Shadow Publications -- Stories By Paul Elard Cooley

The Dead Robots' Society--A Brainstorm Explosion With Terry Mixon

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:46:13 +0000

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Justin and I try and help Terry find his plot...

Movie Review-- Evil Dead

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:39:45 +0000

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The Dead Robots' Society--David Wood and Alan Baxter Perform A Dark Rite

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:42:33 +0000

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Nice little interview with two great guys and writers. Check it out.

Tattoo--New Cover Design

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:09:56 +0000

Ask anyone who's read and listened to my work, and they'll probably tell you Tattoo was the gateway drug into my fictional worlds. There's a reason for that. It's a quick, nasty ride that rushes through your blood like adrenalin and leaves you gasping.

Since Tattoo was first podcast, I have put out volumes of other stories, but it still remains a fan favorite, as well as one of mine.

This is actually the third cover attempt for the story. I once again put my work in the capable hands of Starla Huchton to make it right. This is the result.

EBook covers are much like the paperback covers of old--they tend to be more important than the words contained within. Great writers can create great worlds, great words, and still manage to sell absolute squat if they have a crap cover. Here's hoping the new cover grabs more folks and inducts them into my worlds, for better or worse.

Essay--Amazon And Goodreads

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:04:53 +0000

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Essay about the recent purchase of Goodreads.com by Amazon.

The Dead Robots' Society Gets Genderfied

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:32:54 +0000

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Justin, Terry, Lauren "Scribe" Harris, and the Fiendmaster discuss writing "the other."

The Gates of Hell

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:28:52 +0000

We've often heard the phrase "The Gates of Hell," but did you know the Greeks and Romans actually located it? Not only that, but built an acropolis around it?

A recent discovery in Turkey uncovered the legendary site of the "Gates of Hell." When it was discovered by the ancient Greeks and Romans, certain philosophers tested the legend by tossing doves over the gas vent. The doves flew into the air, encountered the vapors emanating from the vent, and dropped dead. Why? Because the vent spews an extremely high concentration of Carbon Dioxide.

But imagine if you had no knowledge of science and saw wild animals expire when they got near a hole in the earth. How would you rationalize it? This is yet another example of how a kernel of truth spawns a legend. Ancient humans didn't understand all that they saw and experienced in their lives. Legends and stories often grow out of the need to explain the inexplicable.

The "Gates of Hell" is just another example of how a legend can be tracked back to an actual fact and then studied to determine what gave birth to the legend. In this case? Mystery solved.

New Discoveries in Ur?

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 01:58:12 +0000

The world is a strange place, folks. When I was writing "Keepers," a Sanskrit text was discovered that might be one of the eldest ever recovered. While writing "Scrolls," new information regarding the Library of Alexandria was mentioned in the news. And now? As Ama goes to the editor and right before Garaaga's Children: Ancients is released, they discover what appears to be a new building in Ur. Yup, can't make this shit up, folks. Garaaga's Children just keeps surprising me, as does how much of our past we are still recovering.

Garaaga Poetry

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:49:31 +0000

Because I have loyal and talented fiendlings, I must showcase some of their creative endeavors.

The lovely and talented Kate Sherrod produced this sonnet in worship of Garaaga. Garaaga was NOT amused.

In the near future, I might have to let Garaaga's response flood the podwaves. Regardless, there WILL be consequences.

Reggie has some competition...

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:59:31 +0000

Many of you have accused me of being a sick bastard for what I've done to your memories of muppets and The Ice Cream Man. Between "The Street" series and "Closet Treats," I've destroyed much of your childhoods. And I'll continue to do so. But dammit, no matter how hard I try someone keeps one-upping me. Don't believe this? Then check this link out. I've NEVER seen creepier easter bunnies. *shiver* Be very very afraid.

Infocast--2013-03-25--GaraagasChildrenPreorder

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:57:52 +0000

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In today's infocast, I tell you all about the preorder, what you're going to get for your $35.00, and engage in atrocious pro-Garaaga propaganda.

Garaaga's Children Pre-Order Promo

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:49:12 +0000

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Here it is. The promo for the April 1 pre-sale of Garaaga's Children:Ancients. Enjoy and spread the disease.

Interview--JakeBible_2013-03-12

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:40:28 +0000

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Interview with my nemesis Jake Bible.

Review--Sinister

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:16:50 +0000

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Quick review of the film "Sinister". Music by Kevin Mcleod.

Visit shadowpublications.com for more free stories as well as my rant casts.

Contact me at:

* stories@shadowpublications.com

* twitter: http://twitter.com/paul_e_cooley

* facebook: http://facebook.com/paul.e.cooley

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

CallInShow--2013-02-22

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:28:48 +0000

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Fiendmaster Call-In-Show!

