In July 2010, Amazon said that their sales of ebooks for their Kindle reader was higher than hardcover paper books sales. Just recently, in May 2011, Amazon has put out a press release that states ebook sales have now overtaken even paperback book sales, and are their best seller: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?ID=1565581&c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle

Is this the end of paper books? No, I don’t think so. When radio came in, books didn’t go away. When TV came in, books didn’t disappear, neither did radio. Some shifted their attention to the new media, but books never went away.

This new ebook publishing revolution is a very exciting time to be an author! Now, for the first time, the playing field of publishing is really leveling and most anyone can get their books to their audience.

I think of how radio and TV have changed and know there will be parallels with books. There are now DVD boxed sets of TV shows, TIVO, pay per view, and subscription channels in the TV realm. Radio has specialty networks like SIRUS, Internet radio stations are numerous (a lot of them are really great), and most on-air radio stations stream online.

So where is the book heading? It’s already there is a large way with ebooks, but more enhancements could come, like multimedia content in ebooks and social networks built into ebooks.

Paper books will never disappear, and overall, I believe they are still currently the top-selling format in the world. But, it looks like that balance is quickly shifting. I’ll be putting out paper editions of my books as well, as I love the paper format. From an author’s point of view though, publishing ebooks are my top priority and it’s a much more direct route to my audience that way. I think the audience appreciates the plusses of ebooks like lower cost, no storage space issues on full book cases, and instant delivery.

There are times when a visit to a bookstore is a lovely experience and one that I, and many others still enjoy, and will enjoy in the future. Ebooks are another option, not a replacement for paper books, or bookstores, even when ebooks do become the most popular format in a few years time. I encourage you to support the authors and bookstores you appreciate so that you can ensure they will thrive in the years to come, as the publishing industry goes through its growing pains.

After several years in the making, I’ve just published my first novel as an ebook! It’s called Brainjob. Feels so good to get this out into the world! I don’t think I quite believe it yet, give me a little time!

It’s quite a long novel, about 125,000 words, so it’s a good ebook value.

In the works for Brainjob is a paper book edition to come from Amazon, and also I’m going to make an audio book of the novel. It’ll be me rereading the whole thing! I’m looking forward to it, as it will give me a real feel for the flow of the language over the course of the book when I read it all aloud.

Synopsis

It’s 2051 and humans live in space, while a nuclear war looms in Braku province, the last great free state on Earth. Cloning is commonplace as a means of life extension, by a method called a “Brainjob” - when you get old, move your brain into a new, brainless cloned body. It’s almost a way to live forever for those with the means, but not true eternal life.

Zach Hemmings, a poor working man, is injured in an industrial accident. His body is destroyed, but his brain is still viable. Due to his lack of funds, he never had himself cloned, and has to accept the clone his medical insurance will pay for. He gets a clone of another race (his original body was white, the cloned body is black), which causes him massive identity issues, and lack of acceptance with many in his family. Zach becomes the subject of medical experiments by Unito Bio (they own his cloned body due to an underhanded copyright law) to produce an eternal-youth nanobot serum. The serum trials are successful for the first time, and only occur in Zach’s unique bloodstream. He starts to get younger.

But Zach, tired of being a guinea pig, and disgusted at being owned, goes on the run. Unito has deep pockets, and they will stop at nothing to get back their property that has just become the most valuable thing in the world. Zach just wants to get himself back.

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You can read a free excerpt and buy the ebook in multiple formats here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/62568

On the Kindle from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0053004IA

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0053004IA

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0053004IA

My short story Turkey Day REVENGE – now available as a Kindle Edition! You can read a free sample:
USA store: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051PEQ4A
UK store: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0051PEQ4A
EU store: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0051PEQ4A

Other ebook formats at: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/57989 or on Apple’s iBooks, Barnes and Noble’s Nook eReader, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, Scrollmotion and many more!