My bridge partner is going out of town for a long weekend so we decided to play today (two days in a row) since were're going to miss our regular Friday game (I have hooked up with another player for Friday, though). Today was an Open game, but there weren't a lot of top players so we were lucky enough to sneak into second place. We also finished above average yesterday, netting us an impressive sum of master points for the two day effort. People who aren't bridge addicts have a hard time understanding how consuming bridge master points can be. They are the invention that fundamentally keeps the industry going. The ACBL has a variety of "Master" levels. So, you start as a Rookie, then, with 5 master points, you become a Junior Master. Well, 5 master points aren't that hard--although it took me a while playing in a game where we thought we were doing well to get a quarter of a point. Still, you see the goal coming, you get excited, then it arrives and the ACBL sends you a nice little membership card with your new rating--and you realize you only need 15 more points to become a "Club Master." After that, anothe 30 points (for a total of 50) and you're a "Sectional Master." Next up--100 points makes you a Regional Master. Every step seems within reach--and you start heading off to tournaments to play for more points, looking for teammates for knockouts and Swiss teams (where the points seem more generous) and then, all of a sudden, you realize that you're an addict. Welcome to the club.

Therese and I passed 100 ponts a month ago, which should make us Regional Masters, except the ACBL hasn't added our latest points into their database yet. So, we're still only Sectional Masters according to the systems. Oh, well. If the ACBL still hasn't caught up with us by the end of the month, that'll mean we get to play in the 50-100 category rather than the 100+ category, meaning easier opponents. It isn't dishonest--because the ACBL lags behind for everyone.

After bridge, I headed to the post office, mailing off the second proof copy of DAMNATION OF THE REALM to Joshua Calkins-Treworgy, and a copy of THE ELDWARVES by Rob Clague to Amazon. I have some books in inventory, so it makes sense to stay with the Amazon Advantage Program until I've burned through the inventory, but with the POD costs I absorbed, I'm losing money on every one of these sales (it's just that the money is already lost and I'm trying to recoup what I can). I read today in Publisher's Weekly that the price of paper has gone up dramatically--so look to see book prices jump again.

After the post office, I went to the library (where I read Publisher's Weekly) and I got some writing done. Don't know how much, but I'm pretty sure it was less than 10 pages. Bummer. Tomorrow is a write my heart out and catch up day.

If you waited to buy MIDLIFE MURDER by Amy Eastlake, the good news is you still can. The bad news is, the $1 pricing is over--but the regular price of $3.99 is still an incredible bargain. Still only $1 is THE DREAD KNIGHT'S REDEMPTION by Joshua Calkins-Treworgy. But time is running out for it, too.

I'm going to make QUEST FOR THE TALISMAN--THE DOODA VOL. I by Michael Faris the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. A band of adventurers sets off in an airship in search for a mysterious and possibly dangerous artifact. Unfortunately, they aren't the only ones looking--and if the object falls into the wrong hands, the entire world may be at risk. Fantasy adventure--only $3.99. Learn more, read the free excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_03/dooda.html . (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Palm Reader/eReader, and Microsoft Reader formats). Here's the cover:

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If you've been waiting for just the right opportunity to buy a great book at a price that's not likely to come around again, you've almost waited too long. Two of our books, MIDLIFE MURDER by Amy Eastlake and THE DREAD KNIGHT'S REDEMPTION are about to run out on their introductory $1 pricing. Of course the good news is, they'll continue to be available at attractive pricing--just not THAT attractive. $1 for an entire novel is a hard price to beat. So, check them out here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_08/midlife_murder.html or www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_08/dread_knight_redemption.html .

