Friday Feature: Journeys Toward Publication and Beyond: Anita Miller and Her 99 Cent E-books

December brings with it so many things. An end to a month long marathon of writing for many, a festival of lights, and a jolly old man dressed in red delivering presents. A sense of wonder and magic. Snuggled securely between Thanksgiving and New Years, December is a celebration. A celebration of the people in our lives who are doing great things.

In this vein, I bring to you a Friday Feature with Anita. I feel honored to count Anita a friend. I have always found her blog posts succinct, thoughtful, and interesting. I love her point of view. So it was no surprise to me that I would love her books.

Anita Laydon Miller is the author of two $.99 ebooks for kids ages 8-12, EARTHLING HERO and A SCARY GOOD BOOK. Anita is also the book columnist for the COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE and is working on her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction.

Anita, welcome back! Bring us up to speed on what has happened to you since we last checked in, in March, 2010. Has it really been that long?

Egads! What hasn’t happened?! I found an agent, started an MFA, dropped an agent, independently epublished two books, and survived dengue fever. It’s been awesome.

A whirlwind, for sure! Everything sounds awesome except for the bout with the fever. Although I'm sure that is fodder for some book down the road. Tell me about the epubbing. How’s that been?

I think what most people want to know is have I sold any books. Well, my CEO (Husband) and I have done a horrible job of keeping track of sales. We’ve got four mouths to feed and gardens to take care of, and hairs to shave, buuut, I will say I’ve sold at least several hundred books. I sell books every day…though in October there were some Saturdays in which I didn’t sell any. Weird.

The short answer is that epubbing has been a blast. I’m selling books to people I don’t know. And while I haven’t gotten a ton of reviews, the ones I have gotten are pretty darn good. And I don’t think I’ve had any relatives post reviews. I’m going old-school that way.

Also, my ebooks are for kids ages 8-12, middle grade. Everybody keeps saying that’s the toughest emarket right now. I hope to kick some serious butt this Christmas and prove “everybody” wrong.

Anita, I think it is so awesome that you are finding success selling ebooks to the Middle Grade crowd. What are your books about?

First, let me say the books are $.99 each. They’re worth more, but it’s not about the money for me. Frankly, I grew up without a lot of cash and was very happy. And my family’s comfortable now, so I’m even happier. I’m not trying to pay the mortgage with my ebooks. Of course, I’d love to sell millions…who wouldn’t?…so maybe I should get back to the question.

EARTHLING HERO is a sci fi. A boy, Mikey, wakes up in the middle of the night and a kid’s standing next to his bed. The kid looks exactly like Mikey. Turns out it’s his alien clone, and together (with the help of the clone’s sister), they’ve got to save the world. There’s a lot of adventure in the book…Mikey and his clone break into NORAD, fight Chinese assassins and search for an evil alien’s lair in the Garden of the Gods. Cool stuff.

A SCARY GOOD BOOK is a mystery. A girl, Hannah, finds secret messages in library books--words underlined by someone who needs her help. This is the kind of book I loved as a girl. It’s got mystery, creepiness, and a touch of romance. And lots of plot layers.

Anita--I know you always have something amazing in the works. What are you working on right now?

I just finished the first draft of a YA. It's difficult for me to to talk about, because a high school friend of mine just killed himself, and suicide is a big theme in the YA.

Last year, 867 people committed suicide in my home state of Colorado. I knew this was an issue and I wanted to write a powerful book about it...a powerful book that would not OVERpower.

So I have this teenage girl, Olivia, who moves to Colorado from Buffalo with her mom. They move into a home that belonged to Olivia's grandfather, who recently died. The home is on a large piece of land with a cliff at the back. People from all over the region have, over time, come to commit suicide at the cliff. Olivia's grandfather saved hundreds of people who came to the cliff to die. He leaves Olivia five stories about specific jumpers and asks her in a letter to take over his job of saving people.

The girl wakes up her first morning after reading the letter and sees a boy at the cliff. She thinks he's a jumper and she runs outside to try to stop him. Only he isn't jumping, he's just visiting the spot where his brother jumped the year before. Olivia and the boy, Noah, fall for each other.

So, the book is about all sorts of things...suicide, yes, but also love and forgiveness and hope. I balance the serious themes with what I'm hoping is genuine humor. I absolutely love this book. It means a lot to me.

That sounds equally intense and wonderful, Anita. I can’t wait to read it. Any last words?

Just that this is an awesome time to be a writer. There are so many options, so many opportunities. I say, let’s embrace them all, see what good words we can throw out to readers. Let’s do this, people!

Let’s do this is right! Thanks Anita, for the fab interview. And I’m sure that everyone has burning questions for Anita about her books and how she epubbed them. Feel free to give Anita support in the comment section, or ask her a questions. She’ll stop by and give us her insight.

