Today we celebrate World Book Night (website | Twitter | Facebook) where readers around the world will celebrate their love or the written word by handing out free copies. Thousands of cities and towns around the world will be participating in the second annual World Book Night where the expected number of books to be donated reached 2.5 million. The event, first conceived by Jamie Byng, Managing Director of Canongate Books in Edinburgh, Scotland. This year though would be the first time US readers will participate along with Germany, Ireland and the UK of course. The date, April 23, was not incidental as it marks both the death of Miguel de Cervantes and the birth of William Shakespeare. The goal, in the United States, is to give out half a million books to those who ordinarily wouldn’t have bought them. Designated givers, 25,000 in the United States, will give out brand new paperback books specially printed for the event. Among the 30 titles available are The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, The Stand by Stephen King, A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Poisonwood…

Kathy Hep­in­stall’s Blue Asylum (my thoughts) was a quick read on two very interesting subjects – The American Civil War and the definition of insane. i was glad to get the chance to ask Ms. Hep­in­stall a few quick questions. Q. There is a famous story (which I cannot recall where I heard) about a psychiatrist who was interviewing a very pleasant man who thought he was a famous figure (Jesus? Napoleon?) . The man asks “what if I’m right”? The phsychologist answered “you might be right, but there are more of us”. Blue Asylum seems t thrive on the notion of who is considered insane at a moment in time. was that the story you set out to write? What’s your opinion? A. I’m not sure if I set out to write that story, but it ended up that way – I mean, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it, when you think there were people being held in an insane asylum at the exact time we were actually fighting a war in large part, over whether we should keep other human beings as slaves? I found myself really loving and feeling empathy for the inmates of Sanibel Lunatic Asylum. Q. why did…

‘Mommie Dearest…’ Mother-love is a complex thing. Our relationship with our mother is the most fundamental and determining relationship most of us will ever have,whether we like it or not. It can be a force for good or… not. Its repercussions may be felt throughout life and sometimes, persist even after death. Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format. In reality we don’t always find the ‘unconditional’ devotion and support that is the idealized version of motherhood. If we dig a little deeper into the mother-child dynamic we might discover the most complicated of motivations and desires – as different in each case as the individuals involved. In Susan Hill’s popular novel ‘The Woman in Black’ we saw the vindictiveness that could be unleashed when motherhood was denied. One might also wonder what the possible conclusion of an over-protective mother-child relationship might be? Cliff McNish takes a look at obsessive mother-love in his book ‘Breathe: A Ghost Story’, and explores its more chilling consequences. After twelve-year-old Jack’s father dies suddenly, his mother Sarah moves them to an old farmhouse in the country. It’s an isolated,crumbling old place, and it has a history. Sarah hopes that by surrounding Jack with unfamiliar things he…

Tomorrow, 21 April will be the birthday of author Charlotte Brontë who was born in 1816. While I did not care much for Jane Eyre , I did appreciate its literary qualities. Check out my Fun Facts Friday on Charlotte’s sister, Emily. Books by Charlotte Brontë 1 ) Charlotte Brontë was the only one of her sisters to live past the ripe old age of 31. 2 ) The author’s most famous work, Jane Eyre, was originally published in 1847 under the nom-de-plume Currer Bell. 3 ) After Jane Eyre was published, the Brontë family suffered three tragedies in eight months. In September 1848 the family’s only son, Branwell, died, Emily died in December of 1848 and Anne died in May 1849. Charlotte stopped writing for a while but continued her second novel, Shirley, after Anne’s death as a way of dealing with her grief. 4 ) As a way of gaining attention to her Shirley, Charlotte sent copies leading authors of the time including Elizabeth Gaskell. 5 ) Charlotte’s third book, Villette, was the last one published in her lifetime. As her previous novels, the book has some autobiographical aspects. The novel was acknowledged as having sophisticated writing, but…

Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto: The Untold Story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Moshe Arens, former Ambassador to the U.S., Israeli Defense Minister and Foreign Minister, tells the story of the uprising in Warsaw Ghetto which the history books have missed. Interestingly enough, the uprising started on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, a holiday known as celebrating liberation.

