“Anytime I read a series I usually find the first book in the series to be my favorite. This trend does not hold with the Time’s Edge series. Each book written becomes my latest favorite! Each book draws you deeper and deeper into a world of science fiction, adventure and romance. Each book has a mesmerizing quality that makes you long to stay in Time’s Edge and leave the hum drum of the real world behind. The only draw back to each book is that they end and leave you longing for the next one to be written.”
Category Archives: Reading
Your Brain on Fiction
Turns out reading fiction is great for your brain! It’s the cognitive equivalent of taking your brain for a jog. So exercise daily with a good book.
The Trouble with Free eBooks
Everyone loves to get something for nothing, right? And what is more tempting than going online and cruising through thousands of free ebooks? It’s like a smorgasbord that you don’t have to pay for, a literary heaven.
Well, not exactly. Here’s why:
1. Quantity. There are too many free ebooks. Thousands of titles are available, which means a free ebook no longer stands out in the crowd. A few years ago, this was a great way for a new author to get noticed. But now? “FREE! isn’t special when everyone is doing it” author Kristen Lamb wrote in her blog The Problem with Free. As a tool for authors, it is losing its advantage. As a source for readers, it is overwhelming, and that leads to the second issue:
2. Excess. Many readers do not read the free ebooks they download. The books go into the modern day slush pile called To Be Read. The problem is that most TBR lists contain hundreds of books and why not? They are all free. It doesn’t cost anything to download a book and leave it sitting in electronic limbo. The reader doesn’t lose anything if he never gets to the book. And that brings up:
3. Value. It turns out that most folks do not value something unless they pay for it. Author Dean Fetzer makes this point in his blog Value for Money: “One of the lessons I learned early on about the internet in my previous job – and the world, for that matter – is: users don’t value free stuff as much as things they pay for.” Readers have no investment in a free book and no expectations. Just the opposite, in fact:
4. Perception. A free product is perceived to be a lesser product. Even positive reviews of free books reflect this attitude. When scanning any reviews of free books you invariably find comments such as “Not bad, for free”, “I was surprised that something free was actually readable”, “Enjoyed it but glad I didn’t have to pay for it”. And let’s take a look at the “glad I didn’t have to pay for it” crowd:
5. Addiction. Yes, ebook readers are now hooked on freebies. They have been trained to NOT pay for books. They expect free ebooks, in quantity, in perpetuum. Check out The Digital Reader: Are Free eBooks Killing the Market? for a take on this phenomenon.
Of course, there are authors who have benefited from using the free ebook strategy just as there are readers who devour their electronic books and hunger for more. These authors will argue that giving away free ebooks boosted the sales of their non-free titles. They are the exception now, not the norm. Free promos, if done correctly, can temporarily boost a book’s ranking. Does that translate into sales and reviews? There is heated debate over that but it seems clear that most authors receive only a momentary lift, a blip, so to speak, in the book publishing cosmos.
We have never offered our books for free and have no plans to do so. We want readers who are invested in the story, who want to read our tales so much much they actually pay for them. Authors should set a value on their work. In a race to the bottom, no one wins.
Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Jafrey
We promised when we did our original Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Time’s Edge post there would be sequels. Naturally, we just had to take a look at the world from the point of view of Jafrey, the irascible old man from the Time’s Edge series.
It’s okay to be yourself.
“Nice to meet you,” Jafrey said gruffly, his hands stuffed firmly in his pockets. “Shame the way they make us all get decked out for these events. Feel like a fool.”
(Jafrey, grumpy about being forced to dress up for a formal dinner. Time’s Edge.)
A sense of humor is a good thing.
“Alrick requested that we train him.”
Michael saw a spark of interest in Jafrey’s light blue eyes. “Did he? Interesting.” Jafrey eyed Michael again. “You his son?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Michael replied.
Jafrey gave a brief laugh. “Got a sense of humor. Good.”
(Time’s Edge.)
Mind your own business.
“If it’s that important, I don’t want to know. Knowledge like that can get a man killed.”
(Jafrey, deciding he doesn’t really want to know the secret involving Michael. Time’s Edge)
Be honest.
“Then either Barris or Jafrey is lying,” Michael noted.
Jafrey chuckled. “Good thing Barris didn’t hear you say that!”
“But it doesn’t bother you?” Michael asked with half a smile.
“Holy Kryton, no. I admire honesty.” (Time’s Edge)
Have some fun once in a while.
“Ah, he’s an old lizard. No fun at all,” Jafrey said as the door closed behind Ivar. “Now we can really have a good time.” He swung toward the musicians. “Play something we can dance to!”
