Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Horror
Website: Author Richard C Hale
Twitter: @Richard_C_Hale
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Author Description:
Richard C Hale has worn many hats in his lifetime including Greens Keeper, Bartender, Musician, Respiratory Therapist, and Veteran Air Traffic Controller. You can usually find him controlling Air Traffic over the skies of the Southeastern U.S. where he lives with his wife and children.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
First things first. What do you have on the drawing board next? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?
James, thanks for letting me share a bit of myself and my writing with your readers. It’s an honor. As far as what’s on the drawing board, the next Jaxon Jennings’ thriller, FATHER FIGURE, is slated for a February 25, 2014 release and it’s one hell of a ride. For those familiar with the character, he will be pushed to the breaking point and beyond. Here’s a little tease: “The truth will set you free. What a crock. Jaxon Jennings knows the lie in the cliché. He’s lived it his whole life. So when his partner witnesses the murder of their client’s wife, he isn’t surprised by the trail of deceit, corruption, drugs and rape underlying the façade of truth in his city. Paid to uncover the real murderer, Jaxon finds himself immersed in a world of treachery and lies. Lies so deep they cut like knives. And when his recently deceased father is somehow connected, he must find the man who pulls the strings behind the scenes. The man who has the answers to all the questions. The answers that send Jaxon over the edge. For he knows… Only the dead are set free by the truth. And the truth will burden you for life.”
You have a good following on twitter. How important have your social media relationships been? How did you build your following in your niche? Did you use forums, newsletters and methods like that?
Social media and my blog are the main ways I keep in touch with folks and though I’ve learned a lot about abusing it over that last two years, it still remains a favorite of mine and you can find me on FaceBook quite a bit. Twitter seems to be a little less effective for me and I thought I spent a long time building a following there, the room for a much larger forum on FB makes it my fav. As far as the abuse I mentioned, I fell into the traps that many new authors and entrepreneurs fall into, shouting to the masses to ‘Buy this! Or ‘Read this!’ Or ‘My book is FREE!’ and I quickly learned it doesn’t work. People don’t want to be sold to, or pressured, and if you follow this route, you’ll quickly lose folks or get lost in the white noise that permeates social media. Now, I concentrate on being myself and building relationships with people and I have so much more fun with it. You’ll rarely see me ‘selling’ anything on there.
Do you do book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?
I’ve done one book signing and have to say I loved it. It was very exciting meeting the folks who read the books. I hope to do more in the future, but as of this writing, I do not have one scheduled. My blog is a perfect place to keep up with what’s going on in my little world and if you’d like to drop me a note, the contact page is a perfect place to do that. www.richardchaleauthor.com
You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?
Thanks. I love my covers. They are the first things the readers see and if they don’t catch the eye, they might just move on to another story that does. As far as my creation process, I have a little experience with Photoshop and a good eye, and the first few covers I’ve done on my own. The next one I’ll be hiring out though, because I want a different look and feel and I don’t think I’m capable of creating what I’m looking for. I always seek the opinion of my readers and drop a few test covers out there for them to see, then I listen to the feedback and make my final decision based on the input. It seems to have worked well as I get a lot of compliments on my covers. ?
You have written several short stories. Can you tell us if they had an impact on the sales of your novels? Are shorty’s one of your styles of writing or are they created to give readers a sample of your work?
I love the short story. It’s a fun and challenging art form and if done well, can have a big impact for the small amount of words that go into them. As far as impacting sales, I don’t believe they’ve made much of a difference. They do not sell as well as novels, and for that reason, I mainly use mine now as little teasers. I give the electronic ones away free so new readers can get a taste of my writing and style and then decide if I’m a good fit for them.
What writer support groups do you belong to? Do they help with the writing, marketing and the publishing process?
I do not currently belong to any official writing or critique groups, but I do have a handful of author friends whose opinion and expertise I trust. I’m constantly bouncing things off of their heads and vice versa. They read all my stuff before it goes to the editor and help me make decisions on plot structure and loose ends. They are an invaluable resource and I couldn’t do this without them.
What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?
Free isn’t what it used to be. I still believe in it and have had success with it driving folks to my other books and stories, but I may be changing my opinion again in the near future. I use it currently like the short stories. To give readers a chance to get to know me with little risk (only time) and cost. I know it’s tough for people to spend money on a new author, and so I give them the opportunity to read the first novel in a series for free and come back for the rest if they enjoyed it. I don’t believe it is a sound business practice if you don’t have a way to drive sales with your freebie or if it’s your only novel. Those days are behind us, I think, and the resulting sales from those types of giveaways are usually sparse.
What is your method of getting reviews for your novels? Do you seek professional reviews, use social media or do you rely on your reading audience to supply them?
I mainly rely on my reading audience, but it has been suggested to me recently to offer ARC copies for evaluation purposes as the Big 5 in publishing and many others over the years seem to allow this type of practice. There are some concerns lately about unethical practices by buying reviews or creating sock-puppet accounts to falsely advance reviews, and I’m concerned that this common practice of supplying an advance copy for review consideration may get dragged into the mud too, so I’m proceeding with a little caution on this. Reviews are a big part of how a story is perceived and until a foolproof system has been developed, I’d rather not muddy the waters.
