Happy New Year

Can't believe another year has past. Tomorrow we'll have to put 2013 on top of our letters and correspondence. What happened to 2012? I haven't written as much as I wanted to. Spent too much time on the internet, posting to groups with advice and trying to sell my books. I'm at over 60,000 words with Book Seven of my Xandra series and I want to finish it so I can start something else, but somehow I always find something else to do. But then again...perhaps what I'm doing is more important than finishing the book. There is stuff to do at home also and spending time with family is important, especially as I get older and time seems to at prime. Nothing is ever more important than family, something we sometimes seem to forget when getting too deeply involved in a project.
However, I will finish the book in the new year. I don't really have any other novels planned, but when the time is ripe ideas will come up.

So I wish everyone who visits a Happy New Year and don't forget to come back once in awhile to see what I'm up to.

A free gift for Christmas

Thank you for visiting. I'm giving a free pdf copy of any of my books to anyone who would like to have one. Just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and tell  me which one of my books you would like. If you click on the covers it'll take you to my publisher's website and you can find out what the book is all about. Merry Christmas.

Simon & Schuster - Writers Beware

Writers Beware! Don't get ripped off!
I came across this blog and found the article very scary for any writer. Everyone who thinks about self-publishing should read this.

Simon & Schuster joins Forces with Author Solutions To Rip Off Writers.

Read the full report on Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran.

What is Success?

What is success and when can you call yourself a writer? What makes you a successful writer?

Just click on 'What is Success?' in the menu and it will take you to the page.

Nice to see you

Welcome to my blog. Click on 'New releases' under the picture above and you'll be able to read excerpts from my latest books. You may also want to visit my website Herbert's World and look at my older books. All of them are still available from Melange Books, LLC.
If for some reason any of the links on my website don't work, just  come back to this blog and click on the cover-page of the book you're interested in to the right of this page and it'll take you to Melange Books.
If you would like me to send you a free pdf copy on any of my books, please, send me an email and ask for it. Here is my email address: hegro@shaw.ca

Have a pleasant day and come back again.

My books at Amazon

All of my books are available from Amazon. Anyone interested, here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AHerbert+Grosshans&ie=UTF8&qid=1349973223

Adventure on an alien world

When I wrote the first chapter of 'Daughter of the Dark' many years ago I had no idea it would be the first book of a series. I am at 60,000 words now with Book Seven (no title yet). It is the continuation of the story that began with Book four, Lure of the Xandra. Books four and five tell the story of Rob Cameron. Book six, Iceworld, (the latest book in the series), is about a small group of researchers who became stranded on the fifth planet in the system and it is their story. Book Seven will continue what I started in Iceworld, but Rob Cameron and his group will also appear in Book Seven. Who knows, it depends how it ends, there may even be Book Eight.I love the world I created and I enjoy going back there in my mind and write about it. There is a short story 'For Love of Arilee' in my anthology 'Time Flares', one of the three books released last month by Melange Books. The story is set in the Xandra World but 300 years in the future of the events taking place in 'Iceworld'. Another story in Time Flares, 'Remember me next Christmas', also takes place in the Xandra World. This one more than one thousand years in the future of the story in Iceworld. Perhaps some day I will write a few more short stories and put them into an anthology.

Of course, the whole series contains plenty of Erotica. Even though I'm writing less erotica these days (there is no explicit sex in 'Bullet of Revenge', and not as much in Book Seven, I still have to keep it in the Xandra series for those readers who enjoy erotica.

Each book can be read independently, but it makes sense to start the series at the beginning. To wet the appetite, I will give away Book One, Daughter of the Dark, to anyone who is interested. Just send an email to hegro@shaw.ca and ask for it.

Also, I will take all of the emails until August 30th and draw one lucky winner to receive all six books in the pdf version for free. I will also give away randomly a few copies of Iceworld. Anyone who has read the earlier books but not all of them, tell me which one you would like and I will send it to you for free.

Thank you for visiting. Look around, perhaps you'll find something else you are interested in. All of my books are available from Melange Books, LLC. Just click on the covers and it will take you there.

In the meantime, enjoy all the beautiful covers of my books.

