For a quarter of a century forty-five-year-old Zinc has worked as a
caretaker for a wealthy old man, living in a small casita on his
ranch in New Mexico. She doesn’t make much money, but she has the old
man, her dogs, and gorgeous views of the mountains. She is basically
a very content recluse who doesn’t invest much time thinking about
what she might do if her circumstances change. So when the old man
dies suddenly, and his daughter all but throws her off the property,
Zinc is forced to reinvent herself—and quickly. With a touch of
magical realism and a collection of offbeat characters, The
Accidental Art Thief explores the thin line between life and death
and the universal forces that connect all things.
“Zinc is an engaging, quirky, and utterly unique heroine, instantly
likeable, with a hefty mixture of strong intelligence and
overwhelming naivety…. While the novel is realistic, there is
subtle magic woven in nearly every line, as coincidence and confusion
come together into what might be termed the wisdom of time, spirit,
and love.” ~ Magdelena Ball, CompulsiveReader.com, author of
Sublime Planet, Black Cow, and other titles.
“Schweighardt populates her modern-day odyssey through the southwest with
fascinating, quirky characters thrust into a complex (and hilarious)
web of emotional turmoil, poignant misperceptions, and downright
lies. As laugh-out-loud funny as it is thought provoking.” ~
Julie Mars, author of the memoir A Month of Sundays: Searching for
the Spirit and My Sister, and the novels Rust, Anybody Any Minute,
and The Secret Keepers.
“A sensitive, gripping, artfully rendered novel that kept me reading
from the first page to the last.” ~ Faye Rapoport DesPres,
author of the memoir-in-essays Message from a Blue Jay.
Joan Schweighardt is the author of five novels, and more on the way. In
addition to her own writing projects, she writes, ghostwrites, and
edits for individuals and corporations.
The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!
My 56 for this week is from:
Silver Threads
The Memory House Series #5
by Bette Lee Crosby
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
My 56 from the eBook.
…Drew began to see them side by side. Mother and daughter. Alike in a thousand different ways. Until recently.
~~~~~
Read on if you want to know more.
Synopsis
High above the clouds in a place no mortal has ever seen, there is a Scale of Life that is held in balance with stones of happiness and sorrow. The Keeper of the Scales sees impending disaster for Drew Bishop and heaves a huge sigh. He places a rose-colored stone on the happiness side of Drew’s scale, but it is not enough. The danger is too great. When Drew Bishop’s wife is killed in a random act of violence, he is left with a traumatized daughter and a job teetering on the brink of disaster. He believes this is as bad as it can get, but he is wrong. Now the Keeper must scan the vast landscape of lives to find a silver thread to ease Drew’s pain. That is the only chance Drew has for happiness, and the Keeper knows it. He is powerless to do anything else; instead, he can only wait and hope the thread spools into happiness for Drew and his little girl.
Dreaming Sophia is a magical look into Italy, language, art, and culture. It is a story about turning dreams into reality and learning to walk the fine line between fact and fantasy. When tragedy strikes, Sophia finds herself alone in the world, without direction and fearful of loving again. With only her vivid imagination to guide her, she begins a journey that will take her from the vineyards in Sonoma, California to a grad school in Philadelphia and, eventually, to Italy: Florence, Lucca, Rome, Verona, Venice, and Val d’Orcia.
Through dreamlike encounters, Sophia meets Italian personalities—princes, poets, duchesses, artists, and film stars— who give her advice to help put her life back together. Following a path that takes her from grief to joy, she discovers the source of her creativity and learns to love again, turning her dreams into reality.
Melissa Muldoon is the Studentessa Matta-the crazy linguist! In Italian, “matta” means “crazy” or “impassioned”. Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master’s degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She has also studied painting and art history in Florence.
Melissa promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog, Studentessa Matta (studentessamatta.com). Melissa began the Matta blog to improve her command of the language and to connect with other language learners. It has since grown to include a podcast, “Tutti Matti per l’Italiano” and the Studentessa Matta YouTube channel. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Tours, which she co-leads with Italian partners in Italy.
