"The Nightlife New York" now FREE on Amazon

I want everyone to know "The Nightlife New York" is now a FREE download on Amazon, Smashwords, and Apple. 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090P1MIU

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/217404

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-nightlife-new-york/id556103375

Enjoy.

"The Nightlife Las Vegas" is soon to follow ;)

First mockup for 'The Nightlife Las Vegas"

Joshua Allen has done a very sharp mockup of a concept for "The Nightlife: Las Vegas" cover--the second in the Nightlife series.  Its a work in progress, but you can see it coming along nicely.  I'll continue to post each subsequent version until we get to the finished product.

Joshua Allen is a professional book illustrator and comic artist: http://www.freelanced.com/joshuamallen

Looking for Paranormal Romance Beta readers

I need beta readers-critiques for my paranormal-romance-urban-fantasy-erotic novel series 'The Nightlife".  The series spans the globe, starting with New York, where the two main characters begin, and moves on to Las Vegas, Paris, London, and Moscow.  There are definitely plans for Hong Kong or Shanghai in the works as well.

Story elements:  Vampires, strippers, escorts, domestic gangs, Columbian cartels, corrupt cops, pimps, all the classical elements of a shady metropolitan nightlife blended with two vampires (the main two characters).  There are underlying themes of romance throughout, but its not exactly romance--more urban fantasy horror.  No significant world building until very late in the series.  Their world is exactly the same as ours, but seen through the lenses of vampires living in the gritty nightlife of these various metropolitan cities.  Very intense action scenes, graphic violence, very heavy erotica, and a flashback in time to WWII (book 3 Paris) and the murders of the Czar Nicolas II and family in Russia (book 5 Moscow).

In addition to this series I have two stand alone YA paranormal novels that have elements of vampires and violence.

And did I mention the near-future sci-fi novel I'm working on?

Looking for critiques, beta readers, and I'm willing to exchange a beta-read critique in order to get one (as time allows for it)

Feel free to email me at twluedke@gmail.com or twitter @TWLuedke.

My website:  http://www.twluedke.com/

The Nightlife: New York is on smashwords.com $.99!

Its done, 'The Nightlife: New York' is published on Amazon and smashwords.com.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/217404

Here's the blurb:

Vampires, strippers, escorts, night clubs, gangbangers, pimps and corrupt cops, the Nightlife of New York is never boring.

Is she a beautiful blond guardian angel as he imagined, or something else entirely?  When Michelle saves Aaron's life she shares the benefits of her blood (after getting him shot accidentally).  He awakes a changed man, living in a purgatory of eternal night, never to see the sunrise again.

Michelle drags Aaron through a hardcore learning curve of vampiric nightlife.  Forced to adapt to servitude, Aaron is subject to her authority and compulsion.  She orders him around like a puppet on a string, a dog on a very short leash.  First things first, he must learn to feed properly without creating bloodslaves (humans addicted to the powerful drug-like effect of their venomous bite).

And then she puts him to work--a male escort in the sex trade--same as Michelle--she's no angel.  Aaron walks a tightrope of strictly controlled feeding regiments and intensely erotic sexual adventures while catering to the neurotic control-freak tendencies of his new master.  It's do or die, Michelle vows to eliminate him if he proves too dangerous or difficult to control.  The real kicker--amidst all these shocking and degrading new adjustments, Aaron finds he's falling in love.

Can he manage all this and retain some scrap of his humanity?  Innocence is a luxury few can afford in the decadent nightlife of New York City.  In a world where sex, blood, and power over women is so readily accessible, Aaron struggles against the predatory instincts deeply rooted in his new psyche.  He must find his way quickly, maintaining rigid self-control, or risk the consequences of Michelle's wrath.

Aspire to become the victim of piracy

I have been told many times over that the ebook industry, much like the music industry, is fraught with Piracy!  How will I ever make any money from my novels with all these pirates on the digital seas, stealing and whatnot!?

And why would pirates be interested in my novel?  Should I really be worried about piracy?

Pirates only highjack novels that are marketable, novels that sell.  Why waste time and effort pirating unsaleable trash novels in the seedy digital black market?  Pirates only steal what's worth stealing.

Whats the real issue I face as an Indie author trying to spread the word about my novels?

Obscurity is my enemy, not piracy.

To be pirated is a complement, I have succeeded in catching the pirate's attention.  He wouldn't steal my ebook if it wasn't valuable.  At least he knows I exist.

Perhaps he even read my novel ... that would make me happy :)



http://www.twluedke.com/
http://www.wattpad.com/story/1785055-the-shepherd
https://twitter.com/TWLuedke

Self Editing with the Pro Writing Aid (free software)

I was hunting around google for editors I can't afford to hire and editing software I can't afford to purchase when I found this wonderful little gem of web-based text editing analysis FREE!

http://prowritingaid.com/Free-Editing-Software.aspx

I thought to myself, why would this be floating around free in cyberspace?

I still have no answer to that question.  But I haven't tried to figure it out too hard because I've been too busy editing my manuscripts with this awesome text analysis.

It finds all the sticky sentences, all the repetitive word use errors, all the instances of was, had, could, should, would, and that....that need to be reconsidered or removed from your manuscript.

It does not edit for you, but it is teaching me to look at my own material like an editor. 

Does that mean I can get away with using this and not hiring an editor at all?  Probably not.  Will I try it anyway...probably.  I have a tendency to learn things the hard way.

Travis
http://www.twluedke.com/
http://www.wattpad.com/story/1785055-the-shepherd

Roller coaster writing inspiration

My two daughters and I were on the Goliath at Six Flags, a ride where the track is above you and virtually impossible to see most of the time.  We were only three riding in a row that holds four, so a single rider joined us at the end of the row.  He was an older guy, in his late forties, a hefty paunch.  He couldn't get the safety belt to latch on his overhead harness, so the ride attendant shoved down hard and crammed the belt in.  It seemed to latch, and so the ride began its ascent to the apex.

As you might have guessed, the guy's belt was not properly latched in place.  As we rode slowly, inexorably up to the point of being dropped down into the initial swoop-loop of the ride, the guy started screaming and freaking out because his belt wasn't latched.  My daughter kept trying to talk to him, telling him it was okay, the harness was locked in place, the belt was just a safety precaution, but she couldn't break through his panic.

Fear of death and that most magical of substances called adrenaline gives people reserves of strength that they never thought possible.  After trying several times and screaming at the top of his lungs "Stop! Stop the ride!", The guy was able to pull down hard enough on his overhead harness to click the safety belt in place.  He got it latched right at the point that the ride began its 80 mile-an-hour descent into face-smashing quadruple g-force thrills.

I spent the entire ride watching this man in macabre fascination, wondering if his safety belt would come loose, wondering if he would be flung from the ride to his death like a teenager in one of those "Final Destination" films.  I didn't want it to happen, but I was unable to look away for the anticipation of it.  It was like watching Jerry Springer, you really don't wanna see it, but once its there on TV, your eye is drawn in with an irresistible magnetic pull (well...thats how it is for me anyway...I can't speak for everyone else).

I vow to myself here and now that I will find a way to work this into a scene in one of my novels, because life truly is stranger than fiction.