The Value of Using Amazon's KDP Select Free Days

The Value of Using Amazon's KDP Select Free Days

All newly self-published authors seek to sell as many books as they can, and gain as much publicity as is possible during their first year.

I published my debut novel Vengeance by founding my own Micro-Publishing company Writers Cabin Press, Ltd.  Utilizing this company I researched the best way to publish my first book and ultimately ended up utilizing both of Amazon's Book Publishing Platforms - Kindle Direct Publishing & CreateSpace.

I am by no means an expert on how or why to publish your work.  At the time these two platforms seemed to provide the best method and quality of books.  After investing in a professionally designed book cover and a well formatted manuscript the trigger was pulled and out came two versions of my debut novel. These are a 6" X 9" Trade Sized Paperback & an eBook. 

Over the course of the past several months I began looking at KDP Select free days.  On April 30th 2014 my book Vengeance was free for 1 day.  During that day I gave away 2,400 copies of the book.  I had invested a total of $29.00 to do a twitter day with a vendor, and put the word out to 10 or more websites, my Facebook page, and here on my Blog that my book was free for one day.

Here's a shot of where my book was at 5:12 pm the day after the KDP Select Free Day. Sales for that one day were way up too, and the effect continued for the next several weeks.  I made a few rookie mistakes in May.  One was changing my price.  I should have left it alone until the end of the month. 
The second was doing the Free Day on the last day of the month.  

Ultimately my book got to #4 in the Free Books listed in Kindle Store>Mystery, Thriller & Suspense>Mystery>Private Investigators.  The remainder of the month it was in various spots from #49 to #89 in the top 100 paid books for this same category.

What do free days do for sales?  My single free day boosted my May sales to a height I had not previously seen although the book had only been released for six weeks at this point.

It is my belief that KDP Select has a risk / reward benefit synonymous with the quality of the writing, formatting, and cover of the book being sold for free.    

Today June 4, 2014 is the eve of my second experiment with KDP Select.  My goal is to gain publicity for my book Vengeance, and to build my brand.  My secondary goal is to sell books.  This time around Vengeance will be free for a total of 2 days. (June 5th - 6th).  If you've been holding out for a copy now's your chance.

All I ask is if you do get one for free do me the favor of reading my book and writing a review on either Goodreads or Amazon.  

If you've self published and have a story to tell about doing KDP Select Free Days please comment.

Writing books is like making Chili

In my book Vengeance the reader learns that Reece Culver was an Aerospace Engineer for a fictitious company named Caulder Space Systems before taking a leave of absence to solve the mystery of his father’s cold case murder. 

The next book in the Reece Culver Thriller series, book 2 - Sabotage, which I’m writing now opens in the country of Scotland.   Reece and his sometimes partner Haisley Averton have gone there with the intent of catching trophy trout on Loch Awe. 

They are successful with their fishing, but while in the country Reece finds significantly more than he was looking for.  Some of the things he finds are good, and much of what he discovers is bad.  But, if you read the first book you know it wouldn’t be a Reece Culver Thriller unless he had to deal with some unsavory characters.  It's what he seems to be attracted to, among other things.

As I've been researching book 2 in the series I’ve been reading up on the country of Scotland.  A place I intend to visit in the near future.  I’ve learned from my mother that I myself have a small smattering of Scottish blood within my veins.

The book opens near the town of Tarbert in the southwestern region of the country.  Reece and Haisley are guests at the home of two of the main characters in the story.  Reece and his friend go fishing on Loch Awe and on the way back run into trouble.

The third book in the series is underway as well.  I completed about 2/3’s of the first draft last fall before picking book 2 back up and pressing on with it.  In the third book Reece goes back to work at his old job as an Aerospace Engineer and there at work he discovers that things are not what they appear to be.

I’m being vague about the plots of both books 2 and 3 at this point because they are both early in my development process.  Writing, like many things, takes time and thought.  In some ways it’s like making a good batch of chili.  The ingredients, words in this case, are put into a large pan, or in my case written on a computer.  Time is given for them to simmer and age.  Additional ingredients are added as the batch, or book ages.  Each time the lid is taken off the cook tastes the chill.  With a book each time the author finishes a draft he, or his beta readers give the book a read. The author then decides whether it's done or needs more ingredients, or time to simmer.

The other parts of my life including my day job give the recipe for my novels time to simmer.  This is something I battle with constantly wishing I had more time to write, but for now having a job is a necessity.  All writers dream of the day when the sale of their books will provide enough income to replace their day job, and when that day comes they will have a new full-time job as a novelist.

