Where to Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix, Ghost Notes, and Songs from Memory

I sometimes get asked where people can find my books and music. Here's the most complete list to date.

The best place to buy any of my book-books or my solo CD is my website, where you'll find the best prices, and all of the books are signed.

 Website

Both novels are also available at Powell's online.

Stuck at Powell's
Ghost Notes at Powell's

If you want an ebook of Stuck Outside of Phoenix, there are of course the big, corporate places.

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

The same goes for Ghost Notes.

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

But my favorite place to get either novel as an ebook is Smashwords.

Smashwords

Finally, should you be interested in digital versions of either my solo CD Songs from Memory or Ghost Notes the Audiobook, the best place to buy these is CDBaby.

CDBaby

Both of these digital downloads are also available at places like iTunes, Amazon and the like.

There are many other places to buy all of the above, but these should have you covered for both real-life and digital versions of everything.

Enjoy! 

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Check out the Trailer for Stuck Outside of Phoenix the Movie, which will premiere in Tempe in early 2013.

Or try Stuck Outside of Phoenix in print form for just $5.

Or try Stuck for your Kindle for just $2.99.

The Audio Book Revolution

With all the ebook hype out there, I can't help but notice that few are writing about what I think of as the most exciting new medium for fiction. Yes, you guessed it. I'm talking about texting the contents of your novel from a rooftop while wearing a white suit.



No, not that (although I think there's potential there, too). I'm talking about audio books.

Few commercially-published novelists and non-fiction writers have audio book versions of their works. I feel very lucky to have stumbled into one myself.

I love that The Nervous Breakdown's new book publishing arm will give the audio book the dignity it deserves. That's forward-looking, in my opinion, which is what we've come to expect from The Nervous Breakdown.

If you've never tried an audio book, the beauty of them is as follows:

1) You don't actually have to "read" the book. You just sit there and it reads itself for you. The experience, for me, falls somewhere between reading a book and listening to a play of the book. Unbelievably cool if you've got a long journey ahead of you, especially a driving journey, when your eyes need to be occupied elsewhere.

2) Unlike ebooks, you have more latitude with where you can experience an audio book. Specifically, you don't have to be tied to a computer to listen to your book. If you follow this blog, you know how I feel about being tied to a computer (short answer: it's the biggest downside of ebooks). I usually listen audio books in my truck, but any CD player works, as do iPods.

3) Like ebooks, you can get an audio book right now. Yes, NOW. Many, if not most, audio books are available somewhere on the internet for download. There's no waiting for your CDs to arrive in the mail, no driving to the bookstore. My audio book is download-able at CDBaby for the excruciatingly low price of $4.99. Never tried an audio book before? This might be the cheapest one you'll find anywhere. Give it a shot, and make your next long car, train, or plane zip by.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Try Ghost Notes the Audio Book as an unabridged digital download.

Why Would the Yankees Disparage Little League?

Hey!

The digital download of my unabridged audiobook, Ghost Notes, just came out at Amazon! Take a gander. Read eloquently by voice actor James Lorenz, this is the audio version of my second novel, the same one that just won PODBRAM's Best Contemporary Fiction Award of 2009. You can sample the audio tracks here.

From my poll last week, it looks like most agree that there's nothing inherently vain about any of the paths chosen by our three writers--or they're all vain in the way all writers are vain. One can only imagine what the results might've been if the same poll had been conducted a decade ago, but I'm guessing Subsidy Sam--or "Vanity Vince," as he might have been dubbed--would've fared much worse.

For me, the word "vanity" is greatly overused to describe various kinds of writing and publishing in 2010. Yes, there are vanity presses that have earned that moniker, but I think the professional writer has to ignore the term and focus on the business of what she's doing. Publishing is a business, and if you want to be a pro, concentrate on making pro decisions (better product, fewer dollars, more audience). Do that, and whether you're vain or not will take care of itself.

I've pursued each of the avenues of Novelist Nick, Lit Mag Lucy and Subsidy Sam, and I'm thankful there are so many possibilities in the 21st Century for a writer to get a foothold. Frankly, we need all the avenues we can get.

I used to hope that print-on-demand technology and ebooks would make self-publishing a kind of minor leagues of writing: semi-pros working diligently in the field and hoping one day for the big "call-up." I think they're slowly becoming that. The problem for the professional writer is that these avenues to print are not only becoming the minor leagues of publishing but also the high school leagues, the beer leagues, the pony leagues, Little League, and the pick-up game at the local park. Self-publishing is available to anyone who can string enough words together and has a credit card in his pocket. And guess what? Each of those books gets an Amazon page, just like yours.

