B00AVAKSEM
Yes, you heard me right, B00AVAKSEM. No, this isn't what you say when AVAKSEM is walking by and you want to jump out and scare her/him/it. This is the ASIN, or Amazon ID number, for the e-book I've published there. Before the cut-tag, let me make it very clear that I'm not asking anyone to buy this thing, merely announcing its existence. What you do next is up to you. I would, however, like folks to spread the word around, because experience with earlier ventures suggests that I have no knack for promotion. The central point is this: The Geese Are Migrating to Venus is the first of four books of comedy sketches that I've written for Moebius Theatre, and if you go to amazon.com and type B00AVAKSEM (with numeral zeroes, not letter O's) on the search line, you'll get to the page for this book.
Here's the skinny on all of this:
Title: The Geese Are Migrating to Venus.
Author: E. Michael Blake (metadata: on the “cover” of the book, which I also designed and illustrated, this reads as “science fiction comedy sketches by E. Michael Blake;” on the Amazon page, after the title the book’s series is identified as “Science Fiction for Live Performance”).
ASIN (Amazon’s ID number): B00AVAKSEM; I haven’t obtained an ISBN.
Price: $0.99
Existence: Electronic only, in Amazon's Kindle formats. Doing it this way meant that there was no monetary cost to me, a highly attractive feature that also makes this seem a little less like vanity press (which it nonetheless is). Kindle apps are available to run on phones, tablets, and other things that aren't Kindles, so that Amazon can continue to take over the world.
Content: Original comedy sketches in perfomer’s script format, all with science fiction themes. The sketches have been performed by Moebius Theatre, but this is their first publication as text in any medium. There is also a brief foreword to explain what this is, and a longer afterword elaborating on SF, comedy, performance, and what went into the writing of the sketches. The foreword and afterword are also first-time publications. The total text size is about 15,000 words. Amazon computes the length as 82 pages, even though “page” is a quantity not used in Kindle books.
Potential further use, beyond reading: These sketches, performed together, would make up a cabaret set about 45 minutes long. There is also a bonus sketch; the reason for its separate status is explained in the afterword. A producer interested in performing the sketches can contact me through the e-mail address in the book and negotiate for performance rights. The author is silent on the potential consequences of actors carrying Kindles around on stage in rehearsals, reading their lines while practicing the more vigorous physical comedy exertions in the sketches.
The second book, O Ever Bountiful God of the Air!, will "drop" in February (the DVD/CD release term "drop" seems appropriate here). The grand plan calls for books three and four, Melissa's 8000th Birthday and That's Not Science!, to follow in March and April. I can justify doing this, more or less, on the grounds that there appears to be no market in conventional publishing for SF comedy sketches. (In bygone days I sent out queries to publishing houses that might include that niche, and never got a reply.
Here's the skinny on all of this:
Title: The Geese Are Migrating to Venus.
Author: E. Michael Blake (metadata: on the “cover” of the book, which I also designed and illustrated, this reads as “science fiction comedy sketches by E. Michael Blake;” on the Amazon page, after the title the book’s series is identified as “Science Fiction for Live Performance”).
ASIN (Amazon’s ID number): B00AVAKSEM; I haven’t obtained an ISBN.
Price: $0.99
Existence: Electronic only, in Amazon's Kindle formats. Doing it this way meant that there was no monetary cost to me, a highly attractive feature that also makes this seem a little less like vanity press (which it nonetheless is). Kindle apps are available to run on phones, tablets, and other things that aren't Kindles, so that Amazon can continue to take over the world.
Content: Original comedy sketches in perfomer’s script format, all with science fiction themes. The sketches have been performed by Moebius Theatre, but this is their first publication as text in any medium. There is also a brief foreword to explain what this is, and a longer afterword elaborating on SF, comedy, performance, and what went into the writing of the sketches. The foreword and afterword are also first-time publications. The total text size is about 15,000 words. Amazon computes the length as 82 pages, even though “page” is a quantity not used in Kindle books.
Potential further use, beyond reading: These sketches, performed together, would make up a cabaret set about 45 minutes long. There is also a bonus sketch; the reason for its separate status is explained in the afterword. A producer interested in performing the sketches can contact me through the e-mail address in the book and negotiate for performance rights. The author is silent on the potential consequences of actors carrying Kindles around on stage in rehearsals, reading their lines while practicing the more vigorous physical comedy exertions in the sketches.
The second book, O Ever Bountiful God of the Air!, will "drop" in February (the DVD/CD release term "drop" seems appropriate here). The grand plan calls for books three and four, Melissa's 8000th Birthday and That's Not Science!, to follow in March and April. I can justify doing this, more or less, on the grounds that there appears to be no market in conventional publishing for SF comedy sketches. (In bygone days I sent out queries to publishing houses that might include that niche, and never got a reply.