The best flavor of Snoqualmie Ice Cream I’ve had!
What flavors have you tried?
http://www.snoqualmieicecream.com/
Book Review: The Non-Zombie Apocalypse by Sechin Tower
The Non-Zombie Apocalypse by Sechin Tower
A YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel published by Siege Tower Entertainment (07/16/14)
Summary:
“So zombies just remind me that you only have to be afraid of what you don’t understand.” (Page 49).
The Non-Zombie Apocalypse picks up just weeks after the Mad Scientist’s Institute leaves off with Sophie continuing her education at the Mechanical Science Institute and learning how to be a college student at just 16 years old. Though this book could stand alone, it features many of the same characters as the first book.
The Professor is at it again, but with a different sort of doomsday device, a zombie-like ‘non-zombie’ infection that will control the minds of everyone it comes into contact with. It is up to Sophie and her gang of misfit scientists at the Institute, along with her firefighter turned dean uncle ‘Dean Squared,’ to figure out what’s going on and how to stop it and save everyone (again).
Keywords:
Robot, zombies, non-zombies, DNA, Tesla, scientist, scientist heroine, Teslapunk, save the world, University, Mad Scientists, explosions, bad guys, misunderstood, danger
My Review:
I adore Sophie. She’s like the young adult version of Don in The Rosie Project by Graeme Simson. She is quirky and logical to a fault and in many social situations she misinterprets or misunderstands or can’t see social cues at all! Her interpretation of social interactions is adorable and hilarious at times. She is a character that everyone has met at one point or another in their lives and her perspective is fascinating.
Again, just like in Mad Scientist’s Institute, Soap displays her naïve/trusting behavior when she signs away her patent rights without a second thought to the consequences or ulterior motives from the same University president who tried to get her expelled just a month prior. Soap follows Creeper McCreeper into a dark and abandoned garage without too much suspicion. Even though now she’s seen some consequences of being trusting and naïve, she’s still unheeding of potential negative consequences.
It was quite clever of Tower to reintroduce all the characters and the setting in the first few chapters of this novel so that the reader didn’t have to read The Mad Scientist’s Institute before the Non-Zombie Apocalypse (I still recommend reading book one before book two). Tower used the same technique employed in the Animorphs series of describing the current characters and the current environment as a continuation of the story. This was done in a clever manner and I really liked how Tower handled making the second book in a series a complete standalone. Each book in this series is and will be conclusive and each subsequent book takes the same characters you’ve built a relationship with and continues with them on a different adventure.
This novel was published by Siege Tower Entertainment on July 16th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50
Links for more information:
The Versatile Blogger Award
Thank you, K. J. Farnham, for nominating me for this awesome award! Here’s a little about Ms. Farnham:
“I was born and raised in West Allis, Wisconsin, home of the Wisconsin State Fair and the Pettit National Ice Center. In 1999, I graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. I went on to earn a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction while teaching full time. After teaching first grade and third grade for six years each, I am proud to say that I had the privilege of helping hundreds of children learn to read and write.
In 2011, my family of four relocated from Milwaukee to western Wisconsin. (We are now a family of five!) While I was sad to leave teaching, I was ready for a change and excited to explore my love for writing. I got caught up for two years writing and editing for various clients while the book that I’d started back in 2009 went untouched. I finally made it my New Year’s Resolution for 2014 to finish Click Date Repeat, and it was published on August 21, 2014 (my wedding anniversary).
Things I enjoy: travel (especially road trips), running, biking, nature walks, beach outings, coffee and tea.
Things I love: watching my children participate in various activities, reading, writing, Body Pump at the YMCA, The Walking Dead, peanut butter and coconut milk.”
For more about K.J. Farnham, visit her blog here.
Information about the award:
The Versatile Blogger Award is given in recognition for the great commitment, diverse talents and generosity shown by bloggers here in our community. There is so much creativity on display that it is difficult to reduce a list to only a few, but for those nominated, it is hoped that it will motivate them as well as celebrate their work to date.