Dreaming Sophia is Melissa’s first novel. It is a fanciful look at art history and Italian language and culture, but it is also the culmination of personal stories and insights resulting from her experiences living in Italy, as well as her involvement and familiarity with the Italian language, painting, and art history.
As a student, Melissa lived in Florence with an Italian family. She studied art history and painting and took beginner Italian classes. When she returned home, she threw away her Italian dictionary, assuming she’d never need it again but after launching a successful design career and starting a family, she realized something was missing in her life. That “thing” was the connection she had made with Italy and the friends who live there. Living in Florence was indeed a life-changing event! Wanting to reconnect with Italy, she decided to start learning the language again from scratch. As if indeed possessed by an Italian muse, she bought a new Italian dictionary and began her journey to fluency-a path that has led her back to Italy many times and enriched her life in countless ways.
Now, many dictionaries and grammar books later, she dedicates her time to promoting Italian language studies, further travels in Italy, and sharing her stories and insights about Italy with others. When Melissa is not traveling in Italy, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is married and has three boys and two beagles.
Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for Dreaming Sophia. She also designed the Dreaming Sophia website and created the character illustrations that can be found in the book and on the Dreaming Sophia websites.
Revelations T. Marie Alexander
Publication date: January 27th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Have you ever craved something so badly that all reason was just an excuse getting in your way?
Have you needed something so desperately that you didn’t care how you got it or who you hurt in the process?
I have—and not that long ago.
Acceptance.
Acceptance… from family and friends…
Acceptance of the person I am inside and not outright rejection.
It didn’t come easily for me, and now I believe the world needs to know just how ruthless life can be. How that overwhelming yearning for acceptance can mold you into someone you don’t recognize when you look in the mirror. I’m through hiding behind one façade after another—it’s time for the world to meet the real me.
T. Marie Alexander lives in Arkansas. She can be found sitting at a computer on any given day, usually writing or looking up something to do with fashion. When she is not doing either of those things, she’s reading on her Kindle or binge watching Roswell on Netflix time and time again. She shares her apartment with her husband and some annoying ghost that like to take her belongings. Her dream of becoming an author started around the age of seven when she would glue small pages together and write about her favorite thing at the time, boy band crushes. T. Marie writes Young Adult Science Fiction and Paranormal Fiction.
Warpaint is a haunting tale of friendship and rivalry between three women artists, who’ve known each other for years, who must come to terms with imminent mortality and artistic frustration: Liz Moore, born poor in Minnesota, fought her way to New York in the 1920s, but isn’t “discovered” until late in life; C.C. Davis, a well-to-do New Yorker is Moore’s only student, and rival, who, just after WWII achieves some small success, but feels, as she faces cancer in 2002, a failure; and Quiola Kerr, part Ojibwe, once C.C.’s lover, who is caught in the middle, and who, as a painter in the 21st century, has the most doubts about art’s value in an electronic world. In April 2002, all three meet a week before C.C.’s mastectomy at a MOMA retrospective for Liz Moore, but their reunion is tense. Still, they try to cope, until C.C. makes an unexpected and controversial choice, one which nearly breaks the bonds these three took so many decades to forge, and forces Quiola to try to confront Liz, who she believes deliberately sabotaged C.C.’s career.
Warpaint features American women painters, native american or American Indian (Ojibwe) history; it has a lesbian couple at the heart of the story; it’s about trying to survive breast cancer and choosing suicide; it features New York City, Paris, Minnesota and Connecticut. The Indian character, Quiola Kerr, shows up in the next book…
In 1966, a child is found abandoned in a rocket ride on Cape Canaveral. Traumatized, she could not speak when the police found her, only a few yards from her dead mother. So first responders called her “Baby Rocket.” As an adult, this child (Clementine “Lem” Dance) has no memory of this event. She only discovers her past when her adoptive father, James Walter Dance, Jr. has a fatal heart attack. Lem, a women’s historian who is writing a book about the Mercury 9, finds files while cleaning out her father’s apartment that he had been collecting in order to tell her the truth. Without him, she must piece together her story—why was she abandoned? What happened to her parents? How did her mother die? Who is her biological father? Doing so will take her from California back to the Tri-State area, where she now lives; to Florida, where she will find her mother’s roots and her mother’s life-story; and, finally, to Martha’s Vineyard, where she will come to terms with what she can recall and what she has uncovered about the wrenching facts of her early years.