Celebrating Mysti Parker's 20,000th visitor

One of my fellow authors, Mysti Parker, is celebrating 20,000 visitors to her blog Unwritten. http://mystiparker.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/20000th-hit-giveaway.html
She's giving away over one hundred free books donated by nearly that many authors. I've donated a few of my books.

As I promised on Unwritten (if you saw my message ^_^), I will give away pdf copies of any of my books as an added bonus to Mysti's giveaway. Browse through my blog  and if you find a book you like, just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and ask for it.

My latest releases

They are available now from Melange Books.
*Bullet of Revenge (A non-erotic thriller0
*Iceworld (Book six in my Xandra series. Science Fiction)
*Time Flares (A collection of short stories. Various genres)

It is unfortunate that all three books have been released at the same time, but I have to deal with this now. It is difficult to promote three books at once. Which one do I concentrate on? I love each one. I enjoyed writing them and I love looking at the beautiful cover pictures.

Bullet of Revenge is a mystery thriller featuring a new character: PI Frank Hummer. He is a tough guy on the outside, but deep down he has a soft heart. He's trying to forget his violent past. He wants to change but finds it difficult, because violence and problems follow him. When he takes on a new case he is pulled into a conspiracy he cannot escape.
There is no explicit sex in this novel, but it contains violence and coarse language. It was fun to write this book and who know, there might even be a second book in the future. It all depends how this one sells, but then again, I don't really write for the money ^-^. If I get some ideas I will write it.

Iceworld is number six in my Xandra series. It tells the story of a group of scientist stranded on the fifth planet in the star system of the Xandra World. They are mentioned in the first book and I thought it may make a good story. As it happened, the whole idea turned into four books. I'm presently writing the seventh book in the series. No title yet. I love the cover. I have to admit it is one of my favorite book covers so far.

Time Flares is an anthology of previously published short stories. They are scattered in various digests and probably forgotten by now, so I thought it may be a good idea to publish them in one volume. It contains my very first published short story, The Anniversary Gift, the story that launched my career as a published writer.
It also contains the story Time Flares.

In order to celebrate the release of all these stories I am giving away a few free pdf copies to anyone who wants them. Just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and mention which ones you are interested in.

Time Flares

I put all of my short stories that have been published in various digests into one new Anthology. I called it Time Flares, which is actually one of the stories in the collection. Time Flares will also be released by the end of this month. Here is the cover:

I'm a guest blogger at BTS

I’m a guest blogger today at Book & Trailer Showcase. I’ve written an article about getting published. If you’re interested check it out here: http://booktrailershowcase.com/2012/07/04/how-to-get-published/

On other news: Book 6 in the Xandra series, 'Iceworld' will be published July 29.
'Bullet of Revenge' may also be published on that day. My editor believes it should be ready by then.

Book Seven of the Xandra, no title yet, is slowly progressing. I've written 48,000 words so far. The last scene I wrote went a different way than I had planned, because one of the characters acted impulsively and I followed the new trail. I'm happy with it. That's just how it goes sometimes. As you write a new thought suddenly appears and it is sometimes a smart thing to follow it. It it doesn't turn out there is always the 'delete' button. But once I've written something I hardly change it. I may tweak it a little but very seldom I will delete the whole thing.

Free pdf copy of Return to Redsky

I won't have a new release until next month so I'd like to bring attention to my earlier books.I can't say my favorite book, because all my books are my favorites. Since I had such a positive review for Return to Redsky I am offering a free pdf copy to a few interested readers. Just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and ask for a copy. Depends how  many responses I get I may just send a free copy to everyone who asks for it.
Return to Redsky is pure Space Opera. It features super soldiers, strange aliens and other interesting things, including plenty of erotica. Give it a try. You may like it as much as Jane Doe.

Review of Return to Redsky

One of my fans, her name is Jane Doe, gave me 5 stars and a wonderful review for Stardogs Book one, Return to Redsky. She loved both books so much, she started reading more of my books. Apparently, I'm one of new favorite authors. Two of her other favorite authors are David Gerrold and James White. Both are famous authors. To be mentioned in the same breath with those two writers is quite an honor for me. Here is the full review. Just click on Jane Doe.

