Guest Post: Indie Marketing is a Marathon
Guest Posts , Latest Posts / September 18, 2012

David LeRoy, Sept 18th, 2012 Author of The Siren of Paris. Have you ever run a Marathon? There are usually two responses to this question. One is yes, or I have always wanted to run one. The other is to question the sanity of the person asking the question. I suppose there is a third, and that is to ignore the question and change the topic. Traditional publishers usually view marketing the way sprinters approach the 50-yard dash. The effort is intense, all out, for a very specific distance and short period of time. For the author of a major release, press releases, interviews, reviews of the book, guest appearances, and signing are all coordinated into a short window of time. The goal is to get as much exposure as soon as possible, and this “launches the book.” The target market is reached and the copies are sold, sometimes. Or sometimes not. Like sentence fragments, there are mistakes. For the self published author, or ‘indie author,” this approach to marketing can produce complete burn out and exhaustion. First, few people who choose to self publish a book today, through Amazon, Smashwords, or Nook, can afford to bankroll this kind of…

Book Review: Black Fridays by Michael Sears
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / September 18, 2012

Article first published as Book Review: Black Fridays by Michael Sears on Blogcritics. About: Black Fridays by Michael Sears is a novel which capitalizes on the author’s Wall Street experience providing interesting insights on financials capers. This is a first book by Mr. Sears and seems to be the first of a series. 352 pages Publisher: Putnam Adult Language: English ISBN-10: 0399158669 My rating for Black Fridays – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format Thoughts: Black Fridays by Michael Sears (website | Facebook) is a novel about financial schemes, murder and greed but mostly about the meaning of fatherhood. While I couldn’t begin to understand the complexity of the scam which Jason Stafford, the protagonist, pulled over his Wall Street bosses, I liked the other aspects of this book. Jason has a son which he is fighting for. After spending a couple of years in jail Jason certainly wasn’t up for the “Father of the Year” award, but neither was his white trash ex-wife, her fixation with abusive men and her way of dealing with autism (locking the kid in a room at his grandmother’s house so he won’t hurt himself). I enjoyed the financial aspect of the book and the…

Best Indie Book Festival
Latest Posts / September 18, 2012

The World Literary Cafe (http://www.worldliterarycafe.com/) is hosting a 2 day festival to celebrate 10 award winning books. Covering both Literary Fiction and Thriller genres, these books have all been named FINALISTS in the Kindle Book Review’s Best Indie Books of 2012 contest (www.thekindlebookreview.net), beating off stiff competition to claim that accolade. These really are some of the best independently published books available. Join us at the World Literary Cafe to find out more about these fantastic books, buy copies from Amazon and enter the competition to win Amazon gift certificates. The event runs for two days only – Tuesday 18th & Wednesday 19th September

Book Review: Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / September 17, 2012

Article first published as Book Review: Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell on Blogcritics. About: Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell is a feminine take on the famous Burroughs novel. This book tells the famous story from the view point of Jane Porter, Tarzan’s love interest. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— use the Raf­fle­copter form at the end of the post to enter. 320 pages Publisher: Tor Books Language: English ISBN-10: 0765333589 My rating for Jane – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format More Books by Robin Maxwell Thoughts: Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell (website | Facebook | @TheRobinMaxwell) is not a retelling of the origin story of Tarzan, but a reimagining of the mythology originally created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I was very excited about this novel, Tarzan has always been a favorite (who can forget those wonderful comics and Johnny Weissmuller films) and in preparation read the original Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. To be honest, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book again (I read it as a kid), I can certainly see why it is considered a classic and captures the imagination of…