Contained within: major announcement regarding Garaaga's Children: Ancients.

Special thanks to Sue Baiman.

Audio Production Assistance provided by:

Allen Sale
Dave Robison
Richard Green
Scott Roche
Scott Pond
Mike Luoma
Tony Miller
Jake Bible
John Mierau
and Veronica Giguerre

Visit shadowpublications.com for more free stories as well as my rant casts.

Contact me at:

* stories@shadowpublications.com

* twitter: http://twitter.com/paul_e_cooley

* facebook: http://facebook.com/paul.e.cooley

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

Garaaga Sigil--First Render

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:15:53 +0000

Cuneiform is the oldest known written language. When I first started writing the Garaaga's Children series, the glyph you see on the left was always in my mind. Coming up with it was a free-form exercise. I needed something recognizable on sight that would also make sense if rendered using just text.

After exhaustive searching, I managed to find a cuneiform font that I liked. What this allowed me to do was to actually render the glyph as I originally saw it in my head.

The cuneiform that makes up the sigil, for right now, is only one word: Garaaga, and it's hardly correct according to the rules of cuneiform construction. Since it's a first render pass, it will have to do, but ultimately this will be a prayer to the deity.

If you have read/listened to Keepers, Interlopers, and Scrolls, you might remember the description of the symbol that covers both the backs of Garaaga's worshippers as well as inscribed in the ancient text.

This should give you a better idea of what I had in mind and how I saw it in my imagination. I'm hopeful that I can make it look a bit more organic in the second pass. Although I have to say, this sucker would make an AWESOME tattoo.

Cheers.

Closet Treats--New Cover

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 02:02:40 +0000

Here it is, Fiendlings. The new cover for the Closet Treats ebook and podcast. The great Starla Huchton got this together for me. I'm pretty happy with it. She's also going to be doing an alternate cover Tattoo in the near future before I saddle her with the final cover of the Garaaga's Children: Ancients Volume.

Hope you like. And if you don't? Tough. You probably already bought the damned thing.

Cheers.

Infocast--2013-01-19-Plans for the year

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 17:03:35 +0000

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Short update on my plans for the year...

Essay--Making It Right

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 17:15:35 +0000

I bitch. I complain. When I read a book, especially one published by the so-called "real" publishers, I don't expect typos. I don't expect continuity errors. I don't expect issues with the narrative. When I find them, I get extremely angry. Why? I paid, usually top dollar if it's from a "real" publishing company, for an inferior product.

That said, however, I am in the publishing game, at least for my own work. I do my best to make my ebooks as professional as possible. For the most part I succeed. However, every now and then, my editor and I will miss something. When it happens, it's embarrassing and humiliating. But I have to own up to it.

A reader recently sent me an email outlining three mistakes in the Lovers ebook. They weren't huge. And in fact, most readers that weren't as diligent would have skipped over them completely. One was a continuity error involving a lamp. The other was a name change for an extremely minor character. And really, it was just a couple of letters off. Regardless, they are errors.

So what did I do? I fixed them. Immediately. I sent the reader an offer for a free, autographed version of the corrected ebook and thanked them for their careful reading and having the guts to email me. I am republishing Lovers with the revisions as we speak. In other words, I'm doing my best to make it right.

When books are published in paper, there are no "oops" moments when you can easily retract the version out there and replace it with a fixed one. Once a book goes to print, it's over. There's no more fixes possible until the next printing. Since most books only get a single printing, those mistakes are going to be there in perpetuity and there's not a damned thing the author or publisher can do about them.

In the ebook world, however, there is a chance to fix mistakes. It doesn't take much work to correct the issues, re-export the book, and then update your sales channels. Obviously going through something like Smashwords poses additional challenges, but for Kobo, BN, Amazon, and my own channels, it's extremely easy to republish.

So why don't we? Why don't most publishers modify their ebooks when they are notified of an issue? Several reasons. Most of them subcontract out the work and therefore have to pay more cash to get a fix, or at least that's what I like to think. However, my cynical side says "they don't give a shit." Unfortunately, I think that's the real reason.

The old publishing elite out there don't understand the new digital world. They never have. Until the moldy old bastards at the top die from disease or from going out of business, we're going to be stuck with one-off, never corrected volumes of digital crap. I simply don't see this changing any time soon.

But, I'm better than that. If there's a problem with my product, I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT! I do my best to put out quality. I want to give you the best read I possibly can and that means paying attention to not only the writing itself, but the proofing, the layout, and etc.

Indie publishers are gaining acceptance, but the big five (or is it four now?) continue to tell the world we are a bunch of rank amateurs putting out crap. Yet for every mistake I find in an indie book, I find ten more in the big publishers' books. But that doesn't let us off the hook. Not at all.

