I’ve no idea why this has happened, but Amazon has cut the price of my complete Shadows trilogy. Both the ebook and paperback are currently only $4.88 (this reduction appears to only be on the US store). So if the idea of a complete trilogy of sci-fi/horror sounds appealing, grab this bargain now (click here).
Haven’s Deep (ShadowTech Book 4) is now out on all major ebook stores, with the paperback available from Amazon.
It used to be called Haven. The company said it was a simple mining operation. They said it was safe.
They said a lot of things.
Now called Haven’s Deep, the company’s expanded base holds a secret—a potential gateway to the Ancients. To the Heralds it’s a doorway to salvation. To Kaiahive it’s a portal to destruction.
And to the crew—to Brice, Deva and the others—it’s one more thing to contend with. As Haven’s Deep draws them closer, they must fight to make the right decisions. And not only for their own lives.
The fate of humanity hangs in the balance.
Haven’s Deep will rise in price in a couple of days, so get it now at the special low price of 99c/99p.
Haven’s Deep (ShadowTech Book 4) will be published on 29th April, but is now up for pre-order (at a low price of 99c or your local equivalent).
It used to be called Haven. The company said it was a simple mining operation. They said it was safe.
They said a lot of things.
Now called Haven’s Deep, the company’s expanded base holds a secret—a potential gateway to the Ancients. To the Heralds it’s a doorway to salvation. To Kaiahive it’s a portal to destruction.
And to the crew—to Brice, Deva and the others—it’s one more thing to contend with. As Haven’s Deep draws them closer, they must fight to make the right decisions. And not only for their own lives.
The fate of humanity hangs in the balance.
Smashwords is running a massive 2022 End Of Year Sale, and all my books are included in it, at 75% off.
So check out the sale at https://smashwords.com/shelves/promos/, and pick up a ton of reading to take you into the next year. And if you want to check out my books (dark Dystopian thrillers in the Dominions series, sci-fi/horror with Shadows, or sci-fi/adventure with ShadowTech), check out my page on the Smashwords store.
A quick technical note: unlike some other ebook retailers, Smashwords don’t have a dedicated reader or app (although you can read through their website). So when you buy and download an ebook from Smashwords you download it, you can read it however and wherever you want*—side-load it to an e-reader, use an app on your phone or tablet, or read it on a laptop. It’s your book, so read it your way.
* More technical note: Smashwords books are in epub format, but Kindles won’t accept epubs directly. There are ways around this, but they involve a little more work. This article (from Dave Chesson at Kindlepreneur) gives three ways to do this.
The title says it all – the third ShadowTech book, Hostile Alliances, is out now. It’s available in ebook from all the usual stores/sites, and in paperback from Amazon.
The Ancients are coming.
When Kaiahive intercepts a signal on the edge of the system, it’s no longer in doubt. Time is running out.
And that increases hostilities between the company and the Heralds, which in turn pushes the shadowy Collective into more desperate actions.
In the midst of this turmoil, the crew are divided. To survive, they must choose their sides. Staying passive is no longer an option. They must decide who they trust, and prove their allegiances.
Get Hostile Alliances before the end of the week-end, before the price goes up.
I’ve wanted to create audiobooks for a while now, but unless I narrated them myself (which wouldn’t work – I’m under no illusions as to what I sound like!), the cost has always put me off. But AI narration has come a long way over the last year or so, and I’ve been experimenting with Google’s AI narration tool.
The results? Honestly, they’re better than I expected. Admittedly, the computer-generated voice doesn’t have the nuance of a decent human narrator, and some passages are a little clunky, but there’s clear expression, and it sounds almost natural.
I’ve worked on some of my shorter books to start with, and they’re only available on Google at the moment (except for one that I’ve also put onto YouTube). Because this is an experiment, they’re short works, and they’re AI narration, I’ve currently set the audiobooks to free.
Give them a listen. I’d love to know what you think.
