Friday, July 27, 2012

Asset Management and Sharing Secrets is Now on Sale

Sex Lies and Spies is offering two new stories on Amazon today.
We are offering one espionage story in Asset Management and one erotic story in Sharing Secrets.
Amazon Prime users can download the books for free. If you are in the press, a blogger or a book reviewer & you'd like press copies of my August books please let me know.

Rose Mendoza is an ambitious young executive looking to make her mark at the security firm of RSVP. One of her first projects is getting rid of an enticing veteran operator named William Baker.  But as Rose learns about Baker’s plans and his connection to the brutal vigilante Ria Marlen she is pulled into a crisis that could end her career or even end her life.




Sharing Secrets: ($.99)
There are two seductive daydreams in this collection:

The Open Window combines voyeurism and exhibitionism on a cold winter night in New York City that burns away the chill for everyone involved.

Toy Story describes a visit to a sex museum that leads to a man’s first encounter with his lover’s personal playthings.



Be sure to check out our other crime, erotica and espionage stories for your Kindle, iPad and smartphone.

Afraid of the Dark (Crime fiction)
Bedtime Stories (Erotica)
The Replacements (Crime Fiction)

Have fun.
Gamal

Sunday, July 22, 2012

I Reject Sexual Violence




Sometimes it pays to be a very small business.

Last week was a perfect example. My business development department (Me), sat down with my advertising department (Me) to talk about the results of the new ad campaign.

Business Development: So how are things going?

Advertising: Well, I’ve got good news and bad news…

BD: What’s the good news?

Ads: The good news is that market awareness for the brand has gone up 380% in two weeks.

BD: That’s fucking awesome. So what’s the bad news?

Ads: The bad news is that the vast majority of our growth has been among demographic groups associated with misogyny and sexual violence. Based on the sampling, the marketing department (Me) thinks that people like the FB page because they think our material is about sexual violence, particularly against women.

BD: But that’s not our message! There is no sexual violence in our products. Everything we put out is sex positive and if anything it portrays women from a position of sexual power.

Ads: I’m not disputing that. I’m just telling you what marketing is getting from the data.

BD: Can we be sure about that assessment?

Ads: Nope. But management (Me) doesn’t want to take any chances. We already got that angry letter from that university doctor at launch, remember? The PR department (Me) doesn’t want the Sex and Violence brand to blow up in our faces, so we’re going to scrap it. Management wants us to rebrand the series, tweak the ads and get out in front of this thing before things get out of hand.

BD: Fine. But can all that be done before the August launch? We’ve already got two books in the pipeline and the launch date is Friday.

Ads: It’s not a problem. The creative department (Me) is working on a new tag line and new graphics. The PR department is changing all the bios and I’m going to change the ads as soon as everything is in place. We should be set by the start of business Monday, as long as we don’t get any push back from Facebook.

BD: Fine. So what do you need me to do?

Ads: Go get editorial (Me) to write a blog post about the name change and find a way to make it entertaining…

BD: What’s the new name?

Ads: We’re calling it Sex, Lies and Spies. Later on we’ll shorten it to SLS, but we’ll probably wait for Christmas to do that.

BD: We’ll it’s not as catchy as Sex and Violence…

Ads: It’s not as toxic either and it probably won't get us into any trouble. So get going. We need to have this done before the 26th

So here we are. Let me restate this just to be perfectly clear; some of the stories I write contain explicit sexual scenes. Some of the stories I write contain emotional, physical and psychological violence. But there is no sexual violence in my work. My affection and admiration for women is too high for me to abuse women, even in fiction.

Luckily, my company is small enough to make changes without too much trouble. This is one instance when having a split personality is actually helpful.

Have fun.
G

Sample Pages for Asset Management and Sharing Secrets


If you’d like to get an early sample of my August releases, you can download the PDF’s from the links below.

Rose Mendoza is an ambitious young executive looking to make her mark at the security firm of RSVP. One of her first projects is getting rid of an enticing veteran operator named William Baker.  But as Rose learns about Baker’s plans and his connection to the brutal vigilante Ria Marlen she is pulled into a crisis that could end her career or even end her life.

Sharing Secrets: ($.99)
There are two seductive daydreams in this collection.

The Open Window combines voyeurism and exhibitionism on a cold winter night in New York City that burns away the chill for everyone involved.

Toy Story describes a visit to a sex museum that leads to a man’s first encounter with his lover’s personal playthings.

The full versions officially go on sale July 26 for Kindle. Amazon Prime users will be able to download the books for free.

Have fun.
Gamal

Friday, July 20, 2012

Five Lessons I Learned from the Colorado Dark Knight Shooting


Reports online are stating that a PhD student named James Holmes opened fire in a theater during the premier of Dark Knight Rises in Colorado last night. At this point, none of us know what really happened or why but there are five things that
1.       Appreciate the people in your life today, because they might not be here tomorrow.
2.       Live and love as if you might not be here tomorrow.
3.       Know where the exits are and watch your six, to give everyone a better chance of being around tomorrow.
4.       You can tell a lot about a person’s self interest by the way they respond to events.
5.       I’m going to see Dark Knight next week because my fascination with fantasy heroes is stronger than my fear of realities villains.


Have fun.
G

Monday, July 16, 2012

Your First Look at Sharing Secrets

The new erotic anthology from the Sex and Violence series goes on sale next week. Here is a look at the cover and a preview of the story.