“Content Burns” chronicles the parallel stories of two women from the same family who bear the same Puritan name, Content Burns, and who are separated by three centuries: One born a Pequot Indian, originally named Ásawanuw (Corn-silk), who converts and marries into the English Burns family in 1637, and one, nicknamed Cabbi, in modern-day New York. They are unknown to each other yet both women must learn how to survive an historical trauma that changed the course of American history, and their lives: the massacre of the Pequot tribe in 1637 and the loss of the Twin Towers on 9/11.
Stephanie Smith took her PhD from Berkeley (1990), and attended the Haystack Creative Writing Workshop in 1981, with Ursula K. LeGuin. Prior to UF, she worked as a free-lance journalist, an editor for Western Imprints, an assistant at Glamour and Mademoiselle magazines; at Representations and at David Godine Publications, and is presently a consultant for Feminist Studies. A novelist, she is the author of: The Warpaint Trilogy, Warpaint (2012), Baby Rocket (2013) and Content Burns (2014) (Thames River Press); Other Nature (TOR,1995), which was short-listed for the Tiptree Award; The-Boy-Who-Was-Thrown-Away and Snow-Eyes (Atheneum 1985/87), along with a number of short stories, which have appeared in such magazines as New Letters, Asimov’s and SF&F. She has won multiple fiction residencies at the Martha’s Vineyard Writer’s Residency at the Noepe Center for the Arts, Hedgebrook, Norcroft, Provincetown and Dorland, and she has been featured in a number of magazines and online blogs.
Examining the intersection of science, literature, politics, race and gender, her essays appear in such journals as differences, Novel, Criticism, Genders, Genre, American Literature and American Literary History. A 1998 Visiting NEH Scholar at UCLA, she is the author of Conceived By Liberty: Maternal Figures and 19th-Century American Literature (Cornell 1995), nominated for the MLA First Book Award; Household Words (Minnesota, 2006) excerpts from both books have been reprinted in several collections. A creative non-fiction “A Meditation on Brit” appeared in Remaking Moby Dick an international multi-modal story-telling performance, both in print as a special edition of Pea River Journal (2013) and online. Currently, she is finishing a new critical book about aesthetics and the publishing industry in the United States, titled The Muse and The Marketplace, a chapter of which, “Union Blues: Melville’s Poetic In(ter)ventions,” is in the spring 2014 journal Genre; she is also finishing a new novel, Strange Grace.
Welcome to My Monday Minis Reviews where I share short reviews of books I’ve read. For today I’ll be sharing three books.
Johnny and Jamaal
My Review
With all of the tragic recent events we’ve seen and heard on the news, this book had a timely release.
Exploring issues occurring today with interracial relationships, coping with racial injustice, and addressing the controversy of punishment fitting the crime, this book will in turn have you cheering characters on, crying out at the inequality doled out, and hoping for a happy ending.
I became quite fond of the characters. They each had a lot of emotional baggage and much to overcome, yet all of them touched me. And I wanted to mention, it’s not all seriousness . There are the fun moments too. And sports. Got a little bit of everything for you.
Having read other books by this author, I knew I’d enjoy his writing, but was a bit worried about this story. Not my normal reading, but it’s trying something new that reveals hidden gems like Johnny and Jamaal. The strong writing of K.M. Beakey captivates you, pulling you along until you reach the end. I very much enjoyed this and recommend you give it a go.
4 Stars
Synopsis
Two athletes from different planets are on the verge of greatness. Johnny’s a carefree Canadian making his mark in the NHL. Jamaal’s set to follow LeBron and Kyrie out of the ghetto. When their worlds collide, the catastrophic clash ignites racial conflict not seen since Ferguson. The incident tests the fledgling love of Johnny’s best friend Lucas and his African-American girlfriend Chantal, and sets them on a quest for truth and justice in the perverse racial landscape of 2016.
