Shiny and New...

It's been a long time coming, but I finally found a proper cover for my novel, Aqua Vitae. This one does the job of imparting the feeling of mystery and suspense that the story deserves; the previous cover fell well short of that goal.

If you're not familiar with the story, now's as good a time as any to hop over to Amazon and check out the "Look Inside" feature for a free peek. It's a little different, but I think you'll like it... 

Literary Comfort Food for a Fed Up Citizenry ...

How to sell books. That's the question, isn't it, at least for those of us who've chosen to commit stories to print in the hope that another will pay for the pleasure of reading them.

I've always marched to the beat of my own drummer when it came to the stories that I've chosen to tell. I've written two pretty straightforward novels of libertarian political suspense (The Third Revolution and Middle America), a soft sci-fi/adventure about a young girl and her runaway pets (Little Birdies!), a sort of speculative political thriller about a new alcohol prohibition and a group of neighborhood friends who decide to go another way on the matter (The Last Bartender), a soft sci-fi, archaeologically-themed action/suspense/political farce (The Cenacle Scroll) involving the political and religious chaos that follows the unexpected appearance of the (assumed) Holy Grail in the US, and a soft sci-fi mystery/adventure (Aqua Vitae) about a wildlife biologist who accepts a too-good-to-be-true job and ends up having to unpack several puzzling ecological mysteries before finding herself targeted by the government agency whose failed experiments have gone native.

This eclectic portfolio has been, as you might guess, marketing suicide. You don't need an MBA to see that the smart move here would be to pick a lane (i.e. a literary genre), and stick to it. Become the political thriller guy, the sci-fi/adventure guy, the dystopian future guy, the detective/crime procedural guy, the medical mystery guy, the vampire/zombie/time travel guy. Pick a lane!

Targeted advertising is easier if you pick a lane. Building a unified reader base is easier if you pick a lane. Finding a traditional agent/publisher is easier if you pick a lane. Using an outside marketing service is easier if you just pick a damn lane!

The truth is that I have picked my lane, though I've chosen to go with theme, rather than the more easily marketed concept of genre. If I may:

Ben Kane finds that he bit off more than he could chew when he takes over the Governor's office in Montana, and finds himself arrayed against the might of the US federal government, but is simply unable to back away from his principles.  

Young Mandy Grant finds it impossible to accept the death sentence demanded by a nervous public and their government representatives for her runaway pets, and plots their rescue.  

In the aftermath of a newly imposed prohibition on the production and sale of alcohol,
Justin Gardiner and his friends just want a damn beer, and they're prepared to do what they have to do to get one.

Graduate student Jennifer Goodwyn makes one ill-considered decision regarding an ancient relic and finds herself swept up in a religious and political maelstrom of her own making. It needs to be fixed, and she needs to do so without getting caught, and without anyone else getting hurt in the process.

After a string of career setbacks, wildlife biologist Jackie Bannon takes a leap of  faith, unintentionally stirs up a mystery that was better left untouched, and needs to extract herself and her friends from a sudden and dangerous game of "kill the messenger."

All of my protagonists want the usual things out of life, and take seemingly rational steps to reach those goals, modest or otherwise. Other people, more organized people (say, local, state or federal government agencies, for example) sometimes take exception to individual needs, wants or circumstances, and do what they can to thwart individual action. Some individuals (say, the ones I choose to write about) feel they have no choice but to follow their conscience and do what they have to do to get where they need to get, regardless of the forces brought against them.

So if you don't mind veering out of your literary comfort zone just a bit, I believe you'll find that at the heart, my stories have what you're looking for: regular people, who for whatever reason, suddenly find themselves up against it and, along a few close friends, choose principle over authority.

As always, thanks for your support...

Free Kindle Reading Apps...

I assume everyone is aware of these free applications, but it doesn't hurt to spread the word. All six of my books are available as Kindle ebooks, and there's no need to shell out the bucks for a Kindle device if you don't need to. I download and read Kindle books on my old Windows XP Dell laptop, and it works just fine. Reading apps are available for pretty much every imaginable device (smartphones, tablets, computers) and across a broad selection of operating systems.

