Straight From Hel

Book Review: The Brevity of Roses

2012-01-26T05:00:00.002-06:00

The Brevity of Roses by Linda Cassidy Lewis is a love story. What makes it different is that it’s told primarily from the man’s POV. Jalal leaves his life in New York and heads to California to see his family and to start anew. He encounters Meredith. Jalal and Meredith both have lost loves in their past. They meet up in a restaurant and Jalal pursues her, even though she is fifty and he is much younger. Their life, their love is complicated and complex. And despite their age difference, it is deep, but not without tragedy.

It’s easy to get lost in Jalal’s story and the twists and turns his life takes. Lewis does a good job of letting us feel his emotions, whether they are love, loss, anger or fear. By the end you will have questions. Is it possible to find your one true love? If you find it once, can you find it again? What if love finds you?

Amazon
Kindle
Nook
Smashwords

I give The Brevity of Roses a rating of Hel-of-a-Love-Story.

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FTC Disclaimer: I had expected to review this book back in August 2010, but then my computer went face down in the dirt and died. I wonder if the FTC could do something about that. Then when my tech guy got me a new computer three months later, I forgot to do the review. Perhaps the FTC could do something about my memory. One thing I did not forget is that The Brevity of Roses only cost me $2.99. Woo-woo! The Brevity of Roses is worth all two hundred and ninety-nine pennies. As part of this disclaimer, I should tell you that part of the delay was stuffing all those pennies into the pay slot on the side of this new fangled laptop. I should have used the slide out money drawer on the other side, but I only have rectangular bills, not big round ones.

Is Apple Evil?

2012-01-25T05:00:00.001-06:00

According to technology writer Ed Bott, he’s read many license agreements looking for the gotchas in the fine print. What he found in Apple’s license agreement for its new iBooks Author program caused him to call it “mind-bogglingly greedy and evil.”

The paragraph that most bothered him was this one:

Apple will not be responsible for any costs, expenses, damages, losses (including
without limitation lost business opportunities or lost profits) or other liabilities you may incur as a result of your use of this Apple Software, including without limitation the fact that your Work may not be selected for distribution by Apple.

He says this paragraph means that if you submit your book to Apple and they reject it, you can’t legally sell it anywhere, at least not in that form. In other words, you would have to throw away all the formatting you did in iBooks Author and re-format it. He goes so far as to say:

Outputting as PDF would preserve the formatting, but again the license would appear to prohibit you from selling that work, because it was generated by iBooks Author.

Bott says he’ll be writing more on this topic, so if you want to follow him, check out his blog, The Ed Bott Report.

Thanks to James V. Lee and Timothy J. Bruce for emailing me about this article.

Book Review: CassaStar

2012-01-21T05:00:00.003-06:00

Before you read this review, I should warn you, I don’t read much science fiction. I read memoir, romance, commercial women’s fiction, mystery, thrillers, suspense, the list could go on, but, well, not much sci/fi. Not my thing, whatever a “thing” is. Anyway, just telling ya up front. But I know the author, Alex J. Cavanaugh, online and for a short time he was letting folks download CassaStar for free, so I did. So, since I’m being upfront with you about how I don’t read much sci/fi, I’ll be upfront about what I thought of CassaStar. I can’t say I liked it.

I can say I really liked it.

Cavanaugh creates a fully developed world with believable characters. You take our world and plop it down in the midst of a war where fighter pilots and their navigators go up against the baddest Star Trek soldiers and you got CassaStar. But it’s not all fighting. Bryon, the main character, is dealing with the loss of his former navigator and not particularly happy about having to work with someone new at a new station. But war is war and he’s one of the best pilots and one of only a very few Cosbolt pilots who can teleport.

Of course, CassaStar is not all war and fighting. There are down times where we get to see the world outside of the war. And there, too, Cavanaugh creates believable, although other-worldly, scenes.

AMAZON
AMAZON UK
AMAZON DE
BARNES AND NOBLE
BOOKS A MILLION
AMAZON’s KINDLE
NOOK

I give CassaStar by Alex J. Cavanaugh a rating of Hel-of-a-Story

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FTC Disclaimer: I saw all the Star Wars movies. That did not influence my review. I’ve seen some other sci/fi shows on TV, although not recently. Frankly, I can’t get cable out where I live and, unfortunately, regular TV seems to be all cop or lawyer shows or what might be deemed “reality” shows like American Idol or one of its fifteen copycat shows. So I think CassaStar should become either a movie or a TV series. Yeah, you heard me, bring science fiction back to television. We need a new Spock. Okay, Byron doesn’t have pointy ears but he’d be the one girls swoon over. Wait a minute, I can’t be the only one who loved Spock over Captain Kirk or Dr. McCoy, right? Come on! He could mind meld, for heaven’s sakes. Kind of like Byron can do things with his mind. Swoon.

Book Review: Chronic Fear

2012-01-19T05:00:00.002-06:00

Chronic Fear by Scott Nicholson is a thriller, the second in his Fear series. Because I haven’t read the first book, in the beginning I felt a little lost among the characters and action, but I was able to sort them out and join in the race. Chronic Fear starts off fast and never lets up on the pace.

I won’t delve into the plot except to say it involves designer drugs that after you read the book you will hope remains only fiction. But the story is about more than the creation of these drugs. It is about the people who were used for testing of the drugs, politics, the devastation the drugs caused to human life, and the disaster the drugs could bring upon the future if they are recreated.

Chronic Fear picks up a year since the drug trials. Those who knew about the drugs are either dead or keeping quiet. But there are those in the government who want the formula so they can use it to further their political ambitions. There are also some who were the guinea pigs in the original testing who want it for their own reasons. The four main characters (two couples) who were all part of the original testing have moved on in their lives, each in different directions, each at different levels of recovery. None are whole. Some are only barely holding onto sanity. All are broken in one way or the other.

Chronic Fear is high in intensity and moves at a fast pace. Take time to know the characters. What you believe about them will be tested as the plot moves forward. By the end, I didn’t know who was better off – those who survived or those who didn’t.

Barnes & Noble
Kindle
Kindle UK
Amazon
Audible

I give Chronic Fear by Scott Nicholson a rating of Hel-of-a-Tense-Book.

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FTC Disclaimer: I have nothing to claim or disclaim except that “knowing” Nicholson via the Internet did not influence my review. That’s the claim part. The disclaim part would be that I should not have used the word “knowing” since having read two books of his and getting a mass email letting everyone know he had a new book out is not exactly “knowing” him. But in the name of full disclosure, I should let you know, Scott’s computer is haunted. He didn’t tell me that, but I just know it. Alright, I don’t know but I am claiming it and I do believe he would not disclaim my claim. If he reads this he would probably claim that I’m a nut. But I would disclaim that. Probably.

No Winner in This War

2012-01-18T05:00:00.001-06:00

Who wins in the war between publishers, agents and readers? Probably no one. Who loses? Probably the author. Apparently in England there’s a war going on between reader/bloggers and authors and publishers. The “war” seems to have started on Goodreads and moved to Twitter.

According to The Guardian, when:

award-winning children's writer Anthony McGowan caused a stir with his "scorching" Guardian review of Blood Red Road by Costa winner Moira Young, the Goodreads flame war flared across Twitter, sparked by writers and agents who seemed to be stamping on negative reviews.

I linked over to the review. It is rather uncomplimentary:

At its worst it is a risible collection of clichés strung together by a barely coherent plot. … Although it's undoubtedly packed with incident, too much happens that is purely for narrative convenience.

There’s more if you want to read it. About the only good thing said in the review was:

My nine-year-old daughter got hold of my review copy and was so entranced that I had to machete it into sections so we could both carry on reading it. Yes, this is the perfect apocalypse for pre-teens.

I’m on both Goodreads and Twitter -- and I totally missed the whole war. Did any of you get involved?

Making It Easy

2012-01-14T05:00:00.002-06:00

Ecommerce Times had an article recently that announced something most writers already know.

… Amazon owns a company that is determined to make self-publishing easier. That company is called CreateSpace.

Using Amazon, you can print your book in paperback form. You can also upload it into Kindle format. Kindle formatting doesn’t mean the reader has to have a Kindle to read it. I read Kindle books on my iPad because I have a Kindle app. But if you want it available in both formats, you have to upload it to Kindle Direct Publishing and Create Spacde. But, and this is a big but, the article says:

In my experience, both formats are relatively easy to use.... Just about as easy as pie.

The author of the article, Theodore F. di Stefano, says:

As people ordered books, they were printed. When I wanted a pile of books for a book signing, I would merely order the books at author's prices and the books would be at my doorstep within a matter of a few days…

Plus, if he needed assistance, he hit the “call me” link and talked to a technician.

‘Course, once the book is printed (or put into e-form), it’s up to you to market it, although CreateSpace can help you with that as well – I assume for a fee.

It’s a good article to read and might ease your fears about trying to self-publish.

Any of you used CreateSpace? What did you think of it?

Author Sylvia Dickey Smith

2012-01-12T05:00:00.003-06:00

Join me today over on The Blood-Red Pencil where I’m interviewing award-winning author Sylvia Dickey Smith. I asked her about the Texas Press Women’s Award, the award she won last year. (Then she went on to place second in Nationals.)

Here are three reasons to go read this post:
1. Sylvia tells who won first place in Nationals (expect to smile, if not laugh out loud).
2. Sylvia has a new book out this year, The Swamp Whisperer, and she tells us whether she’ll enter it in the Texas Press Women’s Award for 2012.
3. And if you’ve never heard of your state’s Press Award, you’ll want to read what she says about the categories under which you could enter your own book.

So link over and read the post. Remember to leave a comment. You can also share the post on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Book Review: Blind Traveler’s Blues

2012-01-11T05:00:00.001-06:00

Blind Traveler’s Blues by Robert P. Bennett starts off with events two months in the past, when a discovery is made on a scientific dig in Mexico. What happens there affects not just those at the dig site, but the entire world. With the first chapter, we leave the dig behind and move into the present day, although not our present day, but several months after the dig in the year 2021. The world has changed.

The focus of the book is Douglas Abledan, a blind businessman who is scheduled to go on a vacation, but whose boss is intent on turning that vacation into a business trip. The good news for you and I, the readers, is that we see things though Douglas’ eyes, or more accurately, his senses other than sight. It’s an interesting look into this altered future and a more fascinating look into how Douglas has adapted to his loss of sight. We see sights in Chicago through his senses of touch, hearing, smell and taste. When a woman he meets is killed, he sets out to determine why and who killed her, taking us along with him.

At times it was difficult to understand his determination to find out who killed the woman he had only known a couple of days. But I let that go and followed him as he skillfully investigated her death, unknowingly moving himself closer to the edge.

Smashwords
OmniLit
Kindle
KindleUK
KindleGE
Kindle FR
Nook

I give Blind Traveler’s Blues by Robert P. Bennett a rating of Hel-of-a-Character.

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FTC Disclaimer: This e-book was given to me by the author, but that did not influence my review. What did influence my review was the protagonist. Plain and simple, I liked reading a book where the main character is blind. It was interesting to be in his head, to move with him as he worked the case, to watch him stick his nose in places you and I would have avoided, to worry for him when he walked unknowingly into danger. Abledan is not timid. If anything, he’s a bit cocky, occasionally reckless, and always confident. Wouldn’t we all want to be that way?

Publishing How-To Advice

2012-01-07T05:00:00.001-06:00

If you’re considering publishing your own e-book, here’s another post that lays out a basic How-To. This one is from The Wall Street Journal/India. It seems to be pretty straight forward and thus would work for pretty much anyone.

I like that the author of the article, Amit Agarwal, keeps it simple and offers advice from his own experience.

He starts by telling you where he recommends you publish. Then he goes into the fonts he recommends you use, as well as what not to do, the size your cover pic should be and what tool to use to convert your document.

In Step 2, he tells you how to test your eBook. Then he explains what happens when you publish.

It gives some good advice, although the article is not a move-by-move how-to. So read it if you’re considering e-publishing. It should help you decide if it’s time to dive in.

Book Review: Untraceable

2012-01-05T05:03:00.001-06:00

I’m not sure of the category of Untraceable by S.R. Johannes. Probably young adult since the protagonist, Grace, is a teenager. But you don’t have to be a teen to enjoy the book. I did and I’m a few years past nineteen.

Grace’s dad has been missing for so long, everyone assumes he’s dead – everyone except Grace. He disappeared into the vast forest filled with cliffs and bears and other dangers. But Grace feels inside that he’s alive. He was a Forest Ranger and he taught her everything she knows. And she knows a lot. She sets out to find him, looking for even the smallest clue, like a tossed Cheetos bag. Her mother hardly notices Grace because she’s so distraught and has to continue to work to provide for them. As the days pass and the authorities dismiss her, she ventures farther into the wilderness and deeper into her obsession.

Untraceable is fast paced with action, suspense, even a bit of romance. Another thing I liked is learning more about survival in the wilderness. Each chapter is headed with a Survival Skill, and as Grace searches for her dad, we go along with her and learn from her actions.

The ending will surprise you. It ties everything together while leaving a few things unanswered. This is the first book in the Grace series, after all.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Smashwords

I give Untraceable a rating of Hel-of-a-Story.

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FTC Disclaimer: The author did not send me this book nor did she request a review. I bought it because I read about it on another blog. Which just goes to show that posting on other blogs or having other bloggers post about your book helps with getting the word out. But I bet most of you already know that. Just a few years ago, the blogosphere was new and writers hadn’t considered it as a way to promote themselves. Ah, how times have changed. For me the biggest change has been my behind. Now I sit at my desk most of the day typing on a too-small keyboard and staring at a lit screen. (I do occasionally stare at an unlit screen, but that’s before my coffee kicks in.)

Creating a Best Seller

2012-01-04T05:00:00.002-06:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and remembered to eat your Black-Eyed Peas for good luck in 2012.

For the first post of the new year, I give you: How to create a NY Times Bestseller, according to The Atlantic Wire.

Start with a literary agent with an idea. Throw in an Internet search. Find what you’re looking for. And voila.

Laurie Abkemeier, a literary agent with DeFiore and Company, decided a couple years ago that the world needed a book about ugly Christmas sweaters. She went onto the Internet until she found Brian Miller, Adam Paulson and (the appropriately named) Kevin Wool, three guys in Indiana who sold ugly Christmas sweaters from their website…

From that you get a bestseller.

Emily Witt, with the New York Advisor, offers this advice:

Start a Tumblr or Twitter feed with some combination of puppies, fear of protracted adolescence, horrific Americana, text messages from your friends or photos of your parents; add a dose of nostalgia, regret or chagrin, promote it all over the Internet and wait for the literary agents to find you.

What ideas do you have?

Wanna Be in Print?

2011-12-31T05:00:00.000-06:00

All the buzz is about e-books, but we can’t forget print. With that in mind, I came across a good article on self-pubbing your book in print form. It’s not too long, but the author, Kim Komando, offers tips on publishing your own book.

She list three print-on-demand sites: Lulu.com, Blurb.com and CreateSpace.com, then tells you the basics about each and their good and bad points, as she sees them. She also touches on the cost of using each. In her opinion, CreateSpace wins price-wise over the other two, but she warns that you also need to check other factors specific to your book.

She then goes into marketing and how each site rates on getting your book out to the public – and points out that once you self-publishing, you have to do the marketing and you’ll have little help, unless you’re willing to pay for that.

I think the article is a pretty straight-forward breakdown of the ins and outs. So, if you’re thinking of doing your own print book, give it a read. I’d love to hear what any of you would like to add.

Book Review: Game Face

2011-12-29T05:00:00.002-06:00

Over the holidays, I downloaded and read Game Face by Mark Troy. Game Face is a collection of 8 short stories featuring Val Lyon, plus a sample chapter from Pilikia Is My Business, the novel Troy wrote which stars her. (If you want to know how to pronounce “pilikia,” just read the preface in Game Face.)

One great thing about Game Face is that through this book, we get to know more about Val Lyon. The thread tying all the stories together, other than that they each star Val, is that they all focus on some type of sport. Some people may think female PIs aren’t believable because … how tough can a woman be? Read Game Face and Val will show you.

Game Face will allow you to see deeper into Val Lyon. Even if you don’t plan to get Pilikia Is My Business, each story in Game Face stands alone and each one shows Val in a different sport, from skydiving to open-ocean canoe racing to beach volleyball to professional basketball to golf to rodeo to surfing. As a bonus, they’re all set in Hawaii! Plus, in one of the stories, you get to meet Moon Ito. Troy refers to Moon as Val Lyon’s “sidekick.” Since reading Pilikia Is My Business and the short story Teed Off in this book, I think of him as a brick wall – one I would not want to run into. ‘Course, I would not want to get crosswise with Val either. I would, however, like to read another book about her. Hint, hint.

Kindle

Amazon

CreateSpace

Smashwords

I give Game Face a rating of Hel-of-a-Character.

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FTC Disclaimer: I know Mark Troy online and as a friend. I also was invited by him to speak at a workshop/conference put on by the Brazos Writers. None of this influenced my review. Another thing that did not influence me was his bio, or “About the Author,” in the back of the book. I was impressed, though. He served in the Peace Corps in Thailand, attended graduate school in Hawaii, and is now an administrator and researcher at Texas A&M University. But, hey, I have a bio, too. I swam as a mermaid, I went to graduate school in San Marcos, Texas, and there’s a teeny bit of a chance I might get to go to Hawaii this year. If it happens, I’m going to look for Val and Moon. See if they know what’s holding up the next book in the Val Lyon series.

E-book Pricing

2011-12-28T05:03:00.002-06:00

GigaOm wonders if publishers are missing the point on e-book prices. Lately, I’ve seen lots of people asking the same thing.

Publishers signed a deal with Amazon that allowed Amazon to cut prices if they wanted to. But they signed a deal with Apple that allowed the publishers to control their e-book prices. So…while Amazon cuts prices and sells many copies … publishers keep the same books at a higher cost on Apple and sell fewer copies. Meanwhile, independent authors publish their own books and usually set their prices low when they can and sell more copies.

According to the GigaOm article, publishers “claim that consumers are actually willing to pay more for the e-book version of a novel because of the convenience and other features that they get with an electronic edition…”

And yet, in the same article, a reader said:
Q: It’s hard to justify the purchase of e-books that are priced at $10 to $15 when you can buy the real book on Amazon used for $2 or $3. EQ

And here’s another kick in the gut for publishers:
Q: … high prices for mainstream e-books could easily convince more readers to try self-published novels from authors using Amazon’s Kindle publishing platform — since many of them are priced at $5 or cheaper. EQ

Of course, you and I out here in the real world already know that independent authors of e-books are making serious headway into the top sales figures already.

