Hi folks!

Just a reminder that a revised copyedit of WHIRLWIND went up at the end of February. If you purchased the kindle ebook before then, go to your "manage your content and devices" link, in the left hand column click "automatic book updates," then click "turn on." This will swap out the old version for the new.1

I apologize for the error-filled version that was initially uploaded. If you still find errors, please let me know!

enjoy!

Goodreads Book Contest

Hi all!

I had great response to the Goodreads book giveaway for WHIRLWIND! Thank you all for participating.

Two winners were pulled and I will be mailing their books out today or tomorrow.

Again, thanks to all. And if you read the book and are so inclined, please do consider posting a review on either Goodreads or Amazon!

New Book Release!
WHIRLWIND (2014)

My first young adult novel is available on Amazon right now as an ebook! The print will be available shortly.

I tend to think of it as my "accidental" novel. I'm working on another book (sorta of adult urban fantasy) and the main character of WHIRLWIND, Arden Lewis, started nagging at me. In the down time from the other book, I would jot down notes and, well, the writing started. The next thing I knew, I had a book finished.

WHIRLWIND sat on my laptop for several months. I didn't think about it much. A couple of young adults in my life were looking for something to read, so I passed it along. The feedback was great, so I sent it to a few more people. After much consideration, I decided it wasn't going to get read if I just left on my laptop. So, here it is.

Here's the link to my main website: www.markdelfranco.com . There's a brief description (also below), as well as a free first chapter. If you want to skip all that and go right to Amazon, well, here you go! Please pass the word, share/like/retweet on Facebook and Twitter @mdelf. Word of mouth will be the way to make the book a success. Thanks!

Arden Lewis has a secret.

When Arden discovers she can control the weather, she leaves her secluded family farm to live in Everglen among her own kind—Paragons who can control the elements with their minds and bodies.

Arden soon learns that being a Paragon means being a target for darker forces that want to exploit her Talent—or destroy it. She must navigate the turmoil of high school and the uncertainty of her first crush, all while keeping her Talent from prying eyes. 

She needs to keep secrets in order to survive.

But secrets are built on lies, and when secrecy becomes paramount, the lies become dangerous. No matter whom she trusts, no matter how hard she tries to control her Talent, Arden’s life begins to spiral out of control--with fatal consequences.

UNDONE DEEDS -- a little more info.....

The next Connor Grey is coming out January 31, 2012---two weeks away! As usual with these things, a few copies are already popping up here and there, which always fascinates me. How do people get them before I do???

Here’s the back copy from the book:

Connor Grey, a druid consultant for the Boston P.D., usually helps the cops solve their “strange” cases, but now he’s the suspect in the midst of one. Wrongly accused of a terrorist act that rocked the city to its core, Connor evades arrest by going underground, where rumors of war are roiling. A final confrontation between the Celtic and Teutonic fey looks inevitable—with Boston as the battlefield.

Undercover agents are turning up dead in the Weird—their murders brushed aside and ignored—and Connor exposes a citywide conspiracy of silence that seems linked to the inexorable march to war. As he digs deeper into the mysterious deaths, Connor draws closer to the secrets of a past he has sought for so long. And as friends and allies abandon him one by one, Connor discovers that in the clash between light and dark, and in the face of a cataclysm of epic proportions, he might have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world.

UNDONE DEEDS is the sixth book in the series. I’m pretty excited about it because Answers Will Be Revealed. This book is the culmination of the series arc I’ve been working on from the beginning. I think most of the major questions people have had are answered here, maybe not in the way some people hoped, and, of course, a few things are left mysterious. But for the most part, this has been the story I wanted to tell.

Which is not to say the world of Connor Grey is finished. I think readers know I made the Convergent World a pretty big place with a huge cast of characters. I’ve told only one person’s story. Will there be more? *shrug* That’s up to Ace Books thinks about where I want to take things next.

And, of course, you guys. One of the greatest pleasures of writing is sharing the world you create. I’ve been honored and flattered and humbled by reader reaction so far. I hope I don’t disappoint you all.

Here’s the link to the website to read more about UNDONE DEEDS

UNDONE DEEDS Releases January 31, 2012!

The title says it all, folks! Check out my website for a free first chapter and links to preorder.

I'll be blogging a bit more about it soon. Right now I have to remember all my passwords to my blog and website panels. Argh.

oh, and Happy New Year!

So That's What We're Calling It Now

A few writers have been getting into a tangle about how writers should generate income in this new fluid world of publishing. It started with a quasi-gentlemanly spat between David Hewson and Cory Doctorow. Hewson launched with this blog post to which Doctorow took to Twitter here to respond. Others chimed in--most defending Doctorow. I have to admit, the conversations and comments first baffled me, occasionally irritated me and finally just saddened me when I realized what the conversation was really about: most writers get paid crap.

Hewson and Doctorow discussing what path to success works best is a bit like Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga arguing over the way to run a music career. One cultivated his audience over time. The other made a nice big splash. They both ended up behind desks with enough to live off their writing. Lost in their discussion is that both their positions beg the question of publishing success: "I am successful because I am successful." That's not a luxury 90% of writers can argue from.

Let me address this whole "multi-stream income" issue. It sounds hip and sexy and new. It speaks to innovation and bold ventures. It's none of those things. It is, quite frankly, a tarted-up way of saying you freelance or have a day job and write on the side. That's it. Nothing new. It's new economy jargon applied to the same old realities.

Some will say I’m missing the point of the discussion, that juggling multiple jobs is a necessity if you want to write. But, I would posit that isn’t the real point. The point is writing isn’t a live-on career for most people--not because they don't want it to be, but because it simply doesn't pay enough. It hasn’t since its inception as a career choice and all this “multi-stream” talk is not about a writing career at all. It’s about paying the bills any way you can. If, in fact, you have to work other jobs and those other jobs make up more than half your income, you do not have a writing career. You have a vocation that occasionally pays you some money to redo your kitchen.

Calling it "multi-stream income" may sound sophisticated, but I can't help but feel it's snake-oil talk. You're not struggling to make ends meet because you work in an exploitative industry that doesn't value its main source of material--you're multi-streaming your income! Please, spare me the smoke and mirrors.

My Mind or My Money

So, in case I haven't mentioned it (yeah, right), the next Connor Grey book, UNCERTAIN ALLIES, is coming out on April 28. Here's what happens to me when a book is about to be published.

First, I've been fortunate to get multibook contracts, which means that I have books scheduled to be delivered to the publisher. As it happens, I am given a year to produce a book, and they tend to be due about the time the last book is about  to be published generally around February or March. Sounds nice and orderly, doesn't it? Well, if you are me, order produces chaos.