Lonely on the Mountain, part 3

Now, years later and far out on the grass prairie, I was remembering and wondering what I could do that I hadn't done.

No matter which way you looked between you and anywhere else, there was a thousand miles of grass--- and the Sioux.

The Sioux hadn't come upon us yet, but they were about, and every man-jack of us knew it. It could be they hadn't cut our sign yet, but cut it they would, and when they did, they would come for us.

Lonely on the Mountain
Louis L'Amour
1980

This is the third installment of the beginning of Lonely on the Mountain, a western by Louis L'Amour, one of the most popular of American writers.

At this point the first-person narrator, Tell Sackett, brings us from his memory of troubled times of the past to the troubles of the present. He's out on the prairie--- we later learn his mission is to drive a herd of cattle to another Sackett in Canada--- and he is going through Sioux Indian territory--- and the Sioux are not feeling peaceable.

Putting the three sections of the beginning together, what most impresses me is the strong voice of his character. This is essential when you are using a first-person narrator. Such a narrator must show forth his personality and his individuality in the way he speaks. A bland first-person narrator just will not do.

Another interesting thing about 'Lonely on the Mountain'. The first section is first-person POV will Tell Sackett as the POV character. The next section is third-person POV with another member of the Sackett family as the POV character. He keeps hearing that Tell and the others on the cattle drive were killed by Indians. Later in the novel when Tell Sackett is found, we return to his first-person POV.

While this is not a common way of handling point-of-view in a novel, it works very well. Of course, L'Amour was a very experienced writer when he did it.

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Lonely on the Mountain, part 2

 Two years before, pa had set us to diggin' a well. "Pa?" I asked. "Why dig a well? We've got the creek yonder and three flowin' springs on the place. It's needless work."

He lifted his head, and he looked me right in the eye and said, "Dig a well."

We dug a well.

We grumbled, but when pa said dig, you just naturally dug. And lucky it was, too.

For there came a time when the bed of the creek was dust and the springs that had always flowed weren't flowin'. We had water, though. We had water from a deep, cold well. We watered our stock, we watered our kitchen garden, and we had what was needful for drinkin' because of that well.

*~*~*

Lonely on the Mountain
by Louis L'Amour
1980

This is the second installment of the beginning of this novel. L'Amour has his first-person narrator, Tell Sackett, give us a short word-picture of an incident from his boyhood. It shows what kind of person Pa Sackett was, which explains a lot about how Tell and the other Sackett brothers turned out.

This mini-flashback is risky at the beginning of a novel. L'Amour was at that time a very experienced writer. His first novel was published about 1950. The first book in the Sackett series was published in 1960, so he also had fans eager to hear some Sackett backstory.

But I think even if this had been the first Sackett book, this mini-flashback would have worked. In the voice of the first-person narrator, this mini-flashback is in a way a short description of the character--- not of his looks, but of who he was as a person.

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Lonely on the Mountain, part 1

There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.

Pa said that when I was a boy. There was a hot, dry wind moaning through the hot, dry trees, and we were scared of fire in the woods, knowing that if fire came, all we had would go.

We had crops in the ground, but there'd been no rain for weeks. We were scrapin' the bottom of the barrel for flour and drinkin' coffee made from ground-up beans. We' had our best cow die, and the rest was ganted up, so's you could count every rib.

from
Lonely on the Mountain
Louis L'Amour
published 1980

I've been doing a writing exercise that involves copying out about 300 words of the beginning of novels. This is the first 1/3 of the portion that I copied.

Louis L'Amour had a series, the Sackett series. The first book in that series was written in 1960. This one came along 20 years later. By this time Louis L'Amour was one of the most popular writers in the country. His skill with words can be seen here.

I found this section to be a very powerful opening, which I used for a model in my own WIP. The main character is William Tell Sackett, called Tell. He is featured in several of the Sackett novels and is a character I love.

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IWSG: From Insecure Writer to Insecure Facebook Author-Page Admin

This is my post for The Insecure Writer's Support Group, and the topic is how I went from being an insecure writer to being an insecure Facebook author-page admin.

We have all heard about how modern writers have to have a platform. And evidently that wooden platformy thing in my back yard does not count.

Many writers now have author Facebook pages in addition to their Facebook accounts. It's the kind of page a fan can 'like' rather that having to send in a friend request for. I knew I would make one some day. But I started a few other Facebook pages before I got the courage to make one for me-as-author.

