Flying Raven Press

Exciting news for Jack Nolte fans!  The next Garrison Gage mystery is finally available, A Desperate Place for Dying. You can buy it trade paperback or ebook from most major retailers.  More information below.

A DESPERATE PLACE FOR DYING

by Jack Nolte

An old flame.  A killer on the loose.  A crazy cult on the rise.

Nearly a year has passed since Garrison Gage became the reluctant guardian of a troubled teenage girl, but neither fatherhood nor the the intervening months has improved his mood. His right knee is still mostly worthless. He still prefers to drink his bourbon alone. And even with a certain blonde bombshell a persistent part of his life, he still can’t be bothered to buy a cell phone. Or any phone, for that matter. Why? Then somebody might call him.

But grumpy as Gage can be, he still finds that life on the Oregon Coast has settled into a comfortable if not happy routine — until the man who murdered his wife shows up in town.

That’s just for starters. A desperate plea from an old flame — his first love, in fact — soon entangles Gage in a high profile case involving a famous and brazenly outspoken lecturer on evolution and atheism, a crazy fundamentalist cult that uses all means necessary to silence its critics, and a brutal local murder of a far more personal nature.

Before the mystery can be unraveled, Gage’s abilities and beliefs will be put to the ultimate test. And the man who claims he doesn’t need anyone will discover he may just lose everything.

Available in Ebook Format Now:

Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Paperback:

Amazon | B&N

We’re pleased to announce the publication of Scott William Carter’s latest book, The Care and Feeding of Rubber Chickens:  A Novel. It’s available as an ebook at Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, and elsewhere, with the paperback to follow shortly.  Here’s a bit about this delightfully wacky book:

The Care and Feeding of Rubber Chickens:  A Novel

by Scott William Carter

Seventeen-year-old Trevor can’t catch a break. Just when he finds out that Janna, the girl of his dreams, is finally available, his mom tells him he’s being shipped off to a boarding school because of his awful grades. A desperate call to his dad, who owns a rubber chicken factory in Las Vegas, gets him nowhere. His father is more interested in enlisting Trevor’s aid writing what he sees as the perfect gag gift – a how-to manual about rubber chickens. That’s Trevor’s life for you. Everyone around him is totally and utterly insane.

But there’s still Janna. He’s had a crush on her since sixth grade. Can he get himself to say the words to her that he’s been rehearsing for years? He finally musters the courage to visit her house and find out.

That’s when everything goes crazy.

*****

Grade 10 Up – “My dad owns a rubber chicken factory.” With this zany first line, readers are launched on a surprisingly poignant coming-of-age journey. Part buddy story, part road trip adventure, and part ruminations on the difference between love and infatuation, Carter offers up a vivid portrait of a young man – Trevor Livingston – who blunders into a thousand-mile quest to tell the girl of his dreams how he really feels about her. Although the book is appropriate for more mature young adult readers, adults may find even greater enjoyment in Trevor’s distinctive voice and abundant references to popular culture – Star Trek and The Princess Bride, for example, are favorite targets. Fans of Carter’s award-winning first novel, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, are certain to find this heartfelt look at the angst and insanity of modern adolescence an equally riveting read.

Electronic Edition:
Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Paperback Edition:
Coming soon.

Flying Raven Press is pleased to announce its first audio book release.  Scott William Carter’s Lincoln and the Dragon, a short novel of just under 100 pages at print length, is now available at Amazon.com, Audible.com, and iTunes.com.  Listening time is just under two hours.  Special thanks to Gary L Willprecht for his excellent narration.  Here’s more about the book:

The fateful first of January. That’s how Abraham Lincoln described New Year’s Day in 1841, the day he temporarily broke off his engagement with Mary Todd.

Although this fact is well known among historians, what is not known is what else happened that day - when a deranged, dimension-hopping descendant of a Confederate general attempted to assassinate Lincoln long before he became the 16th President of the United States.

When the madman’s plan goes awry, Lincoln finds himself stranded in the land of Howander, a world populated by brave knights, drafty castles, and a princess terribly scarred by a one-eyed dragon who’s promised to return for her on her upcoming birthday. As he finds himself falling for the princess, Lincoln must make a choice: stay and fight the dragon, or heed the call of his dark dreams, which offer him tantalizing glimpses of his native country’s future - a country which may need a hero even more than this one.

