Today is my 55th birthday!
Of course, it is a bit of a mixed bag. No parties because we are still totally self-isolating. Instead, it will be dinner with Alan and @PanKwake. But they are my favorite people anyway. And he got me a composter and Barbie dolls for my present. I am working on sewing a new serving set with a tablecloth, napkins, a quilted table runner, and maybe even mug rugs and placemats.
But this blog is about my SPECIAL birthday present for YOU!
I have always used @literotica as a sounding board. I post my rough drafts there after only basic edits like spell check and now Grammarly. In the beginning, my plan was to self-publish them to Amazon and become rich and famous.
But since Alan, I don’t need those things. We are financially comfortable and well, fame ain’t all it is cracked up to be. Having walked into a charity shop and had the clerk’s eyes go wide, his mouth drop, and heard the shocked words, “Are you Alan Cox?” was close enough for me.
Other the other hand, I do enjoy taking reader feedback and polishing my stories. It just is not worth the hassle of trying to promote them. So, they get lost in the Amazon ebook forest. My sales amount to about $1 a month. Though, I am not complaining. It is and always has been about exposure. Getting them read by as many people as possible. But not everyone feels comfortable sharing a link to a ‘porn site’ with friends.
So, I have been left with the question…
What to do with my edited final products?
I am trying something new…
Giving away PDF files here.
And yes, not only are they free to download here. But you can share them with friends and family.
Alan is a big supporter of the free software movement and that has rubbed off on me. So, I am releasing all of my finished and edited books under a Creative Commons license. Specifically:
It is admittedly the most restrictive of the licenses, but still allows for free reading and sharing in most cases. What specifically does that mean for you the reader and sharer?
Basically, it means that you are free to share the file and the material in any format as long as:
- You give me credit. You cannot claim that you wrote it.
- You cannot sell it. Period. Full stop. End of.
- You cannot change it in any way. No editing it to make it the story you wanted.
But yes, if you want to read it on your Kindle, iPad, or other format and you have the software and/or skills to reformat it – then go ahead. You can even share that new format with others. The only thing you cannot do is those three things.
I am beginning today with Ægir’s Captive which has been renamed and rebranded as Njord’s Captive. I chose this story and series for a couple reasons.
- Its popularity, of course.
- Its sensitive content makes it inappropriate for Amazon and many other distributors.
It just did not fit in – any more than its writer does. So, I decided to create its own home for it and my other stories.
So, yes, this is just the first of my books that I will be uploading FREE here. I am already working on the next one in this series – Njord’s Bride. I hope to have that up in the next couple of weeks. Then, Njord’s Wife. After that, I am probably moving on to my Sergeant Mike’s Miracle Tour series. I also have Nothing Done in Love, The Arrangement, and Rings of Fire finished as well as a few smaller novellas.
I hope to finish Night Walker’s Woman this month. Then I can edit and release it, too. And the others in that series. No, I have not forgotten No Strings Attached.
All those on top of being a newlywed, transforming our @HomeCrazzyHome into an urban farm and homestead, quilting, sewing, raising an autistic teen, and the everyday ups and downs of life.
So, please be patient. I am only fifty-five. I do have a couple of good years left in these old bones, even if they do creak and moan a bit more each year – day?
So, please enjoy this. My birthday present to you, the reader.
Goddess bless,
Tara
Tara Cox - Literary Erotica 