Here are the rules:
- Show the award on your blog
- Thank the person who nominated you
- Share seven facts about yourself
- Nominate up to fifteen blogs
- Link your nominees’ blogs, and let them know
Seven facts about me:
- I’m currently working on a series entitled “For the Love of Donuts”
- I absolutely love organization
- I severely broke my pinkie finger and it will never be straight again
- I like to eat tomatoes raw
- I read really fast
- I usually skim over sex scenes when I’m reading
- I like to geocache
And now for the bloggers I have chosen to nominate:
1. Sheri J. Kennedy – sherijkennedyriverside.wordpress.com
2. Ana is the Bookworm – anaisthebookworm.wordpress.com
3. Author Lee French – authorleefrench.com
4. Verbosity Book Reviews – verbositybookreviews.wordpress.com
Book Review: Mad Science Institute by Sechin Tower
Mad Science Institute by Sechin Tower
A YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel published by Siege Tower Entertainment (12/09/11)
Summary:
“that’s the fun part about science: there are always mysteries to unravel.” (Page 123).
Sophie grew up in a world where electronics were readily available and her failed science experiments were continuously cleaned up by her father. After destroying the science fair and her chances of getting into a top school like MIT, Soap accepts her application to the Mechanical Science Institute in small town Bugswallow, Minnesota. Her cousin, Dean is waiting to meet her there, as he just accepted a position as dean of the Institute, even though he’s really only a fireman. There’s more than simply hidden labs and secret inventions afoot at the Institute, there are thugs and evil scientists who want to take the Institute’s secrets and use them for nefarious and evil purposes. It is up to Soap and Dean to stop the unknown ‘Professor’ from stopping the world as we know it.
Keywords:
Robot, college, creatures, Tesla, EMP, bad guys, Teslapunk, Doomsday, save the world, danger, Scientist Heroine, clueless
My Review:
Soap was so naïve it was cute. It was only through her ineptitude with the real world that the plot was able to proceed as it did. She allowed the bad guys to implicate her father, to get inside the Institute, and almost shut down the security systems for the entire building. Thankfully, her stupidity stopped her there. Tower almost took her naivety too far, but it is still barely believable. She’s only 16, though she is a genius, she has never really been involved in something nefarious and has no reason not to trust others. Soap is also adorably ignorant of social norms and her thought processes as she attempts to mimic normal interactions is hilarious. She creates charts to help her fit in, but of course, they don’t. Soap is like the girl version of a super nerd boy who can’t talk to boys. Or girls. She only fits in with other super science geniuses like those at the Mechanical Science Institute.
The villain and thugs were just short of being too stereotypical. Though it was easy to guess who the mysterious “professor” was behind the evil plans, I enjoyed how the plot thickened and the pacing quickened toward the end.
I really ejoyed Tower’s writing style. It was concise and witty and I loved Soap’s POV. I didn’t mind Dean’s POV and enjoyed the intertwining of the action between their two viewpoints.
This novel was published by Siege Tower Entertainment on December 9th, 2011 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50
Links for more information:
Wrote a book and need reviews but don’t know how?
I’ve had a few authors contact me through my blog/goodreads/facebook regarding doing reviews and if their book looked good (and I liked it when I started reading) I’ve added them to my tbr list, so this point Kelly St. Clare brought up works.
She brought up another point that I’ve not yet done that I notice quite a few of the authors I follow do: a newsletter. So stay tuned for an option to follow my blog AND receive a monthly newsletter as a tl;dr monthly catch up for my blog.
Thanks again Kelly St. Clare for telling all about getting reviews (especially as a debut indie author this is highly valuable real-time information).
For more about Kelly St. Clare:
Author Biography
When Kelly St Clare is not reading or writing, she is dreaming up a story in her head; the cause of many headaches for her friends and family, who have struggled to encourage her participation in normal activities – such as everyday life.
Books have always been magical and mysterious to her. One day she decided to start unravelling this mystery and began writing. Her aim: To write stories she would want to read.
A New Zealander in origin, Kelly currently resides in Australia with her soon-to-be husband.
Follow her via Newsletter at www.kellystclare.com, and find her on Facebook or Goodreads.
If you would like to read her coming-of-age epic fantasy novel, Fantasy of Frost, then you can view it here.