You can download the apps here: Free Kindle Reading Apps. And please consider my reasonably priced and entertaining offerings to get your Kindle collection started: Books by Anthony F. Lewis.

You'll Never Look at Water Lilies the Same Way...

My latest offering, Aqua Vitae, is now available as a Kindle eBook for purchase (only $2.99!) or for borrowing from the Kindle Owner's Lending Library (for Amazon Prime Members). Synopsis as follows:

Wildlife biologist Jackie Bannon may have found just the job to jump-start her stalled career. A potential client with seemingly bottomless pockets and plans for an unorthodox business venture has invited her to his private Caribbean island to discuss her coming on board.

At first glance, the place seems a textbook tropical paradise: glistening white sand beaches, lush highland forests, every inch teeming with exotic flowers and wildlife. But a closer look reveals widespread abnormal behavior among the native animal species; behavior that Jackie recognizes as deeply problematic.

Despite her misgivings, she wasn't about to turn down a high-paying job on a luxurious private island, especially one that could remake her career, and she relished the independence she would be allowed. But with that independence would come responsibility, and she could already see that there was much more to this island than meets the eye...

Like most of my books, this one is sort of a genre mashup, but leans heavily towards the scientific thriller side of things. It features exotic locales, lots of pretty flowers and friendly little critters and a protagonist who, like so many of us, is struggling with a too-good-to-be-true career decision that soon proves to be anything but. And I've included a nice dollop of righteous vengeance because, well, that really is the fun part, isn't it?

As always, word-of-mouth recommendations and encouraging Amazon reviews are always appreciated. And please, help yourself to the first few chapters right over here: Aqua Vitae Excerpts. 

Lift a glass to toast Prohibition Repeal Day!

It was 86 years ago today (Dec 5, 1933) that the Nation's 13-year grand failure of trying to regulate public morality was repealed by the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution.

3.2% ABV beer was actually legalized on April 7th of that year, when FDR signed the Beer-Wine Revenue Act, paving the way for the decriminalization of rum and eggnog just in time for Christmas.

Here's a brief refresher course: Prohibition in the United States

Was that the end of it? Not at all. We got a small taste just seven years ago with the great Four Loco panic of 2010. And the fun never ends, with New York State officials still on the (your) case with their recent “Health Improvement Plan.” Not the mention the ongoing, decades-old War on Drugs, another government prohibition policy that gets more expensive, deadly and futile every year it continues. (BTW, for my latest polk-in-the-eye at the Drug War, check out my last novel, Aqua Vitae).

So what's a determined tippler to do? Well, if you can read and drink at the same time, may I humbly suggest investing in a copy of my book, The Last Bartender. The book postulates the imposition of a second federal alcohol prohibition (don't laugh ... now that you're responsible for your neighbor's healthcare costs, don't you have a financial interest in his overall health as well?). As you might expect, this state of affairs isn't greeted with the same level as enthusiasm by everyone, and the story follows a cadre of those still-thirsty malcontents as they make their way through the new legal and cultural landscape. I promise it'll keep you both entertained and ticked-off.

I've written more on the subject here: And so it begins..., and here: Prohibition, Redux. And please stop by and read the first couple of chapters of the book here: Last Bartender Excerpts.

Update: Looks like the Neo-Prohibitionists have found another target: Drunken Gummi bears no laughing matter. Vodka-soaked candies are the latest method kids are using to get drunk. We'll have to add this to last year's other apocalyptic alcohol scourge that we all barely survived, the alcohol-infused whipped cream crisis. Your government, hard at work...

Update: Wait, there's more! I forgot all about the vodka soaked tampons. That article also covers the subject of "butt chugging," which I'll leave you to research on your own. 
Update: Here's how the news was covered back in the day...  Prohibition finally comes to an end in 1933 (Originally published by the Daily News on December 6, 1933.)

Drink up

That's a wrap!