I've been watching the attempt by the IDPF to standardize eBook formats (the ePub format) and I recently experimented with a new on-line program to create ePub-formatted books). It looks promising although it currently strips out the beautiful cover art. I'm reminded of my early efforts in eBooks, when I didn't bother with cover art because eBooks don't have covers. I also downloaded a new eBook reader, FBReader, (http://www.fbreader.org/). The FBReader is available for a variety of devices and has the advantage of being able to read multiple formats. Unfortunately, the only machine I can read it on is my desktop, but you might check whether it supports your devices. I'm not quite ready to add ePub to my publication list, but I'll keep an eye on it.

I got some writing done today as I rode the train up to play bridge (some good hands, one absolutely spectacular screw-up). About 10 pages, give or take. I also wrote a review for A WORLD TOO NEAR by Kay Kenyon which I found intriguing and powerful but flawed. Here's my review: www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_08/world_too_near.html. Now I'm readin THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS. Quite a change.

Since the $1 pricing for MIDLIFE MURDER ends tomorrow (Tuesday), I'm going to make it the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Getting dumped by her husband is bad news. But for Heather Montag, the news quickly gets worse when her husband is murdered and she becomes the favorite suspect. With no money, she goes from her life of wealth to living in a trailer park. Still, she's got to find the truth behind her husband's murder. Only $1--but only until tomorrow evening. Learn more, read the FREE excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_08/midlife_murder.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Palm DOC, Mobipocket, and Microsoft Reader formats (and ePub format on request). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

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I called my mother to wish her a happy mother's day--swelling the revenues of AT&T. I don't know if this is still the case, but back when I worked for the FCC, mother's day was the biggest calling day of the year. Pretty good for a holiday basically manufactured by the greeting card business. My sisters were visiting my mother (I'm a bad child) and my sister Jane told me about her dancing addiction. Sounds serious--at least her kids think it is--they want her home more.

David Rothman, over at www.teleread.org/blog has posted my detailed explanation of my pricing policy (in response to the slam I talked about yesterday). I don't think anyone really knows whether they're setting the right price--you compare the competition, you analyze your costs, you think about elasticity (that's economics for how responsive customers are to changes in price), then you take a wild guess.

I had big plans for getting a lot of work done this weekend but that didn't happen. Tomorrow starts another week. I've got a lot to get done. I did replace the batteries in my Palm and load up a new book--which came in handy as Karen and I went for a walk (I read while she looks at birds).

I'm going to make THE CHICKEN RESCUE LEAGUE by Amy Eastlake the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. The second in my Texas Trailer Park Mystery series, Chicken Rescue finds trailer park manager Tina Anderson with another dead boyfriend--and this time her ex-husband is the lead suspect. As Tina investigates, she learns that her boyfriend had a secret life--could the Chicken Rescue League have taken extreme steps? Sassy and fun--only $3.99. Learn more, read the free excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_04/chicken_rescue.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Palm Reader/eReader and Microsoft Reader formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

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I don't know how often I've heard people going on about how eBooks are just too expensive. Actually, I thought they were, too--which is why I decided to offer affordable electronic fiction. All of our books start at a buck for the first month, and our regular pricing is only $3.99. A great deal, right? I thought so, until I read the blog over at Pink Petal Books slamming me for charging so little. Here's the link: http://www.pinkpetalbooks.com/?p=19. My sister (one of two economists in my family) reminds me that prices have signal value. Thus, part of the reason a Rolex is so expensive is because that's how Rolex sends the message that you're getting a premium product. Considering that you can buy the same Nobel Literature prize-winning book for thirty dollars in hardback and $6.99 in paperback, I hadn't thought that the pricing would carry the same baggage in the world of books but Pink Petal certainly does. (Thanks to Dave Rothwell over at www.teleread.org/blog for the heads-up on this comment.

How about this--for the next thirty days, if you read one of our books and think we charged too little, you're welcome to send an additional ten dollars.

It was a pretty lazy day. Karen and I walked to breakfast at Normas, then down to Bishop for an art fair on the square. Karen did the meet and greet with some of her artist buddies and I wished I'd changed the batteries in my Palm before I'd left--one of the great advantages of eBooks is that you can carry them to places where you can't carry even a paperback--but you do have to be at least a little bit prepared.

