SEEN This Week 3/17/14

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Whether you’re Irish year round or just for today, may your day be safe and happy!

This week’s book, author, and event news:

Lisa Scottoline’s next book, Keep Quiet, will be released April 8 and a new appearance schedule has been announced. Please come out and see Lisa if you live near Philly PA, Exton PA, King of Prussia PA, Willow Grove PA, Dayton OH, Eden Prairie MN, Los Angeles, CA, Minneapolis, MN, Houston, TX, Dallas, TX, Skokie, IL, NYC, Westport, CT, Mt. Laurel, NJ, and Cherry Hill, NJ.

Booked! confirmed on their site March 10 that author and former WWE and TNA wrestler Joe E. Legend will be one of several writers appearing at their November 29 convention in Bristol, UK.

Ever wonder about true reasons why fiction manuscripts get rejected? M.J. Moores reveals some top three reasons given by an agent, editor, and published author in in this Authors Publish post.

Susan Navas has launched her latest book, Agnil and the Wizard’s Orb. The new work is book 2 of her children’s fantasy adventure series Agnil’s Worlds.

Paul Collins interviewed librarian and erotic romance author Rosanna Leo on Angie’s Diary March 9.

Kindred Spirits Book Exchange is one of the fastest growing free book exchanges on Facebook. The ebook group is visited and recommended by some of the best authors out there; new books are posted each day and always free at the time of posting.Ten to twenty new books are added daily, and members are always encouraged to post their free books at any time. Click here to join and participate.

You may have heard about this for a while, but now the Amtrak Residency for Writers is now accepting applications. Learn additional details how you can be part of this exciting project in The Wire’s latest feature.

Hedgehog Publishing of South Africa will be publishing their first novel this month in Cape Town. It will be available in print in South Africa as well as ebook and paperback on Amazon.

Author Event of the Week: The Cleveland Author Event will take place at the House of Blues Cleveland on April 26, 2014. Nearly 40 authors are scheduled to attend and event sponsorships are available. Visit the Cleveland Author Event web site, join their Facebook page, or follow Cleveland Author Event on Twitter.

My Latest News:

Billy Kidman: The Shooting Star was Canada’s #1 Hot New Release in Wrestling on Amazon.ca March 14. The book also ranked the following on Amazon:

United States:

#15 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Individual Sports > Wrestling
#43 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Wrestling

Canada:

#9 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Wrestling
#41 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Wrestling

Special thanks to Kristal McKerrington for her appearance on The L. Anne Carrington Show March 12. If you missed the live broadcast, you can listen on demand here and here.

Do you have news you’d like to see in an upcoming column? Either post it on a related site or email writingmerchant@gmail.com before the following week. Also follow me on Twitter @lacarrington1.

Book of the Week 3/17/14

ErrolComeHome

I don’t get many opportunities to feature children’s books on The Book Shelf, but since Harvey Rooster’s Errol Come Home (Errol Cat Mysteries) (Black Feline Publishing, 2013) has been in my reading queue for some time, there was no better time to feature this delightful tale of a sleek black cat with soft, velvety fur and small, pointy ears.

Errol Come Home is the story of Errol’s rooftop ride from being number one in the household to ‘paw’ relation when the ‘little ones’ arrive. He soon discovers the quiet life of sleepy cuddles and full bowls of tuna has changed forever, and journeys next door to find the lady with the red finger nails who has turkey chunks in her gravy.

Featuring illustrations by Jacoba Dorothy, Errol Come Home immediately hooks the reader into Errol’s pampered life being turned upside down with the arrivals of two children and he is no longer the center of attention. When he sees a kitten slip into a neighbor’s home, Errol follows the trail and discovers the aforementioned red fingernailed woman who welcomes him.

Does Errol eventually return home or does he stay with the neighbor? The answer can only be found in this lovely story children can easily follow while learning a life lesson and how Errol handles dilemmas. This is a book that should be included as part of a spring reading library.

SEEN This Week 3/10/14

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This week’s book, author, and event news:

Lorraine Holloway-White has resurrected the Authors on Show main web site. Anyone who remembers the old site is encouraged to contact Lorraine if you’d like to be featured or even lend a hand. We are also seeking self-published authors for future profiles. A new author will be featured every week with their books, book blurbs, and links to their books and blogs.

