Guest Author Feature – Author D.G. Kaye interviewed me for her blog

111 Tips to get Free Book Reviews

I am thrilled to introduce you all to Doris Heilmann, author, and publisher at 111 Publishing. Doris is the ‘woman behind the curtain’ at Savvybookwriters.com. Many of you who like to stay current with what’s happening in the publishing world may be familiar with Doris and her most informative website where she contributes myriad of articles on current events in marketing for authors.

Doris is a freelance writer, writing coach and author of several books on book marketing. I recently wrote a book review on another book of hers, a most informative guide for writers, Book Marketing on a Shoestring, and today we’re going to get to know a little more about Doris and her latest book, 111 Tips to get Free Book Reviews, as well as learn more about Amazon and reading and writing reviews.

Read the whole story here:
https://dgkayewriter.com/guest-author-feature-doris-heilmann-of-savvybookwriters-com/

 

Author Interview: Traci Lawrence

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Today’s Interview is with Author Traci Lawrence about writing her successful self-help book Accept No Trash Talk.

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Traci, how would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?
My book is about perseverance in the midst of trials, whether those trials deal with communication, or medical challenges. I want to help people to realize that everybody has the ability and the right to overcome great odds. My book is the voice of significantly undervalued people, but it is also the voice of anyone who has been subject to any amount of disrespect.
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How did you get the idea for the book?
The basis for the book was the disrespect that I received and witnessed in my earlier years. I wanted to show how I have pushed beyond bullying, and how numerous famous people have also done the same. I quote empowering examples of famous people in history and current events.
In addition, I got ideas from talking with people I know that feel overwhelmed by all that’s expected of them in their personal lives and careers.  Some people have more money, better health, or better social skills than the majority of people in their social circles. Yet, the less-fortunate majority should not be held accountable for circumstances that are beyond their control.
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There are many excellent self-help books on the market. Why should a person choose to read your book?
My book is unique because I am unique. I am a distinctive person in several ways: I come from a background of medical, mental, and social challenges, and; I only have a bachelor’s degree.  My book has several distinguishing characteristics: it’s shorter than most self-help books; it is formatted in an easy-to-follow outline, and; the language that I use is simple, everyday English. My writing should be relevant and clear to everyone because I have the common touch.
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How do you want your book to change the way that people think?
I want my book to be a platform for the promotion of the idea that everyone is “okay”. We’re all “broken”; nobody’s perfect, and that’s acceptable. Most of us are trying the best that we can with limited resources. Some groups want us to think that they are perfect. They think that they have a right to judge and devalue other people. Therefore, I want my book to raise awareness of how disrespectfully some individuals treat each other. Also, I want readers to realize that everybody deserves a chance to get ahead in life.

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Does your book have any underlying theme, message, or moral?
The underlying message of my book is that everyone has a right to live within their own truth and capabilities. Certain people shouldn’t be allowed to dictate what other people are capable of, or how they should act. Some of us have limited capabilities due to mental and medical concerns. The strongest of us are willing to push ourselves to expand our capabilities. I name such people, including historical figures and current celebrities, in my book.
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What would / could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they get you as an author?
One reviewer quoted a line from my book: “Everyone has a right to live within their own capabilities.”
My book is about people understanding and accepting their own capabilities. It’s also about everyone accepting the fact that not everyone operates within the same framework of values and strengths. For example, I have more medical challenges than many people, so I cannot be expected to accomplish as much as a person who has no medical concerns.
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Thinking way back to the beginning, what ís the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
I have learned that beta readers are invaluable. I asked a few beta readers to look at portions of my book. They gave me validation and encouragement. They also gave me tough love when they pointed out areas where I could write with more clarity, conciseness, and optimism. Most of all, they demonstrated how to organize my highly jumbled thoughts.
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How did you get published? Please share your own personal journey.
I am self-published on Amazon. I went to the Amazon website and follow the links for self-publishing.

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What general advice do you have for other writers?
I would say that a good rule of thumb is to write about that which you’re passionate. Passion always comes through; so does apathy.

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What is the best part of being a writer?
I like the fact that my edited thoughts are published for anyone to read.  My writing illuminates my thought processes more than my speech does.  I think that there are other people out there who think like me, so the purpose of my book is to give them a voice, too. I strongly believe that reserved people who have been undervalued need to be given a voice amidst the many loud voices in the world.

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Meet author Traci Lawrence here too:

Facebook Accept No Trash Talk book page  https://www.facebook.com/Tracisebook
Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/114161341418207904221/posts/p/pub
Twitter https://twitter.com/aleen_traci
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/tracilawrence77/
Author Blog http://tracisebook.blogspot.com/
Amazon page http://amzn.to/1nWAQ3y
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCznN3w6vzrldBkzc-2Vf-dw
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/traci.lawrence.779
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8416470.Traci_Lawrence

 

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate Social Media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already.  Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Success Guide: Interview with Author Jerry Gladstone

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Today’s interview features author Jerry Gladstone and his very inspiring, upcoming book THE COMMON THREAD of Overcoming Adversity and Living Your Dreams. He shows how successful people are living their dreams and features Academy Award and Grammy Winners, Super Bowl and World Series Champions, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Legends, Best-selling Authors and Billionaires, Olympians, Boxing and UFC World Champions.  Having a vision and a plan, working hard, being dedicated and having a network of people, never giving up, being willing to take on whatever comes your way – this is what distinguishes them all – like a “common thread”.
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Author Jerry Gladstone and his wife Brooke

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Jerry, thanks for taking the time for this interview.
How would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?
As an instant motivator not based on theory but rather on the experiences of those who have overcome challenges and obstacles on their journey to success. The book consists of more than 50 well-known celebrities from the world of sports, music, business and other areas.
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Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?
The belief that success is not just reserved for some of us, but can and should be for all of us.

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What inspired you to start writing?
The time that I spent with so many well-known people was invaluable and I wished that my friends, family and business associates could have the same experience as I did, gaining wisdom and insight from my conversations with them.

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How did you get the idea for this inspirational book?
My wife Brooke was a great inspiration. We were talking about how some of our friends and people we knew had such great potential, but had a hard time getting out of their own way.
We realized that there was a common way, a common theme, a “Common Thread” of overcoming obstacles and being successful, that ran through the successful people we came in contact with, and we wanted to share with others.

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Does your book have any underlying theme, message, or moral?
Self-belief can knock down many barriers.

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Who is your favorite character and why?
I would have to say Sylvester Stallone. I was just 16 years old when Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky hit the theaters. He made me realize that it didn’t matter that I was not the biggest, strongest, smartest or most talented and that with heart, drive and determination, I could accomplish just about anything.

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Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:
Dan Caldwell, founder and president of TapouT. And also a friend of mine started a little T-shirt company out of the back of his car. Years later he sold it for more them $200 million.
He is a big believe that if he can do it then so can anyone!  “If you’re looking to get real strategies to make real productive and positive changes in your life, then ‘The Common Thread’ is a must-read!”
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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?
Self-belief, overcoming adversity and living your dreams!
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How much of the book is based on real life (either yours or someone you know)?
100 percent.

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What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?
That it was important to share these stories because as a young man I had many challenges and overcame them by using the same best practices offered in the book.
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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
To write when you are inspired and in the right creative mindset. Also, if you do a little at a time, it adds up.

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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process?
Re-living the experiences while writing the book.

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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?
Rule number one has always been and will be forever:  don’t beat yourself, don’t get in your own way and don’t come up short due to lack of effort, preparation or self-doubt.
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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book?
I will tell you that when it comes out!
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If your book would be made into a movie, who should play the main character?
Stallone because he represents how an underdog with a million to one shot can succeed.
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What is the best part of being a writer?
Conveying a message of hope.
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What’s your least favorite?
The grammar!

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What is your favorite book?
A very good friend of mine, Ben Macchia, went through a very difficult time after losing his brother Jamie in a motorcycle accident.  Years later I went through a very dark time in my life, Ben sent me this book.  I will always be grateful and without question this book, which was first published in 1968, inspired me to keep moving forward: The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
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Where can people learn more about your writing?

http://www.TheCommonThreadBook.com

http://www.thecommonthreadbook.com/SuccessBlog.en.html

 

Visit and follow Jerry Gladstone at these Social Media sites too:
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Twitter
https://twitter.com/JerryGladstone  @JerryGladstone

About.Me http://about.me/JerryGladstone

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/jerrygladstone

Facebook http://on.fb.me/1ooEYpu

GooglePlus http://bit.ly/1svQ7Z7

Pinterest http://bit.ly/1mHgeZR and http://bit.ly/1oLqWzp

Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/123427234@N07/

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What is ONE thing that you have done that brought you more readers?
Hired Doris at http://111Publishing.com/Seminars!