One technique I use to write faster

Read any good Thriller novel and you'll find that the plot consists of two or more subplots.  Many novels get to a point where the protagonist and antagonist are trading scenes back and forth as the action mounts.  One technique I use is to plot out scenes within the manuscript with a short paragraph stating the gist of what happens within that scene or chapter.

On days like today when I've been away from my manuscript for longer than I'd like, in this case since last Monday morning, I start by reading what I had written in the proceeding chapters first.  This reacquaints me with the story and usually does a very good job of pulling me in, and getting me writing.

When I'm in the mode to write I can easily switch back and forth between characters and sub plots without loosing track of the details.  On days when I've been away from the story, like today, I find that if I jump scenes and stay in the head of one character I can cover a lot of ground and crank out some good work.

Today's choice was a character in Book 2 of the Reece Culver Series name Julian.  I won't say more than his name because I don't want to spoil the story.  I will say this guy plays a major roll in the book and he learns to hate Reece Culver.

During today's writing session I was able to crank out a total of 3,235 words in just about 2.5 hours.
When do I usually use this technique you ask?  Most often it comes in handy when I'm in the second half of the book.

I generally don't outline the book until I'm 100 or more pages into the first draft.  Since I work a full-time job I find as I write the use of a rough outline comes in handy to jot down plot ideas, and also to help me layer in what I want to write in each scene or chapter of the manuscript.

Goodreads Contest to Win 1 of 10 Free Paperback copies of VENGEANCE Completed

On May 22nd, 2014 ten lucky readers were randomly chosen by the staff at Goodreads to win one of ten free copies of my debut Thriller VENGEANCE.

Just a little while ago I ordered each of the ten copies through AMAZON and had them mailed out to the winners.

A total of 1,979 Contestants entered to win a free copy of my book.

The winners are from the following countries:
2 from Portugal
1 from Brazil
2 from the USA
1 from the Philippines
2 from Australia
1 from Canada
1 from Poland

My Thanks to everyone who entered the Contest.

www.amazon.com/author/bryankoepke

If you'd like to purchase a copy of the book you can find the two different formats here:  AMAZON

Earning money as a Published Author.

I just got an e-mail from Amazon saying that they'll be paying me for my March sales. It's official - I'm a published author earning money from the sale of my first novel. Considering this is the 3rd book I've written since June of 2010 it's understandable how excited I am to finally start getting monthly checks for something I love doing. Next goal - to sell over 1,457 books a month, every month. Goal # 2 might take a while, but I've got my fingers and toes crossed.

If anyone is interested in checking out my novel here's the link:  Vengeance  

Progress Report on Book 2 in the Reece Culver Thriller Series - SABOTAGE

Book 2 in the series will be named SABOTAGE and is on schedule to be released some time in 2015. As of today I've written 105,920 words in the current draft of the novel and the story is shaping up very well.

In this next book in the series Reece and his buddy Haisley Averton travel to Scotland in search of brown trout and as usual end up finding more than they were looking for.

This book is shaping up as an international thriller with setting locations in Scotland, London, the Colorado Mountains, and the Caribbean.

For a limited time you can get BryanKoepke's ★★★★★ Thriller VENGEANCE

GET Your Ebook ON SALE now for ONLY $3.49! 

What Readers are saying:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong mystery, strong suspense, March 22, 2014

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast Pace Location-Based Action, March 29, 2014

5.0 out of 5 stars An Impressive Debut Novel by a writer of depth.  April 6, 2014 5.0 out of 5 stars Fast-Paced Thriller, April 6, 2014 5.0 out of 5 stars A must read if you like Suspense!, April 11, 2014 4.0 out of 5 stars Very good debut novel, April 18, 2014 5.0 out of 5 stars Bryan Koepke knows how to weave together a great story line which dispenses just enough information/action in each ..., April 28, 2014 GET YOUR COPY NOW DON'T HAVE an E-READER - GET an APP to read on your computer or phone here.

Amazon's KDP Select - 1 Day Free Promotion - Two Days Later Looking Back

Eventually all Indie Published Authors consider signing up for Amazon's KDP Select.  I took the plunge about a month back.  It was after reading a few chapters of the ebook "Lets Get Visible - Get noticed and sell more books" by author David Gaughran.  Last weekend I paid my $29.00 and set up a one day book tweeting campaign for Wednesday April 30th.  I set up the KDP Select Dashboard for my novel VENGEANCE to offer it for free that same day.