What category are you in? Keep prices low for e-books? Keep them all high? Give authors more input into the pricing of their books when done via an agent or publisher? Should authors jump from the publisher’s ship and dive into the self-publishing Sea of E-books?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T05:00:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe, happy Christmas.

Both of my kids will be home, which will make for a great Christmas. Every year, I make eggnog for Christmas Eve. And every year they groan and won’t drink it, no matter whether I buy it at the store or make it from scratch, whether it’s virgin eggnog or has alcohol in it (they’re both grown). They hate eggnog. So last year I gave up and made hot chocolate instead. Neither of them were happy. They wanted to know where the eggnog was. Turns out, they hate eggnog, but love the tradition of me trying to get them to drink it. So, we’ll be having eggnog tonight. It’s officially a Ginger Tradition.

What Christmas tradition does your family have?

The Future of Textbooks?

2011-12-22T05:00:00.001-06:00

The New York Times has an article about a textbook called Principles of Biology which may give us an idea of what textbooks will soon look like. First of all, it’s a digital-only book.

The pages have some pizazz: they are replete with punchy, interactive electronic features — from dynamic illustrations to short quizzes meant to involve students rather than letting them plod, glassy-eyed, from one section to the next. Audio and video clips are woven into the text.

Not only those, but the illustrations are interactive.

As students learn about the genetic code, for example, they can match amino acids to corresponding sequences on the double helix to understand how an entire protein emerges from genetic sequences.

Other publishers are experimenting along these same lines. For example, with the textbook “Calculus”:

Students can manipulate 650 interactive figures, including graphs of functions, derivatives, and integrals, as they learn the basics of calculus.

With another interactive tool, readers can binarize an image of Lady Gaga.

It seems to me that these new tools in digital textbooks could do a lot to draw students in to the lessons and, thus, learn more. I think I would have enjoyed these kinds of “books” back when I was in high school or college.

Amazon Bestsellers

2011-12-21T05:00:00.001-06:00

I was a bit disappointed when I read an ad piece on Advert. Of the top 10 best-selling books on Amazon in 2011, only two were “independently” published.

Here is the list of those 10 books:
“Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson
“Bossypants” by Tina Fey
“A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard
“The Mill River Recluse” by Darcie Chan
“In the Garden of the Beasts” by Erik Larson
“A Dance with Dragons” by George R.R. Martin
“The Paris Wife” by Paula McLain
“The Litigators” by John Grisham
“The Abbey” by Chris Culver
“Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle)” by Christopher Paolini

Of those, only “The Mill River Recluse” and “The Abbey” were indirectly published via Kindle Direct Publishing and did not have a print edition.

Do you have a favorite eBook that you thought should have been a best-seller?

Book Review: Raising Abel

2011-12-17T05:00:00.002-06:00

Raising Abel by Carolyn Nash is a memoir. It’s not her life story from birth to now. It’s more of a telling of a certain time in her life. Raising Abel covers the period of Nash’s life from when she adopted Abel until he is grown.

This book scared me. Made me laugh. Made me want to cry. Amazed me by Nash’s honesty and no holds barred way of telling her story. I may read it again, only this time, I’ll read more slowly instead of rushing to find out what happened next.

You get an idea of the story to come when you read the opening paragraph in the Prologue:

Abel came into the kitchen while I was scrambling some eggs. “I’m going to kill you with a big knife,” he said shyly.

Nash is brave. Her story is told without sugar coating – for her or for Abel. And anyone who believes a woman who adopts a child cannot feel the same depth of love for that child as a woman who gave birth to a child should read this book.

Amazon

Kindle

Raising Abel is the most honest memoir I’ve read. I most definitely give Raising Abel a rating of Hel-of-a-Story.

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FTC Disclaimer: The author made this book available for me to download. Although I thought that was very nice of her, it did not influence my review. I was influenced by Carolyn Nash’s perseverance, her commitment to loving Abel, and her honesty not just about Abel but about herself. By the end, I wanted her to write the next story of her and Abel. I want to know where their lives go from here. I also want my family not to search the house for Christmas presents while I’m at Barnes & Noble wrapping gifts to raise funds for the Bess Whitehead Scott Scholarship Fund. To anyone not in my family, but looking for places to hide gifts, I recommend the freezer, the attic, the dirty clothes hamper, and the cleaning supply cabinet.

Déjà Vu

2011-12-16T05:00:00.004-06:00

Today, I’m participating in the Déjà Vu Blogfest. This is my Déjà Vu All Over Again Post. If you’d like to read other such posts, click on the Déjà Vu picture in the sidebar.

The Great Flood:A Mermaid Tale

Early one morning, I came into work, expecting it to be just another day of picnicking underwater, doing ballets and waving from the volcano at guests. When I got backstage, though, I discovered it was not to be just another day. Although we were having overcast weather, elsewhere, days ago, the weather had been stormy and rain had fallen in giant buckets. That “elsewhere” was where the springs at Aquarena Springs got its water. It rains there, filters down into the sub-levels and eventually rises in the hundreds of springs where I swam.

We were expecting a huge amount of water -- so much that all workers were assigned jobs to save the show area. The volcano and submarine could float, although they might lose some anchors. But… heavens to Betsy… Ralph(s) was in danger. Ralph, in case you’re just joining in on these tales, was Ralph the Swimming Pig, the most famous performer. (Don’t tell anyone, but there was always at least two Ralphs since, unlike human performers, Ralph wasn’t allowed to swim two shows in a row.) So Ralph and Ralph had to be moved to high ground.

At the time, we had two swans in the show area (someday I’ll tell a tale about them). They can swim, but since management didn’t want them to be able to swim right out of the show area in the high water, they had to be corralled and moved to high ground. Have you ever tried to corral a swan?

All kinds of stuff had to be tied down. Management wanted us to move the catfish that was older than sin and bigger than a zip car to a more secure place. If you think swans are difficult to wrangle, try moving a big ol’ bottom dwelling catfish. We got the swans moved, but not the catfish.

They wanted us to move the ducks, but, come on, ducks can fly.

Finally, the Ralphs, the swans, the volcano were all rescued or tied down or set free.

Then, we, the performers, were told to get in and swim the late morning show. (Shows you what the pecking order was.)

Being spring-fed, the waters in the show area were always crystal clear. That day, the water was so murky it was almost like trying to see through a wall. I could put my hand up about a foot in front of my and not be able to see my fingers. The girls moved ballet up close to the sub, did our moves, then held out our hands, hoping the guys holding the air hoses would spot our palms and give us air. The water was so cloudy the audience inside of the sub would not have been able to see us picnicking on our lily pads, so we took our picnic bags, swam right up to the sub windows, held on to the window frame and ate our celery and drank our punch. Then we turned and swam back toward the volcano, hoping we weren’t wandering off in the wrong direction.

After the show, we headed up top to wave goodbye to the audience as they exited the submarine. An audience that consisted of one man and his dog.

Deja Vu Blogfest

2011-12-15T05:00:00.001-06:00

I’m sharing two things with you today.

First, come back tomorrow. It’s not my usual day to post, but I’m participating in the Deja Vu Blogfest. I’ll be posting a way-back post (or better known as a repeat post). If you click on the Deja Vu Blogfest picture in the sidebar on the right, you’ll be taken to a list of the folks participating in the fun. There are well over a hundred blogs to choose from.

Second, I got the funniest Christmas card from Kaye Publicity. On the outside there’s a picture of a woman with a young girl in her lap. The caption is:
Q: Sometimes when an agent and editor love each other very much, they have lunch. And that’s how books are made. EQ

Hope to “see” you tomorrow!

Selling Print Books

2011-12-14T05:00:00.001-06:00

It seems like all the news lately is about iBooks. But there is some interesting news about print books. The New York Times recently had an article about how publishers are giving print books a makeover in an attempt to boost sales – and just in time for Christmas.

Many new releases have design elements usually reserved for special occasions — deckle edges, colored endpapers, high-quality paper and exquisite jackets that push the creative boundaries of bookmaking.

What publishers are doing is adding extras that might appeal to readers or making some books more beautiful and interesting.

For publishers, the strategy has a clear payoff: to increase the value of print books and build a healthy, diverse marketplace that includes brick-and-mortar bookstores and is not dominated by Amazon and e-books …. There are indications that an exquisitely designed hardcover book can keep print sales high and cut into e-book sales.

Publishers hope readers will see their enhanced print books and say, Now there’s a book worth buying and keeping.

How many of you are giving print books or Christmas? Are they regular books or special “beautiful” books? Or are you giving e-books?

Definition of Success

2011-12-10T04:56:00.001-06:00

Exactly what is success? I thought about that as I read a Wall Street Journal article about an author named Darcie Chan. This past summer her debut e-book, The Mill River Recluse, came out.

It has sold more than 400,000 copies and landed on the best-seller lists alongside brand-name authors like Michael Connelly, James Patterson and Kathryn Stockett.

That sounds like success to me.

And yet … she was rejected by a dozen publishers and more than 100 literary agents. So she e-published it herself. Then she went beyond just publishing it:

She bought some ads on Web sites targeting e-book readers, paid for a review from Kirkus Reviews, and strategically priced her book at 99 cents to encourage readers to try it.

Now, she’s receiving bids from foreign imprints, movie studios and audio-book publishers.

Multiple audio-book publishers have made offers. Six film studios have inquired about movie rights. Two foreign publishers bid on the book.

Sounds like success to me.

Ms. Chan is holding off on such deals, for fear they might sabotage a potential contract with a domestic publisher.

She wants the book to be published in print form.

What is her definition of “success”? What is yours?

Book Review: Just Hand Over the Chocolate…

2011-12-08T05:00:00.004-06:00

The full title of this book is: Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt. The author is Karen Scalf Linamen. I’m not exactly sure what genre it would be under: nonfiction, humor, memoir, advice, religion. What “label” is attached to it is much less important than that it’s a fun book to read.

She offers her own life (and occasionally a friend’s) as examples of times when things go wrong in your life, or you’re under stress, or you’re depressed, or you really would like to hide in a closet and eat chocolate. Then she shares how she overcame these times and bad days and how you can, too. Both Linamen and her stories are relatable. She talks about pretty much everything, from depression to the delivery room, from taking risks to holding grudges, from forgiving to finding a mentor.

Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt will make you laugh occasionally and smile often. Linamen is funny and, at times, courageously honest. Reading this book won’t keep bad things from happening in your life, but will give you ways to cope.

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Powell’s

I give Just Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Will Get Hurt by Karen Scalf Linamen a rating of Hel-of-a-Writer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: This book was sent to me, not by the author, nor by the publisher, nor by a publicist, but rather by Kathi Oram Peterson. Thank you Kathi. Getting the book from Kathi did not influence my review. I was influenced by being able to open the book to almost any page and find something wonderful, like this on page 159: “Now, you have to understand that I once bought greeting cards for my friends that read, “I gave up jogging because it was bad for my health.” The inside of the card explained: “My thighs rubbed together so much my underwear caught fire.” (My own disclaimer: I did indeed open the book and choose a paragraph at random.) As I said, Linamen is totally relatable. And apparently using my thighs to amuse her friends.

Who Will Survive?

2011-12-07T05:00:00.002-06:00

Hilary Melton-Butcher sent me the link to an interesting blog post written last month by Kirsten Winkler. Winkler discusses the future of libraries and bookstores. She feels bookstores and libraries are becoming the collateral damage of the eBook revolution. She, like most of us, hope they survive.

Winkler notes that a lot of libraries are lending eBooks. Personally, I like that. It will help them stay relevant. I still worry about bookstores, though. She talks about those stores where the owner or employee knows books and can direct you to exactly what you’ll like. We used to have stores like that. My favorite was owned by the wonderful mystery author, Jan Grape. She was that kind of person. She knew mystery and she knew (and still knows) every big mystery author in the U.S. But she and her husband retired. Unlike Winkler, I don't know of any big chain stores now with that kind of personnel. Certainly not B&N or the other big names.

And I really don't like Winkler’s idea that if I buy an eBook in a bookstore for my iPad, the publisher can track me via my cell phone. She sites it as a possible way for bookstores to make money:

For the economic model, there could be revenue share based on location, e.g. if a customer decides to buy an ebook when he is inside a bookstore or library, the device would know this due to GPS and location awareness and therefore the publisher would share revenue the same way as with physical books.

'Course the publisher could probably track me via the iPad, too, as I sit in my living room dowloading. I harken back to the days of Down With Big Brother, which didn't work then and won't work now.

Link over and read the article. There’s also a video to watch. Both of them have some interesting points. Thanks Hilary!

Can The Author Say No?

2011-12-03T04:52:00.001-06:00

There was an interesting article on BBC News Technology this past week that involved the author Ray Bradbury and his famous book, Fahrenheit 451, which has sold more than 10 million copies. His contract with his publisher was about to expire. His publisher was willing to sign a new contract, but only if Bradbury agreed to include the e-rights to his book.

Bradbury said no. He’d said no before when Yahoo wanted to put his books into eform. He, in fact, said: “Prick up your ears and go to hell.” Now his publisher was pressing him.

It came down to Bradbury sticking to his guns, but losing his contract because his publisher said no e-book rights then no contract. Or giving in, signing the new contract, and having his books become available on eReaders, adding to the spread of technology, something he does not like.

In the end, he chose contract over taking a stand.

That may sound like a cop-out, but what would you do?

Book Review: The Temple Mount Code

2011-12-01T05:00:00.002-06:00

The Temple Mount Code is a thriller. Charles Brokaw, who wrote The Temple Mount Code, is a New York Times bestselling author. This is the third in Brokaw’s “Code” series. Before this, he wrote The Atlantis Code and The Lucifer Code. But this is the first book I’ve read by him.

The story starts off with Professor Thomas Lourds heading to a dig in China. He’s not there very long, just long enough to make a discovery, before he heads off to Jerusalem at the request of a friend. And from there to the end of the book, it’s a race to stay alive and save people around him. Oh, and to find what everyone is looking for and willing to kill for … Mohammad’s Koran.

The dig in China is very interesting, but once Lourds heads out to find his friend who seems to be in trouble, the pace and action races. It reminded me of The Da Vinci Code, as far as the scholarly knowledge Lourds has, but it also reminded me of a thriller movie with the fast pace, chases, fights, and exotic settings. Since Professor Lourds has starred in Brokaw’s other books, you can guess that he will survive, but it’s all bets off on everyone else. There are also some formidable women in the book. I especially liked Miriam.

Lourds is smart like Robert Langdon, can fight like Jason Bourne, and loves like James Bond. Roll them together and you’ve got a moo-vie! (That’s my prediction, anyway.)

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Powell’s Books

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FTC Disclaimer: The Temple Mount Code was sent to me by Alexis Saarela with Forge Publicity. That did not influence my review. Although I have to admit, it’s cool to get a book sent to me from New York. But not as cool as getting a book all the way from South Africa, which I did when Lauri Kubuitsile sent me her book! As you can surmise, I like books set in new-to-me locations. Although… The Temple Mount Code takes you to places you’d probably rather not go in real life. Places even scarier than a college dorm bathroom.

Part 2: The Silliness of English

2011-11-30T05:00:00.002-06:00

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with "quick"?

Disclaimer: I cannot take credit for either Part 1 or Part 2 of "The Silliness of English". I rather suspect they were written by a frustrated high school English teacher.

Guest: Carolyn J. Rose

2011-11-26T05:00:00.002-06:00

Carolyn J. Rose is the author of 11 novels including A Place of Forgetting, a story about love, war, betrayal, and Thoreau, set in 1966. A cozy mystery, No Substitute for Murder, is due out soon. I convinced her that appearing here on Straight From Hel was a good way to launch her new book.

Carolyn grew up in New York’s Catskill Mountains, graduated from the University of Arizona, logged two years in Arkansas with Volunteers in Service to America, and spent 25 years as a television news researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. Now getting her quota of stress as a substitute teacher, she lives in Vancouver, Washington, and founded the Vancouver Writers’ Mixers. Her hobbies are reading, gardening, and not cooking.

The Etiquette of Eavesdropping

Carolyn J. Rose

As a writer, I’m always on the lookout for unique characters with distinct voices, characters using the language in new and different ways, bending, folding and mutilating it into fresh and interesting similes and metaphors.

Fortunately for me, potential characters are everywhere—in grocery stores and at the mall, in the rec center pool and walking in my neighborhood. They’re where I work, in restaurants and coffee shops, at highway rest stops and in movie theaters.

More fortunately, many of those characters are having conversations—face-to-face, or on phones. Often—and perhaps this is a sign of our social networking age—they make almost no attempt to keep those conversations private. There’s no turning aside, no hunching over, no cupping hands to contain their voices.

Unless I walk away, it’s almost impossible not to hear at least part of their conversations. And because I’m always looking for raw material, I don’t want to abandon a fresh mine of characterization.

That’s why I’ve decided to set aside the “it’s rude to eavesdrop” rule laid down by my grandmother.

But, in the interests of being at least a little subtle, and not drawing the wrath of eavesdroppees (let’s pretend that’s a word, okay?), I established a few Okay and Not Okay guidelines.

Okay
*Jotting notes to yourself if you can successfully pretend you’re making a grocery or to-do list
*Cuing friends with your eyes or a discreet thumb gesture so they can help you remember
*Dialing your answering machine and quietly leaving the information in a message
*Racing to the restroom and scrawling details on a paper towel (Note, a look of urgent desperation gives this verisimilitude, but as more restrooms go to those hot air blasters, towels are harder to find)

Not Okay
*Making eye contact
*Commenting on their conversation
*Asking if they could repeat something you didn’t quite hear
*Being obvious about taking notes, texting, or tweeting
*Pulling out a recording device and pointing it in their direction
*Calling a friend and loudly proclaiming “you’ll never guess what I’m listening to”

Some of the most amazing things I’ve overheard include:
I’m taking my truck and those quaaludes. That’s all I need.
And then the chicken attacked.
The DNA didn’t match either of us.
The safe is hidden behind the baseboard in the corner of . . .
An unregistered gun, two cans of beef stew, and . . .
And there I was, halfway to Seattle without my underwear.

If you’ve heard anything interesting or have some rules about eavesdropping that you’d like to share, please leave a comment. We’ll put your name into the drawing for a copy of A Place of Forgetting.

Part 1: The Silliness of English

2011-11-24T05:00:00.001-06:00

To celebrate Thanksgiving, here's a bit of the silliness of the English language:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert..
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Disclaimer: I did not write these wonderful silly samples. They were sent to me by a friend, who got them from a friend, who....