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,070 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Has Your Book been on Air – At a Radio Show?

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The Book Report with Host Elaine Charles is a fun, fast-moving, fact-filled show in 10 major markets across the USA. Check their radio stations and show schedules:

A lively mix of author interviews, audio book previews and chats with those influential in the literary world, The Book Report has become appointment listening for bibliophiles and book clubs alike. It’s a great way to find out who’s hot in the book world and which titles critics and readers are buzzing about.

Like everyone of us, Elaine is a voracious reader, book club member in good standing and book lover from the days of Golden Books on. Elaine received her undergrad degree from Boston University and Master’s from George Washington University. She’s worked overseas, at the Library of Congress and most recently at The Miami Herald.

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STATIONS & SHOW SCHEDULES

Cocoa, FL
WMEL AM 1300
Saturdays 6pm
The Book Report: Listen Live at 1300wmel.com 
Gotta Read It Minutes: Every Weekday

New York, NY
WABC AM 770
Saturdays 6:30-7pm
The Book Report: Listen Live at wabcradio.com

Visit The Book Report channel at YouTube for archived “Gotta Read It Minutes”.
Or listen on iTunes
The Book Report On: iTunes  Listen to popular and emerging authors discuss their latest projects, new books, and the craft of writing. Featured authors in all genres appearing weekly at Book Talk RadioThe Book Report On: YouTube 

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If you have ideas on books you’d like previewed, author interviews you would like to hear, or any sort of feedback, please contact Elaine directly at: elaine@bookreportradio.com/

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Post it on Your Author Pages
Your book sales will certainly not sky-rocket after a radio show, but it will be on YouTube and iTunes archived, which is another possibility to subtle post and tweet about your book and your radio appearance.  After being interviewed by a local radio station: endorsements of traditional media, even if it’s simply mentioning your name, is marketing gold if you are trying to get a book into more readers hands. Don’t miss to let everyone know about it, post it on YouTube and all free video sharing sites and certainly on all your author pages at online retailers.

See also:

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/how-to-let-publicity-work-for-you/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/30-video-sharing-sites-to-upload-your-book-trailer/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/7-errors-writers-make-when-dealing-with-the-media/

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,030 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Interview with Author Dr. Patt Hollinger Pickett

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Dr. Patt Hollinger Pickett

Our Interview today is with Dr. Patt Hollinger Pickett, a licensed Family Therapist from St. Louis, Missouri, USA, who has written a fantastic book, that received already lots of praise and awards, and very positive reviews – many from other therapists, who recommend her book to their clients.
In September her self-help guide book The Marriage Whisperer was named the “Book of the Month” by MidWest Review.  To learn more about Dr. Hollinger and her work we asked her lots of questions:

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How would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?
My book, The Marriage Whisperer: Tips to Improve Your Relationship Overnight, explains readers how relationships of couples can be brought to the next level. It’s a self-help title, inspired by over 10,000 conversations I had with clients.  It delivers 70 couple stories with humor and includes practical tips and tools for lasting relationship improvement. Popular themes like communication, habits, chores, arguments, sex, and intimacy are explored in easy-read tales. It showcases simple stories and delivers simple solutions. Lots of couples found themselves in the book, and could through humor identify themselves. It’s not a blaming book, it offers solutions to take their relationship to the next level.
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Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?
My primary message in the book is to keep your life in balance, something that is important to avoid marital neglect.  Not having a balance in your life, such as work, marital life, family, hobbies etc. has long-term consequences for relationships.

“Will spend more time when …” we are in vacation, the kids are in school, the kids are out of the house, we are retired … NEVER works. If you don’t spent enough time together NOW, your interest changes and your attachment weakens. The challenge for couples is to find out how much is enough (time to spend together).
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What inspired you to start writing?
I am a Marriage Therapist for over 20 years, and often heard from my clients: “I never thought about it

The Marriage Whisperer

In seminars I asked: “Who wants a better marriage?” Barely anyone raised a hand… No one wanted to admit that their marriage was not in the best shape. However, now with my book reading it together with their partner, working together with the book, having debates and conversation / in a non-blaming, non-threatening way, couples can work on their relationship in privacy.
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Are your characters based on real people?
Yes, but certainly keeping their anonymity.
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What was the most difficult case you ever had.
Not one particularly, but often with couples where one thinks he/she is “right”, and constantly blaming the other person. The other stays either defensive, and argues, or the “yes, dear” person, who freezes in the relationship, and finally stepping out of it.
Challenge in therapy is to make people seeing their situation from a different angle, and opening up their line of thinking.
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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process?
Hearing people that know me : “That’s just like you” And I wanted the book to be my voice and have my voice. I did my best to write it, like I talk with my clients.

What’s your least favorite part of writing a book?
The meticulous editing process.
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What is the best part of being a writer?
To be able to share what I have learned with a larger population.
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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book?
I would have written it sooner. But at that time I had other priorities and I wanted to keep my life in balance.  Relationships are often struggling due to the lack of balance.
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What’s the most challenging part of being a writer?
Making the time to write.
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What is ONE thing that you have done that brought you more readers?
Speaking engagements! And presentations.
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Where’s the one place in the world you’d like to visit?
Egypt.
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What is your favorite book?
I like to cook and like to read cook books.
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How would a close friend describe you?
Very creative and honest to the point, without being insulting.
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What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you?
I am painting, do sewing, doing quilts, even a Firefighter T-shirt quilt. I am an avid gardener and love flowers and being a home gourmet cook. I am not a perfectionist.

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Meet Dr. Patt Hollinger Pickett and her book here too:

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6456762.Patt_Hollinger_Pickett

Amazon Paperback, 214 pages, $18.40
http://www.amazon.com/Marriage-Whisperer-Patt-Hollinger-Pickett/dp/1933455659

Authors BroadCast
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOJ_dTh5HE5MqaPnxPxfWa6hnjSjzkIgU

MSI Press Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhnG9-mNvMM

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What Reviewers Said About the Book:
“The Marriage Whisperer is a practical, accessible book for married couples seeking to improve their relationship. The chapters, on helpful topics such as communication, trust, intimacy, roles, etc. offer relevant illustrations, practical insights and excellent discussion starters for couples. I have begun working through it with my wife and we are finding it very helpful in enhancing our intimacy and communication, in particular. I also perform wedding ceremonies and am trained to do pre-marital counseling for the couples whose ceremonies I perform, and will be enthusiastically recommending this excellent book to this whom I counsel. Highly recommended!”

“The author clearly understands the various dynamics that impact how couples navigate their life issues, and has an amazing handle on why difficulties may be occurring and what can be done to improve them. With a wise, sensible, and professional touch, she invites the reader to consider respectful options and accommodations. The inclusion of tables, lists, and short paragraphs, which offer specific ideas on what needs to be done and how one can proceed, makes this a user-friendly support to couples.”
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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing:  We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting  for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,010 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Marci Fair, Author of Parenting Guide TILT

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Today’s author we are interviewing, is Marci Fair, a career women and mother of four children. Marci Fair shares her decades of insight in an enlightening way that weaves in quotes from her children along with 100+ practical, guilt-free parenting tips for the challenges working mothers face. Marci shows how mothers can live imperfectly on purpose. She inspires them to determine what really matters the most for themselves and their families, and then to focus on what lasts beyond childhood.
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Marci, how would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?
TILT was written out of the difficult struggles and unexpected answers that I have found on my journey through the TILT of life, work, and motherhood. The wisdom of over 80 other working mothers in my book also demonstrates how moms can grow through their journeys to find happiness and success along the way. Balance is impossible; I teach how to TILT instead.
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Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?
There are many significant messages in TILT, but if I had to pick the most important, it would be to encourage mothers to continue to dream and set goals for their lives. I believe that by continuing to pursue our dreams, as we help their children reach for theirs, sets a very important parenting leadership example. Through TILT, I share how to choose, in the nucleus of our families, to set the example by shining our own light, so we can love, guide, and empower those little lights we brought into this world.
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What inspired you to start writing?
As a working mom of four children, I have lived the juggles, the struggles and the heartache of guilt in trying to pursue professional accomplishments, as well as raise our children well.  Over time I found solutions that have helped our children find their own success and have brought happiness to myself. I shared them with women around me, who found them to be unique, easy to do and satisfying for themselves. As I walked my own motherhood journey, I realized that I needed to share the humor, the insight and ultimately the love and strength that a thoughtful motherhood can bring.
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How did you get the idea for this book?
Unknowingly at the time, I actually started writing TILT in July of 1996 – the first time I wrote down a quote from our oldest child. He was three at the time, and he made a funny kid statement that I wanted to remember. If I did not write them down immediately, (which is still true today) I would forget them.
That began the chronicling of the funny and heartfelt moments of my motherhood journey. Eventually I began to realize that our little ones had some serious wisdom to share; their musings could actually become the heartfelt answers to some of my soul-searching questions. Their quotes are actually the basis that TILT was built on.
There are over 70 of their quotes woven throughout the book, to help relay the messages of an enriching motherhood. I have learned that with careful insight, our biggest challenges can often become our greatest learning opportunities.
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Does your book have any underlying theme, message, or moral?
The message of TILT is to encourage mothers to continue to dream and set goals for their lives. I believe that by continuing to pursue our dreams, as we help their children reach for theirs, sets a very important parenting leadership example.  We teach our children that just as we are here to help them find the path to fulfill their own missions and life purpose, we need to fulfill ours as well.