What were the results?  I've heard the program works best when you send out your FREE BOOK announcement to everyone and God a month ahead of time.  I did my sending out only 3 days in advance and submitted my free link to 5 sites on the Web.  I did pay for a book tweeting service and also got some help from some of my followers on Twitter and Facebook.


As of 5:12 pm MST on 5/1/14 this is where the ebook version of my novel Vengeance stood.

As I write this in the evening a couple of days after the Free Day my book is sitting here on Amazon:

• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,929 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #63 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Private Investigators
  • #98 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Private Investigators

What kind of books are sitting at #63 in the Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Private Investigators area of Amazon you ask?

In this category of Best Sellers in Private Investigator Mysteries you'll also find novels by Sue Grafton, Stuart Woods, Robert B. Parker, and Michael Prescott.  Not too shabby of company for an author who just published his debut Thriller about 6 weeks ago.  

Of course the success may also have to do with the constant / daily marketing effort I've been putting in since late February, or it could have to do with luck.  The longer I spend rubbing elbows with fellow authors ranging from an Edgar Award Winner, to some as of yet unpublished pals the more I realize that the success of a novel is 20% writing, 40% marketing, and 40% luck.

Regardless of how many books I sell it's pretty cool to have my book sitting in an area of Best Sellers with authors whose work I read cover to cover some years back while studying the art of the Mystery Thriller Novel.  

Do KDP Select Free Days work?

At 4:30 p.m. this afternoon I took a look at where my debut Thriller VENGEANCE was on Amazon.

At that time I was # 2 in Private Investigators and #6 in the Crime Category.  I've since moved to #2 in both Categories and around 138 in the overall ranks for the Kindle Store Free books.

If you'd like to snatch a Free Copy of the VENGEANCE ebook you still have about 4 hours left.

www.amazon.com/author/bryankoepke

VENGEANCE - FREE FOR ONE DAY ONLY - "★★★★★ Strong mystery, strong suspense"

For one Day only you can download a FREE copy of my Debut Thriller VENGEANCE at www.amazon.com/author/bryankoepke

 "★★★★★ Strong mystery, strong suspense" 

Get your FREE copy of my Novel today and tell your friends.

What could be Better than Borrowing a Highly Rated Debut Thriller to read for Free?

Do you like to read? 

I'll bet you like to save your hard earned dollars too. 

So then, I'm guessing you're a member of Amazon Prime because all of the shipping costs you save during the Holidays. 

Did you know you can borrow my debut thriller novel, VENGEANCE, for free here:http://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Koepke/e/B00J79IXCC/

Comparing the plot of a Novel to an Artist's Canvas.

I was talking to a friend the other day about how to devise the plot of a novel.  Afterward I gave some thought to the topic and came up with the analogy that it's much like an artist painting with oils.  The plot is comprised of layers and just as an artist uses layers to build a scene on the canvas, an author uses layers of subplots to build a story.

Each time I set out to write a new novel I start from an idea I've carried around in my brain for months or years.  During the actual writing I jot down notes and ideas, and start a list to capture the details of my characters lives.  One of the toughest parts of crafting a novel is keeping the details straight both in your mind and on the page.  There is software available to help, but I have yet to use these tools. I, like many others before me, prefer to write the way the Masters did, except for the added help of a computer rather than a typewriter.

The bulk of what I write is made up as I go, but eventually I begin putting together a rough outline.  The purpose for the outline is more for brainstorming the story and plot than anything else.  I find that the more I write the less I need notes.  It's only when I'm working long hours on my day job like I have been since the beginning of 2014 that I find it necessary to fall back on the help of an outline.  

If I had the perfect life I'd wake up, take a walk on a beach or through a forest formulating my thoughts, and then I'd return to my writer's office and sit down at my computer to begin a new day of storytelling.  Only in my dreams.  

Instead my routine starts with a shower, breakfast, and a thirty to forty-five minute commute to work five days a week.  I write the bulk of my work on weekend mornings.  If I'm lucky I get a day or two in during the week early in the morning before the day job that still pays me more than my writing.  

The cool thing about the human brain is that it's always in motion.  Sending signals to our muscles, storing thoughts, making memories, or dreaming dreams.  For writers the brain spends some time working out where the plot and characters will lead to next.  When I first began writing I'd write down every thought I had worried that I might forget one.  These days I think up something and let it churn, so to speak, in my mind for days or weeks.  When the time is right It will come to me and find its way into the pages of the novel.  

