iPad and the world beyond

Haunted Computer Books will now be on iPad through our affiliation with Smashwords! We are also working with White Wolf Press to put our titles on Mobipocket and iPhone/iTunes for a worldwide audience. Titles that went up today include The Red Church, The Skull Ring, Burial To Follow, and an advance release of the coming supernatural thriller Drummer Boy by Scott Nicholson. More titles to follow soon!

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Little Shivers now up for digital order

Spooky tales for ages 8 to 12! Get your digital download as PDF for only 99 cents. Fun for the younger readers and older crowd alike. Stories by Jack Kilborn, Scott Nicholson, Sofia Guisson, Levi Walton and Bradd Parton, with art by Sergio Castro and Frankie B. Washington. Download at www.hauntedcomputer.com/comics.htm

signed Skull Ring for paper lovers

The paper version of The Skull Ring just went live at Amazon at $14.95. You can get a signed copy directly from Scott at $9.95 (plus $2 shipping) by ordering through Paypal and he will ship it out as soon as the books arrive (which should be around March 19). The quality is surprisingly good.

The Red Church is also available at Amazon but we probably won't stock it since there are lots of cheap used copies available. If you are interested in a signed copy in trade paperback size (the previous editions were hardcover and mass-market paperback)

Read an ebook Week

To commemorate "Read An EBook Week," recognized as March 7 through 13 (probably by a bunch of people who want you to buy ebooks and ebook readers), we're making the novella Burial To Follow available as a free ebook download in various ereader formats at Smashwords--including mobi, PDF, Palm, Sony Reader and ePub. More information is available at the book's Web page. Hope you give it a try. You can also get a free Kindle for your desktop computer from Amazon.

The free download also has excerpts from three novels and a special bonus essay. The drawing for Microchip prizes will be held later tonight--if you haven't signed up to be a Microchip, there will be more opportunities to help and win. Thanks for supporting Haunted Computer Books.

Yes, we do pictures, too

We at Haunted Computer Books decided we had too much spare time on our hands so we are putting together some comics projects, starting with re-releasing Scott Nicholson's DIRT series, in which he portrays the Digger as he narrates graphic adaptations of his short stories, with art by Kewber. We are also putting out the GRAVE CONDITIONS anthology as both a print-on-demand trade paperback and shorter electronic editions.

These will be made available at DriveThru Comics, Amazon, and other outlets and through www.hauntedcomputer.com. The project will be a separate wing of Haunted Computer Productions (yeah, we're almost as confused as you are, but if you like the comics, follow the Haunted Computer Comics blog, where we'll unveil art, sketches, plans, and more.

Tips for chipping in

The Skull Ring broke the 1,000 barrier so Uncle Scottie will be giving away faaahbulous prizes! Thanks much. If it does really well, say, cracks the Top 300, I've got more junk--er, esoteric rarities--to put on the pile. We're playing all week so I appreciate anything you can do to nudge it along. It tickles me to death that wonderful people like you can do what a major NY publisher's advertising budget can't guarantee. It's hard for me to show it without my grinning face (above), but I am incredibly humbled and grateful that you choose to put some of your positive energy behind me--it feels like wind beneath my wings.

Here's some more tips that help make a book more visible--if you hang out on Amazon, any of the communities are great places for conversation--if you like stories, books, movies, etc., you will find kindred spirits. If my book seems appropriate, you can click "insert product link" and type "skull ring kindle" and it will show the book, click, and it pastes the link right in the comment. Or simply copy and paste [[ASIN:B003980ELA The Skull Ring]]

You can also create "Mania Lists" and "So You'd Like To..." at Amazon. I always have fun with these, like "Ten scary thrillers" as recommended by "an aspiring writer" or "a lazy hack" or a "sleep-deprived maniac." Put in some of your favorite books. If mine is one, so be it!

One simple thing is to tag the book--on the Amazon product page, http://www.amazon.com/The-Skull-Ring-ebook/dp/B003980ELA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267495552&sr=8-1, add or click on tags such as "thriller," "suspense," "mystery," "romantic suspense," "indie author," "psychological thriller," etc. The important thing is to be genuine. Only do what you feel good about and are comfortable with.

Write a review if you feel like it. The number of reviews is actually more significant than the "star ranking." Better to have a three-star average with 200 reviews than a five-star average with five reviews. That means people are taking the book seriously. Reviews take a few days to post so they don't add that "instant impact," but they can help people make a decision to try the book. Again, be genuine. If you think it's a three-star book, put three stars. If you think it's a one-star book...go pick on James Patterson!

It's also up at Smashwords in other ebook formats, http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/9523.

Old-fashioned word of mouth is still the best promotion. If you have a friend you think would like the book, please let her know (I know, not everybody has a Kindle or Nook yet, but the paper version should be available in a couple of weeks.)

Again, thanks so much. The best is yet to come.
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Official launch of The Skull Ring

Thanks for supporting working-class fiction! Here's the latest:

Julia Stone will remember, even if it kills her...

With the help of a therapist, Julia is piecing together childhood memories of the night her father vanished. When Julia finds a silver ring that bears the name "Judas Stone," the past comes creeping back. Someone is leaving strange messages inside her house, even though the door is locked. The Christian handyman offers help, but he has his own shadowy past. And the cop who investigated her father's disappearance has followed her to the small mountain town of Elkwood.

Now she has a head full of memories, but she doesn't know which are real. Julia's therapist is playing games. The handyman is trying to save her, in more ways than one. And a sinister cult is closing in, claiming ownership of Julia's body and soul...

It's an ebook right now at Amazon (http://tiny.cc/O3WNT) and Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/9523) and will be in print in a few weeks.

If you'd like to help promote it and be eligible for cool prizes like valuable limited edition hardcovers, sign up to be a Microchip by emailing hauntedcomputerbooks AT yahoo.com with "Microchip" in the subject line. Thanks for all your support--this book has been part of me for a long time, with a number of revisions, and explores a lot of mysteries of faith, love, and messed-up motives. And don't forget the caffeine...

UPDATE: We broke the 1,000-barrier at about 7:30pm EST today, so all you Microchippers are in line for some great prizes like a signed limited edition of Scattered Ashes and of Brimstone Turnpike. Thank you very, very much for your support!

Scott Nicholson