Which part of your varied background prepared you best to write about Jake Townsend and his mind reading? I am guessing Bartender but I could see where any of your former tasks could be used.
I would say it is a mix of them all. I love technology and the occult, or anything that defies our natural understanding of things. My Respiratory Background helped greatly with some of the medically themed scenes and my natural curiosity about death and what comes after led me to some research in that area. Real Near Death Experiences are fascinating and I love to read about them. The idea came about when I was perusing the Internet and came across a website that collects Near Death Experience stories. After reading a few, I was fascinated by them. Then that night, on the news, they were talking about mind reading technology that was using MRI to interpret a basic list of 100 words or so as it scanned the human brain. I thought what would happen if we could prove that life after death existed with this type of technology? What would the world do? It later morphed (as the stories often do) into the novel NEAR DEATH.
Author's Book List
Father Figure
NEW RELEASE
The truth will set you free. What a crock.
Jaxon Jennings knows the lie in the cliché. He’s lived it his whole life. So when his partner witnesses the murder of their client’s wife, he isn’t surprised by the trail of deceit, corruption, drugs and rape underlying the façade of truth in his city.
Paid to uncover the real murderer, Jaxon finds himself immersed in a world of treachery and lies. Lies so deep they cut like knives.
And when his recently deceased father is somehow connected, he must find the man who pulls the strings behind the scenes. The man who has the answers to all the questions. The answers that send Jaxon over the edge. For he knows…
Only the dead are set free by the truth. And the truth will burden you for life.
Order the Book From: Amazon
Cache 72
- A Jaxon Jennings Novel72 hours. That's what the note said. 72 hours and the girl would be dead. Jaxon held the paper in one hand and the severed finger in the other. It was not a hoax. A day with his new hobby had turned into something he hadn't seen coming.
GeoCaching--a modern scavenger hunt--was now a race against time. A woman he had never met was praying he wouldn't fail.
72 hours. Three days. A life hanging in the balance and the clock ticking. The killer's game deadly. Jaxon Jennings, retired cop and private eye, knew the girl had only one chance...
And he was it.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
Near Sighted
- Book 2 of the Near Death SeriesReaders captivated by Near Death will eagerly devour Near Sighted, the much anticipated second book in Richard C. Hale's riveting thriller series. Near Sighted continues the story of Jake Townsend and his mind reading technology as he attempts to find equilibrium between what he should and should not do with the knowledge.
Jake feels his life has moved on, but when his dreams return and he sees a glimpse into his future, he discovers that the nightmare has only begun.
Somewhere, someone has stolen his secrets. And as he learns of their evil purpose, he must find a way to stop them. Or risk losing everything he holds dear.
Once again, the fate of the human race hangs in the balance and Jake holds the key. But will he have the courage to use it?
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
Frozen Past
- A Jaxon Jennings NovelLuke is only fourteen. Eliana is his whole world and for a fourteen year old, the burden is immense. You see, Eliana is being stalked. Stalked by a madman who wants nothing more than to see her dead. The madman knows things that no one should know and sees things that no one should see. He tells them if they say a word to anyone, they will both die. And Luke can't let that happen.
Eliana's past is catching up with her and Luke must do anything to save her. Anything.
** "Richard Hale has the gift, to take you captivated from, page 1, until, you have run to the end, because, you couldn't bear to put it down." Lmartini
~ Be sure to read NEAR DEATH, Richard's debut novel. ~ For Jake Townsend, the loss was shattering. And every night for the past two years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The moonless night. The piercing screams. The horrific crash. The night his wife was taken from him. The last time he saw her alive.
He needs to speak with her. He may have found a way.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
The Camera
The Camera - A Short Story
Mike was excited. He had just purchased the most valuable tool in his hunting arsenal. A wireless hunting cam. And as he looked at the first images from his prime spot in the woods, something wasn't right. What he saw did not make sense, and he would have to go out there to see what was in the lens of The Camera.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
- Smashwords
Flash Mob
A Short Story
Kathy couldn't believe she was going to be part of something this big. Something so cool. Her friends had talked her into it and now she just knew it was all going to come together. But when you are the center of attention, sometimes things go wrong. FLASH MOB.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
- Smashwords
Near Death
- Book 1 of the Near Death SeriesFor Jake Townsend, the loss was shattering. And every night for the past two years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The moonless night. The piercing screams. The horrific crash. The night his wife was taken from him. The last time he saw her alive.
Everyone tells him to move on. But for Jake, there can be no closure. A message appears in his dreams--a warning he is reluctant to heed.
The omens ignored, Jake finds himself caught between the desire to see his beloved wife again and disrupting the delicate balance of life and death. The technology he developed has shown him the path, and others will do anything to use it, but at what price?
He must choose, and the consequences may ultimately shatter his world.
Order the Book From: Amazon
- Barnes and Noble
Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner and
HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle
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