It's been forever . . .

My blog! I have finally found my way back to it. Ideas have not been lacking, but when Google changed its format, I couldn't figure out how to post to my blog. Tonight I finally found the magic button to allow me to return and post again. Yeah! Since my last post, Konrad Reichenberger is still a missing persons. As he has now been gone seven years, last spring his family decided to hold a memorial service for him in Coloma, California, one of his favorite places. I was fortunate enough to attend this beautiful outdoor ceremony celebrating Konrad's life. Even know the family and all his friends are still seeking him or information to his whereabouts. As a reminder he disappeared in the California Pine area of Alturas County California. Meanwhile I have been writing. It's been so long that I don't remember if I wrote about the last two books of mine to be published. The first is the last in The Conrad Chronicles series and is titled Resolution. As with all my books it is available at . The book is only available through Lulu or via me if you see me at some fair. By doing this I can keep the price down. If I made it available everywhere I'd be force to accomadate Amazon's pricing and that would mean I'd need to sell the book for more than $20 just to make a quarter. The other book is in a different genre. Years ago I connected with a publisher to write this book, but the press never came through in the end, so I decided to make it available on Lulu.com as well. This book I chose to create a hardback edition first. It is Ghost Tales from Northern California's Highway 101. The link to purchase it is . Ghost Tales is not connected to any of my other books and involved me dusting off my history degree and doing some research. The tales inside are spooky, but not horrifying. As the back reads Welcome to chilling stories from Northern California's Highway 101. Ghosts, spooks, and other supernatural creatures hide within these pages. Spine tingling tales from behind the Redwood curtain will send you exploring ship wrecks, haunted houses, and up the old Highway 101 now known as Bell Springs Road. Enjoy. Happy Reading! I'm back!

Rescues, Book 7 in the Conrad Chronicles is published!

Book seven of The Conrad Chronicles has just gone to print. Rescues is the the seventh book in what will be a series of nine. Eight is being polished and nine is being written at this time. The journey of the Conrads of Karna and Aleron is almost at an end. Due to the printing costs and rising prices of materials, I made a decision with Rescues. The book will only be available through lulu.com or one of it's outlets. I skipped Global Distribution. For those of you not in the book industry, Global Distribuation means your book is available anywhere books are sold, including book stores, the internet, and can be found in a library's collection. Now I must explain why I skipped Global Distribution, and there are two main reasons. Without it I can price the same quality of book for significantly less, which is a benefit to the reader and at the same time I make a larger profit. Anyone who knows books, knows the Amazon Corporation has come to dominate the book market. As a result, they have set the bar high for their cut of the profits, which forces printers and publishers to charge more for books. The Amazon Corporation demands 60% of retail when a book sells (This may be different if one chooses to publish through them, which I have chosen not to do because I want full control of the rights to my books). Math-wise let me explain. Assume it costs $8 to print a book, it would then need to retail for $20 for Amazon Corporation to get their 60% of retail. So if a book sells at the price of $20 the printer gets $8 and Amazon gets $12 and the author gets $0. Let's say I decide I want a little money, so I raise the price of the book to $21. I still don't get $1 a book as Amazon takes 60% of the new retail price of $21. Now the printer gets $8, Amazon gets $12.60 and I get $.40. That is what selecting Global Distribuation has done to the price of books thanks to Amazon Corporation dominating the book market. Since I skipped Global Distribuation for Rescues, the book can only be found on lulu.com, but I can sell it for $12.99, which is a much fairer and more reasonable price for a trade paperback. As I move forward with my novels, they will solely be found on lulu.com for the time being. I also will not be formating any more of my novels as e-books because I have discovered that Google Docs has several of them available there in large segments (about 2/3 of each book in random pages) and has done this without my permission. I was very disheartened when a friend uncovered this and informed me. That is my current writing update. Happy Reading!

Writing: Interview and New Book Published

Despite the ice storm I wrote about last blog, much else has been occurring. Just prior to the storm I was interviewed about my writing on Work it Wednesday with Tita Freytag.  You can watch the 35 minute interview via the link below. I had a great fun doing it as it has been a few years since I've been interviewed on my writing  and thoughts on how to write.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAiSb43X5Ms&feature=youtu.be

In addition, the fifth Conrad book has now been published and is available for purchase. This one is titled The Conrad Chronicles: Regrets. You should be able to purchase it anywhere you regularly purchase books or you can can it directly from my publisher at the link below.

https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/heather-hobson-and-charles-berton/the-conrad-chronicles-regrets/paperback/product-dp95k4.html?page=1&pageSize=4

As this book as some intense content, I recommend it for only those over 18. I also have it marked as such with Lulu, so if you don't find it right away, you might to click on the over 18 link they have on the side of the screen.

Happy Reading!

All my books are on sale

Right now if there are any titles of my books that you are desiring, they are on sale at Lulu.com. Today, Cyber Monday, Lulu is offering all books at 30% off, that includes mine. In addition, I have set all my novels for another 10-25% off. So if you haven't read, this is the best time to get them:

Stubby, the Magic Pencil
Unicorn's Milk
A Tale of Butts, The Story of a Couch (under pen name Echo Ryan)
Callings: Tales of the Conrads of Karna

or any of the The Conrad Chronicles:
Revolt
Realizations
Rejections
Rebirth

Just go to Lulu.com and type in Heather Hobson (or Echo Ryan) and my books will pop up.

Happy Reading!

Rebirth is now available on Amazon and by order through book stores

The fourth Conrad novel, Rebirth, is now available for sale on Amazon.com, at other websites, and by order through book stores. To order us my name, Heather Hobson, and the ISBN number 978-0359969364. The link on Amazon is Rebirth for sale on Amazon.com. Remember it is always cheaper to buy my books directly from Lulu.com.

