Azoth Khem Publishing

20/08/2024

I just got an email that read, "... our staff has reviewed your book Brutal Riders, and we would like to offer our ghostwriting services to you."

Insulting and greedy isn't a good look.

20/08/2024

Not everything is sunshine and unicorns. Today I take a look at some stuff that completely fell apart.

https://bit.ly/3YLwmng

14/08/2024

There are a ton of book promoters on LinkedIn. Of the many that have accosted me, I found one that has multiple references and a clearly defined budget and plan. I hope to work with him when the Kirkus review goes public. Kim was rightfully skeptical of him at first, but he has answered all my questions, never once tried to sell me anything other than the limited service I'm interested in, and is genuinely funny and polite.

The rest have driven me past the edge of polite discourse. F**k off has become my new catchphrase. One guy sent me eleven hard-sell emails in under five minutes. All of which promised a detailed plan after I paid a deposit, the amount of which would be determined later.

That said, the rest of LinkedIn is a great place for authors. So, I just grin and bear it.

13/08/2024

Hard at work on Book VI of The Brittle Riders trilogy. Between my health issues, both mental and physical, my enthusiasm for writing took a leave of absence. But, recently, I started dreaming about the characters, imaging new scenarios, and revisiting the ending I wrote. That will still be there. Now, I'm having fun scripting the journey.

06/08/2024

Help me celebrate Mrs. McSciFi day, meet new people, check out some cool new digital digs for Azoth Khem, peel back some layers of the onion that makes up my world, and give yourself a respite from the worries of the world.

https://bit.ly/4dxGpQV

05/08/2024

I’m very excited to receive my author copies! About 20 years of research went into the information in the book, but the presentation was a bit more complicated. I am thrilled to see it, hold it, and simply say it made it into the physical realm 🩷

01/08/2024

The Blessings of Lammas
On this first day of August
I celebrate the First Harvest
For a bountiful reaping of the benefits
From all the hard work
That we have sown this Summer
As we watch The Wheel of the Year
Turn on and on!
On this day, we pause to praise
Our Lord and Lady Divine
For the bountiful harvest and
The glory of the fertile Earth.
God has been good to us again this year.
The Sun has shone brightly onto the fields
Brought forth are the grains
And the stalks are filled with ears of corn!
Mother Earth has been fruitful!
Christian Wicca: 20th Anniversary Edition (The Christopagan Series), Nancy Chandler

24/07/2024

Since I have a growing fan club in Africa, I have been asked to take part in this workshop. I'll have appearance schedules and so on soon. If you'd like to advertise message me and I'll get you the contact info.

23/07/2024

Putting the spade to the soil and getting back to work in McSciFi-Land. Still the galaxy's oddest amusement park. Updates on the effects of being in a Kirkus catalog and so much more.

https://bit.ly/4bQ6ARG

19/07/2024

I was chatting with a nice lady author on LinkedIn about Kirkus. She had seen my post about my inclusion in the fall catalog and was confused. Her publisher had told her Kirkus was a scam. I explained how they only accept 10,000 books per year for review. Of those, about 1,000 get a full review. The rest just get discarded. Of the remaining 1,000, approximately 250 will receive positive reviews. All of those are offered space in the seasonal catalog, and usually 100 accept. I mentioned I knew all this since I'd received good reviews on two books and was grateful. Also, I'd passed on the first catalog offer due to conflicts with the copyright owner.

That's when I found out her publisher had submitted her last six books and none had been accepted. Forget about being reviewed. Her stuff is historical erotica. Think Ben Franklin discovering electricity in an unusual manner. Kirkus has a staff that reviews erotica, so that's not the issue.

The issue, as far as I could tell, was her publisher is her cousin and she cranks out three or four books a year. That means no editing, no proofreading, nothing. There is a clientele on Amazon that lauds "raw erotica." They literally want poorly written stuff, so it feels more real.

It's a niche market, but if you crank this stuff out, you can make a few bucks.

I explained how much work goes into one of my books, and she said, "blech." She just wanted the steady money. I told her that was never a bad plan but to stop wasting time with Kirkus. It's most certainly not for her. She then called me a snob and ended the conversation.

Why am I always the bad guy?

Oh well, I write books. Some have s*x scenes, some have battles. Just kidding; all have both. But no Ben Franklin with an electric willie. I hope you're not too disappointed.

18/07/2024

Every day a new fan is born. Is today your turn?

18/07/2024

I posted a question for my doctor. Her assistant wrote me back to remind me the doc bought my book so she could read it on her vacation and would get back to me next week.

I really can't be mad.

17/07/2024

Kim gave me specific instructions as to when I could drink. She did this because she loves me and I had balance issues yesterday. I just finished my third call, talking and everything, with a major producer who thinks my recent accomplishments can get The Brittle Riders made next year.

The tequila's cold and my rep is hot. F**k it. We have ice here too.

17/07/2024

The Brittle Riders was voted the best sci-fi novel of 2022 in the Critters Readers Poll. It then went on to get a stunning review from Kirkus Reviews. Some raw numbers. Kirkus reviews about 10,000 books a year. About ten percent get complete reviews (they won't publish a negative review upon request). About twenty percent of those remainders get good reviews. I've done it twice.