Eat lots of turkey (or ham or whatever), then come back Saturday for another dip in the silliness bucket.

Book Review: Black Thunder

2011-11-23T05:00:00.001-06:00

Black Thunder is the latest book in Aimee and David Thurlo’s Ella Clah mystery series. Together, they’ve written more than 15 books in this series. Even though this is the first book I’ve read in the series, the Thurlos did a great job of easing in enough information that I never got lost or felt lost.

Ella Clah is a Special Investigator for the Navajo Police. After finding bodies buried on the Navaho Reservation, she and her team, along with a partner from the New Mexico State Police, set out to find a serial killer.

Ella Clah has a lot to deal with, beyond the case. Her daughter is the age when most kids begin to rebel, her mother doesn’t seem to be her usual self, and Clah’s longtime companion has stronger feelings for her than she does for him. Plus, there’s taking a bullet to keep a little boy from being shot in the head.

I have to say that I guessed the serial killer before the reveal, but that did not hurt my enjoyment of reading the book. I may have guessed the killer, but I didn’t guess the killer’s motivation. Besides, figuring out who dunnit meant much less to me than reading about the Native American culture and people. That, to me, was fascinating. Over the course of the book you learn a lot about the Navajo culture and way of life. The Thurlos wove it into the storyline and ended up making me wish I could go to New Mexico and sit down with Officer Clah, her mother, Detective Nez and Dr. Roanhorse. Or, better yet, be invisible and follow them around.

Characters and setting in a book don’t often come alive for me. They did in Black Thunder.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Powell’s Books

I give Black Thunder a rating of Hel-of-a-Cast

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FTC Disclaimer: Black Thunder was sent to me by Karen Lovell with Forge Publicity. That did not influence my review. Ella Clah did. She’s a fully realized person walking a thin line between the “modern” world and the traditionalists of the Navajo nation. Like the rest of us, she has more than just her job to deal with. She’s smart, independent, caring, strong, and can shoot a gun. Like me. Okay, like me without the being-able-to-handle-a-gun part. And the strong part. I’d’ve been crying like a baby if someone shot me or even shot at me. Or pointed a gun at me. Clearly, I need to be braver … or read more Ella Clah mysteries.

Disney Goes E

2011-11-19T05:00:00.000-06:00

According to Publishers Weekly, Disney recently issued their first E-Book Original novel. The YA book is called: Confessions of a High School Vampire: Birth.

Suzanne Murphy, v-p and publisher of Disney Publishing Worldwide noted:

We were able to turn this around much faster than we would a print book, even though the e-book requires the same editorial care, copyediting, cover design, and all those things required for any good book”

On December 20, they plan to come out with a second original e-book, this one a collection of four short stories starring zombie teens. It’ll be called: Generation Dead: Stitches: Stories of the Undead.

These titles are certainly not the old “Disney” books. Things have changed since the Bambi days. But then, so have teens and pre-teens.

To me, this says that Disney believes lots of kids and teens read on e-Readers and that’s where Disney is starting to invest its money. I wonder how many e-Readers will be under the Christmas tree this year? And how many of those will go to pre-teens and teens, pre-loaded by Santa with Disney books?

Signing Your eBook

2011-11-17T05:00:00.001-06:00

If you write eBooks, you may already know about a company that ‘s made it possible for you to sign your eBooks. In case you don’t already know, the name of that company is Autography. Autography works on “every major ebook eReader platform.”

You can even choose to sign something other than a blank page:

Authors are no longer restricted to signing a blank page. Autography's solutions include graphic-rich, customized signature pages that extend the author's brand beyond the book's cover. Authors can also elect to autograph a picture, taken at the event or from a stock menu, and insert that into their ebook.

If this intrigues you, visit their website. You can also watch a video explaining how it works. Note: the video is not easy to hear.

Has anyone tried Autography? What do you think of the idea, either as an author or as a reader?

Author Lauri Kubuitsile

2011-11-16T05:00:00.002-06:00

Lauri Kubuitsile is an award winning, full time writer living in Botswana. Her short stories have been published on four continents and she has 14 published works of fiction, primarily for children. (You can read my review of her book, Signed, Hopelessly in Love.) She’s also written six textbooks, two television series and numerous radio scripts. She has twice won first place in Africa’s prize for children’s writing, The Golden Baobab. Most recently she was shortlisted for The Caine Prize.

Recently, she set off on a book tour and graciously agreed to make Straight From Hel one of her stops. I’m asking her some questions, and I hope you’ll have some of your own to ask in the Comments Section.

Welcome Lauri Kubuitsile.

When you started writing Signed, Hopelessly in Love, was the ending already decided or did the full plot develop as you wrote?

The thought that was the seed of this book was how we make mistakes and how we think they’re the end of the world when they’re really not. And how this is amplified by a million for teenagers. Everything they do seems to be wrong and they’re absolutely positive everyone in the world saw it and are having a grand time about it at their expense. But the truth of the matter is usually very different. That’s what I wanted the book to be about. So in that sense, I knew the ending, I knew she would find her way to the other side and see that it wasn’t quite the end of the world as she had thought. So how to get from A to B was the complicated part, the work of writing the book. There was some pre-planning, and some plot development along the way; this is the normal way I approach books. I need a guide but I’m not a slave to it if I find the plot going elsewhere.

I really enjoyed Signed, Hopelessly in Love. When you wrote it, did you channel your teenage self a bit? If so, which character did you relate with most?

Amo was definitely me. I had a huge, mammoth crush on a guy on the football team two years ahead of me in school. He didn’t even see me. I was invisible. And yet I had this whole drama built around our interactions. For example, I’d pass him in the hall while laughing with my friends and for weeks I’d fret about how stupid and childish I must have looked. But like I said, I was invisible to him. It was an entire universe in my head. So I could definitely identify with Amo.

I love that Amo had a definite character arc over the course of the book. Will there be a future book with Amo and Nono ?

When I hear terms like “character arc” I shake a bit and my palms start to sweat. I know what such terms mean but- I need to lay myself bare here- I really am an instinctual writer. I’ve been a story addict since birth, so the story format has become part of my DNA, I occasionally get things right but by complete accident. I’m glad Amo has a complete character arc but anything that happened in that direction was not purposefully guided by me.

Every stop on this book tour people have asked me about a sequel, so I think it may be a good idea. Initially, as soon as I finished the book, I wanted to write a second one. I had a very good idea that I was sure would work, but didn’t write it down and have forgotten it a bit. (Be that a lesson for all of you writers out there- write it down!) Then it was all about getting it published, and this you know takes time, so things have grown a bit cold. But who knows? Maybe that’s better. As a reader I love series, so perhaps.

Thank you so much, Lauri.

Signed, Hopelessly in Love is a Young Adult book published by Tafelberg, a South African publisher. You can find it online. Check the review I did on Monday for links to online places where it’s available.

Before you zip away, leave a comment and/or question, please.

Book Review: Signed, Hopelessly in Love

2011-11-14T05:00:00.001-06:00

Amo, a student at Puso Ka Junior Secondary School is a serious journalist. She writes the hard pieces, like “Is writing notes harmful?” Then she’s given the fluff assignment of becoming “Aunt Lulu” and answering questions in the school newspaper. She, for sure, does not want to be Aunt Lulu. Then a letter arrives and it’s signed “Hopelessly in Love” and her life changes. She discovers she’s good at giving advice. But can she handle the consequences of her own advice?

Signed, Hopelessly in Love was written by Lauri Kubuitsile, an award-winning author who’s written 14 published works of fiction, primarily for children. This was the first one I’d read. I liked it for several different reasons.

Kubuitsile lives in Botswana and the book is set there. I know little about Botswana and loved getting to read about the people there, as well as the setting. Life there is different from here – and yet, not so different. Parents love their children there as much as they do here. Botswanan kids want the same things American kids want. And childhood friendships are lasting, no matter where you live.

It was fun reading this story from Amo’s viewpoint. Amo lays her heart out for us to see. She’s being raised by her grandmother whom she loves and respects but doesn’t always agree with. Things don’t always go her way and, like all of us, she messes up sometimes. You can identify with her when things go wrong and she loses more than just her heart.

I think this would be a great book for pre-teens or early teens. And don’t be hesitant because it’s set in Botswana. No matter where you live, feelings and dreams are the same. Plus, it’s always good to read about characters and places far away, places that may look different, but the people are not.

Places to go to purchase Signed, Hopelessly in Love:

Book Depository

Amazon.com (limited availability)

Kalahari.com

Amazon.co.uk (preorder)

Loot.co.za

I give Signed, Hopelessly in Love a rating of Hel-of-a-Character.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: Signed, Hopelessly in Love was sent to me by the author, Lauri Kubuitsile. That did not influence my review. Nor was my review influenced by Lauri being here this coming Wednesday to answer some questions about her writing. [Notice how I slid in a plug for a Q&A with her? Hope you all come back for it.] Speaking of coming back, here is a message for all of you. (I composed it using the Glossary in the back of Signed, Hopelessly in Love.) Dumela, tsala. Tla kwano the day after kamoso. There will be magwinya for all….I’m hoping I didn’t just write something that will get me kicked off the Internet. Wait a minute. That might be a good thing. I’d see my family more often. Okay, maybe not such a good thing.

Book Giveaway: Treasure Hunter

2011-11-13T12:28:00.000-06:00

This past Wednesday, W.C. Jameson stopped by to answer my questions about his latest book, Treasure Hunter. It was fun having him here on Straight From Hel. Also fun was getting the opportunity to draw a name from all the commenters and giving that person a copy of his book.

The winner is: Yvonne Osborne.

Congratulations Yvonne!

Jameson’s publicist, Stephanie Barko, will be getting Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses and Deadly Confrontations out in the mail to you.

Book Review: My Zoo World

2011-11-12T05:00:00.007-06:00

Joanne Faries has written a book about her life – or to be more accurate, a book about her phobia. She’s afraid of animals. Dogs, cats, horses, goats, lizards, you name it, she’s afraid of it. And she has tales from her life to prove why. It’s not like she runs at the sight of a horse or dog. As you read her book, you discover she’s ridden horses, reluctantly. She’s been around dogs and other animals. But something always goes wrong and she’s never happy or comfortable around them.

For example, as a child she, along with other neighborhood kids, went to a neighbor’s house to ride their new Shetland pony. Her friends had a grand time. She did not. The pony bit her.

Then there was the time her son Kevin, who loved animals and longed to have a pet in the no-pets household, talked her into letting him have a fish tank. The fish didn’t last long, but Kevin, in cahoots with his dad, got a lizard. She found out when she heard the chirping of crickets (dinner for the lizards).

Then there was the swan. The Swedish swan. Oh, but I’ll let you read that one and all the other stories yourself.

If you, too, are scared of certain animals, you’ll sympathize with Faries phobias. If you aren’t, then you’ll be amazed at how things go terribly wrong every time she’s around any kind of animal.

My Zoo World is a fun read, although clearly not fun for Joanne Faries. As she says in the prologue, “It is a dog eat dog world and I’m mere kibble.”

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords

I give My Zoo World (If All Dogs Go to Heaven, Then I’m in Trouble) by Joanne Faries a rating of Hel-of-a-Life-Story.

~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: The author sent me a PDF copy of her book, but that did not influence my review. I was a bit excited (before I even read the book) that I could not only download it, I was able to open it by using iBooks. Yay! I was influenced by Joanne Faries’ plight. I can’t imagine being scared of all animals, dogs, cats, lizards, birds …. I had a dog as a child and my kids had dogs and cats. As a young child I had a mud turtle. I found him in the creek and kept him in a pan with water. I loved that little turtle. But we won’t talk about what happened to him. Let’s just say it involved an overnight freeze and me accidentally leaving him in the outside shed. I also had chickens, each a different color, each with its own name. I raised them to big chickens. They all ran away one day while I was at school. My mother told me about their disappearance at dinner, as she passed the chicken casserole. Hmm, perhaps I should write a book.

Being Thankful

2011-11-10T06:31:00.000-06:00

Today, I'm over at The Blood-Red Pencil talking about being thankful. (It is almost Thanksgiving, after all.)

You might be surprised at what I'm thankful for.

I'm always thankful for those of you who stop by Straight From Hel and leave comments. And I'm of course thankful for books and wonderful authors. Then there's my family. I love them dearly. So many things to be thankful for.

But ... that's not what I'm talking about on BRP. No. Today, I'm letting everyone know that I'm thankful for not killing someone. Even though I had reason.

Come on over and tell me your opinion. Don't worry, I wasn't plotting against any of you!

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2011/11/im-thankful.html

Author W.C. Jameson

2011-11-09T05:00:00.001-06:00

Best-selling treasure author W.C. Jameson is here today to answer a few questions about his writing. First, though, let me tell you a bit about him. He’s the award-winning author of 70 books, 1500 articles and essays, 300 songs, and dozens of poems. His prominence as a professional fortune hunter has led to stints as a consultant for the Unsolved Mysteries television show and the Travel Channel. He served as an adviser for the film, National Treasure starring Nicolas Cage and appears in an interview on the DVD. Jameson has written the sound tracks for two PBS documentaries and one feature film. His music has been heard on NPR and he wrote and performed in the musical, “Whatever Happened to the Outlaw, Jesse James?” Jameson has acted in five films and has been interviewed on The History Channel, The Travel Channel, PBS, and Nightline.

Welcome W.C. Let’s get right to the questions.

Your latest book, Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations, is an adventure memoir of some of your most memorable expeditions. Why did you write this book?

At first I did not want to write Treasure Hunter. The principal reason is related to the fact that one of the best advantages a professional treasure hunter can have is anonymity. The truth is, most of what I do as a professional treasure hunter is illegal, therefore the less that is known about me and what I am involved with, the better.

My wife has encouraged me for years to write about my adventures as a treasure hunter. I resisted but finally gave in a few years ago for a couple of reasons. Because of age and increasing obligations relative to writing, speaking, and other things, I am no longer as active as I once was. The partners I worked with for years are either dead or have moved on to other things. Most of my recovery expeditions required the cooperation of several men – since they are no longer active, I have cut back on my own my involvement.

While I still have a couple of treasure recovery projects on the burner, neither is likely to be affected by the release of this book.

Do you still hunt for lost mines and buried treasures?

Yes. I have a couple of ongoing projects I won’t discuss. In addition, there are still a number of caches of Spanish gold and silver we had to abandon in Mexico for a variety of reasons. I am tempted to try to go back and retrieve some of those, but recovering and transporting such things in Mexico is very difficult these days.

One of my current projects is located in Arizona, another in Texas. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

Interesting. You are regarded as the best-selling treasure author in the world. How many books about lost mines and buried treasures have you written?

Of my 70 books, at least 22 have dealt with lost mines and buried treasures. The first was published in 1988. All but two are still in print. During the next few years at least 12 more will be released.

I have had the good fortune of having publishers contact me about writing books for them. These books sell well and make the publishers money. With a renewed interest in this country for searching lost mines and buried treasures, the books seem to be in great demand.

What is your next book?

At this writing I am awaiting the release of three books:

Lost Mines and Buried Treasures of Arkansas
Lost Mines and Buried Treasures of Missouri
Billy the Kid: The Lost Interviews

Billy the Kid: The Lost Interviews can be considered a sequel to my best-selling Billy the Kid: Beyond the Grave. Searching for lost or missing people is very similar to researching and seeking a lost treasure cache. In this case, the man we searched for was the outlaw Billy the Kid who, in truth, was never killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett but went on to live in hiding for another 69 years.

The evidence for this is found in Billy the Kid: Beyond the Grave. A few so-called experts on historical American outlaws have gotten upset because my findings make a lie of what has long been perpetuated as the truth. These experts have been challenged to debate me for years but none have responded.

Thank you W.C.

W.C. Jameson lives in my home state of Texas, but no matter where you live, keep an eye out for him. When not working on a book, he tours the country as a speaker, conducting writing workshops and performing his music at folk festivals, concerts, roadhouses, and on television.

W.C. will try to stop by today, so leave a comment or a question. Then check back this Saturday when I’ll announce who wins a paperback of Treasure Hunter. All commenters will be entered in the drawing!

Book Review: Treasure Hunter

2011-11-08T05:00:00.002-06:00

Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations is a memoir by W. C. Jameson. It doesn’t cover his entire life, as that would take many books (in the front of the book, there’s a full page of Other Books by W.C. Jameson). This one covers highlights of some of the treasure hunts he’s been on in Texas and Mexico.

You might think treasure hunters hear about a buried treasure and they pack their bag and head out to find it. In the end, they stumble upon a fabulous fortune, sort of like in the movie National Treasure. That’s not the reality in Jameson’s life and adventures. He and his three fellow treasure hunters often spend months researching, trying to pinpoint where a certain treasure might be located. When they set out, they are loaded with equipment they’ll need and are aware of how dangerous each expedition can be.

He’s written many other books, but since this one was set in Texas and Mexico, just about every expedition involved rattlesnakes, huge ones in big hives. Enough of them to quell any ideas I might have ever had about going on a treasure hunt. One hunt included quick sand that almost cost him his life; another involved deadly dust. In a lot of the tales, the four friends go home empty handed. More often than not, they find the treasure, but they can’t always take it home (Remember the previous comment about hives of huge rattlesnakes? Throw in people shooting at the team and other obstacles, including near death experiences.)

Jameson has had some amazing, scary, adventures. In his final chapter, he says that the only time one can fully understand what a privilege it is to just be alive is “when one has faced death and survived.” He writes: “I feel sorry for those who have never undertaken a quest, and whose only exposure to adventure is movies.”

Although I disagree with him on that, I have to say that he’s lived a full and exciting life. Because of that, I give Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations a rating of Hel-of-a-Life-Story.

Click to buy a copy of Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations

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FTC Disclaimer: When publicist Stephanie Barko asked if I’d like to read Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations by W. C. Jameson, I thought, hmm, I don’t read a lot of memoir. Then, she told me the author was a consultant for the movie, National Treasure. Well, my husband is a fan of the movie and watches it about once a year, so I told her to send the book to me. The tales are high adventure and almost every quest is a near death experience. My husband knows about near death experiences – he has one every time I cook dinner.
And here’s a bonus: Tomorrow, W. C. Jameson will be here on Straight From Hel answering some questions of mine. Not only that, we’ll be doing a giveaway!

