Introducing…Marco Dark!

Tags

A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective, action, artist, author, Blood, bloodlust, Bradley Lobue, California, casino, claws, corpse, Creepy, dark, desert, dollars, dusk, e-book, euros, fangs, fictionalist, financier, France, French madame, Fukushima Prefecture, Gore, gothic, grim reaper, hacker, hit man, Horror, humanity, Japan, Koriyama City, Las Vegas, lone vampire, loner, manga, manga artist, Marco Dark, money, Nevada, new, nightlife, Northern Japan, novel, Palermo, Pasadena, publish, Read, Review, Scary, Sicily, sociopath, suspense, swindler, The DiVacci Curse, thriller, To Sleep in the Ground, Tohoku, undead, vamp, vampire, vampire action, vampire drama, vampire fiction, vampire novel, vampirekind, vampires, vampiric, vampiric hit man, vamps, wild west, world traveler, writer, yen

My first novel and latest release is now available!

A wealthy French madame, a misguided manga artist, a greedy financier, a malicious computer hacker and a homicidal sociopath.  What do they all have in common?  They all have contracts on their heads.  The one hired to fulfill those contracts is Marco Dark.  He’s cultured, sophisticated and intelligent, and the most lethal hit man on the planet.  He’s also a 200-year-old vampire!  Journey with Marco as he traverses the globe plying his deadly trade…and pray that you’re not on his list!

“To Sleep in the Ground” has taken twenty years to complete since its original conception.  I encourage you to check it out.  You can access a sample of the book via the link at the end of this post.

If you read Marco’s story and find it entertaining (or not) then I request that you write a review.  Let’s be honest, reviews and word of mouth sell books and reviews are a great way for readers to express themselves, too.  I’d also like to hear your comments and opinions about “To Sleep in the Ground” on this blog.

Creepy Halloween reading…The DiVacci Curse!

Tags

Creepy, Ghost Story, Halloween, Horror, New Hampshire, Short stories, Spirit, The DiVacci Curse

Looking for something creepy to read to get you in the mood for All Hallows’ Eve?  If so, then I recommend my short story The DiVacci Curse.  It’s about a couple that buys the mansion of their dreams in New Hampshire.  But the new dwelling is not what it seems. The DiVacci Curse is not appropriate for children.  You can access the Amazon page for the story via the link below or from the My Books page of this blog.

I hope that you enjoy reading it….if you dare!

May you all have a spooky, safe and happy Halloween!

Happy New Year, an Important Notice and an Update!

Tags

authors, book, editing, illustration, important notice, new, Progress, Publishing, revising your unpublished e-book, update, writing

Happy New Year!  I hope that 2019 began well for everyone.

I’ll first get the formalities out of the way.

Officially, this blog, Brad’s Books, is no longer a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.  All product links associated with the program have been removed from this blog.  Although, products that may be available for purchase on Amazon, that is, books and movies, etc. may still be mentioned in this blog.  However, no links or banners to, or images of, these products will be provided; only information about the products may be available in this blog in the form of recommendations, reviews, etc.

The images and links for the books that I have written, as they appear on the My Books page of this blog, will remain, since they are not affiliated with the Amazon Associates Program.  Thank you for your cooperation and for understanding.

O.k., with that out of the way, I would like to happily let everyone know that the prices for my non-fiction e-book and my fiction e-short story have dropped.  I feel that the new price adjustments are more appropriate and will hopefully make my books more appealing, and will encourage, not discourage, potential readers.  Amazon still reserves the right to fluctuate the pricing, but the new price points, in general, are quite lower than before.  Thank you for your consideration.  “Yoroshiku, onegaishimasu!” as the Japanese say.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’m closer than ever to finishing my first novel!  A pair of eyes, other than my own, are now reading the story and critiquing it.  I am getting very positive feedback from the source, who is also making some wonderful suggestions about how I can improve the overall readability and flow of the book, (chapter arrangement, etc.).  It’s valuable insight that is much appreciated.

Year-End Update

Tags

Amazon, authors, book, Buddhist, Christian, Happy New Year, Holidays, Japan, Merry Christmas, Progress, Publishing, Shinto, Short stories, writing

Well, it’s been a whirlwind end to the year here in Japan.

I haven’t been able to pay as much attention to finishing my novel as I had hoped, but I manage to chip away at it here and there when breaks in daily life and work allow.  Alas, my self-imposed year-end deadline for publication will not be met.  On the bright side, my school will be closed for the New Year’s holiday, so hopefully I’ll have a few days, at least, to fuss over the book.

I’m happy to announce that I have reduced the price of both my non-fiction e-book, and my fiction e-short story on Amazon.  Amazon still reserves the right to fluctuate the pricing, give or take, however.  You can access direct links for both books from this blog.

New Year’s is a big deal here in Japan.  Many businesses will be closed for several days on average, starting on or around New Year’s Eve.

My school is open today, Christmas day, because Christmas day is a regular business day here in Japan.  Less than 1% of the population of Japan is Christian.  Most are Shinto and Buddhist, so the Japanese celebrate Christmas differently than the west.  It’s strictly a secular celebration here with no religious meaning.

Please have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Best wishes for a safe, happy, healthy and peaceful 2019.

Brad

Almost There!

Tags

Amazon, book, cover art, e-book, Horror, illustration, new, Progress, Publishing

Howdy!

I hope that everyone is doing fine.  It has been a wild year so far, in many ways.  I’ve been away from here for a while.  But it’s nice to have something positive to post after all this time.

First of all, my thoughts and prayers are with the millions around the world, and here in Japan, who have been struggling with the onslaught of natural disasters that have been, and still are, plaguing our planet.  Peace and love to all who are suffering.