St. James Espresso has New Books by Local Authors!
Anywhere near Kirkland, WA and need a good book or some great coffee? You can get some books by local authors and coffee at a local shop at St. James Espresso.
I was also at last Saturday’s Release Party for Jeffrey Cook’s Third Dawn of Steam novel, the anthology Sound and Fury he has a story in, and AJ Downey’s newest release in her series.
As both a reader and a writer I absolutely love these types of physical meet and greet and eat events. You can have one on one conversations with real writers and get signed copies of books (of which I did both). Thanks A.J. Downey, Jeffrey Cook, and the AFK for this lovely event last Saturday, can’t wait for the next author event at the AFK coming up in June.
Foodie Fridays: Another from my Faves – Eggnog
I miss it, don’t you? It’s that seasonal creamy calorie-loaded deliciousness called eggnogg. I tried several different brands last holiday season and by far Darigold has THE BEST eggnogg I have ever tasted. What’s your favorite brand?
Book Review: Sara Supernatural by Tiffany Belcher
Sara Supernatural by Tiffany Belcher
A Middle Grade/YA Fantasy Novel published by Tate Pubishing (10/29/13)
Summary:
When Sara makes the wish for her freckles to disappear for the hundredth time, she doesn’t expect her wish to come true. She’s a redhead with freckles and everyone knows that boys don’t like girls with freckles except Sara meets Chris and he likes her freckles. Shoot! Now she needs them back. Sara and her two best friends Ashely and Jessica realize that Sara has the power to wish for whatever she wants, but with this power comes great repercussions. Sara makes a mess of things with her accidental wishes and they aren’t all as easy to fix as wishing for her freckles back.
Keywords:
Magic, wishing, powers, female main character, lessons learned, romance, fourteen-year olds, middle school, immaturity, selfishness, greed, fitting in, being the best, cheating
My Review:
Sara was a great main character. Though she was only fourteen and in middle school, she was mature and interesting even though she did fall into some typical teenage behavioral patterns. Sara wanted the perfect life and the perfect family, complete with perfect outfits and style. She didn’t try to match her wishes with her reality until she is granted the power to make her dreams come true without any effort. She has only to wish and voile, wish granted. Not every wish should be fulfilled, and Sara learns this the hard way. Sara has the ability to fix her mistakes the whole time, it is learning that she made a mistake and why there are consequences to certain wishes that makes the story.
I liked that the author gives us multiple characters with their own parts to play in the story. There’s Ashley, the picky one, who is not always confident in what she’s doing. There’s Jessica, who grew up spoiled and doesn’t always know how to put others first or to think of someone other than herself. There’s Chris, the boy who was raised to take care of himself.
Any time there’s magic involved, I appreciate a good answer for where and how the magic came to be. Belcher, about midway through the book, gives an explanation for the magic in two levels, where it originated from in the beginning and how Sara got her wishing abilities. The author also quantifies the extent the magic has on altering reality and how far Sara can go in its use, which I really appreciated. Defining the magic made it and the story more real.
The dialogue was a pleasure to read and the author really captured some more witty teenage moments full of snippy sarcastic teen talk without being overly dramatic or too grammatically poor like some teens everyone knows.
I enjoyed this book, though not as much as the intended audience I’m sure and was pleasantly surprised by the ending indication that there will be a sequel with older characters!
This novel was published by Tate Pubishing on October 29th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50
Links for more information:
Book Review: The Stillness of the Sky: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales) by Starla Huchton
The Stillness of the Sky: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales) by Starla Huchton
A Fairy Tale Adaptation Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (02/02/15)
Summary:
“There will always be opportunities to be better people, but it’s up to us to take those chances.” (Page 286).
What can we do to ensure that the world be a better place in 100 years? Starla Huchton, Miss America contestants and Jack from the Stillness in the Sky all think the answer is peace. Jack’s answer comes with magical consequences that bind her to fulfill this wish by using her newfound abilities as a powerful and talented bard. She was nothing more than a farmer’s daughter when she came across the three beans after all.