Still, the way to distinguish your work from others' isn't to disparage those who are giving publishing a try at some tier other than yours. Do the Yankees disparage the local Little League? Of course not. Why? Because the Yankees know that the local Little League is where people learn the rules--and the beauty--of baseball.

Not only that, but they'd be disparaging their market.

The more people who know and understand good publishing, the bigger the market for quality work, no matter how it's published.

See you at the ball game.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Try Ghost Notes, the award-winning novel, for just $5.

Another Ghost Notes Review/Podiobooks

You can still buy Ghost Notes, Songs from Memory or Stuck Outside of Phoenix at my website for only $5.

Two weeks into the new year, two reviews of Ghost Notes!

This new one is specifically about Ghost Notes the Audio Book, and it's at Curled up with a Good Book. Here's a taste:

"Art Edwards builds his novel with entertaining chapters dedicated to each character's perspective on the situations unfolding. To build better depth to the characters, Edwards focuses short—but crucial—chapters to experiences in from the past, to understand them better and the characters whom they have greatly influenced. The author is also a musician, and his knowledge and passion for music infuses the story with realism."

You can go straight to the review here.

I really like the audio book format--and not just for my work. It's a great way to take in a book that you might not have the time to read, but nonetheless feel compelled to know about. Audio books work well on long commutes, or during exercise. I always have one in the truck, just in case. Right now, it's Five Skies by Ron Carlson.

I've read a lot of discussion lately about whether listening to an audio book constitutes "reading" that book. I don't think it does--it's closer to watching a play, one where the actors aren't visible--but that hardly means it's not valuable or enriching. The story still unfolds, and you get the flow of the language, just like you would if you read the book. I think of the audio book as its own genre, in the same way a play production is a different experience from reading a play. Related, of course, but hardly the same thing.

I envision doing an audio book for each of my novels, but they take a great deal of time and energy to finish. Stuck? Not this year, but who knows what the future brings.

Speaking of the future, I have one other big event planned for 2010, and it has to do with the audio book. I will release Ghost Notes the Audio Book as a podiobook. This is a company that releases audio books in free segments. You will be able to sample any and all segments of Ghost Notes, and over a period of weeks you will get to hear the whole thing.

Don't expect this soon--it'll probably happen sometime around mid-year--but it's happening. I'll keep you posted.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes, the novel or brand new audio book.



Buy Songs from Memory, the album


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix, the novel

See You Next Year!

That's it for me for 2009, folks. I will be packing and cleaning and moving and unpacking and...until the new year, so no bloggedy-blog next week. Let's recap what's happened in 2009, shall we?

First, you can buy Ghost Notes, Songs from Memory or Stuck Outside of Phoenix at my website for only $5 between now and the end of the year.

Second, you can download Ghost Notes the unabridged audio book here.

Finally, you can buy both Ghost Notes and Stuck Outside of Phoenix for your Kindle device.

Next year, I plan to finish my next novel, Good Night to the Rock 'n' Roll Era, plus I have a few other things planned (ebook, anyone?)

Thanks for keeping up with me in 2009, and we'll see see you again in 2010!

Happy new year.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes, the novel or brand new audio book.



Buy Songs from Memory, the album


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix, the novel

How's that Audio Book?

You can now buy the digital download of Ghost Notes the Audio Book at CDBaby.

Sales of the audio book have been going well, but I've gotten very little feedback from you folks.

First of all, did the digital download work like you expected? Did you have any problems at all getting the tracks? I'm curious how fulfillment is going.

And of course please don't be afraid to tell me what you think of the book itself. Is it everything you expected? More? Less? If we didn't get it right this time, we want to get it right next time.

Will there be a next time?

Oh, sure.

When I first announced the audio book, a few of you expressed some confusion. "Why not start with Stuck Outside of Phoenix?" you asked. "It's the first of the series, and that way you can start at the beginning."

Good question. Ghost Notes, as my newest novel, seemed like the right one to bring to life first. I'd already put together some audio excerpts for Stuck, and I didn't feel the urge to go back to that novel just yet. You always like your newest work best. At least I do.

But that doesn't mean I won't do an audio book for Stuck at some point. Again, the beauty of self-publishing. If Stuck Outside of Phoenix had been traditionally published, no publishing house would waste time and money releasing an audio book for such a "small" novel.

But it's mine, which means I can revive or refine or re-work it or any of my books anytime I want, and in any form I want. We'll see what the future brings. Maybe 2010.

For now, I'd settle for some feedback on Ghost Notes the Audio Book.

