"The Kitchen House" Giveaway

TNBBC and author Kathleen Grissom are pleased to announce The Kitchen House giveaway!!

Kathleen, a fellow book lover (and book sniffer!) has agreed to participate in a TNBBC group read of her novel in January!

Here's a little peek: (description from Goodreads)

"Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.

Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail."

We are offering 5 copies of the her novel.

The giveaway will end December 21st.

Here's how to enter:

1- You must post a comment to this thread telling us why you want to read The Kitchen House. Please include a way for us to contact you if you win.

2- You must agree to participate in a group read book discussion that will run during the month of January over at TNBBC on Goodreads. Kathleen has agreed to participate in the discussion for and will be available to answer any questions you may have for her.

3 - The contest is for US / Canada residents only. Sorry guys - we are at the mercy of Simon and Schuster!

The winners will be hand picked by the author herself,

and the winners will be named here on December 22nd.

Good luck everyone!

Review: Scars on the Face of God

Read 12/3/10 - 12/08/10
Stars: 4 - Strongly Recommended
Pgs:253

I have wanted to read this book for a long, long time. I spent uncountable hours searching bookstore shelves, library sales, used book sales... all for nothing. It seemed like this book and I were just not meant to be.

Until, on a whim, I reached out to it's author and asked for a copy to review here on the blog. A huge thank you must go out to C.G. Bauer for suppling me with a copy of his elusive novel!

Initally set in Pennsylvania at the turn of the century, two young boys from the local orphanage are out in the early morning collecting frozen piles of dog crap (oh yes, they were) when they spy a woman carrying a small , squirming bundle across an enclosed bridge. As they watch, the woman throws the bundle into the river, followed by a gunshot. One of the boys, Johnny, dives in after the drowning baby, and believing he has retrieved it, carries it back to the shore, where he hands it over to his friend. As they unwrap the bundle.... They realize that what they had just witnessed has happened before - many many times before.

Foward 50+ years in the same town, and Johnny, known to most as "Wump", finds himself reliving the horror of that morning all over again when tiny baby skeletons are found floating in the sewer-water that has suddenly flowed into a hole that's been dug out for the foundation of a new restaurant.

In the midst of this, the town acquires a new priest, Father Duncan. He and Wump, along with two disabled boys, Leo - a mentally handicapped boy - and his blind, mute, wheelchair-ridden best friend Raymond, launch their own personal investigation into the town's deep dark secret regarding the dead babies, and the mysterious Devil Bible which they find in the possesion of one of the nun's in the orphanage.

Scars on the Face of God is a slow, southern-style gothic tale that manages to creep and crawl deep under your skin. Author C.G. Bauer tears religion apart and attempts to put it back together using the conflicting beliefs of Wump and Father Duncan - two men with very different views on God, and God's part in creation and the suffering of human kind.

Creating characters with incredibly flawed personalities, Bauer used their damaged pasts to show why each man felt the way they did about the Catholic Church. Father Duncan, an ex-professional baseball player, heard the call to religion and puts his faith unquestionably in God and the church. Wump, on the other hand, lived life according the rules of the church and lost his faith after watching his son needlessly suffer and die of Lukemia.

A powerfully chilling novel of what the power of religion can do to a small, poor town. And what faith, or the lack thereof, can do to each of it's inhabitants.

I thoroughly lost myself in this novel, and I strongly urge you to do the same!

Happy One Year Blogoversary!

It was exactly one year ago today that I took a friend's advice and expanded the reach of my TNBBC Goodreads group by creating this blog! I suppose, in hindsight, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought this was going to be a place to post reviews, interviews with authors and host giveaways when I could get them.

But what I got out of it was so much more! I began to build a more supportive and interactive relationship with authors and publishers, which was wonderful in and of itself. But the fellow bloggers (and facebookers and tweeters - oh my!) - I quickly found myself wondering how I managed to moderate the TNBBC Goodreads group for two whole years before finding out about this amazing family of warm and welcoming literary bloggers!

I owe a huge thank you to all of the bloggers out there who took the time to explain the lay of the land, leave comments on my amateur site, and follow my pursuit for the next best book!

I also want to thank all of the authors and publishers who humor little ole me and feed my literary obsession by sending me review copies, allowing themselves to be interviewed, freeing up copies for giveaways, and joining us at TNBBC on Goodreads for reader/author discussions.

Without you all.....

