Stephen Writes

Posted By Stephen England on April 19, 2013

It was on the morning of April 19^th, 1775, that a ragtag line of men fell out upon the village common of Lexington. Farmers, shopkeepers, men, and boys—they formed part of the Massachusetts militia, under the leadership of Captain John Parker. Alerted by William Dawes and Paul Revere that “The Regulars are coming out!”, these men rallied to defend the stockpiles of arms collected over the preceding months and give dissident leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock time to escape.

History does not tell us what was going through the mind of the forty-six-year-old Parker on that fateful morning. We can only conjecture. He was not a well man—indeed, he would die only a few months later of tuberculosis, never living to see the harvest of the seeds he sowed upon the Lexington Green.

As he stood there in the morning mists with his men with the light infantry of Major John Pitcairn marching up the road toward their position, Parker cannot have suffered any delusions as to the odds arrayed against him. The British army of the time was the finest the world had ever seen, hardened by their devastating victories in the Seven Years’ War scarce more than a decade earlier. A veteran himself, Parker had seen the might of British power displayed against Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham. He and his men were alone, for all intents and purposes—the Declaration of Independence would not be drafted for another year, and history gives us no indication that Parker desired war.

And yet he stood his ground, even as Pitcairn’s crack troops formed up in line of battle against him, issuing a simple, yet immortal order: “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”

What followed, as a British officer rode forward to issue the imperious command, “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels!”—as the light infantry surged onto the green with bayonets fixed, is forever shrouded in history. By the time the smoke had cleared, eight colonists lay dead , including Parker’s cousin Jonas, their blood staining the green grass.

But the fire of liberty had been kindled, an unquenchable fire that would sweep the land and defy every attempt of a monarch to extinguish it.

Never underestimate the power of an individual willing to take a stand for his beliefs, even though it be in the face of overwhelming odds.

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Posted By Stephen England on March 3, 2013

This Sunday, I am very pleased to announce that I will be partnering with George Scott of the Books for Heroes Foundation for a week-long fundraising event surrounding the release of my Shadow Warriors sequel, Day of Reckoning(release date yet to be announced).

Since its beginnings in 2003, Scott and the Books for Heroes Foundation have been instrumental in shipping well over 100,000 books overseas to our men and women in uniform and to those in VA hospitals stateside. You can read more about their work in this article, which appeared in Publisher’s Weekly last year.

When I began the Shadow Warriors series, it was with the intention of providing more than a top-notch thrill ride. I wanted my readers to take a hard look at the challenges and hardships faced by those who protect our country, and I’m delighted to have this opportunity to work with Books for Heroes.

The fundraising event will take place the second week following release, with $1 from every e-book  & $2 from every paperback sold of Day of Reckoning going to Books for Heroes. In my talks with George Scott, I’ve set a goal of $1,000 raised for the Foundation in the course of that week. This is money that will go toward defraying the ever increasing costs of shipping these care packages to our military.

That is my goal. . .but I would love to smash it.  We will be partnering with other authors in the genre to help spread the word, but I would ask for your help as well. I’ve never been a one for “causes”, but I believe in helping those who defend this country. Let’s make this big.

If you have a blog and would  be willing to post regarding the event during that week, please contact me at stephen@stephenwrites.com and I will add your name to the list.  If you’re willing to spread this news across your Facebook and Twitter, that’s fantastic as well. Further details will be provided as we get closer to the release.

May God bless you all, and may God bless those who have fought for the freedoms we hold dear.

Category: Announcements, Day of Reckoning | No Comments »
Tags: Afghanistan, Books for Heroes, care packages, Day of Reckoning, George Scott, military

Posted By Stephen England on January 4, 2013

The coming days, as I move toward the publication of the 2nd novel of the Shadow Warriors series, Day of Reckoning, will also mark a business shift for me as an independent author. After a year and a half of difficulty dealing with Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and the other e-book retailers, I will be taking the electronic editions of both Pandora’s Grave and Sword of Neamha and making them exclusive to Amazon and the Kindle.

This is not a decision I make lightly, indeed it is one that I have resisted making since the Kindle exclusivity program, KDP Select, debuted in December of 2011. But ultimately it is the best decision for my business and thus the one I am determined to see through.

So, how does this affect you? First of all, if you are a member of Amazon Prime, it means you will now be able to “borrow” my books for free, through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

If you do not, however, own a Kindle, there will still be options available for you to read my books. Kindle apps are available for your iPhone, iPad, and even other e-readers such as the Nook.

