Making the Rounds

Part of the book business has always been marketing. Until recently, however, it was never MY part. Oh,sure I served my time at plenty of signings where I was mistaken for a gift wrapper or other-type employee at whatever store I was at. I talk up my books whenever I can, but there was always a department somewhere I figured was pulling the real load where it came to marketing. Big publishers have those departments, right? Well, yes but they're busy making sure everyone knows about Snookie's newest masterpiece.

So here I am at AF and the marketing is up to us. Turns out it's not so bad. I signed up with Twitter today. I know it's been the craze for quite a while and all the cool kids are doin' it, but I don't usually play well with others. That's why I've dedicated so much time to making up people to play with. If you want to check me out on Twitter, I'm at @Marcpelegrimas. Yes that was two "at's" and no I don't usually go by Marc. It was either that or @MarcusPelegrima. The first one looked better.

Now that  I've entered the Twitterverse or whatever, I've got ANOTHER place to talk about what food is capturing my interest or how much I hate mowing my lawn. Lucky Twitterverse, right?

ICON? LEGEND? OH, BOY!

    

     Yes, when you’ve been around as long as I have people start throwing around names like Icon and Legend. I say, oh boy. It’s just me. And I ain't that old! While Booklist may have said that I may be the last of the pulp writers, it certainly doesn’t mean that I’m on my last legs.  And while my output of novels may be nearing 600, I’m far from done. So here I am, joining with two youngsters, Marcus and Matthew, who show tons of talent and promise, to take advantage of the new technology.

      While I HATE Kindle and Nook as a reader, because I LOVE holding books in my hands, I do recognize that we as writers now have a new outlet to take advantage of. So I will do my best to entertain, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do.  When I’m writing The Gunsmith series as J.R. Roberts, or Rat Pack mysteries under my real name, or launching a new Peacemaker series right here at the Adventure Factory, I hope you’ll agree that I’ve got a lot of entertainment left in me. And I’m going to do a bunch of it at the Adventure Factory.

And here..we.....GO!

When you're a writer these days, it's easy to get wrapped up in a myriad of things apart from writing actual books. There's marketing, publicity, sales figures, formatting, bullet points, and a whole mess of other crap that reminds me how many marketing, publicity, sales and bullet point creating classes I skipped in college. Those things are necessary evils when publishing your stories independently, but that don't mean I've gotta like 'em!

Seeing this site brings me back to why I do what I do. It's fun! Put all the audience analysis and marketing surveys aside. Writing about mechanized hitmen and building impossible gadgetry is EXACTLY what I signed up for when I committed my life to this craft. I feel like I'm in good company here. No, I feel honored to be in the company of these two at Adventure Factory and I'm looking forward to supplying some good books for your perusal.

Plus, we get to spout off about whatever is on our minds. Could be about our own books. Could be about each other's books. Could be about movies. Could be about a flavor of M&M that simply shouldn't exist. I'm just excited to see where this site takes us and, more importantly, I'm pumped to write some Tommy Gun shootin', airship explodin', trans-dimensional ebook goodness!

I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!

The Triumvirate of Toughness

Howdy, fellow adventure lovers, Matthew P. Mayo here. I am pleased and proud to be part of this Meeting of the Mighty Minds, this Triumvirate of Toughness the world will come to know as … The Adventure Factory. 

The legendary Robert J. Randisi, the all-powerful Marcus Pelegrimas, and I hope to dazzle and wow readers with stories of … well, take a wee tour through the foundations of this site and you'll see just what we'll be up to. It's going to be a cyber-candy shop of kickassedness. 

My own offering, a series of short, action-packed novels featuring my character, Roamer (a misunderstood hulking loner who is on a quest to lose himself in the West), wasn't supposed to be my debut offering to The Adventure Factory. But a funny thing happened on my way in to pop rivets one day…. 

I recently revised and expanded my 2008 novel, WRONG TOWN (Roamer's first appearance), now called WRONG TOWN (ROAMER BOOK 1) and people are doing what they did when the original came out -- they're digging Roamer's action! I couldn't be happier because writing adventures with and for Roamer is some of the most fun I've had as a writer. Good thing, too, as I've received a pile of letters (e-piles, I tell ya!) asking for more Roamer adventures. His next full-length adventure should be ready in late Fall/early Winter 2012. For now, I can tell you that Roamer will be jumping from a sizzling hot frying pan right into brutal flames. The man just cannot keep himself out of danger. 

And if that's not enough Roamer for readers, the series is crossing over with a series of short stories featuring Roamer's mentor, the crusty mountain man, Maple Jack. So far there have been four of these gritty tales with another few planned for release in the near future. 

That's it from me for now, but I welcome you to The Adventure Factory. Feel free to wander around the factory floor, rummage through the bins of pieces and parts, cadge a butt from the maintenance guy…. But watch your head on those low I-beams--they'll leave a mark. See you back here soon. 

Factory doors about to open....

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost a year since my last post. There's neglecting a blog and then there's a YEAR BETWEEN POSTS!!! Heh. Actually, there's been a whole lot crammed into this last year. Bob and Matt will be posting soon to speak for themselves (although it may take a bit longer for Bob. Tech-impaired, you know), but I have been busy getting a lot of projects together. First on the list was the premier installment in my new series, The Gillis Ledgers. I'm so pumped about this one. You can read the blurbs for yourself but it's basically a mash-up of all kinds of things that make my nerdy heart quiver with delight. There's action, adventure, bizarre tech, daredevil heroes, gangsters, airships, particle weapons, you know...the Good Stuff.

Second, I've been learning the ropes with the whole ebook thing. Don't get me wrong, I've had a Kindle for a while. Griped about it at first since I do love having a real book in my hands, but I quickly fell in love with the format. I'm an expert at buying them. Writing....I've been doing that for several decades. Publishing...that's a different story. Now it's time to make the marketing rounds, so I'll hopefully see you guys out there on the webs.

Third...this site! Adventure Factory is a spot where our readers can come for news about our series, hear some thoughts from the authors, and get news about upcoming releases. Not only are there links to purchase the books, but there are links to Bob, Matt and me as well. Email us, let us know what you think about the books. Most of all, keep checking back for updates and other stuff. One of us will always be checking in to keep new stuff flowing through here. Blog posts, links to interviews, racy photos of the authors, music videos of us at Karaoke night. Ok, maybe those last two were a stretch, but you get the point.

Welcome to AF!
Enjoy your stay!
Tell your friends!

Marcus