My Last Free Download For A Man in Control Was Successful

Like many authors I offer free download days for my e-books at Kindle. My latest free download for my latest novel, A Man in Control, lasted two days. The book was downloaded 570 times the first day and 340 times the second day, for a total of 910 free downloads of my book. I think this is a good way to get the book in the hands of a lot of potential readers quickly. Now if some of the people who downloaded the book will read it and post a review at Amazon/Kindle, I will be a happy camper. If giving the e-book away for free results in some reader reviews, it will have been a good trade.

What has been your experience with giving away free downloads of your books? Do you think it is worthwhile? Did you get reviews posted as a result?

The plot of A Man in Control is not your typical mystery, suspense, crime, murder plot. The story involves one man’s obsession to control all aspects of his life, including the decisions made in their personal relationship with the love interest in his life. This main theme is played out against a backdrop of murder and mystery and includes current topics of Muslim terrorists and viral bio-weapons involving the Ebola virus. I used my past experience as a microbiology professor to ensure the virology was plausible.

A Man in Control, My New Novel, is now on Kindle

My latest published book, A Man in Control, is available now on Kindle as an e-book.

The novel is in the genre of Mystery-Suspense-Crime-Murder, my second such novel in this genre. It tells the story of a man who wants to be in complete control of all aspects of his life set against the backdrop of his wife's death, Muslim terrorists, a new viral biological weapon with toxins from the Ebola virus incorporated into an influenza viral carrier, murder, a female police detective, and the FBI. It deals with timely topics, with suspense and mystery and human nature.

The book is a 51,000-word novel that makes a quick and entertaining read. I invite you to check it out:
http://www.amazon.com/Man-Control-Harry-Gilleland-ebook/dp/B00P1KBEEA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1414705596&sr=1-1&keywords=a+man+in+control

My Latest Novel, A Man In Control, Is in Its Final Editing

My latest book, A Man In Control, is in its final editing prior to formatting and publication. It stands at 50,710 words at present. Look for it to be available within the next few weeks on Kindle as an e-book and Amazon & elsewhere as a paperback print book. Book blurb: David Wynthers is a microbiology professor whose need to control all aspects of his life is thrown into turmoil by the death of his wife, which causes a cascade of events for Dave to cope with – murder, mystery, terrorists tracking him, sudden wealth, a female police detective, and the FBI. Can Dave maintain control of the events swirling around him?

A Man In Control is a fiction novel in the genre of Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense – Crime – Murder. It is the tenth book published by Harry E. Gilleland, Jr.

Working on Book # 10

I just completed the first draft of my newest book. Now to start polishing and massaging it. So far I haven't decided on a title yet so it is being called "Book Ten". It will turn out to be another short novel in the 42,000 - 46,000 words range. My other three novels have all fallen in this range. I guess I can only think of stories that run that length. I don't like to pad them to reach an arbitrary length goal.

Some ill-informed reviewers mistakenly call my short novel a novella. Here is the word count guide:
Classification --- Word count
Novel --- over 40,000 words
Novella --- 17,500 to 40,000 words
Novelette --- 7,500 to 17,500 words
Short story --- under 7,500 words

Not that there is anything wrong with writing novellas. Here are some of my favorite novellas:
Jack London's The Call of the Wild
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
George Orwell's Animal Farm
Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange
Isaac Asimov's Nightfall
Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Sailor
Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's
Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
H. G. Wells' The Time Machine

Time to get to work on the second draft of my new book.

Self-published authors and Reviewers for Self-published Books Surveys

Are you a self-published author? Do you review books for self-published authors? Would you be willing to help a Ph.D. student researching the importance of reviews for self-published authors in her research by taking one of these two surveys?

Author Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/selfpublishedauthorsurvey
Reviewer Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/selfpublishedreviewersurvey

She would appreciate your help in gathering data, and it would help clarify the relationship between self-published authors' book sales and obtaining reviews. Please consider helping her by taking the appropriate survey.

Zack's Choice Received Its 50th Review

My latest novel in the crime-heist-mystery genre, Zack's Choice, hit a bit of a milestone recently. It received its 50th review and has a 4.7 out of 5 average rating. Plus its sellers rank at the moment is " #44 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime Fiction > Heist". Why not check it out? It's a fun, entertaining summer read.

Come Watch My Trailer for Zack's Choice

My new trailer for Zack's Choice is now available. It was a deal at only $49. I like the end result. What do you think?