Well, I’m happy to announce that my first novel has been written!  I’m currently editing and proofreading it, as well as working on the book cover.  The book cover idea has been conceived, and I am in the process of putting all the pieces together.  Once all of that is done, then I will be ready to self-publish.

I can tell you that this book will be the longest fiction story that I’ve published thus far; my first full-length novel (depending on your idea of how long a novel should be…info around the Net varies according to style and genre).  It will definitely be much longer than my short story that was published in 2016.

The book will initially be available through Amazon and in most countries where Amazon operates.  I may publish with other e-publishers at a later time depending upon how the book does.  I will post updates here if I decide to add more publishers to the availability list.

It’s a great relief to finally have the story finished and I very much look forward to sharing it with you in the not too distant future.

Thanks for reading…and for your continued patience.

Brad

Holiday Wishes…and an Update.

Tags

2017, 2018, Deadline, e-book, Happy New Year, Holidays, Merry Christmas, Progress, Publishing, Read, Spirit

Howdy!  Long time no…

Well, I won’t be meeting my self-imposed 2017 deadline for publishing my next book.  The last half of the year has been a roller-coaster ride with lots of twists and turns.  However, I look forward to working on my book, and to getting a little closer to finishing it during the upcoming holiday that I will have while my school is closed for the new year.

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.  May 2018 be a safe, peaceful, healthy, enjoyable, prosperous and healing year for us all.

Time for a Little Shameless Self-Promotion!

Tags

Dare, e-book, Fear, Frighten, Ghost Story, Ghosts, Halloween, Horror, Read, Scary, Short stories, Spirit, The DiVacci Curse

Happy Halloween!  I hope that everyone is doing well.  Thanks for reading.

If you need a little help getting into the spirit of Halloween, may I suggest my ghost short story, “The DiVacci Curse.” As always, you can access the direct link to the book from the My Books page of this blog.  Read it with the lights out…if you dare!

Getting closer…..

Tags

Brad's next story, The DiVacci Curse, writer's angst

Happily, I’m getting closer to finishing my next story.  I mentioned in a previous post that I hoped to publish my next one by the end of this year.  I don’t want to pinpoint an exact date or even an exact month, but I’m pretty confident that I will be able to meet this foretold deadline.

This story will be different from my last story, “The DiVacci Curse.”  I don’t want to give too much away, so all I can say right now is that it won’t be a ghost story.  Publishing the story will be a huge personal accomplishment and milestone for me because I first got the idea for this story and began writing it in the summer of 2000 while I was living in Pasadena as a struggling actor in Hollywood.  I had already been through a lot in life by that time and was trying to make sense of most of it.  I was also trying to decide what direction my life was going to take at that point.

Well, seventeen years later and I’m much closer than I was before.  After long, and I do mean looooong, bouts of writer’s block and a very topsy-turvy journey on the path of life that led me down many different roads and adventures, I feel that the time for me to get this story out has arrived.  The story is held together by almost twenty years of angst, frustration, fear, uncertainty, resentment, indecision, intolerance, impatience, jealousy and lots more of the darker elements of my personality.  These are aspects of my psyche that I’m not proud of, but they are a part of my past and cannot be denied…for better or for worse. I’ll leave that judgment to the readers of the story.

That’s all for now.  I’ll post again when I get a little closer to completion…or maybe my next post will be the astounding announcement that I actually finished and published the book!

In the meantime, my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.  Being from Louisiana, hurricanes are a natural disaster that I am all too familiar with.  Hang in there, guys.

Attention Amazon Kindle Readers!

Tags

A Day of Horror: The March 11, 2011 Japan Earthquake-A Foreigner's Perspective, Amazon, Amazon Prime, e-book, Ghost Story, Horror, KDP Select, Kindle, Kindle Owners' Lending Library, Kindle Unlimited, Review, Short stories, The DiVacci Curse, The Great East Japan Earthquake

My nonfiction e-book and my fiction e-short story are now enrolled in KDP Select on Amazon.  This is good news for Amazon Prime, Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited members.  Check em’ out!

For those who have already purchased and read my e-book and e-short story, thank you very much.  If you like what you read, then I encourage you to write a review and post it on Amazon.  I would be honored and grateful for your kindness and consideration.  If writing a review is not your thing, then please spread the word among your family and friends, co-workers, distant relatives, ex-spouses, etc.

As always, direct links to both books can be found on the “My Books” page of this blog. Thanks for reading.

Have a fun and safe summer!

Most humbly,

Brad

“You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover!”

Tags

Amazon, Blood, e-book, Generic, Ghost Story, Gore, Graphic, Horror, Original Cover, Subtle, The DiVacci Curse, Updated Cover Design

 

That statement is so true.  Well, it’s taken a while (almost a year, actually) but I now have an original cover design for my ghost short story, “The DiVacci Curse.”

Only the cover has been changed.  The story and its contents remain the same.

When I first published the story last summer, I felt that it was more important to just get it published and out there, rather than delay publishing because of the cover page.  I opted to use one of Amazon’s predesigned cover pages that I liked, but was generic in nature.  I had no issues with the predesigned cover for a long time until I saw another book on Amazon (can’t remember if it was fiction or non-fiction) that used the same exact cover design…same font, colors, etc.  That’s when I realized that I needed to have an original cover design instead.

I now understand the importance of book covers.  Some readers do indeed “judge a book by its cover.”  Book covers can determine whether a reader investigates the e-book further or just clicks to another item or page, not even giving the book a second thought.

I prefer book covers that give the reader a general idea of the plot, rather than paint an overly vivid picture that is too demanding and busy for the eye. If too much is going on in the image, the message becomes confusing and complicated.  The author runs the risk of turning the reader off.  Sometimes “less is more” as previously mentioned in my post about “The Fog.”  This concept applies to book covers as well.