We have a responsibility to police not only our own products, but the products of our fellow authors/publishers. It's important we strive for perfection.

At least that's what I'm doing. If you find a problem in my books, let me know and I'll fix them. If you like, I'll send you an autographed, personalized copy of the "fixed" ebook. I strive for perfection. I'll always fall short, but I'm doing my best.

Cheers.

Essay--Thoughts on the Rider

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:59:16 +0000

Tonight I "finished" my latest book: The Rider. It's cowritten with Scott Sigler and takes place in his universe. But why did I say "finished?" Well, there's a lot of work to do. This is merely "my" first draft. It has to be worked on by the other author.

That said, this one was like giving birth. It's not every day that a very successful NYT Author asks me to write a book in his GFL Universe. Some have, but not many. To my knowledge, there are 5 of us that were invited to write novellas for a few characters that show up in his stories.

My task, however, wasn't to flesh out a major character. Instead, my task was to take an extremely minor character and his sport, and transform it into a novella. The sport? Oh, boy, it's a doozie. If you're a regular reader of Scott Sigler's, you'll know after you read/listen to "The All-Pro." And if you don't, you should get your hands on all the Galactic Football League books, even if you don't like sports, because they're hard sci-fi and the worlds are brilliant.

Because I have so much respect for his stories and accomplishments, the last thing I wanted to do was submit something subpar. I struggled and struggled to build a character and his world that would give Scott's readers the experience they deserve and the quality they expect. For someone who's dreadfully insecure about their skills, this is terrifying.

When I finished writing the last sentence of the last chapter, I tweeted. I facebooked. And then...well... I panicked.

I immediately started going through the novel with a comb. I scanned through it, made a few corrections in each chapter, and kept going. Then I stared at it. Then I asked it questions. Then I walked away.

It was done. I was done. It's the first draft! It's not the last! If it sucks, I'll get a chance to fix it! Or will I?

When you're asked to write something for someone, it's more terrifying than writing something for yourself. It just is. It's worse when someone else went to the trouble of dreaming up a universe and then asking you to contribute.

I haven't submitted a story for an anthology or for publication in forever. It's doubtful I'll ever do so since I handle my own work. But if you're working with a publisher, you usually submit a query, wait for them to agree to look at the book, and then send the book. If you're querying to see if someone wants to PAY you to write the book, and they accept, you're on the hook to provide a quality product you haven't yet created.

All this panic is to be ignored, I know. But it does mean a lot to me. And until the book is published and a success, I'm going to continue biting my nails. I hope it meets Dark Øverlord Media's expectations and I really hope it meets yours.

Until then, however, I have more writing to do in MY universe. And I'm getting back to that right now.

Tony Downs--AfterImage-2

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 16:03:35 +0000

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MERRY FIENDMAS!

It's day 6 of Fiendmas. Which means it's time for Episode 2 of "After Image."

This story is available as an unabridged ebook from all major e-tailers.

Tony Downs--AfterImage-1

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:53:18 +0000

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It's day 5 of Fiendmas. Which means it's time for Episode 1 of "After Image."

This story is available as an unabridged ebook from all major e-tailers.

Tony Downs--The Hunt-3

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 16:00:18 +0000

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It's day 4 of Fiendmas. Which means it's time for Episode 3 of "The Hunt."

This story is available as an unabridged ebook from all major e-tailers.

Tony Downs--The Hunt-2

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 13:37:52 +0000

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Tony Downs--The Hunt-1

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 01:49:44 +0000

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That's right, fiendlings. This is part 2 of your Fiendmas present, episode 1 of The Hunt.

Now, just so you know, the ebook for The Hunt is already available at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and etc. It'll be on MyWrite soon as well. Therefore, I guess I'll be an autographin' fool very soon.

Tomorrow, December 22nd, I'll release episode 2 of The Hunt, and on the 23, episode 3. Etc.

If possible, I'll get AfterImage to you on Xmas day or Xmas eve. Why? Because I spoil you, dammit.

If you have audio comments, complaints, etc, I'd love to hear them. Record and send them to paul@shadowpublications.com or leave comments at Shadowpublications.com or even on the Shadow Fans facebook group.

All right, enough of that. Let's meet Tony Downs and pretend we don't really know him from Closet Treats or Tattoo. Well, pretend anyway.

Mimes--WTF Made You Write This?

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:08:33 +0000

If you've listened to Mimes, you might be wondering...WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM?

I don't normally write to prompts. It's one of the reasons I guess I'll never be part of those Iron Chef writing competitions. When I spend so much time wandering around the four series I have going, how could I possibly write something that came from someone else?

At Mile-Hi Con last year, I was having a drink with Amanda Kimmerly and Robert Stikmanz of Confabule.com. I can't remember what led to the discussion, but we were talking about traffic and clowns and what not. Rob finally stared me in the eye and dared me to write a story about mimes. Psychotic nasty mimes.