For those that don’t own an e-reader at all, both books will still be available in paperback, and those with a computer can always download Kindle for PC, a very reliable free program that I have used for over a year.

In short, I see few downsides for either myself or my readers in this change, and I look forward to taking this new direction into the new year. Thank you all once again for your support. Keep the e-mails coming, I enjoy hearing from you and always respond personally.

Regards,

Stephen England

Category: Announcements, Pandora's Grave, Sword of Neamha | No Comments »
Tags: iPad, iPhone, KDP Select, Kindle, Nook, publishing

Posted By Stephen England on December 26, 2012

To my readers: thank you all for taking the time to read Pandora’s Grave and express your support over the past year. It has meant the world to me, and it’s no stretch when I say that I couldn’t have done it without you. By way of thanks, here’s a brief excerpt from the soon-to-be released sequel, Day of Reckoning. May God bless you all in this new year!

6:27 P.M. Eastern Time, December 20th

Washington, D.C.

 

It was dark when Kranemeyer left the Alibi Club, night enfolding the city like a heavy garment. Rain was falling, mingled with sleet—slippery beneath his dress shoes.  On the way back to his Suburban, he passed a panhandler on the street, the sign in his hands reading “Homeless Vet”.

Was he? It was hard to say—for every veteran the government had left abandoned on the streets, there were two more using the claim of service as a meal ticket. More deceit, in a city full of it.

There’s no going back, Barney. Not once you’ve started down this road.

  Kranemeyer pushed the senator’s words away as he levered himself up into the SUV, forcing himself to focus on the task ahead.

One thing and only one thing mattered. It wasn’t justice, there was none to be had in this world. Right and wrong. . .those were issues to be decided at a later date.

They did this to my men in Cambodia, Coftey had said, gazing into the open flames of the fireplace. Sent us out into the night and abandoned us. Never again.

The DCS sat there for a long moment, in the darkness of the vehicle, sleet tapping against the windshield like a ghostly finger.

It was a personal failure. He was the spymaster, and he had never even suspected. God only knew how many lives had been lost because of it.

Reaching inside his unbuttoned jacket, he retrieved the H&K USP from its holster, his movements slow and methodical as he screwed a suppressor into the muzzle. Practiced.

He caught a glimpse of his own face in the overheard mirror, hellishly illuminated in the red taillights of a passing car. An implacable Ares.

Do whatever you need to do, Barney—know that I have your back, all the way. Just don’t let him walk.

The slide of the semiautomatic slid forward with a metallic click, chambering a cartridge.

Kranemeyer laid the weapon on the passenger seat beside him and shifted the Suburban into Drive.

No one was walking away from this. . .

Category: Announcements, Pandora's Grave | 1 Comment »
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Posted By Stephen England on December 12, 2012

For the next twelve days(December 12-24), I am running a special 20% discount on autographed copies of Pandora’s Grave, just in time for Christmas.

Hailed as “a terrific read from a great new author” by NYT bestselling novelist Brad Thor, Pandora’s Grave is one of the top-rated spy thrillers on Amazon and the perfect gift for that thriller fan on your list. To order personally inscribed copies, please click on the “Buy Now” button on the sidebar and make note of any specific instructions regarding the inscription.

Do they prefer to go high-tech when it comes to reading? Never fear: you can give them a Kindle copy of Pandora’s Grave for its regular low price of $3.99, simply by visiting the Amazon product page and clicking the orange “Give as a gift” button, located in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Give the gift of a good book this holiday season and may you and yours have a very blessed Christmas!

Category: Announcements, Pandora's Grave | No Comments »
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Posted By Stephen England on November 8, 2012

Words. . .they’re the stock in trade of any writer. Yet they do not come easy at moments like this. I spent Tuesday night sitting in the local GOP Election Headquarters, screens all around me–watching the results come in.

Admittedly, the results were anything but what I had hoped for. And as I went on-line, the emotion–yes, even the despair was palpable. We had given years of our lives–only to see the election go sideways before our very eyes. The idea of President Obama as a four-year lame duck. . .but nothing I saw discouraged me as much as the sight of many of my fellow conservatives giving up in the face of defeat. It was over. As a movement, we were over. In the words of Thomas Paine, “‘Tis surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country.”

I won’t pretend that I didn’t experience the same emotions. I did. But we cannot allow ourselves to give up. Not now. Look back over the last four years–what did we know about politics in 2008? Most of us, precious little. And yet we rose in defense of our country and swept to victory in the mid-term elections of 2010. Given the early flush of that success, perhaps we expected too much. Did we honestly believe that we could completely reverse, in four years, a progressive tide building for the last century? I know many who did, yet such a belief, on the naked face of it, defies Reason.

