Just did some cleanup on the site.  Some WordPress updates changed things, so line break tags were showing, and horizontal rule lines were showing text instead of a horizontal line.  I also removed one of my author interviews that used to be on Smashwords, but is no longer there after they merged with Draft2Digital.

Other than that, not much going on other than a nagging shoulder injury, and cleaning up a massive 3-bagger poop dropped by the smaller of our two border collies at 4am this morning.  That was just bizarre.  It was like his butthole opened up a portal to another dimension, and the beings on the other side just started shoveling poop through it. 🙄

The idea I had for a new book wasn’t really gonna work out as a whole book, so I started working on one I’d abandoned previously, and perhaps some elements of that idea I had will make their way into this book.  The reason I abandoned this one was because I started writing it, just to see if an idea would come to me while I was writing, and it did, but it wasn’t a complete thought, and still isn’t.  In the absence of any other good ideas though, I figured I might as well give this one another try.  Just getting through the first chapter though was tedious at best.  See, I have a specific word count minimum for each chapter in each of my books, but for some reason, it felt like the more I wrote in this one, the slower the word count added up, which is frustrating at best when you still don’t have a complete idea of where you’re going with it.  I mean, I do have some thoughts, but nothing detailed.

The funny part is, I never really know what I’m going to write in any of my books.  I just start writing, and it all comes out as it should.  Hopefully, I’ll hit a point in the second chapter that’ll lead me down that path.  We’ll see what happens.

Anyway, that’s it for now.  Lots of adulting and the election and some other stuff I’ve had to deal with kept me away from writing for a while, but now I’m trying to get back into the flow of things again.

After a long and very frustrating dry spell, I think I might finally have an idea for a new book.  I still need to give it a lot more thought and figure things out, but at least I have an idea now.

Other than that, not much has been going on really.  We’ve just had some annoyances, like having to replace the garbage disposal, having to have our roof repaired, etc…

Still can’t seem to sell any books.  I really have no idea what else to do to get them out there.  I don’t want to pay someone to do the same stuff I’ve been doing.  *sigh*

Anyway, that’s it for now.  I’ll post more updates at some point.

So…yeah.  It’s been a while, mostly because after I wrote and published The Accidental Hero, I found myself completely devoid of ideas as to what to write next.  I have finally started something now, but I’m not really feeling it yet, so it’s been slow going so far.  I’m only about maybe a quarter of the way into the first chapter.

Aside from that, I wrote a short story to submit to an anthology book, and it was accepted by the publisher.  Just waiting for them to send me the contract now for the rights to it.  It’s not a lot of money, but it’s the first time I’ve had something that’s going to be published by someone other than myself, and the first time I’ve been paid anything for my writing, so I’m really happy about that.  I’ll post more updates when I can.

Aside from that, I put a new hard drive in my system and installed CachyOS Linux on it.  I’ve been using it exclusively for about a week now, and I haven’t had to go back into windows for anything.  The nice thing is, my writing software, Sigil and Page Edit, both have linux native versions.  In fact, there’s native versions, or alternative software that’s just as good or better for pretty much everything I was doing in windows. I got Daz Studio installed and working for my covers, and I can use Gimp instead of Photoshop for the finish work.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be ok doing the print versions in Libre Office instead of MS Word as well.  I opened an existing one in Libre office and it looked fine, so I think I’m good to go with that.  Linux can be a painful process to set up if you’re new to it, because there’s various things you’ll need to look up, but it’s not hard to find answers, and it’s SO much faster and snappier than Windows.

Anyway, that’s it for now.  Until next time… 🙂

Now that my Smashwords account has moved over to Draft2Digital, I spent some time today setting up all my books with Books2Read links, which is basically a one stop shop for all the retail links for each book, both ebook and paperback.  Here’s the link to the main page that lists all the books: https://books2read.com/ap/RJ6LdW/Duane-L-Martin

After a nasty fight with his girlfriend, Eric Kaufman got in his car and headed out for the open road, just to sort of cool off a bit and get his head together. Unfortunately for him, as he was driving down a desolate highway way out in the middle of nowhere, his engine died, his car slowed to a stop, and then they showed up. The last thing he ever expected when he woke up that morning was that he’d be abducted by aliens, but sure enough, that’s exactly what happened.

After an unfortunate and very painful incident on their ship, he suddenly lost consciousness, and then woke up next to his car several hours later. He seemed all right at first, but in the days that followed he began to develop superhuman abilities, which would ultimately lead to him becoming something far more than he ever thought he could be.

Sadly, while becoming a superhero might seem cool to the average person, it does come with a laundry list of problems as well. For example, how do you keep your identity a secret? How do you balance being a publicly recognized superhero during the day with your vigilante activities at night, while still getting enough sleep to handle your day job? How do you dispose of all those cartel members you slaughtered, without anyone ever finding their remains? And most importantly, how do you get the taste of someone else’s blood out of your mouth when you don’t have any mouthwash handy?

These questions and more are all issues that Eric must face as he navigates the topsy-turvy world of being the world’s first and only, real-life superhero.

Links to purchase:

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTMT3DHC (E-Book)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTQ9Q8B2 (Paperback)

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1515384 (E-Book)

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6477522856 (E-Book)

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940167678972 (E-Book)

Everand: https://www.everand.com/search?query=9798223631125 (E-Book)

Gardners: https://www.gardners.com/Search/KeywordAnonymous/eBook?Keyword=9798223631125 (E-Book)

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search?Query=9798223631125 (E-Book)

Odilo: https://marketplace.odilo.us/opac/?query=9798223631125 (E-Book)