I'm #1 in the Amazon Children's Bookstore- Yippie!

I had a BookBub add run yesterday and it's propelled Zack & Zoey's Alien Apocalypse into the top 15 of the Amazon store and the #1 position in the children's section! In case you are wondering, that took almost 10,000 downloads. Of course these are free downloads, but I am already seeing a big bump in sales for book two: Zack & Zoey Save Walt's Brain.

I'm crossing my fingers that the effects of this ad will linger for quite a while--only time will tell.

Oops, I just caused a Major PR problem for Amazon -- KindleUnlimited.

Most of you don't know I've had a lot of trouble with one of my titles that Amazon has removed three times now. Needless to say it's been quite a headache--so I wasn't looking to get myself into any more trouble.

Last night after I finished writing, I decided to check some of my sales ranking. I never imagined it would lead to a major PR hassle for Amazon. I noticed a little ad next to the price of my book for "KindleUnlimited." a new $9.99 all-you-can-read-service.

Thinking I must be the only one not to know of this new offering, I posted a note on Kindleboards with a link to the page. When I woke up this morning the story had exploded with articles all over the web about this mysterious new service that had disappeared as quickly as it had popped up. Time and Slashdot were just a few of the news sites that covered it.

In light of all the problems I've been having with Amazon, it's safe to say they're probably not exactly thrilled with me. So I've decided to write them an open letter in an effort to clear the air:

Dear Amazon,

Let me publicly apologize for inadvertently spoiling--please don't ban my account--the announcement of your exciting, and wonderful new program, Amazon Unlimited. Which I am positive will be wildly successful--please don't ban my account--for both readers and writers. 

As a show of my sincerity--please don't ban my account--I would like to offer my first-born son to work in one of your huge, but employee friendly warehouses, where I am sure he will have the opportunity to learn valuable job skills.

In closing, I hope you accept my sincere regret for letting the cat out of the bag--please don't ban my account--and that you don't harbor any ill feelings toward me.

You sincere and humble servant, 
MJ Ware

Fan Produced Monster in the Mirror Audio book

One of my young readers has done a dramatic reading of Monster In The Mirror. She added special effects and everything! I can't believe what a great job she did.

Give it a listen with headphones & turn out the lights if you dare!

Happy Release Day: 101 Killer Zombie Jokes

What to do with an entire notebook full of zombie jokes that haven't made it into a novel? Put them in a joke book: That's how I came up with most of the jokes in my new release 101 Killer Zombie Jokes and 13 Rotten Ones.

Loaded with original zombie illustrations, it's a great way to get reluctant readers turning the pages.

Best of all, at just 99¢ you might even laugh while clicking "Buy Now"!

Why did the zombie join Girl Scouts?

What do you call a zombie's painting?

Tooth Decay: An epidemic among the Undead.

Review Backlog & One Upcoming

I've been focusing on writing and haven't done a good job updating the blog. But I feel it's ungrateful to not at least try to keep up with sites that take the time to review my books. So here's a list of some recent reviews--I know there's at least one I can't find, so if I've left your review out or you know of any sites I forgot to mention, please drop me a note and I'll add them to the list!

First, 26 Letters, wrote up a nice, short review of Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb The Graphic Novel. She focused on it's suitability for younger readers, so if you are thinking about this book for a younger kid who might be an advanced reader for his/her age, this might be worth checking out.

Book Paddle linked to the same book on their indulgy site. Which is the first time anyone's posted one of my books over there (that I know of).

No Way Out, has gotten two reviews, one way back in March (told you I was behind) from Books & Movie Reviews, and another for O.D. Book Reviews. Both are great, really detailed reviews!

Last, but most importantly (since this book just came out) Ashley, at one of my favorite blogs: Paranormal Sisters, is going to be publishing a review of my newest book: Zack & Zoey Save Walt's Brain in the next week or so!

A BIG thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review my books; it's probably the best way to get the word out and there's so many reviewers and bloggers who do and getting nothing out of it other than the occasional Thank You from readers and authors.

Zack & Zoey Book 2 is Ready!

I'm pleased to announce that Zack & Zoey Book 2: Zack & Zoey Save Walt's Brain is ready for publication!

