Guest Post from Astor + Blue CEO Tony Viardo and E-Book Sale

Hello everyone!  Recently I was asked to be help alert you guys about a current sale Astor + Blue Editions is currently holding, along with host a guest post from Astor + Blue CEO Tony Viardo!  From now until January 7th, you can get any of their first season e-book titles for between $.99 and $1.99!  There are thrillers, classics, and many other genres to choose from!  Here are just a few of the titles:

Here are the links to some places the book can be purchased:

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Kobo

And now, for a quite awesome guest post from Mr. Tony Viardo, the CEO of Astor + Blue Editions!  (He makes an awesome point in this, just sayin'!)

Digital Publishing: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas?

 So how many articles have we read about E-books and Digital Publishing this year? For anyone who generally follows the book world (rabid booklover, book-blogger, industry pro or casual reader), we’re literally inundated with the amazing numbers—“E-book sales up 125% (again) over the 175% they were up from last year’s 225% increase!”—and equally amazing technological announcements—“Next Fall, the new ZimWittyZoomDitty tablet not only updates your Facebook and Goodreads friends whenever you snort in disgust … it cooks dinner for you at the same time!”
 This leads many to take at least casual stock of what’s going on/going to happen to the “Publishing World” as we know it.  And if your friends are like my friends (hardcore print book consumers), that stock is usually pretty morbid (sharp Greenwich Village angst not included): “Print books are doomed, so are brick-and-mortar stores.  Goodbye literary quality. Oh and some pajama-wearing techie living in a basement with a laptop is going to be the new Sulzburger; we’ll all have to bow down!” If you (or that good friend of yours) fall into the mortified category, my take (for what it’s worth) may come as positive news:  E-books are not, and will not be, the Grinch Who Stole Christmas; in this case, the “Print World’s” bacon. Now, as the owner of a “Digital First” publishing house (Astor + Blue Editions, www.astorandblue.com) my opinions may easily be written off as self-serving and invalid.  But bear with me for a minute… these are fact-based observations and I might just make sense (Someone tell my mom and dad).
 As someone who earns a living from publishing, I have to follow numbers and industry trends as closely as possible.  And while some see doom and gloom for Print, I see exciting developments for both Print and E-book formats.  What do the numbers show?  Digital book revenue is skyrocketing, print revenue is declining.  Natural conclusion?  E-books are killing print books. But not so fast.  Historically, Print revenue has always seemed to be declining (even before E-books were invented), but that doesn’t mean the book market is dying or shrinking.
 We have to remember that in fact the book market is growing. Readership always grows because population always grows.  Every year, new readers enter the vast pool of the club that is “adult readership,” (despite Dancing with the Stars). And every year more readers are being born and theoretically being inspired by Ms. Crabtree’s elementary reading class.  **So why the decline?  Readership grows gradually, but the sheer number of books and book vendors grow exponentially, showing an investment loss almost every year. (Basic statistics: the widening universe makes it look like a shrinking pie when it isn’t).
 So what does this mean?  If you look at the numbers (historically), revenue for print books may have declined, yes, but not more than “normal,” and not significantly more than it did when there were no E-books around. (This is arguable of course, but the long term numbers do not show a precipitous drop-off). The yearly revenue decline, if there is one, can just as easily be written off to economic conditions as to E-book competition.  Bottom line:  Any drop in print revenue that may be caused by E-books are not significantly sharp enough to declare that E-books are destroying print book sales.  (Hence no Grinch). What may be happening, and what I believe is happening is that a whole new market for E-books is developing, while the print book market growth, like Publishing as a whole, is still growing at a historically gradual pace. (Boringly flat).  Come up with your pet anecdote here, but I believe that more new readers are entering the market (who otherwise wouldn’t have) because of E-readers; existing readers are consuming more books (both print and e-book) than they did before; and while it would seem that a certain print title is losing a sale whenever readers buy it in E-book format, this is offset, at least somewhat, by the fact that more print titles are being bought (that otherwise wouldn’t) because of the extra marketing buzz and added awareness produced by the E-book’s cyber presence.  All of it evens out in the end, and I believe, ultimately fosters growth industry-wide.
 So take heart Print fans, E-books are not the dark villain you think they are.  And here, I should correct my earlier analogy—that E-books are not the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  They may actually be the Grinch…in as much as, at the end of the story, the pear-shaped green guy ended up not only giving all the presents back to the singing Who-villers, he created a flash mob and started a big party as well.

I would like to give a huge thank you to Mr. Viardo for contributing the guest post, which actually gave me a new perspective on the whole impact of the e-book on the industry.  Very cool.  And I would also like to thank Anna Ryan for asking me to let you guys know about the sale and host the guest post.  (Sorry for this being in a box-quote thing, blogger is not cooperating and de-boxquoting this part)

Anyways, check out the sale, and have a great holiday this week! (for those of you that celebrate)

The Lies That Bind by Lisa and Laura Roecker

Title: The Lies that Bind
Authors: Lisa and Laura Rocker
Pages: 307
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Rating: 4 stars
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review.  Thank you sourcebooks!






