Tag: Amazon Encore

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Stacey Cochran’s Book Chatter Interview Is Up!

Here’s the Book Chatter interview I participated in last night! The show is hosted by popular Claws author Stacey Cochran, and the hour-long interview includes a total of five indie authors: Zoe Winters, R.J. Keller, P.A. Woodburn, Lynda Hilbrun, and me. It was great fun – and R.J. revealed her hugely exciting news! Several viewers IM’d in questions about that, so if you’re an author, seriously, watch the video.

I haven’t watched it yet but I probably sound so squeaky-voiced and nervous! My apartment is always SO loud on Friday nights – guy and girl upstairs clomping around in hard-soled shoes and blasting music, guy next door blasting TV, guy and girl under me blasting music, etc. etc. etc. So I decided to go the Writers Room, where I have a membership, and use their designated “phone room” to do the phone-in interview. Well, for the first time EVER it was insanely loud there on a Friday night. Usually, no one is there at that time; everyone is out having a life. But last night it was packed; people were coming in and out of the phone room like mad, making calls, talking to themselves and what not, noisily picking up and rattling keys to the ladies’ / men’s rooms. Then, a person came in to re-paint the kitchen. And of course the supply room they banged around in just had to be right off from the phone room. I finally ended up in the building’s lobby where ringing bells from the elevators signaling floor stops abounded. All the noise made me so nervous! Someday, I will have to leave New York, so I can have peace and quiet in a room of my own…

Anyway, it was a blast chatting about our books and the publishing process and ebooks and Amazon and self-publishing with four other authors and Mr. Cochran. I don’t think he’s ever had that many on the show at once 🙂

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HONEY NOTES, TEES AND TOTES AT THE HONEY SHOP

I recently came across this author, Maria Murnane, and her book, Perfect on Paper: the (Mis)Adventures of Waverly Bryson, when I was researching indie-published book award contests (Murnane won a load of them, before being picked up by Amazon Encore, Amazon’s new publishing house).

It’s a really lovely book, sweet and funny with a cast of characters who are definitely very relatable — the annoying guy who just seems to be everywhere you are, the bitchy competitive co-worker who seems intent on stealing your job, the hot guy in whose presence you just can’t seem not to make an ass of yourself, etc. After being jilted at the altar by her fiance, Waverly sets out on a series of hilariously bad dates in an attempt to overcome her heartbreak and find that ever-elusive Mr. Right. But in the process, she finds herself instead.

Of course there are lots of bad date / overcoming evil ex novels, but what’s original here is Waverly’s knack for coming up with clever little sayings, sometimes darkly comical, that speak well to the single urban career girl, such as, “Ever had to work with a total nightmare? Honey, just wait until the company holiday party. We’ll see who’s all alone in the corner.” And, “Not everyone can have a cookie-cutter family, right? Honey, I’d cut your losses and settle for the cookies.” Waverly eventually creates a line of greeting cards bearing said clever sayings, and voila, her real calling emerges. Also, Waverly works in sports PR (as did Murnane — I like it when authors put their job details into their books; you can learn a lot about other walks of life that way) so there are some interesting, amusing scenes about the sports world — making this a book not only for women, but for men as well.

Basically, a great summer beach / plane / park / outdoor cafe — wherever you read when it’s warm out — read.  (Above, my copy at Tatiana’s on Brighton Beach, where I always celebrate the first warm day of the year with red caviar and champagne.) And you get a lot of double-takes with this book in your hands, I’ve found. People are like, “What’s that?” Kind of fun reading something only available on Amazon!

Now, Murnane has her own line of the “Honey Notes” out, available in her Honey Shop, along with t-shirts and tote bags. C’est unique!