Johnny Morrow delivers a fantastic cover – again. This is what a kidney, section of your liver, and a quart of plasma will buy…
Kidding, of course about the organ donations. When the Kickstarter fell short, I had to do what I always do and hustle my ass off to make this work.
If you haven’t noticed, I write stories from a slightly different angle. On the surface, they appear to be the typical tropes, but when you try to pin them down, they slip out of your grasp.
Quantum storytelling. Quirky infusions. Other things with Q which is such a woefully underused letter.
It explains the constant struggle to get the word out about Crimson Son. Off-market books are tough to find an audience for. Conventional wisdom says to write like everybody else to succeed.
I’m hardly conventional. Chances are, neither are you.
And neither is Spencer. He’s a tough character to like. I’d wager it takes a couple books before you start to understand him even.
Yet every time Spencer gets pushed aside. Every time I wonder if people are just sick of his acerbic attitude, he gets back up and starts fighting.
When the Kickstarter began to falter, I got an invitation to be included in Amazon Prime. That not only revitalized my hope but also helped me plot a course of action marketing-wise to make sure the cover was an investment and not just more debt.
Yep. More debt.
I’ve got a kid in college. This writing gig hasn’t been all big paychecks and movie deals (at all). Taking financial gambles with my art just isn’t possible anymore. While that might be a little TMI, I think people need to understand writing, like all creative endeavors, requires sacrifice on the part of the author.
It also requires faith, as corny as that sounds. Persistence. Doing that is tough in a vacuum. So despite the flop of a crowdfunding effort, I was rewarded by knowing there are some great people out there who want to hear the rest of Spencer’s tale.
And damnit, I’m going to deliver.
This weekend, Crimson Son 3: Ashes is on sale at Amazon.com and Amazon UK in preparation for the release of Legacy.
While you’re checking out that sale, please help me beef up the reviews over on Amazon.com. Crimson Son looks healthy but Motherland and Ashes are lagging. Authors are lucky if every thousand books they give away or every hundred they sell, they get one review. But the book gods have deemed them necessary for exposure, marketing, you name it.
As always, thanks again for reading!
Categories: Author News
RUSS LINTON 
It’s important for people to understand the realities about the writing life. So many people who aren’t authors (or even writers) don’t necessarily see the very real-world difficulties in being this kind of artist. Good on you for keeping on. Your books are great!