This blog, TNBBC, and I would be nothing!

Here's to another year of fun, fantastic reading, reviewing, interviewing, and interaction with all of you!

"Lily of the Nile" Giveaway

Tis the season ...

For another TNBBC giveaway!

Stephanie Dray appeared with a guest post here on the blog last week to promote her new novel Lily of the Nile. The novel, which will be released in January 2011, is a story about the daughter of Cleopatra:

"Heiress of one empire and prisoner of another, it is up to the daughter of Cleopatra to save her brothers and reclaim what is rightfully hers...

To Isis worshippers, Princess Selene and her twin brother Helios embody the divine celestial pair who will bring about a Golden Age. But when Selene's parents are vanquished by Rome, her auspicious birth becomes a curse. Trapped in an empire that reviles her heritage and suspects her faith, the young messianic princess struggles for survival in a Roman court of intrigue. She can't hide the hieroglyphics that carve themselves into her hands, nor can she stop the emperor from using her powers for his own ends. But faced with a new and ruthless Caesar who is obsessed with having a Cleopatra of his very own, Selene is determined to resurrect her mother's dreams. Can she succeed where her mother failed? And what will it cost her in a political game where the only rule is win-or die?" (description from Goodreads)

I am giving away one copy internationally -

Contest will end on

Saturday December 11th.

Here's how to enter:

1 - Leave a comment here telling me why you would like to win a copy of this book. The winner will be chosen randomly upon the close of the contest.

2 - Please do not enter if you have won a book from this blog in the last 3 months to give some of the other followers an opportunity to win.

3 - This contest is international, you must leave a way for me to contact you in the event that you are chosen to win. If I have no way to notify you that you've won, you're entry will be discounted.

Good luck!

Review: Duncan's Diary - Birth of a Serial Killer

Read 11/26/10 - 12/2/10

4 Stars: Strongly Recommended

Pgs:263

This book is not for the weak-stomached. Or for those who are easily upset by graphic violent sex. Thought I would clear that up right away.

Now, for those of you can handle it - Holy F@#k! Are you in a for ride with this one!

The book centers around Duncan as he struggles to find an outlet for his feelings of hate and rage that stem from his impending divorce. According to our psychotic narrator, his wife is ruining his life by spreading horrible lies about to him to everyone they know and anyone who will listen. Normally a peaceable, non-confrontational guy, Duncan beings to develop strong violent emotions that are in need of release.

His best friend suggested a vacation to the Dominican Republic where he can relax and forget about all of his problems. So Duncan took his advice and went. While there, he was immediately taken with this lovely young girl who allowed herself to be willingly, violently, used and abused - which unlocked new and exciting feelings in Duncan.

Returning home, Duncan was desperate to experience those feelings again. We find ourselves standing by and watching as Duncan recounts the following months of preparation, contemplation, and kidnapping - and the horrible, twisted ways in which he releases his pent up anger and frustrations.

It's an all-too-easily-imaginable look at the birth of a serial killer. At what might finally cause someone to break down and do the unthinkable with no sense of remorse, no guilt, and no thought other than "when can I do this again"? At what the hunt for a victim might be like. At the careless and reckless behavior a person may exhibit just for the thrill of the kill. And also, at all the hard work and effort that goes into attempting to publicly fit in - to avoid detection, to ride right under the radar, so they continue to kill again and again.

Here is a short example of the 'other' side of our killer - where he compares his evolution into a serial killer as the beautiful transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.

Totally cringe-worthy, complete with blood and guts, Duncan's Diary had me by the throat time and time again. If this were a movie, I would have been watching most of it through my fingers. It even invaded my dreams at night in strange and unwelcome ways.

Of course, reading this book had me concerned for the mental status of the author. How the hell does one come up with the things I read in this book? We're talking either one heck of a researcher, or one heck of a whacko! Then again, should I be taking a look at my mental status for reading it and enjoying it?

I easily overlooked the grammatical errors (of which there were quite a few) and quickly lost myself in the sick and dark world Christopher Payne created. For those of you who enjoyed the Dexter series, or books like The Seven Days of Peter Crumb and The End of Alice, do yourself a favor and take a crack at this one!

What Can a Book Review Do For a Book, You Ask?

NBCC board member and 2009 criticism finalist Stephen Burt answers that question:

Stephen Burt: Jeff, you asked what reviews can do…or what critics can do…

Jeffery Shott: Yes, what can a book review do for a book?