The story lay in my brain for quite some time. All sorts of crazed ideas festered and rotted. I spent time researching the history of clowns and the art of pantomime. The more I looked at things, the less sense they made. I put the story in the back of my mind and forgot about it.

When Rob and Amanda approached me about the 3000 Weeks Project, the first thing that jumped to my mind was the story about mimes. They wanted something new and original from me. And what the hell, I wanted to write a new Fiends-like tale. So I buckled down and started working on it.

I was interrupted by Scrolls, by my work on The Rider, and some really crazy weeks at work. But the story finally came around and smashed me in the head. Until I needed to find an ending... Sigh.

One fateful night, I told the Fiendmistress I was stuck. I told her the basic gist of the story and then...fireworks. "It's a Paul Cooley tale. Obviously, he's going to turn into a mime."

Bang. Boom. Cue nuclear explosion.

The story wrote itself after that. And I finished the last 2200 words in a blinding sprint. It's been years since I've felt that crazed about finishing a story. It was wonderful.

I don't write stories about zombies, or infections, or whatever you want to call it. But I loved the idea of crowds of creepy things chasing a person. Mimes is a one-off. It's not a fiends tale, really. It's more of a horror story that I've written out of love and lust for trying something new. Hopefully you enjoyed listening to it as much as I enjoyed producing it.

So do me a favor. Go visit Confabule.com and check out the rest of the artists and writers involved in the 3000 Weeks Project. Give some cash and get some good stuff. After all, inspiration comes from strange places. And Rob and Amanda are two of the most wonderfully strange people I know.

Cheers.

Fiends--Mimes

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 02:26:28 +0000

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It's Xmas time. That means it's time for me to start delivering your presents. The first is a Fiends tale called "Mimes." And no clowning around, it's pretty nasty. It's also part of the Confabule.com 3000 Weeks Project and will be included in the book of collected stories and artwork for the project. If you are interested, you can donate to the project at their website or using the donation doo-dad on the right.

Hope y'all enjoy.

How do you measure success?

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:23:03 +0000

An interesting question was posed on this week's "The Dead Robots' Society." As 2012 is currently rolling into 2013, we asked ourselves what our achievements were for the year. "Do you think you were succesful" was followed by writing, business, whatever.

I read the question as "do you feel successful as a writer." And it made me think a bit.

Since I started releasing my fiction via podcast and then selling a hardcover and many e-books, I've made less money off my writing than I usually make in three days of contract work. And that was at my old, very expensive rate. Yes, it's all relative. I know.

So why the hell do I spend all these hours writing, podcasting, editing, conversing, and etc? Why would anyone work so damned hard for so little money?

I guess because I enjoy it.

Let me level with you. Thousands of folks have downloaded my books via podcast. The vast, and I mean vast, majority didn't purchase the hardcover of Fiends. BTW--if you're looking for signed, limited edition copy of said book, please visit my store. They didn't purchase it for one reason or another. Probably because I was charging too much money for what is essentially a collector's item. Or maybe because they didn't know if was for sale? Possibly because they simply couldn't afford it. So was all the money, time, and risk spent frivilously? Was it a failure?

How come I haven't sold millions of ebooks? Should I feel I have failed because Garaaga's Children, that I thought was a sure thing, hasn't managed to take off like a fighter jet? Was all that effort, the writing, the research, the editing, the podcasting, and etc, simply wasted? How I can possibly feel I've achieved anything less than 0 when I haven't even recouped the cost of a professional editor and artist for nearly every one of my books?

I'll be honest. I put way more effort into what I do than what I'll probably ever get out of it. At least monetarily speaking. I know this. I know the chances of me making a living at this are probably worse than purchasing that big jackpot lotto ticket.

There are better writers out there. I know several of them. There are stories that are much more satisfying than the ones I write. I read them. There are characters, settings, and plots much more complicated than anything I can dream up. Yup, very well understood.

So what have I achieved?

I'm a writer again. It gives me pleasure. I can act in front of the microphone, bringing my characters and story to life, and it makes me happy. I'm not as popular on the podcast circuit as I once was, but I have lots of listeners. and therefore my words are reaching them. As long as I have listeners, I'll keep podcasting, because that in itself is an achivement.

It took much longer than I'd planned to write Scrolls. I can write an entire essay on why that was, but trust me, it was extremely difficult to finish. But I did it. And the comments I've received tell me I hit the mark. I count that as a great success.

I'm almost finished with the first draft of The Rider, which is my very first science fiction novella. Getting asked by Dark Øverlord Media, by the FDØ himself, in fact, to write a novel in the GFL universe was a huge achievement.