(Jafrey, deciding to party once the very serious Ivar has left the room. Time’s Edge.)
Know your limits.
“I never go near that damn place!”
“Yes.” Ivar nodded. “I have noticed that you are the only member of the staff who has never ventured out to the site.”
“I’d rather be boiled in Karrilian lizard juice.”
(Jafrey, refusing to venture out to an abandoned site that holds bad memories for him. Time’s Edge.)
Don’t be envious of others.
“Alrick will kill you if you talk, and Michael will kill you if you don’t.” Jafrey shook his head. “Glad I’m not you.”
(Jafrey, grateful that he is not the boss. Time’s Edge.)
Everything I Need to Know…
We recently read an article that took the “everything I need to know” gimmick and applied it to several books, movies, etc. What a great idea, we thought, and promptly stole it. So without further ado, here is the first installment (of course we are anticipating sequels!) of Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Time’s Edge.
Choose your battles.
“Unless you know of a way to force a scientician to leave a room when he chooses not to, you’re wasting your time.” (Orela, a member of the Executive Council, cautioning another council member not to tangle with a man who could, literally, blast him into atoms. Time’s Secret.)
Know yourself.
“Choose your path. Choose the one that calls for you alone.” (The direction given to Michael and Kate as they are being tested in the Realm of the Scienticians. Time’s Edge.)
Perception is everything.
Unfortunately, Michael did not trust his own interpretation of events. His attraction for Kate was so strong he was afraid it was coloring his perception of her. He wanted her to be innocent of any evil intentions. He wanted her to be just what she said she was. He wanted it so badly he wondered if he was twisting the facts to convince himself she was innocent. (Michael, trying to decide if he can trust Kate. Time’s Edge.)
Don’t jump to conclusions.
“I won’t pass judgment until I have all the facts.” (Michael, refusing to express a negative opinion of his commanding officer in spite of the fact that it appears that the officer deceived him. Time’s Edge.)
Be observant.
Michael saw the flicker in Radford’s eyes and recognized it for what it was. Radford was, for the first time, afraid of losing. Michael now knew he had an edge over his opponent. (Michael and Radford’s Tavon contest. Time’s Secret.)
Keep a sense of humor during stressful situations.
“Let me be, Kate,” Radford whispered. “If you die healing me, Michael will kill me anyway.” He grinned ruefully. “I think bleeding to death would be an easier way to die.” (Time’s Secret.)
Don’t be afraid to say, “I love you”.
“No, I don’t think I do,” Michael replied, remembering Kate had known he loved her even though he had never said so. He looked down at her and opened his mouth to say the words.
“I love you, too, Michael.” Kate smiled and then stretched up on her toes to kiss him. (Time’s Edge.)
Libraries Rock
Take two minutes (all right, two minutes and 53 seconds) and watch this incredible video of how the Troy Library saved itself from disappearing forever. Go, Troy!
Our Favorite Time’s Edge Quotes
Shelfari, amazon.com’s “community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers”, has a neat feature; readers and authors can add quotes from books they enjoyed. We had a lot of fun selecting quotes from our novel Time’s Edge. Here are our favorites (in no particular order):
“It’s impossible to walk through solid rock… You have to walk between the molecules that make up the rock.” Nick, the Sarzonian guardian
“Seers. They make everything they say sound like a prophecy.” Jafrey Ral
“What I can do is science, not magic. Magic is just a term for an aspect of science that hasn’t been explained yet.” Michael Blayne
“Within this dimension there are doorways to every place in the galaxy… A misstep in this hall can have serious consequences.” Alrick Zartollis
“If we live through this remind me to buy you a Ratherian beer.” Commander Lucas Joyston
“This place is a cross between a medieval castle and a space station.” Kate Weston
“The robot was my ancestor…just as the amoeba was yours.” Edgar, Michael’s robotic servant
“I’m ready to believe anything from a man who spends three months on a simple probe retrieval and then returns wearing a cat.” Zilla, the commander of Division 9
“You are not the portent. You are the great event.” Rista Jahlan
“Alrick will kill you if you talk, and Michael will kill you if you don’t. Glad I’m not you.” Jafrey
Sneak Peek: Time’s Secret
What would you do if you were on a quest you didn’t like to find an object you didn’t want…
If your wife made a prophecy that hinted you could not succeed…
If an oracle warned that everyone close to you would perish if you failed…
If those closest to you were keeping secrets that affected not only your quest but your very life…
If your life and your destiny were the most closely guarded secrets of all…
Most answers are revealed by Time.
But what do you do when time is running out?
Click here for a sneak peek at the prologue of Time’s Secret, the sequel to Time’s Edge.
J.M. Dattilo 