I'm going to make DEAD ON by Michael Paulson the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Deacon Bishop heads to south Texas--just in time to find his new client's murdered body. Without a client, he doesn't have a job but he decides to stick around and watch what happens. It turns out to be a dangerous decision. Only $3.99. Learn more, read the free excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_06/dead_on.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Palm Reader/eReader, and Microsoft Reader formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

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Although we've had a few disappointing days, overall, my partner, Therese and I have been on a pretty good roll with our bridge game. Today we played in the 'open' game (people with unlimited points may play), and we came in 3rd out of 15 teams. It's good for 1.73 master points--which is a lot for us. The winners got 3. Although we had a couple of bad boards, overall, we seemed to be in synch and were making some decent decisions. I was surprised to see that we are tied for 9th/10th in our unit's Mini McKenny contest for most master points in our category (50-100 MP as of January 1), especially as our points for April (except some at a tournament early in the month) didn't show up yet. We had a pretty good April and, so far, are having a pretty good May as well. Knock on wood.

I road the train and got some writing done. Between yesterday and today, I wrote 19 pages which is one less than the goal, but not bad, especially considering that I got a lot else done. I also got some reading done on submissions, and I'm continuing to make (slow) progress in A WORLD TOO NEAR by Kay Kenyon. Speaking of reviews, I've posted a review of an intriguing mystery, BODY TRACE by D. H. Dublin. It's a CSI knock-off but well-written. Here's my review: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_08/body_trace.html.

I'm going to make THE DEAD STAY DEAD by Anthony Perham the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. The man's death might well be a heart attack, but when police detective inspector Sean Crow investigates, bad things start happening to his officers--as in sudden and inexplicable deaths. Crow doesn't believe in ghosts, but there certainly seems to be a curse on the house where the reporter died. English humor and dialogue--fun and exciting. Only $3.99. Learn more, read the free excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_07/dead_stay_dead.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Palm DOC, Microsoft Reader and Palm Reader/eReader formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

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I am pretty sure I'll never run a bridge club. I'm okay with people but I like them in small doses. A good club manager, like Dorsey Shaw or Donna Compton, genuinely loves people, cares about them, and wants to make them happy. I generally want them to back off and not overwhelm me (actually, I want them to fawn over me, telling me how much they love my books but that's another subject). Still, I'm interested in being able to direct games from time to time and so I've decided to take the Club Director class and exam this fall. To help me get ready, Dorsey allowed me to work as co-director in her morning game today.

Directing is interesting. I didn't know that there was a system for who gets what entries (table 3 is where the best players go). The ACBL has a program (ACBL Score) that handles a lot of the issues of movement, scoring, etc. It even warns you when you enter a score that just isn't possible. (Like 50 against a vulnerable team). But I'd never worked ACBL Score before so I got to struggle with it. Dorsey is not a computer person and she uses the DOS version. I haven't seen a DOS program for years. We got a few director calls, I got to see how bridge players interact with each other and the club director from a different angle, and Dorsey always makes a great lunch (today it was potato soup, homemade bread with cheese, fruit salad, and brownies. Yum). Since Natalie, the protagonist of my current WIP is a club manager/director, this definitely was useful research.

Afterwards, I went to the bank, deposited a few checks, took out far more cash than I deposited (not the right direction to go), and headed to the Richardson library where I put in a couple of hours writing. Not sure how much I got done--but the story continues to move along.

I'm going to make DEADLY AGE by Michael Paulson the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Deacon Bishop is back--this time dealing with his long-lost love (and gangster woman), satanism, and drugs. Great hardboiled detective action. Only $3.99. Learn more, read the free excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_07/deadly_age.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Mobipocket, Palm Reader/eReader, Palm DOC, and Microsoft Reader format). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

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My friend Tom made a quick trip to Viet Nam--I picked him up at the airport today.

