# My novel - let me show you it! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610 "2013-03-22T03:58:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/1 "2013-03-22T03:58:12Z")
Inspired by **iiandyiiii** ’s similar thread and the positive response (I picked up his book and am looking forward to reading it!), I’d like to invite you to check out my horror/urban fantasy (in my case that does _not_ mean vampires!) novel “The Forgotten.” Marketplace page is [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=685899). Book is 461 pages, $2.99 for ebook, $13.99 for trade paperback. Reviews are welcome and appreciated. I love to write but I’m quite terrible at marketing and pretty nervous to put it out there. Thanks for looking! ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/2 "2013-03-22T09:30:08Z")
Congrats! I think nearly everyone believes they have a book in 'em, but few can get it out. I always wonder at reporters asking writers, “Where do you get your ideas?” I’ve long thought that ideas were comparatively easy to come by - the hard part was the long slog of crafting the rough ideas into a cohesive plot and having believable characters introduce and experience it. Way to persevere. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/3 "2013-03-22T11:29:21Z")
Hell, it only took me 22 years or so to get my first two books published on Amazon for Kindle…the third one seemed to just GUSH out of my brain at a mere fourteen months! I’m hoping the next one doesn’t take quite so long now that I have the hang of it. If anyone likes millitary science fiction and/or space opera/cyberpunk, you can check them out: The military sf series, consisting two books so far (I am working on a third right now): Duty, Honor, Planet > **[Amazon.com: Duty, Honor, Planet eBook : Partlow, Rick: Kindle Store](https://www.amazon.com/Duty-Honor-Planet-Rick-Partlow-ebook/dp/B005FD1YMU)** > > Duty, Honor, Planet - Kindle edition by Partlow, Rick. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Duty, Honor, Planet. and Honor Bound [http://www.amazon.com/Honor-Bound-Duty-Planet-ebook/dp/B00AUKUD16/ref=la\_B00B1GNL4E\_1\_2\_title\_1\_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1363951477&sr=1-2](http://www.amazon.com/Honor-Bound-Duty-Planet-ebook/dp/B00AUKUD16/ref=la_B00B1GNL4E_1_2_title_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1363951477&sr=1-2) And the cyberpunk/space opera Birthright (which will eventually have a sequel once I get it written): > **[Amazon.com: Birthright eBook : Partlow, Rick: Kindle Store](https://www.amazon.com/Birthright-Rick-Partlow-ebook/dp/B005FMBIKY)** > > Birthright - Kindle edition by Partlow, Rick. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Birthright. Duty, Honor, Planet and Birthright are 99 cents, and Honor Bound is 1.99 for Kindle. Duty, Honor, Planet and Birthright are also available at Barnes and Noble for Nook for 1.99 each. [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Rick-Partlow?store=allproducts&keyword=Rick+Partlow](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Rick-Partlow?store=allproducts&keyword=Rick+Partlow) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/4 "2013-03-22T12:28:33Z")
Congratulations! I’ll definitely take a look. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/5 "2013-03-22T14:50:52Z")
Cool, thanks! Hope you like it! I’ve been writing forever, but most of my stuff for the last 20 years has been in the Shadowrun universe, which means I can’t publish it for money due to those pesky trademark and copyright issues. 🙂 But when CreateSpace and Kindle publishing got popular and I realized how easy it would be to put something out there if I could just come up with an idea, I decided to take my main character from the SR stuff, transplant him into a non-SR world and remove all the SR bits, and give him his own story. Like **iiandyiiii** has offered, I can also answer questions about the process of preparing a manuscript to be published–I’m more comfortable in print than in e-books, but yeah. I’m really curious to know what folks think of the book. My friends like it, but you never trust your friends to give you honest feedback. 😃 I generally don’t put myself out there for the world unless I’m reasonably sure that I’ve got a decent product, so the fact that the SR game people seem to think I can write adequately was a real confidence booster. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/6 "2013-03-22T18:08:10Z")
Nice. I hope you sell lots of copies. I recently got a contract to have my first two novels republished by[Fantastic Books](http://fantasticbooks.biz/) and I’m currently going over the galleys to **Staroamer’s Fate**. No idea about the publication date, but I would assume some time this summer. It will be on Amazon and [BN.com](http://BN.com). Probably trade paper to start, but the contract does include provisions for electronic publication. I’ll certainly be mentioning it when it’s available. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/7 "2013-03-23T21:08:51Z")
I should have posted this ages ago. 🙂 More sales this month already than all of last month! (Which sounds way more impressive than it should, but every sale is appreciated. :)) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/8 "2013-04-29T17:02:04Z")
In honor of the sequel coming out soon (“soon” being as soon as I finish the editing and the cover is finished), I’m happy to offer my fellow Dopers a chance to read _The Forgotten_ for free in PDF form. If you’re interested, send me a PM and I’ll send you a code you can redeem for a free copy. Right now I’m more interested in getting the word out than in making money, so if you read it and like it, I’d love you forever if you’d consider giving me a review (even a small one!) on Amazon. And tell your friends, too! 😃 [Here’s the Amazon link](http://www.amazon.com/The-Forgotten-ebook/dp/B0084O96RW/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_t_1_QX72?tag=5336612429-20) for book details and some positive reviews. Remember, PM me for a free code! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/9 "2013-04-29T17:22:36Z")
