Thursday, October 6, 2016

"Mary Beth and Sammy, Rolling Thunder" Coming soon.



Mary Beth and Sammy
Rolling Thunder
by
Dorothy May Mercer
McBride Romance + Suspense 
Mary Beth and Sammy,
Rolling Thunder
Dorothy May Mercer
We first met Mary Beth Baker and Sammy Monroe as devoted teenage sweethearts in the McBride Series. Now in college, their relationship is threatened by a series of serious problems. Will Sam be able to dig out of his financial hole before the short term loan sharks break every bone in his body? Will Mary Beth’s sorority sister return unharmed from her ill-fated liaison? What happens when the elder Monroe’s learn the truth about their son’s poor choices?




Chapter 1


It was a beautiful fall day in New Mexico—the first paintbrush dipped in crimson and ochre was touching the outer leaves of the Maple and Aspen trees in the vacant lot across from the Kappa Chi Sorority House. Mary Beth sat on the front steps doing her nails. Hmm, what color should I use? Selecting a shiny bottle with a bronze metallic color, she shook it a few times and then unscrewed the cap. Delicately she applied the first strokes to her index fingernail and held it up to admire the result. Yes this will be perfect for the house party tonight. She dipped the brush into the little bottle once more, middle finger at the ready.

Suddenly a roaring noise like the sound of a thousand mad hornets, interrupted her task. Her hand paused, mid-stroke, eyes focused on the approaching thunder. As it neared, a rumbling throb assaulted her eardrums. She could feel the low frequency vibration in her seat. Eyes wide, adrenaline shot through her veins as the “fight or flight” response kicked in. Mary Beth was half-raised off the steps when the first wave of motorcycles breached the corner and entered the private street. 

Watch for Mary Beth & Sammy, Rolling Thunder, coming soon. Comments?

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

This is what one reader, Mary Ann Vitale, had to say about our novel, Fran and Max, the Bungalow: 

   
Mary Ann Vitale
September 12 at 2:47pm
 
A book I just started reading. I can't put it down. I read half of it last night, and will continue tonight. The best book so far I have ever read. Compliments to the great author, Dorothy May Mercer!

Available now in Amazon ebook and print editions. and Go Here: http://amzn.to/2bYsvbc

Coming soon in Audible and Smashwords editions.


Monday, September 28, 2016
Today my London, UK friend writes: "How is your health? I hope you aren't doing too many physical activities."
My answer:

Actually, I do as many physical activities as I can and suffer "cabin fever" when I can't get outside several times a day. Dave and I are wondering whether this will be the winter that we have to quit downhill skiing. (His knee, my balance).
 
Our next door neighbors of 23 years, (she is 10 years younger than me) have just moved out of their lakefront home into a condo. Why? They think that they can't take care of their house any more. They seem perfectly fine to me, but ... too old for a house? No way. Geez.

We still own two houses and have only recently started hiring a bit of help. I have a cleaning lady, at our C.L. home, every three weeks, and Dave has given up doing any work on the roof. 

We just got home from a week at our vacation home on Gregory Lake. I love it there because we work outside a lot. We still own the adjoining farmland which consists of 45 tillable acres and 60 acres of wetlands and wooded land. We have a farmer who leases the tillable acres, but Dave and I still keep up a hiking trail through the wetland and wooded land. We have a heavy duty brush-hog. (A machine that mows and cuts through thick brush) which we use to mow the trail. Also, we have a chainsaw, weed whacker and hand tools that we use. 
Our wetlands are an environmental jewel and rated pristine by the University folks, with many rare species. Every year Dave and I spend hours eradicating any invasive species that threaten the edges of the wetland. 
We also have a little orchard, which we planted. In July we harvested peaches and pressure-canned them. On this trip we picked all our apples, and brought them home with us. We will eat some and can some. Our plum, pear, and cherry trees and our hazelnut trees were barren this year. 

Re: physical activity, I say to myself, "one physical activity a day and then take a rest." But, the only time I hurt is when I rest too long.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

 CLICK for more information
Audible Version Free With a 30 Day Free Trial.
Also can be purchased with the Kindle ebook Version

As angry mobs gather to protest, sometimes with senseless destruction, people all over seem to be calling for DIALOG between the races. Will talking really solve our problems? Will listening lead to understanding? Will understanding lead to PEACE?     
TV talk shows feature guests with strong opinions on both sides, who start a dialog often ending in a shouting match, as each side loudly makes points, screaming over the other--while neither side listens. Meanwhile the viewers cannot understand a word.        
This collection of short stories and essays by ordinary black and white people sets out to offer a forum where many can make a point without interruption. Please read at your leisure, listen and try to understand the other.




How to Get an Audible Version
Of Your Book
Available now in ebook format.
Coming soon in paperback.
US: http://amzn.to/2azoKO4
UK: http://amzn.to/2aiNs0G
Au: http://amzn.to/2aLAcCV
Ca: http://amzn.to/2af0ZFM

Remember the thrill the first time you held your book in your hand? Well, get ready to experience that again when you hear it for the first time. And yet, there are a few things holding you back, i.e. questions such as  how much will it cost, will my audible book sell, where can I get it done, can I do it myself, how long will it take and can I make a profit. In this book, teacher, coach, author and publisher Dorothy May Mercer will  answer those questions and share her experience with Audible.com.

