Life, The Universe And Everything

Hello dear, dear friends! And you as well.
I hope that you are all having a fantastic day, or at least a day that is better than the recent average.
In a couple of short weeks, I shall discover the secret to life, the universe and everything. This is my roundabout way of saying that it will shortly be my birthday, my 42nd birthday, to be exact, hence all the Hitchhiker's references...
God, I feel old.
Anyway, in celebration of this most auspicious of occasions, I'm making all of my books FREE for the weekend of my birthday, which is the first weekend of March (my birthday being on the 4th).
So that's all 4 of my books, for free, for anyone who wants to download them over that weekend!
They're quite good as well, and don't just take my word for it, positive reviews all round!
And if you'd like to give me a birthday present, I wouldn't object to some more positive reviews and it wouldn't cost you a penny/dime - just saying!
American Author's page
UK Author's page
Goodreads page

I'm currently writing the sequel to Heroes Wanted, which should be released later this year barring unforeseen catastrophe.

I've done a few more paintings, visible in my gallery, and I've opened up an Etsy store where you can buy prints and originals directly from me - check it out here!
If you fancy a commission, just get in touch through the Contact Me page or email ADonnellyArt@gmail.com

There are time-lapse vids of some of the paintings up on my YouTube channel, including my latest effort, a portrait of Chadwick Boseman from the just released Black Panther film, which I'm very excited about (and which I won't get to watch for several months at least).

All of that aside, I've spent altogether too much time watching the Overwatch League on twitch (ESports!), playing Overwatch, and breaking my nose (not an interesting story, I just slipped and face-planted like the clumsy dumbass I am).
Currently also watching Altered Carbon on Netflix - fine bit of cyberpunk sci-fi business, if you like that kind of thing. And don't mind nudity. So much nudity.

That's all for now.
Be excellent to one another, and happy birthday to me!
Al

The Price is Ri...Wro...oh hell, I don't know

Money.  A discomfiting subject, crass and unsavoury, yet a necessary one.
The reason why money is on my mind (and I got my mind on my money) is that I'm trying to work out what the hell I ought to be charging for my first Novel (Crystal Eyes, now available at all good eBook retailers!).
There are several things to balance: how much do I think it's worth? What's the market rate? How low can I price it without seeming to devalue it? How high can I price it without putting people off?

There is no guide out there that says "Yes, this is the correct price!", you just have to try and make it up as you go.  I'm guessing, in other words.
On the one hand, I want people to read and enjoy it, that gives me satisfaction, but on the other hand, I dream of making my living writing novels and a lot of work has gone into the creation of Crystal Eyes.
The thing is, away from the headline grabbers like Rowling, Pratchett and Martin, the marketplaces of the Kindle and iBooks are flooded with other authors just like me and we're all trying to get our books read and, maybe, if we're lucky, get some cash.  It's a minefield and I have no idea what I'm doing.  I have the horrible feeling that no one else does either, despite the number of Guides to Selling Your eBook that are available!
And all of this is before you get into the whole Amazon KDP Select business - I really don't know what to make of that.  Not convinced it's a good thing for a little inde author like myself.
Also, my book's just gone live on iTunes, which I'm thrilled about, except iTunes seems to be entirely ignoring exchange rates - it's 99 cents in the US and 99 pence in the UK.  This means that anywhere else that sells Crystal Eyes in the UK is effectively undercutting Apple and I have no control over how Apple set the price - it's sent to them through an intermediary company called Smashwords.

It's all terribly confusing so, rather than try to puzzle it out, I'm going to make a coffee and Baileys (mmmm) and play Star Wars: The Old Republic (short review: meh. Good, not great, doubt I'll sub to it)