When asked to review The Lies That Bind, I wasn't quite sure how it would go over.  i haven't read the first book in the series, The Liar Society, and I wasn't sure how that would effect my understanding of what was going on in the second book.  But, I am sure glad I gave it a try, because... well I'll tell you why in the review.

First off, I think the Roecker sisters did a great job of recapping the basics of what happened in the previous book.  I wasn't often confused (though there are still things that I would like to know about from the first book, but none of these not-knowing impeded my understanding of the story.)  The story was great, and I definitely want to go back and read The Liar Society at this point.

One of my favorite parts of the book was Kate herself.  She was strong and caring, and I really connected with her while reading.  Plus, I constantly laughed at things she said/thought.  Funny characters are the best characters in my opinion.  Plus, Seth was the awesome best friend who was always there to help Kate, which is always a fun relationship to see.

I loved the Roecker sisters' writing.  It was very fun and lighthearted, but also suspenseful at the same time, you know what I mean?  I haven't read anything quite as fun as The Lies That Bind in a while, and I haven't read a mystery in a while, so getting both at once was definitely a treat.

Anyways, sorry if this review came across as a bit awkward, I wrote it a bit quicker than my other reviews as I haven't had a whole lot of free time as of late (which you can probably tell from my lack of posting altogether.  But the holiday break is coming up, so I'm hoping to have some time to READ!!!! and actually finish another book since I have only read about two in the past three months -_-)  I digress... I give The Lies That Bind four stars!  Check it out, you won't be disappointed!  I will certainly be checking out the first book in the series now too!

The Lies That Bind Blog Tour: Guest Post from Lisa and Laura Roecker

Quirky But Not Crazy 

How to make your original character unique but still relatable to YA readers

               

  We’re old. Not old-old, but old enough. There’s always risk in writing for teenagers when you’re not, in fact, a teenager. We had all these goals for Kate—we wanted her to be independent and funny and cute and smart and sad and lonely and loving. The list goes on and on. But we needed to ensure that she wasn’t a thirty-something trapped in the body of a neon-haired detective. Because, let's face it, there's nothing worse than a bossy thirty-something trapped in the body of a blue-haired teen.

So we channeled our inner-YA, our awkward high school selves, and imagined who we always wished we could have been. We thought we knew everything in high school, we had it all figured out so we needed Kate to have a little of that—most teenagers do.  

Kate is extremely goofy and makes us laugh out loud. This is actually very sad because it means that we’re laughing at our own jokes. The reality is that as we switch the book back and forth while drafting, we’re always trying to one-up the other sister. Our main goal is to play make-me-laugh with the manuscript (or make-me-scared, make-me-cry, etc., depending upon the scene).

Kate is also very sensitive, even if she doesn’t show it all the time (what teenager does?). She’s fueled by her love for Grace and her need to right a wrong. She takes advantage of her devoted neighbor Seth, but sometimes she lets her guard down just long enough for the reader to witness her love for him. It will take a long time for her to learn that Seth is the kind of guy she’ll want to marry! Liam and Bradley are there to mix things up even more. Each of these characters help define the true Kate Lowry.

But at the end of the day, Kate isn't perfect. She says stupid things, judges people way too harshly and generally makes a ton of stupid mistakes. But she's a TEENAGER. A very imperfect teenager. But fun and brave too. Part of our goal when we started writing The Liar Society Series was to chronicle Kate's journey as she slowly grows up and in THE LIES THAT BIND, Kate takes one more step toward adulthood. And maybe even half a step backward. Hey, no one ever said growing up was easy!

__________________________________________________________________________

Well, it certainly seems that the Roecker sisters work hard developing their characters!  And its easy to see!  The whole time I was reading The Lies That Bind, I really felt like Kate was real- her actions, her thoughts, even her flaws, made me think of her as a real teenager.  But for more on my thoughts about the book, stop by in a few hours to check out my review for The Lies That Bind!  

The Kiss Off Blog Tour

Hey everyone!  Today I have a post for you as part of Sarah Billington's bog tour for The Kiss Off and the release of it's sequel!  Also, as part of the post there is a giveaway that ends on December 7th, so don't forget to check it out and enter to win a paperback copy of The Kiss Off!

______________________________________________________________________________

THE KISS OFF BY SARAH BILLINGTON

THE KISS OFF DESCRIPTION

When sixteen year old Poppy Douglas writes a song about her ex-boyfriend Cam and ex-friend Nikki, she has no idea that her heartbreak is about to go global.

A local band picks up her song from Youtube and soon she's along for the ride with her own fanbase as they blow up on the local club scene and hit the international charts. Though it turns out leaving Cam behind isn't as easy as she had hoped.