Excerpts:

Royalties


Royalties depend on a couple of factors. The price range of audiobooks can vary greatly, from $12.00 to $35.00, according to the length and popularity.
For instance, my novel, Cynthia and Dan, Cyber War, was seven hours and fifteen minutes long. I gave Audible an exclusive contract at 40% of sales. Forty percent of Audible’s retail price of $17.95 sounds good, doesn’t it? 
It was necessary to wait for my first month’s royalty report to learn the unpalatable truth. There were no sales at the retail price. Instead I learned that there are several ways of determining the price, none of which charge the full retail value. Regular Amazon customers who join their Audible Listener program pay $14.95 a month for which they are allowed one free credit per month which can be used for any item in the Audible catalog. This type of sale garnered a price of $10.37 for which I received $4.15 in royalty. Not too bad.
After a customer has used his one monthly credit, he/she may buy any Audible catalog item for 30% off. After ninety days he/she has the option to buy bulk credit at another reduced price. This accounts for the great difference in the retail sales prices for which you, as author receive a royalty. Another one of my Audible books, The Fairfax Fix, retail price $17.53, sold three books under that feature, the first month, grossing $8.93 of which I received $3.57 royalty. Don’t ask me how $8.93 divides by three. The royalty report I received did not explain that. Apparently there is more than one price, you see.
The Amazon customer can access Audible books from Amazon Whispersync for Voice and KU (Kindle Unlimited) at $9.99 a month, in addition to the Audible membership at $14.95 a month
The lowest sales price category on my first month’s ACX account report was in sales made to customers buying the book who were not in the Audible monthly program—in other words, everyone else. These folks paid a mere $1.99 for which I received a measly $.80 royalty.
The report did not designate whether these buys were made on iTunes, Amazon or Audible. However, my best guess is that it might have been a KU member who bought the ebook and the Audible versions together.
As the owner, once I signed the 40% contract with them, I had no control over the price Audible placed on the recording. At the end of one year, I may opt out of the contract, if I so desire. In that case I could sign a 25% contract with them, giving them a non-exclusive contract. This would allow me to sell the recording anywhere, if I chose to do so.

Let me be clear: I am not accusing Audible of cheating or misrepresenting. They are marketing my product and they did, indeed, pay me 40% of their sales, so far as I know. I simply would appreciate more details and more transparency both before and after a person joins their program.

Audible Customer Reviews


In researching for this book, I thought it prudent to read a few reviews, from the customer’s point of view.
There are those folks who simply love Audible books. This could be someone who drives a truck or delivery van or has a long commute to work. These folks have discovered that listening to books relieves the boredom and gives them something to look forward to each day.
It could be the houseworker who listens while folding clothes and loading the dishwasher. It could be the patient in a hospital or retirement home. Or just anyone who is tired of TV and computer games.
The avid fan has his or her favorite readers, just as you have your favorite authors. Once discovered this fan will devour everything by that reader.
Reviewers agreed that Audible is the gold standard for quality of production. But, some commented that the pricing and distribution system is antiquated. Most of the complaints fell into those two categories.

A Few Drawbacks


On the negative side were those disgruntled customers who had a bad experience and swore off Audible for good. A couple of folks had started with the free thirty day offer, and tried to cancel, only to be billed for the second month’s service. The complaints were resolved to their satisfaction. However, this illustrates the type of accounting errors one might encounter with any new and growing company. The recommendation is, if you decide to cancel, allow plenty of time for your cancelation to hit their billing department.
Another complaint was from a customer who, after trying to cancel, found that Audible offered to switch the customer to a better deal, at less per month. (I do not know what the terms were.) While the customer understood that any company will advertise its most profitable deal first, he thought that those choices should be available up front.
It seems that Audible has got the important part right—production. As authors, we can hope and expect that the other problems with be fixed soon, if they have not been resolved already.
From our standpoint, as authors, the worst news was from those customer/reviewers who praised the generous return policy. I was shocked to learn that the customer thinks he has a full year to listen to the book, decide he doesn’t like it and return it for credit. Again, not knowing the full details, I shudder to think of receiving unlimited chargebacks anytime up to a year. Good grief, I will have already spent the money and paid the taxes! It seems there must be some limit.
Sorry, I cannot verify this bit of news. But this book is about getting an Audible version of your book and not, necessarily, an instruction book on how, we, as customers, can beat the system.




Sunday, April 10, 2016

Creating a New Book

Mercer Publications has one new book out, this year, Let's Talk, A Black/White Dialog in the US and UK, and is working on another one, a collection of entertaining short stories, entitled, Short & Fun Stories. For this latest book, we invited a dozen of our most admired author friends to contribute. The resulting submissions have been so much fun! When a new one arrives in our InBox, it's like opening a present. I never know what I'm going to see.
Each story is completely unique and different, as befits the authors, themselves.
We hesitated to post the draft cover, because not all of the authors are pictured, yet. But, we want you to see the progress. There will be a few more pictures to arrange on the cover, in a somewhat better order, we hope.
More details in future posts.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Here at Mercer Pub we have been fooling around with the cover for our new short story anthology, due out in May. This is, by no means, the final version, but we wanted to try the elderly gentleman on the cover, in place of the original picture. What do you think? Does he look happy, or what?

Dorothy has been busy editing, formatting and having a ball with the submitted stories, so far. This is so much fun! Why? Because the stories are so different--as different as are the authors. We have seen short story collections by one author, and we have seen collections of full length novels by different authors, but this is one of the first short stories by a dozen different authors (that we have seen).

Quite often the novel collections will be in one genre, i.e. all Westerns, or all Romances. Our collection will contain different genres. We even have one children's story and one non-fiction.

MercerPublications.com