(Click for a larger image)

Exciting news. Scott William Carter’s fantasy for younger readers, Drawing a Dark Way, is now available in trade paperback. It’s been selling steadily as an ebook for a few months, but it’s great to have it available for those who haven’t made the leap to e-readers yet.

Right now, you can only get the paperback at Amazon.com, but it should be available via Barnes and Noble, Powell’s, and other online retailers within a few weeks.

Read more about the book over at Rymadoon.com, Scott William Carter’s website geared for younger readers (and the young at heart, of course).

Scott William Carter’s young adult novel, President Jock, Vice President Geek, is now available in trade paperback from Flying Raven Press.  If you enjoyed his debut young adult novel, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, you may really enjoy this book.  You can only order it from Amazon.com right now, though it will show up at other online book sellers within a few weeks.  Here’s the cover flat, as well as more information about the book (click for a larger image):

President Jock, Vice President Geek

It was a simple plan. She would help him pass algebra. He would help her win the student election. What could go wrong?

Take one geeky sixteen-year-old girl deathly afraid of speaking to any crowd larger than one, but who desperately needs something on her application other than perfect grades to get her into Stanford. Add in a star basketball player who’s Mr. Popular to everyone else, but who’s hiding more than a few startling secrets. Throw in a crisis of identity, a scheming girlfriend, and troubled family lives. Oh, and make sure everything that can go wrong does. Then count the votes.

The result is PRESIDENT JOCK, VICE PRESIDENT GEEK, the story of two mixed up teenagers struggling to find themselves and the craziest student election ever to hit the halls of Rexton High. 

“Carter’s writing is on target.” – Publishers Weekly

Read the opening chapters.

We’re pleased to announce that Jack Nolte’s mystery, The Gray and Guilty Sea, which has been getting rave reviews on Amazon.com and elsewhere, is now also available in trade paperback.

Right now, it’s only available from Amazon.com, but it should show up on other vendor sites in the near future.  So if you don’t own an e-reader and you’ve been waiting to read this book, now you can!

In the modern publishing world, with more and more books bought online, customer reviews really can help books reach their full potential. Although we work with professional reviewers as well, you don’t need to be a professional reviewer to review books for Flying Raven Press.  Any avid reader can do it!

Right now, we’re looking for 10 or more people to help spread the word about our books.  If you’re interested, please email us at info (at) flyingravenpress.com with the words “Book Reviewer” in the subject line.

We’ll email you back with a password that will give you access to most Flying Raven Press titles in Kindle, PDF, and ePub format.  You just need a device that can read one of these formats to take part.

Here’s our current titles, with more on the way:

http://flyingravenpress.com/?page_id=85

All we ask is that you review whatever book you download on either Amazon or Barnes and Noble’s website (or both; that’s even better).  If you’re a professional reviewer, it’s great if you review it on your blog or website, and we’ll often link to it from our own site, but we still ask that you post your review to at least one of the two just mentioned.

It’s easy to do, and you don’t even need to use your real name if you like.  Five or six sentences is fine, though you can certainly write more if you wish.  Have fun!  And if you’re not sure how to do it, just read some examples.

Please note:  It would be unethical to require you to do a positive review; all we ask is that you’re fair, and that if it’s just not your kind of book (remember, everyone has different tastes), that you just pass on doing the review at all.  In the modern book selling world, these reviews have become critically important to helping books reach their full potential.  Keep this in mind when you’re reviewing — and that these are real authors, who’ve staked many hours on their novels and stories — and you’ll be just fine.

Update: Due to the number of requests we’ve gotten, we’ve decided to open it up to 5 more book reviewers for the quarter.  If interested, please email us ASAP.*

Flying Raven Press is pleased to accounce the release of Scott William Carter’s next book, President Jock, Vice President Geek.  It’s targeted at mature young adults (on the 16-18 end), but if you liked The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, you might really like this one too.  It’s set in the same town and even features a few of the minor characters.  The electronic book is now available, with the paperback to follow in April 2011.  A little more information is below.  Hope you check it out!