Interview with Rana DiOrio

2011-11-07T05:00:00.001-06:00

Today on Straight From Hel, we have Rana DiOrio, author of the What Does It Mean To Be …? series of books for children. Rana is an investor, investment banker, lawyer, and the mother of three children. She is also the founder and CEO of Little Pickle Press which is dedicated to helping parents and educators cultivate conscious, responsible little people by stimulating explorations of the meaningful topics of their generation through a variety of media, technologies, and techniques. Her latest and fourth in the series is called: What Does It Mean To Be Safe?

Little Pickle Press (LPP) creates beautiful picture books that are also environmentally friendly. Not only are the books visually appealing, though, they are also mentally appealing and provide chances for kids to read alone or with a parent.

Please welcome Rana DiOrio.

Q: Rana, your series has won awards and now, with this new book, you’re tackling a subject that all parents worry about – how to keep their kids safe, but it’s not necessarily an easy one to address with kids. How did you first approach the idea of safety for kids?

I find that children first identify with physical safety and what that means. Once I have them engaged, then we explore social, emotional, and cyber safety as well. The take-away messages of this book are two-fold: (1) listen to your inner voice and it will tell you when you are not safe (most children know what I mean by "inner voice", even very young children; if they require an explanation, I tell them it is the "2 Is"–––intuition and instinct.); and (2) if your inner voice is telling you that you are not safe, seek the help of a trustworthy adult.

Q: In this book in your What Does It Mean To Be …? series, you explore physical, emotional, social, and cyber safety. That’s a lot to tackle for a children’s book. How were you able to write it in such a way that it would be clear yet not frightening to children – or parents, for that matter?

I think that Sandra Salisbury's thoughtful and soft illustrations go a long way towards making the topics approachable and not frightening. The book is designed to start conversations between children and their grownups about these various types of safety and how we can all remain safe.

Q: You’re an investor, investment banker, lawyer, and the mother of three children. Plus, you’re also the founder and CEO of Little Pickle Press. When do you find time to write?

On airplanes! True story––I wrote What Does It Mean To Be Safe? during several transcontinental flights.

Thank you Rana DiOrio.

You can find out more about Little Pickle Press at their blog or website. Little Pickle Press is also on Facebook and Twitter.

You can find out more about What Does It Mean To Be Safe? at the Little Pickle Press shop. You can buy a copy there, too! Remember, Christmas is fast approaching. Plus, for joining us today for this interview, you can get free shipping and a SAFE poster made of TerraSkin, the tree-free paper, with your order. Just enter BBTSAFE at check-out.

Click here to see the book trailer for What Does It Mean To Be Safe?

I bet I’m not the only one with questions for Rana DiOrio. I hope everyone who stops by will say “hi” in the Comments Section or use that chance to ask a question of your own.

Annoying Books

2011-11-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

How many of you have read a book even though there was something annoying about it? A character didn’t appeal to you or a plot twist came out of the blue. Or maybe you kept reading to find out what happened to a particular character, only to discover that character disappeared with no reason or mention.

I recently read such a book. I’m not giving the title or author name. I’m not reviewing it because, although it was a good story, on the final page there was a twist that changed everything. The final page. The twist was along the lines of the gimmick they used on the old Dallas show where it turned out J.R. wasn’t shot and killed, it’d just been a dream.

I closed the book and was mad as a pig on a blazing hot tin roof, Yes, that sentence makes no sense, but it’s about as logical as the ending to the book I was reading.

Honestly, I was so stunned that a well-known author would resort to a gimmick to end the book. And, frankly, I was pissed.

Have any of you read a book that annoyed you? Maybe you finished it; maybe you didn’t. What was the trigger that made you put down the book or suspend your belief in the characters?

Book Funding

2011-11-03T05:01:00.001-05:00

You know publishing is in trouble when even publishers need help. I’ve written before about a new thing: authors publishing via financial support from future readers. I’ve also written about big publishers raising funds to help with the publishing. And here I am writing about it again. This one, though, hits close to home for me since it’s my publisher.
TSTC Publishing, for whom I’ve written three books in their TechCareer series, is publishing a book by Bradley T. Turner called Cotton Bales, Goatmen & Witches: Legends from the Heart of Texas, according to Digital Journal. TSTC is a university press and wanted to publish this book, but needed more funding in order to be able to do it. The book will include photos. The promotion will include a video of one of the stories included in the book.

Contributors to the project will receive a variety of Cotton Bales gift items, based on the amount of the pledge, such as commemorative postcards, calendars, autographed copies of the book and framed metal art of the donor’s choice of photographs from the book.

TSTC Publishing plans to do this with other projects and is calling the program “Kickstarter.” You can go to the article to learn what other ancillary products might be included in Kickstarter projects, as well as what happens with the funds.

Now that this type of publishing is coming even to small presses and, in this case, university presses, what do you think of the idea?

Disclaimer: TSTC Publishing did not notify me about this new program. I read about it online. Nor did they ask me to blog about it. I haven’t even talked to Publisher Mark Long.

Google Invades Canada

2011-11-02T05:00:00.001-05:00

As of yesterday, Google Inc. opened it digital bookstore to Canada, according to the Financial Post. It’s called the Google eBookstore. Canadian readers can “download digital books which can then be read on tablets, e-readers and PCs.” In addition, Canadian booksellers can sell their books online.”
The good news is that: “Google eBookstore in Canada will boast a library of “hundreds of thousands” of digital books for sale, as well as more than two million public domain books, which will be offered for free.”

The bad news: “…there will be fewer free books available in Canada than in the U.S. according to Scott Dougal, Google’s director of product management for Google Books.”

But then, there’s more good news: “Readers will be able to enjoy Google’s e-books on just about any device, including smartphones and tablets powered by the company’s Android operating system. However, the books will also be available on Apple Inc.’s iPad, as well as on e-readers from Kobo, Sony Corp. and Barnes and Noble’s Nook.”

Check online for more info, including a video.

Any Canadians here? Do you like that Google eBookstore is now in your country?

Book Review: Mambo Panties

2011-10-29T05:01:00.003-05:00

Tom Doyal, the author of Mambo Panties, is an old friend of mine. By “old” I’m not referring to age, but to how long we’ve been friends. Tom lives in Austin and I live in a nearby small bump in the road. Surprisingly, we don’t see each other all that often.When he emailed and asked if I’d like to read Mambo Panties, I said, Send it to me! And he did -- actually, he sent a code so I could download it.

I had no idea what to expect of a book with the title of Mambo Panties.

Even after reading Mambo Panties, I’m not sure what genre label to give it. It’s like going to your local History Center and reading snippets from a time long ago. It’s fiction yet the news pieces and tales feel like they were written by real people and then collected in a book to share with today’s generation. Both the stories and the news clippings are personal, relevant even today, and so close I felt as though I knew these people and the wind carried their whispers.

As an example, I’ll talk about one piece called “Housekeeping Kit.” Agnes, now living in a place called Golden Oaks, remembers back to her wedding day and the start of her life with Houston. This story, only seven and a half pages long, takes you through their wedding and the first few days of their life together as they furnish the house Monroe Felps “made them as a wedding present of one year’s rent with the customary terms for farming on shares the next year” and which Agnes and her sisters had cleaned up, including killing four rattlesnakes. By the end of just those few pages, I wanted to know more about their lives and what the future held for them.

So many of these stories would make wonderful full length character stories. But they don’t have to be. As they are, they’re snippets of lives long ago that are still relevant today. Some of the stories are longer than the one I talked about here. Some, especially the newspaper clippings, are quite short, maybe only a paragraph or two. Together, the stories and news clippings give this fiction book a feeling of non-fiction.

Mambo Panties is quiet, yet compelling … old, yet relevant … and intriguing to read, time and time again.

You can find Mambo Panties at:
Smashwords
Audio, via Tom Doyal’s website

I give Mambo Panties a rating of Hel-of-a-Read. I didn’t know what to expect when I got the book, which is just as well, since I never would have expected a peek into history to be so interesting. For me, it was indeed a Hel-of-a-Read.

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FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the author, Tom Doyal. That did not influence my review. Another thing that did not influence my review was the title: Mambo Panties. I still don’t know what Mambo Panties are, and I’d like to know. So Tom, if you stop by, please explain . After reading the book, I’m sure they’re prettier than Rambo Panties. And they’re less rare than Dumbo Panties. And probably hold up better than Samba Panties and possibly not as black as Zorro Panties. But, considering the time setting, they’re nothing like Bikini Panties. There. I think I’ve broken the record for the number of times I’ve typed panties in one paragraph. So, while I say, Bye Bye Panties, I encourage you to say Hello to Mambo Panties. Hmm, I see a possible lingerie giveaway at book signings…if it's possible to do book signings for e-books. Hey, I'm just asking. Don't get your panties in a mambo.

Who Will Rule?

2011-10-27T05:00:00.001-05:00

More and more authors are self-publishing, especially self-pubbing in the e-format. But traditional book publisher are not giving up. They’re still backing print, but are also hedging their bets by taking on publishing their clients’ books in e-form (and taking a percentage of the sales).

I came across an article on The Idea Logical Company that addresses this situation. Here are some snippets from it:

I think we’re going to see a US market that is 80% digital for narrative text reading in the pretty near future: could be as soon as two years from now but almost certainly within five.

Magazines and television networks and web sites are recognizing the reality that self-publishing ebooks is something they can do themselves without the complications (or revenue-sharing) that working with a publisher would require.

“… will publishers be able to persuade these non-publisher brands that it is worth giving up margin and some control to work with publishers in the years to come?

You can read the full article here.

My questions are: What do you think? Will publishers survive? Will they survive, but be marginalized? Will publishers survive because they are the ones who assure e- and print books are edited and worth the money? Or will readers be the gate keepers and judge of quality via their wallets?

Word Play

2011-10-26T05:01:00.001-05:00

I received this from a friend who got it from a friend who … well, who knows where it originated. It’s a bit of fun word play.

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, and family.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

Let’s Talk Christmas

2011-10-22T05:00:00.001-05:00

No! Let’s don’t talk Christmas. Okay, just a teeny bit.

I was zipping around the Internet and came across Neiman Marcus’ Christmas Book – their fabulous, you-can-only-afford-if-you’re-super-rich list of Christmas gifts. To be fair, some of the items on the list of 600 ideas are under $250, but not the “book” related gift that I thought I’d tell you about.

For a mere $125,000, Publishing house Assouline will custom build you a library filled with 250 of their books.

Eduard de Lange, vice president of sales and distribution for New York-based Assouline, says the company will create the library anywhere a customer choses: "It could be in a mansion. It could be on a boat, on an airplane," he said.

Can they build it in my office closet, which currently serves as my “library”?

Cover Killers

2011-10-20T05:00:00.001-05:00

Penny C. Sansevieri, in HuffPost Books lists “8 Mistakes That Will Absolutely Kill Your Book.”

Personally, I think covers can make or break a book. There have been plenty of times I’ve picked a book off the shelf in a store, looked at the cover and put the book back. The cover didn’t appeal to me and I didn’t even bother to turn it over to read the backcover.

Some folks think covers are not so important in the age of e-books. I think they are. I still look at the covers. (I also want more backcovers on e-books and an easy way to turn to them. I sometimes buy a book and don’t get around to reading it for weeks – I’d like to remind myself why I bought it.)

Here are Sansevieri’s eight questions she asked about the importance of book covers:
1. How long does the average consumer spend viewing a book cover before they decide to buy or not buy the book?
(The answer depends on whether you’re looking at a print book or an e-book.)

2. What are the biggest mistakes you see in book cover design?
(Are you looking for good, fast and cheap? You can’t have all three.)

3. Is it ever a good idea to put your picture on a book cover?
(Probably not, but maybe so.)

4. What do bookstore book buyers look for in a book cover?
(Yep, even bookstore book buyers look at the covers, but you might be surprised by exactly what attracts them most.)

5. What distinguishes a bestselling, brand-building book from one that practically guarantees your book will never sell?
(Too many things in this answer to list here, so zip over and read it.)

6. How did one of your self-published authors reach bestseller status (over 1,500,000 copies sold!) without being in a bookstore?
(An author’s book sold steadily for many years, then they redesigned the cover and it really took off.)

7. How can authors evaluate and know that their title and subtitle are clear, compelling and appropriate for their market?
(If your book will have both a title and a subtitle, then you need to know what the purpose of each is.)

8. How can I be sure I'm choosing the right cover design?
(Three things to do here and you, not your designer, will be doing most of the work.)

So, there you are. Eight questions. In the parenthises, I’ve listed a reason to go read each answer if you’re at the stage of creating your book cover. If that’s sometime in the future, the article is still worth reading and saving for when that day comes.

I know some of you have created your book covers already. What would you add to this list?

Seriously?

2011-10-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

Ever read an article and you say to yourself, Seriously? I kept repeating that to myself as I read an article on the site, death + taxes. The name of the site should have been a blinking yellow light.

Diddy, who used to be PDiddy, who used to be … I have no clue what his real name is … is releasing a coffee table book. A book of butts. Female butts. That’s it. Butts. But the article assures the reader that the book is not porn or “another lurid fetishist item.” What makes them not lurid? Why, the photos are taken by an Italian photographer named Raphael Mazzucco, that’s what.

Seriously?

Casualties of War

2011-10-15T05:00:00.001-05:00

The war between Amazon and Barnes & Noble is heating up. Not unexpectedly, you and I, the readers, may be the casualties. I was reading an article by John R. Quain on FoxNews about the war and had a sinking feeling that readers will be the ones who take the hit in this fight.

Amazon is coming out this Fall with its Amazon Fire, an eReader with color (think iPad). They’ve made a deal with DC Comics to be the exclusive reader for about 100 graphic novels from DC Comics. As you might have guessed, Barnes & Noble was not happy about this exclusive deal and immediately pulled all of those titles off their shelves in their bookstores. As John Quain noted:

If publishers are going to enter into a format war based on exclusive arrangements with specific booksellers, why should the company dedicate its valuable shelf space to books that its own customers can't buy on its Nook device?

On the other side of the issue, Barnes & Noble has exclusive deals for titles, like the interactive Peanuts books. And on another side of the issue, some publishers such as Macmillan and Simon & Schuster don’t let libraries lend their e-books.

Already, writers are struggling to get their books ready for a widespread array of formats. One is hard enough, let alone multiple formats, although there are some sites that will format for several different devices.

So here you’ve got this war going on between the big boys and, in the end, readers are likely to be the casualties. What happened to the idea of having an e-format that was readable on all eReaders? That was my hope – probably just a wish in the wind. This battle may continue until one company crushes the others or someone leads the giants into compromise.

As a writer, what do you think of this war? As a reader, how does it affect you?

A Tale of Success

2011-10-13T04:48:00.000-05:00

USAToday has an article about one author’s success with e-books that is an interesting read. The article starts with the main reason why authors move from the “old” way of publishing to self-publishing:

Money. (Isn't it always about money?) Instead of earning an 8% royalty on a $7.99 paperback, about 65 cents, the author can earn 70% on a $2.99 book, about $2.09 (this depends on the royalty structure, which can get boringly complicated). The important thing: I bet you noticed the reader benefits, too. Who wouldn't rather get the same book for $3 instead of $8?

The article focuses on author Marie Force, whom Joyce Lamb, the writer of the article, calls a best-selling author. Lamb asked why Force self-published. To which she answered:

Well, I wasn't a best-selling author until I self-published. My self-published books propelled me to the Kindle top 100 on Amazon and the Nook top 100 on Barnes & Noble.

Force pushes herself to get her work out to the public:

Between my own books and books I had coming from two publishers, I had a new book out every month from November 2010 to August 2011. I believe the regular releases built momentum and excitement for my two series.

She doesn’t just depend on her quantity of books to draw in readers:

Another thing that has made self-publishing such a viable option for authors is the daily contact we now have with our readers through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, e-mail, etc. We are able to foster those relationships in ways we never could before social media became a part of everyday life. It's a different experience for a reader who feels she is buying her friend's book, rather than an author she doesn't know personally. I've tried to be very accessible to my readers, and have been blessed with many new friends and a loyal following.

Her sales figures keep accumulating.

These kinds of success stories motivate more writers to turn to self-publishing and e-publishing. Do any of you have your own tale of success?

Are Publishers Irrelevant?

2011-10-12T05:00:00.002-05:00

According to an article in The Bookseller, former Borders UK chief Philip Downer seems to think publishers may be becoming irrelevant. At a meeting in Frankfurt, he urged them to act before that becomes a reality.

Downer said he was concerned that publishers could go the same way of chain booksellers if e-book prices were driven down and the new technology damaged "supplier diversity".

He urged publishers to join together and set the agenda rather than allow Apple, Amazon and Google to determine the future. He also advised publishers to create a free e-book reader so that once again the content is what excites readers, not the device.

So, I ask you: If you could get an eReader for free and publishers embraced eBooks and sold them at a competitive price, would that save the “book”? It also asks the question, would authors stop the mass exodus to self-publishing? Or would publishers have to come up with a more lucrative deal for writers?

I ask that last question because at the same conference, literary agents are also discussing the eBook, according to another article in The Bookseller.

Robert Gottlieb, chairman of the US literary agency Trident Media Group, warned that power is shifting from publishers to authors.

Publishers are frightened to death of the e-book market, because they see the opportunity for authors, that they did not have before.

Will publishers embrace the change? Will they offer authors a higher eBook rate? Are they too late to stop the tsunami of authors moving to self-publishing?

Gays in YA?

2011-10-08T04:53:00.001-05:00

Do publishers and agents prefer straight characters over gay ones in Young Adult books? There’s something of a debate going on at the moment.

Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith co-wrote a post-apocalyptic young adult novel and sent it off to agents. They got offered representation, on the condition that they make a gay character straight, or cut him out altogether.

The authors decided that was the line they wouldn’t cross and they declined the offer. Brown replied:

“Making a gay character straight is a line in the sand which I will not cross. That is a moral issue. I work with teenagers, and some of them are gay. They never get to read fantasy novels where people like them are the heroes, and that’s not right.”

This one agent was not the only agent to reject the book:

Previous agents had also offered to take a second look if we did rewrites… including cutting the viewpoint of Yuki, the gay character.

And they did have an offer to represent the book, but turned it down because of creative differences that had nothing to do with the identities of the characters.

Forcing all major characters in YA novels into a straight white mold is a widespread, systemic problem which requires long-term, consistent action.

When we privately discussed our encounter with the agent, we heard from other writers whose prospective agents made altering a character’s minority identity—sexual orientation, race, disability—a condition of representation.

You might be worried that these YA characters where having explicit sex. The author say there is only one kiss between the gay characters.