This will be a long fight, and we must ready ourselves for it. Gone is the first flare of glory, gone the swelling passion that carried us to victory in those early days.  We must shed ourselves of this slavery to the four-year cycle of a presidential election. Our salvation will not come from such a quarter. No, this is the long game–and by all odds, we will not see the end of it in our lifetimes.

Our failure was not essentially the failure of a candidate. It was not the “fault” of the TEA Party, or of social conservatism, as some have asserted in the hours since. We were a volunteer army in 2010–raw, inexperienced, and successful largely because we had the advantage of surprise. In short, they never saw us coming. This time. . .they did. And enthusiasm–passion–will no longer carry the day. If we discard these unsettled passions for the encumbrances that they are–and replace them with a principled, cold-eyed realism of what it will take to accomplish our goals, we stand a chance of winning in the end.

And people ask “How?” If we could not bring affect change in 2012, how will we ever? And I answer with an old proverb, “If every man swept his own doorstep, the whole world would be clean.” On Tuesday night, the TEA Party saw a massive victory. . .in my county. Due to the efforts of a dedicated, weary core of activists every conservative candidate and ballot measure we had campaigned for won. . .within the confines of our influence. If there had been such a group in every county across the face of our United States–I leave you to draw your own conclusions as to the alternate outcomes that could have resulted.

Establishing such a groundswell is not an easy process–not something that can be accomplished in the space of a few years. It is not the progeny of “events” and emotional “rallies”, where like religious “revival” meetings of old, decisions made are discarded soon after leaving the sound of the speaker’s voice. No, you cannot rally people to “defend the Constitution” unless you have laid the groundwork of educating them on why the Constitution is even worth defending. Nowhere is this more true than when I look at my own generation. Our society is beginning to lose its grasp on freedom–beginning to place a premium on the security of a “protective” government vs. personal liberty. If we cannot recover the next generation, we will go the way of Europe.

And that is, in itself, only the beginning. And we must ask ourselves–were we in this for a marathon. . .or a sprint? The progressive movement is only approaching their goals at the end of a hundred-year marathon, and a brief, winded sprint to the finish line will not be sufficient to overcome that, whatever we may have thought at the beginning. To borrow once again from Thomas Paine in his aptly titled pamphlet, An American Crisis: “Wisdom is not the purchase of a day, and it is no wonder that we should err at the first setting off.”

No wonder, but it is an error we must correct now. We cannot retreat, we cannot stand down, for such choices are only resultant in our own destruction. Hold fast, my friends, hold fast–for while twilight may be upon us, the sun has not yet set over the United States of America. Let us work while it is yet day. Tuesday night was only a defeat of conservatism if we allow it to become one. And I swear by God above that I will not allow myself to despair. This is not the end. Not on my watch.

And I ask that you would join with me. In 2010, we established our beachhead on the shores of progressivism, and they have not succeeded in throwing us back into the sea. It’s time to form up. Close ranks. Keep moving. Let’s get off this beach!

Category: News of the Day, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags: 2012 election, Barack Obama, conservatism, politics, TEA Party, Thomas Paine

Posted By Stephen England on September 11, 2012

September 11th, 2001. A day which will live forever in our hearts. In infamy. As I sit here tonight, I think back on that day, eleven years ago. I remember it as if it was yesterday. The shock. The devastation. At the time, I knew no one directly affected by the tragedy, but it made no difference. I remember walking outside, into that crisp September morning–gazing up into the clear, cloudless skies over northeastern Maryland. It felt surreal–wrong, somehow–that nature itself was not joining in the sorrow of a nation.

I was eleven years old at the time of the attacks. I watched as the second plane slammed into the buildings, as the South Tower imploded.  My parents, unlike many other parents across America, chose not to shield me from the tragedy. Whether theirs was a deliberate choice, or whether they were simply too overwhelmed by their own grief to think of it, I may never know. What I do know, is that I am eternally grateful that I was not so shielded. Without the impact of that tragedy, I would not be the person I am today. September 11th changed my life forever.

In the days that followed, I watched as America went to war. I saw people come together as neighbors, as Americans. The red, white, and blue flew from every house, every street corner, every car. The people of 9/12 rose up as one.  I listened as the President of the United States exhorted Americans to “Get down to Disney World in Florida. Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed”. Ill-advised words.