In addition, I'm now part of The Dead Robots' Society which I consider a great honor. But don't tell Justin I said that. I didn't ask to be part of the show, I was asked. Either Justin and Terry are insane, or they think I add something to the show. Yeah, I know, they're crazy.

Basically, this year has been chock full of personal achievements. Money has not been one of them and that will either come or it won't. I work hard at what I do and I'm constantly trying to improve myself. Perhaps one day I'll figure out how to make decent money doing this. Until then, I'll just keep writing, podcasting, coding, and etc.

You keep listening, I'll keep podcasting. You keep reading, I'll keep writing. There are many more stories for me to tell. Stay tuned while I bang them out.

Cheers.

Interview--Confabule And The 3000 Weeks Project

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:05:34 +0000

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I sat down with my friends Robert Stikmanz and Amanda Kimmerly to discuss Confabule and the 3000 Weeks Project. Rob and Amanda are creators of great fiction, poetry, and music and are probably the most artistic folks I know. In addition, they have created a new language both in speech and writing. "Dvarsh" is the key language of Rob's fantastic world chronicled in his novels.

I contiributed my new Fiends' tale, "Mimes," to the project and hope you will donate.

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Essay-- Enter Tony Downs

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:02:45 +0000

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A few thoughts about Tony Downs and my most recent e-book releases "The Hunt" and "After Image".

The ebooks are available from Amazon, Smashwords, and BN.com

The Hunt:

After Image:

Music by Nine Nails from their album "The Slip." Please visit their site at NIN.com

Essay--When The Story Ends

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:55:54 +0000

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Just a few thoughts on what happens when a story ends.

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-11

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:45:15 +0000

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Here it is, fiendlings, the final episode of Scrolls.

There will be a Q&A episode at the end of November, so get your Garaaga's related questions to me via stories@shadowpublications.com, on twitter, facebook, or by carrier pigeon. I'll also take audio comments/questions so send those too.

Be sure and take a gander at John Mierau's "Walk The Fire" series.

Scrolls:

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Purchase the Garaaga Ebook bundle from BackMyBook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-10

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 15:09:00 +0000

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Here it is, fiendlings. Scrolls, episode 10.

Be sure and take a gander at John Mierau's "Walk The Fire" series.

Scrolls:

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Purchase the Garaaga Ebook bundle from BackMyBook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-09

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:56:14 +0000

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Here it is, fiendlings. Scrolls, episode 9.

Be sure and take a gander at Scott Roche's Kickstarter Project "Way of the gun"

Scrolls:

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Purchase the Garaaga Ebook bundle from BackMyBook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

The Dead Robots' Society--Wrangling The Muse

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:47:34 +0000

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Justin Macumber, Dave Robison and I discuss the terrible things we do to our inner children.

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-08

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:22:16 +0000

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Here it is, fiendlings. Scrolls, episode 8.

Be sure and take a gander at Scott Roche's Kickstarter Project "Way of the gun"

Scrolls:

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Purchase the Garaaga Ebook bundle from BackMyBook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-07

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:57:49 +0000

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Here it is, fiendlings. Scrolls, episode 7.

Be sure and take a gander at Scott Roche's Kickstarter Project "Way of the gun"

Scrolls:

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Purchase the Garaaga Ebook bundle from BackMyBook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-06

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:12:02 +0000

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Here it is, fiendlings. Scrolls, episode 6.

Be sure and take a gander at Scott Roche's Kickstarter Project "Way of the gun"

Scrolls:

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Purchase the Garaaga Ebook bundle from BackMyBook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-05

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:27:54 +0000

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Yes, it's late. My apologies. But here's Episode 5 of Scrolls!

Scrolls:

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Purchase the Garaaga Ebook bundle from BackMyBook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

The Dead Robots' Society--Kill Em All

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:06:22 +0000

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This week the robots discuss the topic of killing off characters. Whether they’re primary or a bit player, characters are going to die, but the real questions are when, why, and is it a good idea? We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-04

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 12:15:06 +0000

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Hello, fiendlings. This is episode 4 of Scrolls.

Be sure and check out John Mierau's book "Subversion: Enemy Lines Book 1".

Scrolls:

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Purchase the Garaaga Ebook bundle from BackMyBook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-03

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:07:00 +0000

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Hello, fiendlings. This is episode 3 of Scrolls.

Be sure and check out John Mierau's book "Subversion: Enemy Lines Book 1".

Scrolls:

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

DRS Episode 239 – Déjà Vu All Over Again With Recurring Characters

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 03:54:55 +0000

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Terry Mixon and I talk about writing serial fiction and how to carry characters and plots through many books.

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-02

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 03:58:48 +0000

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Hello, fiendlings. This is episode 2 of Scrolls. This means, of course, it's time to get back to Herodot and Alexandria. Enjoy!