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Marci, please give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:

“Finally a book for professional women who have a heart for mothering. Marci doesn’t write to convince us we’ve made the right decision.  She writes to help us find peace on the path we’ve chosen, recognizing “balance” is a myth.  Her only agenda is to help us further our professional goals while being better mothers, with specific examples and chapter checklists that give us concrete steps to find the perfect “TILT” for today andtomorrow.”

Bonnie M. Rich

Assistant Director, Georgia State University College of Law Tax Clinic
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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?

“Working Moms Do Not Have To Be Guilty-Moms – Learn How To TILT Instead”  or
“How to live a TILT-ed life with success for you and your children!”
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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you have learned as a writer from then to now?
Be brave. Follow your heart. Ask a lot of questions of people who are smarter than you. Don’t just dream about it – take action. Nothing will happen unless you take (the right) action.
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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process? What’s your least favorite?
My least favorite parts about writing the book are the deep edits and total reconstruction during that process. It is hard to re-write and make everything flow well together when it has been moved around so much.

I did enjoy creating all the different “parts” of TILT. I worked very hard to make it interesting for the reader, so I have

• Mom Quizzes at the beginning of every chapter
• Graphics throughout the book to give a visual explanation of an important point
• Our children’s quotes woven throughout where they support the material
• Wonderful wisdom from over 80 other women who wanted to help mothers
• Checklists at the end of every chapter for specific, real life ideas that women
  can use today if they need more of the solution in their lives.

Ultimately my favorite part of the book process was holding the first copy of it in my hands!
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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?
The opening piece, “Why You – and I – Need to Read This Book” is pretty powerful and designed to speak to the heart of my reader. I want her to know that we are on the same page, with the humor and the challenges, and that TILT will give her real solutions.
The other piece “Closing Thoughts” was also written with great passion to help my reader. It comes straight from my core, to support them in believing that “our purpose in in our journey,” so make your journey count.
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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book?
I am thankful to tell you that no – I would not change a thing. Even though it has been edited for over three years by many people, I am sure it could still be improved upon and written better here and there. But I have poured my heart and soul into the messages TILT shares, and I hope that the reader sees my desire for them to live a thoughtful, fulfilling life.
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How did you get published? Please share your own personal journey.
I researched. Then I researched. Then I researched some more. Ultimately, a friend on twitter recommended CreateSpace for Print-on-Demand, and they have been wonderful to work with.
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TILT by Marci Fair

What general advice do you have for other writers?
Do not give up on your dream!!!  It will be hard, it will be challenging, but if you believe that your message should be shared, this is the best time in the publishing world for you to have the opportunity to share it.
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What is the best part of being a writer?
The best part of being a writer is knowing that my book will one of a few things that will live beyond me.   I am very hopeful that I will accomplish my goal with it – to help 10,000 moms and raise $10,000 for our children’s charity: Kares 4 Kids  www.kares4kids.com.

Once TILT has done that, I will know that I have really touched the lives of 10,000 women for the better and also helped thousands of children through Kares 4 Kids. Most importantly, I did it while honoring the family that I love and adore.
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What’s the most challenging part of being a writer for you?
The most challenging part about being a writer is the editing process, to be sure that I have caught my grammar, punctuation, and flow mistakes. Beyond creating the book, the next most challenging part is figuring out the best methods to launch it and share it with the world.
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Where’s the one place in the world you’d like to visit?  Italy.

What is your favorite book?
I am an avid reader, so it is difficult to say that I only have one favorite book. I love John Maxwell’s books for the excellent leadership and life wisdom. I love Andy Andrew’s books “The Noticer & The Noticer Returns” for their soul-searching wisdom. I love Dan Zadra’s “5” for it’s ability to help you define where you will be in your life in 5 years. I love Dave Ramsey’s books for their financial intelligence, and I love Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s book “The One Thing” for its amazing ability to help you simply “line up the domino’s” in your life to achieve uncommon success. There are more….
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How would a close friend describe you?
A close friend would describe me as a mom who intensely loves her family, as a wife who is very thankful to live her life with her soul mate, as a big picture thinker who purposefully, if imperfectly, thoroughly lives each of the 100 years she will hopefully be blessed with.
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Where can people learn more about your writing?

http://amzn.to/1bs4L8Y
http://www.facebook.com/guiltfreemom
http://www.guiltfreemom.com
http://marcifair.wordpress.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7427243.Marci_Fair

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What is the ONE thing that brought you more readers?
The one thing that I have done that has brought me more readers has been to host workshops in my local marketplace on my subject matter – helping working moms.
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What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about
That I secretly wish I had a whole weekend to sit on the sofa and veg out.  Well, maybe for half a day.  Well, I could get “antsy” after a couple of hours. Anyway, it really sounds wonderful.
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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months!  Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/  to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,000 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Author Interview Cleveland O. McLeish

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Today’s Author Interview is with Cleveland O. McLeish, a prolific writer, screenwriter and play wright. 

Cleveland, thanks for telling us a bit more about yourself and your books. How would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it? For example your latest work Chloe.

Chloe represents everyone who has ever made a difference in somebody’s life. She was that unplanned pregnancy that came with an option to abort, who grew up to change the world…or did she.

Chloe is a mystery/thriller that will keep the reader guessing. I have a friend who read the book, and skipped to the end, only to be forced to go back and read the book from where she left off.
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What inspired you to start writing ?

I have been writing plays for my church since 1999. It was fun to be able to add some structure to the productions we did, as opposed to just improvising. That led to my online ministry at www.christianplaywright.org. I loved writing so much, that I have tried my hand at all types of writing.

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How did you get the idea for the novel?

It was originally a play, that morphed into a screenplay that ended up as a novel. Each version has won an award, so it’s easily one of my favorite stories. I was inspired to write it many years ago from a “What if” thought I had.

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Who is your favorite character and why?
Chloe, of course. She has easily grown to be a part of me….a part of the family. She is real, honest and open about how she feels and what she is thinking. She is not afraid to be herself, despite what others may think of her.

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Are your characters based on real people?
Fragments of real people, no one particular character.

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Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:
This was written by a non-Christian:  “I don’t agree with the message of this book and I think some of its points are a bit of a stretch, but that doesn’t mean that the story didn’t catch me by surprise and present an argument that was not only concise but well written. Instead of shoving points of view in your face, it guides you through a scenario that is a valid way to approach this topic. (I won’t spoil it for you future readers)I didn’t realize the impact of what was going to happen to the characters until it really hit me and I realized the intent of the story. It did make me think for a moment about my own personal beliefs and though they differ than what is in the book, I still think it’s a good read because of how thought out and well written it is.”

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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?
Purpose of Life

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How much of the book is based on real life (either yours or someone you know)?
Not much. I created a world I was not familiar with, and characters I was meeting for the very first time.

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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you have learned as a writer from then to now?
Being persistent and consistent in writing will make us better writers.

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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?
Well, it’s hard to say with spoiling it for future readers, but without saying it…I am sure everyone who reads the book will agree that that is the best part lol.

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If your book would be made into a movie, who should play the main character?
Emma Watson would do well as Chloe.

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How did you get published? Please share your own personal journey.
I have had written material for a while, as well as hundreds of length plays. I have approached trade publishers in the past, but found it to be too tedious a task, so I was quite content with the reach and success of my website. One day while browsing, Amazon took me to CreateSpace.com.  It caught my interest, so I tested the system with a few of my plays, as customers keep asking me for hard copies of plays from my website. It worked out pretty well, and I was sold on their system…so I have been using them since.

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What general advice do you have for other writers?
Keep writing, and never stop. Write everyday. Write consistently everyday. Rejection from publishers and peers is not a failing grade for your talent. Most of all, believe in yourself, and what you write.
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What is the best part of being a writer?
Touching and prompting a change for the better in someone…maybe bringing comfort or laughter to those who mourn or are dejected.
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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process?  What’s your least favorite? Creating a story on a blank piece of paper is priceless. Marketing and getting the book on the shelves is a difficult stage for me.
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What is ONE thing that you have done that brought you more readers? 
Announce the availability of my book during a Church service.
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What’s the most challenging part of being a writer?
Writing everyday.

