Nan Hawthorne has joined Speak Its Name and her review of Pirates of the Narrow Seas 3 : Iron Men just appeared.
"Like the first two novels, number three is full of exciting sea battles, with nautical detail that provides a backdrop without leaving you feeling like you missed something, cleverly imagined and written. Thorton is an unusual protagonist — he is not the preternaturally gorgeous and heroic seafaring man, but instead a refreshingly human, flawed but earnest striver."
Read the complete review at: http://speakitsname.com/2012/01/03/review-pirates-of-the-narrow-seas-iii-iron-men-by-m-kei/
Showing posts with label PoNS 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PoNS 3. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Saturday, October 15, 2011
PoNS Second Edition complete
Over the summer I revamped covers, corrected typos (no matter how you proofread, you always find one of the devils after you go to print), and switched to a better printer that publishes the books on better quality paper with better binding. The resulting books are a definite upgrade from the former printer. The second editions are on an orangish background. There are a few first editions lingering at Amazon.com, which will probably confuse anyone who searches for Pirates of the Narrow Seas, but the second editions are the way to pay if you're buying paperbacks.
Also note, that although the books are available through Amazon.com, the author receives more money if you shop direct from the printer:
PoNS 1 : The Sallee Rovers https://www.createspace.com/3664325
PoNS 2 : Men of Honor https://www.createspace.com/3663702
PoNS 3 : Iron Men https://www.createspace.com/3663650
PoNS 4 : Heart of Oak https://www.createspace.com/3652763
Thank you for your support. I love hearing from my readers.
~K~
Also note, that although the books are available through Amazon.com, the author receives more money if you shop direct from the printer:
PoNS 1 : The Sallee Rovers https://www.createspace.com/3664325
PoNS 2 : Men of Honor https://www.createspace.com/3663702
PoNS 3 : Iron Men https://www.createspace.com/3663650
PoNS 4 : Heart of Oak https://www.createspace.com/3652763
Thank you for your support. I love hearing from my readers.
~K~
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Win a Free Copy of PoNS 3 : Iron Men
http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/2011/10/01/bristlecone-pine-press-%E2%80%9Cfree%E2%80%9D-book-%E2%80%93-october-1/
Jessewave reviews is offering a free book giveaway of Pirates of the Narrow Seas 3 : Iron Men. See the webpage above for details.
Happy reading.
~K~
Jessewave reviews is offering a free book giveaway of Pirates of the Narrow Seas 3 : Iron Men. See the webpage above for details.
Happy reading.
~K~
Monday, September 5, 2011
Vixenne's review of The Sallee Rovers
"I literally devoured this seafaring adventure epic in one sitting and am in the middle of the second novel of the series." -- Vixenne
Read the rest at: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/134196151
Vixenne on Goodreads has just posted a review of The Sallee Rovers. It's a wonderful review, not just because she likes the book, but because she gives enough information for the reader to know what the books about and why she likes it, instead of just giving her opinion. She also a fan of nautical fiction, and it's especially gratifying to win the approval of somebody that is also a fan of Hornblower, Master and Commander, and other classics of the genre.
As an independent author, I don't expect to get rich (although I'd love it if I did! then I could do nothing but sail and write), I just want people to read and enjoy my stories. Fan feedback makes it all worth while.
On related notes, PoNS 3 : Iron Men ebook has started showing up in retail markets, so hopefully will appear on Kindle very soon. I have no idea when PoNS 4 : Heart of Oak will appear in ebook.
I have also started writing the next book: Man in the Crescent Moon, which can be read independently of Pirates of the Narrow Seas. It is the story of the most notorious of rovers, Captain Tangle. It will take me a long time to write it because it's a complicated thing to write someone's backstory, but just to give you a tease, it starts off with a gawky, sexually inexperienced, nineteen year old Isam al-Tangueli. An orphan, he sails with his uncle, Halim Rais of the Many Daughters. Halim Rais has been blessed by Allah with nineteen daughters, but no sons. He intends to make young Isam his heir, only to find out that he's gay . . .
If you ever wondered how Captain Tangle wound up as the man he is, Man in the Crescent Moon will tell the story. Sadly, I expect it will take at least a year to write it. I have barely started.
~K~
Read the rest at: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/134196151
Vixenne on Goodreads has just posted a review of The Sallee Rovers. It's a wonderful review, not just because she likes the book, but because she gives enough information for the reader to know what the books about and why she likes it, instead of just giving her opinion. She also a fan of nautical fiction, and it's especially gratifying to win the approval of somebody that is also a fan of Hornblower, Master and Commander, and other classics of the genre.