Keywords:
Fairy Tale Adaptation, Contemporary Fairy Tale, Magic, Family, Love, Romance, True Love, Souls, Strong Female
My Review:
I used to read Princess stories and odd fairy tales and have never found another book written like those until finding Starla Huchton’s Flipped Fairy Tales. I’m so delighted by Huchton’s writing style and quaint fairy tale adaptations. She is a wonderfully talented writer with an eye for re-imagining childhood favorites. Her style will grab you and plunk you down into a world that is familiar, yet unique. Huchton must have sat down one day and thought, what if? Not just thinking through the possibilities, Huchton interweaves Aesop’s Fables’s type morals and characters that are struck with such conviction, you have to believe them and believe in them.
It’s entirely obvious the themes and morals Huchton describes through Stillness in the Sky, but they are not overtly preachy. They come from a place of goodness and kindness and wishing to instill the same understanding of peace in all the characters and through them to the reader. Not as obvious is the fact that Jack is humble. That is one of the most unique and distracting traits in a character. How many people do you know that are truly humble? Jack isn’t just humble, though, she is kind and wishes to do good by the world.
This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. on Feburary 2nd, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75
Links for more information:
Guest Post by Kelly St. Clare — Reviews: The How, What, Why
You may remember Kelly St. Clare from a book review I did on her fantastic debut fantasy novel: Fantasy of Frost (The Tainted Accords Book 1). She is a wonderfully talented writer with many tricks up her sleeves when it comes to promoting her book and getting those much sought after reviews… Just check out her book’s Amazon page here where you can see that she already has 67 reviews with an average rating of 4.7/5.0 stars, but don’t take my word for it that she knows what she’s doing, just stay tuned for:
Reviews: The How, What, Why
Kelly St Clare (Author of The Tainted Accords)
As a self-published author who once wondered how on earth the writing and publishing world worked, imparting the tips and tricks I pick up along the way is a continual goal of mine. I detail these “trade secrets” in my blog series, Dear Aspiring Author.
Obtaining reviews is one of the most difficult and most important parts of publishing – Whether you are self-published or traditionally published. In an online world where books are flooding the market, reviews are a proven way to set yourself apart. But how do you even get your first review? Let alone fifty, a hundred, or a thousand!
This post focuses on how to get reviews, not how to get good reviews. If you want to get five star reviews, make sure your work is quality by having your manuscript edited and critiqued by beta-readers before you send it out for review. You have one shot to stand out in a readers mind. Don’t rush the job. Make sure the word is polished and done to the best of your ability. Small things like a copy edit, or a final read through before publication can really up your professionalism (and help the indie author reputation).
Before undertaking the momentous job of review “fishing”, it is necessary to understand why getting feedback is paramount.
Reviews achieve three major goals
– They give credibility to your work
– They provide a source of honest feedback to help improve future works.
– They improve your amazon ranking, helping to generate more sales.
I published my first novel, Fantasy of Frost in January 2015. In three months the title has generated 67 reviews on Amazon.com, with many other reviews spread across other amazon branches.
The First Few Reviews
How to get the ball rolling? Several sources I came across in research before publication recommended twenty reviews to achieve regular sales. I don’t categorically agree with this for a couple of reasons. For starters, some people love discovering new authors (yay for us), and don’t mind less. Also, reviews are a continual process. If you get twenty in January and none in February then from what I have observed, your ranking will slip and sales will go down. I will agree that twenty is a great start.
For a first time author there is no other way than to start at the bottom and claw your way to the top. Unfortunately in self-publishing you do not have access to the same network of resources available to those in traditional publishing.
You start with what you have got. Identify your network. If you are lucky you may know some people in the writing industry, but for most debut authors their network is family and friends. So get that ball rolling by politely hassling your family and friends for honest reviews.
I know *rolls eyes* reviews are supposed to be unbiased, but it’s a tough world out there for debut indie authors and this will kick start your sales. On a side note, I always disregard the first ten or so reviews of a book for this reason, but most won’t give it a thought. Also, once you get more ‘true’ reviews your book will settle into a more realistic star rating – protecting the reader.
Now you have a few reviews from your super helpful family, how do you get more?