There are two seductive daydreams in this collection.
The Open Window combines voyeurism and exhibitionism on a cold winter night in New York City that burns away the chill for everyone involved.
Toy Story describes a visit to a sex museum that leads to a man’s first encounter with his lover’s personal playthings.
This title goes on sale on Amazon on July 29th. Authors, book reviewers and bloggers who want to write a review for this or any other Sex and Violence title should contact me directly at gamalhennessy@gmail.com for press copies.
Have fun.
Gamal

Your First Look at the Asset Management Story

The new thriller from the Sex and Violence series goes on sale next week. Here is a look at the cover and a preview of the story.

Rose Mendoza is an ambitious young executive looking to make her mark at the security firm of RSVP. One of her first projects is getting rid of an enticing veteran operator named William Baker.  But as Rose learns about Baker’s plans and his connection to the brutal vigilante Ria Marlen she is pulled into a crisis that could end her career or even end her life.
This title goes on sale on Amazon on July 29th. Authors, book reviewers and bloggers who want to write a review for this or any other Sex and Violence title should contact me directly at gamalhennessy@gmail.com for press copies.
Have fun.
Gamal

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Artist’s Struggle with the Normal


“Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand -- a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods -- or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.” Willa Cather
I often get the impression that society uses the government, the mainstream media, priests, and psychologists to enforce the concept of normality. They claim, without any real authority, the power to define what is normal. They use surveys, statistics and selective historical trends to create the illusion of a “typical” man or woman. They preach that normal is inherently good and that all of us should strive to fit our bodies, hearts and minds into the mold that they dictate. Everyone who is willing to forge a new path or question the conventional is discouraged, punished or rejected completely.
At the other end of the spectrum artists, dreamers and hedonists resist this process. We reject what is normal and forge paths that are often bizarre, disturbing and completely fascinating. They are often misunderstood or unappreciated but the power of their voice is undeniable. For better or worse artists fight against the tide of normal in an attempt to forge new paths and create a new reality.
The irony of this struggle is that many of the people who bend to the pressure of normality spend their lives looking up to the rebels…desperately wishing they had the strength and the insanity to join them. Billions and billions of people striving to be normal have lived and died, forgotten in the spectacle of existence. It is the artists and the rebels who lead us, shape our world and live in our collective consciousness long after they are dead.
My hope with the Sex and Violence series is to pull further away from the grip of normal life and forge my own path. I might only succeed in being discouraged or rejected but if there is a chance that someone might appreciate it one day then I can’t ask for more than that.
 "To be nobody-but-yourself--in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else--means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." E. E  Cummings
Have fun.
G

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

First Impressions


The Sex and Violence store has been opened for about a week at this point. Although the books will be on sale as long as Amazon is in business and my experience as a professional writer is in its infancy, there are a few things that I have already learned. There have been some good things, some bad things and some lessons that I have learned. I’d like to share them with you now.
Positives
1.       I set a start date of June 29th and I’m happy to say that the whole project launched on time. I was able to create the website, set up three online stores, set up a FB page and populate all of it with content. When you consider that every other business venture I have ever attempted has been delayed, pushed back or dumped altogether, this is a big accomplishment.
2.       The Amazon.com store is fantastic. There have been no hiccups or issues with the service or the availability of the books. Amazon isn’t really helping me sell the books yet, but that’s really not their job. That’s my job.
3.       I sent an email invitation to 2,500 people last Friday. So far, 500 people opened it. That means 500 people are roaming through the world who know I’m selling thrillers and porn. That might not seem like a lot, but with email marketing the most you can reasonably hope for is a 12-15% open rate. The fact that I got almost double that is impressive.
4.       Once I sent the email some people even wrote back to congratulate me on my new venture. That felt good. There isn’t really much to say after that except Thank you.
5.       A friend of mine who has an online radio program invited me for an interview. Publicity is always good and I’m not a man who turns down the invitation to talk, so that’s a win/ win. More details on the radio interview will be posted soon.
6.       A young lady who read Bedtime Stories and gave me the following verbal review:  “Your erotica is very voyeuristic. I felt like I was in the room with you looking over your shoulder as I was reading it.” I think that’s what I was going for. Score one for the writer.
7.       Other writers on Author’s Den really like my profile picture. That’s understandable, considering how sexy my legs look in that particular shot.
Negatives
1.       In the first week, I’ve only sold a ½ dozen copies. Boo.
2.       In the first three weeks, I have only been able to get 1 dozen likes on FB. No bueno.
3.       So far I have sent out two dozen review requests to independent book critics. All of them were ignored or rejected. Ouch.
4.       I found out the hard way that there is no way to contact top Amazon reviewer directly to request a review
Lessons Learned
1.       I am quickly coming to the conclusion that trying to get online reviews might be a waste of time. This might be accurate, or I might just be bitter because I can’t get a review.
2.       FB ads might be a better bet to generate sales, but so far even though 40,000 people have theoretically seen the ad, only 4 people have clicked on it and no one has bought anything. If you ever see one of my ads on FB, please let me know. I’d like to get independent proof that my ads are actually out there.
3.       If you are an independent writer, your “writing” time is divided in the following manner: DIY publishing is 40% back office work, 40% marketing, 15% research and 5% actual writing. I clearly need as assistant and a sales team. If any of you have any ideas on how to get that for free, I would be happy to steal your idea.
I’m sure I have a long way to go and a lot more to learn about the art and business of writing, but so far the positives outweigh the negatives. I can’t really ask for more than that.
Have fun.
G