Fun Facts Friday: Tarzan
Fun Facts Friday , Latest Posts / September 14, 2012

This week I reviewed Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs which I found to remain an exciting adventure story as I remembered from childhood. Art by Boris Vallejo 1 ) Burroughs wrote 25 sequels to Tarzan of the Apes, there are also three authorized books by other authors. 2 ) Burroughs sold the film rights for his novel, Tarzan of the Apes for $5,000 in cash advance (a record at the time) and 5% of gross receipts. 3 ) The 1918 version of Tarzan of the Apes, a silent film starring Elmo Lincoln, was the first movie ever to gross a million dollars. 4 ) There were three more silent Tarzan films, the last one starred Frank Merrill as our hero. Merrill was an acrobat and the studio worked his skills into the script, since then Tarzan swinging on vines (never in the books) through the trees has been seared into the public’s mind. 5 ) Many people know that the most famous actor to portray Tarzan, Johnny Weissmüller, was an Olympic record holder swimmer (winning 5 gold medal and 1 bronze), however, many don’t know is that he was also a yodeling champion and came up with…

Book Review: The Mirrored World by Debra Dean
2 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / September 13, 2012

About: The Mirrored World by Debra Dean is a fictional account of the life of St. Xenia. The novel takes place in St. Petersburg, Russia during the 18th Century. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— use the Raf­fle­copter form at the end of the post to enter. 256 pages Publisher: Harper Language: English ISBN-10: 0061231452 My rating for The Mirrored World – 2 Buy this book in paper or electronic format More Books by Debra Dean Thoughts: The Mirrored World by Debra Dean (Facebook) is has an interesting premise – the life of a Russian saint. This is one of those books where everything is wonderful, but for me the sum of the parts simply didn’t come together to create a whole. The subject is interesting, the time period fascinating, the writing is lyrical and the novel certainly captures a dreamy state of time and place. However, the book simply failed to capture my interest. Even though I appreciated the styling, effort and talent that went into the writing, I found myself having a difficult time reading the novel. I never got vested in any of the characters, I simply didn’t care about them at all. The best…

Book Blogger Appreciation Week — Day 3
Latest Posts / September 12, 2012

What Does Book Blogging Mean to You? Book blogging for me is a way to relax, as well as verbalized why I enjoyed or didn’t enjoy a book. It is a way to put my thoughts in order and think about a work instead of just plowing through them. Of course, like many of us when I started this blog I thought I was unique, I thought that there are thousands, no – tens of thousands of people just aching for a book blog to go online and argue about beloved favorites. As we all know, I was miserably wrong and there are many wonderful book blogs on the Interwebs – which actually made this hobby much more fun and social. As is the case in life, what intended was not what happened, changed but for the better I believe. I know read way out of my comfort zone (mostly for better but sometimes for worst) have been introduced to excellent authors, entreating books and wonderful bloggers. Check out more great answers and leave me a link so I can read yours. Zohar – Man of la Book

Book Review: Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
5 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / September 12, 2012

Article first published as Book Review: Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs on Blogcritics. About: Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs is the famous novel of the boy who was raised by simians in the jungles of Africa. The book was first serialized in All-Story Magazine 1812 and published in 1814. 288 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books Language: English ISBN-10: 034531977X My rating for Tarzan of the Apes – 5 Buy this book in paper or FREE in electronic format More Books by by Edgar Rice Burroughs Thoughts: A few weeks ago I put in a request to review Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell, the Tarzan story from the perspective of Jane (post coming next week). I then decided to re-read the original Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs to refresh my memory has it has been decades since I read it first. I did not regret that decision for a moment and can certainly understand why Tarzan achieved a cult icon status. Burroughs wrote an exciting novel, making the unbelievable seem somewhat plausible in a story which tags on the readers’ imagination almost every page. The characters, especially that of Tarzan, are masterfully written, combining intelligence and wisdom….

Book Blogger Appreciation Week — Day 2
Latest Posts / September 11, 2012

In which interview myself…. Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack? Snacking and reading – a dangerous pastime. I usually don’t snack and read, but I love to do so, the only time I do read and eat is during lunch. Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you? I don’t mark my books, but the idea doesn’t horrify me either. I actually think it’s a good idea but I never got used to doing so, maybe because the first book I actually bought instead of borrow from the library was in my teens. How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open? I use a bookmark, it’s more convenient than dog ears or laying the book flat (which in a house with two kids won’t last long). Fiction, Non-fiction, or both? Both but I try to mix them up (reading one fiction, one non-fiction). I also like to read fiction books about topics I am interested in a non-fiction area. Hard copy or audiobooks? Hard copy. Are you a person who tends to read to…

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