Banned on Amazon?

Over 48 hours ago, I received an email from some shadowy division of Amazon telling me that Battle Star: Trek Wars was being temporarily suspended (suppressed, they call it) because of confusing or misleading keywords.

When setting up the title for Amazon's print-on-demand service, CreateSpace, I was asked to put in keywords to help customers find my product in searches.  Apparently, whatever I used (we can all guess, I'm sure) went too far.

But instead of merely removing my keywords or getting rid of them for Battle Star: Trek Wars altogether, they took the book off their virtual shelves.  That seems like overkill.  Could there be another motive?

I was told in that email that it would take 24 hours for them to review the matter after I sent in new keywords (which I immediately did).  As I mentioned, more than 48 hours have passed.  I've called CreateSpace's help # twice, but they could do little.  Apparently this Amazon division cannot be directly contacted, they sit in judgement beyond our universe, maneuvering in dark and secret ways...

Since I've never encountered this problem before, all I can do is wait and hope with tentacles crossed.

In the meantime, I'm putting Battle Star: Trek Wars on sale over at DriveThruRPG.  Get it here at 30% off until it's back on Amazon... whenever the fuck that might be.

Thanks,

VS

Revelry on Amazon.com

Just found the Amazon/CreateSpace proof in my mailbox.  Guess it came yesterday without my knowing.  Usually, they leave large and/or awkward packages upon my front door or in the garage.  Luckily, it wasn't damaged by shoving it in and then back out of the mailbox.

Anyway, the proof looks awesome!  I just approved it.  That means a softcover is immediately available on CreateSpace and it'll be 3 - 5 days before Revelry in Torth shows up on amazon.

Now that I know Amazon is covered, I'm 99% sure DriveThru's print version files will also be OK.  However, I'd feel like a real jackass if I approved that shit before actually seeing the proof and then found out that DriveThru somehow mishandled it or there was an error created by Lightning Source's interpretation of the files.  So, probably another week on that.

Still waiting on reviews.  All I've been able to find is a 5 star "Nice job, Venger!" on DriveThru and a longer, so-so review over here.  I considered writing a tit for tat rebuttal of his analysis, but realized that probably wouldn't be very productive.  Not that Merric doesn't have valid points, just that his expectations are probably a bit off in regards to my style, how I write, how I GM, etc.  And what he said about my short short story seemed kind of mean-spirited.

My work is somewhere between my personal adventure notes (before, during, and after sessions) and what a big RPG company usually puts out, like Wizards of the Coast or Pathfinder.  Those expecting more of the latter will most likely be disappointed.  As mentioned in Liberation and Purple, I've put 85% of what's required to successfully run a mini-campaign on an aesthetically pleasing platter (you should see the horrendous scribbles from my actual session notes!), it's for individual GMs to add their personal 15%.  The combination is what makes it magical.

VS

Purple in Print!

This is your first chance to obtain The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence in softcover.  It should be up on amazon and DriveThru in about 5 days, but it's available right now via CreateSpace (amazon's e-store and affiliate link for self-published authors).

As a special incentive, forward your CreateSpace order confirmation to me and I'll email you the PDF for free!


VS