Andy Kaiser

“Monsters in the Dark” artwork

Andy Kaiser — Mon, 06 May 2013 23:25:03 +0000

Tyler and his older brother Zack are back from vacation. Tyler came back with amazing mental superpowers. Zack got a sunburn. Tyler shares his powers with Eena, a girl whose past is covered by shadows and secrets. A dangerous enemy is chasing them, and the three children scramble to prepare themselves. They have too much [...]

Telekinesis and sharks (though not in the same book)

Andy Kaiser — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 04:37:17 +0000

For those of you following along, you may have an interest in my latest adventures. I’ve been asked for updates from multiple people. Those causes have led to this effect: Below is the scoop on my current projects. Transhuman #2 The working title is “Monsters in the Dark”. Today marks the Completion Of The First [...]

What happened to MrBtongue? A Tasteful, Understated, Nerdrage interview

Andy Kaiser — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:21:30 +0000

“MrBtongue” is a video mashup creator – you may have seen his series on YouTube, titled “Tasteful, Understated Nerdrage”. The TUN videos detail his opinions of not only specific video games (it all started with Mass Effect 3, and continues with Dragon Age, Skyrim and others), but also includes his views on the state of [...]

Dev Manny “Hacking the Naked Princess” continues in 2600 Magazine

Andy Kaiser — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 15:37:33 +0000

Go get 2600 Volume 29, #4 (the Winter 2012-2013 issue), and read the continuation of Dev’s newest case, “Hacking the Naked Princess”. This adventure was started in 2600 Volume 29, #2 (the Summer 2012 issue). Future chapters will be serialized in 2600, probably every other issue. 2600 Magazine is available in many bookstores, including Barnes & Noble. [...]

Book Release: Dev Manny #2: Wetware

Andy Kaiser — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 05:40:28 +0000

I’d like to introduce you to the latest adventure of Dev Manny, Information Technology Private Investigator. The book is “Dev Manny #2: Wetware“, and is available at an Amazon near you. Get it: Paper bookAmazon Kindle ebook

New books – Coming sooner and later

Andy Kaiser — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 18:42:31 +0000

I’d like to update everyone on the entire Internet about two different projects, both of which are critical to our society, culture and way of life: League of Scientists League of Scientists book #1, “Ghost in the Water”, won’t be available in stores until 2013. From the publisher, I have this statement: Our goal is [...]

Wetware: Dev Manny 3 is on the floor!

Andy Kaiser — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 04:14:07 +0000

So, here’s the deal: Dev Manny 1 (“Superliminal”) is published. It’s out there in the wild. Dev Manny 2 (“Hacking the Naked Princess”) is being published in a serial format in 2600 Magazine. While that’s in progress, I’ve also started Dev Manny 3 (the working title is “Wetware”). But since the 2600 publication is quarterly, [...]

Writing advice from Pixar: Rules of storytelling

Andy Kaiser — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:02:19 +0000

Pixar – the group who brought us Toy Story, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, UP, Monsters, Inc, and many more – is built around a philosophy of excellent storytelling. Emma Coats is a story artist at Pixar, and she has compiled what she’s learned about storytelling, both from her personal experience and learning from those around [...]

“Hacking the Naked Princess” – A self-publishing experiment with 2600 magazine

Andy Kaiser — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 21:20:31 +0000

I emailed 2600 magazine, and asked if they’d be interested in serializing the next Dev Manny book. They said okay, they’d at least be willing to try out a couple chapters. So, here we are: Go get 2600 Volume 29, #2 (the Summer 2012 issue), and read the start of Dev’s newest case, “Hacking the [...]

Self-publishing a children’s book: What’s the best software for layout and design?

Andy Kaiser — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:56:15 +0000

The article title question is a pretty easy one to answer: Adobe InDesign is an industry standard for book publishing, and would be an excellent book creation tool for a self-publisher, specifically those needing graphics manipulation or other advanced book layout and design tools. …and there’s no way I can afford it. So, sorry InDesign, [...]

Bad writing advice that works

Andy Kaiser — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 13:41:50 +0000

I’ve been featured as a guest writer on the “Writing and Publishing Resource” website. Check it out: Recommendations for writers: How seemingly bad advice can improve your writing process A goal in writing the article was to describe mental stumbling blocks that I’ve encountered in writing and publishing, along with advice on overcoming those problems. [...]