Oh, and health care reform.



Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes, the novel or brand new audio book.



Buy Songs from Memory, the album


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix, the novel

Ghost Notes Digital Download is Here!

Hallelujah!



After three emails and two hours spent on hold, you can now buy the digital download of Ghost Notes the Audio Book at CDBaby.



This is a big event here in the land where the law is laid down. In case you forgot, this digital download is the unabridged audio version of my second novel Ghost Notes, about five hours of fun, read wonderfully by James Lorenz, and with music mixed in when it's necessary to push to it to eleven.



At the CDBaby page, you'll notice you can sample every track of the download, all 82 of them. Do yourself a favor and click around a lot. You'll get a sense for how much range James Lorenz had to display to take on all 15 or so of the narrators of the novel. This was not an easy task. Thanks go out to him always and forever for doing such a great job.

The purchase price of the audio book is an astoundingly cheap $8.99! Find me another unabridged audio novel for cheaper. Come on, I dare you.

As for Ghost Notes, it just got a fab review!

And you can expect two other reviews coming soon here and here.

So throw Ghost Notes on your iPod, or computer, or burn yourself some disks, and on your next car ride, or plane ride, or jog, you'll have the goods to keep you satisfied. If you don't, you could wind up like Mick Jagger.



Or like that girl dancing at 0:23.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes, the novel or brand new audio book.



Buy Songs from Memory, the album


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix, the novel

What's up for me in 2009 Part Deux

Ghost Notes the Audio Book is now available! You can order it here.

So, the first half of 2009 is coming to a close, and I can't help but look forward to what's coming next.

In a nutshell, I will write, write, write.

I will finish my work-in-progress, Badge, or Good Night to the Rock 'n' Roll Era, by the end of the year. Barring no setbacks, the current draft will be done in September, and I can't imagine more will need to be done after that. This novel is coming in a lot longer than Stuck Outside of Phoenix and Ghost Notes. Actually, it's close to being the length of those two put together. It gets away from Hote, the main character of my first two novels, but still it's a sequel.

I will continue to promote Ghost Notes, which between the paperback and audio book version will see at least two more reviews. (Funny, but something about releasing the audio book has prompted reviewers to request the paperback. Whatever. I'll take it.)

I'm anxious to get a non-fiction book proposal out into the world. I can't give away the title yet, but it's a topic I know intimately. I'll be writing more on it at this blog later in the year.

I will write and polish three or four short stories that have been begging for attention. Hote is not gone forever.

Last, I will be turning Ghost Notes into a screenplay. This was prompted by a friend of mine with some movie connections who believes my second novel would make a great movie. Both of my novels would adapt fairly easily to the format, so I'm making a point to get them down in screenplay form in case someone is interested. Maybe Hote will come to a theater near you someday.

None of this should prevent me from posting here every week. It's what I do. I hope you're cool with that.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes, the novel or brand new audio book.



Buy Songs from Memory, the album


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix, the novel

New Ghost Notes Audio Book Sample!!!

Ghost Notes the Audio Book is now available! You can order it here.

It's great to have a new product out. I grew up in that time when a new CD or book or whatever by a favorite artist meant a great deal. There were a few who I'd make a point to go and buy the day their works came out. I remember buying REM's Out of Time and Kurt Vonnegut's Timequake on the day of their releases. I still manage to buy Dylan's latest, if not on the day of release, close to it. How about you? Are there new releases you drop everything for?

Anyway, I hope that every year I'm able to get something out for you to dig. It feels healthy and right to me somehow. I've been lucky to release no less than four products in the last 16 months. I doubt I'll be able to keep up that pace, but one a year shouldn't kill me.

I've posted a new sample of the audio book at my audio page. This one is an example of music interweaved with the text of the novel. I wanted you to hear it to get a sense of how the music and text work together in parts of the audio book.

If you're like me, listening to audio books can rank about one notch above boredom. I listen to them a lot in the truck on long trips. It's just something to do to keep me from focusing too much on things like how far I have to go and how tired and grumpy I'm getting. It's a nice diversion in a situation where you're lucky to get anything on the radio but Pat Benetar.



Nothing wrong with Pat Benetar, by the way.

But audio books--at least my audio book--brings together two crafts I've spent a great deal of time working on, and it seems to hint at a way audio books can become more compelling to the listener, like a radio play or an all-audio movie. I hope to take this type of interplay much further in the future. I'm already scheming on how to do that.

Until then, enjoy Ghost Notes the Audio Book. It's better than five hours of Pat Benetar.

Or Huey Lewis.