Bernie Gunther returns from the Easter Front to find that 1941 Berlin is not the city he left – and not for the better. Life is unpleasant in Berlin due to blackouts, Czech terrorists, RAF bombings and food rationing.

There is one mantra for every writer who believes in his or her work: Never give up. I have taken it to heart for others, and have seen it work for my own book. If the book has intrinsic value, a writer can alert readers in any number of ways. The ultimate challenge is to inform the world that it exists. It is no longer enough to write a good book, to create and formulate an enticing production, taking advantage of POD (print on demand) options, setting it up with Kindle for high royalties. If no traffic drives by, the glow of the higher royalties will never reach the outstretched hand of the writer. Years ago, one of my authors who had young sons constantly skateboarding around her neighborhood, had T-shirts made up for them. The book jacket of her first novel was on the back, and the front read “my mother wrote the book.” Another author left a voicemail message on her phone: “I can’t take your call right now. Leave your name and number, and while you are waiting for my return call, visit your neighborhood bookstore and ask for my latest book (title).” Clearly, it is imperative…

While the publishing industry has been going through a confusing sea change, and ways for a writer to get published are multiplying like weeds, some things never change. The first step toward selling and marketing a book is probably trying to find a good literary agent. If you have faith in your book, that is still the smartest thing to do. Not only does a reputable agent have the know-how and the contacts to make a good deal, but having someone in your corner when everything around you is in flux is beyond priceless. Not everyone comes to publishing as a seasoned national celebrity. The buzzword bandied about in publishing circles is “platform,” although once upon a time, building up an author’s visibility was a job undertaken by the publisher of a book. Now it is up to authors to find ways to enhance and promote their work. Now, the internet reaches out into the cosmos, providing both a challenge and an opportunity. Many writers today are more savvy than their publishers as to what to do, and how to do it. While I started out seriously technophobic, I acknowledged reality. Swept along by my desire to see my book…

About: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is a fictional book first published in 1869. The work is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature. The copy I read was translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude. 1350 pages Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; New edition ISBN: 0199232768 Great price on this book in paper or elec­tronic for­mat through the Man of la Book Affil­i­ate Account More books by Leo Tolstoy Thoughts: This section starts with an excellent narrative about joy. When reading this I felt as if I were part of the party welcoming Nikolai back home. This part was very intense on an emotional level especially the middle part where a father is told that his son is dead. I cannot even imagine anything remote to this happening and Tolstoy manage to squeeze every ounce of sympathy he could manage. I don’t know why, but I hate to see or read about men crying. Whenever my wife watches reality shows (her “chill” hour) I turn away in disgust. In this book there is a heart wrenching scene of the old Prince mourning his son Andrei which I could barley get passed. The unimaginable had happened…

Southern writer Eudora Welty was born today, 13 April 1909 (died 23 July 2001) in Jackson, Mississippi. Books by Eudora Welty 1 ) Eudora Welty was the daughter of an insurance company owner and had a sheltered childhood and a led a sheltered life. 2 ) Many of Ms. Welty’s stories feature strong women, however feminist scholars shunned them due to negative comments she made in the 1970s about the feminist movement. 3 ) Eudora Welty was the first woman to study at Peterhouse College in Cambridge. 4 ) Ms. Welty was an accomplished photographer who took pictures for three years in the south during depression in the 1930s. 5 ) When she returned home from college (Columbia University School of Business), Ms. Welty worked as a radio writer and newspaper society writer. 6 ) The Death of a Traveling Salesman was Eudora Welty’s first published short story (1936). Her work appeared in the Southern Review for the next two years. 7 ) A Curtain of Green, a book of short stories was published in 1941. 8 ) Ms. Welty was awarded the O. Henry Award for best short fiction in 1942 and 1943. The novel The Optimist’s Daughter was…