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Where’s the one place in the world you’d like to visit?
Jerusalem.

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What is your favorite book?
Anything by Frank Peretti or Randy Alcorn

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How would a close friend describe you?
Troublesome. LOL

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Where can people learn more about your writing?
My website www.christianplaywright.org

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These are Cleveland McLeish’s latest books:

Chloe: A Novel, available on Amazon as paperback and e-book

Who I Am In Christ: 101 Daily Declarations of Faith, paperback and e-book

 

Visit Cleveland McLeish’s Author Page on Amazon to see all his books

or meet him at Facebook

or his webpage to learn more about this multi-award-winning playwright and screenwriter, who considers himself one of God’s modern-day scribes. He has penned over 100 plays and several
screen plays, some of which have won Bronze, Silver and Gold medals in competition, including the Screenplay Chloe Cleopatra Taylor. He is also a youth director and lay minister in the Church of God of Prophecy in Jamaica. He is a born Jamaican living in Kingston with his lovely wife, Nordia.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $159 for three months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/  to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 980 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Goodreads Giveaway: Thriller by Peter Standish Evans

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OMINOUS: BORDERS: COFFEE:   
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Set in PARIS, this thriller surges ominously through the psyche of modern Europe. …transport yourself to the mean streets… set in the vibrant suburbs of PARIS, this thriller surges ominously through the psyche of modern Europe… conflict is rife; danger is everywhere. Be warned, watch your back …

Tension ramps as borders, emotional, sexual & psychotic are stormed, and these threats weave danger for the fanatic lovers of coffee and the creative arts.

An obsessive and beautiful classical violinist is pitted against a malevolent killer; it’s summer in modern Europe & the cafés and bistros hum with robust and colorful activity. Inspector Vasseur sits at his favorite table on a battered sidewalk. Alone he drinks on hot summer nights, his instincts grappling with the mysterious case of innocent deaths along the River Seine.
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OMINOUS: BORDERS: COFFEE:   (The Paris Thriller) will be a dog-eared and red wine stained addition to your book collection.

Paperback, 280 pages, $8.99
e-book $4.99
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About the Author:
Peter Standish Evans lives with a deep love of both creative writing and vibrant reading. He spends significant time exploring the works of new writers, buying first editions where able.

Writing his novel ‘Ominous: Borders: Coffee’ (The Paris Thriller) was an exploration into the borders of ‘characterisation’, and an occasion to fuse ominous fiction with a touch of dangerous poetry, so lending depth to a troubled character. In this novel, the author explores the emotional, sexual and psychotic traits of those pitted for and against evil.

He is currently writing the second novel in the series, with the working title ‘the circle of dark squares’… once again featuring the Parisian Inspector, Jean-Luc Vasseur.

He has a published poetry collection ‘Red Winds Howl’, which has been described as “a blend of 303 bullets and tequila”. A second poetry compilation is being readied for release, featuring his poems from the 21st century. This collection titled ‘Deep Red Lands’ will be published in 2014.
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ENTER to WIN the GOODREADS GIVEAWAY:
Peter Standish Evans’ Thriller “Ominous: Borders: Coffee”
Giveaway dates: December 20 – January 05, 2014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18158959-ominous?ac=1

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Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 970 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
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Interview With Three Authors of Legendary Christmas

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A pleasure to meet today with Jan Scarbrough, Janet Eaves and Magdalena Scott. Thanks for telling us about your Legendary Christmas Past. We hear you have an e-book promotion going on at Amazon?
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Jan:  Our publisher Turquoise Morning Press has bundled six Christmas novellas that are on sale until the end of December for only 99 cents. It’s called A Legendary Christmas Past Boxed Set.  http://amzn.to/17luvoI

The six novellas were written by three authors—Janet Eaves, Magdalena Scott, and myself, Jan Scarbrough—and they were set in a fictitious town of Legend, Tennessee. The neat part about this bundle is that the novellas take place in the 1940’s, the 1960’s and the 1970’s. So they are “historical” even though they deal with very recent history.

These Christmas novellas are set in Legend, Tennessee

·         If Only In My Dreams, 1944 and 1945, by Janet Eaves

·         A Groovy Christmas, 1968, and Not Quite Christmas, 1969, by Jan Scarbrough

·         Under The Mistletoe, 1975, and The Holly and the Ivy, 1978, by Magdalena Scott
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How did you come to write stories set in the same fictitious town?

Janet:  Maddie James, Magdalena Scott, Jan Scarbrough, and myself, Janet Eaves carried on our friendship online via email. We mainly talked about our writing projects. After playing around and creating character names from our first pet and the first street we lived on, we decided to create a story about each of these characters, but as a twist, they all had to live in the same small town. And to twist it even further, we each took a season—fall, winter, spring and summer.

That was the beginning of months of collaboration as towns have their own personalities, peculiarities, and of course landmarks. But first, our town needed a name.

At the time I was sitting in my home office discussing this project via email, and I glanced up at the extremely large map of the United States on my office wall… and there, down in the right corner, was the map’s Legend. So I suggested Legend as the name of our town and we liked it… Now that our town had a name it needed a location, and it seems it took only seconds for us all to agree that Legend would be in Tennessee, sitting at the foot of the Smoky Mountains, which is an area many people recognize because if its tourist appeal.

Do you have other books set in Legend, Tennessee?

Jan: Yes. Our publisher has bundled the non-Christmas novels and novellas into a nine book set called Love in a Small Town. Again, it’s on sale until the middle of December for 99 cents. We’re so pleased it’s reached the top 100 Amazon Bestseller list in Romance.

Janet: Yes. The boxed set bundle of Love in a Small Town starts with the first four books I was telling you about. In Claiming the Legend, the opening book in the series, the town is detailed as my character rolls into Legend for the first time. Streets, businesses, and directions give a sense of place in this seemingly sleepy town. My heroine heads for the local Bed and Breakfast, owned by the heroine of Bed, Breakfast and You, written by Maddie James. This lovely home is also described as is Maddie’s character, and the B&B itself. So you see it took lots of collaboration between all four of us to pull off a series written by four different authors using the same setting and recurring characters.

But before all the details of our stories could solidify, we needed a detailed map of the town. This map took me weeks to build and is continually updated whenever one of us has a new story that requires their location to be land-marked.

Why did you choose to set your Christmas romances in the past?

Jan: A year earlier, we had already written a set of four Christmas novellas at the request of our publisher. These e-books are bundled in A Legendary Christmas Boxed Set.

Magdalena:  When we decided to do Ladies of Legend Christmas romances set in the past, we each chose a somewhat recent decade.

Jan: Maddie James was going to take the 1950’s but work commitments and other book deadlines didn’t give her time to participate the following year.

Janet, why choose to write about the 1940’s?

Janet:  Christmas near the end of WWII was all about love, struggle, fear, hardship, and remembrance. Gifts were hand-made items of necessity such as scarves, socks, and maybe even a sweater or blanket. Food and nearly every item one could purchase at the time was limited by the rationing stamps allotted to each family. Families leaned on their faith, each other, and awaited news from outside of their homes by word of mouth, or if they were fortunate enough, a radio.

But as hard as it was to survive, people persevered, they pulled together as a nation, and they fell in love. The two stories set in Legend during this period reflect the hardships and the joys of life as the war wound down, and the danger of falling in love when the life of the one you love could so quickly end.

Jan, why write about the 60’s?

Jan:  As a teenager during that time, I had seen it through the eyes of teenage angst. Going back to research those two years, I discovered that so much happened—the assassination of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, riots in Chicago, and a flight around the moon for 1968. In 1969, people were dealing with times that were changing even faster. In both novellas, I write about characters who confront the change. In A Groovy Christmas, the heroine is sorry she’s never burned her bra and comes face-to-face with her blossoming sexuality. In Not Quite Christmas, I flip it, making my hero straight-laced and my heroine a hippie who has been to Woodstock. I had fun weaving the days’ events into the stories while setting the characters in a typical, small town where nothing changes.

My two novellas in this boxed set are prequels to my other two Legend novellas The Reunion Game and Santa’s Kiss. I’ve created a mini-series within the main Legend series based upon my first two characters Jane and Graham in The Reunion Game. Jane’s sister Dawn appears in Santa’s Kiss. You’ll find the love story of Graham’s parents in A Groovy Christmas. Jane and Dawn’s parents have their own love story in Not Quite Christmas. I wasn’t aware of how much readers enjoy series until I wrote these. Now I hope to write more series. It’s fun to piece relationships together like giant puzzles.
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Magdalena, why did you choose to set your “historical” romances in the 1970’s?