It seems that as we humans take up new skills and find our passions.  Sometimes rediscovering the things we loved in our youth we form new pathways within our brains.  The more we use these new skills the easier the tasks become.  The mind is an amazing machine.

The Selection Process in the Search for the winning VENGEANCE Book Cover Design

Cover Number One

This was a neat start but the car reminded me of Stephen King's Christine.  Also in the cover the car is front and center, and in the book Reece's GTO is precious to him, but not the main part of the story.


Cover Number Two

This was the least favorite of these first two.  I didn't like the cowboy hat, although in the book Reece does have a Stetson.  Also it reminded me of something I've seen in a TV show.  A friend of mine at work said it reminded him of Justified.  That's on my list of to watch programs, but I'll have to wait until it comes out on Netflix.

Cover Number Three

This cover came about as the first of the second batch by my cover designers at DAMONZA.  It's cool and has Reece up in the clouds flying an airplane, but it looked too much like the cover for an Alfred Hitchcock movie or something.  When you see the next cover. The one I went with you'll understand why.  Of course you really need to read the book to understand why the last cover won.  

Cover Number Four - The Winner

This is the cover that I used.  I like the 3-D bullet holes, the simplicity, and the pattern of blood.  If you look quickly at the left side it almost looks like a man.  Also there's a lot going on subconsciously that pulls you into the book.  

Now that you know a little about the selection process for my debut Thriller Novel perhaps you should head over to my Official Author's site and find out a little more about the book.

Take Care, See you next time.

Bryan

See what people are saying about Bryan Koepke's Debut Thriller Novel - VENGEANCE.

5 STARS
By Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - April 6, 2014

(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)

  

(VINE VOICE)

  

(TOP 50 REVIEWER)

    

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: VENGEANCE (Kindle Edition)

Colorado author Bryan Koepke brings us his debut novel VENGEANCE with a long desire to be a writer coming true. The subject of his novel involves a former aerospace engineer and we can be assured that the facts of that venue of work are accurate in that he works for an aerospace company integrating, testing and launching spacecraft from both the West Coast and the East Coast. Though his early years were spent in Michigan and Oklahoma he now is settled in Colorado, working and participating in activities that apart from flying include hiking, skiing, fishing, riding ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) as well as motocross (Motocross is a form of motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits.) - the parenthetical definitions are for those of us not used to such extensive sportsmanship devices. Koepke is what defines `a man's man' and that adds to his propinquity for suspense novels. He also founded and owns Writers Cabin Press, a small publishing company.

Reece Culver is a former aerospace engineer now a private investigator who struggles with the mysteries of his father's murder, now a cold case with the law. He encounters Crystal Thomas, a beautiful, seductive yet desperate woman hires him to recover her missing mother. Complicating the investigation and chase which covers the terrain of the Midwest, the involvement of a core of wealthy ring of art thieves, and of course the obligatory romantic inclinations and the slow unveiling of the perpetrator who is responsible for his own father's murder. The pace is like running on a cardio treadmill until the pieces all fall together.

For being a debut novel, Bryan Koepke's VENGEANCE manipulates the usual ingredients for a thriller - revenge, betrayal, and redemption - in such a forceful way that once started it is difficult to set the book aside for fear you may forget an occult clue Koepke has just dropped in our psyche. He is a writer of enormous promise. 

5 STARS

By hatchi girl   April 6, 2014

This review is from: Vengeance (Paperback)

The central character Reece Culver is an engaging "everyman's hero" as he takes on the task of solving his father's cold case murder. The author's writing is taut In this riveting thriller with many plot twists and turns. I enjoyed the range of characters that Reece comes in contact with as he pieces together the clues he finds along the way. The short, fast-paced chapters a la James Patterson pulled me in and I devoured this book in one sitting. I think other thriller lovers will too!

5 STARS

By Jean M. MacLeay   March 29, 2014

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: VENGEANCE (Kindle Edition)

A great premise of an engineer turned private investigator launches this first novel of what is sure to be a series. The action shifts to and from the Rockies near Vail, Tulsa, St. Louis, and everywhere in between. I liked the personifications built into each character... some officious, some conniving, and some just down-to-earth good guys. We can only hope that hero Reece Culver doesn't return for long to his engineering career!

