Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Investing in me

I am selling a unique version of my LORE as an NFT. New cover, new dragon icon, illustration, exposé and more found nowhere else! I am investing in me, and you will invest in a special book!



https://booksgosocial.com/lore-of-arcana-special-edition-nft/ 

#NFTs #NFT #nftcollector #specialedition 

Things you don't need to feel guilty about


 

Monday, June 28, 2021

NFT sales are happening!

Good news indeed to hear that readers are not only visiting the BooksGoSocial website but are also buying! It may seem complicated, and I'll admit I needed to do research to find out what exactly an NFT is, but BGS has simplified it, making it easy to purchase a book token - just fill in the online form, and presto. Do have a look at the press release posted a few days ago for more insight into how it works. I'm sure, like me, you'll get it!

Lore of Arcana is close to my heart, and was a natural choice for a special edition NFT. Not only does Arcana lay the groundwork for the entire series, but it showcases my worldbuilding, reveals characters that will become part of you, and uncovers dilemmas we all face, if not quite in such dramatic surroundings. The NFT edition is about so much more than the story, though.



Please pop on over and have a look! From the bottom of my heart I will thank you for your support, even if it is just a quick look!

Lore of Arcana Special Edition

Friday, June 25, 2021

So, book covers ...

In other news, have been re-doing a few covers I just didn't feel fit anymore, including the two Thomas books (Thomas covers have been giving me issues since the stories were published - hopefully now I can rest easy, but we'll see), the Artist and Bartender. Have also updated the two audio covers for Thomas, but ACX has yet to do the necessary so you wont yet see them online (showing them here anyway).





Links in the Novellas and Short Stories page.

Teamwork: Lore of Arcana's NFT

As you can see from the BGS press post below, NFT Books are now a thing, and I have a very special edition NFT for Lore of Arcana as part of this - cannot tell you enough just how pleased I am (okay, more like super-duper excited!) that my lore is among the first pioneers of a new way of reaching readers.

This has been my secret project since April, and it took some doing to put it all together, not only from my point of view but the entire team at Books Go Social, not to mention the other authors who are in this with me. All that collating, formatting, altering … many, many days of work!

The WHY of becoming a part of the NFT marketplace I have showcased in a post on my Lore Series blog, so do have a look. Thanks!

Here, though, let me tell you about the teamwork aspect of creating a special edition. I asked Cayla De Vos from Fox Creative Solutions to create new covers for me, which includes the standard ebook cover, a square cover and an awesome GIF, and an illustration of the Maze sacred site which can be found in the Sacred Sites PDF included in the token, a dedicated Dragon icon (LOVE IT!) and she delivered in spades. I asked my Arcana narrator, Thomas Bestwick, to put together an audio file with excerpts from all four books to showcase Torrullin Valla's journey (the MC after all!) and he jumped in and made it happen. Together, with me creating a special epub edition and adding my lightbulb moment, we have created something truly special, and I say thank you to both of them for being part of this :)



First NFT Book Marketplace goes live: BooksGoSocial press release

 


June 24, 2021

                                       

THE FIRST NFT BOOK  MARKETPLACE GOES LIVE

 

BooksGoSocial opens their NFT marketplace today with an initial drop of fourteen special edition NFT ebooks across multiple genres and from a diversity of authors around the world.

Each NFT ebook is minted as a limited edition of up to 100 at a fixed price for buyers. The marketplace provides an opportunity to buy and resell ebooks as collectibles that recognize the value of the work and provide the freedom to resell while still giving the author a continuous payback for their creation. These attributes of NFT ebooks, the right to resell and a percentage of the resell price (10%) going back to the author are what makes NFT ebooks very different to buying and selling ebooks in the usual way.

Each ebook on the marketplace is verified as containing original work, copyright of the author, and the NFT token is a receipt for ownership of one special edition. Many include extra files as bonus items to be  owned by the collector.

Each ebook is delivered in a secure way and is available to be consumed via an Internet cloud reader or through an easily downloadable app that opens an ebook and/or audiobook on all devices from desktops to laptops, tablets, and phones.

Some of the NFTs include more than one ebook. A few also include an accompanying audiobook, video trailer, author interview, special artwork relating to the book, and much more. The variety of books range from nonfiction to fiction in many genres. Audiences include both adults and children, and one is Lit/RPG for gamers.