One rule for Facebook page success was hard for me to learn: being controversial gets attention and so is good. My most successful Facebook page has the following title: We Support Traditional Marriage--- And We're Gay. Just listen to the sound of heads exploding over that one! And for all the controversy--- and the occasional hate troll who calls me a liar, moron and fraud and a few other words we won't get in to here--- I got some 545 'likes' on that page and a lot of supportive new friends.

An author Facebook page is harder especially if you don't have much published yet. I came up with the page-name: Nissa Annakindt, writer, Aspie, cat person. I decided that in addition to stuff about my writing, I would put up cat pictures--- I'm well supplied with cats--- and stuff about Doctor Who. And also stuff about Western fiction which is my current obsession.

One thing I do is post quotes from a book I'm reading, and then give the author and book title, and perhaps a bit of reaction. I thought that might be attractive to people who enjoy books and reading.

The hard thing about a new Facebook page is getting new 'likes'. It was SO frustrating at first! What I did was I 'used Facebook as' the page, and 'liked' a lot of pages I was interested in so I would have a good newsfeed. I then commented--- as the page--- on items of interest.

But it went so SLOW! I was stuck at 6 likes for the longest time. I complained that even my much-neglected Facebook page in Esperanto took off more quickly than that.

I keep working at it. I find new things to share, and comment on others' pages. I make memes--- like the one at the top of the page. I added my page to a list of author Facebook pages and blogs on a writer's group on Facebook. I'm up to 28 'likes' now.

But I've learned from my most successful Facebook page that it doesn't always start out quickly. You work at it for a long time, and it seems no one notices. And then, overnight, someone with clout does, and shares it with others, and things start to take off. And that can be scary, too. You have to learn to deal with trolls, among other things--- mentally troubled people who visit Facebook pages in order to hurl abuse at people. The first time that happened, I felt like crying. Now when I see the troll-fairy has left some hate-comments overnight, it's like taking out the trash--- just one more chore to deal with.

I would like to recommend, at this point, that when YOU have a Facebook page you set a strict troll policy--- when they resort to swearing and name calling and abuse, they are banned and the comment removed. The same with the persistently hostile. If people go to your page to disagree with you, expect them to be civil.

Anyway, that's what I have to say about my adventure into having a Facebook author page. I hope I've said something you can use. :)

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Young Writers and the Self-Publishing Trap

Before the internet age, the common trap for the young/beginning writer was the vanity press. A vanity press advertised in magazines, saying they wanted writers to submit to them. They accepted all novels, no matter how flawed. And then they ask you for money.

They claimed that was how publishing worked. You had to pay to get published if you wanted to be the next Norman Mailer.

So young writers paid, and ended up with a garage full of books that didn't sell because bookstores didn't carry vanity press books, and libraries wouldn't even accept them as gifts. And if the young writer mentioned that vanity press book as a writing credit, he was written off as an amateur.

Self-publishing today is not the same thing. They don't, as a rule, lie to you in order to sell you on publishing with them. And there are respected traditionally-published writers who self-publish now, such as Holly Lisle who has used self-publishing to get some of her old novels back into print. A very few writers have even found self-publishing an entryway to a writing career, as in Hugh Howey, whose self-published book 'Wool' won a traditional publisher's contract for a print book version.

But for the young/beginning writer, self-publishing can be a trap. Perhaps you participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and you finish a novel. Then you find out you can get it self-published. Perhaps people tell you that no one has a chance with the traditional publishers, you HAVE to self-publish.

Then it gets expensive. The self-publishers tend to sell you editing and proof-reading services, cover art services, perhaps special book promotion services. So even with a 'free' self-publishing option you end up sinking hundreds into self-publishing that first novel. And it doesn't sell, except to your mom and your cousin Bill.

So you panic and read a few articles on using social media to promote your book. You end up being a book-spammer--- putting your book promo up on message boards and internet groups, causing many to vow never to buy anything you write because of your rudeness. And you sell a few more books. Only your self-promoting is taking up all your writing time and you don't know when you will start your next book. Your energies are absorbed in selling this one.

This is a special problem for the teen writer. The teenager simply doesn't have the life experience to avoid making some glaring mistakes. And the skills of the teen writer are not what they will be after a few more years of practice. The teen-written first novel rarely can compete with books written by more mature writers.