Publishers Weekly has named Oak Press (the publishing company that released the Bella Andre and Lucy Kevin books) the Fastest Growing Independent Publisher of 2013, the first time a company headed by a self-publisher has hit their list.

Credit crunches and the Internet are making writing careers more difficult that before. The Observer writer Robert McCrum interviewed award-winning authors struggling to make ends meet for his article Tale Spinner. She discussed her new paranormal erotic romance Rough Weather.

Bernard Harold Curgenven started a poetry group, I am Poetry, in October 2013. The group has flourished with about 5400 members at present. Bernard has published 10 books, one being a novel, and the rest are poetry. Seven are currently on Amazon amongst other book stores, all in ebook format.

Do you love werewolves? Then check out Arrival of the Prophecy by Robin Renee Ray. Arrival of the Prophecy is a unique paranormal romance and Robin has not only given us a spine chilling tale about werewolves in this book, but also several other “breeds” in the paranormal realm. The story is solid, very well written and gives us characters we can both love and hate. So if you love ‘were’ creatures as well as a little bit of romance, then this is one book you must include on your reading list!

Author Event of the Week: The Romance Novel Convention will take place July 9-13, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino is hosting this year’s convention, which will feature RNClasses & RNCounsels, each lasting an hour, six socials, an RNCostume Ball, six RNCasanovas, and much more. Visit the web site to find additional details and become part of this great event.

My Latest News:

I received notice from a reader that Billy Kidman: The Shooting Star has been added to Internet Movie Database and Wikipedia pages. It’s quite an honor to know someone thought my book was worth mentioning!

Billy Kidman: The Shooting Star  was also one of the top three Hot New Releases in Wrestling shortly following its March 1 release on Amazon.

Many thanks to Kiler Davenport for having me on his show March 8 along with 2016 Compassion Party presidential candidate Roy Dan Baron. Here is the link for those who missed the original broadcast.

I had the honor of appearing on ProSportsFix’s show March 6, where I discussed my latest book, Billy Kidman: The Shooting Star and other topics. You can listen and download the episode at this link.

I also had a great time talking about the book on The Lost and Found With Danielle March 5. If you missed hearing it live, click here for an on-demand download.

I’d also like to thank everyone who downloaded Billy Kidman: The Shooting Star during the Winter Storm Special free days March 2-3. The book reached #1 in Sports Biographies in the US, Canada, and Germany during both promotions.

Do you have news you’d like to see in a future column? Either post it on a related site or email writingmerchant@gmail.com before the following week. Also follow me on Twitter @lacarrington1.

Book of the Week 3/10/14

DogWhoAteAirplane

Not your typical mystery novel, Edward G. Coburn tells the story of Adam Martin, a gentleman driven out of his beloved Chicago by his self-created but ill-advised celebrity status as a “finder” followed by other events in The Dog Who Ate The Airplane (An Adam And Bagel Mystery) (Amazon Digital Services, 2012).

Forced back to the United States by the resurgence of his mother’s cancer after fleeing Chicago for Cancun, Mexico, Adam accepts a job as columnist for the newspaper purchased by his long-time friend Larry Archibald in Canary Corners, a small West Virginia town. He takes up residence at The Canary House, a place alleged to be haunted by several ghosts. When Adam learns the story behind Canary House, his investigative skills lead to solving a murder, unaware of how clues provided by his dog Bagel become critical to his investigation.

The Dog Who Ate The Airplane is a mystery novel that offers appeal to genre fans of all ages and walks of life. It’s a well-written book with a superb plot and charming characters. Like any great mystery, lots of surprises are discovered as readers delve deeper into the book. Bagel as his master’s investigative partner adds a masterful touch, and this book is an overall easy read that some finished in a day.

As winter winds down, The Dog Who Ate The Airplane can warm up those final chilly evenings. I’m not usually into the mystery genre, but made an exception with this book. Sometimes it’s a good idea to step outside one’s reading comfort zone.

Authors on Show Main Site Returning!

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In 2010, indie author Lorraine Holloway-White developed an innovative idea to showcase new authors by creating web site Authors On Show “for quality not quantity.” AOS’s official site disappeared for a while due to unforeseen circumstances, but the blog and Facebook page remained online.

An announcement was made this past week that Authors On Show’s main site is in the process of returning. It’s currently in development, but some pages are completed. In addition to a new logo (as seen above), the new AOS, a different author – along with their books – will be featured on a weekly basis in Fiction, Nonfiction, Adult, Spiritual, True Life and Children’s genres. Lorraine and I will also have our own pages and my SEEN This Week column also appears on the new site.

