Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards Semi-Finalist

Originally posted HERE
We'll today has been a good day. My boy got Student of the Month at his school and my audio book, Paraworld Zero, became a semi-finalist for the Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards. The contest had a total of 1,085 entries in 30 categories. I'll find out on Oct 24 if Paraworld Zero won. Listen to the first chapter HERE.

Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards -- October 2008
Semi-Finalist in the Audio Book Category
http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1250

Paraworld Zero on the Sony Reader (eBook)

I mentioned ages ago that Sony picked up the non-exclusive E-Book rights for Paraworld Zero. It's been a long time, but Paraworld Zero is finally available for the Sony Reader! The E-Book includes the same 30 pieces of chapter art that the physical book contains. Looks like Sony has it for $10.79 right now. Check it out at http://ebookstore.sony.com/.

The Sony Reader is much like the Amazon Kindle, in which you can read the E-Book on a large clear screen. The battery life lasts a really long time, since it only uses the battery when you flip to the next page. Sony has over 50,000 books on their site for the Sony Reader, so I'm glad that mine is one of them. I hope you'll take a look at it.

As a side note, SpokenNetwork.com now has the Paraworld Zero audiobook on their site. Check it out!

Also, my October newsletter is out. Go here to read it:
http://www.paraworlds.com/newsletter/2008-10.php

Writing Book Two

Originally posted HERE

Nothing big here. I'm just writing the second book in the Parallel Worlds series. My goal is to make it shorter than the first book, since the first book was 100,000 words long.

I'm getting about 7 pages done a day, but I think I can increase that number. I'm very pleased with the storyline and with what I've written so far. I have about 30 pages of single-spaced notes, so I definitely know what direction I want to take the book. It's going to be a murder mystery of sorts. A lot of people did a double take at the end of my first book. I hope to have even greater surprises in book 2. The clues are all there. You just won't realize it until the end.

I just sent out almost 800 CDs to the World Fantasy Convention. Whew! What a project. And expensive. I hope it helps bring more attention to my series. I sent back the contract to Audible.com and SpokenNetwork.com. My audiobook should show up on those sites soon. Sony, on the other hand, is a never-ending battle. There's an error with the E-Book that they're trying to fix. I hope to see Paraworld Zero on the Sony Reader soon.

World Fantasy Convention Interview

Originally posted HERE

The World Fantasy Convention put up an interview of me on their website, along with part of my audiobook. You can listen to it here (the interview starts at 2 minutes and 49 seconds into the podcast): http://media.libsyn.com/media/worldfantasy2008/WF08_33.mp3

I'm excited to go to the World Fantasy Convention next month in Calgary. I've never been to Canada before, so I'm not sure what my experience will be like, but I have my passport now and I'm ready to go.

I'm devoting the next couple months to my second book in the Parallel Worlds series. I really need to finish that thing! I'm proud of the outline I've written. It's going to be a murder mystery with lots of twists and turns. I'm hoping that it's unlike anything you've ever read before. Writing a murder mystery in a fantasy world allows me to do some fun and unexpected things.

The Paraworld Zero Audiobook

Press Release on September 10, 2008
The Paraworld Zero Audiobook with 100 Character Voices

Parallel Worlds is proud to present the audiobook for Matthew Peterson’s bestselling young adult novel, Paraworld Zero. With over one hundred unique character voices from the author and his wife, this audiobook is geared to please young and old alike.

The audiobook comes in a 10-CD set (about 12.5 hours long) as well as an MP3-CD and MP3-DVD. The premium DVD version includes the PDF E-Book and about 4 hours of video/audio extras such as bloopers, interviews and photo slide shows. Listen to a sample at www.paraworlds.com.

Several audiobook websites including Audible.com (the leader in downloadable audiobooks), iTunes.com, and SpokenNetwork.com plan on selling the Paraworld Zero audiobook in the upcoming month. Kitabe.com just made the book available for download on their site this week.

Paraworld Zero is about a twelve-year-old earthling, Simon Kent, who stumbles upon a secret that thrusts him into a bizarre adventure filled with magic, technology and deadly out-of-this-world creatures. He discovers a true friend, confronts his inner demons and becomes the savior to a peculiar race of people, when all he truly wants is to find his way back home.

Parallel to Simon's adventures is a mystery involving a catlike spy and a magical swordsman who both struggle to maintain peace among the paraworlds. But evil lurks in unexpected places, and few people can be trusted. Their paths ultimately lead them to Simon: the one boy who might be able to prevent the biggest assassination attempt in the known paraverse. "Harry Potter meets Star Wars" – WormsScifi.com

Paraworld Zero Audiobook Formats:
MP3-CD: ISBN 978-0-9819227-1-3 for $29.95
MP3-DVD: ISBN 978-0-9819227-2-0 for $39.95
10-Disc Aduio CD: ISBN 978-0-9819227-3-7 for $49.95


About the Author:
Matthew Peterson is an award-winning short story writer, second degree black belt in karate, Eagle scout, computer programmer, and former missionary. He lives in Arizona with his wife, five boys and their giant African tortoise. Matthew’s debut young adult novel, Paraworld Zero (ISBN 978-1-59092-491-4), hit the BarnesAndNoble.com bestseller list, was honored by four book contests, and garnered many favorable reviews. Reviewers are comparing it to Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Artemis Fowl. Go to www.ParaWorlds.com to learn more.

http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/default.cfm?Action=ReleaseDetail&ID=23094

2008 World Science Fiction Convention (Denvention 3)

Originally posted HERE

I often get so busy that my blogs become a huge info dump of my month. This time, I’ll just blog about my week. I got back from the 2008 World Science Fiction Convention (Denvention 3) safe and sound. The WorldCon was much smaller than the last one I went to in LA, 2006, but it was still fun. The ConSuite was extremely large. Lots of food and people. I met agents, authors, publishers, etc. I got some great pictures with Robert Silverberg, Lois McMaster Bujold, Connie Willis, Gay and Joe Haldeman, Carol Berg and others. Click on the Author's links to view the picture. To see more WorldCon pictures go to the “Photos / Videos” of my website (www.paraworlds.com) or to my MySpace page. I’ll probably post some of them here in the future.

On Friday, I spoke on a panel called “Publicity: Who's Job is it Anyway?” The panelists were Joy Ward, Roy Gray, Astrid Anderson Bear, Matthew Peterson, Ben Bova (who didn’t show up) and Pierce Watters. I’m including a video of the panel below. Enjoy!

WorldCon, Here I Come!

I'm just about to leave for the World Science Fiction Convention in Denver, Colorado, but I thought I'd post a blog about the press release and newsletters I just sent. If you're not on my newsletter group... you best hop on board! Here's the newsletter:

http://www.paraworlds.com/newsletter/2008-08.php

Here's the press release. Basically, I'm speaking at the WorldCon in room 506 on Friday at 4 PM about publicity with Ben Bova and some others. It should be fun!

http://www.paraworlds.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=377#377

I'm sort of bummed because I wasn't able to find a roommate for the WorldCon this year. That means I'll be paying full price for my hotel. Oh, well. I've been invited to a couple of parties already, so I'm excited.