Stunt kite recommendations and tips on how to fly

Andy Kaiser — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 16:48:31 +0000

Stunt kites are a blast. Here’s an example of their capability. This video features a quad-line stunt kite, which I’d like to get someday but haven’t yet: The above video stars an expert pilot with an expensive kite, but the hobby is easily available to beginners. Other stunt kites have the more traditional look, and [...]

Transhuman #1: “Waking the Dreamer” is available as an audiobook!

Andy Kaiser — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:00:50 +0000

For YA and middle-grade fans of science fiction and mystery, I’ve now fully finished production of “Waking the Dreamer”, the first book in my “Transhuman” series. After paper book printing and ebook design, this culminated with the development and rollout of the audiobook edition. For the audiobook, I again used the ACX service (which I [...]

Play nice! Self-publishing versus traditional publishing in 2012

Andy Kaiser — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:37:32 +0000

Most every author today will have heard recommendations for and against traditional and self-publishing. Some argue that one method is inherently better or worse than the other. Some say that one is destined for failure, that it serves the wrong people, or that it provides no long-term benefit to those involved. In a more measured [...]

Writing advice from a six-year-old: Bewaaare the dark and stormy cliche

Andy Kaiser — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:31:53 +0000

My daughter, wife and I sat in the TV room. It was just before bedtime and my six-year-old was watching a movie she hadn’t seen in a while. My wife and I were trying to talk to her about the actors involved, the special effects, the storyline, how the movie wouldn’t be so spooky if [...]

Self-publishing audiobooks: My experience with ACX

Andy Kaiser — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:38:24 +0000

ACX, or the “Audiobook Creation Exchange”, is a company dedicated to the production of audiobooks. …Or perhaps “production” is the wrong word. But it wouldn’t look as smooth for the marketing copy to say “a crowdsourced program that puts authors in touch with audiobook readers, and vice versa, and provides a low-cost way of doing [...]

Self-published video marketing: Make cheap and free video ads with Animoto

Andy Kaiser — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:38:58 +0000

Animoto is a video creation service: Pick a theme, a few pictures, music and text. The service will take your preferences and blend them together into a video. You can download the video (as an MP4 or DVD image) and upload that to services like YouTube. Which is exactly what I did. It’s a subscription [...]

DIY authors self-publishing tools, services and marketing recommendations

Andy Kaiser — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:01:12 +0000

At this point I’ve cranked two books through a full self-publishing process and have a third on the way with a traditional publisher. I’ve learned a few things and can justify a few opinions about the self-publishing process. Here’s the detail. My current self-publishing status Since publishing with a traditional publisher takes a VERY long [...]

“Waking the Dreamer” cover project featured on crowdSPRING

Andy Kaiser — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:40:18 +0000

If you’re a self-published author, you may be using Amazon’s CreateSpace to publish your book. During the book build process, you have a section for your book cover. You can choose from being able to create a book cover using built-in templates, or you can work with other advanced options. One option is crowdSPRING, which [...]

Transhuman #1: “Waking the Dreamer” is now available!

Andy Kaiser — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:14:02 +0000

It’s done. The book was written. The costs were financed. The cover art was created. And as of today, the book was published and is available for purchase on Amazon. Get the paper book or ebook “Waking the Dreamer” now:

I do not like IBM AIX

Andy Kaiser — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:09:34 +0000

I do not like IBM AIXI do not like it, IBM techs! I do not like it with a rebootI do not like it even as root I do not like unhelpful PS AUXI do not like it when cd0 is lost Instead of lurking in my subnetI’d rather it be quarantined as a threat [...]

Book cover complete: My experience with crowdSPRING

Andy Kaiser — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 02:06:48 +0000

Now that I have money to pay for a designer to craft a quality book cover (thanks to Kickstarter – see this post for detail), I was ready to get an artist. Artists are expensive. This is not a complaint – people should get paid what they’re worth. I just mean that book cover design [...]

Funding a book cover: My experience with Kickstarter

Andy Kaiser — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:14:38 +0000

As it relates to my latest book, I’m trying something very new to me: Crowdsourcing and (for a lack of a better term) Crowdcreating. This post is about the former. My next post will cover the latter. What is Kickstarter? My situation is that I need help to cover the up-front costs of paying for [...]

