Category: novels

Caffeine-fueled Lamentations

Posted on by thefensk

If we were having coffee I’m afraid I’d be inclined to perhaps pay a little too much attention to what you were having. 
We humans are funny about our perceptions of what we spend money on. We’ll think nothing of dropping upwards of five bucks or more on a Mocha Latte with an extra shot, sometimes every day.  Sometimes several times a day. 
Look at smokers. To them the cost of cigarettes is a given. It’s automatically on the top of the pile. That’s why you see so many panhandlers who smoke and it is no doubt a part of what keeps them on the street. The first five bucks is not going to go to booze, as you might imagine, it’s going to go to tobacco. Maybe the second five bucks will go to booze.   

Ever watch people in a bakery? You know that old saying, ‘Eating with the eyes?’ Well, that keeps the till full … “maybe one of those, oh, make it two. Oh, and a dozen doughnuts …”

I’d take a sip of my plain, small coffee and tell you, “I don’t begrudge these people their simple pleasures at all … but,” I would ask, “Why do people who have all manner of iPads, tablets, Kindles, and Nooks, balk at paying  four or five bucks for an ebook?” 

Like any artist, an author spends hours, days, weeks, months, and sometimes years sweating over their work. It’s not just books. I’ve seen people balk at the notion of buying music too, usually complaining while enjoying a high-priced coffee drink. 

Don’t get me wrong, I think ebooks should be cheaper than print books and their value should reflect the resources they save. It is an immense savings, so on the other side of the issue … when I see an ebook priced as much as a print book I wince.  

“Overpriced ebooks are part of the problem,” I’d say after another sip.

Then I would confess, “But, I actually like ebooks for general reading.”

Since I got my first electronic reader, I’ve read more books than I’ve read in years. I won’t bore you with the brand, but it’s true. The trick I found is a good case, one that opens like a book, and feels like a book in your hands. I went with a bigger screen once but down-sized because I think a smaller size is more comfortable for reading. There is back lighting for dim light and you don’t have to fold down pages if you forget your bookmark. Email, web access, movie streaming, yeah, there is extra value there, sure, but I always go back to the books.  

Of course, if you’re read any of my blog entries, you know I have my own book out there.  

“Yeah, me and everybody else,” I’d joke as I took another sip.   

It’s in both print and ebook format. I’ve probably sold just as many (or maybe I should say just as few) copies in one format as the other. I make a little less on the print books even though they are $13.95 and the ebooks are $3.99. Voodoo economics I guess.  

When asked how much royalty I make I explain it this way:  

“About the same as the cost of a bag of potato chips; store brand; on sale.”  

After you purchased us each another muffin, I’d tell you the news.  

“I’m giving up.”  

And then I’d react to your startled look.    

“No, no, not on writing,” I’d laugh before explaining, “My ebook is going freebie for a while.” 

Then I’d finish my coffee and the last bite of muffin and add with a chuckle, “so now’s your chance, you cheapskate.”  

Thomas Fenske is a writer living in North Carolina. For information on his book, yes, the free one, check out his web page.  

Next week, you’re buying the coffee. 

http://www.thefensk.com

Is It or Isn’t It?

Posted on by thefensk

Somebody asked me the other day about the headline on my website:  “Not Just Another Lost Gold Mine Story”

Well, beyond the obvious answer (it isn’t!) … there is a story behind the comment. 
I had entered The Fever in a contest where the winners would be considered for distribution to movie and television producers. Hey, I thought, The Fever would make a great movie! In fact, when I was first attempting to write the story, I seriously considered doing it as a screenplay instead. But in the early days I was just as successful in avoiding writing a screenplay as I was in avoiding writing a novel.  

Anyway, one aspect of this contest was that they would give you feedback on your submission. They did. They pointed out that it looked like a good story and all but it seemed to be “just another lost gold mine story.”

“Great,” I thought to myself, “I knew I should have rewritten Freaky Friday instead!”  

Oh, I’m fairly pragmatic about such things, and saw this feedback as more of a problem with my submission materials rather than the quality of the work itself. I think submissions like this are a bit like grant writing, there is an art to it and it is a skill I haven’t quite mastered, along with writing book blurbs and good headlines I guess. 

 But there you have it … I wanted to emphasize the fact that it ISN’T just another lost gold mine story. The hero Sam realizes he has become stagnated and his isolation is holding him back. He finally figures out that he HAS to change or he’ll never find what he’s looking for.  

I think that’s good advice … I probably need to change the headline and blurb to something new before too long.  

Thomas Fenske http://www.thefensk.com

Let Me Explain

Posted on by thefensk

I guess I’m still learning this blogging stuff but one thing I have managed to figure out is that it needs a catchy title.  My original title, “Thomas Fenske, Author,” although descriptive, ironically lacked originality.  Then one day I thought about my first web page, cobbled together by hand back in 1993. “Okay, You’re Here, Now What?” was the banner that splashed across the page and it reflected my awe at arriving on the web scene … Basically all dressed up and no place to go (well, except everywhere).
Back in the very early days of the wild wide world of webs it seemed oddly appropriate, but after I changed it to that name here, well, it was too long. And it didn’t make as much sense now. Note to self, your own private jokes often don’t play well to a crowd. Twenty five year old jokes even less.

Still, I needed something in that spot so I tried just shortening  it to “Okay, You’re Here” and that made even less sense.  Sigh.

So I revisited the problem and  came up with “A Smidgeon’s Toll.” Yeah, it still doesn’t make a lot of sense but at least it is hopefully intriguing. And it has some bearing on my published and soon-to-be published writings.  You see, Smidgeon Toll is a major character in both books and should have an even bigger role in a planned third edition of the growing series.  She’s the short, spunky, outspoken owner of a cafe that has a prominent place in both books. Her name came from her grandmother who blurted out, “Why, she’s just a smidgen of a thing” the first time she saw her as a tiny baby.  Smidgeon is just an archaic (quaint, right?) spelling of the same word.

So, we’ll see how this one goes … unless I change my mind again.
What do you think?  Do I need to change the title again?

Two reminders: You can get more information on my novel The Fever at http://www.thefensk.com  and I am still hosting a giveaway for one Kindle copy of The Fever at Amazon: https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/de2b8b0acbf85b6f