Electronic Edition Publication Date:  January  2011
Buy Now:  Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Paperback Publication Date: Coming April  2011

Audience: Young Adult | General Fiction

It was a simple plan. She would help him pass algebra. He would help her win the student election. What could go wrong?

Take one geeky sixteen-year-old girl deathly afraid of speaking to any crowd larger than one, but who desperately needs something on her application other than perfect grades to get her into Stanford. Add in a star basketball player who’s Mr. Popular to everyone else, but who’s hiding more than a few startling secrets. Throw in a crisis of identity, a scheming girlfriend, and troubled family lives. Oh, and make sure everything that can go wrong does. Then count the votes.

The result is PRESIDENT JOCK, VICE PRESIDENT GEEK, the story of two mixed up teenagers struggling to find themselves and the craziest student election ever to hit the halls of Rexton High.

“Carter’s writing is on target.” – Publishers Weekly

Read the opening pages.

P.S.  If you enjoy the book, please consider writing a review on Amazon.com or BN.com.  Only a tiny fraction of readers do this, and you’d be surprised at how much it helps.  Thanks!

Things are hopping here at Flying Raven Press.  We’re pleased to announce the publication of Jack Nolte’s mystery, The Gray and Guilty Sea.  While the paperpack is scheduled for release later this year, we’re making the electronic version available right now — and for a pre-publication bargain price of only $3.99.  Here’s a little more about the book:

The Gray and Guilty Sea
by Jack Nolte

A curmudgeon.  An iconoclast.  A loner.  That’s how people describe Garrison Gage, and that’s when they’re being charitable.  After his wife’s brutal murder in New York, and Gage himself is beaten nearly to death, the crippled private investigator retreats three thousand miles to the quaint coastal town of Barnacle Bluffs, Oregon.  He spends the next five years in a convalescent stupor, content to bide his time filling out crossword puzzles and trying to forget that his wife’s death is his fault.  But all that changes when he discovers the body of a young woman washed up on the beach, and his conscience draws him back into his old occupation – forcing him to confront the demons of his own guilt before he can hope to solve the girl’s murder.

Available Now:  Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords

For more about Jack Nolte, visit his website at http://www.jacknolte.com.

We’re pleased to announce the publication of K.C. Scott’s romantic comedy, Dog Food and Diamonds.  The electronic edition is now available both for the Kindle and other formats –and for a limted time it’s only $3.99! If you’re looking for a fun read, pick up this neat book.  Here’s a little more about it:

If someone were to write a novel about the world of big box retailing, it could very well be a grab bag of horrors and tragedies, detailing the dismal pay and long hours that employees suffer in the name of low prices and just-good-enough merchandise all so the bigwigs and the bean counters can stuff their pockets with trumped up stock options.

It could be about that. Thankfully, this book isn’t.

Instead, it’s a lively romantic comedy that begins when Jeff Martin, son of the owner of the third biggest retailer in the United States, shows up at his father’s Minnesota corporate office, newly minted business cards with the letters MBA after his name, ready to take the reins. There’s just one problem. His father thinks his son is a frivolous playboy who’d run the company into the ground.

Jeff has a hard time making a case otherwise, and only some quick thinking gives him a way to prove his worth: He has to work as an assistant manager in one of Martco’s stores for a year. And he can’t tell anybody who he is.

Welcome to Delburg, Oregon, an average city with an average Martco. Like all other Martcos, they sell everything from dog food to diamonds. Carol Kinnington is a single mother who’s been trying to put her life back to together ever since her husband gave up both her and his lucrative law practice in favor of a young Navajo women who seduced him with peyote and peace pipes. If Carol can just get promoted to Assistant Manager, she’ll earn enough to get out of her dingy apartment and make a life for herself and her five year-old son. Then a certain Jeff “Garby” swoops in to take the job she knows she deserves.

What happens next is a lively romantic comedy about two people from wildly different worlds whose shopping carts collide — and eventually, against great odds, still find a way to fall in love. It’s Romeo and Juliet on a blue light special. It’s When Harry Met Sally in paper or plastic. It’s a story as old as time itself — but you still have to be out of the store by ten.

But at Amazon.com

Buy at Smashwords.com

It should be available at BN.com, the iBookstore, and other places within a few weeks, but you can buy it in those formats directly from Smashwords if you can’t wait.