The BooksGoSocial marketplace is unique in that they have created a platform that alleviates the three most difficult problems for NFT books to be widely available and accessible to the average book reader.

First, they’ve removed the requirement to deal with cryptocurrency to purchase an NFT by allowing consumers to use PayPal or Stripe, both well-known and trusted entities to pay for the NFT in the currency of  their choice.

Second, they have established a seven-day refund policy to mitigate reader hesitancy for trying a new way of purchasing ebooks or for trying an author unknown to them. If the purchaser finds the ability to download and unzip the files is too difficult or decides the NFT is not to their liking, they can request a refund and gift the NFT back to the BGS marketplace for resell. By allowing PayPal payments this refund policy is guaranteed to work.

Finally, BooksGoSocial provides a book marketplace website that allows consumers to easily navigate to multiple NFT books, learn about each story and what is included in the NFT. In addition, BGS also offers free site membership after a single NFT purchase. Benefits include easily viewing and managing the purchased collectibles, earning collector points for future purchases, ongoing technical support if needed, being informed of new book drops, and the ability to interact and learn more about the authors and other related creators.

On the backend, they have partnered with the WAX (Worldwide Asset eXchange) blockchain for minting super low energy consumption NFTs.

They chose WAX for three reasons: 1) Purchasers can create a wallet without having to buy WAX crypto; 2) There is no “gas” charge to purchasers or sellers allowing low cost accessible NFTs to be created; and 3) WAX continuously strives to be a green blockchain. “According to ClimateCare.org, WAX has already offset 211 tonnes of CO2 (and counting) as of May 21, and energy consumption on the blockchain remains extraordinarily low at 0.000223 terawatts per year — officially making it the only carbon neutral NFT blockchain on the market.” June 8, 2021 WAX press release. This addresses the most common criticism of anything blockchain related.

This first drop of fourteen books will allow readers to consume and own the first special edition BooksGoSocial NFTs. Future NFT ebook drops are planned for 2021.

As BGS owner, Laurence O’Bryan, says:

“We have invested in this blockchain technology to meet the needs of book consumers and authors. Digital books have already proven their staying power over more than a decade. We now want to provide true digital ownership for consumers to acquire unique content and collectible limited editions with the freedom to resell what they own. This unique benefit to readers is enabled by blockchain technology with our risk free environment.

At the same time we are ensuring that authors continue to get paid for their work with each resell, that they have the freedom to set their own ebook prices and to bundle extra digital files to deliver real value to consumers and have a better chance to make a living as an author.”

To learn more about BooksGoSocial and the NFT ebooks in this first unique drop go to: https://booksgosocial.com/nfts/

Keywords: NFT Books, Non-fungible token books Author country locations: United States, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia. Contact: Laurence O’Bryan laurence@bgsadmin.com


Thursday, June 24, 2021

More news!

The Jeweller is now in production for audio, and the narrator, Katrina, completely fits the story, irreverent as can be, perfectly suited to the humour.


What does a girl do when the fantastical creatures she creates for a charm bracelet come to life?

Emily questions her sanity when troll lifts his mace and wizard defends with his staff, and hightails it out of her studio. When her dad phones the next morning to say he’s coming over, she is beyond relieved. In the light of day, with her dad present, her imagination can’t play tricks … right?

Holy smoke! Even Dad is gobsmacked by what he sees. Elf brandishes his flute like a knife and fairy bites troll … how is this real?

Only one thing to do now.

Call in the cavalry because Mom will know what to do … right?


Can't wait to listen? Grab the ebook so long!

***

The Student went into translation yesterday, into Spanish - no title and graphics available yet :)


Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Behind the scenes in my Writing World

Loads going on! Not only the German translation as revealed below, but changing covers for The Sleeper Sword's audio book (as well as listening to more production files), and Ilfin of Arc's ebook (not online yet, still waiting for it to show). 

Three edit/format projects for Redwing Productions, approving The Student's audio, listening to auditions for The Jeweller, preparing the Lore of Arcana Omnibus for audio AND working on that still secret project I told you about a while ago. That's launching tomorrow, so watch this space for the press release!

The Artist's German translation

 So this happened: my first German translation!