Happy Reading!

The Conrad Chronicles: Rebirth is now in print!

The fourth Conrad book, Rebirth, is now available for sale as a trade paperback through Lulu.com . I set it at a 10% discount, and Lulu usually has a 10% to 15% off coupon, so it is cheaper to buy it directly from Lulu than any other place. If you prefer shopping elsewhere, within the next 4 to 6 weeks, it will be available for order through book stores and on Amazon. I will let you know when that happens.

Meanwhile, enjoy a glance at the cover and the teaser for this novel.

Lucy Gloria Vasilis Lucas struggles to accept her new life. She no longer is seen as the daughter of Ambassador Arsilin Lucas, the child who witnessed her mother's murder, but is now valued as the daughter of Gloria of the House of Vasilis, a Conrad of the Light, and the Chosen One who is destined to defeat Xavier of the House of Baldemar. At the age of eighteen, Lucy has gone from living at Willow Manor on Earth to living aboard the space ship, the Galactic Falcon. Her life has gone from one of surviving the brutality of the adults around her to being presented with a universe full of options. The magnitude of these sudden changes has sent Lucy's mind into shock.

As Lucy adjusts to space living, and slowly accepts she is alive and not delusional, she finds herself trying to accept the concept of being a Conrad, a human able to control energy. In addition, she must get to know her Uncle Zeplan, an uncle she never knew existed until the day he rescued her off of Earth.

Rebirth for Sale at Lulu

Audio Books

My writing is branching out into another venue: Audio Books. Currently Stubby, the Magic Pencil and A Tale of Butts: The Story of a Couch (remember this is under the pen name Echo Ryan) are in production to become audio books. The auditions for narrators has been completed, and the first 15 minutes of each production has been approved. When they are done they will be available through several venues, including itunes.

If you still prefer a paperback or an e-book, remember these books are available in both those formats. The best and cheapest place to buy them as a paperback is about lulu.com, but they are also available for order through book stores and on amazon.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/heather-hobson/stubby-the-magic-pencil/paperback/product-21959411.html

and

http://www.lulu.com/shop/echo-ryan/a-tale-of-butts-the-story-of-a-couch/paperback/product-15642092.html

Happy Summer Reading!

The Conrad Chronicles: Revolt has been published!

After many hours of toil (or perhaps I should say years), The Conrad Chronicles: Revolt is back in print. Right now the paperback version is available at Lulu.com.

https://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=The+Conrad+Chronicles%3A+Revolt&type=

It takes a few weeks for it to be available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and other books stores as a paper back.  Though currently you can purchase the Kindle version on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Conrad-Chronicles-Revolt-Heather-Hobson-ebook/dp/B076VVD23F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510815846&sr=8-1&keywords=the+conrad+chronicles%3A+Revolt

If you do go to Amazon and find the Kindle you will see a paperback version for sale. That is the old one by the evil publisher that was retailing it for $27.95. When the new version comes out it will retail on Amazon.com for $17.99. Though if you go to Lulu.com and purchase the paperback copy you get a 25% discount off of the $17.99 so can get it there for only $13.50. In addition Lulu almost always has a coupon for another percentage off or free shipping. So by shopping for the book at Lulu.com, you cut out the middle man and save money.

Happy Reading!

PS: The cover is designed as a puzzle. With the publication of each of the 9 books in the series, a square shall be revealed.

The Conrad Chronicles: Revolt, a writing update

Good news: Revolt is almost ready for public sale again. Everything has been uploaded and formatted and the proof copy has been order. If all goes well, Revolt will be for sale by November as a paperback, and possible as an e-book even sooner.

As soon as this novel is up for sale, I will let you know (as well as begin polishing up the second novel in The Conrad Chronicles, Realizations.

Here is the cover, which Charles Berton did a great job on creating for me. Happy reading.

Cover for The Conrad Chronicles: Revolt by Charles Berton

John Henri Nolette's book Homuncula has been published

Though I have yet to read it, my brother-in-law has just published his first novel.  John Nolette's Book is entitled Homuncula and can be found at lulu.com at:

John Henri Nolette's Homuncula

Here is the blurb if you are interested.

"Robert Henry Pearce hasn't been himself lately. Haunted by strange cravings, indescribable sensations, and apocalyptic visions, he has somehow fallen out of step with the modern mode of existence. But nothing can prepare him for the nightmare that is unfolding all around him. And within him. 

 

As he meets others like himself, Robert begins to glimpse another reality superimposed over the one he has always known. As he unlearns all that civilization has taught him, he embarks on a journey that will take him to the end of the world."

 

Happy reading all.

John Stephen Pinto's Sci-Fi Book Apex

One of my critique partners has finally published his first book. For more than three years I have helped John edit and polish Apex into the fine book it is.

If you enjoy hard sci-fi that takes place on futuristic Earth, this book is for you.  The characters are very real, and the plot is completely plausible.

Here is the blurb on it:

"When Biotech Industries produces Apex nanochip brain implants in 2192, it revolutionizes the human experience by providing a range of extraordinary abilities. From performing a piano concerto or an intricate surgery to understanding physics and languages, someone wired has limitless capabilities. Amongst the turmoil of worldwide overpopulation and economic division, Dr. Alexander Reichman, the architect of Apex, ushers civilization into a golden era or possibly into its grave."

You can find John Stephen Pinto's book Apex at:

Amazon Books-Apex 

or  

Lulu Books-Apex 

Happy reading.