all projects to be starting to look at a new short novel, *and* a Christmas campaign of my own, *and* the imminent reissue of the 20th Anniversary special edition of ICE, WIND AND FIRE --

Speaking of which, I expect to get the cover proof later today. I might even post a second time, if I'm as blown away as I expect to be...

Cheers,

Mel