Author's Notes (blog)
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
A Few Hundred of My Closest Friends
view comments (1) | post a comment
So I've discovered the aura and appeal of MySpace. I was one of those people who smirked, shook my head, and promptly broke out in hives when someone would tell me "You really should check out this major social networking site." No thanks, I'd think. A friend is someone who cares about you, who will listen to you, hello, someone who actually knows you. But through subterfuge and coercion, Zubis and I were brought to a place we can now call MySpace. And we and nearly three hundred of my closest friends are happy to be there.
Maybe most of them don't, in fact, care about me. They care about themselves and whatever messge they have to toot. There are, for example, a ton of bands, artists, and filmakers who are there just to gain exposure. And that is initially why I even agreed to pursue this strange ethereal technological realm.... exposure. Yet, as I welcomed each of my new friends ("thanks for the add" apparently is a routine comment you should send to people who join your network. Who knew?), I was learning a little something about each of them. Kim is sweet and sincere; Maria misses her guy; Amy is a mom doing her best; Sofia (yes, Coppola. She's my friend.) doesn't like to be told what to do; Enrico is a really talented musician although he needs to put his shirt back on; ArmyStrong is a cool and brave teenager finding his way. And, yes, they are my friends. I may not be able to go up the street and knock for them or grab a cup of coffee to dish over the latest turmoil, but I can send messages and comments and just let them know I'm out there. I used to think I had enough friends. Now I realize that you can never know too many people who you admire, who strike a chord in you, or who just want to be a friend. So stop by and say hello if you're in MySpace neighborhood....
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Genie at the Borders
Back online after a summer of flying carpet rides. Let me quickly bring you up to date: in August, A Genie in the House of Saud hit the 15k sales ranking -- not bad for a substanceless mass of essence. In September, the Genie was erroneously grouped with some wild erotica on its Amazon detail page. Oddly, that didn't really effect its sales ranking. The novel is not tagged on Amazon as an "erotic" title; although, as my readers will know, there is some mystical coupling on, what is it, page 119? Then in September, the Genie appeared at a major book signing at the Borders bookstore in Princeton, NJ. "Very-well attended" according to the Borders event manager.
While a book signing can be quite stressful for the author, this day turned out to be a blast. It was fun and fascinating to meet the readers. I also love to hear your input about what is hoped to be in store for Bethany and Zubis, and, well, the world of humans. Could go any number of ways. And go it does. Book Two is in the works and should be finished early 2009. Stay tuned.
Monday, June 09, 2008
ZUBIS IS A WINNER in the Indie Book Awards
view comments (2) | post a comment
A Genie in the House of Saud is a WINNER in the Religious Fiction category of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards!
Last entry, I reported that we had been notified that Genie was a finalist. Today, I receive the news that the initial winner in this category (A Leap of Faith) should have been entered in the non-fiction category. Kinda like when the Beauty Pageant Winner turns out to be pregnant and the Runner-up gets the crown. Happy News! Unhappy is that all the winners had been listed in a catalog at Book Expo America last month and we missed out on that opportunity. No matter. Time to go off and do some revised press releases.
Meanwhile A Genie will be out in print next month. You'll be able to order it at Amazon.com and some bookstores. If it's not carried at your bookstore, request it. Hopefully, some bookstore managers will hop on the carpet and put in orders with the wholesale distributor Baker & Taylor for their copies!
KFZ
Friday, May 16, 2008
INDIE BOOK AWARDS FINALIST!
A Genie in the House of Saud has been chosen as a finalist in two categories in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Crack out the whipped cream, I'm revving up my coffee (received the notification at 7 a.m.).
The Indie Book Awards judged novels that were published with Independent publishers (Mystical Publishing, in my case) in a slew of different categories. Genie was chosen in both the e-book and religious fiction categories. Religious fiction? hmmm. I've mostly been marketing the book simply as a "thriller." But maybe I need to expand that. Religious fiction is a massive and growing field. For those of you who haven't read the novel yet, religion does work into the major plot elements: Islam and Catholicism, as well as ancient Egyptian and Jewish rites. The Prayer to Michael the Archangel (who, incidentally, is recognized as a warrior of God by Christians, Jews, and Muslims) figures prominently in the main conflict narrative.
The best part of being a finalist is that I get gold stickers that I place on the cover of the paperback. Yes, paperback. For all my e-publishing cheerleading, Mystical Publishing has decided to publish the book through Amazon's POD company, BookSurge. Will be in book stores by July. Look for Zubis's eyes and that gold sticker!!