Squeee!!!!! Robin Ludwig did an incredible job.

A long time ago, an evil witch cast a spell on the beautiful Ashwyn, creating a Shroud that made her not only virtually invisible but utterly forgettable as well. She needs a champion to break this curse. But it isn't easy to find a man who is strong enough to both give her carnal pleasure and see through the Shroud to remember their time together the morning after.

She's almost given up hope until the prince of the Realm shows up at her keep. Not only does his mere presence make her skin tingle, but he doesn't seem to want to leave.

Can he be the one she's been waiting for?

Length: Novella

Release Date: August 1, 2012

I thought it was cool that Courtney Milan talked about what kind of damages (treble damage) could be imposed on the Settling Three if they fought and lost.

I thought maybe the concept was still a bit vague for some to grasp without a concrete example or two, since antitrust isn't something you see on TV all the time, so here is some basic hypothetical math (simplified for easier understanding; the actual calculation may have other variables involved):

Hypothetical Scenario One:

Big Pub prices all its ebook editions of HC cover releases at $12.99.

If Amazon had been able to discount, many of those ebooks would've been sold at $9.99, since Amazon sold all major bestsellers at $9.99 before the Agency stuff.

So the difference between the agency price and the pre-agency price is $3. That is the harm that's been done to ebook buyers.

Since this is a price-fixing case, which makes it antitrust, the treble damage rule applies.

So the publisher pays $9 for every copy of an ebook sold that Amazon would've discounted (as in, all of its major bestsellers that were released as hardback or trade during this time).

Let's see if these damages are affordable for this publisher.

Under the agency model, the publisher gave 30% of its cover price to ebook retailers.

30% of $12.99 is $4.20.

So the publisher received $8.79.

Out of that, the publisher paid 25% to its authors ($2.20). So the publisher netted a total of $6.59 per ebook.

Forget the attorney's fees or the rent, utility, employee salaries, etc. Let's even assume that all those are $0. Even then the publisher loses $2.41 on every e-book copy sold at $12.99 that would've been discounted to $9.99 under the wholesale model.

Hypothetical Scenario Two:

Big Pub prices all its ebook edition of MMPBs (mass-market paperbacks) at $7.99.

Amazon routinely discounted those to $6.39 (about a 20% discount), regardless of their bestseller status.

The difference between $7.99 and $6.39 is $1.60.

If you triple this amount, it's $4.80 (the treble damage for antitrust).

The publisher received only $5.59 from ebook vendors. Out of that, it paid $1.40 to the authors, which leaves the publisher with $4.19.

So no matter what price you use, the publisher is set to pay more than it ever made on ebook sales under agency if it loses the price-fixing case. And no, they can't say, “We're too poor to pay, so give us a break.” It doesn't work that way.

That's why some aren’t willing to fight the lawsuit — because a settlement does not require them to pay damages that can destroy them (ie, will probably bankrupt them).

You may wonder why the other three are fighting. Maybe Penguin and Macmillan think they have a real chance at winning and so are willing to risk it. As for Apple, it has more money than it knows what to do with, so it's probably not a big deal to lose. (And e-book sales was never its main business.)

I cancelled my order from Toshiba. I won't be getting their custom made laptop due to their ridiculous phone order verification process for all orders. Even if I CALL to order, they have to do the phone verification “due to fraudulent orders.”

Firstly, why even have an online order page in that case? The whole point of buying stuff online is that I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO A PHYSICAL STORE OR TALK TO YOU ON THE PHONE.

Secondly, why have the phone order option available if you have to do the phone verification for phone orders too? I don't know anybody who wants to talk AGAIN to verify their order. It's beyond silly.

Thirdly, insisting that the phone verification system's purpose is to fight fraud is insulting. This assumes that all people who order computers from you are fraudsters. Besides, I can name several reputable online retailers who do NOT do this and still make money. (cough-Amazon-cough-Apple-cough-MegaEggs-cough-Victoria's-Secret-cough-Sephora-cough-wine.com-cough-Godiva-cough)

Finally, Toshiba's lack of customer service lost my loyalty and business forever. When I emailed their support center for the update on my order status (because it was still set to “shipping status to follow”), nobody responded for over 2 business days, despite the fact that their website CLEARLY STATES that they respond all order-related inquiries in 24 hours. When I asked the service rep why the order status wasn't set to “waiting for phone verification” she said, “I don't know.” When I said the custom-made laptop wouldn't arrive on time (since they so kindly screwed around for a week!), she said, “We can expedite the shipping IF YOU PAY EXTRA.”