This isn't to say that what the teen writer produces is worthless. Fantasy writer Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote a story as a teen that went on to become the start of her Darkover series--- a wonderful series she went on with for the rest of her life. But the teen-written version was not what got published. She re-wrote extensively at a more mature age, and this became one of her first published books. Years later when she had improved her skills still more, she was so embarrassed by the lack of quality of that version, called 'Sword of Aldones', that she retold that part of the Darkover story in a new novel 'Sharra's Exile'.

So--- you have your just-finished Nano novel in your hands. What do you do? Now, I'm not saying you can't use a firm like Lulu.com to make a few copies of the book, either print or ebook, to share with your writing friends. That can be fun. But DON'T at this point decide you are a published writer.

Your next task is to put that novel away for a few months and begin your second. Check that first novel again. How does it compare to what you are writing now? If you still think it measures up, look up some traditional royalty-paying publishers and submit. You will be rejected. Your second and third and fourth novel will be rejected too. But the rejection letters will get nicer.

As well as continuing to write, you must continue to improve your writing skills by reading the best books on writing, and doing writing exercises. 

When should you self-publish? I firmly believe that you ought to have something published in a traditional way before you are ready to turn to self publishing. It doesn't have to be a novel. In my case, I published a story in a national 'confession' magazine, several poems in small press periodicals, and a column in a local humor newspaper. I then had confirmation that I was able to judge accurately when something I had written was polished enough for publication.

 To get that publication experience you may have to experiment with writing forms that aren't really your writing goal. You may have to try out some small press publishers. You might have to do as I did and volunteer to write a column somewhere. Write thoughtful letters to the editor of your local paper and see if your letter gets published, and what the reaction is. Just find SOME way to get your writing tested by the real world.

The main thing is, DON'T fall into the trap of publishing an unpolished, beginner's novel through self-publishing and then self-promote the hell out of it. That is self-defeating. Be patient, and in time if you choose to self-publish, your self-published novel will stand out from the others in a GOOD way.


This blog post originally published on Facebook.
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Before you write, read

You may have heard it as 'A writer WRITES, always.' At least if you've watched the movie 'Throw Mamma From the Train'.  Only before you can write anything you need to put in many, many hours of reading.

Think of it like this. Writing is a foreign language. In order to speak this foreign language you must spend hundreds of hours listening to that foreign language being spoken. Only then will you be able to speak it.

Reading books is your way of listening to the foreign language. How many books have you read in your lifetime so far? A hundred? A thousand? Two thousand?

Think about the next hundred books you will read. What genres will you include? What authors? What non-fiction subject? What books will you read more than once? And how much more fluent will your writing be when you are done?

Nearly every successful writer out there was a compulsive reader of books before they ever thought of writing one of their own. This should serve as a caution to those who've decided they will be writers--- since it's a nice, indoor job and all--- even though they don't care to read on their own. You CAN'T get there as a writer by watching movies based on books, this isn't a grade school book report we are talking about but a way of life. And a way of life can't be faked.



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Confessions of an 'Egotistical' Insecure Writer

A Hostile Critiquer

I've always known I have writing problems. My self-esteem is so low that I have a hard time getting any words out at all. Because if you don't write your stories down, no one can tell you they are dreck. I also give up on perfectly fine writing projects because I falsely believe they are no good at the moment, and then can't get back into them when I realize how wrong I was.

But until I was so informed by a self-appointed hostile critiquer, I didn't know I was egotistical about my writing. Egotistical because I won't post excerpts of my writing on his Facebook critique group for him to grind into dust. As he does everything I say in my own Facebook group which is NOT a critique group.

So, I'll own up to it. I'm egotistical. I have my own way of writing--- though I experiment with variations--- and one thing I am not is someone who can 'write by committee'. Some people are that way. They may need a critique group to look over every word and suggest changes before they can proceed. If they can't get a good critique group, they will settle for critiques from random internet strangers. I can't understand working like that, but if it works for them....

I have my own way. Perhaps it's because I have Asperger Syndrome. I write. I find my own mistakes. I fix them if I can. Sometimes I can't. I may know that a certain scene needs more bits of description, but I may have done as much as I can along that line at the moment. I work alone toward a goal that perhaps only I think of as worth pursuing.

