Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

These are exciting times for independent authors, like me! Especially those that offer books through many different retailers…again, like me!

Let me explain…

Google Play has announced that it has expanded into offering audiobooks. That is great news! It’s only a matter of time before independent authors are selling audiobooks through them. I have audiobooks, but they were produced under a contract that forces them to be available only at Amazon, Audible, and Apple. I own the rights to those audiobooks, and the contracts will begin expiring in 2020. After that, they’re mine to distribute anywhere and everywhere…and Google Play will be one of those locations!

I also have three stories that have not been produced as audiobooks…along with any new stories that I create. I’m working right now on having one of those three produced (it’s Eli’s Coming, and Patrick Peterson will be returning to narrate it), and the other two I hope to have later this year.

Those three will be available all over the place, not just at three retailers.

The next bit of news is from Barnes And Noble. They’ve announced a recommitment to eBook sales, and have opened up print-on-demand, or POD, for books. Now, I have paperback books available already, and they are for sale or can be ordered by almost any bookstore or book retailer.

But, Barnes And Noble offers hardback options.

I’ve taken informal polls from friends and acquaintances, and many would like to have a hardcover copy of some of my books…even if it’s through Barnes And Noble.

I’m working on one right now. Hold tight, and save your pennies! It’s coming!

The third bit of news for independent authors like me is huge. Kobo is teaming with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart will be offering eBook titles through this team-up, along with Kobo eReaders and tablets. And, yes, my eBooks are available through Kobo…and will be available at Wal-Mart!

My goodness, great news all around for independent authors!

Now, here’s another piece of good news…for YOU.

If you haven’t picked up your eBook copy of Hell’s Bells – A Justice Security Novel, January 26^th – January 29th is the time to grab it! The price will be 99 cents at all eBook retailers. And, because of the time involved at some retailers for resetting a price, it may be available at that price now! Check it out, and grab your copy now!

So much news! I hope that some of my excitement rubs off on you as you…

Keep reading!

T. M. Bilderback (But you can call me Michael)

Follow me on Twitter:  @mrtmbilderback

Check me out on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TMBilderback

Sign up for my newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/tmbilderback

Finally, visit my website: https://www.tmbilderback.com

Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?

I usually keep these blog posts limited to writing suggestions and book promotions, but, because of curious folks, I’ll clue you in to some of the things about my life that aren’t generally known.

Today, I’ll talk about my coin collection.

I collect coins. I’ve had a fascination with them since I was a child, but I didn’t really get into full-blown collecting until around 2010 or 2011…I don’t remember which year.

I don’t know what fascinates me about coins. They’re only small pieces of metal stamped with different denominations and depictions of funny-looking men.

When I was a kid, I used to love looking at pocket change, finding the dates and being fascinated with coins that were minted in years before I was born. It was amazing to me! I would find one that was, say, ten years older than me, and I’d think about the fact that it existed long before I did.

As I got older, I was fascinated by the potential piece of history that I held in my hand. Who held this coin before I did? Where has this coin traveled in its existence?

I also was fascinated by coins from other countries. When I was young, it was mostly Canadian coins mixed in sporadically with pocket change. When I received a Canadian penny or a Canadian nickel in pocket change from spending my allowance, I would examine them with a robust curiousity. Who was this lady with the crown? Why did this penny have a maple leaf? Why did this nickel have a beaver? And why didn’t our coins have neat stuff like that?

Now, as an adult, I still find myself fascinated by the history of coins. I hold a quarter from the 1940s, and I wonder if, perhaps, it had been touched by some of my film favorites, like Lou Costello, John Wayne, or James Stewart…or, maybe, by a figure from history, like Franklin D. Roosevelt or Albert Einstein. I hold coins from the thirties, and I wonder the same things. Anyone could have touched them! The Marx Brothers, Al Capone, one of the Three Stooges, John Dillinger, maybe Bonnie, or Clyde, or both! Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Marilyn Monroe...maybe one of the construction workers that built the Empire State Building used a quarter from the thirties to buy lunch for a day. The list is endless!

And, I am still fascinated by coins from around the world. I have coins from all sorts of different countries. The same sense of wonder and possibility accompanies them…at least in my mind. I have a couple of early English pennies dated in the late 1700s, and I wonder who could have touched them. Did British royalty handle them? Or did one of our founding fathers touch them? British coinage was still used in the United States even after the Revolutionary War, so it’s possible.

History fascinates me…and coins bring that history directly to my hand.

Coins also bring the world to me, too. I have coins from Japan, Korea, China, Italy, Greece, the Isle Of Man, Samoa, Ireland, Mexico…far more countries than I care to list. With each coin, the history comes with it…overwhelming in its potential. It could be the big names from history, or just an average person living day-to-day. Who held it? Did it bring riches to them, or that day’s bread? Where has this coin traveled, and how did it wind up within my area of collection?

I also have a fascination with the metal that makes up coins. I have silver coins, copper coins, aluminum coins, zinc coins, steel coins...the list is endless.

That’s one of my collections…and a lot of the reason that I collect them.

Nothing book related in this particular blog…but, I hope I’ve given you a small insight into me. If you’re interested, of course.

Remember, though, that I AM an author…and YOU need to…

Keep reading!

T. M. Bilderback (But you can call me Michael)

Follow me on Twitter:  @mrtmbilderback

Check me out on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TMBilderback

And sign up for my newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/tmbilderback