In two months Monarch: Larva (Caterpillar) will be releasing. For a limited time only you can pre-order Stage Two for only $0.99.
Much like with the release of Stage One (Egg), the price will go up once the book is available to read.
You can purchase all four stages at once for just $3.99 here.
Maybe you bought Stage One and aren't sold on the whole thing yet. Hey, I got your back. For $0.99 more you can continue to test the waters with Stage Two when it releases on May 31, 2012.
Some of you may be wondering, "Are these stages all stand alone, so that if you didn't read Stage One but wanted to read Stage Two you could do so?"
While I would suggest that you read the first stage before reading Stage Two, I suppose you could read just Stage Two and feel partially sated. It would be a bit like eating only one meal in a day--you could do it, but only a model would tell you that it is a good idea.
The second part of Monarch is named and patterned after the second stage in the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly: the larva stage, or caterpillar, which more people are probably familiar with. In that stage, the caterpillar becomes a creature of consumption, mindlessly consuming milkweed.
In the case of the novel, the main character, Ginger Reed, is trying to gather and consume as much information about what might happen on 12/21/2012 as she can. Because of this, she neglects her duties as mother and wife as she tries to prepare for all the "what if" scenarios that she keeps inundating herself with.
Just like with Stage One, I will be releasing a PREVIEW to all of those who have already purchased. It will be released shortly before the release date of Stage Two on 5/31/2012. This will probably happen sometime around Mother's Day on 5/13/2012, roughly two weeks prior to the release date.
So remember, for only $0.99 you can ensure that you get the best price on Stage Two before prices go up, then you--along with those who purchase all four stages of Monarch for just $3.99--will get a preview of Monarch: Larva (Caterpillar) before anyone else will see it. But only if you pre-order through Amazon.
-aap
Showing posts with label 12/21/2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 12/21/2012. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, October 3, 2011
Self-Publishing Ebook Update
I began work on Monarch back in March 2010. Since then I have made changes at almost every step along the way. The story has been tweaked. The release date moved back. But the idea behind it all has stayed the same: A woman struggles with her perception of time and her place in the world. Her battle to accept change is similar to my rewriting process. Discovering what need be altered is the central aspect of rewriting—along with making the necessary changes.
Being a Self-Publishing Author (SPA) requires a sense of focus and drive. One must be more than an author. There is no publicist or publishing house to assist along the way. Family, friends, fellow writers and the internet, with their combined knowledge and insight, are invaluable to an SPA. An ability to listen and adapt are as important as that first spark of inspiration.
An SPA must be able to listen and adapt during this fluid time in publishing. eBooks have started a revolution. Smart phones, eReaders, tablets and the other new electronic devices hitting the market are changing the landscape of society and publishing simultaneously.
If the known world had not begun making these technological advancements over the past couple of years, I would not have tried to tackle the 12/21/2012 themed Monarch. The lack of time would have been an issue with the traditional paper-based publishing model. And self-publishing to print would have been too expensive.
My writing of anthologies in the past helped me realize that I could release Monarch in four stages over the span of a year. Writing them as four separate eBooks allows me more time with each stage in the story.The first stage, Monarch: Egg, is due to be released on 11/11/11. Since I am self-publishing, if I needed to, I could change the release date. One year prior to the end of the Mayan Calendar, on the December 22, 2011 Winter Solstice, would be the most logical alternative date for release. We'll see.
-aap
Being a Self-Publishing Author (SPA) requires a sense of focus and drive. One must be more than an author. There is no publicist or publishing house to assist along the way. Family, friends, fellow writers and the internet, with their combined knowledge and insight, are invaluable to an SPA. An ability to listen and adapt are as important as that first spark of inspiration.
An SPA must be able to listen and adapt during this fluid time in publishing. eBooks have started a revolution. Smart phones, eReaders, tablets and the other new electronic devices hitting the market are changing the landscape of society and publishing simultaneously.