And I watched as Americans heeded his words. As her soldiers went to war, America slid back into its pre-9/11 complacency, with many seemingly heedless of the ongoing conflict. Unless someone had a family member on the front lines, unless a friend came home in a casket, odds were that they were more concerned with who was sleeping with Britney Spears than who was fighting for their freedom. And despite the best intentions of all concerned, the gulf between our citizens and our soldiers grew wider. As my friend and Iraq War veteran Michael Piro said in this blog post, “Aliens.  That is what celebrities and civilians were in Iraq.  Latest fashions, who dumped who, who is pregnant, who had surgery… Who gives a *&$#@!”

I took a look at my Facebook account at lunch today and came to a startling realization. Of my peers among the visible contacts, less than 10% had posted anything in memorial. For them, September 11th seemed to be just another date on the calendar, devoid of any meaning, absent any sorrow. One of them, commenting on the ongoing debate regarding the removal of the  9/11 cross, said, “I’m pretty apathetic.”

For some, September 11th was a call to arms. Many went into the far corners of the earth to defend our freedom. My name does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as those brave men and women. But I kept the promise I made to myself on that day. To never forget the blood spilled that September morning. To never forget the price of liberty.

Never. . .

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Tags: 9/11 cross, George W. Bush, Iraq War, Michael Piro, September 11th, World Trade Center

Posted By Stephen England on July 24, 2012

So, you’ve uploaded your finished and (hopefully) edited manuscript to KDP, PubIt, or one of the other independent publishers out there. Your book is now available for sale. . .

Congratulations, gentle reader! Now, before my voice becomes drowned out in the sound of corks popping and the backslapping congratulations of your fellow authors, let me give you a little admonition: this isn’t all fun and games. You are now a public figure.

But, wait, you say—my name isn’t Brad Thor or Stephenie Meyer! I’ve only sold five copies of my great American novel, three of them to Aunt Martha and Uncle Reese—what’s all this “public figure” jazz?

Sales don’t matter—it’s the simple act of publishing your book that makes you a public figure, in the same sense that filing for office makes a person a politician. So, yes, you are a public figure—now act like one.

By my estimation, 99.9% of complaints about “indie” authors could be resolved by this simple realization. Don’t release anything that is unpolished. Keep a professional image at ALL times. Just like a politician or a celebrity, you are always on. If you use social media to promote your book, don’t use that same(or any) social media to whine about your hangover or your ex-girlfriend. Never react. Anything you say can and will be used against you, as well it should. Because you are a public figure.

Unfortunately, although many independent authors have an innate understanding of this, there are also many who do not(both traditionally and independently published). I will never forget an author I met during a book festival several years ago. Her booth bordered mine and sales were poor as the day progressed. Unfortunately, she decided that the reason her “literature” wasn’t selling was because the festival-going peasants were too stupid to appreciate it—and began discussing the topic loudly with her booth-partner. Sales went from slow to no faster than you could blink.

Carried into the world of the Internet, I’ve seen this type of behavior repeated time and again, with all sorts of colorful variations. If a negative review is received(and let’s face it, no one loves them—it’s all in how you handle it), the reviewer is either: not part of their “target audience”, mean, stupid, guilty of felonious intent—or that classic: in need of an education on HOW to review a book. Which is the rough equivalent of complaining about a restaurant meal. . .only to have the chef come storming out of the kitchen to berate you for lack of taste.

But I’ve had authors tell me, “If they have a right to attack me, then I have a RIGHT to attack them!”

That’s very true. You also have the “right” to ceremonially disembowel yourself, but neither hara-kiri nor attacking your readers is an advisable course. This is where being a public figure comes into play. Any citizen can attack a politician, but for a politician to come down off his pedestal and stick his finger in the face of Joe Citizen is scandalous. Is this a double-standard? Possibly, but I couldn’t care less about the morality of your argument. The simple truth is this: whether you’re a politician or an author, going after the general public is a sure career-ender.

But-but-but, you say, this gives power to people who haven’t done anything to deserve it. I’m special! I wrote a book! They’ve done nothing! Now, settle down—you were happy to take their money, weren’t you? Now, don’t lie. You were. You took their money and they weren’t happy with what you provided in return. Responding, OR sharing that review with all your little author friends in hopes that they will respond for you, only reflects poorly on your professionalism. Or lack thereof. The customer is always right—because let’s face it, without your customers you are nothing. You heard me. Nothing.

