Blind Scorpion Spy Thriller Released!

I'm excited to announce the release of a new novel that I have co-published with thriller author Farsheed Ferdowsi called "Blind Scorpion:  Iran's Nuclear Sting."  This novel asks the intriguing and frightening question:  what if Iran really IS secretly developing a nuclear weapon?

Here is a synopisis:

The BLIND SCORPION is a Top Secret computer program for simulating nuclear weapons explosions and the catastrophic havoc they wreak. Dr. Ross Shaheen, the developer of the software, is living the American dream. Between his internationally-recognized nuclear weapons research career at the prestigious Berkeley Lab and his picture-perfect family in the San Francisco suburbs, it's a good life that can only get better...until he is lured into lecturing before an elite group of scientists in the country of his birth: Iran.

The seven thousand mile trip takes Shaheen back to the land of the lion and the sun, yet it also delivers to Iran's very doorstep an important American citizen with Top Secret security clearance. It soon becomes clear what the Iranians are really after: the BLIND SCORPION. The coveted software is the key to advancing their clandestine nuclear weapons program without the rest of the world being able to prove its existence. Shaheen becomes entangled in a twisted web of espionage, corruption and survival, putting to the test not only his secret knowledge but also the very core of his allegiance to the land he now calls home.

If he lives, Ross Shaheen could walk away a hero.

The question is, for which country?

This thoroughly researched spy thriller is written in the vein of Tom Clancy/John Le Carre.  The fact that the story was written by an Iranian-American who grew up in Iran gives the narrative an air of authority and authenticity.   In short, I cannot say enough good things about this book.  Normally I don't publish books under the Mike Wells brand that I have not written or coauthored myself, but I made an exception in this case because I was involved in shaping it.  

Farsheed Ferdowsi

When Farsheed decided to write this story, he had never tackled the writing of a novel before, and since we have been close friends ever since college, I agreed to be his mentor.  As he finished each chapter, I gave him detailed feedback and helped him keep the narrative tight, to maintain the high level of tension required to achieve the "unputdownable" reader engagement that I am so particular about.  When the manuscript was finished and polished, Farsheed published it himself in both paper and ebook format under another title (Mushroom in the Sand), but due to his busy schedule and family commitments, he was never able to put a serious effort into promoting it.  However, despite this limitation, Mushroom in the Sand garnered 122 Amazon reviews averaging 4.6 stars, which--interestingly--is almost exactly the same number of reviews/average rating that Lust, Money & Murder 1, 2 & 3  has (126 reviews and 4.6 stars average).

Having said all that, while Blind Scorpion is a thriller, it is not my usual fare, so the story and characters may not appeal to all of my readers.  But no worries--as always, you can download Book 1 of and give it a no-risk try.  If it grabs you, I recommend you buy the three book bundle as you will save money.  The book is available in ebook format on all major retail platforms - links are below:

I hope you enjoy it!

BLIND SCORPION DOWNLOAD LINKS

Book 1 (Free on most sites!)

 Amazon USA - Amazon UK - Apple iBooks - B&N Nook  - Google Play - Kobo - Smashwords 

Book 2

 Amazon USA - Amazon UK - Apple iBooks - B&N Nook  - Google Play - Kobo - Smashwords

Book 3

 Amazon USA - Amazon UK - Apple iBooks - B&N Nook  - Google Play - Kobo - Smashwords

Books 1, 2 & 3 Combined

 Amazon USA - Amazon UK - Apple iBooks - B&N Nook  - Google Play - Kobo - Smashwords

The Fascination of Coauthoring: Guest Post by Author Devika Fernando

Note:  This post has been reposted from author Devika Fernando's blog.

The Fascination of Coauthoring

Have you ever read a book written by more than one author? I have – and now I’ve gone a step further and also written a book with another author. Bestselling author Mike Wells offered me this unique chance. He’s the mastermind behind the project that has taught me a million things and is huge fun. Let me shed some light on the fascinating topic of coauthoring and why it can be successful.

What is coauthoring?

Don’t mistake coauthoring for ghostwriting. The former involves two people and their input into a book, the latter means one person does all the work and another person gets credited for it and sells it. Coauthoring can be compared to a multi-author anthology, with the difference that there aren’t many stories contributed to one collection but one story with two contributors. Another term for this is collaborative fiction. This principle is fairly common in non-fiction but still rather rare in fiction. However, co-writing is on the rise.

There are different ways how to handle co-authoring:
-    An author takes another author’s finished (but unpublished) work, edits and remodels it, and publishes it.
-    Both authors brainstorm an idea and plot, and one author writes the first draft. The second author will then edit and rewrite to publish the book.
-    Both authors write simultaneously or in instalments / chapters until they finish, edit and publish the book together.

Mike Wells has tried the first and second method. The first one has resulted in the crime novel “With Mother’s Approval” and is a collaboration with author Robert Rand. The second one involved me – pinch me, I must be dreaming – and will be available as the romantic suspense novel “Forbidden” soon. To quote Mike on both adventures:  “This is a new direction I’m trying and so far it’s been working great. The book I collaborated on with Robert Rand is receiving rave reviews, and I expect the same result with Devika’s.”

As for the third method, it works well too. I read “Bought in Blood (Sanguinem Emere, Book 1)” and loved it. Carmen Dominique Taxer wrote it with her partner Richard T. Wheeler (I believe she focused on the vampire scenes and he wrote the scenes from the detective’s POV). There are quite a lot of books coauthored by a husband-and-wife duo or authors who are friends. Sometimes the team publishes under a common pseudonym, as is the case with Grant Naylor, Lewis Padgett and Judith Michael. Other coauthored books display the renowned author’s name prominently and show the coauthor’s name in smaller font. Usually the royalty is split or there are some other (financial) benefits for the co-author.

