New Indie Book Release: The Forever Ones (Marjorie DeLuca)

New Indie Book Release:
The Forever Ones - Marjorie DeLuca
YA Science Fiction (269 pages - July 2013)

The Forever Ones deals with the real consequences of a youth-obsessed society and how the quest to stay young forever might destroy humanity.

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

Paige is a forever, genetically altered to stay nineteen forever and live in the secret Iduna Corp compound, a place where age reversal and immortality has been perfected. Forevers are told to live for the moment.. Be what you want to be for a while and when you get sick of it – be something else.

But when her friends start disappearing Paige suspects there’s a darker side to their luxurious prison. The official word is they’ve been kidnapped by criminals on the outside who want to use them as feeders. Feeders have a short and brutal life – kept in captivity and sucked dry of all their youth cells so the Crime Lords can enjoy eternal youth.

Her friend Junius involves her in planning a daring escape from the compound so they can infiltrate the IdunaCorp organization and find out what’s really happening to their missing friends. They’re joined by the charismatic and musical Chale, a Keener whose attraction to Paige causes tension between her and Junius. What will they find on the outside? How has the quest for immortality changed humanity?

The journey becomes so dangerous Paige is forced to push herself to the limits of her endurance and to make tough decisions about who she can trust – Junius or Chale.

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Link to the eBook The Forever Ones on Amazon with Excerpt

Featured Indie Book: Pigeonholes (Bauple)

Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: New Fiction - Shares One Man’s Reflection of Life Based on Stereotypes - Pigeonholes by Bauple.

"Have you looked at someone for the first time and automatically put them into a stereotype or pigeonhole? Pigeonholes will make readers realise that one’s perception provides guidance throughout life. How one remembers and identify people, what one thinks of them, and one’s first impressions are all guided by the senses."

The Book has been published via Xlibris and is available as eBook and Paperback - 144 pages - released in July 2013.

About the Book

Do you look at someone and automatically put them into a stereotype or pigeonhole? Joe Candide used to, when he was young. But as he matured, he began to realize that life and reality was a far more complex story.

It takes readers into the life story of Joe Candide, a man who is constantly changing his perspectives, job and lifestyle. But now, falling to his death from a seven story building with his memories flashing right before his eyes, he reflects on his life and starts with each stereotype and then develops them into characters that are sometimes very different than his first impression.

Throughout his life, Joe had always thought he was in control of everything. He could read people, understand people, and know what they were thinking. He could work on the higher level with an empathetic view. But there were always subtle reactions and actions that took place now and then that he could not explain. Will he get the clarity that men search their whole life for? Will he finally realized the one thing that linked all the unknowns in his life together?

Click to Read an Excerpt

Pigeonholes will make readers realize that everyone has an immediate idea or first impression of people due to their own prejudices.This book shows that rarely are the first impressions a true indication of character. It is witty and thought provoking and readers should see some part of themselves inside the pages. In the end, after all the raging against stereotypes and pigeonholes, Joe will finally find one that provides meaning and explanations and more importantly provides hope.

New Indie Book Release: The Bridge to Caracas (Stephen Douglass)

New Indie Book Release:
The Bridge to Caracas (The King Trilogy) - Stephen Douglass
Crime Fiction / Historical Fiction (332 pages - June 2013)

"The Bridge to Caracas is Volume one of The King Trilogy, an epic story, spanning four tumultuous decades, of an inconvenient fortune and its catastrophic affect on a loving family. Stephen Douglass's knowledge of the Oil and Gas Industry is woven into a plot similar to John Grisham's tales of lawyers, judges, and the law. Both are terrific at storytelling at a brisk pace coming with a knowledgeable background." - Reader Review


About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

Jim Servito shatters the hopes and aspirations of star-crossed lovers, Mike King and Karen Taylor, while simultaneously engineering a grand theft ranking as one of the largest and most audacious in Canadian and U.S. history. Cynical and remorselessly ruthless, he possesses a brilliant criminal mind, has enormous contempt for the law, police, governments, and the system in which they function. He assumes rules are for fools, and takes sadistic pleasure in breaking them. Using The Peace Bridge as his fulcrum, he steals $325,000,000 from the U.S. and Canadian governments, steals enormous quantities of gasoline by illegally installing valves in Golden National’s Buffalo refinery, then murders everyone who can implicate him.

