NOW AVAILABLE

I decided to expand my distribution, so I published all 4 books of the Sammy series on Draft2Digital. I am also going to publish some of my other eBooks on Draft2Digital as well as some audio books as soon as I have them created. I still have my eBooks available on Amazon but now they can be found in other online retailers as well. Here is a list of retailers where you can purchase eBook copies. 

• Amazon
• Apple Books      
• Barnes & Noble       
• Kobo                  
• Playster              
• Scribd                
• Tolino                      
• 24Symbols               
• OverDrive        
• bibliotheca         
• Baker & Taylor       
• Google Play Books      
• Hoopla

In addition, I am working on publishing all of my eBooks on Smashwords. Since they require different formatting than Amazon and Draft2Digital it will take a few days to get all of my books converted. The advantage of using Smashwords is that they offer a variety of eBook formats for anyone who doesn't own a Kindle. However, the only place to purchase the Kindle version will still be at Amazon. It will not be available through Smashwords or Draft2Digital.

My print versions are still at Amazon but I am looking into other POD options that offer hardback covers in addition to paperback.

LATEST UPDATE

 

I just republished all 4 books in the Sammy series. My in-depth review from OnLineBookClub found 10 grammatical errors and gave me a lower rating as a result. They also felt that a serial killer of rich women for profit in book 3 was too mature for my target audience.  I corrected all of the errors they mentioned but decided to take it one step further. 

 

I couldn't afford a professional editor so I installed Grammerly for MS Word and checked all 4 manuscripts. I used to get good grades in English classes so I was shocked when this editing program found so many grammatical errors. The main errors it found was either too many commas or not enough in the right places. It also pointed out words that were supposed to be hyphenated or the wrong word for the sentence, such as 'was' instead of 'were'. It also found words that should have been combined as one word, such as 'sea water' should be 'seawater'.

 

I already had some concerns about book 3 so I decided to change the history of the villain by using his occupation as a big game hunter. Instead of meeting a woman who became a victim, I changed it to a man who became his mentor. This new character was a big game hunter who taught the villain how to shoot and hunt big game in Africa.  When the man dies in a hunting accident my villain inherits everything and gets involved in the black market for exotic animals.

IN THE WORKS

I have several projects that are a work in progress. Right now I am trying to get my eBooks available in additional sources besides Amazon. I plan to keep my books on Amazon in both eBook and printed versions but I want to make them available on other outlets as well.

 

I will be starting book 5 of the Sammy series soon, but I also want to do a picture book series of the characters in the Sammy series. The chapter books are suitable for middle grade children but I want to introduce the younger children to the characters as well. My first book in this new series is called Walter the Dinosaur and is about half done. I also plan to do a coloring book series of the illustrations that are featured in my children's books.

 

Another project I am working on is to have the Sammy series made into either a TV series or a full length animated film. I already have an animation studio who has agreed to do the animations as soon as I get the financing. If I can get a movie or TV series done I will contact a toy manufacturer to create each of the characters. 

If you would like a Sammy T shirt this is what the front will look like. At the moment I only have white Fruit of the Loom T shirts but I can order other colors. The back has the name of the series and my email address. To order please contact me at:

 

melshorebooks99@gmail.com 

 

Please include your name, address, email, sizes and quantities. I still have a few T shirts in stock but if I have to order any T shirts to fill the order it may delay your shipment. If that happens I will notify you via email and give you an approximate date when your items will be shipped. I buy my T shirts from an online distributor so I don't have any control on when I might receive an order. Also, we can not ship to a PO box so please include your physical address.

 

The price per item is $19.95 plus shipping with a 20% discount of the purchase price if you order 5 or more. Please note that an order of 5 or more can be a mixture of sizes and/or colors and the discount does not include shipping costs.

AUDIOBOOKS

I am planning to create some audio books, starting with the Sammy series. Most likely I will narrate the books myself and once they are done they will be submitted to FindAwayVoices. They offer audio books in several outlets including libraries. Stay tuned for more information.

ONLINE BOOKCLUB REVIEW

I just got my first in-dept review and my rating was 2 stars out of 4. They deducted one star because of book 3 in the series. The reviewer was concerned that a serial killer of rich women for profit was too mature for young readers. I have rewritten that book and intend to turn the original story in book 3 into a novel with new characters. It will be published under my other pen name of Mel Shore so that everyone will know it is not a children's book. I plan to make it book 3 of my adult series called Deadly Obsession: Ladykiller. Check out my other author page under Mel Shore to learn more about the first 2 books in the series.

I am also expanding my distribution by publishing my eBooks at Draft2Digital and Smashwords. Draft2Digital has several outlets like Barnes & Noble and Kobo that are not available through Amazon. Smashwords will convert my eBooks into various digital formats for the people who don't have a Kindle. They also have outlets that are not available through Amazon. All of my books will still be available through Amazon but soon you can buy my books through other sources. My paperback books will also be published through other publishers but I haven't decided yet which ones to use. KDP does not publish hardback books so I'm looking for someone who does both paperback and hardback POD.

PODCAST UPDATE

I was supposed to record my interview on Tuesday, October 15 but there was a problem with the connection, so I was rescheduled for Wednesday, October 16. The recorded interview will be released around the holidays but I am supposed to get my own copy of the broadcast to publish myself. It is scheduled to be released to over 100 networks but I don't have any specific information of what those networks are.

I'm a Guest Speaker

I am about to record a session on Digital Dialog with hosts John Maher and Jay Matta. I don't know yet when it will be live or where it will be broadcast. We will be discussing children's books and the affect digital media has on the book industry, especially children's books. My books were written to be ideal bedtime stories you can read to your children. In fact, all of my children's books begin with a prologue about a little girl named Becky who asks her father to read her a bedtime story. In each of the prologues are facts that might not be apparent in the story. For example, Becky's father tells her the sea serpents eat fish and seaweed so that she doesn't have nightmares about a sea serpent trying to eat her.

  Stay tuned for updates.