The audio version of The Children in the Lake is now available from Audible, I-Tunes and Amazon. Here's the link. https://www.amazon.com/The-Children-in-the-Lake/dp/B093B4W7VT/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

My new novel, The Children in the Lake, is out. Below is a synopsis. 

In 1925 three children vanish without a trace in Arrowhead Lake. Nearly a century later there are those who still report seeing the elusive children swimming beneath the surface like swift dolphins.


After losing her husband in a violent car crash, Rachel King and her two young sons venture to Arrowhead Lake to heal. When Rachel discovers that Great Woods Timber is planning to clear-cut this beautiful wilderness she enlists the help of Lilly Bowman and her mysterious father, chief and shaman of the Wabanaki nation.


But dark events have been set in motion and Arrowhead Lake is under siege by a sinister force of mercenaries. When Chief Neptune vanishes, Rachel and Lilly call on Seth Ferguson, the local deputy sheriff for help. Together they discover an astonishing truth; a shadowy cabal that will stop at nothing to obtain the secret of Arrowhead Lake, a secret that if unearthed could have far-reaching consequences.


When one of Rachel’s sons vanishes in the Lake, she and Lilly embark on a harrowing journey to find him. What they discover is a mind boggling truth that will change their lives forever. 

Nice review of Apocalypse Island by author William Blackwell

October/November 2017

A couple of things I want to talk about today.

First:

New Novel

SONG OF ARIEL

Under normal circumstances I would never serialize a novel and put it out a chapter (or two chapters) at a time. I have nothing against doing this, I’ve read some novels this way and enjoyed them. Remember The Green Mile? And I used to like the old serialized cliffhangers from the thirties and forties they reran on television when I was a kid. 

It’s just that I never considered doing it myself until now.

Let me explain. When I set out to write Apocalypse Island I did not have even the slightest notion that there would be a sequel. I thought it would be a tidy little stand-alone novel that would begin and end with the stories of Danny Wolf, Laura Higgins and Rick Jennings, and that would be that.

That’s not the way it turned out. Somewhere along the way this strange entity known as the Blue Light intruded into my consciousness and made its way onto the pages of Apocalypse Island. By the end of that novel I knew that the Blue Light would have to continue in one form or another, one way or another. I wasn’t sure how then, but I knew that it was so.

You see, I liked the blue light. But even more, I felt a strange attachment to it, as if it had a life of its own that had somehow escaped the imagination of its creator and found its way into his heart. Sometimes that happens, and I don’t have an explanation for why.

By the time Apocalypse Island was published I was more than halfway through another novel entitled Soul Thief, which up until then was also destined to be a stand-alone novel. But something happened with Apocalypse Island that I didn’t expect. It became a best seller. A minor bestseller when you compare it to the likes of King or Patterson, but a bestseller nevertheless. And the one thing fans of Apocalypse Island kept coming back to was the Blue Light. I got a lot of mail from fans, as well as a ton of reviews, and the thing they talked about most was the Blue Light, What is it? Where did it come from? Where is it going? Please don’t hurt it. Please don’t kill it. I'm addicted to the Blue Light. I think I’ve fallen in love with it.

Seriously?

Seriously.

Even one bestselling author made that claim. Somehow, I had unwittingly created an entity, not a human being, but an entity, without form or substance that readers have become attached to.

Go figure.

Well, that next novel, Soul Thief, pretty much wrote itself from then on. The two books became the beginning of Blue light Series with ideas for at least two more novels.

Once Soul Thief was published I began to see the same sorts of comments from readers I’d seen with Apocalypse Island. “Loved the Blue Light.” “Can't wait to see the next one in the series.” “Want to know what happens to the Blue Light.” Will Doug and Annie and Ariel be all right. Will they survive? I want to know what happens to them and the Blue Light. Will the characters from the two previous novels come together in the third?”

You get the picture.

And that brings me back to the original reason for this post. The third novel in the series will not be complete for another few months, so, in an attempt to appease those who want more now, I’ve decided to release it as a series of .99 shorts, a chapter or a section at a time, depending on how it all fits together. Some releases will be shorter and some will be longer.

For those who don’t like to read a book this way, well, sorry but you’ll have to wait for the full release.  

For those who want to get a jump on the new novel, the first section, Chapter's 1 and 2 (about 60 pages) is now live on Amazon, with subsequent chapters to follow.

Of course all of my books are always free to those who are members of Kindle Unlimited.

Thanks for your patients, dear reader. I’ll see you on the other side of the Blue Light.

---

Second:

THE HAUNTING OF SAM CABOT

One of the reasons the third novel in the Blue Light Series is late is because I spent the better part of the summer extending my novella, The Haunting of Sam Cabot, into a novel.

I recently got the rights back to The Haunting of Sam Cabot from my publisher. Hurray! The original version of the book was a 98 page novella. In the preceding months I extended the novella into a full blown novel of just over 200 pages. The basic story did not change. I added more depth to the characters and had fun with some of the scenes and situations.