I'm still not sure how it happened. The end came quite suddenly and was definitely unexpected, but I do believe that I've just completed my sixth novel, Aqua Vitae. It's a soft-science fiction, action/adventure story that I've been working on for way too long. Here's the snapshot:

Wildlife biologist Jackie Banna may have found just the job to jump-start her stalled career. A potential client with seemingly bottomless pockets and plans for an unorthodox business venture has invited her to his private Caribbean island to discuss her coming on board.

At first glance, the place seems a textbook tropical paradise: glistening white sand beaches, lush highland forests, every inch teeming with exotic flowers and wildlife. But a closer look reveals widespread abnormal behavior among the native animal species; behavior that Jackie recognized as deeply problematic.

Despite her misgivings, she wasn't inclined to turn down a high-paying job on a luxurious private island, especially one that could remake her career, and she relished the independence and professional discretion she would be allowed. But with that independence would come responsibility, and she could already see that there was much more to this island than met the eye...

The new addition weighs in at just over 110,475 words (420 pages or so). I've got lots & lots of editing ahead of me before it's ready for prime time, and at this point I plan on releasing it only as a Kindle edition; the bottom seems to have dropped out of print book sales, at least for me. Meanwhile, you can read the opening chapters of the story here: Aqua Vitae excerpts. And thanks so much for your continued support.

Bad blogger...

Yikes! I've been really remiss in blogging since the beginning of the year. Part of that has been because of time spent first looking for work, then finding and doing it (I'm presently slinging drinks at the Cellar Door Bistro in Ridgefield, CT - stop in and say hello). And part is because I've developed a lazy habit of simply tweeting anything interesting that catches my eye.

So how goes Aqua Vitae, you ask? Slowly, as you might have guessed. I'm well past 108,000 words (412 pages), almost finished, really, and still occasionally manage to add a paragraph or two from notes that I've scribbled to myself while at work. But I find it almost impossible to "get in the zone" and crank out some serious volume now my energy is focused elsewhere. That problem would be easily solved if say, 150,000 or so of you would kindly purchase one or more of my books; it's my own personal lottery ticket, I know ... hope springs eternal.

You can read the opening chapters of Aqua Vitae here; then please consider purchasing one of my other books here. Every new and returning customer is deeply appreciated.

Aqua Vitae progress report...

While I'll never win any speed-writing awards for this one, I am happy to report that, despite the many pressing distractions vying for my attention, the manuscript for my sixth novel,  Aqua Vitae, has passed the 100,000 word mark. I was hoping to have it finished by this past summer, but life intervened, and things progressed more slowly than I would have preferred. So I'm not going to be foolish enough to make yet another prediction as to when it might be completed, but know that it's moving along, however slowly, that I can see light at the end of the tunnel, and so far, at least, it doesn't appear to be an oncoming train.

You can read the opening chapters here: Aqua Vitae Excerpts

Aqua Vitae...

I've been working on my sixth novel, Aqua Vitae, for quite some time now. The distractions have been numerous and ongoing, but I'm finally getting around to finishing it up. As a sort of gun-to-my-head motivational ploy, I've posted the opening chapters online. The excerpts aren't completely polished, and some character names may well end up being changed in the final editing, but it reads smoothly enough for you to get the idea.  Here's the teaser:

Wildlife biologist Jackie Banna may have found just the job to jump-start her stalled career. A potential client with seemingly bottomless pockets and plans for an unorthodox business venture has invited her to his private Caribbean island to discuss her coming on board.  

At first glance, the place seems a textbook tropical paradise: glistening white sand beaches, lush highland forests, every inch teeming with exotic flowers and wildlife. But a closer look reveals widespread abnormal behavior among the native animal species; behavior that Jackie recognized as deeply problematic. 

Despite her misgivings, she wasn't inclined to turn down a high-paying job on a luxurious private island, especially one that could remake her career, and she relished the independence and professional discretion she would be allowed. But with that independence would come responsibility, and she could already see that there was much more to this island than met the eye...

Please go ahead and check out the first three chapters here: Aqua Vitae.