Stephen: What can a book review do for a book? [It can] cause others to pay attention to it. Cause others to be interested in it. Describe it accurately. Do justice to it. Indicate what, if anything, makes the book stand out, seem original or memorable, or, indeed, accurate, or [what makes it] sound good. Describe the book as a work of art rather than as simply a representation. Say, and I’m going to misquote the philosopher Arthur Danto here, what is in the book that is not reducible to its content. Cause others to talk about the book. Indicate what about the book is deeply flawed so that artists and readers with interests similar to the author of the book will do better next time. Engage in a public dialogue with the author herself about her new book and her prior books and, perhaps, her next book. Indicate, as in the case of James Wood and hysterical realism, what is, for good or for ill, and it often is for ill, typical or representative about a book, either of kinds of books, or of the age, or the culture that the book comes from. Differentiate the book from other books that seem similar. Indicate that the books has some kind of internal variety or is divided within itself in a way that other readers of the book, [if it] is widely reviewed, haven’t noticed. Bring, and this is my very favorite thing to try to do as a reviewer, bring to the attention of other readers a book, an author, or a work, that doesn’t seem to have been noticed at all, and that deserves attention.

Jeffery: (Pause) Yeah. (As in: what more can anyone say about that? Pause. Then strong applause).

This information was previously published here, and can be heard by listening to the podcast linked on that site.

What I Want To Know

Welcome to TNBBC's "What I Want To Know" - a mini series of sorts that will hopefully answer some of the questions and quiet some of the concerns I know fellow bloggers, authors, and publishers have regarding how to choose a reviewer or book to review, review etiquette, how to pitch and be pitched.. among other things.

Last week, We heard from the authors and publishers on how they felt when book bloggers refused to review a book that was self published or published by an independent publisher. So you know what's coming... I turned it back around to the bloggers and want to know

What's your opinion of self published or independent authors/publishers?

Here's what they had to say:

"At one point in time EVERYONE was an indie author. Stephen King was not always Stephen King. He used to be some random guy with a story who wrote it down and lucked out. The only difference now is the medium in which to make your product available.

In 1973 when Carrie was first published there was no such thing as the Kindle or Nook. You had the big 6 and you had to work at getting noticed. Today however is a self-made market. People can write and sell their own work. Sometimes you will have brilliantness and sometimes you will have a flop, in the end that is no different than what you can picked up printed off the shelves, and as for the Indie Publishing Houses.. well, they are just listening to the readers and forming their decisions based on their opinions versus a 6 figure copy editors." - Misty Baker, KindleObsessed.Com

"I think it’s a very important development in book publishing. Even the physical book itself may be left behind. This morning I caught a story that Rambo-author David Morrell has released a title exclusively to Kindle. Online publishing presents a fantastic opportunity to writers looking to go it alone and I am curious to see how this will develop further.

There have been some great success stories where self-published authors are concerned. Eoin Colfer put his own money into releasing the first Artemis Fowl novel. Now he has two book franchises for children in the shops, a sequel to Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a television series based on his Half-Moon Investigations series and a comic book adaptation of Artemis Fowl. David Moody, a British horror writer whose novel Hater is to be adapted for the cinema by Guillermo del Toro I believe, had previously attempted a writing career working with a publishing house. He apparently didn’t enjoy the experience, went away for a few years and then returned with this blistering self-published novel that managed to be equal parts horrific and quite gripping.

I think control over the final product is very important for a lot of writers and if the necessary capital is a viable option, those who would like to get a foothold in the book market, should definitely explore options in independent publishing." - Emmett O'Cuana, ABookADayTillICanStay.wordpress.com

" Most of the pitches I get are from self-published books. If it sounds interesting, I'll accept." - Kelly Hager, KellyVision.wordpress.com



"It is hard for me to have an opinion as I haven't had much experience with them. At the Broke and the Bookish, when we first started out, said yes to a bunch of self published books and for the most part they were just utter trash. I should have known by the emails they sent me but we were so eager to review books that we realized too late. I've heard other people, such as yourself, have really great success with indie authors & pubs so I'd be more willing to build relationships with them." - Jamie Bennett, PerpetualPageTurner.blogspot.com

As I mentioned last week, indies are very near and dear to my heart. It upsets me greatly when reviewers turn up their nose at a book or author simply because they are self or independently published.

