Two Reviews– More Coming and Phooey on Michael Moore

This has been a strange week. Last Thursday we set up at the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA - HERE)  convention at The Oakland Convention Center. We were, to say the least, intimidated. Our little publishing company, Windsor Hill Publishing, set up next to some of the big boys (Penguin, Xerox and its Espresso printer, and numerous smaller publishing houses and groups). We were pumped. It looked good and promising, we were ready to learn and take orders.

Unfortunately it fissiled. All the hype and fear foisted on downtown Oakland by the demonstrators turned people away, almost no one showed up to walk the aisles and look at the efforts of thousands of authors and publishers. To say these protestors have the interests of the 99% is just baloney. Phooey on them and their ilk. Michael Moore spoke to both the rabble and then eventually to us. He seems to think that Amazon is the enemy, when called out on this by some in our audience, he backed and filled since his own work is on Amazon.

For most of us Amazon (and other ebook outlets such as Barnes and Noble) is our only access to millions of potential customers. Only Amazon has opened their arms to our efforts. So again I say to Michael Moore, phooey and shame on you!

But we did meet some wonderful people and commiserated our plight in this difficult world of marketing our hard work. We traded books and stories. We even began to plot how we can move the ball as a small group of independent East Bay writers. Maybe a joint book signing, maybe take it on the road, rent a hall, invite friends, have a party. More later as we try to pull this together. BTW our Group 15 table mates included Kaye Hall and her dog Julot (buy her wonderful children’s book Stop and Stay Put– go HERE), Herman Rarebell was there, drummer with the Scorpions – yes that Scorpions, wonderful sense of humor, see his biography HERE -  and a lovely lady, Anita Venezia. Her name is just right for her debut novel Crosswinds at Campo Carcasso, Italian through and through, go HERE for the review. 

I was also fortunate to have posted in the current issue of Walnut Creek Magazine (November/December 2011) an excellent review of Elk River by Peggy Spear. Thanks Peggy for the kind words, and yes there is more to life than baseball. This review was on the heels of another excellent review of Elk River by Readers Favorite – see HERE. The novel is getting some good press and the story is a strong one. It is edgy young adult to adult and deals with some strong issues such as death, responsibility, growing up, and a relationship that is forbidden. I recommend the book to all. Get it HERE as an ebook , the paper version can be ordered through our publishing house at windsorhillpub@LMI.net. Or leave a comment and email below and we will find you.

I also was interviewed on WPBM in Traverse City on October 18^th, it went very well. For those in Traverse City, Michigan the book is available at Horizon Books. They keep promising me that the interview will be posted on their website Writers Minute; I will let you know when.

Toulouse 4 Death is in the final edit phase, Dennis DeRose is doing a final page by page review and it will be back to me very soon, he promises. And Dennis keeps his promises. I am pushing to get the ebook on line by the end of the month, paper soon after. It is a great story and just adds to the Sharon O’Mara case files. This is our third together. She is becoming my second favorite red head.

Here is the front and back cover, let me know what you think.

Toulouse 4 Death

We are also working on the book trailers; it may be ready for next week’s blog.

More later . . . .