J. David Core's Blog

It's the first of April; a date normally reserved for clever lies and subterfuge. However, it's also 90 days since I released my novel, Magnified and Sanctified, as an ebook on Amazon, so that means it can come out of it's exclusive run in KU today and enter wide release. The audiobook and the paperback are already available everywhere, so now you can get a copy in every available format wherever books are sold online. Just go to https://books2read.com/Magandsanc to find your favorite retailer.

As we begin this shortest month of the year, I have included my thriller, On the Side of the Angel, in a group promo featuring thrillers of every type: spies, serial killers, psychological, vampires, crime (like mine,) and more. All of the books are discounted from their normal shelf prices and should remain discounted for the entire month of February. Click here to check out the titles in the promo, and settle in for the coldest month in the northern hemisphere with a device full of great stories that won't break the budget. 

 As I mentioned, Magnified and Sanctified is in Kindle Unlimited's subscription program for the next three months. If you are a member and were thinking about reading my novel as part of your subscription, you can find it easily by visiting this promotion, and while you're there, maybe you'll find a few other great sci-fi themed stories to add to your queue. 

As of December 31, Magnified and Sanctified is available in ebook, paperback and audiobook! For now, the ebook is only technically available in Kindle Unlimited's subscription model or for purchase on the Amazon website. But I'll let you in on a little secret. It's still available for free as an ARC at this link. Or, you can preorder the ebook now on a number of sites. It will be ready for you on April 1.

The audiobook is available at a number of sites as well, such as Google, Amazon, Audible, Chirp, and more. Some sites are taking a little longer to put the story up, but it's been released to everyone, so if it's not up in your favorite audiobook channel yet, it will be very soon. 

There's even a paperback version available. 

Each version has it's own unique cover that perfectly captures the mood of the story for that format.

Once again, here's the story description:

In the first year since the start of the zombie apocalypse, Andrew Moore and his young daughter have struggled to survive.

Something is turning people into undead reapers. As monsters patrol the streets in search of unwitting recruits for their army of shambling sirens, Moore and his daughter are making their way toward the Atlantic coast in hope of refuge on one of the government’s offshore sanctuaries. Meanwhile, Mark Bell has been stranded alone in the relative safety of a defensible state park. He has learned to survive and thrive despite the constant threat from the menacing masses of wandering undead.
As winter looms, the two men meet, and they decide to band together in a compromise plan to sail into Lake Erie; but can they survive long enough to reach their goal, or will the peculiar stranger they meet along the way put their chances of survival at risk?

 FTR

I have put my mystery novel, Shared Disbelief, into the Burn the Evidence promo which runs September 21 to the 5th of October. The promo features nearly 40 mystery and/or thriller titles all for FREE over at Prolific Works. Hurry on over and check out the burnt offerings now, before the promo goes up in smoke. (See what I did there?)

Under New Management

 As you may have heard we are under new administration. My country, that is, not this newsletter. The past year has been a strange one from a historical standpoint here in the US and across the globe, and that creates new challenges for fiction authors. Unless one writes speculative fiction, most fiction is tethered to the actual history of this reality. So now, this reality includes COVID-19, a failed coup, and a black/Asian/female Vice President. Cues written in the text will from now on forever place those stories in either the before times, the during times, or the after times. There's no getting around it. 

Fortunately for me, my WIP (work in progress) is dystopian speculative fiction. Which means it can be alternative reality and therefore timeless. In a previous newsletter, I sent an image of the working cover for that story. But I had to change that. The previous title was taken from a quote by a famous fantasy author. I had written the author's estate to ask permission to use the entire quote in a epigraph (the short quote that often preceded the text of the story) in order to give the title context, and I was granted the permission for a fee and only for a 3 year period. So I'm changing the title, and the epigraph, because I prefer that my titles and epigraphs be timeless, just like my fiction. 

Here is the updated cover.

I have been taking a bit of a break from the promos lately. I have a day job, and the stress of dealing with the public in the time of Coronavirus ... well, it's stressy. But I haven't forgotten my longterm goals, so I have returned to the keyboard to bring you some exciting stories all for 99 cents or free! This promo is organized through Story Origin by David DeLee, and includes only fast-paced thrillers and mysteries. The sale ends in a few days, so don't delay. Check it out now, and download a couple of great stories each for less than a buck.
Find all of the great stories at this link!
 

It's been months since I've done a promo, but I'm doing one this month. I have entered Extreme Unction in a group promo. All of the books in the promo are 99 cents or free. Check out the offerings. Maybe find a new second-favorite mystery author. Meanwhile, I'm also discounting all of the books in the Lupa Schwartz series on Amazon. You can own the entire series for less than $7. (Normally $19.) That can be purchased in one click here.


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Hi, everyone. Long time no see. This is my first post since December.
When last we spoke I was posting my audiobook version of 8 Tales of Noir, my pulp/crime collection, to all the online audiobook retailers and libraries. The thing is, that even though I published over two months ago, Audible and Amazon are still delaying posting. I have not received any word as to why. And I'm hearing that a lot of other authors are having similar issues. It's very frustrating, especially since I have promised a portion of the proceeds to charity.

Nonetheless, it is available through numerous retailers including Apple, Chirp, Kobo, and Google. Here is a link that will take you to all of the currently active online pages if you'd like to check it out.

I have also recently begun work on my first endeavor to write in the horror genre. The working-title is The Name is the Thing. It comes from the following quote from The Rule of Names by Ursula K. le Guin:


"Because the name is the thing," he said in his shy, soft, husky voice, "and the truename is the true thing. To speak the name is to control the thing."

I don't want to spoil too much, but I'll say this, it's a sort of neo-zombie story in the tradition of Pontypool and Ravenous (Les Affamés,) but on a larger scale. Here is the cover idea I'm working with.

If you're a fan of the genre, and want to be a beta reader when it's ready, keep watching these posts. I'll be sending out the call when the time is right.

In the meantime, I've entered another mystery/crime story promo. All of the books in the promo are free, and they can be yours for the price of an email address. You can find all of the available titles at this link. Enjoy.

If you enjoy women who kick ass, then you're sure to find something you'll love in the Kick-Ass Women Promo over at Story origins. All of the stories in the promo feature female cops, detectives or just chicks with a grudge or a point to make, and all of the eBooks are free or 99 cents. I've included my  own permafree offering, Extreme Unction, a Lupa Schwartz Mystery.

The promo runs the 15th of November thru the 19th, and this is the perfect chance to beat the Cyber Monday crowds. You'll find the promo at this link all weekend long.