You can read the longer article in Publishers Weekly.

Is there a bias against gay characters? Or characters of color? Or disabled characters?

Stealing Books

2011-10-06T05:00:00.001-05:00

A twenty-seven year old guy in Manhattan is being held at Rikers for stealing books from the library. He stole 20 books and tried to resell them to bookstores. He was busted twice in September and could face a seven-year sentence.

Library security had banned him and confiscated three library cards he had been issued, and he was also banned from the Strand bookstore in Union Square, they said.

Hansen was already charged with trying to sneak out of the public library with 11 unchecked books.

In September 2009, he was busted in Union Square Park for cutting labels off stolen library books. Two months later, he was nabbed for shoplifting from a Barnes & Noble.

Last July, he was arrested inside Tompkins Square library while attempting to remove library books, the sources said.

Lest you think he’s just an avid reader, his plan was to sell the library books to make money for his drug habit.

Kinda makes you long for the 1950s and ‘60s when libraries were revered, doesn’t it?

Apps are Coming

2011-10-05T05:00:00.001-05:00

Not surprisingly, apps are coming to children’s e-books. There have already been some made, so the Austin chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is exploring the possibilities at an all-day symposium this coming Sunday.

The Austin American Statesman, in an article called “Storybook apps for kids a major topic among children's book writers and artists” noted:

In 2003, writer and Austinite Lindsey Lane and illustrator Melissa Iwai published an adorable children's book called "Snuggle Mountain."

This year, the story had a digital comeback. It was released as an app for the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch devices in May.

Deanna Roy, an Austin author and publisher at Casey Shay Press said:

Authors and developers can no longer settle for a book with a painting or puzzle game at the end. They have to be brilliant, interactive and bold….

True apps offer interactivity and delightful unexpected features a paper book could never include. Otherwise, you just have a screen version of a paper book.

This is not all that surprising to me. What do you think? Are apps for kids’ e-books the next big step in children’s publishing? How long before all children’s e-books will have apps?

Book Review: The Arranger

2011-10-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

The Arranger by L.J. Sellers is a futuristic suspense. In this book’s version of the future, the biggest show on earth is a game where the best of the best contestants from around the world compete. Winner takes all. The game, called the Gauntlet, is sort of a cross between Big Brother, Survivor and Gladiators. It’s dangerous and grueling, yet Lara Evans, and others from around the world, compete because they need the money to survive in a world where global warming, unemployment and crime have increased, and society has fallen into a dark hole. Lara, the protagonist and one of the contestants, has to compete against the fiercest contestants from around the world, not all of them honest.

She’s not doing it for glory, though. She’s doing it to be able to survive in the “regular” world after the game.

I liked Lara. She has an internal moral compass, but is no pushover. She’s strong and determined, and desperate enough that you’re never sure if she might go to the dark side to win. She has so much riding on the contest.

There’s a hint of romance, but the real focus of The Arranger is the competition and how much Lara will give up to win – her life, her morals? You don’t get to know much about Lara before the competition starts, but you begin to know her through her actions and interactions with other characters and competitors. By the end of the book, she will have to make a decision that could alter her life and cost her the game.

Sellers paints a grim, yet believable, near future. She also gives us a flawed heroine. Given all the “games” on television today, the Gauntlet is very believable as a global competition. If the television stations haven’t thought of it already, they may steal the idea.

Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Powell’s

Considering the character and the world she lives in are both compelling, I give The Arranger a rating of Hel-of-a-Writer.

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FTC Disclaimer: The author sent me The Arranger, but that did not influence my review. I watch Survivor. I also watch The Amazing Race. Each year I swear upon a stack of tortillas that I will not watch Big Brother. And I would stick to that oath if one of the other channels would put something, anything, worth watching opposite it. As it is, I just stick to swearing. If I may, here in this official FTC Disclaimer, offer a suggestion: Create The Gauntlet and put it opposite Big Brother. Spare me from another episode of whiney butts and mean-spirited twenty-somethings. Please. I beg you. Write me and I’ll pass on to L.J. your offer to buy TV rights for The Arranger. If you won’t do that, then I recommend we sic Lara on the next bunch of dingbats in the Big Brother house.

Super Thursday

2011-09-29T05:01:00.002-05:00

You may not know this, but today is “Super Thursday” in Great Britain, according to The Independent paper. This is the day publishers “release hundreds of titles in a bid to win a place on customers' Christmas shopping lists.” In one day, over 200 titles will be released.

As a result of last year’s one-day release, ten hardbacks went on to earn more than one million pounds over the Christmas holidays.

Century publishing director Ben Dunn said a "significant number" of releases would be non-fiction, reflecting wider trends within the industry. "Now more than ever, selling non-fiction outside the Christmas window is becoming impossible," he said.

Graeme Neill, news editor of The Bookseller, said: "Publishers see it as critical as a means of establishing their book in the public eye as early as possible.

Over in the UK, book sales are down overall, just like they are here in the states. Even so, I’m thinking, man, the push to buy for Christmas just keeps coming earlier and earlier. Here in central Texas, we’re still reaching in the 100+ degrees, so buying for Christmas is far from my mind.

How about you?

Book Review: Deadly Intent

2011-09-28T04:53:00.001-05:00

Deadly Intent by Laura Eno is a suspense/horror book. Bad things begin to happen in the town of Wood Park, but no one knows why. And they go from bad to really bad.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Death stalks the small town of Wood Park after a violent thunderstorm wreaks havoc on the population and drops a stranger in its midst. Police Chief Jonathon Brier chases after clues, always a step behind, as citizens become more irrational with tragic consequences.

When the town is abandoned to its fate with no hope of any outside help, Jonathon must figure out how to combat the evil presence that taunts him before time runs out for everyone.

Deadly Intent has a core set of main characters, Brier being the main one. The town is not real small. They have schools and a police force and shops and a hospital. The population is big enough that there’s not a lot of panic when people begin to go crazy and kill others or get killed. They don’t even cancel Halloween trick-or-treating. Brier seems to take all the worrying onto his shoulders -- until soldiers block the town and allow no one to leave or enter. It’s up to Police Chief Brier and a doctor to somehow figure out what is causing people to go berserk.

People die in bizarre ways. Some are folks you’ve gotten to know in the book. Others are just townsfolk who, for no apparent reason, kill someone. Without a reason for why they would do such a thing, it’s hard for both the reader and the Police Chief to figure out who did the killing, let alone why. With no help from the outside, he’s on his own.

The killings are unexpected and horrible, and the cause of the epidemic is unknown.

I would have liked to get to know more of the people in the town so I felt some empathy for them before they kill or get killed. But that is difficult since, as the killings speed up, more and more people are dying.

I give Deadly Intent a rating of Hel-of-a-Writer because probably only a writer as adept as Laura Eno could have come up with such a creative plot.

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Powell’s Books

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FTC Disclaimer: Deadly Intent was sent to me by the author. This did not influence my review. It did influence my paranoia. Now, when I’m watering the drought-stricken tree out back, I watch the ravine behind the house to try to spot neighbors who might be creeping up on me with a motive other than getting my autograph. If they had a knife, I’d spray them with the water hose. They’d probably melt like the Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz. If they were looking for an autograph, I do hope some of you in Internet Land would come to my funeral since I’d keel over in shock.

POD with Your Espresso

2011-09-24T04:59:00.000-05:00

I’ve blogged before about Print on Demand and the Espresso machine. Personally, I think it’s one way for bookstores to survive and remain relevant. An article in The Wall Street Journal agrees with me.

If you’ve never heard of the Espresso machine … it’s about the size of a desk and can print a book in a few minutes. So, you see a book online, perhaps mentioned on Goodreads or a blog or on the best-seller list, and you want it. If your local bookstore has an Espresso machine, you go there and, hopefully, have it printed and ready to take home in minutes. I say, hopefully, because the particular book you want would need to be on their list of books they can print.

Publishers seem to be jumping on board with this idea. HarperCollilns is about to make 5,000 current paperbacks available via the Espresso. You might ask why other publishers wouldn’t follow suit since there are paperback and hard cover books not available in stores. (They often are not available because stores only have limited room to stock books, especially when big name authors can have twenty or fifty or even more copies of the same book.)

One leading publisher who asked not to be identified said his company is unlikely to make more titles available, in part because they are concerned that bookstores with the machines might then order fewer titles.

This seems like shooting yourself in the foot to me. If there is always one copy for readers to look at, then that’s all you need. They can sell hundreds of copies without having to stock that many. Which means they can have a display copy of many, many more books, and they won’t have to pay to ship back the remaindered books.

You might wonder if POD books will cost more.

Brian Murray, chief executive of HarperCollins, said that the paperbacks printed by Espresso will list for the same price as the traditional paperback version.

I don’t know what the revenue split with authors would be. That would vary from publisher to publisher, I suspect, until some “standard” is figured out (even now that varies).

In most cases, HarperCollins will receive about 70% of the revenue from an Espresso-printed title, with the retailer taking 30%.

What do you think about buying your paperbacks via a fast-printing machine? Do you think such a machine would make it a bit easier for local or lesser-known authors to get their books into the hands of readers? Is it a possible rescuer of the print book?

Book Review: Heart of the Hunter

2011-09-22T04:56:00.005-05:00

Heart of the Hunter by Deon Meyer is a suspense thriller. Suspense because it’s packed with twists and turns and you’re not sure who’s showing their true colors and who’s not what they seem. Thriller because it’s non-stop action.

Here is the back cover blurb:

Thobela “Tiny” Mpayipheli has a past littered with violence and death.

An assassin’s past that he never wants to face again. All he desires is a quiet life with the woman he loves, and her child.

But then his best friend is kidnapped, and suddenly he finds himself riding a stolen motorbike across the harsh plains of the South African Karoo.

His destination: Lusaka, thousands of miles away in Zambia.
His mission: To deliver a computer disk that contains – what?

He has exactly 72 hours to do it, or his friend will die.

Mpayipheli, despite his past, is the character I rooted for. Despite his past, he is the hero. But because of his past, he is not just delivering a package, he is being ruthlessly hunted.

When I first started reading Heart of the Hunter, I had difficulty with the names. A great many of them are names that I didn’t know how to pronounce: “Mpayipheli” for one. But once I assigned them names in my head (for Mpayipheli, I dropped the M), I got into the story, even though I have no idea if that’s the way it is correctly pronounced.

As a reader, you are primarily in Mpayipheli’s head, which is a very interesting place to be since he is quite fascinating. I started reading to learn more about him and to find out if he would get the package where it needed to be in time to save his friend. I kept reading to find out if he would survive the trip when he is being hunted via land and air. I finished it to find out if Mpayipheli would revert to the man he used to be or grow into the man whom the woman who loves him believes him to be.

There is nothing ordinary about this man or the trip he takes.

Where to find Heart of the Hunter:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Powell’s Books

I give Heart of the Hunter by Deon Meyer a rating of Hel-of-a-Protagonist.

FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me by Judy Croome when she had a giveaway on her blog and my name was drawn. This did not influence my review. The character and the story influenced my review. I could have given this book a rating of Hel-of-a-Story, but decided on Hel-of-a-Protagonist because Mpayipheli is such a complicated, multi-layered protagonist. I could also have rated it Hel-of-a-Writer because Mpayipheli is not the only believable character in the book. Other characters, both big and small are multi-dimensional. Plus, I enjoyed “going” to a place I’ve never been. I see movie-possibility in Heart of the Hunter. If a producer reads this review and buys the rights, I want a cut, since it was my idea. Not a big cut. A small cut, itty-bitty, like a free ticket to the premiere. Or a walk-on. I have experience. I’ve been an extra in movies. There was a courtroom scene in one movie. I was the girl on the back row. I’m sure you remember me. If you don’t, then you must have blinked.

Goodreads Recommends

2011-09-21T04:59:00.000-05:00

How many of you belong to Goodreads? If you write recommendations for books, you probably post your reviews on Goodreads. About six million of us do.

Now Goodreads is using those recommendations to predict what you might want to read, according to an article on Newswire PR Today.

Goodreads has almost six million members who have added more than 190 million books to their shelves and mark more than 100,000 new books “to read” each day. On average, members have 140 books on their Goodreads bookshelves.

Combining multiple proprietary algorithms which analyze 20 billion data points, Goodreads better predicts which books people will want to read next.

You may be wondering what algorithms Goodreads uses. According to the article, they analyze the reading history of people, how books fit into their lives, the connections between books folks are reading, what the topics are, what people like and dislike, even how they categorize books.

They analyze all this and more and come up with recommendations that are “tailored” to each reader/member of Goodreads.

Interesting. And a bit Big Brother (not the reality show, but the reality of “someone” knows everything you do and think). What do you think? Is it great having a company be able to tailor book recommendations by knowing tons about you? Or not?

Calling It Chick Lit

2011-09-17T05:00:00.002-05:00

Found a quite interesting article in The Guardian this week. The title caught my eye: Novelist ditches publisher at book launch for 'condescending' treatment. But the words from the author kept me reading. Basically, she’s dropped her publisher, HarperCollins, because of the covers they gave her books.

Polly Courtney says her writing “is commercial fiction, it is not literary, but the real issue I have is that it has been completely defined as women's fiction … Yes it is page turning, no it's not War and Peace. But it shouldn't be portrayed as chick lit."

One thing that bothers me about that statement is that she seems to give the same definition to “women’s fiction” and “chick lit.” To me, they’re different. But that’s neither here nor there. What she’s saying is that HarperCollins wanted her to write chick lit and even though she didn’t and they knew that before they took her on, they went ahead and pegged it as such.

She feels the cover misrepresents her book – it displays “the chick-lit staple of a pair of slender legs.”

Another author, Michele Gorman, who doesn’t mind her own chick-lit label, said: "But at the end of the day, we do judge books by their covers, and if it doesn't do what it says on the tin it will have disappointed readers. Publishing houses do tend to take a single broad brush approach to books by women, for women, and we as writers don't have creative control over our covers or our titles."

Here’s how a rep for HarperCollins responded: "Avon is right behind Polly Courtney's timely and important book. Our experience tells us it has a great look and feel and we think Polly will be delighted when she sees it flying off the shelves."

Hmm. I think they missed the point.

Book Review: Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure

2011-09-15T04:52:00.001-05:00

Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure by Craig Lancaster. Long title, good book. It’s a book of short stories which all have to do with departures. It probably has something to do with quantum physics, but that’s over my head. The stories, however, are not over my head.

Each one is compelling and very interesting. And each is different from the other.

When I first opened the book on my iPad, it took me to the opening page of the first story – no cover, no title page, etc. I started reading. By about Chapter 3, I began to wonder if all the characters were ever going to connect. By the end of that third story, I stopped and went back to the very beginning. That’s when I figured out there weren’t chapters in the book, but individual stories.

I really like books that contain standalone stories, especially when there’s a connecting thread between them. Each story is so different, I, at first, thought it was an anthology written my multiple short story writers, but they are all the work of Craig Lancaster.

In addition to the stories being about departure, they’re also about relationships. That makes sense since most of life is about relationships. As we move through our life, we’re either creating relationships or breaking them. And the characters in Lancaster’s book do both in memorable ways.

Here are places where you can buy the book:
Craig’s site
Kindle
Amazon paperback
Barnes and Noble paperback or Nook

I give Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure by Craig Lancaster a rating of Hel-of-a-Writer. Lancaster wrote an amazing collection of stories and did such a great job, I thought many different authors had written them.

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FTC Disclaimer: The e-book, Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure, was given to me by the author, Craig Lancaster. That did not influence my review. I’ve had many departures in my life. I’ve departed different states and various cities. People have departed from my life, either by choice or by fate. But I had never thought about there being an art to departures. This book shows that there is such an art. The departure in each story is, in its own way, art, although it is rare that the person leaving is aware of the art. And that… is life.

If you have time, link over to Craig’s website/blog and ask him about Quantum Physics. Or if you already know how Quantum Physics and the art of departure are related, let me know in the comments section. Don’t depart without clicking the +1 box and commenting, though. Unless you can do it artfully. With physics. And quantum.

E-Books Growing

2011-09-14T05:00:00.001-05:00

The Decatur Book Festival took place over the Labor Day weekend. Part of the focus on the festival was on self-publishing, although that was primarily by the vendors and attendees. The featured authors were primarily representing print books.

Alison Reeger Cook, who wrote an article for the Gainesville Times, attended a workshop on “How to Make Self-Publishing Work for You.” Here are some nuggets she shared about what she learned at that workshop and the festival as a whole:

While the upside to self-publishing is that the author has complete control over the presentation and sales of their book and can make more money per unit sold (if the book sells well), the downside is that the author is the one who must pay for the publishing package and arrange all the marketing for his work.

This requires an excellent savvy in networking and advertising. …

As of today, e-books cover 16 percent of the book market, while 84 percent is still traditional printed books.

Within the next 20 years, this will almost be a complete reversal: it is projected that e-books will have 89 percent of the market, and printed books will only have 11 percent.

Cook noted that what readers will always look for is a good story, no matter the means of publishing.

What do you think about her prediction that within 20 years there will be an great upheaval in the way we read?

Unbound

2011-09-10T05:01:00.001-05:00

I thought an article in the London Evening Standard was interesting enough to share with all of you.

A new venture called Unbound was launched from a glass-fronted hut at a festival.

Authors ranging from Terry Jones to unknown first timers were pitching their ideas for books they wanted to write, and interested readers were "buying in advance".

This coming Monday, it’s moving to another place where 10 authors will seek funding.

Authors pitch their book ideas on the Unbound site (unbound.co.uk) and readers are invited to pledge at different levels, each one attracting different rewards appropriate to the book. If enough money is raised, the author goes ahead and writes it and the supporters get their names listed in the back of the book as patrons. …

Readers who subscribe get access to the author's "shed" (or blog) during the writing of the book, a place where progress can be reported, early drafts circulated and fans can meet. Writers can connect with their readers and get an extremely attractive 50 per cent of the profits.

Unbound is trying to keep the idea from being too serious.

As well as digital, hardback and signed editions of the books, you can sign up for the launch party, author-selected goody bags, even lunch. Kahn-Harris, who is seeking funding chapter by chapter for his project The Best Water-Skier in Luxembourg, can offer you a postcard or souvenir from his trip, or even a signed picture of the eponymous water skier, if he's successful.

It all sounds rather fun to me. Wish I lived in London, so I could attend the event.

Guest: Author Enid Wilson

2011-09-08T04:47:00.001-05:00

Thank you Helen for hosting me today.