Available as a full, unabridged audiobook at Backmybook.com.

Download Promo

Buy the ebook now from:

Amazon.com

BN.com

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls-01

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 16:36:41 +0000

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FIENDLINGS! This is episode 01 of Scrolls, book 4 of the Garaaga's Children series. Visit ancient Egypt in the year 48 BCE during the Ptolemic war. The story takes place at the Library of Alexandria and will tie up some "loose ends" from the previous stories ("The Last Hunter", "Keepers", and "Interlopers"). I promise it's going to leave you asking even more questions. Why? Because I have a plan and you're just going to have to wait until it's done, dammit.

Scrolls is already available via ebook at Amazon.com, BN.com, and Smashwords.com for $2.99.

The unabridged audiobook will be available later today at BackMyBook.com. Ebook bundles will also be available there. If you're interested in the bundles, please do not purchase the ebooks until they're available at the store. If you do purchase them and want to purchase the bundle later, I'll accept a receipt from ya and give you a discount on the bundles.

As always, comments, threats, and etc are welcome here at Shadowpublications.com. Hope you enjoy!

Cheers.

Infocast--2012-08-22--Scrolls Release!

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 02:35:16 +0000

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August 30th 2012, Scrolls, the fourth book in the Garaaga's Children series goes on-sale at Amazon.com, BN.com, Smashwords.com, and Backmybook.com. On August 30th, visit shadowpublications.com to find the links to purchase the audiobook or the ebook.

STAY TUNED!

The Dead Robots' Society--A "Pilgrimage" with Matthew Wayne Selznik

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 13:07:31 +0000

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The Dead Robots' Society had a chance to catch up with Matthew Wayne Selznik and discuss his kickstarter campaign for a sequal to his ground-breaking podio-novel "Brave Men Run." Give a listen.

The Kill Shelter

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 21:19:43 +0000

I am the FiendMaster. I write stories about mentally deranged killers, psychotic but sympathetic people, dark gods, and doomed people. But these are fiction. And while this little essay might damage my rep, as it were, I need to rant.

Because my wife made the mistake of seeing the picture of a doomed dog, we visited the Montgomery County Animal Shelter back in May. This is a KILL shelter. It's a place where pets either get adopted, or are ultimately put to death. I really can't put it more plainly than that.

The people there work hard to find adoptive parents, foster parents, and other places to send cats and dogs. However, with the economic downturn and people generally being irresponsible, the animal shelter is overcrowded. Dangerously so.

Most of the dogs are two to a pen. Sometimes three. This isn't intentional. This is less than optimal. And the people who work at the shelter are miserable about the choices they have to make.

While we were waiting to see Luna (a moon-colored pit bull mix), ten puppies (yes TEN!) were brought in. All from the same litter. All very cute, quiet, and desperate for attention.

I watched the following occur. The shelter director picked up each puppy and examined it. "No," she said and put it aside. Next. "Yes," she said with a glimmer of a smile. Then the word "no" was rapidly repeated.

The volunteers have to look at each animal, and based on its coloring, face, and breed, decide whether or not it even has a chance of being adopted. Yes, that's right. Nothing about their temperament. Nothing about whether or not they'll be a great companion for someone. It's all about looks. Cute dogs get adopted. Ugly dogs or those with any kind of deformity are doomed. Their corpses will end up in a crematorium and turned to smoke and ash.

The dog we ended up adopting is sweet, beautiful, and desperate to please us. No one would adopt her because she's a pit-bull mix. No one wanted to take the chance on her. It's only due to the fact that I'm a pushover and my wife is too that we ended up taking this dog into our home.

We don't know who the fuck abused her or ended up bringing her to the shelter or why. We only know this dog was slated for the kill floor. And all because some dipshit motherfucking worthless piece of so-called human garbage didn't spay/neuter her parents.

That's right. I'm not blaming the shelter. I'm not blaming the fine volunteers there who PLEAD for people to take these wonderful animals. They care. They care more than you can imagine and I know every one of them must cry in their dreams for the things they have to do. Imagine being in that position, knowing that every animal you feed and give love to could be slated for death the next day. I can't really imagine a more thankless and terrible vocation.

The shelter used to pass off animals they could save to the SPCA non-kill shelter. But guess what? Because of dip-shit worthless pieces of human garbage that won't be responsible with their pets, those shelters are full. Period.

If an animal doesn't get fostered, or adopted, it will be destroyed. Montgomery County is so full that the shelters won't even TALK to vets about animals that get dropped off at their offices. There is simply no fucking room. Anywhere.