A good percentage of your self published authors CHOSE to be self published. They believed in the novel they wrote, they wanted to remain in complete control of it's content and packaging, and they invested their own money into it's production. The lack of a paid editor may cause the books to have slight grammatical errors, and the lack of a paid illustrator may leave the cover art wanting, but that doesn't make it an undeserving read.

Independent publishers and small press companies like Two Dollar Radio and GrayWolf Press continually amaze me with the novels they release. Most of my 5-star, "Next Best Book", favorite reads of 2010 were indies!

If you are declining the opportunity to review an indie, simply because it is an indie, you are really missing out on some breathtaking, heart stopping, gut wrenching novels. Do your research - check out the publisher, read the authors website, determine if the storyline or genre match your tastes - and have an open mind.

And, if I can't convince you to give them a shot, when you decline... will you at least send them my way??

What did you think?

Was this post helpful and insightful? Was there anything here that shocked you? What interactions have you had with publishers or authors that support or negate what you read here?

Next week, we head back to the authors and publishers one last time to find out how they handle requests for reviews from bloggers. Be sure to check back on Tuesday!

In Which a Serial Killer Compares Himself To a Butterfly

Here's a peek inside my current read:

“I was confused and unsure of what I was becoming. I wondered in half conscious, half subconscious thought if this is how a caterpillar must feel. It wraps itself tightly into a cocoon and drifts off to sleep, not fully aware that when it awakens it will be to an entirely new world. It’s life will have forever changed. How can you begin to understand with a rational mind the transformation of turning into a creature that can fly after having a simple relaxing slumber? It’s like waking up as if you’ve just been born as a new being who can now, and forever will, see the world from an entirely new perspective. I felt as if this would be my last night as a caterpillar. Tomorrow would be the awakening of a butterfly that would have the abilities, both mental and physical, to conquer this world.”

- Duncan’s Diary - Birth of a Serial Killer by Christopher C. Payne

Personalize Your Scourge

Another bookish holiday gift! This one releases in eBook format Monday 11/29. According to it's author, David Burton, the print version of Scourge should be available just in time for Christmas!



Here's a brief summary:

Two dads, five siblings, and goggles!

Grim Doyle has always known his life was not exactly "normal", and things gets even more curious when he discovers a set of stones that sweep him and his family to the fantasy, steampunk world of Verne - a place they had escaped from years ago. Now that they've returned, Grim and his siblings hide from the evil Lord Victor and his minions. And while learning about Jinns, Mystics, and the power of absinth they try to discover who is trying to kill them with the deadly Scourge.

Need a little more help deciding? Take a peek at the book trailer:



Still not sure? Really? Ok, there is one last thing - David Burton is currently offering a special personalized version of this novel if you purchase it from his website. It will come with an autographed dedication page and a fun feature where he will alter the name of a minor character to the name of the purchaser.

What else are you waiting for? Happy book buying everyone!

Let the Holiday Book Shopping Begin!

I hate the hustle and bustle and early morning beat down of Black Friday. I dislike spending hours upon hours running from one shopping center to another trying to scratch another item off the christmas lists. I am not much of an online shopper either. So each year, I am amazed that I manage to get any shopping done at all!!

I do, however, try to take advantage of every great deal that passes by me. Like this one:

Author Justin Kramon is hosting a great holiday sale on his website via The Open Book, an independent bookseller located in Long Island, NY, for his novel Finny. You can buy a personalized signed and gift-wrapped copy of his novel for for $17.00 (the price includes shipping). One dollar from every order will be donated to feedingamerica.org - a charity that feeds hungry children all around the US.

How can you say no to that?

Happy Book Shopping, everyone!

Review: Autumn

Read 11/24/10 - 11/15/10

5 Stars - Highly Recommended / The Next Best Book

Pgs:308

I am a huge fan of David Moody. He knocked my socks off back in September with his Hater series - in which normally rational people suddenly and violently turned against one another in an attempt to survive from an irrational fear of hate. (I am still impatiently awaiting the release of the final book for the trilogy!)

Flattered by the embarrassing amount of love I was gushing on him (or so I assume!) he offered to send me a copy of the first novel in his zombie series - Autumn. This novel was originally released as a free online download and sold so well (and landed Moody a movie adaptation) that it is now being rereleased in print. Autumn dropped this October, and the remaining novels will be available in 3 month increments.