Editing and proofreading is complete and the book is just undergoing last minute formatting and legal review before it's put on sale, later this week. Until then, here's a few illustrations from the over four dozen in this book:

Zack & Zoey Book 2, First Illustrations!

Yes, even though I haven't been updating the blog, I have been working. Zack & Zoey book 2 is currently in editing and I hope to have it released early next month.

The illustrations are taking a little longer than I had hoped, but I'm sure they'll be worth the wait. Here's a few  previews of a couple of the rough sketches:

20,000 Kid's Books Sold via Self-Publishing!

I haven't posted in a while, but I have some news I think is worth sharing. January I had my first 2,000 book month and just a couple days ago I sold my 20,000th kid book. For those who are interested, here's some of my stats:

Books given-away: over 250k (most short stories)
Percentage of books sold on Amazon: over 95%
Printed copies: less than 200
First sale: June 26th 2010
Books sold in 2010 and 2011 combined: 8691
Books sold in 2012: 8746

This isn't phenomenal success, but it's pretty good for an indie Kidlit author. So I figured I'd offer my best (okay, my only) advice for other kidlit writers trying to generate some sales.

There's no sure-fire review blog or advertising sites for kidlit. Twitter and Facebook don't help much. The only thing I've found that really helps promote is to publish free short stories and tack on a preview of your full-length books at the end.

Amazon's KDP self-pubbing platform only allows you to set the price as low as 99¢, not free. So you have to use Smashwords or Draft2Digital.com to upload your short stories to sites like B&N and Apple. Then wait, sometimes months for Amazon to price match.

It's been getting much harder to get Amazon to set a book to free, but it's worth the effort.

And don't discount the roll luck plays. After the basics (good writing, cover, description, etc), luck is key. But every book you release, even the short stories, are like getting another raffle ticket. With enough tickets, and enough time, you're bound to get lucky, eventually.

I'm Going to the World Series

VIEW FROM MY SEATS

No one probably remembers that back in April I predicted that the Giants would be going to the World Series. There were some shaky games in the middle of the season, but I was right, the Giants are heading to the Series.

I really wanted to go to one of the games. But how can you justify spending that kind of dough on baseball tickets?

Once I thought about it, I came up with the perfect excuse to buy tickets: I'll use last month's commission check. And I'll still have a little leftover for beer. Why sell books if you are never going to spend the money?

Now, my monthly sales don't afford front row seats, but after missing the 2010 World Series, I'm just glad to be going.

The playoffs were tough (as everyone knew they would be), but we are definitely on a roll. The Tigers are a good team with great pitching, so it's going to be a great Series.

!!!GO GIANTS!!!

Kindle Nation Daily Gives Zack & Zoey 5-Stars!

Earlier this week, Colton at Kindle Daily Nation Kids Corner reviewed Zack & Zoey's Alien Apocalypse. You may recall, earlier in the year they also reviewed Super Zombie Juice.
Here's a blurb from this latest review:

"I really enjoyed this book. I laughed a lot and kept quoting things in the book to my mom. There were even pictures in Zack and Zoey, which I thought was awesome."

Read the rest of the 5-star review at Kindle Nation Daily. And a big thank you to Colton and the folks over at KND for making the effort to review kidlit. There's so few sites that do, it's great to see such a well known one taking the time to post these reviews from student reviewers!

Naked Zombies--The Zombie Apocalypse just got a whole lot scarier

By now we all know that the government is desperately trying to contain the growing number of Zombie attacks. Frankly, I think they are doing a very good job of keeping this thing under control.

However, I do have one question: What's up with all the Naked Zombies?

Just yesterday in Pennsylvania, "A naked, bloody man broke into a home, jumped from a two-story window, tackled a passerby and chewed on her head.."

But this isn't the first or even the second Naked Zombie attack. So is there a connection I'm missing, and if so do I really want to find out what it is? I don't think so.

So please, if you know any zombies, kindly ask them to keep their clothes on! This isn't the Zombie Apocalypse I signed up for.

Zack & Zoey's First Review

Paranormal Sisters is the first blog to post a review of Zack and Zoey's Alien Apocalypse, giving it 5-stars.

If you're a regular reader, you may remember that Paranormal Sisters gave Super Zombie Juice 4.5 stars.