As chaos escalates across American cities, an MLK-like voice rises from the ashes. Wilbur Rufus Holmes may be salvation for Luke and Chantal, but can he stop society’s relentless descent into racial discord?
Johnny and Jamaal is awash with sports, violence and political taboo, as America’s seething dysfunction is laid bare.
Many of my friends wondered why I read this book. I have an irrational fear of spiders. Even the teeniest ones creep me out.
So, while reading The Hatching, and all the way to the end, I swear I felt something tickling the hairs on my arms, tiptoeing up the nape of my neck, and parting the hairs on my head.
A creepy crawly tale of spiders and how humanity panics and does it’s darnedest to destroy itself while trying to stop the onslaught of spiders.
One part that particularly creeped me out was when the spiders did something called kiting. They attached a strand of silk to something and let out more and more as they flung themselves into the air. Can you picture that. Looking up and thousands of the nasty beasts are falling from the sky to devour you from the inside out. Or perhaps they’ll cocoon you and drink you slowly. Yuck and yuck.
I’m surprised I didn’t suffer from nightmares after reading this book. For all of you fans of horror and monsters, I dare ya to read this one.
4 Stars
Synopsis
Deep in the jungle of Peru, a black, skittering mass devours an American tourist party whole. FBI agent Mike Rich investigates a fatal plane crash in Minneapolis and makes a gruesome discovery. Unusual seismic patterns register in a Indian earthquake lab, confounding the scientists there. The Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in an isolated region of its own country. The first female president of the United States is summoned to an emergency briefing. And all of these events are connected.
As panic begins to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at Melanie Guyer’s Washington laboratory. The unusual egg inside begins to crack. Something is spreading…
The world is on the brink of an apocalyptic disaster. An virulent ancient species, long dormant, is now very much awake. But this is only the beginning of our end…
Here’s the alternate cover. Which one do you like best?
Yep. This would be a good movie. The first thing I though of was some of those old black and white ones. Or maybe something along the lines of Eight Legged Freaks, which was actually scary fun.
It figures that the government caused the end of the world. They act first, never ask questions, and bang! There goes everything and everyone we know and love.
Now, a town struggles to survive as hungry mutant spiders cocoon it.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? I sure had fun, even though spiders are a phobia of mine. Perhaps it’s good for me to read about them. Maybe it’ll help me to face down those evil little monsters. Maybe not. I do know it was a thrilling read. And my heart goes out to those that didn’t survive.
Grab this book. It’s a fast thrill ride to a messy ending. Caused by the spiders, of course, not the author’s writing. That was good too.
4 Stars
Synopsis
Brian O’Gorman’s international best seller returns uncut and extended. A virus designed to control the burgeoning spider population causes them to mutate into overgrown, venomous killers. A large hoard of the spiders take over the small village of Newtown, killing all but two of its residents. Laurence Johnson and Chloe Jones have only been together one night after Laurence parted ways with his wife. They find themselves trapped in the house with no way of escaping. Their only hope is to try and stay alive long enough for the army to intervene. Lorna Johnson is on the outskirts of town with nowhere to go and the spider invasion taking control. Her only hope of survival lies with a team headed up by Doctor Michael Briggs. He has a plan to stop the invasion before it gets out of hand. But he is running out of time and he is running out of allies. If he doesn’t move quickly then mankind will face the darkest day it has ever known.
~~~~~
Here’s the alternate cover. Which one do you like best?
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB at Books And A Beat.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page.
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
My Teaser for this week is from
Shepherd & the Professor
by Dan Klefstad
Genre: Contemporary
My teaser from pages 33 and 40 in the paperback.
From Page 33
Okay, before we go any further, you need to know that Judy has a thing about purses. Not the typical girl thing, rather it’s an obsession involving high-end handbags that she considers luck charms.Today’s lucky bag is a pink Burberry.
From Page 40
But this part isn’t about me. It’s about a woman who uses her wits and instincts to survive where most people wouldn’t. She’ll need those skills now, as she steps in the shower, because Timothy is heading down the hall towards her room, keycard in hand. And boy is he pissed…
~~~~~
Read on if you want to know more.