If the known world had not begun making these technological advancements over the past couple of years, I would not have tried to tackle the 12/21/2012 themed Monarch. The lack of time would have been an issue with the traditional paper-based publishing model. And self-publishing to print would have been too expensive.
My writing of anthologies in the past helped me realize that I could release Monarch in four stages over the span of a year. Writing them as four separate eBooks allows me more time with each stage in the story.
-aap
Friday, June 17, 2011
Where December 21, 2012 meets eternity
I was watching an interesting show last night that was hosted by Morgan Freeman. I believe it was called "Through the Wormhole." It touched on issues that I have always found of interest, like life after death and consciousness. Back in 1999 I began doing research for one of my first screenplays, Cipher. Those of you who have kept up with my blog here (and I thank you for doing so) will be aware of that story to some extent; and any of you who read my novel, Monarch, when it is released in December, will also become aware of my fascination with consciousness and the possibility of some trace of ourselves continuing on after we, our physical selves, have expired.
In the show they interviewed a doctor, I believe he was a neurologist, who suffered from meningitis and fell into a coma for a period of time. After he came out of a coma and recovered he vividly remembered experiencing things that he, as a neurologist, would have otherwise found hard to believe; but remember he did. He described crawling around through the dirt and leaves for an extended period of time, saying that it was awful. But then he emerged from the dirt and was taken to flight, as if on the wings of a butterfly. Now he had my attention. He described effortlessly fluttering through valleys along with a large group of other butterflies. He went on to describe being drawn towards space and a source, possibly the source of all existence. Heady stuff for a guy who is not suppose to have the capacity to remember anything after being in the diseased state that he was in.
The show continued on, talking about other near-death experiences, but I was fixed on the doctor's butterfly memory. Can you blame me? I too have an interest in butterflies, especially since my soon-to-be-released novel is titled and patterned after North America's most spectacular butterfly of them all, the Monarch.
Where does 2012 come in to all of this? My story does most definitely deal with that looming date in the not so distant future, and life and death do play an integral part of the story. The story my main character reads, Cipher, also deals with life and death and a parallel existence to ours here, as well as what it postulates for 12/21/2012. Her reading of that particular story as time winds down to 12/21/2012, for her, and all of those in her life, is the crux of the story.
The number four plays a big role in my telling of Monarch. There are not only four stages to my novel, much like there are four stages to the life cycle of the Monarch butterflies life cycle, but also, if I am successful, there are four layers of experience. Allow me to explain. The first layer is of my main character, Ginger, and her life; the second is of the main character in Cipher, Ted Parker, and his struggles; the third is the parallel world that Ted becomes all too aware of; and the fourth is, hopefully, that of the reader of Monarch and the effect the reading of the story might have on the reader. All four of the layers converge on 12/21/2012. Ginger must finish Cipher before that date. Ted's life is all but controlled by the date. The parallel world in Cipher is tied to this one, so it too is controlled by the date. And any reader who I hope will read my Novel will be compelled to read it, much like Ginger is compelled to read Cipher, before 12/21/2012 arrives in one year, six months and four days.
The writing of this story, which I consider beginning way back in 1999 with the first ideas for Cipher, has been the most magnificent journey of my life. The experiences over the past twelve years have been good, bad and somewhere in between. I wouldn't trade them for anything, even if there are days that I wish I could. I can't wait to share it all with you.
Thanks for reading.
-aap
In the show they interviewed a doctor, I believe he was a neurologist, who suffered from meningitis and fell into a coma for a period of time. After he came out of a coma and recovered he vividly remembered experiencing things that he, as a neurologist, would have otherwise found hard to believe; but remember he did. He described crawling around through the dirt and leaves for an extended period of time, saying that it was awful. But then he emerged from the dirt and was taken to flight, as if on the wings of a butterfly. Now he had my attention. He described effortlessly fluttering through valleys along with a large group of other butterflies. He went on to describe being drawn towards space and a source, possibly the source of all existence. Heady stuff for a guy who is not suppose to have the capacity to remember anything after being in the diseased state that he was in.
