Sticking It to the Man

 I’ve made no secret of my disenchantment with the publishing industry. Last year I cancelled all my contracts and resolved to self-publish again. I had just about finished moving everything over to Kindle Direct Publishing when Amazon owner Jef Bezos showed how craven he truly was and began to humiliate himself more each day paying fealty to the incoming Felon-in-Chief. I have now pulled everything from Amazon, though the listings still survive due to used bookstores. Books sold under my name in Amazon will NOT send any money my way. Please ignore them. I have a better deal for you.

All my books, as well as a handful of short stories, are now available for free download on my web site. Three formats are available: PDF. MOBI (for Kindles), and EPUB (for Nook and other e-reader platforms). Go to the page with the book you want (links below), click the appropriate button, and the book will download to your computer, tablet, or phone at no cost to you.

Why am I no longer making even a token effort to sell my books? The only thing I enjoy about being an author is the writing and discussing the craft with other authors. Nothing – not a goddamned thing – about publishing or marketing gave me any pleasure at all. What was necessary to get my writing to the public became more tedious every day. I wasn’t making any money from writing, and I’m retired, so it wasn’t like I was trying to build a career. I’d rather spend more time writing than wasting it on marketing and the myriad of other publishing-related pains in my ass.

This means there won’t be any more print versions of my books, which is why I made PDF copies available. Whether or not you have an e-reader, if you’re reading this, you can read a PDF file.

For those who feel cheated at not being able to spend money on my books, there is something you can do for me. As I have removed myself from Amazon and Goodreads (an Amazon subsidiary), there is no place to post reviews. If you read a book of mine and like it – or don’t, either way – feel free to post a brief comment on social media; you can tag me if the comment appears on Facebook or Bluesky. Or you can drop me a line at danakingcrime@gmail.com. I promise to get back to you.

Below are all the books available, in order by series.

The Nick Forte Private Eye Novels

A Small Sacrifice. Forte is asked to look into a cold case. Very loosely based on the Jon-Benet Ramsey murder. Shamus Award nominee for Best Indy PI Novel.

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of. Forte is hired to protect a ham actor, who is then murdered. My tribute to The Maltese Falcon.

The Man in the Window. The most music-oriented of the books, as Forte investigates the murder of a member of the Chicago Symphony. Nominated for a Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original.

A Dangerous Lesson. Forte is drawn into a serial killer investigation.

Bad Samaritan. Forte is inadvertently involved with toxic men’s rights activists.

Off the Books. Forte stumbles onto a human trafficking ring while investigating a fender bender.

The Penns River Novels

Worst Enemies. Penns River rarely has two homicides in a year. Two in a week is a problem.

Grind Joint. A new low-end casino that is supposed to provide economic growth causes more problems than it solves.

Resurrection Mall. A religious-themed shopping center becomes a focal point in a drug war.

Ten-Seven. A seemingly random shooting in the casino parking lot leads to unexpected problems.

Pushing Water. A mass shooting is not as clear-cut as it appears.

Leaving the Scene. A hit-and-run defies solution, as a changing of the guard and competing priorities distract the police.

White Out. A Black officer shoots an apparently unarmed white supremacist. More than a foot of snow and a poker tournament with a million-dollar cash prize coincide with the funeral.

The Spread. A high school football betting scheme leads to murder.

Standalones

Wild Bill. A decorated FBI agent is frustrated when the investigation he thinks will be a capstone to his career is derailed by a mob war. (Not a Western.)

Dead Shot: The Memoir of Walter Ferguson, Soldier, Marshal, Bootlegger.  The “memoir” of a man who lived through, and helped to shape, both the opening and closing of the frontier. (Is a Western.)

Free e-books make great gifts for any occasion, or none. Don’t hesitate to forward the links of those you think people will like, or e-mail them the book file itself. I want folks to enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them.