A progress report...of sorts

I finished going over the edits of 'The Xandra, Book six, Iceworld' and my Anthology 'Time Flares'. I send them back to the editors. I also did some rewriting on Bullet of Revenge. My editor found quite a bit 'wrong' with the main character. I hope she's happy with what I did with the rewrite. Hopefully, it will have improved the novel. I send it back to the editor, but she will be going over it again. This is the first time an editor did that. Usually, the editor sends the manuscript back to me with the suggestions and I fix everything. That's it. Then I send it either to my publisher or to the editor, who will forward it to the publisher for formatting and publishing. I hope it's all worth the time I spent on that novel.

Now I'm back with writing Book seven of The Xandra. Since I've been away from it for weeks now, I had to read some of what I've written so far to get my mind back into the story. I got some new ideas, so maybe being away from the story for awhile was a good thing. I'm at 31,000 words with the novel, aiming for about 90,000 words.

I received my royalties from the first quarter of the year and I was surprised how well my books sold. Perhaps there is still hope. Sometimes it is discouraging when the books don't sell after spending months, sometimes years, writing them. I know I'm a good writer. My editors always leave positive comments. The editor of 'Iceworld' wrote she can't wait to read the next novel. It's the one I'm currently writing, which means it won't be published until next year. It also means there will be months where I have nothing new coming out. I'll have to do some promoting of my older books.

Speaking of good writing and sales. I guess everyone is aware of that book 'Shades of Gray', which has sold over 10 million copies. Women grab it off the shelves. Apparently, it contains bondage and other sexual activities. One wonders what makes a book like that sell while others don't. I don't believe that book is any better than most of the stuff you buy on the internet. I haven't read it and I won't ever read it. I'm not into bondage, slavery or any of that other stuff. My erotica is quite tame and normal. Lately, I've been concentrating more on writing a good story. The erotica is only there to bring a little titillation into the story...for those reader who like that.

The secret, and every writer knows this, is promotion. And that is the most difficult part for us writers. We want to spend our time writing not promoting. A writer is truly lucky to find an agent who sells the book to one of the large print publishing houses, who will do the promoting. It's like winning the lottery. Some of us get lucky, others never hit the jackpot, no matter how good the numbers look on paper.

Conversation between Frank Hummer and Herbert Grosshans

Hi. My name is Frank Hummer. I’m the main character in Bullet of Revenge, a contemporary mystery novel written by Herbert Grosshans. Mr. Grosshans is with us today and I’m going to ask him a few questions about his writing and specifically about his novel Mark of the Cobra, also a contemporary thriller, featuring Peter Hartmann.

Frank Hummer: “Hi, Mr. Grosshans. I’m pleased to have you with us today. How are you?”

Herbert Grosshans: “I’m fine, thank you, and glad to be here, Mr. Hummer. By the way, you don’t have to call me Mister Grosshans. Herbert will do just fine. After all, we’re no strangers to each other. You’ve been inside my head for two years.”

F. H. (chuckles): “And you in mine. Still, it feels strange to call you by your first name. I mean…you are like a god to me. You decided my fate, planned my daily activities, got me in and out of trouble. To call you by your first name somehow doesn’t feel right, Mr. Grosshans. If that is indeed your real name.”

H.G.: “I can assure you, it is my real name. Unlike the character Peter Hartmann, who is…”

F. H. (holds up his hand): “Don’t give away secrets, now. Let the readers find out those things.”

H.G.: “Okay, so what can I talk about?”

F. H.: “Quite a bit, as long as you don’t give away too many details. Tell our readers what kind of book Mark of the Cobra is.”

H. G.: “As you already said in the introduction, the novel is a contemporary thriller. You forgot to mention that it also contains erotica, lots of explicit erotica, actually.”

F. H.: “Do you enjoy writing erotica?”

H. G.: “I do, or perhaps I should say ‘I did’. Because I’ve written so much of it, I tend to not write as explicitly in the novels I write these days.”

F. H.: “Like in my story Bullet of Revenge? In fact, there is no explicit erotica in it.”

H. G.: “That’s right, but you do have a sexual relationship with a woman, except it happens behind closed doors, unlike Peter Hartmann, who has one sexual encounter after another…in explicit detail. However, it is not all about erotica in Mark of the Cobra. There is plenty of intrigue, mystery, and adventure in the story.”