I’m delighted to announce the release of Every Savage Can Reproduce, a Pride and Prejudice-inspired science fiction. This is my seventh novel since I started the self-publishing journey in 2009.

With the help of lulu, createspace, lightning source and smashwords, and lovely blog hosts like Helen, I’ve been able to promote my novels as authors from traditional publishing houses do. I’m still amazed that I’ve sold over 5000 copies of my books so far and some of them have reached top 50 best-selling lists on Amazon.

It’s a big learning curve for me and I want to share with you one of the great tools for self-publishing authors, especially those in USA: Amazon Author Central

If you have books published by createspace and Amazon’s digital publishing arm, Kindle, you can register with them. Author Central offers media contacts in different areas in USA, analysis of your sales data in USA, an easy dashboard to update your profile, books, upload video, link blog and join Search Inside, all free.

In fact, you can join Author Central from Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy etc. I’ve joined all of them and set up profile and blog feed, with the help of Google translate, to maximise the exposure of my novels.

Good luck and I hope this is useful info for you!

To celebrate the release of Every Savage Can Reproduce, I am delighted to give out a pdf version of the book and an Aussie apron. Just comment below and share with use some of the useful tools you have discovered in your writing or publishing journey. The contest ends this Saturday, September 10th, and is open to worldwide readers.

Here is the back cover blurb:

In the futuristic society on Planet Earth, Elizabeth Bennet is accused of luring Fitzwilliam Darcy to an illegal establishment, which leads to their exile deep in the centre of a rebel planet. The subsequent galactic war exposes dark secrets regarding the autocratic Queen Immortal. Will Elizabeth and Darcy discover their love for one another and find their way back to Earth?

Set in the 39th Century, this novel is a tale of Pride and Prejudice-inspired science fiction, where Jane Austen’s characters take on new lives but still face the barrier of class distinction and seek to overcome their faults, as in the original classic.

Thank you Enid!

If you’d like to check out Every Savage Can Reproduce or learn more about Enid’s other books, visit her site at: http://steamydarcy.com/joomla/
You’ll also find purchase detail there.

Leave a comment or question for Enid. Remember, there will be a giveaway!

New Twist on Kids’ Books

2011-09-07T05:00:00.000-05:00

JibJab has gone beyond online e-cards. It’s created personalized multimedia iPad children’s books, according to News Factor.

They allow parents to read to kids (or kids to read to themselves) on the iPad via a multimedia book app. The twist on this is that the books can be personalized via images that the buyer chooses. Using the pictures you choose or take via the iPad 2’s built-in camera, you put yourself or your kids or your friends into the book.

You pay a monthly fee for a one-book-a-month subscription.

In case you’re wondering if kids titles would sell, the article noted:

ITunes has separate sales charts for e-books and book apps. Among book apps, 47 of the top 50 are kids titles.
Despite the downturn in the industry and the closing of No. 2 bookseller Borders, sales of children's books have remained steady and are poised for slight growth this year, says market tracker Simba. Sales of traditional and digital children's books are expected to reach $4.4 billion, up from $4.38 billion in 2010.

ITunes is not the only company creating apps for books. Zip over to read the full article if this intrigues you.

Doing It Write

2011-09-03T04:56:00.002-05:00

I write a free weekly newsletter for writers. It’s called Doing It Write. I started it 13 years ago (if I’d started it now, I probably would have called it Straight From Hel). It’s a text-only, no html, no bells and whistles newsletter that’s sent straight to subscribers’ email boxes each Thursday. And it has pretty much a set list of content: a short opening from me about something to do with writing, a quote, an upcoming contest, an upcoming event/conference, quotes from an article about writing, books or the publishing industrty and then two writing-related links. If a subscriber sends me an announcement of something writing related, like a new book coming out, I’ll put that in.

Until this year, I’d never missed an issue. Then the service I use to send it out, Topica, went down over the weekend for maintenance…and didn’t come back up for two weeks. Hey, I’m not complaining since Topica sends Doing It Write out to subscribers around the world for free. But I hated to miss a week. Then my computer crashed. Really crashed, as in I have to buy a new one. That air-rendering screech you heard? That was me. So I missed one more week. I still don’t have the new computer, but I’m getting by with my iPad and, when I can get on it, my husband’s computer.

This isn’t a call for you to subscribe, although if you want to, just send an email to: doingitwrite-subscribe@topica.com and Topica will sign you up. If, for any reason, it doesn’t work, send me an email at helen@helenginger.com and I’ll ask Topica to send you an invitation to join the group. Okay, that turned into an invitation to sign up to receive Doing It Write. Sorry.

What I was really leading up to is to say that my subscribers are the most patient people. Not one person emailed to complain that they hadn’t received their issue. I get emails asking about a conference or an agent I listed, or wanting to verify a link they can’t get to work, or just to chat. But no complaints. Isn’t that amazing? I once asked subscribers to tell me where they were from and I found out I had subscribers on every continent except Antarctica. That’s amazing, too. And when I asked if they’d like me to move to a full-color html newsletter, no one said yes. Amazing. (Although I’m still considering that last one since all-text seems pretty bland in today’s world.)

So, if you’re a Doing It Write subscriber, now you know why a couple of issues didn’t show up in your e-box. If you’re not a subscriber, tell us what information you would want in a newsletter.

Writers’ League of Texas

2011-09-01T04:59:00.001-05:00

I titled this post “Writers’ League of Texas” because they’re one of the big organizations for writers in my state. Also because I know the organization fairly well since I’ve served on the Board and as its Executive Director. But the post is also to direct your attention to whatever writers’ association or group in your area.

WLT puts on lots of events or opportunities, including the huge Agents Conference. Last year, they also did a YA Conference. They have classes, a blog, a weekly email newsletter, and a lot more. Right now, they’re having Tuesday Night Tech Talks.

A new thing they have is the opportunity for writers to sub-rent space. So if you’ve been looking for an office, maybe even one you could get another author to go in with you to rent, check out the League. I didn’t see anything on their site about it, but give them a call if you’re interested in having a quiet place to write. They’ll tell you what’s included in the rent, the size of the rooms, and the cost.

If you live in the central Texas area, but aren’t a member, sign up.

If you live too far to take advantage of the classes, workshops and conferences, look in your area. What groups are there? If there is a group, what is the focus of that group? Is it what you’re looking for? If not, keep looking. If it is, go to a meeting to see what they’re like and what they’re doing.

Writing doesn’t have to be self-taught. And writing doesn’t have to be lonely. Meet like-minded people. Don’t pass up the opportunity to make writer-friends in your area, whatever state you live in.

Texas Book Festival

2011-08-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

I didn’t think I’d be posting about the Texas Book Festival this year (October 22-23), unless it was an “after-party” post about events I went to see. For years now, I’ve been the Chair of the events going on at the Austin Museum of Art. At that venue, we hosted a lot of art, architecture, and photography books and authors. But since the 2010 TBF, the Austin Museum of Art (AMOA) moved out of the downtown area, so we lost it as a venue.

That meant I no longer had a Chair position. As it turns out, TBF needed a third person to help chair the Author Escorts committee, so I’m back working. While AMOA was a one-person chair that needed around 20 or 25 volunteers over the weekend, Author Escorts needs three chairs, well over a hundred volunteers and one night of pre-training.

The good news is that those volunteers are the ones who “herd” authors, some local, some national. (The complete listing of this year’s authors is not up, but the lineup for the 2011 Gala can be found, starting on the home page.) They escort them to their event venue. When their talk is over, they escort them to the book signing tent. They make sure the author gets where he or she needs to go, has everything he needs, including nametag and water or coffee, and she doesn’t arrive late because she stopped to talk to another author and lost track of time. The volunteers get to meet and talk to authors, be they best-selling politicians or first-time authors.

Doesn’t that sound like a cool volunteer opportunity? If it does, you can go to the Texas Book Festival site and sign up for a shift or two. If you do, be sure you yell “hi” to me!

You Won’t Want to Read This, but Do

2011-08-27T05:03:00.002-05:00

I came across a long article by Ewan Morrison in The Guardian, which asked the question: Are books dead, and can authors survive? The more I read, the more I didn’t want to keep reading. But I did. Morrison paints a very dark picture for writers, in my opinion.

He starts off by saying that within 25 years “the digital revolution will bring about the end of paper books.”

He follows that by adding that “ebooks and e-publishing will mean the end of "the writer" as a profession.”

Big sites like Amazon and Google aren’t looking for unique content from authors to make money. They’re looking for content that will draw advertisers, which is where they make their money. And that free content can come from old books no longer under copyright; from free e-books; from groups that steal content, repackage it and sell it under multiple names or even give it away; from people who plan to make money not on the book but on what they gain on the side.

He ends the article with this sentence:

I ask you to leave this place troubled, and to ask yourself and as many others as you can, what you can do if you truly value the work of the people formerly known as writers.

What’s Your Expertise?

2011-08-25T04:58:00.001-05:00

I read an article in CIO about a guy who had a start-up business called JibberJobber, a service for job seekers. He also had another idea – to write a book about using LinkedIn for job searching. Pretty soon, he had a publishing contract.

Zip forward five years. He’s sold 12,000 copies and earned just under $100,000. His company has “credibility” because of his book. He’s now considered an authority.

In the article, he goes on to tell readers how they, too, can do what he did.

Now, before you all zip over to read the article, leave a comment and tell us what kind of book you would write and about what? What expertise do you have that you could put in a book and re-make yourself as an expert who would be paid to speak at conferences and other venues? What would be your book’s title? Or, give us a one-line tease for your book.

BookStats

2011-08-24T05:02:00.000-05:00

If you haven’t already read the report by the Association of American Publishers and Book Industry Study Group of BookStats, you’ll want to link over to an article in Publishers Weekly that talks about it.

Here are some of the more interesting, I thought, conclusions and stats.

Total estimated revenue for all publishers rose 3.1% in 2010, to $27.9 billion, following a 2.5% increase in 2009. E-book sales across all publishing categories rose 29.4% in 2009 and 38.9% in 2010, and accounted for 5.8% of total industry revenue in 2010.

Hardcover sales, after rising in 2009, fell 6.6% in 2010, the same pattern shown by trade paperback.

BookStats data show what other reports have found—retail stores losing ground to online e-tailers in the trade segment.

While online e-tailer's sales rose 88.8% between 2008 and 2010, it was actually mass merchandisers that had the strongest gains, with sales jumping 553.2%, to $218.5 million, an encouraging development for trade publishers …

Check out the full article, which includes charts with a breakdown of categories, industry sales, trade sales by format, and trade sales by channel.

Is this bad news for print publishers? Is is good news for readers?

Should Publishers Fight Back?

2011-08-20T05:01:00.002-05:00

An article in the Chicago Times says that book publishers should fight back against ads for eReaders. You’ve probably all seen that TV ad where the guy reading on the Kindle meets the girl heading to buy a print book, entices her to look at his Kindle and almost loses the Kindle to her when she begins to read and doesn’t want to stop.

Well, Aaron Gilbreath, the author of the article believes publishers should band together to come up with an ad that will be equally enticing, but will make people want to buy a print book and chuck their eReaders.

Why hasn't America's publishing industry launched an ad campaign as seductive and aggressive as the Kindle's? Not to market front-list titles or authors, but to market the paper book form itself? In other words, sell consumers on the exclusive pleasures and qualities traditional books offer that e-books cannot.

If traditional book publishers want to survive, then their marketing departments better think of a way. And fast.

Can print book publishers do that? Is it possible? Is it too late? What do you think? What kind of commercial would you script and shoot?

I am a Freelance Editor

2011-08-18T05:00:00.001-05:00

The title of today’s post sounds like I’m introducing myself at an AA meeting, doesn’t it?

Most of you probably already know I’m a freelance editor. And today I’ve donned my editor hat and headed over to literary publicist Stephanie Barko’s blog. I’m answering a couple of questions about editing and coaching. You’re all welcome to drop by and read my answers.

As an enticement for you to leave a comment or a question over at Stephanie’s blog, there’s a prize. One name will be drawn out of that ubiquitous hat for a free edit of the first 50 pages of your manuscript.

See you over there.

Book Review: City of Ashes

2011-08-17T05:05:00.002-05:00

Last month, I reviewed the first in the Immortal Instruments series, City of Bones. Today, I’m reviewing the second, called City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare.

Since this is a series, we’re back with the protagonist, Clary. She has some of the same cohorts, Simon, Jace, Luke, Magnus, plus some newer cohorts who play a bigger role than they did in the first book, Maia, Isabelle and Valentine.

Clary’s now a full-fledged demon-slayer. Her mother is in a magically-induced coma. Her father, Valentine, is intent on destroying the world, both the world you and I live in and the magical world. Clary’s in love with Jace, except she can’t be because he, it turns out, is her brother. Simon is in love with Clary, except, well, she’s not exactly human, except, well, there’s a big twist in the book, except, well, this is a paranormal/fantasy book so….

Anyway, everyone’s at war with someone. Valentine controls the demon world and will kill everyone, including family, if it means he gets his hands on the Immortal Instruments.

And there you go. City of Ashes has much more action than Book 1. It’s fast-moving with nary a dull moment. As with the first, it has a few too many characters to keep up with, but it was easier this time around since I knew the main players.

Clary has advanced in her skills as a Shadowhunter. I liked seeing her fight and stand toe-to-toe with the others. The alternate world that the faeries, vampires, werewolves, shadowhunters, and others live in is handled well in this book. I could see the differentiation and uniqueness of the various clans.

This book seemed to really focus on those main characters, instead of the “adults” in the two worlds.

The drawback for me was, as with Book 1, there’s so much going on that it’s a bit difficult to keep up. But then, I probably need to read more slowly. But that’s hard to do with the action is fast and often.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

I admit that I’m well-past the target age of this series, which is probably around 16, but I’m still giving City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare a rating of Hel-of-a-Story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: This book was loaned to me by an unknown girl who is a friend of my son who read all four books, but was not overly impressed, but then he’s not a teenage girl, so that’s logical. That, however, did not influence my review. I was influenced by the uptick in the action from the first book, and by Clary getting her armor on. She’s now a fighter and can get in the fray with the rest of her friends and hold her own. I like that in a female protagonist. Next time I find a tarantula in the garage, I’m gonna see if she’ll come get it and set it free in the woods.

Book Review: Tempest Child

2011-08-13T05:01:00.000-05:00

[For the sake of readability, I’m capitalizing the title of this book. In reality, it is all in lower case (tempest child).]

Tempest Child is the sixth book by Laura Eno. My guess is that the genre of this book is fantasy, but I would label it paranormal-romance-fantasy-kick butt. (Got your attention with the “kick butt,” didn’t I?)

Here’s the back cover blurb:

As future Queen and Guardian of the Elements, Princess Skylather’cha’eab thought her worst nightmare was the impending find-a-husband party until events take an ominous turn. Now she must put her life at risk to save her Kingdom.

Armed with only a staff, a bow, and her wits, Skyla’s world is turned upside-down when she enters the Crossroads and encounters the beast she’s destined to kill. Does she have the courage to sort truth from lie, or will she die not knowing who betrayed her?

Skyla is no shrinking violet. She’s been training all her life to fight for her kingdom. She’s been training to become Queen. At 17, she’s at the age when her father is about to marry her off. His idea of a husband is different from hers, but it’s not like she’s had time to find love on her own. All that goes by the wayside when the Kingdom is suddenly in danger and it’s up to Skyla to save it.

And that is where the kicking butt comes in.

It used to be that I read primarily mystery and thriller, not fantasy. Laura Eno has turned me into a fantasy reader. Her characters are multi-dimensional and different from each other (you won’t get them confused!) and her worlds are complex and well thought out. In Tempest Child there are five worlds, counting Skyla’s home. Each is totally different. Each is dangerous. Each could kill her.

I’ve read and reviewed two other books by Laura Eno: Don’t Fall Asleep and Prophecy Moon. I recommended both. And I recommend this one. I wouldn’t mind reading more adventures with Skyla.

Tempest Child - Amazon
Tempest Child - Barnes and Noble

I give Tempest Child by Laura Eno a rating of Hel-of-a-World because she’s created not one, but five, unique and interesting worlds.

~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: Tempest Child was sent to me by the author. This did not influence my review. I was influenced, though, by Eno’s mind. She takes us to five completely different worlds. To my way of thinking, creating one world would be difficult. Eno also created a perfectly imperfect character, who was not modeled after me. If she had been, Skyla would have missed her chance to go to the Crossroads because she would have been napping in her office. I mean … planning what weapons and supplies to take on the journey.

Conferences

2011-08-11T05:03:00.004-05:00

Today I’m posting a quick invite for you to join me over at The Blood-Red Pencil where I’m talking about conferences. Or more specifically, using conferences as a way to meet agents.

I worked at conferences when I was on the Board of Directors of the Writers League of Texas and ran the big Agents Conference while I was their Executive Director. I’ve also attended and led workshops at conferences. Conferences can be a good way to meet agents and see them as real people, not just as an unreachable goal. On the other hand, conferences are not the most effective way to hook up with agents.

Stop by and leave a comment or question. See you over there: The Blood-Red Pencil

And if you like this post and/or the one over at The Blood-Red Pencil, please click the blue Google +1 button at the bottom of the post.

Thinking Outside the Book

2011-08-10T05:08:00.001-05:00

It used to be that books stayed the same. You could count on them, hold them, smell them. You bought them at a bookstore, where you also had the chance to hear the author speak. Not so much anymore.

But that doesn’t mean authors and companies aren’t thinking outside the book.

According to an article in Fast Company, Unbound has “crowd-financed” a book. The principle behind Unbound is “to take the ancient, leather-bound business model of book publishing, rip out its crumbling pages, and replace it with crowd-funding, social interaction, and tandem digital publications and real hardback books.”

Unbound proposes a book on its website. People can then choose to donate or fund the book. The more you donate, the more “access” to the author you get, such as a dinner with him/her.

I think this particular model would work best with authors who are already names, either as writers or some other form of celebrity.

But…in a way, it is similar to the rise of the Internet as a way to promote yourself. Because of blogs and other social media, readers now have greater access to writers they love, as well as new writers. Knowing a writer online means you’re more likely to buy their book.

Unbound is revving up the idea, but so are individual writers. Each time you connect with a reader via your tweets or posts or other online method, you, in a way, give that reader access to you. And as they get to know you, they’re more likely to buy your book, read your book, possibly review the book, and buy the next book.

So, if you’re thinking that all the time you spend online is a waste, think again. It pays to think outside the book.