5 STARS

By John Paine – March 22, 2014

  

This review is from: VENGEANCE (Kindle Edition)

This is a thriller that satisfies on a number of different levels. A son's search for who killed his father is intertwined with a high-society art theft ring. Reece Culver is a different kind of PI, and Crystal Thomas was silky as a seductress. Good characters, great Western action. The fresh approach here is why I always love to read debut novels.

Be the next to read and review this exciting new Thriller!

On SALE Now for $0.99

www.amazon.com

HOW TO PUBLISH YOUR BOOK

A Continuing Series - Check back often for new content.

As of 2014 there are at least two ways to publish your book.  

Today, authors seeking to publish their work have many options. In this article, we focus on the two most prevalent forms. Traditionally Published and Self-published.

Traditional publishing

In traditional publishing, the author completes their manuscript, writes a query letter, and begins sending out the query to literary agents.  Sounds easy doesn't it?  It's not. While there are many websites available that provide guidance about how to write a good query, the process can be nerve-racking.  Two good sites to look at for list of agents by genre and advice on your query letter are:  Agent Query and Query Tracker.

The most difficult part of this scenario is attracting the interest of an agent.  The website mental_floss put together an interesting list of rejection letters from famous authors who later went to write highly read works. The list includes Stephen King, George Orwell, Gertrude Stein, and many more.

If you succeed in attracting the attention of these gatekeepers, the agents, who often comment that they are more likely to reject a query than accept one, you will be asked to send a sample of your work.  You'll send your precious words to them and enter into a state of mental anxiety while you wait for their response. It may or may not come.  To be fair to the agents this is no fault of theirs.  They are busy people trying to make a living and to do this they need to work with the author's that, in their opinion, show the most promise of selling large quantities of books.  

If you're lucky enough to receive a response back you will most likely be asked to edit your work.  The agent at this point is investing his or her time into you.  It is in there best interest to make your work marketable and as good as it can be.  They are after all going to earn a minimum of 15% of every dollar your work earns once they sign you on.  The editing phase can take a year or more and once you've completed everything they've asked for there is no guarantee that they'll be able to find a publishing house willing to buy and publish your work.

Some publishing houses accept queries without an agent.  These include Kensington Publishing Corp., The Permanent Press, and Academy Chicago Publishers.  Most publishing experts agree that representation by an agent is more than worth the 15% commission due to their expertise in editing, contracts, etc.  

Once the publishing house decides to publish the book they buy the rights from the author and pay him or her an advance against future royalties.  For a debut author this usually runs in the neighborhood of 8-12%, unless you're famous or are writing about something highly controversial, then it will be higher.

The best part of this type of deal is that the publishing house will get behind your book and market it.  You'll be assigned a publicist, you'll go on book tours, and you'll have the resources of the publisher working to sell your books.  Some authors get a deal like this and their book bombs.  The industry is very subjective.  The downside is that you'll loose rights to the book, and will no longer be in the drivers seat with regard to how your book is presented for sale.  Additionally publishers have in the past five years or so offered less and less help marketing authors works.  That said this is still the dream of most authors.  Having a traditionally published book gives you the best shot of making the NYT Bestsellers list.

Self-publishing

An author who makes the decision to self-publish becomes his or her own publisher. They format their work on their own using Amazon, or other site templates, or hire a service such as Bookbaby, Lulu, or Amazon Createspace to do it for them for a fee.  Most of the bigger formatting companies also offer additional services such as book cover design, proofreading, and editing.  I suggest you do some shopping and choose the service that best suits your budget.  If you're going try to save money don't choose to do it on your book cover design.  A quick look at the paperback and Kindle covers on Amazon or Smashwords will let you know what you're up against as far as competition.

The best part of self-publishing is that in a relatively short span of time you can be holding a real paperback copy of your book in your hands.  You are an entrepreneur when you self-publish.  The easiest part of the process is writing the book.  The toughest is putting on your business hat and learning how to market your work. 

If you've written a great book it will, if properly marketed, eventually sell copies.  The more marketing you do the greater your sales should eventually be, but one thing to remember is that readers, like agents are subjective.  Just because you think your novel is fabulous doesn't mean they will.  The best way to sell your books is to write more. 

Like my dad always told me when I was in College - "The cream rises to the top".

If you write a fabulous book, and get it in front of the reading public they will do the rest.  

Everyone Likes a Sale. VENGEANCE, is on sale for $0.99 on Amazon Kindle.