The show continued on, talking about other near-death experiences, but I was fixed on the doctor's butterfly memory. Can you blame me? I too have an interest in butterflies, especially since my soon-to-be-released novel is titled and patterned after North America's most spectacular butterfly of them all, the Monarch.
Where does 2012 come in to all of this? My story does most definitely deal with that looming date in the not so distant future, and life and death do play an integral part of the story. The story my main character reads, Cipher, also deals with life and death and a parallel existence to ours here, as well as what it postulates for 12/21/2012. Her reading of that particular story as time winds down to 12/21/2012, for her, and all of those in her life, is the crux of the story.
The number four plays a big role in my telling of Monarch. There are not only four stages to my novel, much like there are four stages to the life cycle of the Monarch butterflies life cycle, but also, if I am successful, there are four layers of experience. Allow me to explain. The first layer is of my main character, Ginger, and her life; the second is of the main character in Cipher, Ted Parker, and his struggles; the third is the parallel world that Ted becomes all too aware of; and the fourth is, hopefully, that of the reader of Monarch and the effect the reading of the story might have on the reader. All four of the layers converge on 12/21/2012. Ginger must finish Cipher before that date. Ted's life is all but controlled by the date. The parallel world in Cipher is tied to this one, so it too is controlled by the date. And any reader who I hope will read my Novel will be compelled to read it, much like Ginger is compelled to read Cipher, before 12/21/2012 arrives in one year, six months and four days.
The writing of this story, which I consider beginning way back in 1999 with the first ideas for Cipher, has been the most magnificent journey of my life. The experiences over the past twelve years have been good, bad and somewhere in between. I wouldn't trade them for anything, even if there are days that I wish I could. I can't wait to share it all with you.
Thanks for reading.
-aap
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Other Tweaks to "The Plan"
Since I seem to be altering things with the novel, I need also take my other writings into consideration. My so-called plan at the beginning of the year had me hoping to release all sorts of things: a novel, screenplays and short-stories. Heck, I'm surprised I didn't say I was going to have two novels ready to go by year's end.
I was eager around the new year. Can you blame me? The prospect of e-publishing at the time was intoxicating. How easy it all sounded. All you have to do is fill out a few online forms and "Poof!" you're published.
Who knows, maybe by December I'll have a short story or screenplay ready to go. I'd like to be able to do that, but my main focus is Monarch. Time and quality are the two biggest issues I face with the novel, and they affect the prospect of me working on anything else. The need to publish with enough time for a reader to read Monarch before 12/21/2012 is vital. But to rush it because I also want to release a short story, or because of the ever-dwindling amount of time before 2012 would likely affect the overall quality. Even though a part of me knows I've been a writer for awhile now, I must remember that I am still new to publishing. To scribble on a sheet of paper is nothing. To rework it into something people will actually want to read is something.
I'll eventually get around to the other projects. Believe me, I can't wait. But for now, let us be content with the progress on Monarch.
-aap
I was eager around the new year. Can you blame me? The prospect of e-publishing at the time was intoxicating. How easy it all sounded. All you have to do is fill out a few online forms and "Poof!" you're published.
Who knows, maybe by December I'll have a short story or screenplay ready to go. I'd like to be able to do that, but my main focus is Monarch. Time and quality are the two biggest issues I face with the novel, and they affect the prospect of me working on anything else. The need to publish with enough time for a reader to read Monarch before 12/21/2012 is vital. But to rush it because I also want to release a short story, or because of the ever-dwindling amount of time before 2012 would likely affect the overall quality. Even though a part of me knows I've been a writer for awhile now, I must remember that I am still new to publishing. To scribble on a sheet of paper is nothing. To rework it into something people will actually want to read is something.
I'll eventually get around to the other projects. Believe me, I can't wait. But for now, let us be content with the progress on Monarch.
-aap