So what's my point? You. You! My Fiendlings, be responsible. Get your goddamned cat or dog neutered/spayed. Don't breed 'em. Don't sell puppies/kitties by the side of the road. When you don't sell 'em, where do they end up? As strays destined to either be roadkill or end up in a kill-shelter. Do they deserve it? What if your parents put you up for adoption and after a short period of time, you were to be killed through no fault of your own because no one wanted you?

It's absolutely inhuman. There are so many worthy pets out there waiting for you. Don't buy 'em. Don't seek out puppy mills or those assholes at the pet stores. Go to a shelter. Choose a friend. (S)he might be older than a puppy. (S)he might not be as cute as that pure-bred you saw the other day. But you know what? I bet (S)he'll be a better dog.

We have rescued two cats and two dogs now. It's too early for me to tell you what Luna will be like in the long-run, but thus far, she is my friend. She is my new baby. And no one is taking her back to a shelter. No one is going to hurt her. We'll save her, reclaim her, and give her the future and love she deserved.

Do the same for your pets. Be responsible or don't get a pet at all because you obviously don't want one. If you're not willing to put in the time, find a home for them, not the shelter. I understand people get pets, develop allergies, have to move, etc. But do your absolute best to ensure they don't end up in the doggie/kittie concentration camp. Otherwise, a fiend may come knocking on your door.

The Pricing Experiment

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 21:10:24 +0000

I recently ran an experiment for my ebooks to see how pricing affected sales. And no, this is probably not the first rant you've heard regarding this. But I have some interesting data now.

First off, I was told by another author that I was selling myself short on my ebooks. While I won't say which author this was, I will say this person specializes in selling erotica fiction.

At his suggestion, I raised my prices and sold Closet Treats for $5.99, Tattoo, Interlopers, and Lovers for 3.99, Legends for 2.99 and Fiendlettes for 1.99.

What happened? A serious drop in sales across the board. Tattoo, my most popular title, was selling 15-20 copies per month rather steadily. Since the change, it has sold 5 copies. 5. In 2 months.

Closet Treats, not a big seller anyway, sold 1 copy in 2 months.

The Garaaga's Children series? Legends sold 2 copies. Lovers 1, Legends 1, and Fiendlettes 1.

That's in 2 months, folks. That's pathetic. Truly pathetic.

Now this is across all markets. Smashwords, BN, Amazon, iBooks, etc.

What I've realized is that while Amazon is by far the most lucrative marketplace, it is completely flooded by free KDP Select titles and lower priced ebooks. This makes it very difficult to compete, regardless of the quality of your writing.

Couple that with the fact that I'm terrible at marketing and that I write in genres that aren't the most popular, and it's a perfect storm of fail. In other words, the experiment was a complete disaster.

So I'm lowering my prices again and praying I get back to sales. Also, the fact I'm not getting many reviews for the ebooks is further damaging my ability to attract new readers.

Closet Treats is back to $4.99. Lovers, Interlopers, and Tattoo are back to 2.99, Legends at 1.99 and Fiendlettes to .99 cents. When I release Scrolls, I'll price it the same as Lovers, Interlopers, and Tattoo, even though it's a much longer work. Why? Well, because some sales are better than none.

I used to be able to at least pay for some beer at the end of the month with my sales. Now I can't even afford a snickers bar.

One wonders what would happen if I lowered all my book prices to $1.99 (yes, even the novels) and see how fast they would sell. But I'm dubious. I write horror and dark fantasy, and not tropish stuff. No vampires, no zombies, no werewolves, no dashing babe or dude on the cover looking all broodish and buxomy.

I'm in a difficult market. I realize that. And these are the stories I've chosen to tell. They either sell or they don't and they're either good or they aren't.

However, there's a lot of luck involved here as well as marketing expertise that I'm simply inept at cultivating. So I'm still in murky waters. You'd figure that after 2 years I'd be an expert at all these things. But no matter how good of a book I write, or its cover, layout, or quality, there's still something ephemeral that I just can't seem to capture.

Anyway, just thought I'd let that out there and share my experience. If you have ideas on how to improve my marketing or hell, even my stories, please let me know. I appreciate your patronage and know I have a very loyal and wonderful following. I'll keep writing. Y'all keep listening and reading.

Cheers.

The Dead Robots' Society--A Game Of Dead Robots

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 03:25:44 +0000

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We at The Dead Robots' Society have reviewed The Game Of Thrones. Find out what we thought and then feel free to send us hate mail.

Garaaga's Children--Scrolls Cover

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:49:58 +0000

Take a look at this, Fiendlings, and tell me it's not f'ing beautiful.

Starla Huchton did an excellent job on it and I can't WAIT to put this puppy out as podiobook, audiobook, and e-book. Will be fantastic.

Thanks again, Starla for a great job.

