Category Archives: Writing

The Spear of the Hunt

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The Sword of Water

I just wrapped up the rough draft on what will be my fifth novel, The Spear of the Hunt.

Whew. The picture is the cover of my last novel.

I don’t have a lot of fans but I appreciate the few kind words I do get from those who’ve taken the chance on spending $2.99 and hours of their time reading the efforts of a self-published author.

Be warned, the outline on the website is not completely accurate. Things change as I’m writing and will change again as I start on my working drafts. I’ll get around to fixing the web page fairly soon.

My writing process is that I think about the book for a period of time, maybe six months, maybe less, jot down ideas, characters, plots, themes, conflicts, figure out a good ending, and what not. Then, suddenly, I can’t say why, I start writing.

My goal is 5,000 words a day and I pretty much hit it. I wrote 97,246 words of the rough draft in twenty days. Naturally, much of it needs work. When you write that fast a lot of mistakes get made. That’s why I’ll get started on the working draft soon. I’ll probably have at least two of those, more likely three although each one requires fewer changes.

Then it’s off to the proofreader and finally self-publishing at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Nook.

I’d say maybe two months until publishing. Maybe less. We’ll see. Right now I’m a little tired of writing.

Tom Liberman

Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist
Current Release: The Sword of Water
Upcoming Release: The Spear of the Hunt

The Power of the Bikini

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The Power of the BikiniAs some of you may have noticed I ran a blog on Saturday about a lawsuit associated with social media sharing. The cover picture was an attractive young woman in a bikini. You can read the entire story here but it’s not what I’m going to talk about today. Today is the idea that sex sells.

I write sword and sorcery fantasy novels. I write blog posts frequently. After yesterday I must ask myself if I am going about the business of doing it poorly. My books have sold very few copies, of late my blog attracts about twenty viewers a day and I’ve accumulated over 700 followers. That’s a pretty low number in the big scheme of things although certainly not awful.

Prior to yesterday my single best day was 81 views with the exception of my Freshly Pressed article about the St. Louis Cardinals and how being a fan was an important part of my life. Freshly Pressed means WordPress puts the blog on their front page for a couple of days. I had 440 views on the day I was Freshly Pressed.

Yesterday, with an attractive, fit seventeen year old girl in a bikini on my blog page I got 138 views which represents about a 41% increase on my (not Freshly Pressed aided) best day. Should I write about bikinis more often? Should my Sword and Sorcery novels take a turn to the vampire and zombie realms?

The main topic of my post on Saturday was Social Media and privacy. I got one comment. The vast majority of viewers came simply to look at the picture of the young woman and likely did not even read the story.

As a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist I know that to some degree it’s a numbers game. Higher views of my blog translates to more clicks on the links to my books. Click on the links to my books translates to sales of my books. Do I want more sales? More views? My course is obvious … more bikinis.

However, what if my books and this blog are about my Libertarian Ideals. Ways I think the world, the United States, the state of Missouri, the city of University City, and the people who read this blog and my books can improve the quality of their life. I hope to impart ideas to people to make them think, to help them make better decisions, to make everything around them better. If this is my goal then bikini pictures are irrelevant.

I’d be lying if I said every blog post I make doesn’t have an eye toward viewers. I often pick sensationalist stories that are big news on that day. I read all sorts of articles on various news outlets looking for ideas. When I posted yesterday I calculated using Chelsea Chaney’s name in the blog title to help SEO, I put in the bikini picture knowing it would attract attention. It was not random chance.

Where is the line between holding onto idealism and selling-out so that my efforts have a better chance to be seen? Where do I cross-over into sensationalism and leave behind the noble goal?

If no one buys my books, if no one reads my blog then all my idealism is pointless. If I stray from my beliefs and write zombie/vampire/bikini blogs and books then I’ve destroyed the very message I set out to impart.

What’s a boy to do?

I’m happy with my compromise so far. I write my blogs with an eye towards publicity. My novels, they are about Randian Objectivism and Sword and Sorcery Adventure, that I will not change. Ever.

It’s an interesting question that I imagine all of us have to face not just in the world of art. Idealism and pragmatism. Both have their value in the real world. At work, at home, in the car, and just about everywhere else. Have you battled with those concepts? What was your resolution?

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery novels with a Libertarian Twist
Current Release: The Sword of Water (No bikinis but Jon Gray is one handsome and heroic fellow and Eleniak, the Dancing Flame, yeah, she’s a hottie)
Next Release: The Spear of the Hunt

The Sword of Water

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The Sword of Water
I’m happy to announce the release of my fourth Sword and Sorcery novel, The Sword of Water.