I don't want 'critiques' or writing instruction from self-proclaimed-brilliant small-press writers. I probably couldn't process the input from a first-class critique properly, and critique from random sources of varying levels of expertise just doesn't seem worth dealing with, for me. And then there is always the problem of attracting someone who will crush my already-almost-non-existent self-esteem--- for my own good, of course.

What I want is something I can use: reactions. Feedback. I mean, I want to be able to share a bit of my writing and see how people react to it. For example, I shared the basic premise from my WIP 'On Tejas Trails', about a girl who uses an amulet to be transformed into a male guise, and I got some good feedback that mentioned some Shakespeare plays in which females pose as males. Great, that was something I will probably work into the story.

I also got a few people who said the story sounded interesting. Were they merely being kind to poor, autistic me? Maybe. But I took it as encouragement and it helps.

If you are also an insecure writer, I encourage you to be 'egotistical', like me. YOU are the one I might think, for example, that you really need to fix some 'as-you-know' dialogue in your first chapter. But maybe you are not yet ready to deal with that input right now.
writer who can best tell what kind of help you need right now.

Know what feedback you are looking for at this moment and very specifically ask for it. If you have specific issues that you plan to deal with later--- perhaps you are a poor speller--- mention that you don't want feedback in that area at this time. I mean, if your major concern is whether your relationship between Tristan the vampire and Isolde the dwarf is believable, 1000 comments on your spelling errors will just get in the way of getting the feedback you really want.

And do feel free, when someone ignores your specifications on the feedback you want and gives you a rundown of your spelling mistakes, to tell that person to go to hell. Even if it is me. YOU are the one who knows what you need, and what just makes you feel defeated. Don't be afraid to speak up for yourself.

But what if you are a writer who is really bad? Aren't you cutting yourself off from a chance to improve when you don't invite critiques from all comers? No. Let's face it, a lot of critique comments are useful only as comic relief. Some person has heard some obscure writing rule and demands that everyone bow down to it even when the rule is not only invalid, but bizarre. I knew a woman once who was dead set against the use of the word 'and'. Didn't have much problem with a string of 4 adjectives in a row, but hated that word 'and'. Trust me, your writing will not be harmed by ignoring critiques like that.

It will also not be harmed by not asking for critiques prematurely, or in areas you are not ready to deal with at this time. Maybe what you need most right now is just some encouragement to believe in yourself as a writer. Because if you keep trying, your writing will keep improving. Whether the hostile critiquers like it or not.



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5 Reasons Why As-You-Know Dialogue Doesn't Work

"As you know, my dear brother Edward Malloy," said Katterina, "in our world magic is real, and our magically gifted father, Andrew Malloy, is a skilled horse-talker. And I have inherited his skill."
"And as you know, my not-very-dear sister who is in fact only a step-sister," Edward replied, "I do not have any such magical gift, and since I am a nasty sort of man, that ticks me off."

Why doesn't that dialogue work? Well, I'm sure there are countless ways as I wrote it as an example of bad dialogue. But the chief flaw is something called 'as-you-know' dialogue.

Now, don't be mistaken. As-you-know dialogue doesn't need to have the words 'as you know' in it to be there, stinking up your Work-in-Progress. As-you-know dialogue is any dialogue in which one character tells another something they both already know. It's a device inexperienced writers sometimes use to fill in backstory and other information. But it doesn't work. Here are the reasons why.

Reason #1: As-you-know dialogue is unrealistic.
Think back to your real life. As a kid, did you ever come down and say to your mom, "Greetings, my 34-year-old German-American mother, married to my 33-year-old store manager father of Scottish extraction?" No. That would have been silly. Your mom already knew all that stuff--- heck, she's probably the one who told you. And in real life, we don't waste our breaths filling one another in on this stuff that we both know. Readers are very well aware of this, and are jolted out of the story by this misuse of dialogue.

Reason #2: As-you-know dialogue may be giving too much information.
Neophyte writers often feel that the reader needs tons of information about the backstory--- the history of the characters--- dumped in their laps as soon as possible. But the reader actually needs a lot less than you would think to understand the story. Giving information a small bit at a time rewards your reader for continuing to read. It's better than tossing it all out at once in the form of clumsy dialogue.