Without ever using the "Z" word, David Moody manages to recreate the walking dead apocalypse. A unnamed virus suddenly and swiftly suffocates and kills 99% of the population. A handful of people, seemingly immune to the deadly virus and displaying various signs of shock and disbelief, slowly congregate to the town's community center building. The dead all lie where they fell, mouths open, stained in blood, looks of absolutely horror and pain frozen on their face.

As the first few days pass, and the survivors decide what they should do, a third of the dead begin to rise. At first unresponsive and harmless, little by little they regain their most basic senses - sight and hearing - and frighten three of our survivors into action.

I practically read this book in one sitting. Fighting off a miserable head cold on our snowy, slushy, dark and gloomy Thanksgiving day, I cocooned myself in a blanket on the couch and got completely lost in this eerie and awful world that Moody had created. Had the real world come to a similar end in those hours while I was reading his novel, I would not have been surprised. The books setting and the weather outside my living room window were just too perfectly matched!

While just about anyone can guess what the final outcome will be in a genre that tends to leave little room for imagination, Moody managed to keep me turning the pages, cringing inwardly as he repetitively placed the characters in situations that had me thinking to myself "oh no, I wouldn't do that if I was you."

I mean, sure. There are twenty-something adults crammed together into a decrepit and not-very-well-stocked one floor building in the heart of the city, surrounded by thousands of rotting dead bodies that slowly begin to stand up and move around. And sure. So a few of those people are going to think that ditching the city for the fresher, more isolated parts of the country might be the right thing to do. And yeah. That causes some tension within the group. But really, people? Three of you, running away to an isolated farmhouse, where you are miles from any other form of protection? Do you really think that is a wise choice?

The rest of the novel had me sitting on the edge of my seat, anxious to see what was going to happen to our little group of survivors. And now, it would appear that I will be impatiently awaiting the rest of the novels in this series as well!

Happy Evolution Day - From Stephanie Dray

Yes. I know. Today is known to most of us as Thanksgiving Day! But did you also know that yesterday was the anniversary of the first publication of Charles Darwin's book The Origin of the Species? I apologize for being a day behind - this holiday cold is kicking my butt!

Today, I am hosting Stephanie Dray - author of a forthcoming trilogy of historical fiction novels set in the Augustan Age, (starting with Lily of the Nile: A Novel of Cleopatra's Daughter) - on the blog, where she shares with us an evolution all of her own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

11.24.10
Today is Evolution Day, but I won’t be reflecting upon the origin of species. Instead, I shall discuss the concept of evolution in the context of my debut novel, Lily of the Nile.

I’m often asked what inspired me to write about Cleopatra’s daughter and the easy answer is that her story moved me. As a little girl, Selene suffered through the suicide of her parents and the murder of her brothers. She marched through Rome as a chained prisoner and endured the humiliation intended for her mother. But in the end, this little girl evolved from a humiliated captive into the most powerful client queen in the Roman Empire.

Now that was an evolution.

I tried to imagine the strength of character Selene, the lone survivor of the Ptolemaic dynasty, must have possessed to forge an alliance with Augustus, the same man who destroyed her family. It would be easy to think that her captors had brainwashed her to disdain her mother and forget her siblings--but the historical evidence of her reign tells us she never forgot her past and found ways to honor her family and her goddess without falling afoul of Augustus.

Selene’s life is a bittersweet story of triumph over tragedy and her astonishing transformation can be an inspiration to us all. She made the ideal heroine because good fiction should always have a character who is evolving. The inner journey is just as important, perhaps even more important, than the external plot.

People evolve, but societies evolve and change too. I was drawn to write about this period of history because it was a turning point for the whole of Western civilization.

Though students of the classics have been taught for years that Rome treated its women better than most other cultures in the ancient world, this is true only in the aggregate. The best place to be born a woman in the ancient world was undoubtedly Ptolemaic Egypt where Selene was born and raised. Certainly, Selene grew up with stories of her ancestresses, powerful Ptolemaic queens who wielded considerable power and influence, though all of them would be eclipsed by Selene’s mother, Cleopatra VII. It was not only the royal women whose status was elevated; Egyptian women had significant legal rights. Female scholars are known to have studied at the Musaeum in Alexandria (which included the Great Library). Some exceptional women in ancient Egypt enjoyed careers as scribes and physicians. There in Cleopatra’s Alexandria, Egyptian liberality met with the flowering of Hellenism under the growing influence of female-centric Isis worship to expand opportunities for women.