Synopsis
Most people take comfort knowing their family and friends will remember them after they die. For Susan Shepherd, “remembering” is bullshit. She wants an eternal shrine to her sacrifice: a book that never goes out of print.
Shepherd served her country in the Gulf War, got shot while serving her community as a cop, raised an ungrateful daughter by herself — and for what? A diagnosis of terminal cancer and she isn’t even fifty. If you were in her shoes, you might agree that nothing short of national perpetual acknowledgement will do.
She’s glad you feel that way; she just wrote a memoir and sent a flurry of query letters, hoping a publisher will memorialize her with a best-seller. After hitting Send, she waits not-at-all patiently for an editor to decide if her story will sell enough copies — that is, if her life really mattered.
Be honest! Would you buy this book just because of the wicked cover art?! I sure would.
But, never fear, after you read the synopsis and exclusive excerpt, you will want it all the more!
Check out Pork.
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
Pork
by R S Anthony
Genre: Contemporary Suspense Thriller
Synopsis
High school is torture for Steven Walthurst, and home isn’t a whole lot better. The only place that offers respite is an abandoned tree house at the edge of town. But something lurks in the nearby woods, and the long line of elm trees has a clear message for Steven: keep out.
Then one day, Steven finds a little girl lying unconscious, perilously close to the woods. As the two get to know one another, Steven experiences real friendship for the first time—and gets closer than ever to knowing the darkness that skulks between the trees.
He dedicates himself to keeping his new friend safe, but the tranquility of their fragile hidden world doesn’t last long. When an act of cruelty pushes Steven to his limits, his secrets—and those of the dark woods—come close to unraveling, threatening to destroy the one thing making his teenage life bearable. Can Steven save everything he’s built from crumbling under the pressure?
~~~~~
Enjoy The Exclusive Excerpt
“Hello, Mrs. Walthurst,” Sandy said when she saw Steven’s momma on the couch. She thought his momma looked a little tired, but Steven knew she was drunk. At least she was fully clothed in a decent nightie and sitting upright instead of half-naked in a drunken stupor.
“Hello,” his momma replied with a pleasant expression. “How are you, child?”
“This is my friend from school. Her name is Sandy,” Steven said.
His momma rose from the couch and walked over to them with a big smile.“Oh, what a beautiful name, Sandy!” His momma’s voice was high. “And what beautiful hair you have. Fiery,” she said, taking Sandy’s braid in her hand. “Tell me, what’s your favorite color?” he heard his momma ask Sandy just before he rushed into the kitchen.
He decided to make peanut butter sandwiches and slapped the pieces of bread together as quickly as possible before stumbling back into the living room. His momma was still talking to an impressed Sandy on the only other chair in the room.
“And then all the noblemen in the city came to visit Princess Atillia before she was taken by the dragon for a hundred years as promised,” Steven’s momma finished a story he’d never heard before.
“Let’s go, Sandy,” he said, desperate to get her out of the house. His momma’s mood could shift any moment now.
“Where are you two going?” His momma turned her attention to Steven.
“We’re going to study in the library,” Steven lied. Sandy stared at him.
“So you’ve been spending all your time with Sandy?”
“No. Sandy’s only joining me for today,” he said, reaching for Sandy’s hand.
“Well, you two should go on, then. Don’t let this old woman jabber on at you.” She smiled at Sandy, and Sandy returned it kindly. “I’ll see you later, son. Sandy, you have to come again another time and I’ll tell you what happened to Princess Atillia.”
“You mean there’s more?”
“Of course there is, dear. She can’t die in the dragon’s dungeon, can she? She’s a princess.” His momma made the grand gesture of a noblewoman and Sandy smiled.
~~~~~
Author Rosemary Anthony
Rosemary Anthony writes suspense fiction with a twist. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Management from the University of Science Malaysia and recently made the jump from writing official documents to writing fiction novels. Blessed with 17 nephews and nieces, she finds the world of young adults to be a thrilling source of inspiration for her books.
