April 7, 2026
OK, so I have been pulling my hair out (what’s left of it) the past few days over trying to understand an email thread with “Draft2Digital.” (Note to self: this occurred in early 2024; evidently, forgot to post it! The first thing that goes is memory, and the second is…umm…)
Let me sum up. (If you’re not interested in a rant-n-rave about the state of the independent publishing industry, you can skip to the part where I list the URL for my new book Bringer of Light… 🙂
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March 12, 2026
“As a science fiction author, I’ve always loved hearing from fans of my fiction,” [US based author Jason Sanford] tells the Guardian. “But now when someone emails saying they loved one of my stories, my first thought is that this is yet another scammer setting me up for the kill.”
Yet another reason I hate AI.
I, too, have been contacted repeatedly by people claiming to be literary agents, or to have connections with major publishers or bookstores.
I don’t trust any of them. And that’s sad.
All I want is for people to read and enjoy my work. Not steal it, scrape it, resell or repackage it. And certainly not to think I’m eager to give them thousands of dollars for horrible AI-generated videos.
It’s impossible to make a living as a writer.
September 10, 2023
Way back in 2015, my good friend Rami Z Cohen came to me with an idea for a story. He had written two or three scenes about a group of asteroid hunters who stumbled upon something bizarre. The idea of mining asteroids was news at the time (and still is, although probably too expensive right now and not a worthwhile investment until we actually get some people in space who need metals without relying on NASA/ESA/JAXA/ISRO/etc).
I was more interested in philosophical aspects of finding that we are all (as the late great Carl Sagan loved to put it) “star stuff” (he meant carbon being created by supernovas, but we also know that asteroids are the way we got amino acids to rain down on ancient Earth).
So Rami and I began to email ideas back and forth for a few weeks, then we started to flesh out his characters and plot. I wrote a synopsis and outline and we hashed out the background.
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June 21, 2023
July is your best chance to find my entire ebook collection for a promotional price at @Smashwords as part of their Annual Summer/Winter Sale! Bookmark https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos and stop by from July 1 through 31st! #SWSale2023 #Smashwords
(See my Smashwords profile here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/mapple)
December 15, 2022
“Find my ebooks and a wide collection of great indie titles as part of the Smashwords 2022 End of Year Sale! Check out https://smashwords.com/shelves/promos before the end of the month and follow @smashwords for more promos like this! #SmashwordsEOYSale #ebook #sale #books2read #indiebooks”
(I swiped this from the Smashwords promo site as a “generic blurb.” But what else, really, do I need to write?
All my ebooks on Smashwords are “50%” off! That means the books that are listed as $0.99 are actually free, since they don’t do $0.49.
And don’t forget that all proceeds from Destiny in the Future are donated to fight cancer.
Gift an ebook to friends and family!
July 1, 2020
So how are things over at major SF/F mags?
Part 1 of 2 (I guess).
From Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (so “major mags” means basically “only in ‘Merca,” I suppose 🤷♂️).
SF/F Magazines Wait Out The Great Pause—Part 1: Submissions & Supplies – SFWA
— Read on www.sfwa.org/2020/06/30/sf-f-magazines-wait-out-the-great-pause-part-1-submissions-supplies/
April 19, 2020
The Smashwords “Authors Give Back” free ebooks for COVI-19 lockdown campaign has been extended to May 31st!
Since baseball (and all other sports and events) have been postponed until further notice, I decided to revisit my literary baseball novel, Approaching Twi-Night (published 2015). It’s now available in the following ebook formats for FREE: .ePub (Apple Books etc), .mobi (Kindle), .pdb (Nook etc.), PDF, text, and online reader.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1016359
NOTE: This is a story written for those who know who Mark Harris, Bernard Malamud, Ring Lardner, W. P. Kinsella, and Philip Roth were. It’s not a Disney movie. It’s not aimed at kids (don’t read it aloud with children under age 14 or 15, and don’t say I didn’t warn you!).
March 22, 2020
Both my books on Smashwords (Adam’s Stepsons and Destiny in the Future – actually my mother’s book published posthumously as a tribute) are FREE downloads from now to April 20 as part of the Smashwords Authors Give Back initiative:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/931869
Formats include .ePub, .mobi, PDF, .txt, and online reader (browser-based).
Take it easy. Deep breaths. No panicking. Let’s get through this thing.
(See https://blog.smashwords.com/…/smashwords-launches-initiativ… for more information and links to other free ebooks as well.)
March 15, 2020
Includes such favorites as “pyke notte thyne errys nothyr thy nostrellys” and “spette not ovyr thy tabylle.”
Oh, and there’s some stuff by Lewis Carroll (Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, i.e., Alice in Wonderland) and Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo), among many others.
March 1, 2020
Stuck at home all week (or month?) dealing with world-wide panic from a cold virus?
Stock up on discounted and/or free ebooks at Smashwords!
Why not start with Adams’ Stepsons – for FREE??
Destiny in the Future is also HALF OFF until March 7th (all proceeds donated to the American Cancer Society)
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