As a young girl, Selene might have imagined what that opportunity meant for her, only to watch the Romans snatch it away. It is difficult to guess how the world might be different if Cleopatra and Antony had won the war against Octavian, but they are almost certain not to have instituted the “back to family values” propaganda campaign that Augustus used to transform Western culture. In short, it was from this crucial period of time that we evolved--or perhaps devolved--to embrace many of the misogynistic attitudes still with us today.

All of this should not be taken to mean that Lily of the Nile is some sort of scholarly exploration. In my own evolution as a writer, I’ve come to embrace that my first duty is to write a story that will entertain you, move you, and stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page. Thanks for having me here today and Happy Evolution Day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before she wrote novels, Stephanie was a lawyer, a game designer, and a teacher. Now she uses the transformative power of magic realism to illuminate the stories of women in history and inspire the young women of today. She remains fascinated by all things Roman or Egyptian and has–to the consternation of her devoted husband–collected a house full of cats and ancient artifacts.

She is currently sponsoring the Cleopatra Literary Contest for Young Women, the deadline for which is March 1, 2011, but join her newsletter now for updates and a chance to win a free copy of Lily of the Nile and additional prizes.

We will be hosting a giveaway here at TNBBC for Lily of the Nile sometime at the end of December - so keep your eyes peeled!

I want to thank Stephanie for preparing this post, and wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving full of turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy!

What I Want To Know

Welcome to TNBBC's "What I Want To Know" - a mini series of sorts that will hopefully answer some of the questions and quiet some of the concerns I know fellow bloggers, authors, and publishers have regarding how to choose a reviewer or book to review, review etiquette, how to pitch and be pitched.. among other things.

Last week, the bloggers shared their views on writing negative reviews. The ball is now back in the Author and Publisher's court and I want to know:

What is your opinion on bloggers/reviewers who refuse to accept review copies from self published or independent authors/publishers?

Here is what they had to say:

"Luckily, in our experience, I don’t think we’ve ever had a reviewer refuse to accept a review copy from us because we’re an independent press. (Who doesn’t love free books?!) We certainly understand if a reviewer doesn’t have time in their reading/reviewing schedule to add another title, or they don’t think their readership is a good fit for the book in question. But I certainly hope reviewers aren’t turning away publishers just because they’re an independent press." - Marisa, Graywolfpress

"The number of books being self-published/indie-published is increasing dramatically due to e-publishing/POD. Unless the self-published/indie-published book comes with a glowing recommendation or blurb from a well-known author/authority, I understand that bloggers/reviewers need to institute policies like this in order to sift through the slush. A book published by a well-known publisher means that there are dozens of people who have vouched for the book's quality. I've only self-published small comics and parodies (via Scribd), and would frankly be shocked if anyone actually took the time to review them." - Andrew Shaffer, HuffPost columnist and author of GREAT PHILOSOPHERS WHO FAILED AT LOVE (Harper Perennial, Jan '11)

"They are out of touch with the changing world of publishing, especially when it comes to small or independent presses. There are, sadly, many self-published books that are poorly written and edited, but on the other hand, some have more attention to detail than their big publisher counterparts. This year's Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, Tinkers, was published by tiny Bellevue Literary Press and had not been reviewed by many of the big magazines and only sold a couple thousand copies. Now it's a bestseller and the author has a three book deal with a major publisher. Don't overlook small books from small presses -- their are treasures to be found." - Collin Kelley, Poet, journalist, social media consultant, author of Conquering Venus

"We're an independent publisher so, we're disappointed, but otherwise no opinion. No time to do anything else but move along." - VagabondagePress, Arts/Lit Online 'Zine The Battered Suitcase

" The bigger the reviewer is, the harder it is to reach them with something, and I sort of understand that. Granting that it's the small publisher that is most in need of the publicity a major review can bring, there's a law of averages in play in terms of quality. But if you're a small blogger/reviewer blanket-declining indies and self-published books? Those are what you SHOULD be looking at.

I'm reminded of a story. In college a friend and I were interviewing to host a show on our college radio station. When the obvious question-- what would we play-- came up I answered with a list of the music I usually listened to. This was the wrong answer. The station played small indie rock, not U2 and Springsteen. The question wasn't even whether those bands were any good (although I suspect the station manager's answer to that would have been "no") but why I would want to play something that you could hear on any other station? For some bands college radio was their only exposure.