Magdalena:  My husband graduated high school in 1970 and I graduated in 1978; I thought it would be fun to revisit those times. And it was! I pulled out my yearbooks to describe the clothing and hairstyles for the characters, and my husband’s for the times when the characters were looking back. I used Wikipedia to help choose songs to play on the juke box in Jim Bob’s Saloon. Music is so evocative, and I think the juke box adds an important layer to the scenes that take place there. In Under the Mistletoe, the first time Charles McClain goes into Jim Bob’s when he’s visiting Legend, Freddy Fender’s Wasted Days and Wasted Nights starts playing on the juke box, and Charles realizes that’s pretty much what his visit to Legend has been. Of course this is just minutes before he meets Dorothy Robbins, the pretty blonde waitress who wants to go back to college so she can get a good job and leave Legend forever.
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So the stories in A Legendary Christmas Past are prequels to your other Ladies of Legend stories? What was that like to write?

Magdalena:  It was fun, like when I introduced Martin McClain as a little boy back in the 70s. He is a hero in one of my contemporary Legend stories, Midnight in Legend, TN. And that saloon I mentioned before? It is the building that, years later, Midnight Shelby buys when she moves to Legend from NYC. She converts it into a beautiful store and the actual bar area serves designer coffee.

Writing the prequels also forced me to become more organized. Each of my Legend stories has a McClain as one of the main characters. Because of doing the prequels—Under the Mistletoe and The Holly and the Ivy—I now have a reasonably detailed family tree including birth years for the McClain family and some of the others who become involved in the stories, like Dorothy Robbins of Under the Mistletoe and her friend Jeannie Adams in The Holly and the Ivy. Having that family tree with notes to myself about who does what and in which story is very helpful.
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Do you have a favorite story in the boxed set?

Janet:  If Only In My Dreams (1945) is one of my all-time favorites. The novella is told through the eyes of the heroine. When she takes on a blind, wounded soldier to help him recuperate, she finds that life is so different from anything she had ever known before, and to break through his shell of pain and loss, she has to let him now see the world through her eyes. In the end, the message, if there is one, is that people are people no matter their disability. To treat them any differently takes away their identity.
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What else would you like to tell us about A Legendary Christmas Past Boxed Set?

Magdalena:  I love my McClains and Legend. I’m so glad the four of us created this little town where “romance lives next door,” and thrilled that so many readers are discovering it and learning to love it too!

The whole set of a Legendary Christmas Past is available for a short time for only $0.99
Amazon Kindle e-book, 392 pages:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GQ1WQIG
Link to Legend Website:  http://www.legendtennessee.com/

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for three months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or  Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 960 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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3 Frequently Asked Questions by Writers

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Some author-publishers want to “just write”. Not even write a blog, guest blog, articles for newspapers or God-forbit, “waste time on Social Media”. However, in order to “just write”, and if no money comes in within days or weeks, then you will have to stay at the day job, all week long doing something other than writing. You will only make money by selling books, and the first step in selling a book is to get in contact with potential readers and show that your book exists.  For a self-published author, Social Media is the only gateway to a global audience that doesn’t cost money, only your time and a bit effort to social “network”.

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Question #1: I Follow People on Twitter – But They Don’t Follow Back

Did you just click on “Following” – and nothing else? Or did you frequently re-tweet or engage otherwise with them? They are certainly not obliged to follow, it’s voluntarily, but you have to give them a reason, other than just click on following. Think about your appearance or your tweets:

• Do you have an appealing avatar (portrait) and introduction, so that people are enticed to follow you?
• What are you tweeting? Is it newsworthy, funny, useful? Or are you talking only about your book?

If you go to a party and and just say hello or nod at someone, and continue into the room to get a drink, do you expect people to run after you, trying to invite you into a conversation? Social Media is like a big party. As more interesting you are and as more friendly and social, and as more communicative  you are, as more people will want to talk with you.

Replying to someone’s tweet, is a great way to make friends and followers on Twitter. Asking them a question, sharing a success, or otherwise adding value to the conversation will most likely get you a response, and probably a follower.

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Question #2: How Do I Get Followers on Google+

… and also: Why should I be on GooglePlus? It is one of the most important Social Networks for authors – if not THE BEST in terms of your Google Search Engine ranking. Success.com sums it up in an article:
Share good content, people will spread the word, and you’ll get more followers. Add the Google+ badge to your website and blog, help people, make meaningful comments and invite people to join your circles.

Authors can start a main page on GooglePlus and separate sites for each of their books. Google+ allows to create up to 50 pages. Please do read this article by moz.com about Google+ for higher search engine rankings:

How to build your Google+ circles, filled with potential followers, is explained in lots of articles and YouTube videos, just a few links of many:

http://www.wikihow.com/Create-Circles-in-Google%2B

http://websearch.about.com/od/web20/p/Google-Circles.htm

http://www.martinshervington.com/what-are-google-circles/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7vxTKvi3e0#t=11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slwgtb803WY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVrV2-dr3FU

For a FREE PDF book, how to use Google+ get the links here:

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/09/01/15-reasons-to-be-on-google/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/how-to-make-use-of-google-as-
an-author/

As an author you want to interact with potential readers, reviewers, book bloggers and book clubs – find these people by using the search function on top of your Google+ site.

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Question #3:  I Had a Radio/TV Interview – But Nothing Came Out of It … 
When I hear this, my first reply is:

• What did you do with the interview?
• How did you promote this free promotion?
• Did you promote your interview that you got on a blog website, podcast, TV show, or radio, before and after the event?

Much like other public appearances, radio interviews are a great way to get attention: AM/FM, satellite, internet, or even Blog Talk Radio, the interviews can be used to gain some positive and popular PR.

There are lots of Possibilities to Promote Your Interview:

• Before and after, on Social Media: Promote upcoming interviews – “Looking forward to talking with radio host …at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Love his show!” “Like” the interview show on Facebook,follow the host on Twitter, and look for other ways to cross promote. Get busy tweeting after the interview: “Great conversation with …. on Wednesday! If you missed the show, here’s a link.”
• Get a copy of the taped interview
  Use the link to show the video on your sales pages, e.g. on your Amazon author page, your Goodreads page (or other book lovers sites) and on Google+, where you can post it as many times as you want in your timeline and on all your pages or communities.
• Re-blog your interview on book blogger sites to your own blog, and promote it heavily on Social Media.
• Write an article on your own blog about the experience of being interviewed on radio or TV, give fellow authors tips, and promote this blog post.

Last, but not least: Get the next interview booked. Now that you know how it works, try to get as many interviews as possible – which means lots of exposure for your book.
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Read also:

How to Get Radio Interviews
http://www.radiopublicity.net/radiopublicitytips.htm

How to Promote Your Book During your Radio/TV interview
http://emsincorporated.com/promote-product-book-radio-interview/

Preparing for a TV / radio interview
http://www.nrcdv.org/dvam/themes/dvap/PDF/Preparingfor-TV-Radio-Interview.pdf
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Hope these tips help you to successfully promote your book. Let me know about more questions : )
And don’t forget:  an interview is not a book sales event, you cannot expect soaring sales after, it is one little step of building your author brand and reputation and to get your name out there.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for 3 months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials or your KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 940 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
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Interview with Author Bart Stewart

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Author Bart Stewart

A pleasure to talk today with Bart Stewart, author of several books and short stories, notably his latest novel Painter of the Heavens. 

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Bart, what inspired you to start writing?

I started writing as a kid, mainly as an escape from some hard times my family was going through. I was inspired by the old Twilight Zone TV show, and wrote surreal fantasy pieces like that.I never stopped loving that sub-genre, which is much smaller than some other fantasy categories, like sword-and-sorcery. Richard Matheson, who passed away this year, was the great modern practitioner of it. He wrote some Twilight Zone episodes, too. H.G. Wells may have been the real pioneer. He said to take a realistic setting and inject one fantastic element. My first book, Tales of Real and Dream Worlds, is in this style.Apart from Matheson/Serling fantasy, I read the classics. Tolstoy, Twain, Dickens, Poe, and from the 20^th century Truman Capote. I always said In Cold Blood was the best description of personalities I have ever read. But now I have to mention Elizabeth Strout’s 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner, Olive Kitteridge.
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How would you describe your latest book to someone who has not yet read it?

I’m hoping the subtitle, “A Novel of Crime and the Heart,” will tell the world that this is fiction that goes into the personalities and psyches of its two main characters as they become caught up in a criminal scheme. It might better be called “A Novel of the Heart, and Crime.” Painter of the Heavens is a very character-driven novel about a woman who becomes romantically involved with a potentially dangerous con artist. We don’t know his thoughts, only hers, so he could very well love her as much as he claims to. His behavior and statements tell us that he has a conflicted and compartmentalized mind. Ultimately, he becomes quite scary.