The original Authors On Show was nominated and voted as one the top ten best writing sites in the world for showcasing authors after being online only seven months. Top publishing houses and agents visited the main site on a regular basis to search new talent, goals AOS plans to focus on with the new site while promoting new writers.

You can visit the updated and revived site at authorsonshow.com, and all comments are welcome.

SEEN This Week 3/3/14

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This week’s book, author, and event news:

Best-selling author Lisa Scottoline will discuss her book Keep Quiet May 29 at the Book Expo’s Book & Author Breakfast. She’ll be joined by Tavis Smiley and Neil Patrick Harris.

Joe E. Legend and Kristal McKerrington are involved with with the making of independent film Azucar. The film will be based on the novel Azucar Moreno by Shelley Halima, a book that drew praise from the likes of NBA superstar Chris Webber, award-winning author Tracey Price-Thompson, and many others. A page to raise funds for production has been opened on FundRazr, and any donation amount will be appreciated.

Roz Lee, C.H. Admirand, Maria K. Alexander, Gabrielle Bisset/K.M. Scott, Sharon Buchbinder, RoseAnn DeFranco, Babette James, Jessica Lauryn, Diane Nelson/Nya Rawlyns, D.C. Stone, and Jennifer Walkup are scheduled to appear at the Romance Book Signing on May 3. The event will take place at Brook Hollow Winery in Columbia, NJ from 1-4 PM. Admission is free, but there will be a $5 fee for optional wine tasting.
The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair will be held March 14-16, 2014 in St. Petersburg, FL. 115 dealers in books, maps, photographs, prints, ephemera and autographs will be among those scheduled to appear. Additional details can be found at this link.

Rohith Chakrathirtha edits an e-zine that is published twice a month. The specialty of this magazine is that it carries only five stories of various genres in each issue. The magazine first issue will be released on all online platforms in March 2014. Visit Cresco Books to find out more.

Palm Tree Books founder Donovan Rutherford attended the Houston Author Bash February 22. He reports that the event was very indie-author friendly and well-organized. He plans to attend similar conventions throughout the year as his schedule allows.

Author Event of the Week: Ana’s Attic will host the second annual Wicked Book Weekend, which takes place March 7-9, 2014 at the Bahia Mar in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. A list of authors scheduled to attend, links to order T-shirts and books to be signed, hotel information, and more on the Wicked Book Weekend event may be viewed here.

My Latest News:

My latest book,Billy Kidman: The Shooting Star, went on sale on Amazon March 1 for a Kindle introductory price of 99 cents through March 8. Read the official press release at this link.

Speaking of the new book, Billy Kidman: The Shooting Star ranked the following on its first day on Amazon:

#7 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Individual Sports > Wrestling
#15 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Wrestling
#87 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Biographies

Be sure to tune in to ProSportsFix.com on Thursday, March 6 beginning at 3:00 PM Eastern. I’ll be chatting about my new book and other sports stuff!

Do you have news you’d like to see in an upcoming column? Either post it on a related site or email writingmerchant@gmail.com before the following week. Also follow me on Twitter @lacarrington1.

Book of the Week 3/3/2014

BayouJesus

M.G. Miller’s award-winning novel Bayou Jesus (Southern Exposures Press, 2011) tells the story of Frank Potter, a young, divinely-inspired black man living in a house of haunted women with Samson Boudreaux, a white man of great power and greater weakness.

Bayou Jesus is much more than just race and religion in the Deep South; Miller unfolds the main plot in an eloquent manner, bringing out many readers’ emotions from anger to sorrow, from fear to hate. This book gives a clear idea of 1930‘s Louisiana while reading a mesmerizing mystery at the same time.

The story flows perfectly, written with an authentic voice, is well-researched, and attention-grabbing from page one. Readers will find a difficult time putting down this book until the very end, and then want to read it a second time to make sure they didn’t miss anything important.

Bayou Jesus has won the Oklahoma State Best Novel award, a Deep South Prize from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, an Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award for Literature, and praised by Noble’s Way author Dusty Richards as Miller being “in a class of artisans whose prose will someday sit on august library shelves alongside Steinbeck and Faulkner.” It is definitely a mystery book with a twist, and one not to be missed.
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