I feel the same way about reviewers. I can go anywhere to read a review of, say, Jonathan Franzen's latest book. Give me something I can't read about anywhere else.
- " - Gene Doucette, author of Immortal

I love Gene's final sentence. "Give me something I can't read about anywhere else"! Why read and review the same 50 books that everyone else is reading and reviewing? I want to read reviews on great books that I might never have heard of. I want to expose myself to those amazing unknowns and then spread the word to anyone who will listen!

I know this has been a topic of discussion on blogs and other social forums before, and I really wanted to address it and hear what the indies thought - how do they feel when they see review policies that say "no self-published or independent" books, or "all books released independently have grammar and spelling errors, poor content", etc.

Most of you know me well enough by now. I will read just about anything that comes my way. If the summary sounds interesting, and the book is pitched well, sign me up, I'm game! I am always on the look out for that next best book, and you never know who will write or publish it!

I say - give the little guys a chance! Blockbusters and award winners are not the only books out there worth reading!

What did you think?

Was this post helpful and insightful? Was there anything here that shocked you? What experiences have you had with independent publishers or self-published authors that support or negate what you read here?

Next week, it's back to the bloggers to find out what their opinions are on self-published and independent authors/publishers. Be sure to check it out!

Note: We are quickly closing in on the end of the current "What I Want To Know" series. There are three weeks left. I am still seeking publishers and authors who would like to participate in the next series! Please email me at mescorn@ptd.net or tweet me @tnbbc.

Giving Up - An Object of Beauty

Started 11/19/10

Threw in the towel 11/24/10

Read 162 out of 292 pages

Oops. I did it again. I quit on another book.

At least I didn't wait until I was 20 pages from the end this time, right?

What has gotten into me? This is so unlike me. I've said it before, and I will say it again. I just do.not.give.up.on.books. (except, well, that I do now, apparently!)

This is a book I snagged at BEA10. It might have actually been the 1st book I snagged, to be honest. I adore Steve Martin, and have loved his other novels - Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company - to death! He's got a great sense of humor, and it reveals itself subtly in his writing.

However, An Object of Beauty was completely devoid of humor. It was all seriousness and artsy-fartsy highbrow sophisticated drivel. Yes - I get that Lacey was an aggressive young up-and-coming associate in the art gallery world. And yes - I get that there is more going on behind the scenes when it comes to the acquisition of art, and the showcasing of art, and the storage of art, and the selling of art. There was so much time and energy spent on the behind-the-scenes set up of the novel that the characters felt a little underdeveloped and stale.

Even the few sex scenes that I managed to read through were dry and creaky (I was so disconnected from what was going on that I tweeted that it was creepy reading a sex scene written by Steve Martin, that it felt very much like walking in on my parents in the middle of the 'act').

It was so unlike his other novels that I found myself peeking at the cover of the book to reconfirm that...yes... this book really was written by Steve Martin.

I have all the respect in the world for this actor-cum-writer and cannot imagine the amount of research that must have gone into the creation of this novel. I really wish I could have lost myself in it. Set in the 1990's contemporary art craze in NYC, I just felt totally disconnected from the entire thing, and kept waiting for something, anything, to happen. And when something kind of, sort of, did start to happen, I found that I really didn't care anymore.

The book released yesterday to the public. I wish Steve Martin all the success in the world with it. And I know that it is receiving high praise within it's true audience. It just was not my cup of tea.

And so I am moving on....

Sick For the Holidays

Somehow, I can never seem to make it through the holidays without getting sick.

When I was younger, I remember quite a few trips from my dad's house to my mom's with a bucket and plastic bag between my legs in the front seat of the car, throwing up on Easter break. I recall spending an entire thanksgiving day wrapped up in a comforter on my couch watching reruns of X Files on the Sci-Fi channel feeling nauseous and feverish while the hubby and kids enjoyed their turkey dinner at the in-laws.

This year, it appears I have a caught a nasty little cold that is nestling in my throat. Painful to swallow, ears so itchy I want to scream, body just achey and blah.

Thank goodness for three days off and good books to lose myself in. The plan is to take scolding hot baths, drink lots of hot tea, curl up on the couch with my current read, and do as little as possible.

How are you spending the days leading up to Thanksgiving???