A. C. Ellis - Science Fiction and Mystery/Suspense

by A. C. Ellis
(Denver, Colorado USA)

In Pursuit of the Enemy, by A. C. Ellis

Genre: Science Fiction and Mystery/Suspense

In the 1980's I had two traditionally published science fiction novels (Death Jag, published by Manor Books in 1980, and Worldmaker, published by Ace Books in 1985). Worldmaker was reprinted in Germany in 1993, and about five summers ago it was optioned by an independent Los Angeles film producer. After two years of negotiations, the deal fell through.

What followed was more than twenty years of writing technical manuals for a major telecommunications company, during which I pretty much ignored my fiction writing career. After leaving the big corporation, I attempted to pick up the loose ends of my stalled fiction career.

About that time I learn about iUniverse and the Authors Guild Back-in-Print program. Worldmaker was long out of print by then, so I contacted the Authors Guild and became a member on the the spot. I applied to be included in the Back-in-Print program. The rest, as they say, is history.

I was truly impressed with both iUniverse and the Back-in-Print program. They were professional and extremely helpful. I had input into every step of the process, and even came up with the idea for the cover art. A very enjoyable experience. And, to top it off, under the Authors Guild Back-in-Print program, there is absolutely no cost to the author.

If you have an out-of-print book you are having trouble getting back in print, I highly recommend this program.

After beginning the process of getting Worldmaker into print through iUniverse, I realized I had a perfectly good novel, Soldier of 'Tween, which I had been offering as an e-book for a number of years to good reviews. I hadn't really tried to publish this book in paper format, and I knew that I would have a hard time getting it published traditionally because it had been out there as an e-book. So I decided to go the POD route. iUniverse was quite expensive in any of their publishing plans other than the Back-in-Print program, and Soldier of 'Tween would not qualify for that program. Besides, I wanted to try other POD publishers, to see how they stack up against one another.

I searched around and compared. The one that seemed the best for the money at the time was Booklocker. They seemed more author-friendly than most, and it appeared they would work with the author to produce a quality product.

I was right. Working with Angela Hoy was a writer's dream. She is not only an expert in the POD publishing process, but is extremely knowledgeable about the creative process, as well. And those who work with Booklocker know their stuff. Through them I sub-contracted with a cover designer, and when I was sent a number of cover ideas that didn't really suit my book (but were very good in the generic sense) I was allowed to produce a cover of my own that more closely represented the book's content. Consequently, on Soldier of 'Tween, I got not only the byline for the book, but also the cover art credit.

It all worked out quite well.

Meanwhile, I was just finishing my next writing project. With In Pursuit of the Enemy, I had my first mystery novel, and the first book of an envisioned series. I was still in the POD experimental moo (and mode), so I went looking for a company that did mysteries well. I finally found Infinity Publishing. Their editing process was quite good, and their distribution was excellent.

Again, I came up with the idea for the cover, although this time I did not actually produce the artwork. I was amazed, however, by how closely they had captured my concept when I opened the package containing my proof copy. Really, one fantastic cover!

What I plan is to brand the covers of the Brad Carpenter series books. Each will have a smoking gun pointing out toward the reader, but each will be a different gun. Each will have "Pursuit" in the title. Besides In Pursuit of the Enemy, I foresee Extreme Pursuit, In Pursuit of Justice, In pursuit of Happiness, In Hot Pursuit, In Cold Pursuit, In Pursuit of Honor, In Pursuit of the Past, and, finally, Final Pursuit.

Then came a novel I'd offered as an e-book for five years. It was time to get it into print. I went back to Booklocker for this one, and it turned out as good as the first one with them. Agin, I did the cover art.

I am currently working on the first book of a very dark, very bloody mystery series, the Point series. The titles will be similar to Hollow Point, Point Blank, and Point of No Return.

I hope to publish these books traditionally, capturing an agent and trying for a major pubisher. That's the plan, at any rate.

In any event, I also plan to keep both feet firmly planted in the self-publishing world. Not only does self publishing allow me more control over the packaging of my books, but it allows me complete control over the literary content.

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