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Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?

I enjoy painting pictures with words, describing scenes and personalities. I’m told by objective readers that I am very good at it. In this novel I am showing two people, Penny Sturdevant and Lyle Chilton, whose lives go off the rails due to the obsession for money that one of them has. If there is a message it would be to resist such attitudes, but also that it is something we are all subject to in this rat-racing society.
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How did you get the idea for the novel?

That is always the toughest question! Where did you get this idea, or where do these characters come from? It is very mysterious. The stories just start rolling like a movie in my head. I edit them, but the origins are unknowable to me. I get lots of story ideas, all the time. A tougher question might be why choose one story idea over others?  In the case of this novel, the interplay of the two personalities appealed to me, and I thought the fraud case itself was intriguing.
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Are your characters based on real people?

No character in my novel comes from any single source. I generally cobble my characters together like Frankenstein’s monster, from parts and traits of many different people. There is usually a bit of me in there somewhere. Otherwise, they are made up of pieces of people I have known, sometimes even briefly.

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Who is your favorite character and why?

Penny and Lyle, are predominately who the book deals with. Several supporting characters turn up, especially Penny’s best friend and sounding board, Chloe. But Penny with her healthy, heartfelt desire to have a fulfilling life, and Lyle with his conflicted, mirror-maze mind are characters that equally stayed in my thoughts.

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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?

The theme would be – Me being on the Oprah show. No, I’m kidding. The theme would be Honesty. Or maybe Authenticity. Painter of the Heavens deals with issues of authenticity in life.

How much of the book is based on real life (either yours or someone you know)?

Penny’s struggle to have a fulfilling life is real enough, and it is going on all around us, on the street, every day. Likewise the reality of wishful thinking, or “wanting to believe,” which the con artists prey on. The changeable personality type, the Jekyll-and-Hyde type, is no fantasy, either.
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What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?

They would have feelings of empathy for Penny, who only wants “to be part of something.” She wants to be part of something healthy and long-lasting, not just a love affair but a larger life around it. She ends up with Lyle Chilton, and a criminal scheme. But I don’t write heroes and villains that are 100% good and evil. Lyle is a conflicted person, and while we aren’t privy to his thoughts, he seems to have found some genuine connection with Penny, which is another interesting aspect of the novel.

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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?

The most striking thing I have learned is that I can’t stop doing it. I keep on writing in the face of impossible odds. The traditional publishing route is like a lottery. There is a certain bar of quality that must be met, but beyond that it is luck of the slush-pile draw. We like to think that the most successful writers got that way because they wrote the best books. Instead they are like lottery winners, surrounded by a sea of talents of higher, lower, and similar worth. W.C. Fields once said it was easy for him to quit drinking, that he had done it a thousand times. That’s how I am with writing, in the absence of any commercial success I have quit a thousand times. But the stories keep coming to me, and objective readers keep telling me how much they love my work.
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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process? What’s your least favorite?

I love reading the finished product. That’s the best part. All the rest of it is pretty grueling mental work. After all, every sentence can be worded a dozen different ways, or more. You have to deliver the best wording, every time. It is just a lot of hard mental work, for no guarantee of pay, or even of being considered, or seen at all.
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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?

There are so many great “small” scenes in Painter of the Heavens, little vignettes along the way. Those are what makes a novel in my view. But if I had to pin down a favorite scene in my book it would be where Lyle convinces Penny to be his accomplice in the forgery fraud. He will actually convince you that this madness of his is a good idea! He talks a very, very good game. Always.

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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book?

This is going to sound really conceited, but no. I work-shopped this novel extensively at some top writing centers, and had it professionally edited. For a book about the psychology of characters like these two, it is as good as I can make it.

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If your book would be made into a movie, who should play the main characters?

Unfortunately, Susan Hayward and Robert Mitchum are dead.

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What general advice do you have for other writers?

Understand that this may be the toughest game in the world in terms of finding success. There’s no heavy lifting involved, but the odds of achieving success are remote. There must be a billion writers in the world, and while most of them are not competitive, they all take up time and oxygen. With e-books the odds have shifted slightly in the author’s favor, but the same old situation of the vast slush-pile of manuscripts still exists. It has only been shifted directly to the readers, who must now choose between the endless thousands of titles pouring onto the market every week. If you view this as a lifelong calling, you may be able to build a core following that will lead to some sales. You have to deliver extremely well-polished manuscripts, of course. A good writing center is helpful for that. Remember too that creative works are subjective. Every book ever written was hated by somebody.

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What is the best part of being a writer for you?

The self-expressive aspect of this is probably unparalleled. No other art form can communicate with both the specificity and the atmospherics of literature. With writing you can talk to the logic center as well as the emotions. I have written a blog post that goes in depth on the value of literary fiction:  http://bartstewart.com/2013/09/new-literary-society-due/

What’s the most challenging part of being a writer?

The challenges are endless, just in producing the fiction. The work has to be your best. Revisions go on forever; it seems that it’s never finished. Then comes the marketing part, with all the expense and all the computer platforms you have to learn to do that. I am not a computer engineer nor am I wealthy.
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Where’s the one place in the world you’d like to visit?

The Great Barrier Reef

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What is your favorite book?

Important books are not always pleasant books, understand. I said above that Capote’s In Cold Blood had the best descriptions of human personalities that I know of. If you have not read it, I do recommend it, and I can tell you that it is not overly graphic in describing the murders.
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How would a close friend describe you?

“The triumph of style over bile! The droll soul with the heart of gold! The mellow jello fellow! Ladies and gentlemen – Party Barty!!!”

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Where can people learn more about your writing?

http://www.BartStewart.com

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Painter of the Heavens

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F849FMM.

Tales of Real and Dream Worlds

http://goo.gl/5KXw4c
Don’t miss the Goodreads Giveaway: TALES OF REAL & DREAM WORLDS by Bart Stewart
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/67941-tales-of-real-and-dream-worlds

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The Statuary Cats

http://goo.gl/NHNW9M

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Interview with Author Caro Ayre

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Today’s Author Interview is with the lovely, talented author Caro Ayre from Kenya, who lives now in Somerset, UK. She is the author of two books – and more to come.

Caro, how would you describe your books to someone who has not yet read it?

BREATHLESS
This book is not so much about an illness, but about how the members of a family deal with or fail to deal with knowing one of them suffers from a life threatening condition.

FEAST OF THE ANTLION
This is an action packed adventure set in Kenya with a touch of romance.

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Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?

I hope that reading Breathless will give readers an insight to the problems created by Cystic Fibrosis, not just to the person with the condition but to the extended family. I also hope to raise money for research into this disease.

With my other book Feast of the Antlion, I wanted to give the readers a taste of what a wonderful place Kenya is. I was born there and was lucky to have experienced a magical childhood enjoying the wide open spaces and getting to see wildlife in its natural setting. I hope that I have conveyed some of the magnificence of the country in this book. If it makes people want to go and experience Kenya that would make me happy. All the settings are based on places I loved and knew, but the story is certainly not autobiographical.

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What inspired you to start writing?

I started early writing tiny books for my dolls. I day-dreamed my way through school, reading everything I could lay my hands on. Class-work seemed less unimportant, much to the despair of my teachers. Many years later while in the process of restoring a huge house and garden, I took to writing to give myself an excuse to sit down. At first the challenge was to write enough to be able to classify as a novel. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I kept at it. Then unsure what to do next, I wrote another, and kept going. It is only recently that I have taken the final steps towards publishing.

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How did you get the idea for the novel?

Breathless started with the idea that I wanted to explore how a family might cope with one of them suffering from a serious long term illness. I wanted to see if it would make or break the characters. Discover who would cope and who wouldn’t.

The Feast of the Antlion I was trying to explore the ups and downs of creating a wildlife conservation sanctuary and keeping control of it.

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Does your book have any underlying theme, message or moral?

I do hope with Breathless that readers will learn a little about Cystic Fibrosis and how transplants may be a sufferers last hope. If any reader feels inclined to sign the donor register as a result of reading the book I will feel I have achieved something worthwhile.

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Are your characters based on real people?

I think all characters that any author creates are bound to have elements of people they know in them. I doubt anyone would recognize who I have based my characters on. I can usually picture the character in my head, but I don’t go so far as to find a photo of them.

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Are your plots based on real-life experiences.

No there is nothing autobiographical about my books. But usually I know the locations well. I like to pick places and buildings I know and love, though I might move them to a different geographical location to prevent someone from complaining that I have described it wrongly.

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How much of the book is based on real life (either yours or someone you know)?