The setting is storybook perfect. The beautiful daughter of wealthy parents meets the handsome son of middle class parents. The two fall in love and assume they will marry and live happily ever after. History would prove their assumption wrong. Cruel twists of fate and the wrath of Jim Servito combine to prescribe a horrible nightmare for the two lovers, one that grows in intensity and ultimately leads them to prison, then a life and death confrontation with Servito in Caracas.

Karen Taylor, tired of life in private school for girls, the endless doting of her wealthy parents, and the monotony of constant female company, wants out, to experience the real world, preferably on her own. Her priorities lead her to an endless love affair with Mike King, but his marriage to another woman leads her to a disastrous marriage to Jim Servito.

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Link to the eBook The Bridge to Caracas on Amazon with Excerpt

New Indie Book Release: The Promise of Provence (Patricia Sands)

New Indie Book Release:
The Promise of Provence - Patricia Sands
Women's Fiction (457 pages - May 2013)

Award-winning novelist Patricia Sands takes you on an unforgettable journey to the south of France. Set in the spectacular beauty of the French countryside and the sun-kissed Mediterranean coast, The Promise of Provence explores challenges faced by a woman at a critical mid-life time when her world has seemingly fallen apart. A heart-warming story of hope and change that reminds us it is never too late to begin again.

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

After a year of heartbreak, Katherine Price impulsively agrees to a home exchange in the south of France. Colorful locals, a yellow lab named Picasso, and the inspiring beauty of the countryside breathe new life into her days.

Seeking to shed the pain of betrayal and loss, she struggles to recapture her joie de vivre and searches for the answer to a haunting question: is it too late to begin again?

An enduring story of hope and change in life’s later years is woven through the author’s love-letter to France. In this coming-of-age, transitional tale, universal feelings of loss, fear, love and trust are explored with perception and sensitivity in breath-taking surroundings.

Like a well-traveled friend, Patricia Sands invites readers into a world she loves and entices them to linger.

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Link to the eBook The Promise of Provence on Amazon with Excerpt

Publishing 3.0 - How to self-publish a Bestseller

Seen on TechCrunch by James Altucher:

My most recent book, “Choose Yourself!” sold 44,294 copies in its first month out, hit the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list, was No. 1 on Amazon for all non-fiction books for a few days and is still flirting with No. 1 in its various categories. This post is about what I did differently, why I did it differently, and how I think anyone can do this to self-publish a bestseller. I describe all the numbers, who I hired and why, and how I made the various choices I did.

[...]

Every entrepreneur should self-publish a book, because self-publishing is the new business card. If you want to stand out in a world of content, you need to underline your expertise. Publishing a book is not just putting your thoughts on a blog post. It’s an event. It shows your best curated thoughts and it shows customers, clients, investors, friends and lovers what the most important things on your mind are right now.

Unfortunately, most people suck at it. I’ve largely sucked at it. I’ve published 11 books — five with traditional publishers and six that are self-published.

[...]

Enter Publishing 3.0: How To Professionally Self-Publish Your Next Book

Here’s what I did step-by-step with my latest book for the first month since publication.

1) Build your platform

A traditional publisher is not even going to look at you unless you have your own platform, which means a Twitter following, Facebook following and/or a significant blog following. But if you already can hand-deliver the customers, what do you need the traditional publisher for?

Wasn’t that supposed to be what the publishers would get for you? Don’t they get you in bookstores? The answer is “no.”
[...]

2) How do you build your platform?

New Indie Book Release: Pigeonholes (Bauple)

New Indie Book Release:
Pigeonholes - Bauple
New Fiction - Shares One Man’s Reflection of Life Based on Stereotypes (144 pages - July 2013)

"Pigeonholes is a story about life and stereotypes. As Joe Candide falls to his death he recounts his life and his constant battle against being considered as a two dimensional person in a pigeonhole. As he almost hits the ground he discovers he has actually been in one all his life and it finally explained the unknowns."

