Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Johnny Nothing by Ian Probert




“Great new kids book alert! My two are in hysterics reading Johnny Nothing by Ian Probert (and I am too).” Jane Bruton, Editor of Grazia

"Oh, Wow! Dark, sordid, grotesque and hilarious are only a few words I can conjure up to describe this hilarious book." Lizzie Baldwin, mylittlebookblog


Critics are comparing Ian Probert to Roald Dahl. And Johnny Nothing we have a modern successor to Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.


Johnny Nothing is best-selling author Ian Probert’s first ever children’s book – although adults are enjoying it too. The story of the poorest boy in the world and the nastiest mother in the universe, the book is earning rave reviews. Children and grown-ups are all laughing at this incredibly funny kids book.




Take a look for yourself:

http://geni.us/3oR8


To celebrate the paperback launch of Johnny Nothing we are offering a free Kindle copy of the book to the first 100 people who Tweet the following message:


@truth42 I’m reading Johnny Nothing by Ian Probert. http://geni.us/3oR8 #YA #Kindle #kidsbooks

The first ten readers who answer the following question will also receive a signed print of one of the book’s illustrations.

Q: What is the tattoo on Ben’s arm?

Send your answers to truth42@icloud.com






Author biography

Ian Probert has been scribbling down words ever since he learned to spell the phrase: 'Once upon a time...'. He is the author of Internet Spy, Rope Burns and a bunch of other titles. Internet Spy was a bestseller in the US and made into a TV film. Rope Burns is a book about why books shouldn't be written about boxing. Ian has also written things for a shed load of newspapers and magazines. When Ian was a student he used to write lots of letters to the bank manager.




EXCERPT


Bill had a shaven head and was wearing a blue tracksuit. He was almost seven feet tall and built like an outdoor toilet made of brick. Bill didn’t realise this but he was a distant descendent of Neanderthal Man. He had only one eyebrow – one long bushy eyebrow that reached right across his forehead. He looked like what you might get if you force fed a member of Oasis with a half-tonne black plastic sackful of steroids.
And if you were brave enough to be present when he took off his tracksuit you would discover that his back was so covered in hair that he was able part it with a comb. If Bill had had more of an interest in fashion, he might even have considered giving it a curly perm and perhaps a few extensions
On his right arm, Bill had a tattoo which simply read ‘Bill’. This was in case he woke up one morning and forgot who he was. This was actually less unlikely than you might imagine because standing next to him was his twin brother. His name was Ben and he was identical to Bill in every way except that the tattoo on his arm read ‘Bin’ (the tattooist was either South African or not a very good speller). He was wearing a red tracksuit.
Bill gave Mr. and Mrs. MacKenzie the tiniest of smiles and managed to grunt ‘hello’. Ben gave the couple exactly the same tiniest of smiles and also managed to grunt ‘hello’.
The two men were standing protectively close to Johnny. They were so large that in the confines of Johnny’s bedroom they looked like giants, which they were. They were so enormous that each of them had their own postcode. They were so gigantic that they had their passport photos taken by satellite. They were so humungous that you could spend all day thinking up rubbishy jokes about how big they were and never adequately describe just how indescribably, earth-shatteringly ENORMOUS they were. By no stretch of the imagination could you call them small (unless, of course, you were a lot bigger than them).
The pair of Goliaths were having to stoop slightly so as to avoid head-butting the ceiling, which actually even looked a little scared itself. They were a terrifying sight. Even scarier than a school trip to a Weight-Watcher’s nudist camp.
There was a long, pregnant silence in the room like this:....

To read more, see these links:


Amazon http://geni.us/3oR8

iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/johnny-nothing/id908777441?mt=11

Book promo http://youtu.be/xaWO4tR4oj0?list=UUzLRcpNMLRKKtJhes1s1C7w

Wordpress http://ianprobertbooks.wordpress.com

Website http://ianpro

bert.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/716683635030173/

Twitter @truth42





Saturday, January 17, 2015

Q&A Letter From An Aspiring Author

Dear Deirdra,
So I had some questions for you about publishing a book. I think sometime in the next three years I want to publish a book.
So where do I find an editor? Will I need to be self published? What will I be looking at spending for a small 100-500 book run? How do I get book stores interested in selling my book?


- Julia





Dear Julia,

There is a lot to cover here, so I'm just going to touch briefly on each one.

Beta Readers:
Before you find an editor, you need to find beta readers. These are people who read your book and give you feed back.

Editing:
After you have worked your book to death with your beta readers, and its as good as you can get it, then you can find an editor at www.EdenLiterary.com or another service company.
At Eden Literary, you have different editors to choose from and they will edit the first ten pages for free, so you can pick the editor and editing style you like the best

After your editing is done, you need to decide if you want to go ebook, print, or both
Most authors go ebook only to start with because its SOOO much cheaper. If the ebook does well, then they go print. Of course, if you do ebook only, you can't get into bookstores.


Formatting:
After your editing is done, then you need to format. Some authors do it on their own (especially if they have a professional program like InDesign.) Formatting usually cost around $120 per format for most novels, but can go up depending on graphics and type of book. (ebook and print are formatted differently.)
A lot of authors find it best to hire out the formatting as it can be frustrating, time consuming, and if not done right, look unprofessional.