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The Dead Robots' Society--When Get Up and Go Got Up And Went

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:10:06 +0000

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Yes, another episode of The Dead Robots'. Want to know how we deal with getting ourselves to write? Take a listen. Enjoy!

The Dead Robots' Society--The Writing Process

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:08:05 +0000

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Well, it's that time again. I was on The Dead Robots' Society again and we talked about the writing process.

Enjoy!

A Call to Fiendlings! Write Reviews and Get Something Special

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 19:28:20 +0000

This is a call to arms! For all you Fiendlings that have listened to my free podcasts, enjoyed them, bought and read the books, I ask you to help me get some traction in the ebook markets. Here's what we need to do to spread the gospel of the Fiendmaster far and wide.

I need you to write reviews for Closet Treats, Tattoo, Fiendlettes, and the Garaaga's Children series. Now here's the thing. I'm going to reward you. For each book review you write, send me a link to the review to storiesATshadowpublications.com. For each review, you will get that ebook, personalized and autographed via MyWrite straight to your in-box.

You read the book. You know better than anyone else if you liked it, or didn't, and what you'd tell someone to get them interested in it. If you liked Closet Treats? Write a review for the ebook and you'll get the autographed ebook in your in-box FOR FREE!

Now, I want you fiendlings to be honest. If you didn't read the book, don't review it.

In addition to getting those books for FREE, I'll also send you a personalized copy of Garaaga's Children: Legends. Legends was just released so I doubt many of you have purchased it yet. But I also need your help to get that one on track.

I'll sign/personalize these ebooks any way you want (within reason) and it'll be a nice thang for your e-reader to have. In addition, I enccourage you to SHARE your e-books! Help others find the gospel according to the Fiendmaster.

I appreciate everything my readers/listeners have done for me. Don't want to participate? No harm, no foul. Any help you can give me in getting some traction is greatly appreciated.

Take care. Your Xmas gift is in being written right now...

Cheers.

AMAZON Author Central Page

BN Books (ignore the River Witch)

SMASHWORDS

Smashwords.com July MADNESS!

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:58:23 +0000

It's July and in conjunction with a special Smashwords.com offering, I've made all my ebooks 50% off. That's right, you go here, select any/all of my ebooks you like, and use the code "SSW50" to save 50% off the cover price. So if you've been waiting to get your grubby little claws on ebook copies of any of my works, go to Smashwords.com and getcha some.

Cheers.

The FiendMaster gets Interviewed By Scott Pond

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 03:44:10 +0000

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Good friend of the show, Scott Pond, interviewed me at Balticon in May 2012. He asked some damned good questions and I think I might have even managed some salient answers. Give a listen and go show Scott some love.

Thanks to Scott for letting me link to his feed and for giving me the opportunity to further expand my already bloated ego.

The Dead Robots' Society--The Pros of Cons

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:11:16 +0000

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On the latest episode of The Dead Robots Society, we discuss Balticon and cons in general. Enjoy!

Scrolls--Progress Report

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:09:01 +0000

It's time for a little update.

Those of you who listened to the "Marker" reading from Balticon know that I hoped to have "Scrolls" done in June. Well, I've finished the first draft and I'm doing my best to get the tome ready for professional editing by the end of the month. As soon as it's somewhat put to bed, I'll start working on the last of the Garaaga's Children: Ancients volume with "Ama".

I expect "Ama" will write itself fairly quickly and it should be a treat for those of you familiar with The Fiends universe. I will keep you up to date on progress and I promise to get back to podcasting on a more regular basis assuming I get my voice back under control.

My offer for free e-book copies of my work in exchange for reviews is on-going. And, in fact, this will probably be the norm from now until doomsday. Bascially, I'll always show my appreciation for your time and patronage. If you have other ideas for contests and giveaways, please leave comments in the blog. Also, if you have questions about what's going on, feel free to add 'em. I'll respond to them best I can.

In the meantime, try and take care of yourselves. We'll talk again real soon.

Cheers.

2012 Balticon Reading of "Marker"

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Thu, 31 May 2012 03:56:49 +0000

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Fiendlings! Please find enclosed 30 mins of insanity. Oh, and you're welcome.

This presentation is copyright 2012 by Paul Elard Cooley.

Visit shadowpublications.com for more free stories as well as my rant casts.

    Contact me at:

        * stories@shadowpublications.com
        * twitter: http://twitter.com/paul_e_cooley
        * facebook: http://facebook.com/paul.e.cooley



          This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

The FiendMaster Gets Clipped

stories@shadowpublications.com (Paul Elard Cooley) — Wed, 23 May 2012 03:02:39 +0000

Well, it's been a little over 3 years since I got clipped. No, my HAIR you dirty fiendling. The FiendMistress and I documented the process and here the pics to prove it.

BEFORE...

DURING...

AFTER...

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