Free fantasy short stories

UtterInanity · 10-13-2009, 02:57 PM

Hi all,

While editing my novel, I've been writing some short stories, for a couple of reasons:

a) So I'm writing something to keep my creative mind in gear, and
b) To understand some of my characters better by exploring their stories before they join the main flow of events in the book.

And what fun would writing these stories be if I didn't share them?

So, I set myself up a website and started posting the stories at a rate of one page a day, five days a week. One story has completed so far, with another about halfway through.

For the impatient among us, the stories are also posted on Smashwords for the low low price of $0.99 each, so you can read the whole thing before it's on the website.

But because I like you (and I know some people hate reading fiction on a website), I have a coupon for the first story, Bayett. Enter the code AU36P and get it for free in any format you like until November 13th, 2009.

Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think.
-Richard

UtterInanity · 11-11-2009, 05:29 PM

I'll take the lack of responses as a compliment. I'm optimistic that way.

In recent news, I've finished the second story now, and about to start on the third. For any who were turned off by the content of the first two, this next one is somewhat lighter.

In keeping with tradition, I made a coupon for the Smashwords version of "Sasha", the second of my short stories: SS76W gets you a free short story about death, betrayal, and assassination.

You can download it here, or view it online (along with the other stories) here.

Enjoy!
-Richard

dreams · 11-11-2009, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UtterInanity

I'll take the lack of responses as a compliment. I'm optimistic that way.

Enjoy!
-Richard

Richard, Thank you for offering the coupon for your work.. and,well, the lack of response...

I can only speak for myself, but I'm finding the pages of new posts I view each day to be quite a few pages. I still find myself missing posts that I would be interested in. Plus, I know that a lot of our member/authors are involved in NaNoWrMo right now so the normal amount of bumps that would bring up a thread to the first pages are a bit less right now.

Don't be discouraged by the lack of responses (I see that there were about 222 views of your post). I find that I am reading and not responding to various threads just because I want to catch up.

again. We really do appreciate author/members who share their work and participate in the forums.

columbus · 11-12-2009, 06:31 AM

Thank you for sharing your work Richard. I've downloaded both books and added them to my tbr list.

Sadly not everybody will post a response - even if they have downloaded your books. Check Smashwords to see how many have, it may be more than you think.

UtterInanity · 11-12-2009, 11:46 AM

Heh, I'm just glad nobody's told me that the quality of my writing makes them physically ill.

Yet.

koland · 11-13-2009, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UtterInanity

Heh, I'm just glad nobody's told me that the quality of my writing makes them physically ill.

Yet.

Perhaps that is what is deterring them from posting.

Watch out once they get well.....

Seriously, thanks for posting. I suspect most, like me, have such a stack we just haven't gotten to them.

UtterInanity · 11-13-2009, 12:02 PM

If only that were true!

No doubt there would be quite a demand for such powerful prose.

ASparrow · 11-14-2009, 01:03 PM

Thanks for the download. I can certainly vouch for the problem of lagged response. I'm a slow reader with a large backlog. I actually write faster than I read.

UtterInanity · 12-02-2009, 12:45 PM

Another month, another story.

This one is about Edwin, a Storyteller with a secret life even he doesn't know about.

Download it here, free with coupon code HW62E.

It's slightly tamer than the last two, in that there's no explicit violence. Only implied violence.

New story starts tomorrow at http://stories.osterin.com.

Hope you enjoy it,
-Richard

dreams · 12-02-2009, 03:38 PM

Thank you for sharing with us, Richard. I had already picked up Edwin the last time I did a purchase at Smashwords. It's still on my TBR list for winter break.

I plan on making a big dent on my list during break.

Latinandgreek · 12-02-2009, 04:07 PM

Thanks for the stories, I will be checking them out, the glance I've had at your web-page assures me that they will be interesting.

UtterInanity · 12-27-2009, 12:18 PM

A belated holiday gift for you: download "Tori" for free at Smashwords, with coupon code CC87W.

It's one of my less violent stories, about a girl who tries to save her father's life.

New story starts tomorrow at http://stories.osterin.com

It has dragons!

Well... kind of.

-Richard

GoblinWriter · 12-27-2009, 11:46 PM

Dragons rock.

Good luck with your stories, Richard.

Are folks finding them via the Smashwords marketplace? That's the one associated with the Sony Reader, isn't it? I was thinking of doing the same thing with some short stories but am intimidated by the real books (published via houses), heh.

UtterInanity · 12-28-2009, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoblinWriter

Are folks finding them via the Smashwords marketplace?

Short answer: no.

Long answer:
If you want people to find your stories, that's not the place to do it. What it is good for, however, is providing a place that you can link to. It's also good in that it automatically converts your stories into all kinds of formats (not just the Sony Reader).

I'm not certain of the ratio of published via houses vs. not, but there are a lot of books on there. You will be drowned out unless you do some marketing elsewhere (or get really lucky).

With that said, I still think it's a good idea. Just don't count on people finding you through the site.

Also: Dragons do rock. Especially tiny green sarcastic ones.

UtterInanity · 02-02-2010, 04:24 PM

The story "Nik" has completed and is now available for free at Smashwords with the coupon code BD26E .