Print Books Not Lost

2011-08-06T05:03:00.001-05:00

Are print books fast going the way of the dinosaurs? Maybe. But not as fast as some think. Recently, someone said there would be no more books printed within a year. I’m not buying that, especially after reading an article in the NewsLeader about an annual Rare Book School at the University of Virginia.

The picture at the top of the article shows young people, (not ancient readers like me, she who speaks of learning to read via printed words on paper) pulling a page from a replica of Ben Franklin’s Common Press.

Rare Book School has amassed a collection of 80,000 items “that range from 7th-century papyrus fragments to manuscripts stored on Reagan-era floppy disks and unreadable on the modern computer.”

The school offers 25 weeklong courses each summer. And they’re not just for young people. According to the article, the latest class “included a bookshop owner from Washington state, an English graduate student from New Zealand, a historian for the Mormon Church, a school librarian from Long Beach, Calif., and collegiate librarians from Oxford and Yale.”

The course sounds interesting to me:

In class, students take turns operating wooden and iron printing presses and hanging pages to dry. Or they gather round ancient manuscripts for a closer look at this goatskin binding or that woodblock rendering.

How about you? Does it sound interesting? Does it make you want to write a book that a hundred years from now people will hold in their hands and turn the delicate pages in awe?

Book Review: An Uncommon Family

2011-08-04T05:01:00.003-05:00

An Uncommon Family by Christa Polkinhorn is the story of three people: Karla, a six year old girl, living with her aunt, Anna, and Jonas, an artist who comes to play a pivotal role in their lives. Primarily set in Zurich, Switzerland, the story also ventures to New York and Guadalajara, Mexico.

Here is the first paragraph of the cover blurb:

A chance meeting between a middle-aged woman, a widower, and a semi-orphaned child in the city of Zurich, Switzerland, brings together three people who grapple with a past of loss and betrayal. Six-year-old Karla, whose mother died in a car crash, has a hard time accepting the loss. Anna, her aunt and guardian, struggles with her former husband’s deception and her shattered confidence in men, and Jonas, artist and teacher, mourns the death of his wife.

The story is not nearly as “dark” as you might think by reading that blurb, although it does have its moments of tenseness and stress, misunderstandings and pain. It also has love, forgiveness and understanding.

One thing I liked about An Uncommon Family is that the characters are not caricatures. Polkinhorn gives them depth. When Anna’s sister dies, Anna, the main protagonist, takes custody of her niece, Karla. Having her niece with hers fills her life, until she meets Jonas. Falling in love, but not admitting it, they become almost a family for Karla. But both Anna and Jonas have secrets from their past. Anna is not sure she can forgive Jonas’ secret.

In the end, the question is: Can they be a true family or will they remain An Uncommon Family?

I liked Christa Polkinhorn’s way of developing the characters. Each of them is flawed in their own way. No one is perfect. I also like the primary setting, Zurich, which I’ve never been to, but would like to go there after reading An Uncommon Family. (The author is originally from Switzerland.)

An Uncommon Family

I give An Uncommon Family by Christa Polkinhorn a rating of Hel-of-a-Story because she created a story for each character, complete with secrets, and then brought those stories together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: This e-book was given to me by the author. This did not influence my review. What did influence me was that I read it on Kindle, or more accurately, a Kindle app. I had to go through a huge learning curve. Even though I read it on my computer via the Kindle app, I had to train myself not to read it as though it were a Word document. So many times, I would finish a page and scroll down to the next page. Don’t Do That! One scroll might take me five pages away or 50 pages away. And since there were no page numbers, it was difficult to find my way back. One morning I opened it up and it hadn’t saved where I left off. I had to re-read about 25 pages before I found my spot. Eventually, though, I got the hang of Never Using the Scroll button. In the end, An Uncommon Family was worth it.

E-book Pricing

2011-08-03T04:58:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday, I linked you to Robert Niles’ three part post on publishing an e-book. Staying in that theme, today, I’m giving you the link to Publishers Weekly’s article by Jim Milliot on Vook’s 10 Rules of Pricing.

To come up with those 10 rules, Vook examined what it calls the four successful factors for e-book pricing: “categorization, discoverability, marketplaces, and the importance of libraries.”

Some of them seem pretty obvious to me, like #7:

Lift effects through savvy launch promotions have a profound impact on sales.

The article is not so much aimed at authors who do their own ebooks as it is at retailers (or in this case e-tailers) and publishers. Even so, it can be informative for author-publishers. Be sure you scroll through the comments. Most of them so far seem to be from author-publishers.

Do you have any of your own rules of pricing for your ebooks?

Publishing an eBook

2011-07-30T05:04:00.001-05:00

During my travels around cyberspace, I came across a three-part series on publishing your own eBook. The info and advice comes from a journalist, Robert Niles.

In Part one, A journalist's guide to eBook publishing - part one, he talks about choosing the subject of your book and gathering information.

In Part two, A journalist's guide to eBook publishing - part two, he gets into formatting, providing what he calls “the cheapstake's method to eBook publishing.” Here he covers buying an ISBN and creating or paying for a cover design. Then he gets down to the nitty-gritty of things like using HTML and XML, naming your files, coding problems, and the copyright page. He ends with advice and notes on editing your HTML code.

In Part three, A journalist's guide to eBook publishing - part three, Niles focuses on compiling all your information into eBook format. He offers tips on what you need to know to be accepted by Amazon and Barnes and Noble. He links to the Big Three’s direct publishing programs, lists the steps in Mobipocket Creator, and talks about uploading to iTunes Producer.

Then he leaves the promotion of your book up to you, but he’ll get you to that point. It seems like things are constantly changing, but for now, this is a pretty good explanation of what you have to do to self-publish your own eBook.

Changing Times

2011-07-28T05:00:00.001-05:00

I was reading an article in The Wall Street Journal called “Borders Succumbs to Digital Era in Books,” when I came across two lines that said so much about the state of print publishing. The article focuses primarily about how the demise of Borders bookstores is changing more than just the lives of readers for whom the local Borders was the only bookstore nearby, although that aspect was addressed with this line:

The closures will make Barnes & Noble the only national bookstore chain in the U.S., leaving some Americans to drive long distances to find the largest collections of new bestsellers or wile away the hours among the stacks.

But to me, the real telling line that affects writers was this one:

Publishers, already grappling with seismic shifts in their business, including the demand for e-books, now are trying to gauge how many fewer books they should print, both in terms of physical copies and the number of new titles.

A writer’s advance is most often associated with how many books the publisher thinks you can sell. Fewer print stores mean fewer print sales. If there’s no store near you, you’re more likely to buy via an online store or not at all. And fewer convenient bookstores will most likely lead to higher sale of eReaders, which lowers print sales.

What do you think? Will remaining bookstores focus on high-selling celebrity books? Who will get hurt the most -- midlist authors, newbie authors, small press authors, or …? Will this lead to more eBooks and eReaders or possibly more online bookstores?

Book Review: City of Bones

2011-07-27T05:00:00.001-05:00

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, the first in The Mortal Instruments series, came out in 2007. So here I am, four years later, reading it. The book, and I’m assuming the entire series, is aimed at young teen girls who enjoy paranormal worlds and adventures, and fans of the Twilight series. Here’s the back cover blurb:

When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with odd markings. This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons -- and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It’s also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interesting in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know….

City of Bones has a lot of twists and turns. Clare creates a fully realized alternate world that exists in New York, right alongside the everyday world. This world of vampires, werewolves, demons, Shadowhunters, and more is complex and well thought out. There is so much going on that at times it’s a bit hard to keep up but that’s probably a comment on my aging mind rather than the writing.

The story starts with Clary and her friend Simon at a nightclub. Clary realizes she can see things that Simon can’t. Being the kind of person who steps in to help, she does just that, only to find herself involved in things she shouldn’t be able to see. Once she steps into this world, taking Simon with her, the story revs up the action and revelations.

Despite the fact that I’m a few years past my teens (y’all quit laughing), I enjoyed reading City of Bones.

I give City of Bones by Cassandra Clare a rating of Hel-of-a-Story for teenage girls.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: I did not buy City of Bones, nor did I check it out of a library, nor did I steal it. None of that influenced my review. My son walked out of his room one morning and set four big books on the table. They sat there for days. Finally, I asked him about them and he told me a girl had lent them to him and he was going to return them. They sat there for days until, finally, I picked up the top one and started reading and kept reading, all 485 pages. I’ve told him he can take the books back to his friend since it will probably take me forever to read them all. Apparently his friend is not in a rush to retrieve them. I suspect there will be movies made from the books. I’ll probably go see them. I think it will help if I see characters on-screen calling her Clary. In my head, I kept calling her Clay. Wouldn’t you? I mean, you’re reading fast and you glide across “Clary.” Wouldn’t you think it said Clay? Wouldn’t you? Okay, that’s probably just me.

An Amazing Prize

2011-07-23T05:00:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week, I received an amazing prize in the mail…all the way from South Africa. Just seeing the To: label that included “United States of America” in my address was fun. Woo-woo. The package was from the wonderful writer, Judy Croome.

When I opened the package, I discovered so many amazing things. First of all, there were five books inside, books that I don’t believe I would have had access to in my local bookstore.

Heart of the Hunter by Deon Meyer
Thobela ‘Tiny’ Mpayiphli has a past littered with violence and death. An assassin’s past that he never wants to face again. All he desires is a quiet life with the woman he loves, and her child. But then his best friend is kidnapped, and suddenly he finds himself riding a stolen motorbike across the harsh plains of the South African Karoo.
His destination: Lusaka, thousands of miles away in Zambia.
His mission: To deliver a computer disk that contains -- what? He has exactly 72 hours to do it, or his friend will die.

Home Away, edited by Louis Greenberg
Twenty-four writers, born, raised or resident in South Africa write about a foreign city and reflect on the nature of home. Each of them covers one hour in a global day, from midnight to 11 p.m. The stories veer from Peruvian ruins and medieval European abbeys to American highways and Asian metropolises, from teh suburbs of Sydney to the streets of Lagos. There are tales about holidaying, honeymooning and working abroad, about emigrants in their new homes and immigrants visiting their old ones.

In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut
A young man makes three journeys that take him through Greece, India, and Africa. He travels lightly, simply. To those who travel with him and those whom he meets on the way -- including a handsome, enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers and a woman on the edge -- he is the Follower, the Lover and the Guardian. Yet, despite the man’s best intentions, each journey ends in disaster. Together those three journeys will change his whole life.

Kitchen Boy by Jenny Hobbs
Luck matters. Life is chancy. An oval ball can bounce any way. Springbok legend, celebrated war hero, thriving businessman – that was JJ Kitching, known to all as Kitchen Boy. His was a life as large as a sports stadium, as thrilling as baling out of a burning war plane. Now he lies dead in his coffin in a Durban cathedral and his life is relived as funeral goers remember a glowing Natal childhood, the thunder of the rugby field, the joys and sorrows of family. But at the core of the man remained, to the end, the memory of WWII and how it could reduce even the bravest of men.

Recipes from the African Kitchen by Josie Stow and Jan Baldwin
The African Kitchen is a culinary and visual feast, a food lover’s tour of this fascinating continent. The guide is leading safari chef Josie Stow, who takes us through a day in the life of her bush kitchen. Today’s most popular ingredients are used in exciting combinations with recipes for all occasions.

Besides all these amazing books, Judy also sent:
A “wine naturally” shopping bag that will definitely be put to use
Refrigerator magnets (four of them with pictures from South Africa)
A CD of the Soweto String Quartet (which I must listen to before my son discovers it and secrets it off to his room)
And three things Judy listed as “trinkets” but are anything but! All of them were hand-beaded by the migrant Zimbabwean ladies: An absolutely gorgeous set of salad servers with black and white beading on the intricate handles, the cutest hand-beaded giraffe key ring which will go on my keys, for sure, and something I had never seen before - a milk jug net with colorful beading. That last one I feel like I should frame and put on the wall, it’s so amazing.

If you haven’t been to Judy Croome’s blog, do go over and say hi to her. She is a wonderful writer and has such an interesting blog and life.

Author Karen Walker

2011-07-21T05:11:00.001-05:00

Author Karen Walker is well known for her memoir, Following the Whispers. (Back in May of this year, I reviewed her book.) She agreed to stop by today to talk about her newest writing adventure - a book of fiction. Now that she’s stepped across the abyss between the two genres, she’s here to tell us her experience and to answer the question:

Writing Memoir Versus Writing Fiction - Is There a Difference?

If I had been asked this question before I began writing a novel, the answer would have been a resounding, “Yes,” because I didn’t think I was a fiction writer. I’d been writing non-fiction for 30+ years as a public relations professional. And it took 10 years for me to bring my memoir into the world.

With memoir, I didn’t need to dream up characters--they were the people in my life. There was no plot invention--it consisted of actual events. No creating scenes with dialogue. I simply had to remember.

Good memoirs read like novels. You care about the characters. The story moves forward with the main character facing obstacles. There is a beginning, middle and end. The difference, then, is that the memoir is true. I won’t get into the controversial issue of truth in memoir--that’s a whole other blog post. So, for the reader of memoir versus fiction, the fact that it’s a true story may be the only difference.

For me, the writer, however, the difference has been huge. With memoir, I had my entire life to draw upon. Yes, I had to choose which events to include, whom to leave in and out, what snippets of dialogue would convey what I wanted. With a novel, one only has their imagination and some research.

You might wonder why I chose fiction now, rather than stick with a genre I’m familiar and comfortable with. I didn’t. It chose me. I was vacationing in Ireland when a voice asked me to tell its story. I’ve been discovering who and what the voice is ever since. I’m not ready to talk about the story yet, but I can say it isn’t easy opening up, allowing it to emerge.

Memoir isn’t easy either. I opened in a different way, willing to speak my truth about bad choices and tough decisions. Being a fiction writer is a different kind of tough. Whichever genre you work in, the craft similarities are there. It’s the emotional journey, I think, that makes writing them so different.

Helen, thank you so much for allowing me to guest here today. You are such a gift to writers of all genres.

Blessings,
Karen

Thank you so much, Karen!

I don’t write memoir, so I find it fascinating to hear from those who do - and who also write fiction. Karen, not only has written her memoir, Following the Whispers, she’s published essays in newspapers and magazines, as well as an anthology series. She’s also spent more than 30 years in marketing and public relations. One, among many, things I found interesting about Karen is that after those 30 years, she went back to college to complete a Bachelor's degree and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2005 from the University of New Mexico's University Studies program with a major emphasis in Creative Writing. One thing she might not tell you, but I will … she does international folk dancing and has a beautiful singing voice.

What about all of you? Do you write both fiction and memoir? Would you like to? What questions or comments do you have for Karen?

Third Step to Networking

2011-07-20T05:18:00.004-05:00

Before we get to the third step in Successful Networking for writers, let’s review steps one and two. The first step was to Listen. I was reminded of this recently while I doing some volunteer work. A writer came up, introduced himself and talked about his book. During the “conversation,” he mentioned what a great listener he was, then proceeded to talk and talk over anyone who tried to get a word in edgewise.

By the time my shift was over and I gathered my stuff to leave, I knew quite a bit about him, his job over the last twenty years, etc. He knew nothing about me. He didn’t ask what I did. I doubt he even remembered my first name. He hadn’t “met” me. He’d failed in that second step of getting to know the other person.

If he’d “met” me and gotten to know me, he might have not only gained a reader, he might have learned something about me that he would need in the future. Maybe I’m knowledgeable in some area he’s researching for another book. Gaining a reader entails not just talking about yourself and your book, but getting to know that other person a little, whether you have two minutes with them or twenty.

But let’s say, you’re not like that guy I met. You listened, you connected. You enticed me to go look at your book. Maybe you even discovered something about me that you found interesting. This brings us to Step Three in Successful Networking:
Keep Track of Your Encounters

The guy in my example didn’t even bother to give me his card or ask for mine. When you’re networking, if possible, get the other person’s card. Make a note on the back of when and where you met and the things you want to remember about that person. If you can’t get a card, then note on a piece of paper or in a notebook his/her name and contact information along with what was said? Clearly, you won’t have time to do this for every person you meet or who stands in line to get your autograph, but you can do it for those you especially want to remember. If your “meet up” is online, and you think this person might help you or you might be able to help them in the future, make a note of that person’s name, URL, email, whatever you want to remember in the future.

Networking is more than just meeting people and listening to them. It's keeping track of all those encounters. All right, I admit, it can be a pain and time-consuming, but it could also pay off big in the future. You meet not only experts, but authors who might provide cover blurbs, other writers looking for critique partners, business people who might give you personal attention when it comes to printing your business cards because they know you, people who can give you the inside scoop on upcoming workshops or up-and-coming agents, and more. All these people are out there. You just have to meet them.

And that's the basic three steps to Successful Networking – Listen, Meet, Keep a Database. In other words, get away from your desk and computer, meet people, listen to them, maintain contact, and keep up with your database list.

Now, get out there and Network. It’s actually fun.

Second Step to Networking

2011-07-16T05:15:00.003-05:00

In the last post, I said the number one step in Successful Networking is to Listen.

Networking isn't just trying to sell yourself or your book. A major part of networking is paying attention to others. But to pay attention to others, you have to meet them.

Step Two in Successful Networking:
Get up from your computer and put yourself out there. You have to meet and talk with other people.

In the case of book signings, sure, you want readers to buy your book. What you don't want them to do is take your book just to escape from you, then drop it on a table somewhere else in the store. You want them to feel like they have a rapport with you through this personal meeting. They not only buy this book, but look for future books.

When you go to conferences and workshops, you never know who you're going to meet. That nondescript woman sitting next to you at lunch could be the fabulous editor you've been searching for to go over your manuscript before you send it in to an agent. But you'll never know that if you spend the whole meal talking about yourself and don't even bother to exchange business cards or find out about her.

That guy you bump into in the hall at work or sit next to on the plane could be more than just clumsy. He might be an expert in forensics or quilting or beekeeping or that topic in your book that you really need expert advice on. How will you know that if you don’t take the initiative to meet and talk with him?

If you’re ePublishing, put yourself out on the Internet. Join groups where you can meet people and promote (see my post on July 9th).

So, another big part of Successful Networking for the author is talking with other people. That’s different from talking to people. Meet them. Get to know something about them.

First Step to Networking

2011-07-14T05:12:00.001-05:00

Networking means getting out of your writer's box and meeting and learning about other people. While most of us might prefer to sit at our computers all day, limiting our public exposure to the clerk behind the post office counter, we need to allow time to network.