F. H.: “Who is this Peter Hartmann? Can you tell us about him without giving away too much?”

H. G.: “Peter Hartmann is a sales rep who gets himself into trouble when he meets a prospective client, who wants him to do more than just sign a contract. Suddenly he finds himself accused of a double murder and drawn into a violent past he has left behind many years ago.”

F. H.: “That sounds intriguing. What made you write a contemporary novel, since your love is mainly Science Fiction and Fantasy?”

H. G.: “I wanted to prove to myself that I could also write in other genres. Mark of the Cobra was written quite a few years ago, but I rewrote it last year to make it publishable. Last year I published a 180,000 word contemporary novel Web of Conspiracy. Because of its length it was published as 3 books. It also features a character with a checkered past, but the story and setting is completely different from Mark of the Cobra.”

F. H.: “It seems you like to create characters with a mysterious past.” He chuckles. “I am such a character.”

H. G.: “That’s true. Even in my Science Fiction novels I write about men who are not what they seem. I also like to bring a few surprises to the end of the story. I want the readers to say, “I didn’t see that coming.” If I can achieve that I’ve done my job.”

F. H.: “Do you find writing a contemporary novel harder or easier to write than Science Fiction?”

H. G.: “Harder. You can’t fool around too much with facts. Places need to exist, history has to be correct, even the weather needs to be right. It takes much more research to write a contemporary novel than writing Science Fiction/Fantasy where you can create your own worlds and make up stuff. As long as it is believable.”

F. H.: “When you write, do you have an outline? Do you know the ending already before you start a story?”

H. G.: “I never know the ending. I get an idea and start writing, creating characters and events as I write. Once I’ve got a chapter or so, I list all the characters I’ve created in a file and begin fleshing them out. Sometimes I will make up a short background for each character. That’s how they come alive. As the story continues and I create more characters, I add them to the file. Most of the time I have no idea what kind of past my main character has. I discover that as I’m writing.”

F. H. (shakes his head in disbelieve): “That seems like jumping on a train not knowing its final destiny. How can you have order and logic in your story? How can it even come to a satisfactory conclusion?”

H. G.: “Don’t ask me.”

F. H.: “Aren’t you ever worried the story may never end?”

H. G.: “Never. Somehow everything always comes together in the end. Sometimes I am surprised myself. I guess that’s the mystery of creating anything. And also the fun. You have to trust your inner self and just let it happen. If I get stuck I wait for inspiration. If an idea pops into my head it doesn’t always make sense. I just follow the thought and see where it leads me and suddenly it does make sense.”

F. H.: “What are you working on right now?”

H. G.: “I’m writing Book 7 in my Science Fiction/Fantasy series ‘The Xandra’.”

F. H.: “Book 7. Wow! And after that?”

H. G. (shrugs and smiles): “I don’t know yet. Maybe another novel featuring P. I. Frank Hummer.”

F. H.: “Well, I’m looking forward to more adventures. Will you add a bit more erotica to that one, like in Mark of the Cobra?”

H. G.: “No chance of that. Your name is Frank Hummer not Peter Hartmann, even though you two have much in common. I want to attract a different kind of reader who will buy and read about your adventures. Not everybody likes erotica, and Mark of the Cobra is filled with it.”

F. H.: “Thank you for the glimpse into your writing life and for the opportunity to interview you. Perhaps we can do it again some time.”

H. G.: “Perhaps.”

F. H.: “One last question: Where can Mark of the Cobra be purchased?”

H. G.: “Mark of the Cobra was published by Melange Books, LLC and can be purchased directly from Melange Books http://www.melange-books.com/authors/herbertgrosshans/markofthecobra.html

It can be viewed on my website http://www.hegro.shawwebspace.ca or my blog http://www.hegro.blogspot.com 

F. H.: “Is Bullet of Revenge also available from Melange Books?”

H. G.: “I’m afraid not yet. I know you’re anxious to have people read your story, but it won’t be published until June 2012. So you’ll have to be patient.”

F. H.: “I can wait. It’s not that long. In the meantime readers can find many other exciting books you wrote…on your website or at Melange Books. Thank you for your time.”

