Free review copies of The Crypto Mine Cypher

[Brentski]

Hello everyone,

My new Bayport Mysteries book, The Crypto Mine Cypher, is live on Amazon today.

I'm going to be giving away some copies for purposes of review. I'll list the instructions and redemption links in this thread. I ask that you take only one copy if you are interested (but if you think someone else would be interested, feel free to send them a copy). Please, if you take a copy, read it! Also, please consider giving the book an honest review on Amazon. You can write whatever you feel is fair on Amazon, but do please disclose that you received the book free for purposes of review.

For an Indy author, reviews are not just a marketing tool. They are a way to hear from readers and learn from their feedback. I will read ever review!

I'm going to start by dropping three copies here. If there is more demand than that, I'll drop in some more.

Thanks in advance if you do read and give me a review!
-Brent


The Crypto Mine Cypher (Bayport Mysteries: Frank & Joe Hardy Book 1) by ,

Please accept your prepaid eBook using the link below:
https://www.amazon.com/kindle/redeem/?t=GSYV334NSTMQ825

You can enjoy eBooks on any device with the free Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, PC and Mac, and on Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets. Learn more at https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/fd/kcp

Need help? Visit Kindle Support at https://www.amazon.com/help/kindle/prepaidbooks/accept for information about Kindle prepaid eBooks.

2x more links:
https://www.amazon.com/kindle/redeem/?t=GSADT8DPHZ8DZS2
https://www.amazon.com/kindle/redeem/?t=GSLQFXDKS82QXVH

[Brentski]

BTW: These links can be redeemed from the US only. (Or at least Amazon has to think you're in the US)

[SkyWarp]

My print copy arrived today. 

First physical impression, it is bigger and heavier than I was expecting (not a bad thing).  Just picking up the Amazon package, I thought perhaps something other than the book had been delivered to my house because of the weight.  Also, the only Hardy Boy books I have that are taller than this book are the Library Hardbacked Casefiles 1-10 I have sitting on my shelf.  The cover has a smooth sort of suede feeling to it.  I can't think of what type of cover that is called, but I like that type of feeling to printed pieces. 

A few other quick observations.  On the very last page before the inside back cover, there is a barcode as well as a date and location of where the book was made.  It says, Moline, IL, on September 10, 2023.  I am guessing these will be made as ordered, unless some huge order comes in?  Thus the date may change for everyone's individual copy? Does that bar code change too?

Interestingly, the Moline, IL location then caught my attention along with the Rogers, MN location in the front of the book for the Self-Publish location.  For my regular day job, I work for a company that has a location in Moline And several not far from Rogers (Albertville and several other Minneapolis area locations).  Small world.

Anyway, now I need to find a place to place this book on my shelves until I get time to read it. 

[Brentski]

Hey, thanks for ordering a physical book!

These are print on demand, so the print date will be unique to your copy. The barcode? I'm not certain if that is unique to each copy. I do know that the barcode is used during production to help make sure the right cover goes onto the proper interior. So that could be unique, but it seems that it would only have to be unique to the book & format. (e.g. one barcode for the hardcover and a different one for the softcover) I am just guessing.

The cover material is called matte by Amazon. The other choice was glossy. I preferred the feel of the matte, and the matte covers look the same whatever the lighting (no reflections). The glossy has a bit more saturation and contrast, but you really can only see this under ideal lighting. It was a tough choice, but the feel was the deciding factor.

The book trim size is the smallest that Amazon offered for both hardcover and softcover. They say it's 5.5" x 8.5". They do offer a 5" x 8", but in softcover only. So yes, it is bigger than the canon books. I did select the font (Garamond) as it looks very similar (maybe exactly like) the typeface in my old canon hardcovers. Font size is 12. I started with 11, but it was a touch small. Going to 12 took another hour of work moving the images around (to avoid getting a half-blank page before the image).

I've been in Rogers since '99. It's funny how coincidences of location happen.

Thanks again for the purchase. I hope you hope you enjoy it when you get the chance to read it.

[Brentski]

Oh, one more interesting note - going from 11 point to 12 point increased the page count by 23 pages.
Small change, big impact! (printing costs start with a base amount and then a per page amount)
Still, 12 point looked better and match the old canon books.

[Brentski]

Speaking of Rogers/Albertville area - I'm going to be placing copies of the book into ~20 Little Free Libraries in the area (https://littlefreelibrary.org/map/). So if anyone reading this post is in the area, you could read a physical copy for free.

I'm just waiting on a shipment of books so I can place them.