Cover art by Raro.

Summary

Jon Gray returns along with his best friend Sorus Nightwalk as they travel to the newly freed island nation of Cawl in search of the Sword of Water. Directed by his enigmatic brother Valari, Jon arrives on the island and quickly finds out the king of the nation is off on a quest but a regent rules in his stead. With permission from Granatz the Black the two heroes set off towards the Central Mountain where rumors of the Sword of Water persist thousands of years after it legendarily ousted the great Fire Elemental twins Eleniak and Hezfer from their citadel.

Young Prince Jerichi and his friend Silenia follow the two champions into the adventure of a lifetime. They journey from the great mountain to the restive city-state of Serapis where Silenia’s father, High Priest Amalagaz, plots against the prince and hopes to usurp control of the newly founded nation.

Muddying the plot is the fact that Eleniak is still alive, blames the Sword of Water for the death of her twin, and plots vengeance against the Water Elemental Silenia. The great fiery ruler manipulates events so that she can lure the Water Elemental from her ancient hiding place.

It’s a battle of courage against fear, a fight for a newly founded nation to survive political turmoil, and a question if young Silenia will lure her namesake into the grasp of Eleniak. Can Jon Gray navigate these tumultuous waters safely or will the young Knight of Gray meet a foe more powerful than even he can manage?

Find out in The Sword of Water; a Tales of Corland adventure featuring Jon Gray.

Purchase Information

The Sword of Water at Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Smashwords: $2.99

Previous Novels

The Staff of Naught at Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Smashwords: $2.99

The Staff of Sakatha at Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Smashwords: $2.99

The Hammer of Fire at Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Smashwords: $2.99

Thank you for purchasing and reading! I hope everyone enjoys the books.

Coming Next

The Spear of the Hunt: During the Dark Ages after the fall of the Empire young nations fought against the terrible chaos that reigned. Among the greatest of heroes from this time is Yumanar of Caparal. He found the ancient Spear of the Hunt, saved his kingdom from destruction, and built a legacy that lives on five hundred years later. This is his story.

Website Pages

See more about each of the novels, read sample chapters, and watch videos about the characters and philosophies behind each book.

The Hammer of Fire – The Staff of Naught – The Staff of Sakatha – The Sword of Water

Five Star Book Reviews – for a Price

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Five Star ReviewThere is an article in the New York Times that strikes directly to my business model in trying to sell my Sword and Sorcery novels. It turns out most of the five-star reviews you’ve read on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords were likely purchased. The going rate was fifty reviews for $1,000.

Supposedly Amazon and B&N have caught onto the practice and banned the main offender but I’m very skeptical. When I first entered the self-publishing world with The Staff of Naught, I joined a number of author groups all over the internet. I was immediately inundated with offers to review my novel for a fee. I gave a free copy of my book for one of these reviews. I got a four-star review that looked as if the person hadn’t read the book and the review seemed based mostly only the blurb I put as the description.

I had a recent experience that shocked me. One avenue that I use to publicize my novels is to self-pirate it to torrent sites. The torrent site that I use is the immensely popular Demonoid which was recently shut-down by the government. While reading an article on ZDnet I ran across an author who wrote a “good-riddance” letter. I posted my own experience with Demonoid wherein the majority of my book sales stemmed from torrented files that the person read and then purchased. The author who posted the “good-riddance” message got into a bit of a flame war with those who supported Torrenting and some of those people posted negative reviews of her book.

Now comes the shocking part. The author asked Amazon to remove the negative reviews and they did! Apparently this is a common practice. So, not only are positive reviews manufactured but negative ones can be deleted.

My books are priced at $2.99 and a reviewer of The Hammer of Fire, one of two neither of which I solicited in any way, pointed out that while this seems like a small sum there are so many terrible self-published books that even such a minor expense is difficult to make without reviewer proof of a good novel. But, if reviewer proof is manufactured where does that leave the consumer?

Personally, I’m not going to pay for a review ever again, not even for just a copy of the book, and I’ve never asked my friends to write positive reviews. I have asked people who read the book to put an honest review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords.

Don’t think for a moment that is positive review practice is limited to books. And don’t think that competitors aren’t out there writing negative reviews. What’s a writer to do? What’s a consumer to do? It’s a dilemma.

