My social media followers are probably sick of hearing me babble about my new novel, Butterfly Stomp Waltz. But it’s relevant here.
Last fall, I attended a Kris Rusch writing workshop. One result was a heist crime short story. Many people liked it and wanted more. Kris’ comment was (paraphrased), “This is a fine story as it is, but really, it wants to be the start of a novel.”
So I wrote BSW. People seem to like it. Now I’ve put the original short story up as a freebie. It’s a modern heist crime tale.
50% John McClane
50% Robin Hood
100% trouble
Reeling from the death of her lover and partner, freelance “exfiltration specialist” Billie Carrie Salton breaks into a high-tech, high-security biotechnology firm to steal their sickle cell anemia cure and broadcast it to the world.
In, out, announce. Easy.
Except Salton’s life never works that smoothly…
You can get Butterfly Stomp at Kobo, iBooks, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon CA, and the myriad other national Amazon branches.
The cynical among you probably think that this is a marketing ploy, to get you to buy the novel. You wouldn’t be wrong. There’s a note at the end of the story that says “If you want more, get the novel!” But offering a small freebie is a good way to let people try your work. It’s why Costco gives away tastes of cheese and chocolate and fried calamari. And I don’t just want readers–I want customers. Repeat customers. That means making it easy for people who like the sort of thing I write to find my work.
I can attest that Costco’s cheese marketing plan works quite well, at least in my case. And I believe in learning from the greats.