As an independent author, I don't expect to get rich (although I'd love it if I did! then I could do nothing but sail and write), I just want people to read and enjoy my stories. Fan feedback makes it all worth while.
On related notes, PoNS 3 : Iron Men ebook has started showing up in retail markets, so hopefully will appear on Kindle very soon. I have no idea when PoNS 4 : Heart of Oak will appear in ebook.
I have also started writing the next book: Man in the Crescent Moon, which can be read independently of Pirates of the Narrow Seas. It is the story of the most notorious of rovers, Captain Tangle. It will take me a long time to write it because it's a complicated thing to write someone's backstory, but just to give you a tease, it starts off with a gawky, sexually inexperienced, nineteen year old Isam al-Tangueli. An orphan, he sails with his uncle, Halim Rais of the Many Daughters. Halim Rais has been blessed by Allah with nineteen daughters, but no sons. He intends to make young Isam his heir, only to find out that he's gay . . .
If you ever wondered how Captain Tangle wound up as the man he is, Man in the Crescent Moon will tell the story. Sadly, I expect it will take at least a year to write it. I have barely started.
~K~
Monday, January 24, 2011
PoNS 3 : Iron Men 'Recommended Reading' by Astrodene
Astrodene's Historic Naval Fiction has just posted a short review of Pirates of the Narrow Seas 3 : Iron Men.
"I enjoy following the exploits of these characters in what is another good swashbuckling naval novel and I look forward to the next book in the series. Recommended reading."~Astrodene
Read the complete review at: http://www.historicnavalfiction.com/index.php/general-hnf-info/book-reviews/1683-astrodene-review-iron-men-by-m-kei
"I enjoy following the exploits of these characters in what is another good swashbuckling naval novel and I look forward to the next book in the series. Recommended reading."~Astrodene
Read the complete review at: http://www.historicnavalfiction.com/index.php/general-hnf-info/book-reviews/1683-astrodene-review-iron-men-by-m-kei
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A Sneak Peak at PoNS 3 and PoNS 4
http://bookworld.editme.com/kujakupoet
I've been at work most of the day sprucing up and improving my author pages at the GLBT Bookshelf. I have added thumbnails for all the ebok covers now, including the thumbnail of the cover for PoNS 3 : Iron Men. Although it is not yet out in ebook format, the cover is done, and the manuscript is at the coder, so I'm hoping it will be out in time for Christmas.
As usual, the ebook cover was done by Alex Beecroft. She found the image that is used on the cover and I'm very happy with it because it shows a Western sword side by side with a Turkish sword. To see the cover, visit the link above, choose PoNS 3 : Iron Men, and scroll down. Sadly, since it's not yet available for Kindle, the link won't take you anywhere, but it's coming. Eventually.
And speaking of 'eventually,' I've made progress with PoNS 4 : Hearts of Oak. I've hit chapter 33 of the draft, so we are now in the home stretch where I get to juggle all the pieces to make them come together and give a satisfying conclusion.
There is a new character introduced in PoNS 4 : Hearts of Oak, a 'bonny lighthorseman,' as the song puts it. He was inspired by a friend, Luc Alexander, the artist who retouched the cover of the paperback for PoNS 1 to give it a purple Sallee flag )not to be confused with Alex Beecroft, the ebook cover artist). Alex (the former) is a great fan of Hussars, and I have acquired the addiction from him.
The following artwork by French painter Gericault (famous for 'The Raft of the Medusa') depicts a chasseur, or French lighthorseman: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/GericaultHorseman.jpg. This image was the inspiration for the character of Colonel Jan Karolyi, the Hungarian Hussar in PoNS 4.
The following image is a portrait of Lord Paget, who was commander of the King's Own Hussars during the Battle of Waterloo: http://fr.academic.ru/pictures/frwiki/72/Henry_William_Paget00a.jpg. He lost his leg in battle, and because he was such a handsome and popular man, it inspired advances in prosthetic technology to equip him with a prosthetic limb that would allow him to walk naturally. His leg went on to have an independent career: it was publicly exhibited for money in France for some years afterwards.
I've been at work most of the day sprucing up and improving my author pages at the GLBT Bookshelf. I have added thumbnails for all the ebok covers now, including the thumbnail of the cover for PoNS 3 : Iron Men. Although it is not yet out in ebook format, the cover is done, and the manuscript is at the coder, so I'm hoping it will be out in time for Christmas.