I would suggest finding the author’s blog if they have one and read it to find out about their style. Download the sample and read it. See if they have a GoodReads Author Group where they answer questions. See how they respond to reviews. I have a samples of all my books at my site, you’re currently reading my blog, I have an author group (with six whole members), and I respond to my reviews.

I think there’s a lot of a great writing out there but it’s difficult to find. I think anyone who spends $2.99 on my books will find that they get value for the price. But, in the end the market will determine if that’s true.

Don’t trust reviews, particularly five-star reviews that don’t go into details about the book in question.

Oh, and for sure, BUY MY BOOKS!! 🙂

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist
New Release: The Hammer of Fire

The Sword of Water

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The Sword of WaterI’ve updated the page to my fourth Sword and Sorcery novel, The Sword of Water. I’ve really been thinking about the book more than actually writing at this point and I’ve only got about 10,000 words down at this point. But, things have really come together in my mind enough that I thought I could update the page with information that might be of interest to my fans.

The Sword of Water

The novel marks the return of Jon Gray and Sorus Nightwalk from their adventures in The Staff of Sakatha. About a year has passed and they two are on the trail of yet another relic of the Old Empire. There is a Sample Chapter available but it is from the rough draft so hold the comments on typos, spelling, and grammar errors! 🙂

I hope those few who enjoy my books are happy to see that work progresses on the next installment!

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist
New Release: The Hammer of Fire

The Hammer of Fire – Cover Process

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Here is the final cover for my new Sword and Sorcery novel, The Hammer of Fire!

My mother finished with the copy-edits yesterday and I’ll be over there tomorrow for Memorial Day. I’ll pick up the changes and finish the book probably by Tuesday and post the novels to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords that day. It usually takes about 48 hours for the books to start appearing on site so I anticipate a release date of Thursday, May 31. I’ll make an announcement then.

In the meantime, here is the finished cover along with the drafts from Raro. It’s fascinating to watch a concept turn into a cover. Raro is an amazing artist!

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist

The Hammer of FireHammer of Fire Final ColorHammer of FireHammer of Fire First Sketch

Thematic Elements in the Hammer of Fire

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My third book, the Hammer of Fire, will be released within the next two weeks and I go into details about the thematic elements of the book in this YouTube video.

The three main elements are Isolationism, Meritocracy, and the Corrupting Influence of Power. Please take a look at the video and keep an eye on my page to see when the novel is released. It will be priced, as always, at $2.99 for the Kindle, Nook, or any digital device.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist

The Hammer of Fire Cover – Step 4

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This is the second to last step in the cover of my new novel, The Hammer of Fire.

The cover is by Raro who also did the cover for my second book, The Staff of Sakatha.

My stalwart editor and proof-reader, mom, is 75% done with her work and I’m about half way through translating her changes to the final product. I’m still on schedule for a release late this month but it might slip a week into next month depending on if mom has time to proof.

Tom LibermanSword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist

Hammer of Fire Final ColorHammer of Fire
Hammer of Fire First Sketch

Hammer of Fire Cover – Step 3

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Here are the first three pieces of art on the way to the finished cover for my new novel, The Hammer of Fire.

Artwork by Raro.

I’ll be posting some videos on YouTube soon about the thematic elements of the new book and the important characters. Go here to see videos of my previous books.

Release date later this month!

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist

Hammer of FireHammer of Fire First Sketch

Hammer of Fire Update

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I took a day off from posting because my fanatic week kind of ran out of steam and I didn’t have another topic that I felt too strongly about. I thought I’d fill the gap with progress on my third novel, The Hammer of Fire. I managed to finish about half of the rewrite and my proofreader has started on the first few chapters.

My cover art from Raro is coming along very nicely. He had a different vision for one part of it but I really like what he has done. I’ll probably post a series of pictures as it is coming along for all to see. I’m amazed by how an artist turns a paragraph I wrote into a sketch and then into an amazing image. It’s a talent I do not have.

I’m pretty excited with the rewrite as several characters are really getting their voice. I find in my original rough draft that all the characters start to sound like me but as I do the rewrite I move more quickly through the book and get a sense of each character’s inner workings.

To give a little teaser I’ve included the first rough sketch of the cover. You’ll be amazed as it takes shape!

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist

Hammer of Fire – Book Cover Artist

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I’m extremely happy to announce that Jesus Garcia Lopez has agreed to do the cover for my third novel, The Hammer of Fire. He did the amazing cover for my second book, The Staff of Sakatha and I’m eagerly awaiting his interpretation of the new work.

Beware those of you who follow the original link, some of his work is a little racy, nothing pornographic, more pin-up.

