With assistance from able editor and ebook formatter Amanda Kimmerly, the ebook edition of Entranscing, the second book of The Hidden Lands of Nod, is now available on Smashwords. It was Ms. Kimmerly’s dedication that carried the tedious process of conforming to the Smashwords style guide to successful conclusion. The happy result is that the book may be had in any of the preferred e-reader formats for one low (really low) price. It’s hard to go wrong for $2.99, but you need not walk in blind. Even the most discriminating reader may practice due diligence by downloading the first 20% of the book free for sampling. Take note of the salient terms “20%” and “free.” All the details and the download may be obtained here.

I hear some of you in the back muttering that you’d rather have a physical book with pages and a cover, the scent of wisdom rising from it over time. Not to worry. Both Prelude to a Change of Mind and Entranscing, books one and two of the cycle, may be purchased on this very site where you currently gaze. Explore the links in the left hand column for your chance to buy words on actual paper.

Thomas Fang captured video of my reading of “Death on the Toilet” at Blood of the Bean II. This is my first and—so far—only short story. Due to file size limitations I am unable to place it here, but one may find it on my Facebook page. A few glitches mar the audio track near the beginning, and an abundance of authentic coffee shop sounds provide some competition with my voice. Even so, I think my reading is clear enough to follow the story. Friend me on Facebook, and have a listen.

Due to a combination of busy-ness and minor illness, I’ve been away from this site longer than intended. The busy-ness includes some good things coming together for the world of Stikmania. For now, I bounce on to make a quick update, and to share a link to the recent discussion on self-publishing in which I was a participant on KOOP-FM’s “Writing on the Air” (11/17/2010): http://writingontheair.com/Podcast/WOTA-SelfPubPan.11.17.10.mp3