Cover Design:
You've got to have a great cover.
If you have something very custom (like hiring and artist to do a painting) It could run up to $1,800 or more.
BUT most of our artist at Eden Literary don't charge more than $300 -$500 for custom work.


Stock art is a cheaper way to go. It's less expensive and can still be very customized. At Eden Literary covers usually are about $75 for ebook or $120 for print (front, back, spine, plus you get the ebook cover free.)


Printing:
Your book, for a standard novel length, would cost around $3-$7 per book to print paper backs, depending on how many you printed.
There are print on demand places (like CreateSpace) that have really worked out for authors, so they don't have to dump thousands into printing cost.
POD (print on demand) means you can print as the books are ordered, or you can order 20-50 books on your own for your distributor and just pay for what you need.


Distribution:
If you want to get into book stores, you need to impress a distributor. The distributor gets your books into stores. You can also distribute online through Amazon or even places like Etsy. Just get creative, and get the book out wherever you can.


Marketing:
This is where things get complicated, and you can spend nothing in advertising with social media free sites, or you can spend millions.
My book manager is going to start taking a few more clients on a subscription basis. By subscription, I mean, if you want to pay $50 a month, $100 a month, or thousands of dollars a month, she has a marketing program to fit the budget. She's worked on marketing for large companies like Brown-Foreman, so she really knows what she's doing.




Monday, January 12, 2015

Werewolf Academy Book 5 GIVEAWAY by Cheree Alsop

Please follow and leave a comment with your email for a chance to win a copy of
Werewolf Academy Book 5 by Cheree Alsop





When a human appears at the gates pleading for Alex’s help, he is more than ready to leave the Academy for a chance to cope with his guilt and heartache. Upon finding that Greyton is being decimated by gangs, Alex turns into the city’s vigilante, rescuing its citizens and returning the streets to those who learn to look to him for protection.
But when Drogan turns the tables, Alex is forced to choose to between the humans he has protected with his life, and the girl who holds his heart.




My Social Media Links:






Saturday, January 10, 2015

Free Book- Taking Back Your Life: Learning to Overcome Obstacles to Happiness by David William Dolberg

For those of us who are Christians, we have often told stories and sung songs about the "Twelve Days of Christmas."  I've given some thought to how I can reach out and give a gift to many people this holiday season, regardless of what holidays they choose to celebrate.  I believe in the human spirit and its ability to triumph over even the most formidable of challenges.  In order to active that strength within us, we have to choose our way to triumph.  

As many of you have noticed, I am an author.  I'm still getting used to this idea, since I only think of myself as an artist, here to share beauty with the world.  There is also a beauty inside of you, just as there is within us all.  I am including a promo code below, used to download a free copy of my ebook as your gift from me this holiday.  It is about finding hope, strength, and a clarity-- pushing away dark clouds and seeing the light that has been there all along.  You can use the code below to download a copy direct from my publisher

I wish each of you the happiest of holidays.  Although I am certainly not perfect, nor is my life, I can say that I finally know who I am and what I am worth.  Years ago, I would have called anyone crazy who thought I would ever think that, let alone be sharing it with thousands of others.  You deserve to see yourself clearly, as a person of worth, as someone capable of change, capable of meaningful accomplishments.  You deserve to see yourself as a person who can overcome, and not just survive. Even if you are the most skeptical of skeptics (as most certainly I was about my life), I challenge you right here, right now, to read about the possibility of seeing yourself, others, and the world differently.  The code entitles you to a free copy to read; what have you got to lose?

I hope that as you take the time to read and understand, that you will pass along the lessons you learn, feelings you experience, and the love you have in your heart.  When we uplift one another, the whole world benefits.  If you are grateful for this gift, I only ask that you look at all the good people in your own life, and thank them for the goodness they have each bestowed upon you.  We all have so much to be grateful for, even if we may not have all of what we need or want.  It's still important to recognize the ways we are blessed.  

Merry Christmas, happiest of holidays, and may this new year be the one where you see the great person in you more clearly than ever!

Most sincerely, 
David William Dolberg
Author of Taking Back Your Life: Learning to Overcome Obstacles to Happiness

PROMO CODE: 12DaysofChristmas

NOTE: Some people have noticed that Kindle (Mobi version) does not automatically recognize the book file once downloaded onto a phone.  You can plug your phone into a computer and manually add the book file into your folder on your phone called Kindle (once the app is installed) and the book should appear on your library after that.  Otherwise, there are apps available to open the other various versions.  

Thursday, January 8, 2015

BETWEEN NOW AND NEVER by Author Laura Johnston



Book Description:
A convict’s daughter should never fall for an FBI agent’s son, certainly not a teenager like Julianna Schultz who is furious over her mother’s incarceration and the injustice of it all. But that’s exactly what seventeen-year-old Julianna finds herself doing when Cody Rush, the cocky son of the FBI agent who put her mom behind bars, moves into her hometown of Gilbert, Arizona.
Cody Rush—studious, principled, athletic, good looking and blond to boot—is everything Julianna hates, or so she thinks. Yet a series of ill-fated events one night brings them dangerously close, entangling the futures of two people who were never meant to be.

----

Can be purchased here:
AMAZON:

BARNES AND NOBLE:

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING:

BOOKS-A-MILLION:

eBOOKS:

KOBO BOOKS:


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