Reason #3: As-you-know dialogue hurts character development.
Your readers get to know your characters through two things: what they do and what they say. When you use dialogue clumsily for an info dump, you are saying that the characters involved are the type of people who chatter uselessly about things they both know. Is that really the direction you want to take your characters in? It's particularly fatal when you want to portray a character as the strong, silent type.

Reason #4: As-you-know dialogue is uninteresting. 
Normal dialogue is exciting to the reader because the characters are reacting to one another. In the sample dialogue above, if Katterina had been talking to a stranger, newly come across the barrier between her world and ours, the revelation about magic being real in the world would have been a surprise. We would have been curious to see the character's reaction to the surprise. But with two characters reciting things they both know, the only reaction they have to the information is ho-hum. Which leads the reader to regard this dialogue as the boring part, to be skipped over--- thus missing all that information you thought he needed to have.

Reason #5: Agents, editors and book reviewers react badly to as-you-know dialogue.
As-you-know dialogue is widely known as the mark of the beginning writer. When your book is being evaluated by the people that count, they will hit your patch of as-you-know dialogue and put your book down, rejected. They will write you off as a not-yet-ready-for-publication beginner.

Have you been using as-you-know dialogue? Check by asking yourself, at each patch of dialogue, why these characters are talking to one another--- what is their motivation to exchange words? Are they trading information, or expressing feelings? If the only reason you can find is because you, the writer, want to dump some information into the story, rewrite that passage. Dialogue is not the right way to do it.

Exercise: Find a book you like which has a lot of backstory and background that has to be given to the reader. Read through, notebook in hand, and write down the page numbers where bits of this information are given, and note down how they are given. This will make you more aware of how experienced writers give information to readers--- or withhold it.


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Indie Life: Aspie Writers & the 10-word Rule

Indie writers--- those who are self-publishing rather than seeing a traditional publisher--- have even more need than other writers to have a good, regular daily working schedule. There is no one standing over you to get your writing work done on time. You have to learn to do it for yourself.

If you are, in addition, an Aspie (Asperger Syndrome) writer, that gets double tough. The Aspie condition comes with this charming little function called 'executive function deficit'. It's kind of like having AD/HD. It means your writing life may be in a state of constant chaos. Chaos is not good if you want to get anything done!

And this is where the 10-word rule comes in: each day, when your designated writing time rolls around, you absolutely must dip in to your story and write a minimum of 10 words. You are allowed to take one day of rest per week--- it's in the Ten Commandments somewhere. But other than that, EVEN on days when you, for good reason, are not going to be even trying to fulfill your daily word count goal, you owe yourself 10 words.

Ten words! It's not so much. Even if you are not yet ready to start a new chapter, you may find a place here or there in a sparse paragraph which could benefit from a word or three of description.

And the magic of the ten word rule is when you are dipping in to your story for the ten words you absolutely must do, you seldom write JUST ten words. Yesterday I did over 600 words when I intended to do just the minimum. Since my word count goal was 926 per day, that was going a good way toward fulfilling my goal.

Being utterly strict about your ten words leads to a writer's blessing--- steady forward progress. Even if you have a whole bad month, if you do your ten word minimum, you are further ahead than when you started.

Plus, dipping into your story 6 days a week without fail keeps the project from growing stale, and then dying on the vine, as so often happens to a work of fiction that gets put aside for awhile.

Now, about that designated writing time: you need one. Yes, even if you are a wild and crazy Aspie who does things when the mood strikes and not on a schedule. A day--- yours, mine, anyone's--- needs a framework to it. When you were a child, your parents provided the framework in that there were set times for meals, for going to school/to do your homeschooling, to get up and to go to bed.... As a grown-up, you have fixed times depending on events like getting up, going to work, perhaps other things like watching the evening news--- these provide your framework.

If you look at yourself as a professional Indie writer, you must attach a designated writing time to your day's framework. In my own case, I find that unless I schedule things first thing in the morning, they don't get done. Once mid-morning rolls around, I've looked out the window and noticed the escaped sheep, or discovered I am out of kitchen garbage bags but not out of kitchen garbage, and my day's excitement has begun. Writing has to happen before this. If you are not a morning person, you may decide to write after you get home from work or school, or after the kids are in bed, or some other fixed point of your day. Whatever works for you. The exact time doesn't matter as much as the fact that you have scheduled one daily.

What is your own best writing time daily? Have you ever had to try shifting that time around? Do you think adopting the 10-word rule will help your writing?
 