When I found out they wanted The Brittle Riders as part of their fall catalog, you know I wanted in. When I discovered the agent was not only a sales rep but a McSciFi fan, my knees turned to Jell-O.

With the Is now dotted and Ts successfully crossed they will be promoting my book to thousands of librarians, buyers for major chains, film and television producers, all of whom rely on Kirkus to vet the material thoroughly so they don't have to.

As one author I know, kind of famous, said, "I use them, the Obamas use them, lots of famous people use them. Chill. You're in good company."

"Chill" is not the right word. But I am thrilled.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/.../bil.../the-brittle-riders/

15/07/2024

I submit to a lot of anthologies. It's a great way to make a few bucks, get my name out, get stuff out of my head that has no place in my longer works. But, I may need to read the contracts more closely. Above and beyond paying me, which they did,
NecronomiRomCom Anthology is sending me a free copy of the book I'm in and a discount if I want copies for cons. It was well before the pandemic the last time this happened. Who knows, maybe publishers are bouncing back.

Obviously, I hope so.

13/07/2024

As time has trundled on I have gotten further with some production companies and investors than others. The hard cost of getting this done is the biggest obstacle. That has not been the final nail in the coffin, just something that needs to be dealt with. Thus far, universally, everyone likes the script.

One interesting thing has come up, a lot. Apparently, out of all the pitch deck presentations these companies and individuals see, I am the only one who properly sourced my art, i.e. what's original and what's AI. It seems like some creators are trying to slide AI art by like they have that artist on speed dial. And, I can let you know, that pi**es them off. They're like, "If they'll lie about this ..."

While I know many of my friends truly love me and wish me well, I doubt any of you have $20MIL you'd feel comfortable tossing my way. So, I'll keep on keeping on. Oh, and here's a link to my PDF pitch deck. It's a fun read.

https://billmcscifi.com/tbr6.pdf

09/07/2024

Today is our second wedding anniversary. Since you've all been so cool to us, today we are celebrating by giving you free stuff and sharing new cool stuff. Thanks for sharing the ride.

https://bit.ly/3RZjVA7

07/07/2024

I hate when I realize that something I've written is complete s**t. In this case, the underlying story is kind of cool, but that's about it. The ex*****on should be executed. Some day I may revisit it but, for now, it's going on a digital shelf.

28/06/2024

Took a random shot at "Producer Seeks Animated Feature Scripts for $5-12mil Any Location Cast and Script Type" and, well, shucks, they like it. There's a long way to go but you can't get anywhere if you don't take that first step.

27/06/2024

The jury's still out.

18/06/2024

It's good there's no such thing as too much McSciFi as we're truly upping our game. Comics are going to be part of several national cons, books are being featured in thousands of stores, and our newest team member is knocking it out of the park with internet promotions.

All in all, it's a good day to be McSciFi.

https://bit.ly/3KM97kT

17/06/2024

Trinitarian Wicca: Goddesses and Lunar Transformations coming July 4th from Azoth Khem Publishing ~ Blessed Be!

15/06/2024

I was just offered the chance to pay $100 to appear on a YouTube show that has over, hold your breath, 2000 followers. I have more than twice that on my email list and, if you're nice to me, I'll include you for free.

Please be nice to me.

11/06/2024

From Kirkus Book Reviews.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hi Bill McCormick,

Your book, THE BRITTLE RIDERS, was recommended by our editors for inclusion in our Indie Books Worth Discovering promotion this Fall. During one of the busiest times of the year in publishing, we want to highlight the indie books our editors believe deserve extra attention.

04/06/2024

For those of you with large email lists, 2,000 +, allow me to suggest you use SendBlaster. It's inexpensive, under $200 for a one time fee, has an easy learning curve, and is designed to prevent your bulk mails from being read as spam. It accomplishes that last part by spacing out the sends. It takes a little longer but doesn't set off any alarms.

You can personalize your blasts as much as you like or you can do what I do and keep things generic.

The only downside is that it doesn't have any form of spell check.

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04/06/2024

What a freaking week. From some tool trying to steal our car, to the greatest comic book review show ever seen, I cover some ground.

https://bit.ly/4b3K7Al

02/06/2024

Today I heard from a famous producer who likes The Brittle Riders. Yeah, my heart skipped a beat too. Then I realized he wanted to share a pic of his new kitten, cute little gray rescue, and say hi.

So, I said hi back, assured him the kitten was cute, and went back to my day.

22/05/2024

Chatting on the Tweet Box with this nice young lady who reached out to let me know she'd finally found me, peek a boo, and she really liked The Brittle Riders. So far so good. Then she let me know that, for her, the absolute s*xiest character in the book was Xhaknar.

For those unfamiliar with this particular tome, Xhaknar is an eight foot tall, genetically engineered, gray skinned, hairless, super soldier who only finds pleasure in r**e and the physical mutilation of others.

I thought she was punking me, but she went on a little too rhapsodically. I guess she likes those naughty boys.

So, I thanked her for reading my story, wished her well, and backed quietly away from the keyboard.

If you, and only you, would like to read about this s*xy man/beast too, just head over to the Azoth Khem website or mine to download a PDF of Book 1 for free.

Links in comments.