Everyone Likes a Sale - For a limited time my debut Thriller, VENGEANCE, is on sale for $.99 on Amazon Kindle.http://www.amazon.com/author/bryankoepke

Author Interview of Bryan Koepke by Award Winning Thriller Author Keri Beevis

This past weekend a good author friend of mine interviewed me on her website.  Keri Beevis is the award winning author of 2 Thriller novels.  Check out her website and her author interview here on The Writers Cabin.

If you'd like to check out her interview with me it's located here:  Keri Beevis Interview with Bryan Koepke

While you're here take a look at my new Amazon.com author page.

Author Interview with Bryan Koepke

Today's author interview is with Bryan Koepke the author of the debut thriller Vengeance. 

First off tell us here at The Writers Cabin a little about yourself.

I was born in the great state of Oklahoma in a city named Tulsa sometime during the last century.  I spent the first twenty-years of my career working as an electronics engineering technician and during the last decade had the privilege of being on teams that built, tested, and launched spacecraft from both Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.  Prior to that I worked on F-16 fighter jets, got my FAA Airframe & Powerplant licenses, and later managed to get a private pilot’s license.  These days I work on the financial side of things at an aerospace company.

When I was in my teens I knew I wanted to be a writer and during much of my technical career I gravitated toward documentation and test procedures.   I'm married to a beautiful woman named Ildy, and we have a dog-named Daisy. 

Q: When do you write?  I do the bulk of my writing on weekend mornings from 8:00 a.m. to noon, and a few days a week in the mornings before heading of to work.

Q:  How much do you write a day?  My goal is to get at least 1,000 words down in my manuscript, but on weekends I usually get closer to 2000 – 3000 words a day, and 500 to 1000 is a good amount for mornings before work. There are times on the weekends, when I’m well rested with a head full of ideas, that I’ll sit down and write 10,000 words in one sitting.

Q: How long did it take to write this book, VENGEANCE?  I wrote the first draft in about 5 months.  From there I did multiple revisions and rewrites with the entire process from start to finish taking about two years.

Q: How do you bring characters to life? I start with an excel spreadsheet and build a list of traits, motivations, the physical description, and the character’s history. It seems that all of my characters sort of reveal themselves to me on the page as I write their scenes. They take on a life of their own beyond what I’ve planned for them.

Q: Do you like eBooks?  Do you think they’ll ever completely replace paper books?  I like e-books and have purchased dozens of them myself over the past couple of years. They’re great for trips.  I also like a big heavy hardback book or a paperback.  I hope all types of books endure.  I think when we loose things we as readers and writers limit our freedom. After all freedom is all about choice.

Q: Your current book VENGEANCE is a series. How many more books do you plan to write in the Reece Culver thriller series?  I’m planning on writing a minimum of eight books, but most likely ten to fifteen in this series.

Q: What was your inspiration for the book?  I had written two thrillers before starting this book.  I remember reading a newspaper article about a woman who murdered her husband and made it look like a home invasion. This gave me the initial seed for the story and as I wrote the first draft the story morphed into something completely different with a great deal more depth.  Initially it felt more noir than thriller, but over time it proved itself out as a thriller.

Q: How did you come up with the title VENGEANCE?  Initially the book was titled Not Dead Yet, but after completing it and thinking about the story Vengeance won out as the title.

Q: Are there any themes or topics you plan to include in the series?  My protagonist Reece Culver is a pilot, so there will most likely be flying scenes in many of the books. 

Q: Do you write on the computer or longhand?  I write the bulk of my work on computers, both a laptop and a desktop. I take a ton of notes, and scribble down plot ideas longhand.

Q: Who are your favorite authors?  Ernest Hemingway, CJ Box, the early Stuart Woods books with Stone Barrington, Stephen King, James Salter, Raymond Chandler, and many, many more.

Q: Where do you write?  I do 99% of my writing either in my basement office, or in my favorite chair at a cabin up in the mountains of Colorado. 

Q: What are you working on now?  Books 2 & 3 in the Reece Culver series, and when I have less time a batch of short stories I keep going back to and rewriting. 

Q: Where can we buy VENGEANCE?  It’s available on Amazon Kindle, and in a week or so the 6x9” paperback will be available on Amazon.  The e-book will also become available very shortly on Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Nook, Smashwords, Scribd, Sony, Diesel, Library Direct, Oyster, Baker & Taylor and on my website http://www.bryankoepke.com