Here's an except of the review for Zack & Zoey:

Sorry but it was just sooooo adorable. This book is mainly aimed at kids but it's really great for all ages. There's humor, a sweet little cute romance, and of course lots of action. From start to finish. From when the aliens come to the white house and take over. That scene was humorous. This is a fun story line that just allows you to be a kid for just a little while and allows you to forget the world around you.

Check out the entire review (and read the comments if you want to know more about my next project).

The Great Name Change

Okay, maybe it's not quite so great, but it's a fair amout of work anyway.

When I first started writing, I wanted to go by my nick name MJ Ware. However, the domain was already taken by someone wanting to sell a line of Michael Jackson clothes. I opted to add an A to my name making it MJA Ware. I didn't realize that two middle names comes off as a little pretentious to some. Or that a few search engines would have trouble with "M.J.A. Ware" versus "MJA Ware."

Fortunately for me, red-leather Michael Jackson jackets with matching sequined gloves didn't prove very popular. So I was able to pick up the domain at auction (for cheap). Now comes the hard part, changing everything over to MJ: manuscripts, books descriptions, book covers, and social media.

The covers were the hardest, but my limited Photoshop skills proved just keen enough to get the job done. I've updated Amazon and most of my titles on Barnes and Noble, but haven't tackled Smashwords yet.

It's going to take a little while for me to get everything moved over, so in the mean time, please bear with me. There's really nothing for readers to do (though if you've reviewed one of my books on your blog you could update the name); this message is mostly just to let everyone know what's going on.

Why Paper Books Are Better Than eBooks--It's All In Your Mind

Last year I wrote a post titled: Timeless Wisdom from Buffy, “Books Smell.”
In it I compare Giles' love of books and disdain for technology with the growing ebook revolution. It's still one of my most popular posts; if you haven't read it, you might want to check it out.

Last night, while editing a scene that just didn't feel right, just didn't draw the reader in, I remembered part of the quote from that post. In it Rupert Giles is explaining why books are better then computers and says, among other things, “Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is...” That made me realize what the scene was missing: the smells.

Once I started thinking about it, I expanded the idea to printed books themselves. When we read a book, the faint smell of paper is picked up by the brain. The perception of smell triggers the limbic system, a very primitive part of the brain, and is connected not just with smell but also with our memory and emotions. If you're an avid reader who finds reading books to be a way to shred stress, it wouldn't surprise me if just the smell of books starts to make your feel more relaxed.

Additionally, the texture of paper and sound of turning pages work to solidify the experience in the brain. These subtle but critical signals just can't be reproduced with ebooks. It's possible that for some readers the only way to truly "immerse yourself in a good book" is to read a bound copy.

This is just one reason why I believe ebooks will never totally replace paper. Others include the ease of finding a favorite passage; there's no way to flip through an ebook (while you can highlight your favorite passage, doing so takes you out of the book). I even read an article a while back (that I can't find now) which said kids prefer to read paper books over ebooks.

While paper books and ebooks both have their drawbacks and advantages, in the end the thing that draws us into a book--the sights, the sounds, the smells of another world--might just be the same things that draw us to books in the first place.

Happy Release Day, Zack & Zoey

Zack & Zoey's Alien Apocalypse was released on Amazon today (late evening yesterday actually) and it's free on Amazon today. Even if you don't have a kindle, you can read it right in your browser with Amazon's cloud reader.

I'm pleased to say, thanks to a great LibraryThing member who read the ARC, it's already had its first review, 5-stars:

""Zack and Zoey's Alien Apocalypse" by MJA Ware is the ideal book if you want to grin from ear to ear while reading something. This was a charming, delightful story of an alien invasion, with buffoonery by the adults and heroism by the children....
 I recommend this book, but ONLY for readers between 8 and 80, give or take a couple years. By any means possible, you need to get Zack and Zoey's Alien Apocalypse for the reading pleasure of yourself, your children, your grandchildren, your god-children, and any other youngsters you happen to know!"

It will be free for the next two days, so grab a copy and let your friends know!

If you aren't into middle grade books (shame on you), I have something for you too. For the first time ever, I'm putting my Novelette, The Little Wooden Chair free as well. It's a heartwarming story about a little girl who's favorite possession is a rocking chair that somehow learns to return her love.
It's the only thing I've ever written for adults and at 13,000 words is a quick read.

I hope, at least one of those titles will tickle your fancy.

