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American Flying Broomstick, Mt. Sneffels Press

I received a query from Karen about Book 3 and whether I’d be at the Mensa AG Conference this July in Pittsburgh. In short, it’s “almost” ready and, no, I won’t be in Pittsburgh.

But…I will be at the Reno regional Mensa event in October. For sure with Broom 3!

Broom 3 is “almost” done. It’s been “almost” done for quite some time—months even! It seems there’s one little bit that didn’t satisfy a key reviewer. He thought it irrelevant. I thought it vital to set up the central problem that’ll be addressed in Broom 4. So…I’ve rewritten most of it, but still have a couple chapters to go. Once that’s done, Broom 3 will go into production, which means creating cover art and sending it off to the printer.

I was invited to Pittsburgh, but my schedule just won’t permit it. However, my good friend Randy Cassingham Read more…

American Flying Broomstick, Mt. Sneffels Press, Reader Comments

Well, I did it. It seems too easy to be true, but it’s true. You see, I was asked to include a discussion of the Kindle at a presentation I gave recently at the Montrose Small Press Month workshop. I figured I’d better try it before talking about it.

So I did.

I’m already an Amazon Advantage member because Broom 1 (The Story of the Great American Flying Broomstick Book 1: Genesis) is for sale on Amazon as a hardcopy book. So I logged into my Amazon Advantage account. I didn’t have to do much seeking. The link to posting my book as a Kindle Book was right in front of me!

It was easy. I typed in the metadata, such as the ISBN and the price, and uploaded the contents of the book. On my first try, I uploaded the .pdf file. The system asks me to browse through what it would look like on the Kindle. I wasn’t happy. So, I uploaded the original .doc file. Kindle was quite happy with that. It has offered me the opportunity to download the native Kindle format to make tweaks, which I will do at some point here because a couple pages up front appear to be blank on the Kindle. The rest looks great!

Click on the image to see the book for sale in the Kindle Store. I set the price as $6.95, but it’s actually available for only $5.56. Here’s your chance! Assuming you have the Kindle, this is downright cheap and you’ll have a whale of a good time reading it!

Ah, the Kindle, you say. Well, I was skeptical at first too. But on my recent trip to New York, I had a seat next to a guy who brandished a Kindle II. I asked to look at it. Read more…

American Flying Broomstick, Writing: Business

New number for Mt. Sneffels Press: +1-970-901-4092 (a cell phone). We are dropping our landline—these days it’s redundant.

American Flying Broomstick, Mt. Sneffels Press

Oh, my! Am I ever out of date!

I’m afraid I am a tad snide about New Yorkers in the first and second Broom books. I based my thoughts on too many movies and TV series. New Yorkers are pushy. New Yorkers won’t give you the time of day. The world revolves around New York.

At least I can say that no one contradicted me. Someone should have.

I had been to Long Island on business, years before, flying through La Guardia. I saw Manhattan across the river, but from that vantage point it looked like a concrete jungle. My business on Long Island was relatively straightforward (teaming arrangements for an aerospace contract) and I was introduced to the best Italian food I’ve ever had before or since.

This past week my outlook changed completely. My (real) work took me to the IBM Research labs in Hawthorne and Yorktown Heights, both within easy driving distance from the Tarrytown Marriott. As it turned out, I had last Thursday free from about 2:00 p.m. on. So I took a cab to the Tarrytown train station, took the train to Grand Central Terminal (not “Grand Central Station”) and entered a world such as I have never seen.

Armed with a map of lower Manhattan, I began my exploration. Times Square. Central Park. Wall Street. The World Trade Center site. Battery Park.

So what are my impressions?

It was not anything like I’d imagined. Read more…

American Flying Broomstick

Arlene sent this comment to me using the American Flying Broomstick comment form:

I’ve been getting the free weekly subscription for a while now, since Randy C. talked about it in his “this is true” newsletter. When you told us you were reducing the cost of the books, I immediately went to the website to buy it. Before I did, however, I realized how much I am enjoying the little snippets once a week. If I bought the book, I would lose the weekly e-mails, and I decided I didn’t want to do that. Thanks!

