Saturday, April 29, 2017

Crazy pharmaceutical companies

Earlier this month we went to pick up one of Rebecca's prescriptions. A prescription that for the last six months, we had been paying $10 a month for. To our surprise, the prescription was $80 this time, and that's with our insurance. Apparently, the reason for this is the discount you can get from the pharmaceutical company only drops it to $10 for three months out of the year. The reason we got it for six straight months was because it was October-December of last year and January-March of this year...thus three months out of each year.  There's no way we can afford that.
According to the pharmacy tech, the price for this prescription without insurance is over $1000 a month. Sorry, that's insane. I understand that it takes a great deal of time and money to get a new medication to market, and I have no problem with a company trying to recoup what they invested in time, research, trials, and everything else that goes into creating medications, but I can't seriously believe that they need to charge that much for a medication. They would have easily regained their investment long before a generic can be made of the drug. Given that this medication helps to dramatically reduce the possibility of her disease turning into cancer, the pharmaceutical company basically has her and others like her over a barrel. There are basically only two medications that are available to Rebecca due to the fact that she does not have a mild condition, and the other medication will greatly weaken her immune system, which isn't good considering we have three kids and she works in a hospital. Unfortunately, it looks like there is probably a generic available for this med, so most likely her doctor will have to switch her over to it.
So, now she has to risk getting sick from everything that she's exposed to because we can't afford the one medication. This is one of the many things that are wrong with healthcare in America. The pharmaceutical companies and the insurance companies have way too much influence in everything that goes on with us. It's almost like they have the power of the Gods to decide who lives and who dies, and like so many things in America, it's the poor who suffer the most.
That's just beyond insane!

Friday, April 28, 2017

It's In the Water for free

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
We're offering five free e-copies of J Alan Erwine's "Divided States of America" story, "It's in the Water." The first five people to go to http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/its-in-the-water/ and use coupon code "dsa" at checkout get the e-story for free.
So, what are you waiting for...they'll go quick!
Richard hated being a corporate drone, but what else was there to be in Corprotopia? After losing his girlfriend to the government, Richard struggled with just surviving, but when he learns a deep secret, a secret of resistance, he suddenly finds a reason for his life…or does he?

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Two week sale

For the next two weeks, you can pick up e-titles from my store and save 50% off of your entire order. Simply go to http://www.jalanerwine.com/blog/shop and start ordering titles. When you're done, use the code "sale" at checkout to get your savings.
This includes stories, magazines, novels, anthologies, collections, and more. Basically, it includes almost everything that I've written or edited over the many years of my career.
So, order today, and be sure to tell all of your friends...

Monday, April 24, 2017

Why you should buy from the publisher

I'm not sure how it works with the large publishers, but with the small press, it's always best to buy your print and e-books directly from the publisher, as opposed to buying from an online retailer like that "A" store. The simple reason for this is money. Most small press publishers are doing it out of love...the majority of them don't make enough money to keep them from needing a day job, and the retailers, especially the "A" store take a big percentage from each sale.
As an example, at Nomadic Delirium Press we're now doing a line of stories around an idea I came up with called "The Divided States of America." Most of these shorter stories are selling for 99 cents, not an amount that's going to allow us or the authors to retire, but still, we're all in this to at least make a little pocket change.  With the DSA stories, we have an agreement that we divide the profits in half. Nomadic Delirium takes half, and the author gets half. Now, if one of these stories sells through the NDP bookstore, the profit from that is usually around 66 cents. However, if one of these stories sells through a retailer, the profit is usually around 35 cents. Looking at one story, it's not a huge difference, but if 100 of these stories sell it starts to become significant, and if it's 1000 stories sold, then we're definitely talking about a big difference.
Now, if you take this up to an anthology that sells for $14.95 or a similar amount, you should suddenly be able to see the difference. Even if you just multiply 66 or 35 by 15, you can see that the publisher, and thus the author are making a lot more money when the sale goes through the publisher's store.
So, if you're thinking about buying from the small press, please think about buying directly from them...as opposed to going to one of THOSE sites...

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Calivada Dreaming

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
Our latest "Divided States of America" story is now available..."Calivada Dreaming" by Debby Feo.
Fred Selkerson has left the Green States of America to start his exploration of what had once been the United States. Along with his android assistant, Pat37, Fred heads south, where things are somewhat different, but still recognizable…and it’s not long before Fred finds himself Calivada Dreaming.
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/calivada-dreaming/

Friday, April 14, 2017

What Lies in the Wastelands

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
The newest title in The Divided States of America series is "What Lies In the Wastelands" by Ian Brazee-Cannon.
An exploration group from the Rocky Mountain States of America comes to the Wastelands to learn what they can, but when they’re captured by natives, they begin to wonder if their advanced technology can save them.
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/what-lies-in-the-wastelands/

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Divided States RPG?