Amazon tells me that in order to keep the existing reviews in place the extended version needs to be linked to the original paperback version, which in turn shows a much lower page count on the new extended version, which is not correct. If this seems confusing to you then you can imagine how confused I feel. Alas, it is Amazon's way of doing things.

The upshot of this whole thing is, the page count you see on the product page is incorrect. If you decide to spend your hard-earned 3.99 for the kindle version of the new, updated version of The Haunting of Sam Cabot, rest assured that you will be receiving a novel, not a novella.

Now on to the product description.

There are places that hold evil, houses so vile, so tainted, that people refuse to live in them. Farnham House is one of those places. Once an inn, this majestic old New England manor house is back on the market, and the price is very reasonable. Sam Cabot is a man tired of moving. Now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life in the country with his wife and young son. Little does he know that he will soon begin a long, slow descent into madness and that he will spend his summer living with dead things.

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Third:

FREE Promo: October 18th thru 20th

SOUL THIEF (BLUE LIGHT SERIES 2)

Soul Thief, the second book in the Blue Light Series will be free for three days only from Oct. 18th thru Oct. 20th. If you haven't read the sequel to Apocalypse Island here's your chance to get it free.

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Now in Audio!

(Note:  you can download any of the below FREE by becoming an Audible member on a no-risk 30 day trial basis)


APOCALYPSE ISLAND (BLUE LIGHT SERIES 1)

     

SOUL THIEF (BLUE LIGHT SERIES 2)

     

THE FEAR (HORROR)

     

 

What Makes People Buy Self-Published Books?

In this post, you can see the findings of a scientifically incontrovertible study on the factors which influence us when buying a self-published book. (by +Tara Sparling)

READ HERE → http://goo.gl/ubXrPe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update on The Haunting of Sam Cabot
 
As I mentioned in last month's newsletter, come August I will have the rights to my novella, The Haunting of Sam Cabot, back from my publisher.
What I didn’t mention is by then it will no longer be a novella but a full blown novel. Many readers loved the book but lamented that it would be so cool if it was longer. Well, I listened, and for the past few months I’ve been working on turning it into a longer and more complex work. The original novella is told in the first person from the perspective of the protagonist Sam, and for a while I actually did flirt with the idea of changing it to  third person. In the end I decided to keep it in the first person. I believe it works well that way and so do many of its readers. Sam is the perfect voice to tell the story of his own descent into madness. Or perhaps it’s not madness at all but something else entirely? You be the judge. The bonus is that it will be more than double in size with lots more twists and turns. I’m really excited about it and hope you guys like it as much as the original version. By the way, it will also be available for the first time as an audio book. More updates on that later.

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Apocalypse Island Promotion


For those who haven't read Apocalypse Island, the first book in the Blue Light Series, the kindle edition will be on sale for just .99 from May 17th thru May 23rd. That's tomorrow thru the following Friday. To date Apocalypse Island is my all time bestselling novel reaching Amazon's top twenty list three separate times and landing on several number one bestseller lists. If you haven't read it this is your chance to grab the kindle edition for just .99 little pennies. Hope you decide to check it out.

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Now in Audio!
(Note:  you can download any of the below FREE by becoming an Audible member on a no-risk 30 day trial basis)


APOCALYPSE ISLAND (BLUE LIGHT SERIES 1)

     

SOUL THIEF (BLUE LIGHT SERIES 2)

     

THE FEAR (HORROR)

     

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Your comments are welcome.  Please click here: comments

Thanks and be well,

April 16, 2014

Soul Thief Promotion
For those who haven't read Soul Thief, the second book in the Blue Light Series, the kindle edition will be on sale for just .99 from April 14th thru April 20th. Hope you decide to check it out. Also, it is now available as a print edition through createspace. For those who prefer to read in the old paper and ink format here's the link: Soul Thief print


Home From Florida
My wife Sheila and I arrived home in Maine yesterday after a two day road trip from Florida. We got here just in time for mud season. Oh joy. We spent three months in the warmth this year and we're thinking we'll stay six months next year.
I love Maine but I don't miss the cold weather.

A Couple of Updates
First, for those who might be interested in my writings other than the Blue Light Series, come August, I will have the rights to my novel The Haunting of Sam Cabot back from my publisher, Damnation Books. Working with Damnation Books has been nothing short of a nightmare for me and I can't wait to regain control of my work so that I can offer my loyal readers the kinds of promotions that have made my independent titles so successful. Next year I will regain control of both The Lost Village and the Holocaust Opera. Yay!
In the meantime, The third novel in the Blue Light Series, On the Nightwind is still not finished, but close. I will let you all know when it becomes available. I'm thinking perhaps I'll run some sort of initial free promo.

Thanks and be well,

Mark