When I started Breathless I knew nothing about Cystic Fibrosis other than it was life threatening and genetic. I never wanted the book to be depressingly about the illness, so chose to have Hannah, the daughter who has the condition, in good form because of her mother’s unstinting determination to keep her that way. I would have an idea, and then try to find out if that was something that a cystic fibrosis sufferer might do. I came into contact briefly with a lot of very helpful people online, who would tell me how they dealt with different issues. Their accounts sometimes made me explore avenues I had never considered before.

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What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?

“What else has she written?” Would give me joy!

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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
Being organized would have saved me a lot of grief!

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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favourite part of the process? What is your least favourite?
Holding a copy of the book has to be the best moment. The endless editing, not helped by my knack of putting nearly as many errors in as I took out has to be worst. There is also losing a lot of work because of a power cut and failure to keep a back up.
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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?
In Feast of the Antlion there was a plane crash at the beginning, which considering I have no idea how to fly, worked quite well.
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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book.
Not at this stage. Though with both books I may go back to write a follow up. But that might not be for a while. I have a couple of other books that I want to finish before then.
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What genre have you not yet written, but really want to try.
My next book is heading for the Crime shelves. Not too brutal, but not too cosy either.

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 How did you get published? 

The first book I ever wrote was picked up by an agent and reached committee stage at one of the well-known publishers. Sadly it was rejected, and the agent retired, leaving me back at square one. But the experience gave me the confidence to keep writing.Personal circumstances put writing on the sidelines for a long time. And when I got going again, the publishing industry had changed. Self publish had become acceptable and the arrival of Kindle and other similar devices made it even more acceptable.I decided that I must get the editing side of writing sorted, and set to work. I published Feast of the Antlion as a Kindle book first, but so many people asked when the paperback was coming out. I knew I had to figure out how to produce one. After a lot of online research I set up my own publishing house, bought a block of ISBN numbers, and chose to LightningSource as my printer. I have to admit I made a few beginners errors, but I am happy with the route I have chosen. I think what I love most about this route is that I have total control. No one can remainder my book, because I haven’t hit some impossible target set by someone I don’t know.

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What general advice do you have for other writers?

Pick names carefully. Write them down. Know what nicknames they have too, and who uses them. Be sure of them before you get too far into the book. Nothing messes with your head more than a name change at a later stage. It is easy enough to make the changes on the computer, but much harder to get your head round them. Beware of names that are non gender specific unless there is a reason for doing so. For example, Chris, readers may think they are reading about a man, and then discover that the character is a woman which is disconcerting.  Be methodical. Have a plan and stick to it.

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Do NaNoWriMo at least once.
Don’t worry if you get stuck on something, jump to another part of the story and carry on from there. The best character may not turn up until you are half way through the story, but if you don’t keep pounding it out you might never find him or her.

Each book starts with a different spark. The first draft I pound out the story, usually with too much back story about the characters and their families and why they are in whatever situation I have thought up.
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What is the best part of being a writer?

Being able to decide what your characters do or don’t do, allowing them to be brave or foolish enough to do things you might not have had the courage to do yourself.
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What is the most challenging part of being a writer?

All the steps that come after the fun of creating the story. The editing, the formatting, but most of all going out there trying to persuade friends and family and then strangers that they should buy the book.
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Where is the one place in the world you’d like to visit.

I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt, to the Valley of the Kings.
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What are your favourite books?

• Dr Zivago by Boris Pasternack.
• The historical novel Katherine by Anya Seton.
• And a recent addition Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.
• The Far Pavillions by M M Kaye a wonderful story about set in India. It reminded me so much of stories that I had been told as a child. I love reading about distant places, different cultures.
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How would a close friend describe you?

This is a difficult question! I asked a friend, who was sweet enough to come up with “generous and kind, determined, artistic, quirky polymathic, thoughtful, perceptive and caring” but that’s the kind of friend she is! I think I’d probably have come up with a book bore, bonkers and a bit of a hermit.
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Where can people learn more about your writing?
From my website. www.caroayre.co.uk which has a link to my blog and my books.

What is ONE thing you have done that brought you more readers?
Put a big pile of books on my hall table. My Bed & Breakfast guests are good customers.
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What is the one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you?

That I get to do all the jobs round here that require the tall ladder, including fixing parts of the roof.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
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Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 900 of them : ) – if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

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Interview with Linda Kovic-Skow: FRENCH ILLUSIONS

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Linda Kovic-Skow at 21 in France

A pleasure to meet Linda Kovic-Skow, the author of the higly popular French Illusions, an amazing true story of a young American au-pair at a Château in the Loire Valley, west of Paris.
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Linda, how would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?

In the summer of 1979, when I was twenty-one, I contracted to become an au-pair for a wealthy French family in the Loire Valley. To secure the attractive position, I pretended to speak French, fully aware that my deception would be discovered, once I arrived at my destination.

Based on my diary, French Illusions captures my often challenging, real-life story inside and outside the Château de Montclair.

The over-bearing, Madame Dubois, her accommodating husband Monsieur Dubois, and their two children are highlighted as I struggled to adapt to my new environment. Continually battling the language barrier, I signed up and attended classes at the local university in the nearby town of Tours. When I encountered, Adam, a handsome young student, my life with the Dubois family became more complicated, adding fuel to my internal battle for independence.

Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?
Set in the beautiful Loire Valley, French Illusions, my remarkable true story, recounts my exploits as a young, adventurous woman filled with dreams. It’s not too late to create your own memories. Go out and explore the world. Life’s for living, after all.

What inspired you to start writing? 

About five years ago, after my husband and I dropped our youngest daughter off at college, I went through a sort of mid-life crisis. I missed being a mom and I wondered how I would fill the void. Sure I had my part-time bookkeeping business, but it consumed only a few hours a day and it was not interesting any more. Something was missing, but what?

This prompted me to review what I like to call my “mid-life list.” This is similar to a “bucket list,” with an important twist. The idea was to refocus myself and figure out the things I wanted to do with my life in my fifties – while I could still do them. My list was short.

• Learn to play the piano
• Travel to Africa to see the elephants
• Travel to Tahiti and see the island of Bora Bora
• Travel back to France (with my family this time)
• Write a book

At the time, I didn’t own a piano and, with two daughters in college (on the east coast no less!), I couldn’t afford a trip to Africa or Tahiti. I had already traveled back to France in 2001 with my family, so that left me to examine the fifth item on my list more closely. If I did write a book, would it be fiction or non-fiction? What genre would I choose?

The answers to my questions came to me in the shower (which is where many of my ideas seem to materialize, strangely enough). I decided to hunt down my diary from my au pair adventure in France and compose a memoir. It took me three years and countless hours to write French Illusions, but now I can scratch another item off my mid-life list.

Who is your favorite character and why?

One of my favorite characters in my memoir is Madame Dubois. Given her very arrogant, unforgiving attitude, she is the natural antagonist in my story.  As I worked my way through my diary, I recounted many heartbreaking interactions with my patron. Here is a sample of one of them:

“Ten minutes later, I returned to the salon with a tray of refreshments and under the watchful eyes of everyone there, I poured and served the tea. My hand trembled, but I kept going and completed the task without incident. Heaving a sigh of satisfaction, I plopped down next to Alexandre.

It felt good to be around other people besides the Dubois family. Even though I still struggled with French conversations, at least now I understood many of the words spoken around me. If I encountered trouble with certain words, I knew how to ask the speaker to speak more slowly or repeat what they’d said.

Turning toward Alexandre, I tried out a new phrase. “Donne-moi une pâtisserie, s’il te plait.” Please pass the pastry. Madame Moulon noticed and congratulated me on my progress with the language, “Mademoiselle Kovic, votre français s’améliore.”

“Merci beaucoup, madame.” I replied, glancing at my patron, eyes hopeful.

Madame Dubois opened her mouth, but no words of praise burst forth. Instead, she pointed to the teapot and asked me in English to pour her mother another cup of tea.”

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Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of your book:

“This memoir from new author, Linda Kovic-Skow, is a must-read for all of us that have longed to explore the world, but don’t have the courage of the vivacious, young protagonist. Looking for a new direction in life, Linda yearns for adventure in her hopes of becoming a glamorous flight attendant. But, when she fibs her way into a job as an au-pair in the Loire Valley of France, she soon discovers that her expectations aren’t quite in line with those of her new employer.
The story flows nicely as she paints a picture of the quaint towns and rolling hillsides of her new home, but the highlights for this reader were the vignettes with the children, especially little Antoine. His adorable one-liners and interactions with Linda never ceased to brighten my mood. The relationships with the rest of the family are nicely developed throughout the book, and the dialogue reads well. Don’t be surprised when you see French dialogue on the page, though, because it is a convention that carries throughout. Overall, I thought that Francophiles and casual readers alike could enjoy this story, and I personally can’t wait for a sequel!” – Amazon Reviewer

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Bedroom at the Chateau

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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?