I finished the rewrite on the first quarter of the The Hammer of Fire and my stalwart proofreader, mom, is hard at work finding all my comma splices (and there are a lot of them). I anticipate having the finished work sometime next month depending on how fast things go.

The picture accompanying this post was done for me by Jenny Dolfen and depicts the protagonists of the new novel along with the titular weapon.

Thank you all for your great support,

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist

The Hammer of Fire – Rough Draft Complete

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The Hammer of FireI just finished up the rough draft on the Hammer of Fire, my third sword and sorcery novel. You can check out its page on my site here.

It should take me about a month or less to clean up the draft and do the rewrites and then it is off to my expert proof-reader, mom. I’ll need a cover as well and I’m hoping that Raro (some racy photos through that link, beware. Nothing pornographic) will agree to the task!

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist

The Staff of Sakatha – Character Video – Jon Gray

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Jon GrayI’ve neglected my videos of late and managed to get today off from work so I’ve just made a the latest in the series. You can go to my book pages to see the videos so far created for The Staff of Naught and the Staff of Sakatha.

Here is the direct link to the video about Jon Gray the main protagonist from the Staff of Sakatha.

Tom Liberman
Sword and Sorcery fantasy with a Libertarian Twist

Staff of Sakatha Artist

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I found an artist for the Staff of Sakatha.

Jesus Garcia Lopez

His stuff is a little sexy for my kind of writing but I like his style very much.

On the copy editing front I’ve got about 130 more pages of commas to fix, thanks mom, and then I’ll be ready to publish. I don’t know what it is about commas that confuse me but they are absolutely confounding. They dwarf all the other issues. Mom is now looking at the Staff of Naught and I’ll probably end up republishing that as well. If anyone who purchased the original would like an updated copy just let me know and I’ll send it along.

Tom

Staff of Sakatha – Copy Edits

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The copy edits are complete on the Staff of Sakatha. I’m still searching for an artist to do the cover page although my friend Den will do it sometime next month if I can’t get anyone else as his other project will be complete.

I really have to get to work putting in the edit changes as I’ve been a bit lazy about my writing for the last couple of weeks. I’m only slightly further along in the Hammer of Fire but the plot is coalescing in my mind.

I did send the original version of the Staff of Naught to my copy editor and work will begin on getting out an edition with fewer typos. Not much else to report.

Staff of Sakatha – Progress

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My copy editor is about seventy percent done and I’m working on the revisions for the Staff of Sakatha. It should not take more than a couple of weeks but the big holdup is the cover art. I have not been able to find an artist who wants my money. Or at least an artist whose work seems along the right lines for my book.

In the meantime I’m about ten percent done with my rough draft of the Hammer of Fire and the good news is that I’ve already got the cover for that one. But, I’m rather discouraged but my inability to get an artist. The woman who did the work for the Staff of Naught is too busy, an artist friend of my agreed to do it but was unable to with his own time constraints, and now I’ve send off about half a dozen messages to various artists and nary a single reply.

Hopefully the situation will be resolved and you, my legion of fans, will soon have a copy of the latest book in your eager little hands!

Tom

June 1st Update

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My proofreader has the last draft of the Staff of Sakatha and is currently making her way through it. Once that is accomplished it shouldn’t take me more than a day or two to get the final copy in order and published. It should end up about 109,000 words. It’s difficult to translate words into page numbers with eReaders but it is a fairly standard amount for a full length fantasy novel.

The cover art is still in the hands of Den Dotson and I’m not sure about it’s current status. I will contact him and find out more soon. He just won an online prize for this photo. I can’t wait to see what my cover art looks like!

In other news, I’ve scrapped work on the Broken Throne for the moment because the story just wasn’t moving along properly. I’ll probably get back to it at a later date. I have 20,000 words written but I think many of them will end up someplace else in the end. The story was getting too spread out without a cohesive center. Instead I’ve gotten a few good days work in on the Hammer of Fire which is beginning to take shape. I’ve only got about 5,000 words written but the story is coalescing and I’ve got some pretty good ideas about where it will go.

Tom

The Hammer of Fire – Update

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The Hammer of Fire is the planned third novel in my Corland series of books. It details the adventures of Dol Delius as he steals the Hammer of Fire from its sacred spot in the hidden dwarf citadel of Craggen Steep and sets out to destroy the greatest and first fire elemental, Gazadum.

I’m currently in the early stages of the rough draft. I’ve finished the prolog and now am in the midst of the opening chapters.

Tom