Rosemary lives in a small town in Malaysia and travels as often as possible to broaden her cultural horizon. You can find out more about her books, giveaways, and new releases on:
NOTE: “Pork” will be free on Amazon June 21-23, 2016
What others are saying:
“Stay with this new author. She’s impressive.” – G. Harp
“The plot is elaborate leading to an unexpected twist in the end which I loved. It is a very good read– you won’t be disappointed!” – D. Mantzari
“…makes for an entertaining read, just prepare yourself to have a few WTF moments while enjoying the experience…” – Book Mafia Blog
“The author has a lovely writing style with clear, sparse prose that allows the story to breathe. Bit by bit each character plays a part in unraveling the mystery…” – The Welshbird
I’m sure many of you will recognize author Michael Hebler from my review posts of his Chupacabra series.
This year he’s written a new novella in a whole other genre and I’m thrilled to share lots of news about it.
Check out The Ghost Of Christmas Past.
Enjoy all of the exciting news about Michael’s new release.
Watch his Q&A.
And learn how you can get an early copy.
Release date currently scheduled for September 27th, 2016.
And read to the end for some more exciting news!
~~~
The Ghost Of Christmas Past
A Novella
by Michael Hebler
My Review
The title probably has you thinking this a retelling. Wait, though. It may start that way, but very quickly the author steers you in another direction. The focus shifts from the person being visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past to the ghost itself.
In order to save lost souls, the ghost needs its light to guide them. When the light is lost, the ghost must now go on a journey of its own. Go into the past and discover who it once was and regain its light to save Christmas.
In many places written in prose similar to Charles Dickens, it reads like a classic. As the characters are introduced, past and present, their lives deepen the story, and it tempted to skip ahead to see their stories conclusions. I resisted though.
For me to enjoy a story, I require strong, genuine characters who’s welfare means something to me. They need to have flaws, and I don’t have to like all of them or approve of what they do. But, they need to be believable and the author needs to keep them true to their personalities.
Michael’s characters could walk off the pages. I tried to picture them in my head from his descriptions and they came to life. Once that happened, I couldn’t put the book down.
I’ve read Michael’s Chupacabra thrillers and very much enjoyed them so I was curious about reading a story in a different genre.
Strong writing and atmospheric detail made this a fulfilling read and I enjoyed the direction the author chose with his tale.
The Ghost Of Christmas Past gets my highest recommendation for all readers.
5 Stars
~~~~~
Synopsis
Based on Charles Dickens’ character of the same name, the first of three spirits from A Christmas Carol is the center of its own story when taken on a spiritual journey to find meaning for its existence.
The Ghost of Christmas Past has had its fire extinguished. Lost souls cannot find their way to righteousness without the Spirit’s luminescence to guide them through their shadowed memories. To rekindle its flame, the Ghost of Christmas Past must journey back to a life long forgotten. Guided by the Christmas Angel, the Spirit braves witness to how it lived as a boy in life, and learns what will become of Christmas should it fail.
~~~~~
Intended Audience
The Ghost of Christmas Past is unique. The novella has appeal to readers of all ages, nationalities, and gender. Thanks to Mr. Charles Dickens, the main character name, Ghost of Christmas Past, is already as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, and the general population has shown remarkable interest in learning the backstories of supporting characters from popular works of fiction. The most notable example would be the novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire, the backstory of the witches from Oz. The Ghost of Christmas Past will appeal to fans of drama, mystery, fantasy, Literary Fiction, the supernatural, and Christianity.
Like A Christmas Carol, The Ghost of Christmas Past is not heavily religious but a story based around a Christian holiday. In 2014, more than 52 million religious books sold in the U.S., representing an increase of over 10.5% from the previous year. (Nielsen.com: Focusing On Our Strengths: Insights into the Christian Book Market)
~~~~~
Check out this exciting news from Michael.
Never heard of Publishizer? Well, until a month ago, neither had I.
It was then that I was personally contacted by the company’s team mentor. He had seen that my novel, Night of the Chupacabra, had won an award and asked if I would be releasing another book any time soon.
“As a matter of fact, Yes,” I replied.