Nothing wrong with Huey Lewis, either.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes, the novel or brand new audio book.



Buy Songs from Memory, the album


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix, the novel

Ghost Notes the Audio Book Now Available!!!

The day has arrived.



You can now buy Ghost Notes the Audio Book at my website.



If you order the audio book--and I hope you do--it will arrive as five burned disks in less than a week, and it will be exactly the same version you'll be able to download from CDBaby and other places in the coming weeks. If you want it now, I want you to have it now. Take a listen to the sample to get some idea of what you're in for.

Until recently, I thought I'd have music in only one or two chapters, but it found its way into six! Anyone who remembers the "musical rendering" performances I did with Stuck Outside of Phoenix knows how much I love to combine the two genres.

This burned edition of the audio book is available for $10, and I suspect that's the minimum of what the online vendors will charge for the download (they all run their own shows, so I can't dictate what they charge).

The same shipping charges apply for all Defunct merchandise, which is $5 for any order under $20. You can avoid the shipping charge by pairing your audio book order with one of my other products. In other words, for $5 more, you can have a real world copy of Ghost Notes, or Stuck Outside of Phoenix, or Songs from Memory. If you already have them, keep an extra copy around to give as a gift. You will not find a better deal anywhere!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the people who made the audio book happen:

James Lorenz. Thank you for your stellar voice talent, your flexibility, and your follow-through. Your great work pushed me to make this better than I probably would have on my own. I am in your debt.

Bret Hartley. Thank you for taking my panicky recording, mixing and mastering calls. No one has been more instrumental in helping me fulfill my producing and engineering potential than you. I'm in your debt (again).

Tim Anthonise and Jim Gerke. Thank you for allowing me to include portions of "Nickel" in the audio book. I am in your debt (again).

So, buy Ghost Notes the Audio Book for that long summer trip, or for your commute to work, or for your iPod, or for your home or home-studio enjoyment. I'd love to know what you think of it. Don't be shy with your comments.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes, the novel or brand new audio book.



Buy Songs from Memory, the album


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix, the novel

Hey, I've got a Gig this Friday!

Get ready for Ghost Notes in Audio Book!!! It's coming your way June 15th!!!

Despite my hectic audio book schedule, the gig is still on! I wouldn't miss it for the world.



It's at a great little coffee shop in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland called Twin Paradox. Entry is free. I'll play two sets, which will include any and all of my original material, and you can bet I'll play your favorites. Drop by and see me for free before your normal Friday night craziness.

You'll be glad to know I'm finished editing the Ghost Notes the Audio Book. I'm incorporating as much music as possible, which has turned out to be one of the fun parts of putting this thing together. I've never heard anything quite like it, which is always the litmus test I put my work through. (If it's derivative, why bother?) There's probably a pretty good reason why people don't incorporate more music into their audio books, but I'm just green enough not to care!

And you've heard the sample, right?

So, all that's left to do is to give the entire book one last listen, break it down into segments, master it, and get it to you. Again, I'll be selling CD versions of it from my Web site next week, and the digital download version will be available through CDBaby before the summer's gone.

So get ready for the gig this Friday, and get ready for Ghost Notes in audio book form in just SEVEN DAYS!

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix

Ghost Notes the Audio Book Sample Up!

Get ready for Ghost Notes in Audio Book!!! It's coming your way June 15th!!!

In case there was any doubt 80s music kicks ass:



Somebody get me that drummer's number.

Finally, I have some Ghost Notes audio for you.

After four months, I'm starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. All of the words have been recorded and most of the chapters have been edited. Now all I have to do is finish editing, get the files mastered--which involves applying some compression, which, thank God, Mr. Hartley knows something about--chop the files up into 3-4 minute segments, and get the files to CDBaby, who will run the show from there. I'll be so glad when it's done and you can hear the whole thing.

But you don't have to wait to get a sample!

I've posted a snippet from the first chapter of Ghost Notes for your listening pleasure at my MySpace Audio page. Come on over and take a listen!

As you might imagine, it's a pleasure, and a bit surreal, to have your characters come to life in this way. I'm thrilled with the results, but I'd be curious to know what you think, especially if you've read Ghost Notes. Does it sound the way you thought it would? How does it compare to other audio books you've heard?

You are my core readers--yes, you--and I'd like to know your thoughts. So don't be shy. Leave a comment or shoot me an email/message.

Also, this sample is supposed to be available as a free download, but MySpace made a change recently to their layout and damned if I can figure out how to download. If you download it, please let me know.

And get ready for Ghost Notes the Audio Book, unabridged, in TWO WEEKS!