Impact (A Dominions Story)
(37 minute short story)
Click here to download from Google Play
Click here to listen/read on YouTube
The Dominions Box Set (the first three novels plus a prologue short story) is included in the Kobo Pre-Black Friday sale for 99c. This promotion is only available to Kobo users in Canada and the US, and runs until Monday 21st November.
The third book in the ShadowTech series, Hostile Alliances, will be released on 24th November 2022, and is now up for pre-order.
The Ancients are coming!
There’s no doubt now, not after the signal the company intercepts. And that means the fighting between them and the Heralds will intensify. That will force the shadowy Collective to work harder, seeking a solution before the Heralds and Kaiahive doom humanity.
And in the midst of the chaos, the crew are divided. They must trust themselves, and decide who around them they can trust. They must fight—for what they believe in, and for their lives.
The second book in the sci-fi/adventure series ShadowTech, Subtle Weapon is out now.
Kaiahive is everywhere, even on the supposedly deserted island the crew escape to. So are the company’s enemies, the Heralds, and the crew are caught in the crossfire, their options dwindling fast.
Can Deva trust old enemies long enough to get her revenge on those who ruined her life? Can Brice and Ryann escape from captivity deep underground? Has Keelin found people who appreciate her for who she is, or are they only using her? And as Piran dives deep into the incredible technology of the Ancients, can he keep their secrets from the company long enough to help save his friends?
As hostilities grow, each of them must fight — for themselves, for their friends, and for their lives.
To coincide with this, I’ve put the first book, Desert Bound on sale until the end of the weekend, at the bargain price of 99c (or your local equivalent).
I got my first review for Desert Bound earlier this week—and it was a 1-star. Disappointing, but it happens. Someone bought the book, and it wasn’t for them.
But that wasn’t the case. The review was nothing about the book itself. In fact, the review implied that the reviewer hadn’t even read the book, or bought it.
Instead, the review complained that it ‘says you can order paperback, but it only sells on kindle NO option for paperback!’
This confused me, because Desert Bound is available in both formats. As I write this, I can see a paperback copy on my shelf, and I have the ebook on my Kindle.
I had to dig into this.
Normally, on a book’s page on Amazon, all format options are shown (ebook, paperback, hardback, audiobook and so on). But when I searched for Desert Bound in the Kindle store it only showed the ebook. However, when I searched specifically for the paperback, the paperback came up—but didn’t show that it was available in ebook.
This wasn’t right. Different formats of the same book are ‘linked’. I checked all my other titles, and found no other discrepancies. So this wasn’t a wide glitch. This was specific to Desert Bound.
I looked closer, and noticed a difference—the ebook was listed as Desert Bound (ShadowTech Book 1), but the paperback came up as Desert Bound (ShadowTech). Had I entered the wrong metadata when setting the paperback up?
I went into my KDP (Kindle Desktop Publishing) account to check—and found the same metadata for both books. But, somehow, Amazon had the series title in place of the subtitle with the paperback, which made their system treat the two formats as separate entities rather than different versions of the same product.
So I contacted Amazon. I explained the situation, and asked them to rectify it. I also asked for the review to be removed, as well as asking if there was any way they could contact this (potential) customer and point them towards the paperback.
Amazon replied, and a few days later both formats were showing as available on any search for Desert Bound. But I have to go through a few more hoops to get the review removed.
A part of me is tempted to leave it—readers are intelligent enough to see that the review isn’t a comment on the book’s quality. If it was one of many reviews, it wouldn’t matter so much—but it’s my only review so far. It means that Desert Bound has an average rating of one star—not what I want for a first-in-series!
So, that’s the situation I found myself in earlier this week. I’m trying to look at the positives, and I think there are a few lessons to learn here.
This is only a small issue, but I want my books to be the best they can be—and that includes the buying and reading experiences. If there’s something hindering a potential reader from getting one of my books, I want to get rid of the problem.
If the reviewer is reading this, I apologise. This link should take you to the paperback page on Amazon.com.
And if anyone out there has read (and enjoyed) Desert Bound, I’d love more reviews.
TW Iain 