I was told recently by several people that they couldn’t tell from my covers which books were Marty Singer books (hint: they all are). Although I like my covers, I had to admit that there was no single unifying feature to them that identified them as belonging to the same series. [Read more…]
(The following is an unabashed and outright idea theft from horror writer Brian Keene’s blog, which you should read and subscribe to.)
My name is Matthew Iden. I am a self-published, independent writer of crime fiction, fantasy, psychological suspense, and literary fiction with a twist.
I’m best known for my Marty Singer detective series about a retired Washington DC Homicide cop who rights wrongs and tries to keep his life in order while battling cancer (they’re more upbeat than they sound).
The series begins with A Reason to Live (paperback | Kindle | audio), moves on to Blueblood (paperback | Kindle) and One Right Thing (paperback | Kindle), and will continue with The Spike, due out later this month. I also plan to release a digital boxed set of the first three novels before the holidays which will include previously published essays about the books and Marty as a character, as well as the first Marty Singer short story (available nowhere else!). I enjoy writing about Marty and plan to keep the series going for the foreseeable future.
Many of my short stories in the crime fiction vein are collected in the anthology one bad twelve (paperback | Kindle). Finding Emma, my “disturbing novella” of psychological suspense, may keep you awake at night, wondering about your neighbors. And my fantasy short stories, Assassin, Sword of Kings, and Seven Into the Bleak will have you thinking for some time to come.
My novels have not been traditionally published, but I studied the industry for about five years in my attempts to become so published and have a passing understanding of how the (old) system works. Or, at least, how to succeed at rejection. I’ve been self-publishing since the Fall of 2011 and I’ve devoted a great deal of time and effort understanding and constructing a career in this new field. I’ve spoken at several conferences and symposia on the subject.
Future plans include a story in the shared-world SF anthology Walk the Fire (Dec 2013), Marty Singer #5, The Wicked Flee (Winter-Spring 2014) and #6 (TBA), my debut Western The Orphans, a collaboration with another writer TBA, and hopefully the drafting of one of the stand-alone novels knocking around in my head, The Max. With luck, there may be some more short stories thrown in there, as well.
You can contact me at matt.iden AT matthew-iden.com, on my Facebook page, or via Twitter @CrimeRighter. My Contact page on this blog also has links to my various Author pages. To hear about new releases, you can sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/rQTE1. It’s just a few emails a year, I’ll never abuse or sell your address, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
A little update on the Also Boughts issue at Amazon: it’s obvious now that the wholesale removal of ABs is not a permanent change and that the book seller is split-testing its consumer base like mad. The testing is definitely occurring across browsers, with major differences amongst Internet Explorer, Mozzila Firefox, and Chrome.
Like many self-published writers, I’ve been unhappy/dismayed/puzzled at Amazon’s removal of ratings and stars from Also Boughts’ listings, but I might be having a change of heart–I was just looking at the Also Boughts for my most recent novel, One Right Thing, and realized something very refreshing: every title looked as interesting as any other.
Before the holiday season derailed my progress here on the blog, I was tackling a critique of the various advertising channels I’ve tried to bolster my self-publishing sales. I started with my adventures with Goodreads self-serve ads, but I realized after writing those 2,000 words that what I should’ve done is give an overview of all of the services and outlets I’ve tried first, then delve into the specifics of each outlet. This post is that summary.