Arlene, not to worry! You are welcome to stay on the free chapter a week e-mail list. But you can do both. I sold both books to a Mensa Convention attendee, who wrote me to say he was signing up for the free chapter a week e-mail list to “relive” the experience. You can too! Your purchase supports this site and the free list. I’m glad you’re enjoying the flying broomstick experience!

American Flying Broomstick, Mt. Sneffels Press, Reader Comments

This was sent to all folks on my various Flying Broomstick mailing lists:

Greetings from Broom Headquarters!

I’ve been making changes and I think you’ll like them.

1. I’m dropping out of Amazon, which means I can lower the price for the first book, “The Story of the Great American Flying Broomstick, Book 1: Genesis.” It was my desire to make it available on Amazon that led me to the original $17.76 price, but now that I’m removing it, I can drop the price to $9.95. I think that’s a much more reasonable price for a novel, don’t you? (And I still make money, more than I do with Amazon.)

2. I’ve put video on the site. Go to www.americanflyingbroomstick.com and click on the introductory video. Also, go to the page for each of the two books (use the menu at the left) to see me read video exerpts.

3. Because both books now cost only $9.95 each (with $2.75 shipping via media mail in the US), I’m dropping the Premium and Platinum on-line subscriptions. The free chapter a week will remain and all of you on that list will continue to get your chapters!

4. There’s a bit of a special if you purchase both books at once, with a break on shipping, because shipping two books costs very little more than shipping one book.

5. I’ve created an entirely new site for Mt. Sneffels Press, at www.mtsneffelspress.com. Instead of hand-coding the site as I’ve done before, the site is a WordPress blog. Mt. Sneffels Press has moved into the category of “micropress,” because Paul and Becky Klein McCreary’s book has been added to the catalog. And I’m working with two more authors. My blog is about writing: the process, the pitfalls, suggestions, etc. Take a look and write comments. (P.S. Now that I’m using WordPress, I wonder why I ever thought of setting up a site any other way!)

6. Status of Broom 3, FOG at the Crossroads: It’s essentially finished, but I’m getting one more review from my best reviewer. I completely rewrote it in response to his first set of comments, so I want to get it right. It should be released in a couple months. I think you’ll love it!

So, now’s your chance to get the hardcopy books and join the ranks of flying broomstick enthusiasts! Please pass this note to your friends to tell them about the books, the free chapter a week list, and the new Mt. Sneffels Press site.

And my thanks for making flying broomsticks a reality!

Dave Casler

American Flying Broomstick, Mt. Sneffels Press

Mt. Sneffels Press uses PayPal for payment and order information. When you click on any of our “Buy Now” buttons, you’re taken to a PayPal screen that has the Mt. Sneffels Press logo at the top. You enter your credit card and shipping information. All I see is the shipping information: your credit card information is safe.

You DO NOT have to have a PayPal account to buy books from Mt. Sneffels Press. When you press the “buy now” button, look down Read more…

American Flying Broomstick, Mt. Sneffels Press

I’m changing the price of Broom 1 from $17.76 to $9.95. Why? Because I’ve decided to let Amazon sell the copies they have and then drop it. Amazon takes 55% (!) which forces the book price out of reach. So, by dealing directly with you, I can drop the price to something far more reasonable. Broom 1 and Broom 2 are now each $9.95. I’ve had to raise the shipping a bit to cover increases in postage—the shipping per book is $2.75, or, if you use the special, you can save a bit on the combo plus the shipping is $3.00 for the pair. See the American Flying Broomstick website or order via our Catalog page.

By the way, Amazon has only 7 copies left. I’ve instructed them to drop the price to $9.95 in a few days. So, if you combine that with other items to qualify for free shipping, you’ve got a great deal!

American Flying Broomstick, Mt. Sneffels Press

I’m tweaking the holiday special. Since both books are now $9.95, you can purchase both for $19.50 plus $3.00 shipping. By purchasing both you save not only on price but also on shipping.  Check it out on the American Flying Broomstick home page, or order here:

American Flying Broomstick, Mt. Sneffels Press