New Book Release: Zack & Zoey's Alien Apocalypse

I thrilled to announce the release of my newest ebook: Zack & Zoey's Alien Apocalypse.

It's about kids fighting off a band of hungry-- human eating--aliens armed only with umbrellas and toothbrushes. The ebook will be available on Amazon right around 8/15 and on other ereaders about 90 days after that.

If you'd like to get ARC for review, just drop me an e-mail and I'll be glad to send one in any format you'd like.

Unlike Super Zombie Juice, which is more upper-MG, Zack & Zoey's Alien Apocalypse is solidly Middle Grade, and is illustrated with over 50 full-color images. It's a kid safe book with lots of alien fighting action, but no foul language and no blood or guts.

Here's the marketing blurb, as well as several images from the book, enjoy:

When hungry aliens begin their 'rain' of terror, break out the umbrellas—the aliens can't eat you with an umbrella shoved in their huge mouths.

Looking for yummy human tenders, Admiral Nact-bauk invades the local school. Zack and Zoey lead the counterattack armed with rulers, protractors, and dodge balls. 

They might have a chance, if Nact-bauk didn't gulp down the only teacher brave enough to stand up to him. Even worse, he forces Zoey onboard the alien vessel for dinner — along with a bucket of honey-mustard sauce.

Zack will do just about anything to save her. If Principal Blathers won't help, Zack sees no choice but to 'borrow' the principal's car. Chasing the alien saucers, he meets up with a wrinkly WWII hero who thinks he knows the alien's weakness: electric toothbrushes.

Wielding only umbrellas and battery-powered dental weapons, things look grim. Even if the pair manage to rescue Zoey, there's the small matter of escaping a spacecraft flying at over two hundred miles an hour.

Can you say, Jetpacks?

Radio Interview Tonight & New Book Review

Tonight, I'll be doing an interview for a small station in North Carolina at 8:50 EST (5:50 PST) you can listen via Blog Talk Radio. If you miss it, I think you can listen later using the same link.

I only slept 3 hours last night, so hopefully I won't sound like a zombie =-)

Last week, Squiggles Reviews checked out Super Zombie Juice - "This was a really fun book to read. It was amusing, entertaining and silly but still had a great story line that kept me hooked." Check out the full review on their website:

Kindle Daily Nation Gives Super Zombie Juice 5-Stars

Kindle Nation Daily's Kids Corner posted a 5-star kids review of Super Zombie Juice The Graphic Novel. Here's a quote:
"Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb was awesome! I not like this book, I LOVED this book! I couldn’t put this book down."
That's why I love kid reviews; when they really like something, they don't hold back. 


Also, if you haven't done so already, don't forget to enter to win a Kindle Fire as part of the Kindle INDIEpendence Day Giveaway.

The Aussie Zombie Reviews Super Zombie Juice

The Aussie Zombie

I always get a little nervous when sending SZJMB to hard-core zombie sites for review, as it isn't your traditional zombie novel. Fortunately, Kat at The Aussie Zombie, was open to the idea of a zombie book for kids and seemed to really enjoy it.

"...I really enjoyed this one. It's a zombie story, but more appropriate for kids around the 8-10 year age range, although it doesn't hold back on the realities of what would happen during a zombie apocalypse."

Read the full review and find much more Zombie related stuff at (including tons of Zombie book reviews) at The Aussie Zombie.

The World's Greatest Living Science Fiction Writer - No More

I remember like it was yesterday, picking up a book, not even reading the title, just looking for that marketing phase, "The World's Greatest Living Science Fiction Writer." When I saw those words, I picked it up.

At my library, Ray's books were always checked out. Even today, check your local used bookstore for anything by Ray Bradbury--they sell the same day the come in, and rightfully so. I still have my paperbacks I read as a kid. Even though my writing style is nothing like his, no other writer has influenced me more than Ray Bradbury.

This may sound like the beginning of an obituary filled with praise and glowing words for this master craftsman of the written word. And I had considered writing an essay explaining Ray's disdain of books and the internet.

But alas, it is not to be. For even if I could dig up any words from the hollow pit in my belly, they wouldn't do him justice.

My only solace is I know we will speak again soon, the next time I open any of his works.

“And when he died, I suddenly realized I wasn’t crying for him at all, but for the things he did. I cried because he would never do them again...”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451