New story has started at http://stories.osterin.com . It's a long one - it's going to take more than six weeks to get through - but I think it's the best so far.

One thing that's been interesting about this whole endeavor is how well it's worked. It seems (in my admittedly biased opinion) that my writing's improved dramatically over the course of these stories, and my understanding of the characters has certainly increased as well.

In any event, hope you enjoy.
-Richard

10-13-2009, 02:57 PM	#1
UtterInanity Member Posts: 24 Karma: 58 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex DR1000S	Free fantasy short stories Hi all, While editing my novel, I've been writing some short stories, for a couple of reasons: a) So I'm writing something to keep my creative mind in gear, and b) To understand some of my characters better by exploring their stories before they join the main flow of events in the book. And what fun would writing these stories be if I didn't share them? So, I set myself up a website and started posting the stories at a rate of one page a day, five days a week. One story has completed so far, with another about halfway through. For the impatient among us, the stories are also posted on Smashwords for the low low price of $0.99 each, so you can read the whole thing before it's on the website. But because I like you (and I know some people hate reading fiction on a website), I have a coupon for the first story, Bayett. Enter the code AU36P and get it for free in any format you like until November 13th, 2009. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think. -Richard

11-11-2009, 05:29 PM	#2
UtterInanity Member Posts: 24 Karma: 58 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex DR1000S	I'll take the lack of responses as a compliment. I'm optimistic that way. In recent news, I've finished the second story now, and about to start on the third. For any who were turned off by the content of the first two, this next one is somewhat lighter. In keeping with tradition, I made a coupon for the Smashwords version of "Sasha", the second of my short stories: SS76W gets you a free short story about death, betrayal, and assassination. You can download it here, or view it online (along with the other stories) here. Enjoy! -Richard Last edited by UtterInanity; 11-11-2009 at 08:34 PM. Reason: Wrong coupon code

12-27-2009, 11:46 PM	#13
GoblinWriter vizsla wrangler Posts: 73 Karma: 120000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Seattle Device: Kindle 3G	Dragons rock. Good luck with your stories, Richard. Are folks finding them via the Smashwords marketplace? That's the one associated with the Sony Reader, isn't it? I was thinking of doing the same thing with some short stories but am intimidated by the real books (published via houses), heh. Last edited by GoblinWriter; 12-27-2009 at 11:49 PM.

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11-12-2009, 06:31 AM	#4
columbus Wizard Posts: 999 Karma: 5487540 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: In my own imagination. Device: Sony Prs 650, 505	Thank you for sharing your work Richard. I've downloaded both books and added them to my tbr list. Sadly not everybody will post a response - even if they have downloaded your books. Check Smashwords to see how many have, it may be more than you think.

11-12-2009, 11:46 AM	#5
UtterInanity Member Posts: 24 Karma: 58 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex DR1000S	Heh, I'm just glad nobody's told me that the quality of my writing makes them physically ill. Yet.

11-13-2009, 12:02 PM	#7
UtterInanity Member Posts: 24 Karma: 58 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex DR1000S	If only that were true! No doubt there would be quite a demand for such powerful prose.

11-14-2009, 01:03 PM	#8
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	Thanks for the download. I can certainly vouch for the problem of lagged response. I'm a slow reader with a large backlog. I actually write faster than I read.

12-02-2009, 12:45 PM	#9
UtterInanity Member Posts: 24 Karma: 58 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex DR1000S	Another month, another story. This one is about Edwin, a Storyteller with a secret life even he doesn't know about. Download it here, free with coupon code HW62E. It's slightly tamer than the last two, in that there's no explicit violence. Only implied violence. New story starts tomorrow at http://stories.osterin.com. Hope you enjoy it, -Richard

12-02-2009, 03:38 PM	#10
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,112 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	Thank you for sharing with us, Richard. I had already picked up Edwin the last time I did a purchase at Smashwords. It's still on my TBR list for winter break. I plan on making a big dent on my list during break.

12-02-2009, 04:07 PM	#11
Latinandgreek Warrior Princess Posts: 5,038 Karma: 9724231 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad, Aura HD	Thanks for the stories, I will be checking them out, the glance I've had at your web-page assures me that they will be interesting.

12-27-2009, 12:18 PM	#12
UtterInanity Member Posts: 24 Karma: 58 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex DR1000S	A belated holiday gift for you: download "Tori" for free at Smashwords, with coupon code CC87W. It's one of my less violent stories, about a girl who tries to save her father's life. New story starts tomorrow at http://stories.osterin.com It has dragons! Well... kind of. -Richard

02-02-2010, 04:24 PM	#15
UtterInanity Member Posts: 24 Karma: 58 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, iRex DR1000S	The story "Nik" has completed and is now available for free at Smashwords with the coupon code BD26E . New story has started at http://stories.osterin.com . It's a long one - it's going to take more than six weeks to get through - but I think it's the best so far. One thing that's been interesting about this whole endeavor is how well it's worked. It seems (in my admittedly biased opinion) that my writing's improved dramatically over the course of these stories, and my understanding of the characters has certainly increased as well. In any event, hope you enjoy. -Richard

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