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"The Indelibles will be hosting a monthly feature called INDIE LIFE. Modeled after Alex Cavanaugh's awesome Insecure Writer's Group, this will be a chance for indie authors to post about indie life, find each other, offer support, encouragement, news, helpful hints, and anything else that makes life as an indie author a little easier.

What is Indie Life? How: Sign up on the Linky at the bottom of this page here. When: Post on the second Wednesday of the month. What: Write anything indie related: something that will inspire or help a fellow indie; something that celebrates a release or a milestone; something that talks about the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of Being Indie. Grab: The banner above to include in your posts!"
 

Why Writers Need Sabbath Rest

I have been reading some how-to-write books by James Scott Bell lately, and when I made up my writing work sheet for the month, I took two pieces of advice from him. One was to set my word count goals on a weekly rather than a daily basis. And the other was to take one day each week as a day of rest--- in my case, as in his, the Christian Sabbath, which is Sunday.

On my work sheet, Sundays are in red. There is a column on my work sheet where I put stickers to indicate I've done at least SOME work that day. On the Sabbath, however, I earn the sticker by NOT writing, but resting.

Ideally I'd top off my day-of-rest Sabbath by going to Mass, but because of my Asperger Syndrome (autism spectrum disorder), that's not as common as I would like. Most Sunday mornings I just feel utter panic at the idea of going into a church filled with other people and having to behave for an hour. Some weeks I don't go at all, others I take in the Saturday afternoon Mass instead. Going to the Latin Mass might be ideal since fewer people are there, plus one of my Special Interests is languages so a Mass in Latin fits in with that. But that Mass is LONGER, and VERY early in the morning.

How did the resting go this past Sabbath? I think it was kind of a relief, to have one day where I don't either have to write, or have to feel guilty for not writing. And in this morning's writing session, despite interruptions by phone call and by a cat unplugging the computer, I got more word count in than I have previous working days this month.

A Sabbath rest is not just for writers who are people of faith, however. It's just human nature that we benefit from having a day off.

Plus, not writing on your day off reinforces the idea that writing is your job, not just an idle hobby you take up when the mood strikes. It's a way of telling yourself that you are, indeed, a professional writer, even if you have not yet been accepted by a traditional publisher.

Might you consider trying a  writing schedule which gave you a day off from writing each week? How to you feel about the idea? Have you ever tried such a schedule? How did that work out for you? Let us know in a comment.

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In Medias Res: Jumpin' Right on In

How do you begin a scene? How should I begin one? Say, for example, a scene from On Tejas Trails? There's this scene that shows the main character Katterina and her family members in the parlor of their ranch home, and the important thing that happens involves a magical amulet.

Now, I might think like this: So the family is in the parlor--- why? I guess Katterina's Pa decided to call the family together. How? Well, maybe he sent the housekeeper to each of them with the message. Yeah, he did that because he wants them together when he unwraps the amulet that just arrived. OK, so we show each family member where they are when they get the message, and then   going to the parlor, and then they sit down and exchange pleasantries, and then....

Actually, there is a better way. Begin in medias res. Or, jump right in to the middle of things. The family is there, in the parlor. Pa unwraps the amulet and puts it on a table. And the action begins. Katterina, who has a magical Gift, reaches for the amulet, while dull brother Edward fusses over her manners and her clothing which riles Katterina enough that she snatches the amulet and tries it on, and is transformed.... Well, let us just say that is where some excitement begins.

You see, the thing is, when we start out writing we have this impulse to start everything off at the beginning. With the character getting out of bed and brushing his teeth, or taking the subway, or putting a saddle on his horse (or his dragon) preparatory to an adventure.

But that's the boring stuff. The prosy stuff. Want to keep a reader's attention? Skip that stuff.

The next time you read a cracking good novel, slow down a bit. Pay attention to how the scenes start. Do they begin with the transitional and routine beginning stuff? Or do they jump right to where the action begins? Make a mental note. And go thou and do likewise.

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Free (for short time) Kindle Ebooks: A Pius Man & Autobiography of Billy the Kid

Act fast to pick up some free ebooks!

A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller by Declan Finn http://www.amazon.com/Pius-Man-Thriller-Trilogy-Volume/dp/1482553899    is free all FRIDAYS in MAY 2013. 