As usual, the ebook cover was done by Alex Beecroft. She found the image that is used on the cover and I'm very happy with it because it shows a Western sword side by side with a Turkish sword. To see the cover, visit the link above, choose PoNS 3 : Iron Men, and scroll down. Sadly, since it's not yet available for Kindle, the link won't take you anywhere, but it's coming. Eventually.
And speaking of 'eventually,' I've made progress with PoNS 4 : Hearts of Oak. I've hit chapter 33 of the draft, so we are now in the home stretch where I get to juggle all the pieces to make them come together and give a satisfying conclusion.
There is a new character introduced in PoNS 4 : Hearts of Oak, a 'bonny lighthorseman,' as the song puts it. He was inspired by a friend, Luc Alexander, the artist who retouched the cover of the paperback for PoNS 1 to give it a purple Sallee flag )not to be confused with Alex Beecroft, the ebook cover artist). Alex (the former) is a great fan of Hussars, and I have acquired the addiction from him.
The following artwork by French painter Gericault (famous for 'The Raft of the Medusa') depicts a chasseur, or French lighthorseman: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/GericaultHorseman.jpg. This image was the inspiration for the character of Colonel Jan Karolyi, the Hungarian Hussar in PoNS 4.
The following image is a portrait of Lord Paget, who was commander of the King's Own Hussars during the Battle of Waterloo: http://fr.academic.ru/pictures/frwiki/72/Henry_William_Paget00a.jpg. He lost his leg in battle, and because he was such a handsome and popular man, it inspired advances in prosthetic technology to equip him with a prosthetic limb that would allow him to walk naturally. His leg went on to have an independent career: it was publicly exhibited for money in France for some years afterwards.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Perils of Self-Publishing
Long term readers of this site are probably aware of the trials and tribulations I have undergone in the attempt to publish Pirates of the Narrow Seas, but newcomers may be confused. To answer the recent question: This is the canonical site that will stay up-to-date and supercedes all other information.
Being a micropress, I have to do all my own publicity, and that means making use of all available means to blog, review, post, share, excerpt, promote, interview, etc. That can be confusing, but if you follow this blog you'll get the important information in a timely manner. (I also recommend subscribing to Keibooks-Announce (at) googlegroups (dot) com to receive email to your inbox. This announcement-only elist published 0-5 posts per month regarding my various literary projects.)
Pirates of the Narrow Seas series (aka 'PoNS')
Book One : The Sallee Rovers (PoNS 1)
This book was originally named 'Pirates of the Narrow Seas,' but people were confused that a book and the series had the same name, so I changed it to make it clear. Thus the book is officially: Pirates of the Narrow Seas, Book One : The Sallee Rovers. That's a mouthful, so most people just call it 'Pirates of the Narrow Seas.'
Versions:
Free online: the version on this site (tweaked to fix typos, but no revisions)
Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters. If you really, REALLY love me, you will send cash in untraceable bills to my post office box.
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. This is not going as quickly as I had hoped, but I have signed off on the ebook proof, so soon?
Paperback: Amazon.com has declined to carry the series, so I have submitted to the Borg, I mean, Amazon.com, and submitted the book to their CreateSpace program in order to be able to sell it on Amazon.com. I am awaiting approval. Amazon.com only pays the author about half of what Lulu.com does, but half of something is better than all of nothing, so that's why I did it.
These versions are all the same novel, just in different formats from different sellers. Giant publishers take care of all of this stuff by themselves and the author doesn't have to worry about it and it's simpler for the reader, but giant publishers aren't interested in gay nautical fiction.
Fictionpress.com: I posted the rough draft to Fictionpress.com way back in the day when I had no thought of formally publishing it -- I just wanted people to read it and send feedback. I have left it for archival purposes and in the hopes that readers at Fictionpress.com will find their way to this site for the rest of the books.
If you are a big publishing company that wants to give me a five figure advance, please email: Keibooks (at) gmail (dot) com
Book Two : Men of Honor (PoNS 2)
Versions:
Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. Will be released this summer.
Book Three : Iron Men (PoNS 3)
Versions:
Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. Will be released this summer.
Book Four : Heart of Oak (PoNS 4)
Versions: Not yet contracted. I am going to see how the first three books do before deciding where and how to publish.