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

The story of Joe Candide and how he realized the one thing that links all the unknowns in his life together –
Do you look at someone and automatically put them into a stereotype or pigeonhole? Joe Candide used to, when he was young. But as he matured, he began to realize that life and reality was a far more complex story.

It takes readers into the life story of Joe Candide, a man who is constantly changing his perspectives, job and lifestyle. But now, falling to his death from a seven story building with his memories flashing right before his eyes, he reflects on his life and starts with each stereotype and then develops them into characters that are sometimes very different than his first impression.

Throughout his life, Joe had always thought he was in control of everything. He could read people, understand people, and know what they were thinking. He could work on the higher level with an empathetic view. But there were always subtle reactions and actions that took place now and then that he could not explain. Will he get the clarity that men search their whole life for? Will he finally realized the one thing that linked all the unknowns in his life together?

Pigeonholes will make readers realize that everyone has an immediate idea or first impression of people due to their own prejudices.This book shows that rarely are the first impressions a true indication of character. It is witty and thought provoking and readers should see some part of themselves inside the pages. In the end, after all the raging against stereotypes and pigeonholes, Joe will finally find one that provides meaning and explanations and more importantly provides hope.

---

Link to the eBook Pigeonholes on Amazon with Excerpt

Link to the Paperback Pigeonholes on Xlibris with Excerpt

Tips for Choosing the Right Editor for your Indie Book

Seen on Rinelle Grey's Website:

Since the advent of self publishing, there has been a huge number of editors offering their services with a varied range of experience, price, attention to detail, and style. Finding and then choosing one isn’t always easy, and can be very daunting the first time.

[...]

1. Decide what sort of editing help you need

All editing is not created equal. Editing types range all the way from content/developmental edits, which will give you a general idea of where your story is strong and where it is weak. I usually start with this kind of editing. On the other end of the scale, is proofreading, which only picks up obvious spelling and grammar mistakes. In between, you can get various forms of line and copyediting, and I’m not completely sure of the difference! Most editors will tell you what services they offer, and the different prices they charge for each service. Some will offer a mix of styles.

[...]

2. Don’t just use Google to search for ‘editors’

Yes, if you do this you will get a LOT of search results. And the ones up the top will be the most popular, most expensive, and probably booked months in advance. If you have the money to spare, by all means, pick the best! If you’re like me, and on a budget, this will probably just discourage you.

[...]

3. Know your budget

Featured Indie Book: Lost Zendori (Melaina Rayne)

Featured Indie Book on Indie Author News: Fantasy Romance Lost Zendori (The Jagara Series) by Melaina Rayne.

Lost Zendori is the journey of a young woman discovering her true heritage as she enters into a new life with the man of her dreams.

The Book has been published via CreateSpace and is available as eBook and Paperback - 306 pages - released in June 2013.

About the Book

An Awakening like none she could ever imagine is coming for Ali Sumaro. Not only will she discover a world she never knew existed, but she will finally understand the dreams that have plagued her since she was a child.

Nicolai Montez has waited all his life for his female to come into her Awakening and for her mind to reach for his. Now that the day has come, Nicolai discovers that his mate has no idea of her jaguar heritage, and he must help her see who and what she really is before the full change comes to her.

Ali’s presence in their homeland stirs the Jagara’s long quiet enemies and brings forth the threat to the very existence of the Jagara people.

Click to Read an Excerpt

New Indie Book Release: The Naked Lion (Jaicy Afonso)

New Indie Book Release:
The Naked Lion - Jaicy Afonso
Romance - Novel inspired by true events (238 pages - June 2013)

The Naked Lion tells the story of a struggling young man trying to find himself when faced with feelings he does not understand - a story that many could relate to.

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

Leo was an average young man living a comfortable but conservative life. When he found himself involved in a different kind of behaviour, he was forced to question the assumptions of his upbringing.

One Saturday afternoon Leo shares his story with his old friend Flora. He describes a journey in search of himself, stretching from the beaches and bars of Rio de Janeiro to the canals and parties of Amsterdam.

But he is also carrying a secret, one that might put their friendship in danger.