For people of my generation, Viet Nam was the great mistake--a lesson in hubris that politicians should remember (and that George Bush has chosen to forget), and a weird jungle nation. Tom tells me what he noticed was that there were no old people. For most of Viet Nam, unlike much of America, the war is ancient history--no more relevant to them than the Spanish-American War is to us (how many people still curse the Spaniards for what they did to the Maine?). I have several Vietnamese friends who urge me to visit that fascinating nation and I'd like to do so one day. I remain grateful to the universe that my draft number was 355. If I ever go, I'd prefer to pay for my ticket rather than have the Army handle that for me.

Speaking of foolish politicians, I thought this "Guess whether it's Bush or McCain" contest was eye-opening. http://www.Bush-McCainChallenge.com/?id=12589-6990849-M9_9BW. I didn't do very well--anything over 50% would be pretty good, I think. Check it out.

Also speaking of politicians, I was happy to see H. Clinton running for President. We white men certainly haven't set a record of excellence and it would be refreshing to have a woman. Members of my family and some of my best friends are Hillary supporters. I think the time has come (if it hadn't come weeks or months ago) when we have to wonder whether Hillary's decision to soldier on is less about winning the nomination in 2008 and more about destroying the Democratic candidate to clear the way for Hillary to run in 2012. Being married to a President doesn't give anyone the right to become President, and if you expect the party to rally around you, it's probably wise not to do your best to destroy the party. Step down, Hillary. You gave it your best shot.

I did write my 10 pages today. When I brought Seth back into the story, things picked right up. Unfortunately, this did lead to the tragic demise of Ivan, Natalie's love interest. I seem to have a nasty habit of killing my characters (I killed Ivy in VEIL OF THE GODDESS something like three times). Good thing this is fiction--or I'd be heading for jail.

I got some more work done on submissions while I waited for Tom at the airport (and during breaks during the day). I'm also reading A WORLD TOO NEAR by Kay Kenyon.

I'm going to make DEADLY TRADE by Michael Paulson the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Deacon Bishop is back, hunting for a missing man. But if he finds him, will his client kill the man? Before long, Bishop has to worry about his own survival--let alone those of a stranger. Hard-boiled detective fiction--only $3.99. Learn more, read the free excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_07/deadly_trade.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Palm DOC, Mobipocket and Microsoft Reader formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

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One of my regular readers (and favorite authors) Eric Mayer once mentioned that when he hits page 200 in a book, he finally believes that it's going to happen. I'm still not sure about Darkness over Dallas, but I hit the 200 page barrier today--I feel pretty good about that, even if I'm not sure about whether the book really is going to happen.

After writing, Karen and I walked to the library. I returned one book and resisted the strong temptation to check out another (Karen returned two and checked out three) so we were break-even as a family and I'm one ahead as an individual. I'm reading A WORLD TOO NEAR by Kay Kenyon. I posted my review of SHAKEDOWN by Joel Goldman here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_08/shakedown.html. I enjoyed this book, thought the writing was strong, but felt that Goldman relied far too much on coincidence. Anyone read any of his other books? I'd love to know what you think.

After the library, we stopped by the post office. Karen mailed off a prize, I mailed off some tax stuff, and I bought a mess of Forever stamps. If you aren't keeping track, you should know that postal rates are going up--again.

I've fallen behind on submissions and so I got back started on reading them today. I'm ever-hopeful that I'll find another great talent in the bunch.

Speaking of discovered talent, I'm going to make FINDING FUNBOY by Matt Golec the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. I admit when I started this, I wasn't sure. But Golec won me over with his charming coming of age mystery set in Maine. Only $3.99. Learn more, read the FREE excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_07/finding_funboy.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Palm DOC, Mobipocket, and Microsoft Reader formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

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P.S., Happy Cinco de Mayo. Hoist a Corona for me.