As many of you know, I'm spearheading a project at Nomadic Delirium Press called "The Divided States of America." As Tyree Campbell puts it, it's about the Balkanization of the United States. Basically, the US government slowly falls apart over time, and what we're left with is a bunch of nation-states. Since I came up with the project, I'd been thinking about creating an RPG based off of the idea, and now that the first four stories have been published, I'm thinking it might be a really good idea, since the authors have created some great stories.
And for those authors who have contributed to the project, or for those of you thinking about contributing, there will be profit sharing for all of you if we do go forward with this project.

Monday, March 27, 2017

The Divided States of America Bundle #1

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
This bundle brings you the first four stories of The Divided States of America for just $3.
You get “The Dustbin” by Tyree Campbell, “The Wall is Beautiful” by Mike Morgan, “Green in 2110” by Debby Feo, and “It’s In the Water” by J Alan Erwine.
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-divided-states-of-america-bundle-1/

Sunday, March 26, 2017

It's In the Water

My latest short story, "It's In the Water" is now available. This is part of Nomadic Delirium Press' project called "The Divided States of America," which looks at an America that has been torn apart and has become several separate nation states.
Richard hated being a corporate drone, but what else was there to be in Corprotopia? After losing his girlfriend to the government, Richard struggled with just surviving, but when he learns a deep secret, a secret of resistance, he suddenly finds a reason for his life…or does he?
Now available at http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/its-in-the-water/.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Back issues for just 75 cents

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
We've lowered the price on the 2013 and 2014 issues of The Fifth Di... and Spaceports & Spidersilk. You can download them from our bookstore for just 75 cents each. Go to http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/shop" target="_blank">
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/shop and start reading today.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Get the April 2017 issue of Spaceports early

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
The April 2017 issue of Spaceports & Spidersilk won't officially be released until April 1st, but you can download it from our store today! And not only is it available early, but it's also available for just 75 cents! No fooling!
Like all of our titles, you can download it in EPUB or MOBI format, so get your copy today at http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/spaceports-spidersilk-april-2017/

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Green in 2110

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
Our third "Divided States of America" story is now available. We give you..."Green in 2110" by Debby Feo.
Fred Selkerson often heard his grandmother talk about how life had been different in the old United States, but he never understood, because all he knew was what life is like in the Green States of America. Now that he's approaching 18, maybe it was time for him to find out for himself…
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/green-in-2110/

Monday, March 20, 2017

Good news for Kindle users

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
We've now made all of our titles available in "mobi" format, which is the format used by the Kindle. Now, all you have to do is buy your favorite Nomadic Delirium titles, download the "mobi" format and transfer them to your Kindle...and you're ready to go.
Check out all of our titles at: http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/shop


Monday, March 13, 2017

The Divided States are here

Nomadic Delirium Press has released the first two stories in the "Divided States of America" series, which focuses on a future America that has broken into several independent countries.
The first two selections are...
The Dustbin by Tyree Campbell
Pierce had had enough. He’d finished his five year mission, and he was done…done with what was left of society, done with people, done with everything. He was ready to give up on all that was left of the United States until he meets Jenny Lee.
Suddenly, Pierce realizes there may still be things left to fight for.
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-dustbin/
The Wall is Beautiful by Mike Morgan
Rick Moreno always felt out of place in the Republic of Texas. Being one of the few non-Anglos left in Texas left him facing racism and hatred, but he had to stay for his sick madre. He had to stay at a border patrol job that he hated, with a partner who hated him, but neither he, nor his Anglo partner Mitch are prepared for what they find, and what it might mean to each of them as individuals, and to the Republic of Texas.
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-wall-is-beautiful/

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

Read a sample of the new issue of The Fifth Di...

Stop by http://www.nomadicdeliriumpress.com/tfdsample.htm and read a sample of the new issue of The Fifth Di... 
There's some great stuff in there!

Sunday, March 05, 2017

E-book week at Smashwords

This is e-book week at Smashwords. You can save half off of my collections that are listed there.  In addition, I've added some new freebies that will only be available this week!  Find all of the titles at: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine.
In addition, many of the titles I've been involved with at Nomadic Delirium Press are also available for up to 50% off at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nomadicdelirium.

Friday, March 03, 2017

GM's Day Sale

From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
For the next 10 days, you can save 30% off of a variety of Ephemeris products, as well as the core rulebook for The Battle for Turtle Island. The sale is going on at DriveThruRPG and you can order your titles at: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/rpg_gmsday.php?manufacturers_id=2805&filters=0_0_0_0_0_31817#selectpub

Monday, February 27, 2017

The March issue of The Fifth Di... is now available

The March issue of The Fifth Di... is now available. Unfortunately, due to a recent "upgrade" required by our webhost, we can no longer upload e-books to our store. While we're working on this problem, you can always order copies from https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/706648 or https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XBGFWXD. Print copies should be available from all of the usual sources in the days to come.
The March 2017 issue of The Fifth Di… starts yet another year of wonderful science fiction and fantasy fiction.
This issue brings you fiction from Daniel C. Smith, Melanie Rees, Kate Runnels, and Eamonn Murphy. These stories will have you questioning reality, questioning what’s right and wrong in the world, and maybe even questioning what we should tolerate as the world changes around us.