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Link to the eBook The Naked Lion on Amazon with Excerpt

New Indie Book Release: GNASH (Brian Parker)

New Indie Book Release:
GNASH - Brian Parker
Horror (Apocalyptic / Zombies) (294 pages - May 2013)

The Author is an Active Duty Army soldier and wrote GNASH over the course of about 2 1/2 years during a deployment to Iraq and after work at the Pentagon.

"Not your typical zombie book based on gore and violence. This was a well written story that encompassed a wide story arc. Definitely recommend it to anyone." - Reader Review

About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

An ancient fundamentalist organization has chosen to lash out against its enemies by conducting several attacks simultaneously across the globe.

One of the assaults unleashes a deadly virus within the Pentagon. When the virus mutates beyond anything the terrorists expected, the nation's capital is plunged into a violent zombie outbreak that threatens to infect everyone in the region.

A desperate attempt to stop the potential global epidemic backfires as the infected survive a brutal pre-emptive strike and continue to wreak havoc on the human population when they reemerge from the bowels of the ruined city.

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Link to the eBook GNASH on Amazon with Excerpt

New Indie Book Release: Corr Syl the Warrior (Garry Rogers)

New Indie Book Release:
Corr Syl the Warrior - Garry Rogers
Science Fiction / EcoSciFi (262 pages - May 2013)

In June, 2013, Corr Syl the Warrior received the Kirkus Star given to books of "exceptional merit."
"A beautifully written YA novel that will captivate environmentalists and sci-fi fans of all ages." - Kirkus Reviews


About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

Earth's creatures were always intelligent. As they attained the power of motion and sensitivity to light and sound, they developed memory, sentiment, and identity. For 500 million years, emotions—desire, fear, and vanity—ruled intelligence.

The Earth was never at peace until, at a time when the excesses of warring species threatened to destroy the entire planet, the warriors appeared. The warriors mastered the ways of combat and war, but more important, they developed an understanding of responsibility.

They formed a code of ethics they called Immediacy, the Philosophy of Consequences. The warriors became Earth's first sapient creatures. They spread the peaceful Tsaeb civilization across the globe.

Over the long history of the Tsaeb civilization, the number of warriors declined, but always a few remained. This is good, because dangerous individuals and species appear now and then, and the Earth needs its defenders.

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Link to the eBook Corr Syl the Warrior on Amazon with Excerpt

10 Tips to Writing Excellent Book Reviews

Seen on Lauryn April's Website:

Reviewing books is a wonderful way to share your reading experience with others, but if you’ve ever read reviews to help you buy a book you’ll know some are more helpful than others. Here’s Lauryn April's advice to writing an excellent book review.

[...]

Reviewers should understand what the point of writing a review is. Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Goodreads, ect… allow readers to write reviews to help other readers decide whether or not they will like that book. Above all else your review should provide helpful information to other readers about the content and feel of the book.
Here are ten tips to being a good reviewer…

1. Finish the book – Many people write reviews for books they don’t finish reading. Personally I have a problem with this. Book ratings and reviews should be based on the entire book. Reading only part of a book and writing a review would be like watching only part of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and telling all your friends that it’s a horribly depressing movie. If you’re going to comment on a book, comment on the entire book. (And if you absolutely cannot make it to the end, at very least make it clear in beginning of your review that you did not finish reading.)

2. Don’t just give a summary – Readers can read the back blurb to know roughly what a book is about. Give information about the storyline but make sure you’re also sharing your opinion. Did you like the plot, characters, setting, writing style? Overall how did the book make you feel?

[...]

4. Use proper English – Write in full sentences and use real words. This is a book review, not a text message. Remember, you’re writing this for other readers to use as a source of information in their purchasing decision. If it’s not worth your time to write something legible, it’s simply not worth your time to write it. Spell-check and re-read your review before you post it.

5. Double check names – I see reviews all the time where the reviewer spelled the author’s name wrong, or a character’s name wrong, or even misspelled the title of the book. Spelling mistakes like this stand out, and can even be confusing to those reading your review. This can also be embarrassing, so do yourself a favor and take a few seconds to make sure you spelled all names correctly.