This is where the hard work begins. Every new writer trials different platforms to help expand their network with authors, bloggers and readers, and to generate reviews – or they should. The platforms below are not the only ones I have tried, but they are where I have had the best results to date.
I haven’t found facebook reviewer sites effective in generating many reviews. I guess this is because the majority of the people joining these groups are authors looking for reviews – instead of readers wanting to review.
So why am I mentioning good old Facebook? Because I have found my author page here to be a great means of connecting with readers and to advertise incentives for leaving reviews. It is also a way you can periodically ask for reviews.
Remember, many people who love your book will never review. People have good intentions, but busy lives. Facebook is a way to keep the request in front of them, then one day they may see your post and have a spare minute or two to leave feedback.
Goodreads
In one word, invaluable. There is potential to meet so many like-minded people through this site. It is an excellent interface for setting up review exchanges with other authors, and generating a following. Some of the members have blogs, and post their reviews on their websites. The more eyes the better, right?
About half of my reviews are from GR (that’s what the cool kids call Goodreads). This is a combination of review exchanges, word of mouth, and readers offering to review in exchange for a free copy.
I’ve used the forums on here many times to advertise my free promo days, signed giveaways, $50 amazon vouchers, and requests for reviews. There are literally thousands of groups you can post on.
Newsletter
It’s funny. Although generating subscribers was mentioned in every book I read on marketing an e-book I never really believed it. I’ve grown up in the facebook and twitter era. These are my “go to” social media sites. But email…that’s how old people stay in touch, right?
As someone who was recently young and naive in this matter, let me now banish your own naive thoughts. Newsletters work!
Similar to facebook, you are able to directly contact your reader with review requests, competitions, and updates of your upcoming releases. But newsletters are more reliable than facebook, who are starting to cut likes on public pages and limit the audience receiving your updates, unless you boost your posts.
Several marketing sources advise not to put all your eggs in one social media basket and I agree whole-heartedly. You are in this for the long run. What if facebook loses popularity in twenty years? Having an email list provides security for the long-term.
Netgallery
I haven’t used this myself as I cannot justify the cost at this stage, but it crops up a fair amount in reading so I thought it best to explain. Netgallery is a professional reviewing site where you pay an annual membership fee. From speaking to other authors it seems like this source is largely utilised by traditional publishers. It does have the added benefit of providing a secure way to disperse MOBI, EPUB and PDF copies to reviewers.
Other platforms
– Contact bloggers through their website. Bear in mind bloggers sometimes get hundreds of requests per day. That means, despite their very best intentions to review the literary world, they physically cannot read everything sent their way. Out of around twenty reviewing blogs I approached, three got back to me, and one accepted. There is also usually a wait of months until you receive their feedback. One review is one review, I know, but the other avenues I’ve tried have been more fruitful and less taxful on my time.
– Book promotion sites. Many of these websites offer reviewing services. Some charge, some don’t. There is the same issue as with the review blogging websites. There are an overwhelming number of requests and the odds of getting your foot in the door is sub-zero low. I’ve applied to a few book promo sites, mostly out of interest, and have not heard back.
– Amazon top reviewers. You can check out their profiles and see if these people are accepting submissions. Again, I assume these people are swamped with books, but it can’t hurt to try.
I’ve used this term a couple of times throughout this blog and I truly think this is the key to generating your first fifty reviews.
I.N.C.E.N.T.I.V.E.
The best advice I have found to date went along the lines of; the more you give, the more people want to give back. This applies to every facet of book marketing; the networking, the garnering of reviews, and in keeping your audience long-term.
Combine this scenario where readers want to give back with the fact everyone loves to win, and you have a near irresistable situation for your fan base.
How to do it.
Firstly, leave the reader in no doubt that the surest way to thank you is by leaving a review. Then. Don’t go on about it. You don’t want to badger your readers all the time or they’ll leave. I have found if you offer incentives and occassionally mention reviews, the reader will make this connection regardless. They are smart people – they read books.
For example, I recently ran a giveaway for a signed copy of my book. All you had to do was like my facebook page and tag two friends on the post pinned to the top. The post was a pre-order link for my second book, Fantasy of Flight. As a result there was a boost in my pre-orders and I raised awareness of my sequel release, as intended. During this giveaway six readers reviewed, even though this was not part of the draw. A couple of these may have been random reviews, but this number was above average and I can only explain it with the mantra; the move you give, the more people want to give back.