The mentor, Lee, then explained what Publishizer was about, how long the site had been live, and how it differed from other crowdfunding sites. Now before I continue, please note that I have no financial obligation or monetary interest in Publishizer beyond what I hope to achieve with my proposal for The Ghost of Christmas Past.
Essentially, Publishizer is a lot like Kickstarter or Go Fund Me, but for books only. They do not have to be newly released titles, but unpublished books are preferred. Publishizer went live about one year ago, and categorizes its proposals from non-fiction to a select number of genres. The simple formula Publishizer uses should be very familiar to anyone who has visited a top crowdfunding site: you donate money to help propel a project to success, and for your donation, you receive exclusive rewards that vary by the amount you donate (and trust me, I have some offerings that are very exclusive).
Upon learning of Publishizer, there were two distinctions about the service that had me sold. As any of my fellow authors can attest, when a book is pre-ordered, the feeling is akin to winning the lottery. Not only is someone interested in your story enough to purchase an advance copy, but they trust you as an author, which is priceless. Any donation made on Publishizer typically includes the reward of a pre-order (however, this is up to the author, though a popular choice). The second big perk Publishizer offers it’s authors comes at the end of your campaign if you achieve your set pre-order goal. Publishizer will blast your achievement to multiple publishers, demonstrating the amount of interest your title has accumulated. And if you reach at least 500 pre-orders, you’ll be blasted to the Big 5. I took it upon myself to investigate this aspect before joining and was surprised by how many titles were in a bidding war between at least two publishers.
For those solely interested in staying independent from publishing companies, you may not think the blast to publishing houses isn’t important. But how awesome would it be to have that kind of attention for your work? That’s about where I stand. I will never say “never” to a contract, but my previous works have done impressively well (thanks to honest reviewers and book bloggers like our dear friend, Laura) and I wouldn’t mind continuing on as an indie author/publisher.
So, please, if I stirred your curiosity about Publishizer, put your mind at rest by visiting their site. And while you’re there, please help participate in making history by supporting The Ghost of Christmas Past between March 29 and April 30, 2016. At the very least, you’ll receive a copy at the retailer rate of $5 for eBook and have it one month early.
For anyone who subscribes to my newsletter at http://www.michaelhebler.com/ , they will receive a free PDF copy of Night of the Chupacabra (Book I).
Simply visit the page. In about 10 seconds, a pop up to subscribe appears. Then subscribe with your email, which will then take you to the download page. Simple as that.
~~~~~
And some more news!
Michael has a new story releasing soon!
Let me show you!
What Adam Wants
Synopsis
Losing a child at birth is difficult, but not as difficult as when that child refuses to leave.
Days after losing her child while giving birth, Rachel, and her estranged husband, David, are haunted by the incessant cries of a baby. It is their baby, Adam, and he wants something from Rachel… something deadly.
Amazon
~~~~~
Author Michael Hebler
Prior to becoming an award-winning author of his dark fiction Chupacabra Series, Michael was a full-time international film publicist who had worked on multiple titles for Walt Disney, Pixar, Lionsgate, Lakeshore Entertainment, Warner Bros., Summit Entertainment, and the 2013 Academy Award-winning Best Foreign Language Film, “La grande bellezza” (The Great Beauty).
Born in the early 1970’s in Los Angeles County to a salesman and homemaker, Michael dreamed of following his passions for entertainment and storytelling by acting. It was while studying theatre arts at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, did he realize his penchant for stories were better suited on the page rather than the stage. But creating tales with suspense, laughter, and heart is not Michael’s only love. Hebler also enjoys volunteering in his local community, as well as aid in the capture/spay/neuter/release feral program.
To date, Michael’s publications include NIGHT OF THE CHUPACABRA, CURSE OF THE CHUPACABRA, and LEGEND OF THE CHUPACABRA (Books I, II, & III of the six-part Chupacabra Series) as well as his first publication, THE NIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS, a holiday picture book for believers of any age. Michael’s fourth book in the Chupacabra Series, DAWN OF THE CHUPACABRA will be available in print and for ebook on October 13, 2015.