New Indie Book Release: A Story of River (Lana Axe)

New Indie Book Release:
A Story of River - Lana Axe
Epic Fantasy Adventure (314 pages - May 2013)

"A Story of River is a fast-paced novel that draws the reader into the middle of the action, and the aspects of the world are presented as the story flows. There are no lengthy explanations of world histories, as the reader can pick that up as he or she reads through the story."


About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

Aelryk’s kingdom is under attack by monsters conjured by a dark sorcerer. His only hope lies far to the west, where a powerful water elemental is rumored to dwell.

Along the way, he joins forces with the Wild Elves, who were once his enemy. They alone can lead him through the dangers of the Wildlands.

Together, they must journey to a mysterious land of eternal spring and return before the kingdom is overrun by evil.

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Link to the eBook A Story of River on Amazon with Excerpt

THE OTHER 4 TIPS FOR AUTHORS: Tips many may practice, but won’t admit to doing.

By Jeanine Henning

The internet is overflowing with marketing and sales tips for independent authors. Some of it is daunting when you read an indie’s blog about how he or she used social media and SEO to boost sales by 4,000 to 6,000 a day. Or downloads exceeding 100 000! My client, Paul Pilkington, for whom I have had the honor of doing 5 covers so far, has a trilogy out that has now exceeded 2 MILLION downloads! In his case, his books are GOOD. His fan base built itself. But each author is unique however.

Another client, Kim Hornsby, released her book on Amazon. Sales and downloads could have been better. So we did a cover redesign, she placed her book in the KINDLE SELECT program and overnight it went to #15 in Kindle Free, #4 in Romantic Suspense and #1 in Ghosts. She had over 7,000 downloads in about 12 hours! Plus, she works VERY hard at her promotions.

So, here we’re not going to discuss ‘normal’ marketing tips for writers. There are MORE than enough out there and I am sure you need fresh thoughts rather than strategies alone. Let’s look at THE OTHER 4 TIPS for Authors, tips many may practice, but won’t admit to doing :)

1. Talk about your book to EVERYONE.
Even the grocer. Dog walker. Random dude or girl at gym. Guy in the beer queue behind you. Every single author client I have has told me how they sold books just by showing off a new cover design to some random person or family member, who then tell other people, who then tell more people. WOM: word of mouth. STILL one of the most powerful marketing tools. So yes – blab! Mention you’re an author to EVERYONE you meet. Drop your book’s name, and -> get the person’s email address so that you can email them the link for your book’s release, and the book after that.

2. Speaking of beer… Combine your book with product.

New Indie Book Release: The Transformation of Adam Higgins (Marvin Amazon)

New Indie Book Release:
The Transformation of Adam Higgins (The Corin Chronicles) - Marvin Amazon
Science-Fiction / Fantasy (400 pages - May 2013)

"In The Transformation of Adam Higgins, the gods of each planet have left the universe to rule itself, but ripples of change again threaten destruction. Two natural enemies try to do the right things but find themselves thrown together against a ruthless god, while a mysterious immortal pursues his own ends on a crumbling Earth."


About the Book

Click to Read an Excerpt

“We never choose our destiny. It chooses us.”

It’s been five thousand years since the gods withdrew from the galaxy, leaving the men of each planet to rule themselves. For millennia, the worlds lived in relative harmony. But once again the order has been shaken.

On Corin, a prince’s courageous quest has released a ruthless demi-god that can bring the disgraced planet back to its former glory—or destroy it. On Earth, a young man is ripped across a universe he didn’t know existed and inextricably tied to an ancient conflict that he can’t begin to understand. And all the while, the immortal Siroco pursues his own mysterious ends.

Who are the true heroes? Who is the Chosen One?

Battles rage and families crumble in this second installment of Marvin Amazon’s mythic fantasy series, where once again the lines of right and wrong blur around the individual experience, and even the best of intentions cannot control a galaxy on the brink of destruction.

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Link to the eBook The Transformation of Adam Higgins on Amazon with Excerpt

Link to the Book Feature The Corin Chronicles: Volume 1: The Light and the Dark on Indie Author News