Back in 1994, I did my research and decided that a local internet service provider, Digital Highway, was the way to go. They offered unlimited internet access for $9.99, few busy signals, and a free website (up to 10MB, I think it was--it seemed like a lot at the time). When it was time to buy a website for BooksForABuck, Digital Highway seemed reasonable for that as well. So, back in 1999 or whenever I conceived the idea, I signed on with them as a business account. Then Digital Highway sold out to another company, who declared bankrupcy, whose assets were acquired by another company--who declared bankrupcy. I ended up at Amerion.. Now, there were a few glitches, but overall, Amerion did fine. Their technical support people responded to my questions, but I never felt that they were really interested in "legacy" customers. And the price went up a lot.

So, this weekend, I migrated over to Bravenet hosting. I've been planning this for a while, Inin fact, I persuaded Karen to migrate first, and to make sure she got a premium account so we could host all of our websites with them. But BooksForABuck.com is by far the biggest of our websites and it took me all day yesterday to FTP. So, if you see any glitches, please let me know--it's certainly possible that something got lost in the translation.

It's Monday, which means it's bridge day. My partner and I sort of hacked up the field but still managed to finish (barely) above 50%. Any game above 50% is okay with me. I got wet on my bike, but I also got 12 pages written today--some at home but mostly on the train. Pretty good.

I'm going to make A FULL ENGLISH DEATH by Anthony Perham the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Two London police detectives are sent to the north of England to investigate a mysterious death. The death is clearly murder, and equally clearly, everyone in the village knows something. But sometimes what they know doesn't happen to be the truth--and David Charles and Malcom McKarn have to dig deep to find the truth. Strong and darkly funny--only $3.99. Learn more, read the free excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_06/full_english_death.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Palm Reader/eReader and Microsoft Reader formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Rob Preece):

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I'm not much of a gun person. I believe far more crimes are committed because guns are available than prevented by them. I believe that the number of murders in the US is multiplied because there are so many guns, and I believe that our founding fathers made their second biggest mistake when they stuck the 2nd Amendment into the Constitution (the biggest, obviously, was not dealing with the issue of slavery at a time when it could have been resolved far more cost-effectively and without almost a century's extra suffering than was created by the Civil War). Still, there are a lot of guns out there--in the hands of criminals, cops, and "ordinary" citizens.

Today, at the Dallas meeting of Mystery Writers of America, Bruce Culver talked to us about guns, police shootings, and what to do if you shoot someone and you don't want to get into trouble for it (it's easy in Texas--the state legislature pretty much says you can shoot anyone you want to if you think they might be a criminal. One possible exception, I'll bet that the post office will come after you if you start shooting postal workers so don't do that).

Karen gave me a helpful reminder not to get into an argument with Bruce. I really wasn't going too, although it's hard to restrain myself sometimes. Bruce didn't say it but I've heard people going on about how much safer we'd all be if we all carried guns. Every time some nutcase hammers his horn in traffic, I thank my lucky stars he DOESN'T have a gun.

After the meeting, we headed for home I finished my editing of Cathy Richard Dodson's GLASS HOURS and sent it off to her for approval/changes, then Karen and I watched a History Channel show on rats (they're Modern Marvels if you were wondering). Am I the only person who wonders how come the History Channel doesn't have any history on it any more?

I'm reading SHAKE DOWN by Joel Goldman. So far, interesting.

I'm going to make A FULL ENGLISH PROBLEM by Anthony Perham the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Former English Police Detectives Sean Crow and Malcolm McKarn get a chance to visit America--and wrap up the man who got away from their last case. The one thing they don't want is for the crazy ex-SAS member to escape from his high security mental institution--but McKarn and Crow never get what they want. Darkly funny and exciting--only $3.99. Learn more, read the FREE excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_07/full_english_problem.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Mobipocket, Palm DOC, and Microsoft Reader formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

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