Under construction - anticipated to be available in time for Christmas. If you are a wealthy benefactor who can't wait that long, contact me.
Rumors of Hussars waltzing with naval officers during an earthquake refer to this novel. Why Hussars? See this link:
Random Excerpts
Miscellaneous excerpts are published at Goodreads.com, Astrodene's Historic Naval Fiction, the_macaronis elist, and random other locations. The excerpts are edited for brevity, so do not include all the details present in the same scene/chapter in the novels. They are teasers to entice the reader into reading the whole thing.
Promotions
Lulu.com has been having various promotions; when I become aware of them I post them to this site. During the summer of 2010, readers who purchase $20 or more can get free shipping on books through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- buy the whole series and get free shipping! That saves you some bucks. The nice thing is, Lulu.com is eating the cost and not deducting if from our author royalties. Yay!
Being a micropress, I have to do all my own publicity, and that means making use of all available means to blog, review, post, share, excerpt, promote, interview, etc. That can be confusing, but if you follow this blog you'll get the important information in a timely manner. (I also recommend subscribing to Keibooks-Announce (at) googlegroups (dot) com to receive email to your inbox. This announcement-only elist published 0-5 posts per month regarding my various literary projects.)
Pirates of the Narrow Seas series (aka 'PoNS')
Book One : The Sallee Rovers (PoNS 1)
This book was originally named 'Pirates of the Narrow Seas,' but people were confused that a book and the series had the same name, so I changed it to make it clear. Thus the book is officially: Pirates of the Narrow Seas, Book One : The Sallee Rovers. That's a mouthful, so most people just call it 'Pirates of the Narrow Seas.'
Versions:
Free online: the version on this site (tweaked to fix typos, but no revisions)
Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters. If you really, REALLY love me, you will send cash in untraceable bills to my post office box.
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. This is not going as quickly as I had hoped, but I have signed off on the ebook proof, so soon?
Paperback: Amazon.com has declined to carry the series, so I have submitted to the Borg, I mean, Amazon.com, and submitted the book to their CreateSpace program in order to be able to sell it on Amazon.com. I am awaiting approval. Amazon.com only pays the author about half of what Lulu.com does, but half of something is better than all of nothing, so that's why I did it.
These versions are all the same novel, just in different formats from different sellers. Giant publishers take care of all of this stuff by themselves and the author doesn't have to worry about it and it's simpler for the reader, but giant publishers aren't interested in gay nautical fiction.
Fictionpress.com: I posted the rough draft to Fictionpress.com way back in the day when I had no thought of formally publishing it -- I just wanted people to read it and send feedback. I have left it for archival purposes and in the hopes that readers at Fictionpress.com will find their way to this site for the rest of the books.
If you are a big publishing company that wants to give me a five figure advance, please email: Keibooks (at) gmail (dot) com
Book Two : Men of Honor (PoNS 2)
Versions:
Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. Will be released this summer.
Book Three : Iron Men (PoNS 3)
Versions:
Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. Will be released this summer.
Book Four : Heart of Oak (PoNS 4)
Versions: Not yet contracted. I am going to see how the first three books do before deciding where and how to publish.
Under construction - anticipated to be available in time for Christmas. If you are a wealthy benefactor who can't wait that long, contact me.
Rumors of Hussars waltzing with naval officers during an earthquake refer to this novel. Why Hussars? See this link:
Random Excerpts
Miscellaneous excerpts are published at Goodreads.com, Astrodene's Historic Naval Fiction, the_macaronis elist, and random other locations. The excerpts are edited for brevity, so do not include all the details present in the same scene/chapter in the novels. They are teasers to entice the reader into reading the whole thing.
Promotions
Lulu.com has been having various promotions; when I become aware of them I post them to this site. During the summer of 2010, readers who purchase $20 or more can get free shipping on books through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- buy the whole series and get free shipping! That saves you some bucks. The nice thing is, Lulu.com is eating the cost and not deducting if from our author royalties. Yay!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Pirates of the Narrow Seas to be published as e-books
I have signed a contract with Bristlecone Pine Press to produce e-books of all three Pirates of the Narrow Seas. As a consequence of that agreement, I will be pulling PoNS 2 : Men of Honor and PoNS 3 : Iron Men. Pirates of the Narrow Seas, renamed Pirates of the Narrow Seas 1 : The Sallee Rovers will remain free online.
If you're reading the books free online, you will need to hurry up and finish! Or else buy the e-books. I plan to pull them tomorrow.
~K~
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