Always be polite, always be professional, and always remember that you need your readers far more than they need you. Which is a topic for another blog post, coming soon. . .

Regards,

The Rogue Writer

Category: The Art of Writing | 3 Comments »
Tags: Amazon, BBAs, Brad Thor, indie, publishing, reviewers, self-publishing, Stephenie Meyer

Posted By Stephen England on July 2, 2012

Last year, on June 30th, I launched Pandora’s Grave. It was my second published novel, following the 2009 release of Sword of Neamha, but last year marked my first foray into the world of the Kindle and e-publishing.

It has been, simply put, an incredible year. In the last year, 6,063 copies of Pandora’s Grave have sold, making it a bestseller by traditional industry standards, and I have received 90 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.7, giving the novel a long run as #1 Top-Rated Spy Thriller on the Amazon Kindle.

I’ve also met a lot of wonderful people, many of them fellow conservatives, and many brave members of our military. I have what is unquestionably the best audience out there, and I am honored to call you my friends. I thank God for you all, for all your support and encouragement.

It is in thanks for all you have done in spreading the word that I give you a sneak peek at my next upcoming project, here.

Category: Announcements, Pandora's Grave, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags: bestseller, CIA, indie, reviews, spy thriller

Posted By Stephen England on June 20, 2012

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.—George Orwell

There is nothing easy about telling the truth. Nothing fun. Our nature shrinks from confrontation, from honesty. In our culture, where popularity seems to be the ultimate prize, nothing is more unpopular than taking a stand.

I’ve been independently published since December of 2009. My foray into e-publishing began last summer with the launch of Pandora’s Grave. It’s been quite a year. There are a lot of good, honorable authors in the independent community, and I’m  proud to call them my friends.

Sadly, this last year has also been an eye-opening experience in the lengths that some will go to make a dollar. I’ve seen authors set up shill accounts to review their own books and relentlessly swap reviews with each other, apparently without any regard for their own integrity.

It is understandable why many authors are hesitant to speak out regarding these practices. Anyone who can muster a flurry of 5-star sockpuppets to review their own books can just as easily use those accounts to bury your book in negative reviews if you dare expose them. That’s a fear I can relate to, yet it does not explain what follows.

When frauds are exposed by readers, people with nothing to lose from telling the truth—authors often not only fail to support their endeavor, they rise up to defend the frauds, no matter how strong the evidence. Why? How are we helped by this exercise in group think—this herd mentality?

Yet, when readers judge all indies by the standard of those we have defended. . .we complain violently that it’s “unfair”, and that they should be able to tell the difference between the good and the bad! The irony is appalling, the dishonesty epidemic. You can’t have this both ways—until authors stop drinking the “indies unite” kool-aid, it’s a bit much to expect readers to tell us apart.

A couple months ago, I was alerted to a group of reviewers congregating in the Badly Behaving Authors thread on Amazon’s discussion forums—a place I had long ago forsaken due to. . .well, “badly behaving authors”. Judging by the description I was given of these reviewers, they were bloodthirsty vigilantes conducting a witch hunt against independent authors. Painted fifty shades darker than Lucifer himself, I really expected to smell brimstone from the moment of log-in.

So, I lurked. And watched. Vigilantes? Considering that their modus operandi  is to collect evidence and present it to Amazon, that label is grossly inappropriate. Witch hunt? Take a deep breath and look hard at the evidence. Or better yet—try to make claims on that thread without presenting evidence and watch how fast you get shouted down. It’s not a witch hunt. Are they cynical? Yeah, I’d say they are, just a tad bit—and with good reason. Watching people try to game the system tends to do that—can you blame them?  they’re not “anti-author”, they’re simply “pro-reader”. And if you’re not “pro-reader”, then I’d like to ask you one simple question. . .what you think you’re doing writing a book?

It’s time to stop pretending that every indie author is a saint. Time to stop forming a shield wall around the very people giving the community a bad reputation. And it’s well past time to stop pretending that the people giving of their time to expose the problem are the enemy.

And yet, even as I write this, I know there will be many who will not stop, many who will continue to decry the “witch hunt”, as they see it.

I ask myself once again “Why?” and this time I fear I know the answer. In the words of the apostle, “And men loved darkness rather than light. Because their deeds were evil.”

It’s time to take a stand for the integrity of our industry, or rather what’s left of it.

Regards, The Rogue Writer

Category: The Art of Writing | 7 Comments »
Tags: Amazon, Badly Behaving Authors, e-publishing, Goodreads, shill reviews, vigilantes, witch hunt