PM sent! I’ve actually had my eye on it for a while, but I have a hard time justifying spending money on books right now… I even tried for it through interlibrary loan, but no dice. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/10 "2013-04-29T17:30:55Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > PM sent! I’ve actually had my eye on it for a while, but I have a hard time justifying spending money on books right now… > > I even tried for it through interlibrary loan, but no dice. 🙂 Coolness–code sent! Hope you like it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/11 "2013-04-29T20:42:48Z")
Good job! I am always impressed by people who not only have the stories in their heads but the will to write them out. One of these days I’ll get that second part done… ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/12 "2013-04-29T23:57:58Z")
Sorry, I meant to come back today and thank you for the book, but I was “inspecting” it to see if it downloaded okay and I …fell in. I’m nearly halfway through and enjoying it very much. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/13 "2013-04-30T01:08:25Z")
Hooray! Happy to hear it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/14 "2013-04-30T05:13:27Z")
Bought it…will get back to you…um…eventually! (My reading stack is taller than I am, but you might just get to take cuts!) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/15 "2013-05-02T21:59:56Z")
Another great review on Amazon! If it was one of y’all, thanks! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/16 "2013-05-10T04:24:24Z")
Took me a bit of a while – I read slow. First, I have to tell you… My reaction upon finishing the book was to break out in laughter. Why? Because all the way through the book, I had the feeling that it was a “Shadowrun” book. It just had that Shadowrun feeling. And I kept wondering if you’d be offended when I said that. So, getting to the end, where, in the acknowledgements, you say it was Shadowrun inspired… I laughed! It WAS a Shadowrun book! I like the way it moves from horror to fantasy to adventure. I like the way it builds, and the way it progresses logically. I like the gradual empowerment of the protagonist. He builds in strength, competence, and character. I like all of the characters: the secondary characters are all well-developed, strong, believable (well, you know, believable once you accept that it’s a fantasy story!) and comfortably three-dimensional. The villains are a little faceless. But not “cardboard.” Just “othered.” But, in a horror environment, that makes sense. Superb writing style. Nice prose, strong dialogue, great pacing. Heart-pounding chapter breaks! One or two of the plot developments push “coincidence” a bit too far. Things that happened for no reason might better have had explanations. “I just happened to be nearby” is too convenient. This didn’t really bug me; it didn’t detract from reading enjoyment. But you know us Dopers! We tend to over-think things! Your fifth book, eh? Looks like I’m gonna have to make the effort to collect the others! Also, a nice review on Amazon will pop up soon: watch for “Silas Sparkhammer.” It’s nice to be in the company of a real pro! ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/17 "2013-05-10T14:55:28Z")
**Trinopus** , your comments made my evening! 😃 That’s funny that you saw the Shadowrun roots in the story–I freely admit they go deep. My five other novels (which are free on my website, [magespace.net](http://magespace.net), and they’re _huge_) are all set in the SR world, and Dr. Stone is the main character in them–same basic personality, different details. I’ve been freelancing for SR for years, and was lucky enough that his SR counterpart actually became a real part of the SR canon. I asked the line developer to change his “real” name so I could use him in my own work, and since it had never appeared anywhere in the game, he was kind enough to do that. So I get the best of both worlds! 😃 Anyway, I really do appreciate your kind words. Even though I have had a pretty good following for my SR novels over the years, this is the first time I’ve put something fully original out there on my own for people to see. It’s gratifying that reviewers seem to focus on the things that I’ve always enjoyed the most: characters, dialog, and keeping people from putting it down. 😃 I’m starting to feel like I can be a little bolder with my marketing, confident that people might actually enjoy the book. 🙂 I agree with you that there are a couple of coincidences that probably could have been fleshed out a bit better–that’s one of the things I’m focusing on in Book 2, which was beta-edited by a very finicky fellow author who delighted in pointing out everything he felt I did wrong. Hopefully I’ll be able to fix them and make an even more solid story. Thanks again! I’m looking forward to seeing your Amazon review! ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/18 "2013-05-31T19:07:31Z")
Hey all, I’m getting ready to publish book 2 in the series, and I’d like to use quote snippets from the Amazon review for Book 1 on the first page. (I was going to put one on the back cover, but there wasn’t room.) I know I don’t technically need permission since the reviews are publicly posted, but if anyone who left a review objects to a snippet of it being used in this way (along with the name you posted the review under), please let me know ASAP and I’ll be happy to remove it from the page. Thanks! I’ll post another thread when Book 2 is available. Should be within the next couple of days for the ebook, and the next week for the hardcopy. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/19 "2013-06-01T03:23:57Z")
Easy answer: yes, certainly, use anything I’ve written here or on Amazon. Slightly more complicated answer… It couldn’t hurt _my_ career if you quoted me under my pen name… PM me perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610/20 "2013-06-01T03:59:51Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Easy answer: yes, certainly, use anything I’ve written here or on Amazon. > > Slightly more complicated answer… It couldn’t hurt _my_ career if you quoted me under my pen name… PM me perhaps? Thanks! I think I want to use the names that appear on the Amazon site, though, just to keep everything on the up-and-up in case anybody wants to go check. Hope that’s okay! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-novel-let-me-show-you-it/653610.md?page=2)