Last week I wrote 17k and started on FEC11… by this week I’ll probably be over the past years’ wordcount, with still a few weeks to spare. I’ll keep counting next year, that’s the only thing I decided so far, since writing is still fun and the best way to cope with all this. Although I still have no idea of what I’m going to write or publish beyond what I’m currently working on and that will take me to February.

And we now have a Nightly Bites BUNDLE too! Shorter works, including Mortals Apocalypse – a short novel at 34K (or a novella if you go by SFWA standards, I remember when I tried for Tor novellas they wanted between 20K and 40K) – and other awesome books.

“The Night Killers” is actually a full novel to complete this awesome bundle! And it was on my Recommended Reading List last year, so yeah, it’s really worth checking out, LOL! A little more bang for the reader’s buck.

This bundle will have a much shorter run than usual. It used to be six months, more or less, but this will be gone after the holidays, at the start of 2021.

Also, I took out the year from the Silvery Earth Kids calendar on Zazzle, so you can now get the 2021 calendar with Torik and his friends.

Here’s the latest scandal – Audiblegate! If you’re on Audible, they are screwing you. If you’re a writer or a narrator, that is. If you’re a reader, stop returning audiobooks. In the words of my friend A.L. Butcher:

Please DO NOT just return a book you have listened to because you want something different and Audible offers an ‘exchange’ with your credit. The authors and narrators have to pay – we lose royalties – they are either recouped or taken from the next month’s royalty payment. It is NOT Amazon who take the hit on this.

In effect, you get to listen to a free title, and the authors and narrators pay you to do so.

I’m with Findaway Voices, and I got an email to inform me than I can be paid in currency other than US$ if I apply by December or something. Except I think it’s a phishing email, since I received it on my Paypal email, and the communications from them usually go to my author email.

And there’s no trace of such thing on their dashboard or on their blog, where I found out that last June they expanded their Giveaway Codes, so if anyone anywhere wants a code for Otherside, now you can redeem them! 🙂

Previously, Giveaway Codes only worked in the US, Canada, and Australia. Now, Giveaway Codes can be redeemed by listeners in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States.

If you’d like one, just drop me a line. Also, since it has become easier to generate them, I might get some also for The Hooded Man and Firebird. If anyone is interested, that is.

Authors Direct is currently only available for users on iOS and Android (non-Kindle) mobile devices.  We cannot support direct MP3 download, playback via desktop computers, etc.

Authors Direct Giveaway Codes are only for listening inside of the Authors Direct mobile apps and can only be redeemed at https://authors-direct.com/redeem/

So there, if interested, drop me a line and I’ll send a code. Also, let me know if you’re okay with Otherside or want to try any of the other two. Thanks.

Speaking of submissions to major magazines, this year I sent another story straight to Asimov, yay! I submit to them every 3 years, apparently. But this was unrelated to any series and possibly hard SF, so I decided they’d get the first shot. I’m still waiting for Strange Horizons, to whom I submitted back at the beginning of September, but I know they are backlogged.

And next week I’ll have Submission Day where I’ll send out to the Zombie Need Brains anthologies and another market! Here’s to getting another acceptance letter soon. Meanwhile, check out the Other Publications with my stories in it! 🙂

Besides Audiblegate, another “scandal” came to the forefront this week. Disney isn’t paying royalties to Alan Dean Foster. I read the novelization and its sequel (the italian versions) of Star Wars back in the early 80s, and I can’t believe what’s happening. Traditional publishers are going down the hill and big companies are screwing writers more than ever!

I’d call for a boycott, but that’s not in my nature. I stopped watching Disney movies a long time ago. I stopped watching Star Wars a long time ago too! 😉 So, do as you please, but if you’re a writer, stay away from the Mouse with your IPs. And here’s to Disney paying his due to a huge SF author like Alan Dean Foster.

And if you’re even thinking about going with a traditional publisher still (for your novels, not the short stories), please read this post by Kris Rusch. And definitely don’t tell me. I unfriended wannabe writers who boasted of their agents before. So, if you’re one of them wannabes looking for an agent and a traditional publisher, don’t tell me and leave quietly, okay? 😉 Have a great week! 😀