When Writers Compete With Themselves

       Hey, everyone, and particularly those writers that read the blog. I had occasion yesterday to do a search of my own name and discovered that certain places on the web were offering my books as a free and paid download. Places that I didn't know existed.
     For instance, one return on the search was for "The Centaur Series" on megashares.com. Another return on the search was from an outfit called filestube. Another search return comes from firstload.com.
    To get to the actual web pages on some of these I guess you have to be signed in to a user account. On one of these sites, I clicked a box that stated 'report abuse'. I then read through a long statement of legalese designed to scare away complainers.
      I found it interesting that on one of the search results, it was specifically mentioned that it was a kindle edition. Fascinating. So, do they buy one ebook off Amazon and upload it to one of these sites, selling it and keeping the profits? Or post the books for free, then use them as a scam, a come-on to steal user data? The threats on the legalese statement are designed to make you wary of filing a complaint without a lawyer, knowing a certain percentage of folks don't have the money for a lawyer, so they go on their merry way.
    I read Mark Coker's posts, over on the Smashwords site, and I've heard him mention things of this nature, but it was an eye opener when I saw it with my name. In a very real way, it appears that I am competing...with myself.
   The bottom line of this story for those of you who write: do a search for yourself, you may find surprises.
    I'm CE Wills, and my books are really available in a lot of places.

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Four Free Games

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Shadowgun: Killing The Windbreaker

Hey, everyone. I thought it might be a good time for a bit of an update on the riveting game called Shadowgun. Consider this your spoiler alert and tune out if you want to. Once you get past the dreaded Driller, things get better but you are certainly not out of the woods. You will want to make sure you keep a full clip in your gun as you stroll through the realm of the evil and crazy Dr. Simon. But hey, you're John Slade, the Shadowgun, and wherever you set your foot is the place to which your authority extends. I love the way that some of the barriers disintegrate under the impact of bullets. I didn't learn this at my mother's knee but I darn sure know it now. I have learned that there are certain places it is good to plan on using the rocket launcher. Keep your stock of those filled. There are these transporter guys who are aggressive punks. The only way they respect you is if you kill them, so that's the way I roll. As...

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