Want to give Anita other kinds of love?
Here’s the link love:
Anita’s Blog
Her Middle Grade Blog
Anita’s Website
Buy Page for Anita’s 99 Cent Books


Oh, and after you ask Anita a question in the comments, and check out her books and blogs, make sure to stop by Lynn’s blog to help Anita come up with a new character name!

Monday Meeting and Anita's Middle Grade Release, A SCARY GOOD BOOK

Hello all! It's the very last week of the Tour de Writing. You have until midnight on Friday to write enough words to win a PRIZE!

And, to give you even more motivation, Anita's latest self-pubbed kids' ebook, A SCARY GOOD BOOK, is released. See what you can do with your wordcount?

Cool cover, huh?

Here's the blurb:

Twelve-year-old Hannah Stone tells everyone she’s “okay,” but that’s a total lie. Two years ago her dad was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The detective in charge of the case never found the driver, but he somehow managed to get Hannah’s mom to fall in love with him. The jerk. And speaking of love, Hannah’s developed a major crush on Ollie Ortega—he’s her best friend and the only one she can talk to—a crush on Ollie is so not a good idea. 

Also not a good idea? Searching for a missing person with no help from the police. But that’s exactly what Hannah does when she finds messages in library books—underlined words that point her in the direction of someone who needs her. 

And, suddenly, Hannah’s even further from okay. She breaks into a library, gets caught in a kidnapper’s web, and is stalked by her dad’s killer, all in an effort to save a life…but can she save herself, too?

Sounds thrilling! And priced smartly at 99 cents. I absolutely loved Anita's last ebook--EARTHLING HERO, and can't wait to download this book to my NOOK (although I read Earthling Hero on my computer--you don't need an e-reader to read an ebook). 

Now that I know what my reading plans are this week, let me think about writing plans. Oh, yes. I plan to pull ahead enough in the ranks to snag a jersey by Friday. What's your plan?

I was hoping to put up standings this morning, for the Tour, but I am taking the kids to the National History Museum in Boston. So, stay tuned for standings tomorrow, the announcement of the last two prizes on Wednesday. Big stuff this week! 

Friday Feature: Journeys Toward Publication and Beyond: Anita Miller Publishes EARTHLING HERO

Everyone give a warm welcome to Anita Laydon Miller who recently parted ways with an A+ agency to e-publish her middle grade science fiction, EARTHLING HERO.

Here’s a blurb about the book: Imagine waking one summer night to see someone standing beside your bed. The “someone” is a complete stranger, but looks exactly like you. That’s what happens to eleven-year-old Mikey Murphy. The next few days are filled with adventures—breaking into a high-security military installation, engaging expert assassins in hand-to-hand combat, searching for an evil alien’s hideout in the middle of a national landmark—all with two new alien friends at his side. Can Mikey and his friends survive their adventures and save the world?

I love Anita's book. I've read it, and now I'm reading it to my kids. We are all enthralled. Anita did an excellent job--it's fantastic. The premise is funky and fun, and the characters live and breathe. The book is an awesome ride that I recommend everyone take!

So, Anita, welcome! Thanks for being here. Tell us. Why did you decide to e-publish this book on your own?

Thanks for having me Heather. In a sentence, I wanted more control over my work.

And are you happy with the experience so far?

Yeah, I am. Here’s the thing: the book is finally out there. Any 9-12-year-old kid looking for an inexpensive e-book that’s full of fun and adventure can turn to EARTHLING HERO.

Speaking of inexpensive, why did you price it at $.99?

I think I can explain that best with this twenty-second video. Brace yourself, I dance in it.



So my point is that it’s not about the money--I’m not expecting to be a Hocking or a Konrath. Sure, I’d love to sell three million EARTHLING HERO’s for $.99, but I don’t think that’ll happen. What I hope will happen is that a lot of parents will recognize this is a good book for their kids, and they’ll buy it. I want kids to read the book. I want to make the world dance with my words…lofty goal, I guess.

Love the dance. So happy that you felt comfortable enough on my blog to cut loose! About the book's format--what if someone wants to help you reach that lofty goal, but they don’t have an e-reader?

They can download the book from Smashwords to their PC or Mac in the following formats: .pdf, .Epub, and .mobi. Those formats can be read, respectively, using Adobe Acrobat Reader, the free Barnes & Noble Nook application and the free Amazon Kindle application. OR readers can download the book from Amazon to their PC or Mac and read it using the free Kindle application.


Anybody who’s reading this post, can read EARTHLING HERO. If they can’t figure out how, have them email me. I want them to have access to all e-books, not just my own, and it’s probably a simple explanation that will allow them that access.

I can attest--I downloaded the book very easily onto my PC.

Here's where you can buy EARTHLING HERO: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

And, please check out Anita's fantastic Middle Grade blog, author website, and blog.

But, before you go, give Anita some love in the comments--she'll be by to hang out and answer questions!