Why? Well, it can get lonely talking to yourself and your imaginary characters all day. Plus, every time you meet a new person or put yourself in a different situation, you learn something, about that person, about the world, about yourself. You can exchange both ideas and business cards. And probably most importantly, you meet people who might someday advance your career.

There are three steps or areas to Successful Networking for the writer. Today, we cover the first step.

Step One:

Don't just join organizations then read their newsletters in the safety of your home. Go to meetings, talk to people, find out about them, and -- this is important -- listen. Go to conventions and workshops, introduce yourself to fellow writers, as well as editors and agents, share ideas, and -- this is important -- listen. When you're at a book signing, don't just grab passersby and launch into the spiel about your book. Ask a question, put the book into their hands so they get the feel for it and can peruse it, and -- this is important -- listen.

Okay, this is a test ... what's the first and probably most important part of networking? I know you know the answer, because you were … listening.
Step One to Successful Networking -- Listen

What Do You Do?

2011-07-13T05:09:00.001-05:00

I, and probably you as well, am often asked what I do. For me, there are multiple answers. I’m a mother, a homemaker, a freelance editor, a book consultant, Partner and Marketing Director for Legends In Our Own Minds®, blogger, volunteer and, of course, a writer. The first seven replies don’t elicit much of a response or even interest. But if I say “writer” then the other person perks up. They invariably ask a follow-up question like, “Really? What do you write? Would I have read your books?”

If any of you have said you were a writer, you’ve probably gotten this question. It doesn’t matter whether you’re unpublished or published in magazines, anthologies, newspapers or online. If you say, “I write feature articles,” you’ll get a disappointed look. If you say, “I write technical articles,” their eyes glaze over. If you say, “I’m unpublished,” you’ll get a look of “What the hell? You’re not a writer.” First of all, they want to know that you’re a book writer. Second, they want to know they can go to their local Barnes & Noble or nearby store and find your book. Having your book available on your website and Amazon doesn’t cut it with those without an eReader. Your book has to have an established bookstore’s seal of approval. Although with more and more people getting eReaders, being e-published is becoming more acceptable. On the other hand, more quickie books and spam books being uploaded, which isn’t driving people to try unknown authors.

A lot of times, someone who isn’t published in book form but is asked that question won’t even answer with “I’m a writer.” They’ll give some other answer. Just to avoid that follow-up question. That look.

But what I’ve decided is that writers don’t need affirmation from others to call themselves writers. The title of “writer” isn’t something another person bestows on you. And it’s not something they can take away with a disapproving look. If you decide you’re a writer, then you give the title to yourself, whether you write books, screenplays, articles, essays, poetry, short stories, or greeting cards, published or not.

Good chance you’ll still have to endure the responses you get when others find out you’re not published in book form – or possibly worse, you are but your books are now out of print. But no matter what looks you get, those looks can’t take away what you are. Only you can decide you’re a writer. Only you can decide you’re not. It’s true that writers write. Writers also believe … in themselves.

No. 1 on Amazon

2011-07-09T05:15:00.003-05:00

John Green’s latest book, The Fault in Our Stars, is number 1 on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. You’re going to have to wait a while to read it though. It’s not due for release until spring of next year.

Huh? you say. According to the Wall Street Journal, he has amassed so many fans that his book has climbed the charts.

He, folks, has mastered the art of promoting via social media. Green “posted the title of his new book on Twitter, Tumblr and the community forum YourPants.org. An hour later, he upped the stakes by promising to sign all pre-orders and the entire first-print run, while also launching a YouTube live show.”

His fans responded by posting “hundreds of potential dust jackets for the book, which doesn't have one yet. They also turned to Twitter and Tumblr to discuss pre-ordering the books.” And thus began the climb of the book to the top of the charts.

You’re probably wondering, how many followers does this guy have?

Check out this chart from the article:
Weaving an Intricate Web: John Green's Digital Toolbox
Name of Web site Purpose                                           Followers
1.Twitter                 Posts daily, often in response to         1.1 million
                                   readers
2.YouTube                Has made nearly 900 videos with      526,000
                                   his brother
3.Facebook              Author updates but prefers other       62,000
                                    social media
4.Nerdfighters.com   Hosts conversations about a variety   60,000
                                   of topics
5.YourPants.org        A forum to discuss the videos            27,000
6.Tumblr                   A fluid conversation in images or       26,000
                                    videos

Yep, yep. I’m probably second in all those places. Or I will be, as soon as I figure out why the NerdFighters are in YourPants. I’d better Tumblr a Twitter on Facebook and see if someone can tell me.

Book Review: Dead Light District

2011-07-07T05:12:00.002-05:00

Dead Light District is author Jill Edmondson’s second book in her Sasha Jackson Mystery series. The first was called Blood and Groom (I reviewed that one earlier this year, if you’d like to read my comments). I liked Blood and Groom. I like Dead Light District even more.

Sasha is a bit more experienced now. The book opens with the case:

“So these women get paid to have sex with men?” I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation.”
“Sasha, I know it sounds bad, but it’s not what you think,” said Candace, the expertly coiffed, perfectly groomed madam of the first bordello I’ve even been inside.”

And with that, Sasha is off on the case of the beautiful, but missing, Mary Carmen. She visits the underside of a hooker’s life as well as the much better life in Candace’s bordello. But it’s not easy finding a hooker who does not want to be found. It’s also dangerous, as she realizes when a very disturbing pimp turns up dead. The book moves fast, from clue to clue, hooker to hooker, danger to more danger.

There are light moments - Sasha’s just that kind of girl. Even if you’ve never had to pretend to be a hooker, you can relate to Sasha and her aching feet after wearing way too high heels and her despair at seeing how street hookers have to live. Like most of us, Sasha is often broke or near to it, yet investigation requires money, both over and under the table.

You can find Dead Light District at:
Amazon

You can also check Jill Edmonson’s website to find a list of stores in Canada where the book is available.

Each book in this series develops Sasha as a person and each makes her more relatable to readers. She’s not familiar with this life that she’s investigating, but she’s not judgmental and recognizes that a life is a life, no matter what that person is doing with their life. I give Dead Light District a rating of Hel-Yeah.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: This book was signed and sent to me by the author, Jill Edmondson. That did not influence my review. I was influenced by Sasha. She’s relatable to all ages, even though she has a lot more energy and spunk than me. By reading her tale, I could live vicariously - I could drink copious amounts, be brave enough to talk my way into just about anything, wear high heels for longer than two steps, go without sleep, and fit in whether it’s at a fancy restaurant or a two-bit flea bag hotel. Okay, that last part is not quite the truth. I could fit in at a two-bit flea bag hotel. I’m just too chicken to go there.

One Book, 26 Authors

2011-07-06T05:18:00.001-05:00

Here’s an idea for you. Twenty-six authors, whose combined books have sold tens of millions of books, joined forces to write one book, a thriller called No Rest for the Dead. Andrew Gulli, who runs Strand Magazine, came up with the idea and the plot and wrote the prologue. Then each writer took over to write a chapter.

The list includes novelist Jeffery Deaver, best known for his Lincoln Rhyme series and now the latest authorized James Bond sequel, Alexander McCall Smith and Kathy Reichs.

You can read the article on Reuters Canada if you’d like to know more about the plot.

You may be thinking, that’s a great idea. I’ll gather my writer friends to write a book. If so, you should know that the project took Gulli four years to complete. The good news is that all proceeds from the book go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

No Rest for the Dead should be available today.

Mermaid Tales: Cold and Hot

2011-07-02T05:03:00.001-05:00

I realized it’s been almost a year since I told a Mermaid Tale. (Plus, a few people have started asking when I would do another one.) So, today, I’m telling you about the Cold and the Hot of being a mermaid.

Mermaids at Aquarena Springs swam 364 days of the year. The resort park was closed only on Christmas Day. That means we swam on the blazing hot Texas days and on the days when the catwalk to the volcano was iced over. The water, however, stayed the same. The show area was spring fed so it stayed a constant balmy 74 degrees. (That’s what the visitors were told, anyway. We measured it a few degrees lower.) We didn’t mind swimming in the winter, though, because the water was warmer than the outside temps.

Inside the volcano were two hot rooms, one for the males and one for the females. As soon as the mermaids finished their ballets, they swam up and hurried into the warming room, which was kept at about 130 degrees. Trust me, you dry and warm up fast in that heat. Then we’d go back in the show area to do our picnics…then back into the warming room.

In the summers, we’d change into bikinis and go lay out on the training platform in the sun (I don’t recommend sunbathing now that we know the damage that can do, but back then we didn’t know about it.) Not long after I left, they apparently stopped sunbathing on the platform since there were complaints from folks gliding overhead in the gondolas about our lack of dress (as in, bikini tops untied so we didn’t get strap marks across out backs). In the winter, we’d hurry across the catwalk, steam rising from our bodies since we were hotter than the outside air.

Once a girl entered an area where she could be seen by the public, she had to be in costume. That meant in a one-piece bathing suit with a sarong, lei, plastic flower in her hair, and a smaller lei on one ankle. Once again, warmer in summer than in the cold of winter.

While we jumped in really cold water every day, multiple times, I rarely came down with a cold. Looking back, I’m not sure I ever had one cold during my years as a mermaid. I credit that to the warming room.

Saving Bookstores

2011-06-30T05:28:00.001-05:00

Larry Wilson with the Pasadena Star-News has a couple of ideas on saving the brick-and-mortar stores. E-books are really hot right now. So hot, some are predicting the demise of the print books and, thus, bookstores.

Here’s one suggestion:

Long troubled by Amazon - which, by the way, should be forced to man up and pay sales tax just like the bricks and mortars sooner rather than later - the few cool bookstores left are now being battered by ebooks.

One advantage physical bookstores have over virtual bookstores is this:

But there's one thing the independents can offer that cyberspace never will - author events. Book signings. Talks. Chances to sit in the same room with, or maybe even shoot the breeze with, your favorite writers.

Wilson suggests that bookstores need to start charging for author events. One store in California, Kepler’s, already charges.

Attendees at many readings are charged a $10 gift card, which admits two. (If they buy the author's book, it's free.)

As one person said: “"We're a business," the marketing manager of the Harvard Book Store told The New York Times. "We're not just an Amazon showroom."”

What do you think? Would you pay to hear an author speak? Would you only pay if it were a best-selling author? How about a new, local author?

P.S. Come back Saturday for another Mermaid Tale. I was asked when I planned to do another and I realized it’s been a year since I told a Tale.

Downside of E-Pubbing

2011-06-29T05:19:00.000-05:00

E-pubbing is so fast and easy, anyone can do it. And millions do. More e-books than print books are being made. There’s no longer that middle gate authors had to get past (usually an agent or an editor) who blocked/opened the path from writer to reader. The process has been made relatively easy for those wanting to publish their own books.

But easy, fast, and money usually draw in people other than those wanting to get their books out to the public. It also draws in scam artists.

I read an article by John Naughton in The Observer called: Now anyone can ‘write’ a book. First, find some words… And by “find” he means it.

One of the most prolific self-publishers on the site is Manuel Ortiz Braschi. When I last checked he had edited, authored or co-authored no fewer than 3,255 ebooks. Mr Braschi is clearly a man of Herculean energy and wide learning, who ranges effortlessly from How to Become a Lethal Weapon in Two Weeks (£1.40) to Herbs 101: How to Plant, Grow & Cook with Natural Herbs (£0.70) while taking in Potty Training! The Ultimate Potty Training Guide! (£0.69).

How could he be an expert in all of those areas? He can’t. According to the article, Braschi is one of many spammers who

"scrape" content from websites or, in some cases, actually lift entire texts, and republish them as ebooks. And, in a neat twist, each of these ersatz "books" can be marketed under several different titles as coming from different authors.

One “entrepreneur” is marketing a video course on how to post 10 to 20 new Kindle books every day by handing “the video course to your spouse, your assistant, your brother... heck – even hand it to your 10-year-old kid!”

The article claims Kindle self-publishing is “metamorphosing into a new kind of lucrative spam.” It even answers its own question as to why Kindle would allow this to happen:

Could the fact that it takes a 30% slice of every transaction have anything to do with it?

My question is: Can anything be done to stop this kind of blatant plagiarism? This is going to keep happening. It’s too easy for spammers to do and too lucrative for them to stop.

Author Carolyn J. Rose

2011-06-25T05:00:00.001-05:00

Today, author Carolyn J. Rose is guest posting. I can tell you a bit about Carolyn:

She grew up in New York's Catskill Mountains, graduated from the University of Arizona, logged two years in Arkansas with Volunteers in Service to America, and spent 25 years as a television news researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. She founded the Vancouver Writers' Mixers and her hobbies are reading, gardening, and not cooking. She's the author and co-author of ten novels, including An Uncertain Refuge, Hemlock Lake, The Big Grabowski, and Sometimes a Great Commotion.

But if you really want to know about her, go to her website. You’ll find she’s led a very interesting life and is really funny.

Please welcome Carolyn J. Rose.

Getting Past the Messages of Childhood

Whenever I plan promotional events or prepare an on-line post about a particular book or my thoughts on writing, those messages from childhood come blaring through my brain.

The same rules that enabled me to “work and play well with others” and earned me good marks in grade school can be barriers to successful promotion. So, a little modification is in order.

For example, a prime message was, “Don’t be pushy.”

If I bought into that 100%, I’d never ask if I could be a guest blogger or have my book listed on a particular site. I’d probably never post on a forum. Heck, I probably wouldn’t even admit that I’m a writer unless someone took me to a stark basement room and beat the information out of me with a rubber hose.

So I’ve spent a lot of time considering the difference between what’s “being pushy” and what’s “promoting your work.”

Pushy, I’ve decided, is cutting in line, taking someone else’s seat, or monopolizing a conversation. Pushy is being all about yourself at the expense of others. Pushy is demanding.

Promotion is presenting. It’s suggesting. That suggestion may be strong and it may be slanted, but it falls short of pushiness.

Another message was, “Don’t compare yourself to others.” The secondary message there was, “Never act superior or better than.”

I try to toe the line on that secondary message (although I’m only human) but comparisons are a tool of the writing trade, a form of shorthand, and a way to allow readers to connect quickly.

Sometimes a Great Commotion is a humorous mystery that deals with environmental issues and takes place in a small town. In descriptive shorthand, I might say the book is in the vein of authors who write similar books. Not just like, not of the same caliber, but similar.

And then there was, “Don’t brag about your success.” That’s a tricky one because the definition of bragging, I’ve found, depends on the perceptions of those being bragged to.

Simply mentioning that I have a new book out might prompt some people to play the “you’re bragging” card. But not mentioning the book closes the door on promotional opportunities. So I try to seek venues where mentioning is appropriate, expected, encouraged, and welcomed. (Like, for example, Helen Ginger’s wonderful blog.)

Then there’s the message I find myself passing on to the high school students I deal with as a substitute teacher, “It’s not all about you.”

It’s tough to defend flaunting that rule—like I’m doing now as I write about myself—so I amend it to read, “It’s not all about you, it’s about the book, the characters, what you’ve learned about the writing process, and what others might find helpful or interesting.”

That shifts the focus just enough that I can shrug off the self-centered, self-conscious feeling and rev myself up to write a news release or answer a blogger’s interview questions or volunteer to teach a workshop at the library.

Finally, there’s this message, “It’s not polite to talk about money.”

Words to live by, then and now. I adhere to that message by making an effort to refer not to books sold, but to readers connected with. That makes promoting feel less like, well, panhandling, and more like getting acquainted with someone who happens to share my table at a coffee shop.

So, hey, let’s get a cup of coffee. And while I’ve got my wallet out, let me show you a picture of the book I just released.

Thank you Carolyn!

If you’d like to buy or see Carolyn’s latest book (isn’t the cover great!), check out An Uncertain Refuge on Amazon.

And you can get more acquainted with Carolyn and all her books on her website.

This was a very interesting post. Carolyn addresses what most of us wonder about - how do we promote our books without sounding haughty. After all, we think our books are fabulous and we want others to think that as well, but if we say that or push too hard, readers can be turned off. She’s told us how she accomplishes this feat. Do you have any advice you can contribute? Or you’re invited to ask Carolyn a question or two. She’ll be dropping by.

Book Review: Zor

2011-06-23T05:00:00.001-05:00

Zor, by J.B., is a story of two men who meet in a bar and discuss philosophy. In fact, the subtitle of the book is “Philosophy, Spirituality, and Science”. The protagonist in the story is John Brewster, but the man driving the story is Zor. Through their discussions, Brewster’s life is changed.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Where do you turn when life’s basic tenets become suspect? Such is the dilemma confronting Jonathan Brewster, a middle aged money manager from Boston, after his “chance” meeting with the Haitian dwarf, Zor.

Forced into a series of intense debates regarding negative ch’i, emotional additions, neuron networks, placebos, vipassana meditation, the collective unconscious, laws of attraction, sub-atomic entanglement, Nietzsche, metta, God and happiness; John is reluctantly drawn to a new reality.

Rising above his crisis of conscience he restructures his life for the greater good, only to be challenged by the ultimate betrayal

If I had met Zor in a bar, I would have run the opposite direction. Not because he’s a dwarf. Because he talks philosophy and spirituality and science, stuff I haven’t pondered or debated since college. Having said that, it was interesting to be the third-party reading their debates and discussions. For the most part, I kept up.

Brewster has a life outside of the bar and Zor. He has a wife and a job, but it is those meetings in the bar that bring him to life. And it is Zor who makes him examine his life. These discussions take him to the brink of everything: his life, his marriage, his job.

I give Zor a rating of Hel-of-a-Writer because J.B. has written an interesting, intriguing, and intense book.

Amazon
Kindle
B&N

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: The author sent me Zor. (The book, not the Haitian dwarf.) That did not influence my review (getting the free book, not Zor - and when I say, Zor, I mean the dwarf, not the book). Okay, if this disclaimer makes sense to you, then you will understand the book and you should get a copy.

An Exclusive Club

2011-06-22T05:00:00.001-05:00

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, there’s a new member of the million-Kindle-seller club. Author John Locke joins Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lee Child, Suzanne Collins and Michael Connelly in having sold a million copies of his book.

What he did that set him apart is that he sold his Kindle books for 99 cents. That significantly lowers his royalty amount. If you price your books at $9.99, you would get almost $7 per book. But by pricing his books at 99 cents, he got only 35 cents per book. Even with that low percentage rate, he still made $346,500.

Keep in mind that he sold those 1 million books in five months. In the article, one person noted: "In fact, more people will sell less than 100 copies of their books self-publishing than will sell 10,000 books."

So, his is a great story, but keep in mind that it’s not the norm.