A banner for Iceworld, my next release

A fellow author, Skylar Sinclair, made this banner for me.

Contest to win a free book

I will draw for a couple of free pdf copies of any of my books (except my latest release) from the email entries to my contest.

All you have to do is tell me the title of my latest released novel be sending an email to hegro@shaw.ca.

Contest ends June 8, 2012. The winners will be notified so they can tell me which of my books they would like to have.

Note: This is phase 2 of the contest. The first one ended May 20th. 3 people won free books.

The Xandra, Book Five, Escape from Paradise

 The book has been released by Melange Books today. I don’t have the pdf copy yet. To read more about the book click on ‘New Releases’ at the top under the picture. Before reading this one, you should read Book Four,Lure of Seduction, first, because Book Five is a direct continuation of the story. It was too long to be published as one book. Book Six was scheduled to be released in May, but when I checked the upcoming releases at the Melange Books’ site, I saw that ‘Bullet of Revenge’ will be my next published book, which is fine. Bullet of Revenge is a contemporary thriller. It contains no explicit erotica. I hope my readers won’t mind. I’m hoping to attract a different category of readers with that novel.

I’m at over 20,000 words now with Book Seven in the Xandra series. I can’t believe I’ve written so many books in one series. There may even be more coming, depends on the interest of readers and how I feel. The series has potential. The more I write in the World of the Xandra, the more complex it becomes and the more possibilities for additional books arise. 

The Xandra, Daughter of the Dark, was my first novel to be published in 2005 by Midnight Showcase. I never foresaw then that it may become a series. After that followed Book two, Mother of Light, and then Book three, Goddess of Light. The way the series is developing, Book 4 - 7 should have come after the first book, and Book 2 and 3 should be last in the series. Should I write more books in the Xandra World, I may write still some in the time before Mother of Light, but I probably will write a few after the events in Mother of Light and Goddess of Life. I can't say now. There are vague ideas floating around in my head, but I also want to write in other genres and about other worlds. For instance the trilogy 'Lizard World' intrigues me very much. There could be more books in that universe I created, but it would be under the overall title 'The Spider Wars'. Anyway, that's what I had planned.

Death of a Hero

In the fast moving world of e-publishing books come and go. With new releases every month older books drop away from the awareness of readers and sometimes a good book disappears in the cracks. My contemporary thriller 'Web of Conspiracy', published in 3 volumes because of its length (180,000+ words) is one such book. I don't think it received the attention it deserved. It took me two years to write the novel and hours upon of hours doing research. The novel is about war, soldiers, a murder-mystery, an adventure story, a thriller, with a little bit of romance and erotica thrown in for good measure. I learned a lot about Iraq and other places while writing the book and I enjoyed writing it. It would be a shame if the novel slipped into oblivion without being noticed by more than just a few readers.

So I'm offering a few pdf copies for free to anyone who sends me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and tells me he/she read about it on my blog.

Please, go to my website Herbert's World and read another excerpt.

Escape from Paradise

Book 5 in my The Xandra series is scheduled to be published April 29. So, please, come back and find out more about it.

I'm busy with writing Book 7. No title yet, but I usually never know the title until I'm finished with the book. I'm at around 13,000 words right now. It is going slow. I've been busy with other stuff and somehow I always seem to find something else to do, but now I'm getting anxious to write the story. I already have the general gist of the story in my head and when I write I am excited to get into it.

I have to stop spending so much time on the internet, reading other blogs and group posts. It is amazing how much time one can actually waste on doing that. I get a lot of e-mails with the note: 'send from my i-phone'. I don't have an i-phone and I don't believe I ever will have one. It seems to be a gadget that can really take time out of your schedule. My simple cell phone is good enough for me. I need it only to make calls. If I want to take pictures I will use a camera. If I want to go on the internet or send e-mails I will use my computer or laptop. If I want to watch a movie I will watch it on my big-screen TV and enjoy my surround sound. I just don't see the point in watching movies on a tiny phone screen.

Progress is fine and dandy, but not everything is useful or even desirable. People get so caught up in new gadgets and believe they need to have them just to keep up. That is not necessarily the case.