[SkyWarp]

Received the hard backed version today. It is exactly the same size plus the little extra for the hardcover that goes beyond the edges of the paper.  The cover feels similar to the paperback version. 

Yes, the date inside the back cover is unique. 

The bar code is definitely different. Its not even a typical bar code, but something more like a qrcode in the shape of a bar code.  And I assume the list of characters under it represents what the code stands for.  It is a massive long line of characters both number and alphabet. 

Once correction on what I said earlier.  The city in Illinois listed on the back cover is not Moline, but rather Monee.  That would put it just on the southern side of Chicago. 

[MysteryFan89]

Just got the ebook. Can't wait to read it,

[Brentski]

Thanks for the interest in the book, MysteryFan89! I do hope you enjoy it.

SkyWarp - it's interesting to hear some of these details from actual production copies. So far, all I have is proofs. I think author copies are lower priority than customer copies (as they should be). I ordered mine as soon as they were published, and they have yet to ship!

[MysteryFan89]

Thanks for the interest in the book, MysteryFan89! I do hope you enjoy it.

SkyWarp - it's interesting to hear some of these details from actual production copies. So far, all I have is proofs. I think author copies are lower priority than customer copies (as they should be). I ordered mine as soon as they were published, and they have yet to ship!

Love your change for Joe. What made you change the character?

[Brentski]

Love your change for Joe. What made you change the character?

Thanks! I've been worried how people would react to that change.
That's part of the topic for next weeks article on my Substack. (https://bayportmysteries.substack.com/ shameless plug)

The real truth is that the idea grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go. I thought up other good reasons - such as differentiating Frank & Joe a bit more, and better reflecting boys and girls roles in modern society. But those came after the inspiration made up my mind.

[MysteryFan89]

Thanks! I've been worried how people would react to that change.
That's part of the topic for next weeks article on my Substack. (https://bayportmysteries.substack.com/ shameless plug)

The real truth is that the idea grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go. I thought up other good reasons - such as differentiating Frank & Joe a bit more, and better reflecting boys and girls roles in modern society. But those came after the inspiration made up my mind.

I've subscribed to you. Can't wait to read it, I love wholesome take on on my favourite book series. Would this be considered fanfiction?

[Brentski]

I've subscribed to you. Can't wait to read it, I love wholesome take on on my favourite book series. Would this be considered fanfiction?

Thanks a bunch for the sub! The book is wholesome, but I did add a kiss or two between Frank & Callie in one chapter. That's as far as I ever plan to go in that direction. There is no cursing, and no violence that wasn't in the originals.

Is this fanfiction? I'm going to say 'no'. The Hardy books (first three of the original text) are in the public domain and available for legal use in new stories. These stories can be copyrighted, and I've applied for the copyright on my book. The copyright excluded the PD elements of the old characters and setting, but my story and any new characters are under copyright. Anyway, my main point is that being able to take out a copyright is, to me, the line the divides fan fiction from uh, not fan fiction.

I've written my fair share of fan-fic, and some of it was pretty okay (to pat myself on the back), but I can't legally publish it or claim copyright. This book is different.

[MysteryFan89]

Thanks a bunch for the sub! The book is wholesome, but I did add a kiss or two between Frank & Callie in one chapter. That's as far as I ever plan to go in that direction. There is no cursing, and no violence that wasn't in the originals.

Is this fanfiction? I'm going to say 'no'. The Hardy books (first three of the original text) are in the public domain and available for legal use in new stories. These stories can be copyrighted, and I've applied for the copyright on my book. The copyright excluded the PD elements of the old characters and setting, but my story and any new characters are under copyright. Anyway, my main point is that being able to take out a copyright is, to me, the line the divides fan fiction from uh, not fan fiction.

I've written my fair share of fan-fic, and some of it was pretty okay (to pat myself on the back), but I can't legally publish it or claim copyright. This book is different.

When you say original, do you mean the 1960 version of the books? Those are awesome. I'm also a fan of Nancy Drew, and Tom Swift. 

[Brentski]

When you say original, do you mean the 1960 version of the books? Those are awesome. I'm also a fan of Nancy Drew, and Tom Swift.

No, I'm not referring to the 60s versions. The originals I'm speaking of are the 1927 versions that entered the public domain this year. The named characters are the same, as are the setting. I've used those elements to build my story. You can get the 1927 texts for the first three books at Project Gutenberg. The details of the stories and some of the characterizations differ from the later, revised versions of the stories. There are also 25 chapters in each book instead of 20 - which gives a bit more room for character dialog and added plot elements.

I've read a few Nancy Drew's and enjoyed them. I should give Tom Swift a try!