Voice precognition: One reason more why brick-and-mortar stores are disappearing

Andy Kaiser — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:23:18 +0000

I placed the shrink-wrapped box on the counter and the checkout girl smiled at me. She had a light in her eyes, an intimate twinkle that was hard to match, unless you were genetically gifted or practiced a lot. It went downhill from there. “Hi, how are you doing today?” Her first question was fine. [...]

Transhuman #1 update: Ready for the cover art. Kickstarter is live.

Andy Kaiser — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:53:18 +0000

The book is complete and proofed and ready to print. I even have a title: Transhuman #1: Waking the Dreamer What’s needed next is a cover to put around it! Astute readers may remember a previous post, about how I’m trying a service called Kickstarter to fund the book cover costs. I’ve created my campaign and [...]

How to protect your sighting of Elvis

Andy Kaiser — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:24:36 +0000

A very brief search can easily turn up the strangest things on the Internet. Apparently Elvis sightings are enough of an issue that the U.S. Copyright Office felt they needed to deal specifically with it, thirty-plus years after his death. The below is taken from the U.S. government’s “What Does Copyright Protect?” FAQ: How do [...]

Dev and Transhuman update

Andy Kaiser — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:25:41 +0000

I’m very thankful for weekends. I’ve got multiple projects going right now: Transhuman #1 is in the second round of editing. Multiple people (who are not me, or one of my alternate personalities) have the book in their hands and are hopefully, frantically, excitedly marking it up as I type this. The Kickstarter cover art [...]

How to be a good writer: Writing resources from great writers

Andy Kaiser — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 01:07:49 +0000

Here are the writing resources that have helped me the most. These are not only “how to write” books and expert recommendations on storytelling technique, but some detail the process of writing and storytelling, which is another thing altogether. Beyond the obvious “write more” recommendation that everyone uses, I’m not worthy of injecting my own [...]

Eena? Transhuman? Serieses? Whatever: Draft #1 is done.

Andy Kaiser — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 05:20:18 +0000

Thirty thousand words later, I have a book. Draft #1 is complete for what I’ve been calling “Eena”. The working title for this new series is “Transhuman”. Yeah, it’s another series. Dedicated readers might also know I have the Dev Manny series and League of Scientists series, and for each so far just the first book [...]

League of Scientists publication update: Lookin’ good!

Andy Kaiser — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:06:48 +0000

The League of Scientists #1 – “Ghost in the Water” – is rolling ahead with publication. We’re on track for the end of the year! See this post for more detail.

“Eena” progress and cover art

Andy Kaiser — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:58:23 +0000

My “Eena” book is coming along well. We’re at about 16,000 words so far. Going by the rough plot inside my head, it’s about half done, maybe a little less. It’s interesting how each book I’ve written has impacted me differently. For this one, I’m actually enjoying the story and am eager to tell it. [...]

New writing project – “Eena”

Andy Kaiser — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:30:52 +0000

As I wait for the results of the published Dev Manny book and the not-yet-published League of Scientists #1, I still feel the need to write. So I’m writing. I’ve started another project. This is another book, targeted towards young adults. It has a science fiction / fantasy theme. Or more specifically, you could call [...]

Dev Manny update

Andy Kaiser — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:46:48 +0000

While waiting for publication of the League of Scientists, I was able to finish and publish Dev Manny #1: Superliminal. Get it: Paper book Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Nook Figuring this out was a really cool process. I now know more than before about the self-publishing industry, as well as the craft of writing [...]

League of Scientists update

Andy Kaiser — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:40:38 +0000

Some of you pay attention to me. A not-small subset of you have asked: What’s up with the League of Scientists? When is it coming out? What stores will it be in? Will it be available as an ebook? Are you doing anything else? Here are those answers: Progress on the League of Scientists #1: [...]

Welcome to the Future!

Andy Kaiser — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:26:36 +0000

It’s only been a few years, but AndyKaiser.com was looking just a tad dated. Remember the beautiful, hand-crafted old website? I suppose it wasn’t that bad. Simple and minimalist and all that. But I still wanted to change it. Why? So I could do things like this, what I’m doing right now. Post any new [...]