There is a lot of room for creativity with these incentives and they do not have to cost you money – just time. As writers we should be good at this! You could release character interviews, or author interviews, pieces of writing, small amazon vouchers or audiobooks. The possibilities are endless.
For the first fifty reviews I received across amazon, I mainly used snippets of book two in The Tainted Accords. I released the first snippet at twenty reviews, the second at fifty reviews. Now, I have released a third for reaching fifty pre-orders of Fantasy of Flight, and will release a fourth before the novel is released. You get the idea.
I’ll let you in on another little secret of mine.
With KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) on amazon you get five free promtional days every 90 days. Firstly, use these. Secondly, time your giveaways for when you have a free promo day. I sold 2000 copies of Fantasy of Frost when I ran a free promotion parallel to a $50 amazon giftcard giveaway.
Are you thinking 2000 x $0 = $0?
Yes it does, but my daily sales afterward are now double, paying for the expense of the giftcard. Two weeks after the free promo I had gained nearly twenty reviews, and the novel was #3 in both two categories; epic fantasy and coming of age fantasy during the promotion – something I can now brag about to add credibility to the book.
None of my giveaways or promtions can be commended for as being THE reason for getting reviews. Rather, it is the accummulative effect of maintaining prominence in the minds of your readers, combining several review sources, and by giving as much as you can to your fan base. Reviews are crucial for sales and your continued ranking efforts. Do not sit back and wait for reviews, you have to seek them, offer incentive, and lobby the term on your social media platforms and newsletter periodically. Leave the reader with no doubt in their mind that the surest way to help you is to leave feedback. If you do this there may be overflow from various promos you run (as I detailed above).
Here are some other things I’ve found useful:
– Make it easy for people to review – have a link in your book, add links to your newsletters and posts on facebook.
– Leave a message in the back of your booking thanking the reader and asking for a review. I have also have a ‘How to leave a review’ page.
– Highlight bloggers who have reviewed you on your website or on facebook as thanks.
– Use free book promotion sites and other platforms to advertise your free promos and giveaways.
– Gift or give copies of your book to bloggers, authors and reviewers in exchange for an honest review.
– Exchange with other authors in a similar position to your own.
– Keep a list of the people who are reviewing your book and send a follow up email after a month. You are giving them your book, it’s not rude to prompt them for the expected time frame. This will also highlight those who you shouldn’t ask for review again (and those you should).
– If a person gave you a good review, ask if they are interested in reviewing your other works.
I’m learning more about writing, publishing and marketing every day and you can join me on this journey (and learn some tips and tricks in the process) by following my Dear Aspiring Author guest blog series on my website www.kellystclare.com.
You might also be interested in another of my blogs titled ‘On Writing Your Debut Book’.
I wish you all the best with your review seeking endeavours!
A massive thanks to Rachel at Rachel Author Barnard for having me,
Kelly St. Clare
Author Biography
When Kelly St Clare is not reading or writing, she is dreaming up a story in her head; the cause of many headaches for her friends and family, who have struggled to encourage her participation in normal activities – such as everyday life.
Books have always been magical and mysterious to her. One day she decided to start unravelling this mystery and began writing. Her aim: To write stories she would want to read.
A New Zealander in origin, Kelly currently resides in Australia with her soon-to-be husband.
Follow her via Newsletter at www.kellystclare.com, and find her on Facebook or Goodreads.
If you would like to read her coming-of-age epic fantasy novel, Fantasy of Frost, then you can view it here.
Other resources to keep up to date with marketing strategies:
Sell more Ebooks: How to increase sales, by Lucinda Crosby and Laura Dobbins (chapter three)
How to Get 63 Authentic Amazon Reviews in 3 Days or Less: How to Market Your Book, Sell More Books on Kindle, Become a Best Seller, by Bart Baggett
Self Publishing: How to Make Money Online by Selling Ebooks on Amazon, by Abraham Falls
Rachel Author Barnard 