Here are some other examples of authors who ‘hire’ co-authors (some of them really famous):
-    Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston
-    James Patterson
-    Tom Clancy
-    Wilbur Smith
-    Nicci Gerard & Sean French
-    Janet Evanovich
-    Clive Cussler

Advantages and tips

If you search the internet, you’ll find comments that denounce coauthoring and say it’s a trend doomed to fail. From my point of view though, I can see many reasons for and advantages of collaborative fiction.
-    One of the team might have specific experiences or special knowledge the other author doesn’t have.
-    It’s a great opportunity for those who don’t have enough time, because you’re sharing the workload.
-    You can learn a lot in the process, maybe even rediscover yourself or venture into other genres.

Here’s Mike Wells’ take on why and how authors can benefit from coauthored books.  “One of the main reasons I am doing it is to amplify my range and output—the more titles you have out there, the more books you sell and the larger your reader base grows. The risk, of course, is that you produce books of lower quality due to various factors, such as the “too many cooks spoil the broth” problem. However, I think by carefully agreeing up front exactly how the book will go, who will do what, etc., you can avoid this problem and actually have a synergistic result, a book that is better than either author might produce on his/her own for the reasons Devika stated above.”

Of course there are things to be considered. There needs to be a sort of “working plan”, each author needs to know their tasks and responsibilities. The authors have to discuss and agree on copyright, earnings, distribution and marketing. Communication is essential, and you need to work together on more than one level.

This Week's Reader Interview - KK Sierra

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I'm a recently divorced mother of three in my early 30s. I work for a software company so I'm a bit of a nerd. In my free time I love to read, write and play with my kids. I enjoy encouraging them to find their creative sides. We like to go on adventures. We hike, camp, visit museums, take ferrys and road trips.

When and how did you discover that you love reading fiction?

I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. One of my fondest childhood memories is of my mother in her rocking chair outside my bedroom door, reading aloud to my brothers and me. Her soft voice and the magical words would lull me off to dream land. In elementary school, I went through most the books in the library. I still remember the excitement of getting to move to the main library where the "big kid" books were. In elementary and middle school, I often stayed up late, straining my eyes to read by the light of my alarm clock. When I reached high school, I many times used the excuse of "a big report due tomorrow" to stay up and finish a book. I even recall a few times when I'd glance at my clock and realize in horror that I'd read the whole night away and I had to be up for school in a few short hours.

What are some of your favorite books and who are some of your favorite authors?

My favorite genre was discovered while working on the critical care unit at a hospital. I worked the evening shift and it often got really boring. One night on break I went down to the hospital gift shop and found the newly released Silent Treatment by Michael Palmer. The book enthralled me and I was amused at the irony of finding such a terrifying medical thriller in the hospital gift shop. I would happily pick up anything by David Baldacci. Recently I've also discovered I enjoy the works of Tom Clancy. I tried to read them before and couldn't get into them. I guess I just needed to be in a different place in life to enjoy them.

What is your favorite thing about reading fiction?

Fiction lets you be anyone, imagine anything. It's a wonderful escape from reality. I love how I can picture the world as it unfolds in the book. I also like how if something is scary or offensive I can just skip a paragraph or two.

Do you have any “pet peeves” about authors, something they do that really annoys you?

I hate it when characters don't grow. In my opinion, you can only get away with that on The Simpsons, not with books. If ten books later, your character is still the same ditsy girl she was in book one, I'm going to lose interest. I also get frustrated with inconsistency. If I remember that back in book two Janie Jones was Irish, she certainly shouldn't show up as an African-American in book seven.

Do you write fiction yourself?

I would say I dabble. I love to write and you can find some shorts I've written on my blog. I have a novel in progress. Someday I may become more serious about it, but for now it's an enjoyable hobby that's bringing me in contact with some really wonderful people.

What do you think about ebooks vs. paper books?

There are advantages and disadvantages to both, in my opinion. I love my Kindle. I love the instant gratification. Finish a book and find yourself anxious for the next part in the series? Have it delivered in moments to your e-reader, cell phone, laptop, etc. It's great.  Before I had one, I used to make middle of the night runs to Barnes and Noble to feed my cravings! I also love that e-books make it so much easier for otherwise unknown authors to throw their stuff out there. I also travel frequently and love the convenience and lighter bags.

On the other side, I love real books. I enjoy looking on my shelf, seeing a series I enjoy and walking over to pull it off the shelf, maybe thumb through to my favorite scene and reread it. I buy my kids "real" books all the time so that they have books to collect, read, share and love.

My biggest argument for real books was the ease with which they could be loaned. I suppose this is a disadvantage financially to an author. However, if a friend loaned me a book that I enjoyed, it would usually inspire me to go find more books by that author, where I may have NEVER picked up that author's work otherwise. The new advantage e-readers have with Amazon's new lending program is I don't have to worry about whether or not I'll be getting my book back!

What is your favorite Mike Wells book and why?

I've read three Mike Wells books: Lust, Money & Murder, Wild Child and Wild Child 2. While I absolutely adored both the Wild Child books, I think I have to say Lust, Money & Murder is my favorite book so far. It was intriguing and kept me guessing. The characters were authentic with believable thoughts and feelings.

Thanks very much for your interview, KK!

Thank you very much, Mike, for the opportunity to share my thoughts.

I can be reached via twitter at @k_karie or e-writer@kksierra.com. I ponder, get introspective, rant and write at http://kksierra.blogspot.com