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix

Ghost Notes the Audio Book will be Available Through...

Get ready for Ghost Notes in Audio Book!!! It's coming your way June 15th!!!

I've made a decision.

I've decided what company will distribute my audio book.

And the winner is....

CDBaby

I had a few other options, Snocap being the leader for much of the time, but I came to my senses this week.

You see, Snocap charges 20 cents per track per download, which means, if I were to track the book the way I want (3-4 minutes per track), they would charge me something like $12 per sale. That doesn't sound right to me.

So, I went with CDBaby, the Portland-based company that will allow me to track my book the right way.

But there is some downside to going with CDBaby.

With Snocap, I could have the tracks up and available to you within 24 hours of finishing them. CDBaby's process is a lot longer. It could take up to two months for them to get my audio book ready for you to download it. Considering I won't be finished with the project until right before its launch date of June 15th, that would push my launch date into August.

So, what does this mean? Is the audio book going to be late?

No.

The digital download version won't come out for a couple of months after the release date, BUT I will be selling copies of the finished product at my Web site starting on June 15.

This will work just like buying a normal book from me. You'll place the order through Paypal, and I'll burn and mail you the discs. This way, you can still get Ghost Notes the Audio Book in time for that long trip this summer.

Doing it this way is really the best of both worlds for me. I get to arrange the audio book tracking the way I want, I get the best deal (which means I can pass the savings on to you), I can stay true to my launch date, and I can eventually have the audio book available at places like iTunes, which CDBaby administers as part of its digital package.

But we all have to wait a while for the digital download. You can bet I'll let you know when it's up.

And we can watch this in the meantime!



Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix

The Making of an Audio Book

Get ready for Ghost Notes in Audio Book!!! It's coming your way June 15th!!!

First, this:



I just wanted to touch base with all of my loyal readers about the audio book, which--as you've probably picked up somewhere--is coming out June 15. Audio books are a medium reserved primarily for traditional publishing companies, and then only for their biggest sellers. So how am I able to pull it off?

Four things have come together to create a perfect storm of audio book in Defunctland.

1) James Lorenz wanted to do it.

James is a voiceover artist who about three months ago posted on an online bulletin board, saying he wanted to get into audio books. I contacted him, and James, a former rocker himself, signed on instantly. When you hear his reading, you'll realize how lucky I am.

2) I'm self-published.

Being a self-published novelist is SOOO not ideal, but it has its consolations. Owning all of the rights to your book, like audio book rights, is one such advantage. When something like this falls into my lap, I'm free to pursue it.

3) I can edit myself.

Years of tinkering with software like ProTools and GarageBand puts me in a great position to edit my audio book. Ten or fifteen years ago, not so easy, for me and most others.

4) Digital distribution.

When the audio book is ready, there are options that will allow me to get it to you without spending thousands on printing hard copies. I haven't yet decided which company I'll go with, but a couple of options look tenable. Whatever allows me to charge you the least is going to get the nod.

There you have it, the anatomy of a self-published audio book. And you'll be able to download it for yourself FOUR WEEKS FROM TODAY.

I'd better get editing.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix

Ghost Notes Audio Book!!!

First of all, here's this wonderful little nugget:



You like rock 'n' roll, right?

(Who doesn't.)

You like the Beatles.



You like the Rolling Stones.



And you like a good story about rock 'n' roll too.

You liked The Commitments.



You liked High Fidelity.



But reading novels can be kind of a chore, right?

Who has the time? There are so many things to do in a day, and novel reading often gets excised before anything else.

Still, you'd take a good rock 'n' roll story if you came by one, wouldn't you?

Get ready for June 15th!!!

That's the day I will release the audio book version of my second novel, Ghost Notes.

I've teamed up with voice artist James Lorenz to bring you Ghost Notes, unabridged, for your listening pleasure. Now, you'll be able to enjoy it on your iPod, or in your car, or in your studio, or wherever you enjoy audio books. James and I are about halfway through this mammoth undertaking, and it will be ready for your commute to work, or for that long vacation drive, before the first official day of summer.

And we're not cheating, either. James is making an effort to mimic the voices of all dozen narrators of the novel. I've been having a ball listening to what he's been sending me, and you will love it, too.

So, keep some room on your iPod for a new audio book! This will be an electronic-only release--just like iTunes, you'll download it straight to your computer--and I promise you it will be affordable. (Nothing should come out in 2009 that isn't affordable.)

So, whether you've read Ghost Notes before or not, get ready for June 15th. I will announce it here when it's ready.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory


Buy Stuck Outside of Phoenix