Description from Amazon.com: As the head of Vatican security, Giovanni Figlia must protect a new, African Pope who courts controversy every other day. The Pope's latest project is to make Pius XII, "Hitler's Pope," a saint. Things haven't gotten better since the Pope employed American mercenary Sean Ryan. Then a body fell onto the Vatican doorstep. Soon, a pattern emerges-- people who go into the Pius XII historical archives are dying. Each time, a priest has been in the background-- a priest close to the Pope. One of the victims was an al-Qaeda operative, drawing Scott "Mossad" Murphy of Israeli intelligence to Rome. Soon, Ryan, Murphy and Figlia must join forces to unravel the mystery around the Vatican, as even the man Giovanni is supposed to protect looks like a suspect. To get out of this alive, they must discover if Hitler's Pope was a Nazi collaborator, or a pious man.

The Autobiography of Billy the Kid by Ralph Estes http://www.amazon.com/The-Autobiography-Billy-Kid-ebook/dp/B009L7ZHOW    is free May 3rd through May 5th.

Description from Amazon.com: Everyone knows the saga of Billy the Kid. That story's been told, in an avalanche of books, songs, movies, TV programs. And yet - no one has given Billy's side. Until The Autobiography of Billy the Kid. Oh, there have been many claims that it wasn't Billy whom Pat Garrett shot in Pete Maxwell's darkened bedroom on July 14, 1881. But in fact it was. Billy just didn't die then. With the help of loyal friends he played dead, was "buried" long enough for Garrett to leave, nursed back to health, made his way to Wichita, and under the name of Henry Carter became a leading rancher until cancer laid him low. And now: Billy tells his own story. What were his feelings and fears, his pleasures and regrets? What really happened, not the media and the movies' and Garrett's exaggerations. Just as Billy, as he lay dying in a care center, told it to a young Ralph Estes in 1951.  This book also has some fine reviews, including one from a past president of Western Writers of America.

I have downloaded these books myself and they have prominent places on my to-be-read list. They will likely be reviewed on this blog. But for the sake of other folks who like free Kindle books, I thought I'd get the word out.

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Black Jack: Will Outlaw's Son Repeat Father's Fate? (Free Ebook)

Book: Black Jack
Author: Max Brand (Frederick Schiller Faust)
Genre: Western
Year Published: 1922
Horse's Name: El Sangre
Content Rating: G--- no sex or swearing
Stars: **** Very Good
Link for Free Ebook:  http://manybooks.net/titles/brandmaxetext06blkjk10.html

The book begins with the shooting death of an outlaw, witnessed by spinster ranch owner Elizabeth Cornish and her lazy younger brother Vance. The outlaw, Black Jack, left an orphaned infant son behind.

Vance Cornish, referring to the theory of eugenics popular when the book was written, predicted Black Jack's son would grow up to be just like his old man. Elizabeth not only believed the infant could be spared that fate if carefully reared, she decided to do so herself. Vance predicted the boy would shoot a man before age 25.

Jump forward to just before the boy Terry's 25th birthday. He is a fine young man and proud of the fine family that Elizabeth told him he came from--- he has no clue his real father was an outlaw. He has tamed a wild horse, El Sangre, and won much admiration for his courage and his sense of fair play.

But Vance, whose idle ways have lost him his share of the family ranch, is jealous when Elizabeth proposes to make Terry her heir. He arranges for Terry to learn the truth about his father--- and to be confronted with the man, now a sheriff, who shot Black Jack from ambush. Terry calls the sheriff out, and shoots him in an excruciatingly fair duel.

Terry must now leave the ranch in disgrace. He tries to find honest work, but when he is found out as Black Jack's son he is fired. Only the members of Black Jack's old gang have any interest in helping Terry.

Terry ends up hiring on for ranch work at the home/hideout of the current leader of Black Jack's gang. Here he is pulled closer into a life of crime, much to the dismay of the gang leader's pretty daughter.

The great question of the book is: Does a boy like Terry have any chance at all of leading a morally upright life? And can Terry resist the strong temptations posed by a life of crime when an honest life seems so difficult? Read the book to find out!

I believe this book would be of great interest to the Christian reader because of the moral dilemma at the heart of the story, and because of the lack of objectionable content. The YA reader would also be pleased as the hero, though older than the standard age 17, is youthful and just starting out in life.

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