 Stories from plucky women.
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What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?

A few readers have told me that my memoir reads like a novel and, at times, they have to remind themselves that French Illusions is non-fiction. I consider this a great compliment. Successful narrative non-fiction, above all else, must encompass good storytelling techniques such as character development and dialog.
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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?

Chapter 15 in French Illusions was such fun to write. I pictured myself walking through the Songais market in the Loire Valley, describing my stops along the way. I wanted readers to feel as though they were right alongside of me, experiencing the event with me. Here is an excerpt:

“Rows of tables presided over by neighboring farmers and tradesman filled the square, many of them offering tempting samples to potential customers. Everything from pungent goat cheeses to hand-made sweaters were on display. Ahead, I noticed a booth offering tastes of guignolet, a local liqueur made from wild and sour cherries. The vendor, a deeply tanned man wearing a beret, waved me over. “Mademoiselle! Venez donc goûter!”

Unable to resist the temptation, I stepped up to his booth and he poured me a small drink, pushing it toward me with a wink. Down it went, its syrupy sweet taste so scrumptious I licked my lips afterward. “Merci,” I said. “C’est très bon.”

Down a few stalls, I discovered products made entirely from honey, including confections, lotions, and soaps. The scent compelled me to bring a bar to my nose, closing my eyes as I inhaled.

Curious about a small crowd near a retailer up ahead, I peeked around a bystander and discovered a colorful display of misshapen orange, yellow, and striped squashes. It took me a few moments, but my eyes honed in on the real stars of the show. Unique samples of squash resembling geese and ducks sat upright, charming the audience—the children in particular.”

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What genre have you not yet written but really want to try?

I would love to write a children’s book someday filled with stories surrounding the pets I acquired growing up. My love for animals, coupled with my parents lassiez-fare (let it be) attitude towards child rearing, resulted in some great tales. It would be fun to put them down on paper.

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What general advice do you have for other writers?

Hire a professional editor. I mean it. You can’t edit your own book. You won’t see the mistakes because you are too close to the writing. It will cost you a few hundred dollars for a line editor, a bit more if you need some in-depth editing, but it’s the best money you will ever spend. I cringe every time I read a negative review where the main complaint is formatting, spelling or punctuation. You want readers to judge you solely on the content of your story.

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French Illusions

Where can readers learn more about your writing?

http://lindakovicskow.com/

Don’t miss Linda’s lovely book trailer: FRENCH ILLUSIONS 

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-Book-PR.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days. $39 Special ends in October.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 885+ of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

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Interview with Anthony Alegrete

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Anthony Alegrete

A great pleasure to meet Anthony Alegrete, the author of Rabbit in the Jungle, today for an interview.

Anthony how would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?
It’s the story of my life. My ups and downs, trials and tribulations, good and bad, and how I survived prison, the streets, and turned my life around.
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Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?
That people make mistakes. We all come from different backgrounds and grew up differently. And that if you make an attempt to seriously change then it should be accepted by people.

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What inspired you to start writing?
I was getting to a point where I was becoming a public figure for the work I do in the community. I felt it was necessary to let the world know who I was.

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How did you get the idea for the novel?  
I just started writing one day. It came to me.

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Does your book have any underlying theme, message, or moral?
Yes, that we are not all criminals. Yes, we might of did crime to survive and make money. But not all of us are still like that. And through this story I show the evolution of a changing man.

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Are your characters based on real people?

Oh yes, my characters are all real.

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Who is your favorite character and why?  
Myself. because that is who the story is about.

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Rabbit in the Jungle by Anthony AlegreteRabbit in the Jungle by Anthony Alegrete

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Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:
“This book gave me a lot of game” from Brent Buffone on Amazon. What he meant by this was it gave him knowledge. “Game” is a slang word of knowledge.

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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?
Overcoming adversity, interracial tensions, second chances, and changing your life around.

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What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?
That the book inspired them and made them open their minds to new thoughts.
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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
To always edit and proof-read, then proof-read some more and then edit some more.
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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process?  What’s your least favorite?
Favorite part is creating the ideas, and plots, and stories. I got to reminisce. Least favorite part is dealing with the publishing process and getting your files converted properly.

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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?
ALL OF IT! But anywhere I talk about my kids. I love them so much.

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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book?
Only that I would add more stories.

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If your book would be made into a movie, who should play the main character?
Edward Norton

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How did you get published? Please share your own personal journey.  
CreateSpace. But I got published because of 111Publishing. Doris helped me out tremendously and made it so I didn’t get ripped off by the vanity publishers.

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What general advice do you have for other writers?

Just be you! Dont try so hard. Just let the pen write!

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What do you find is the best part of being an author?
The respect you get.

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What is ONE thing that you have done that brought you more readers?
Goodreads page!

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What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you?
Well this book is a memoir and describes it to the fullest, so there isn’t much
I left out of the story….

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Meet Anthony Alegrete, author of “Rabbit in the Jungle” here too:
http://www.anthonyalegrete.com/rabbitinthejungle/
Amazon.com/Anthony-Alegrete/e/B00E7A6VGG
http://about.me/anthonyalegrete
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Anthony’s story “Rabbit in the Jungle” is available as e-book, paperback and audio-book:
http://www.rabbitinthejungle.com

Listen while you drive “Rabbit in the Jungle” AUDIO-BOOK 
http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B00EDRW1OE

Audiobook “Rabbit in the Jungle” now available at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EEAVS4E

Amazon e-book
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E368RD4

http://pinterest.com/pin/365354588490950308/

http://www.facebook.com/rabbitinthejungle

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 880+ of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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How to find Book Review Editors

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In the last blog post you could read how useless and expensive (measured to results) it is, to send out mass press releases, in the hope someone will pick up your book, review it and to write about it in a major newspaper or magazine. However, most likely it doesn’t work this way.
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You learned how important it is, to customize your press release and send it to a targeted audience. But how do you find editors and journalists, who could write about your book – if it is hardcover and in the certain genres they review. More about this later.
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So, how can you find these Editors/Journalists?
Nothing easier, just google “Newspaper Book Review Editors”. On one of the top ranking places you will find John Kremer’s generous and helpful, free listing of editors of leading newspapers in the USA. Authors from other parts of the world just add the name of their country into the search function. This doesn’t mean that editors wouldn’t write about English books from abroad, but the likelihood is higher when the author comes from the same country.
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Use an Excel List and more tips
John Kremer also shows how a professional list of editors could be compiled in the Window’s Excel program. His lists are a free service and not updated constantly. As editors often change or might retire, it is anyway necessary to call ahead before you send out your news release. John Kremer also cautions: “Note that most newspaper book reviewers are only interested in major fiction, major social issue books, biographies of famous people, and some regional books.
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Important: good timing
Most newspapers only review new books. So, they need to have a book (galley copies or ARC, the advanced review copies) three to six months before the publication date of the book. The most likely reason for no response is that your message was received and considered spam because it was not directed to the name of the editor/journalist, or a need those recipients have, or if it isn’t clear what the email is about.
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What about memoirs, non-fiction or children’s book authors?
You could start out with local newspapers or radio stations and try to get and interview, if there is anything in your book that you can hook to local points or to an upcoming holiday. So plan well ahead, at least three – six months ahead of your book launch.
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Another way to find names of media professionals who could introduce your book to a wider audience can be found when reading reviews in magazines and newspapers, online and print or listening to radio interviews. Note the name of the editor, journalist, reporter or interviewer.  Google the mail or email contact of the editor. Sometimes names can also be found on new books back cover blurbs.
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What Press Release companies will NOT tell you:
Usually book editors will not review a book that is not published in hardback, and still often self-published books.  A trade paperback, is also a huge strike against the chances of the book getting reviewed (but not absolutely impossible) even first-time author genre books are seldom reviewed, unless they are local. Non-fiction books seem a little easier to get reviews from them. However the self-published rule applies to all books.
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Before you send out your news release, make sure to get the editors submission guidelines – and that there is a slight chance for a review – things that press release companies don’t bother to do!
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What does all this mean for first-time, self-published e-book authors?
Direct your energy into getting in contact with book bloggers and book reviewers on Social Media sites, Goodreads and other literary websites and follow / friend these “power” readers, and ask them – after they got you to know – to read your book, and hopefully they will review and write about it.

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IF you really want to send out a press release that might or might not be read by an editor, or just for the sake of being found on the internet (SEO), you can publish it through one of the following sites. Most of them will charge and your press release certainly has to be perfectly written (see above). As mentioned before, there is no guarantee that it might work and that your press release will be picked up by a media outlet:
http://www.prweb.com/
http://www.i-newswire.com/
http://www.pr.com/
http://www.sbwire.com/
http://www.free-press-release-center.info/

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 830+ of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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