Their rep insisted that their phone verification system is not only normal but standard for all orders, and that they did nothing wrong by not disclosing that on their website or explaining such an outlandish and cumbersome system (so that people who don't want to be bothered w/ such BS can go elsewhere and not waste their time), and that it was just too bad that they never responded to my email inquiry.

So I told the rep to cancel my order, and not even bother trying to sell me anything else on their website since they don't have anything I want to buy, not with their ridiculous “phone verification system.”

After hanging up with Toshiba's so-called customer support, I went to a company that truly values my business (and money) — Amazon — and bought a Samsung laptop for $120 less than what Toshiba wanted for theirs.

Recently, I happened to look at two blog posts on related themes — the ability to endlessly revise, tweak and change your published story on KDP, PubIt, etc. if you self-publish.

One posted on Dear Author was written from a reader's point of view, who basically does not like this practice at all.

Another is posted on The Passive Voice, written from the point of view of mostly writers who have self-published, whether or not they have traditional publishing experience.

I can't imagine trolling the web for reviews and endlessly tweaking and revising my books, reformatting them and re-uploading them over and over and over again. Firstly, it's unfair to ask my readers to re-read the book they've read once just because I revised it. (That's what betas and critique partners are for.) Secondly, I have other books I need to work on.

I guess in a way it's really tempting to revise when you get a lot of less-than-flattering comments on some particular aspect of your story. But that's supposed to be done before you publish and charge people money, not after.

I have, however, re-uploaded my books before, and it was due to some improvements I made in formatting, to update my bio, etc. So no, my readers don't have to re-read my books to get the latest version of the story.

And now, excuse me while I go try to progress in my work on my works in progress.

Angela James mentioned on Twitter that she quit drinking coffee, and that it made a big difference to her. I wasn't a coffee drinker until I was 27 or so, and up until I got hooked, I'd never really felt the need for it, though I'd occasionally indulged in green tea and Diet Coke.

So I timed my detox period around my vacation in May to Korea. I quit drinking coffee one week before my trip to Korea, then I didn't drink any while I was in Seoul, then voila, two weeks over! :)

I think it helped me fall asleep better. I used to lie in bed, wondering why the hell I wasn’t asleep yet! On the other hand, it's been terrible for me in the mornings when I didn't get to sleep very well, courtesy of The Boy. (I'm wondering if he's teething again — he's due to get his first molars soon — since he's awfully restless at night.)

One thing I'm trying to do is drink more water every day, though I haven't been too good about that. I have no idea why. When I was working my day job, I was drinking over a gallon a day. My coworkers used to joke about my “jug.” I don't think anything has changed that much between now and then. Maybe I'm just old and forgetful now. :oops:

Hello, everyone. Can you believe 2012 is more than half over?

June was a super productive month. Not because it was that special (it was the same old same old), but because I read The Power of Habits, and used some of the tips and tricks mentioned in the book. I highly recommend it to anybody trying to change any bad habits they may have. Best tip for me: before going to bed each night, make a list of what you’re going to do the next day. Then do it. Works wonders.

The sequel to The Last Slayer is with two betas right now, plus I received feedback on my other novel from Agent. As usual, she had some really good comments. :)

And I'm working on the final book in The Last Slayer trilogy since the second book sort of ends in a cliff hanger. So I don't want to have a long period between the second and third book release dates.

I have three main writing-related goals for the month of July:

1. Finish the first draft of Slayer #3 (untitled).
2. Revise the sequel to The Last Slayer per beta feedback.
3. Revise the other novel project per Agent's feedback.

On more personal front, The Boy is walking a bit more now. It's kinda cute. He's not super fast or anything, and his balance is still a bit wobbly, but he’s getting there. :)

And sometime this month, Hero Material is traveling to America on business, leaving me alone with The Boy for about six days. In Japan, you traditionally bring omiyage (souvenirs) for your friends, family, etc. after a trip outside the local prefecture. What should I ask him to bring? :)

Finally, I'm trying to read some really intensely romantic romance novels. If you have any recommendations, please comment and let me know! :)