Tangled in a web of unfinished homework, ill-considered sexting and a new lead-singer boyfriend, Poppy has a choice to make between the ex that inspired it all and the rock God whose poster lines the inside of half the lockers at school. But as she struggles to keep her emotional dirty laundry private, she learns that the truth can be hard to find when your life is in the headlines.

Add The Kiss Off to your TBR list on Goodreads!


THE KISS OFF 2 DESCRIPTION:

The money's in! Poppy's royalties for penning the accidental hit song The Kiss Off that shot her boyfriend's band to super-stardom are in and she knows EXACTLY what she's doing with it.

THE KISS OFF 2 will include:

A road trip with an unexpected passenger.
Camping.
The realization too late that she doesn't actually like camping.
Sunburns.
A concussion.
Accidental topless swimming.
Paparazzi punch ups.
A news-worthy (yet totally false) love triangle.
Obsessed fan girls.
A stalker.
And an overwhelming request from someone super-famous.

THE KISS OFF 2 is coming 2013.

Add The Kiss Off 2 to your TBR list on Goodreads!

AUTHOR BIO
Sarah Billington is an Australian writer and editor who likes to write stories with love, laughs, suspense and zombies. Sometimes all in the same story. Her favouritest thing to write about are those horrendously awkward moments that come with being a teenager. Or a human being. Sarah was extremely accident-prone and klutzy as a kid and teen, so her cup runneth over with experiences of horrendously awkward moments to draw from in her writing. Thankfully, she has grown out of her klutziness. Mostly. She is, however, still an embarrassment.

She loves a variety of random things, which include Swing Dancing, Ice Hockey, Roller Derby and is a bit obsessive about paranormal investigation shows and channel E!.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKITY LINKS!

Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Official Website
Official Blog

PURCHASE LINKS (I don’t know which ones you want so here’s a stack of them. )

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Smashwords
Omnilit – The Kiss Off ebook only
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository – The Kiss Off paperback only
Fishpond – The Kiss Off paperback only


GOODREADS PAPERBACK GIVEAWAY (ENDS DEC 07) WIDGET EMBED CODE

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Kiss Off

by Sarah Billington

Giveaway ends December 07, 2012.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Also, a great big thank you to Sarah for having me be a part of this tour!

Guest Post from Leanna Renee Hieber

Hey everyone!  Today I am hosting a guest post form author Leanna Renee Hieber as pat of the book tour for her newest novel The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart (review to come this weekend).  As part of the tour, Ms. Hieber has contributed a guest post about managing her acting and writing talents.

Author Bio:

Author, actress and playwright Leanna Renee Hieber grew up in rural Ohio inventing ghost stories. She graduated with a BFA in Theatre and a focus in the Victorian Era from Miami University. She began her theatrical career with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and began adapting works of 19th Century literature for the stage. Her one-act plays such asFavorite Lady have been published, awarded and produced around the country. Her novella Dark Nest won the 2009 Prism Award for excellence in the genre of Futuristic, Fantasy, or Paranormal Romance. 

I wear many different hats. And I don’t just mean cute little Victorian hats, though I do have quite a collection. I’ve always been a Jack of All Trades and it’s my varying interests that have kept me busy, employed in the arts and happy in always having a project or two to work on. The trick to doing anything well is time and discipline, it’s very hard to juggle theatrical pursuits and writing and promoting your books full time. I have to pick and choose and shift focus. While I was a full time professional actress on stage in various regional theatre productions around the country, my writing took a back seat. Today my writing is at the foreground and I do theatrical and/or film projects sporadically. The ability to shift focus from one priority to another depending on deadlines is a skill I’ve been trying to sharpen forever. The biggest challenge is self-discipline of one’s own time. It’s something I struggle with day in and day out. Storytelling is at the core of all my interests, and while I’m very selective now about the stories I tell and the mediums I use to tell them, I’m blessed to have several different avenues to pursue the stories that intrigue me. One of the most fascinating ways that my worlds have blended is in adapting my first novel into a musical theatre production with Broadway talent on board. My time as an actress and brief stints as a playwright made it easier for the production company behind the musical adaptation of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker to approach me to be on the collaboration team. I’m uniquely suited as having experience in all these fields to weave a story together in an entirely new medium, a show. And it’s that process of adaptation and collaboration that then allows me to have fresh insights and new tricks to make an engaging story come to life when I return to my novels, such as THE TWISTED TRAGEDY OF MISS NATALIE STEWART.

Thank you so much to Ms. Hieber for contributing such an awesome article on balancing screenwriting, acting, and writing!  And thank you to Sourcebooks for allowing me to be part of the tour!  Make sure to stop by this weekend to see what I thought of The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart.  And if you haven't read the first book in the series, Darker Still, get on that, because it is definitely worth checking out!

Review: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Title: Ten

Author: Gretchen McNeil

Genre: Horror

Pages: 294

Publisher: Balzer and Bray

Stars: 4

Source: Bought

Summary:

And their doom comes swiftly.
It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.
But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.
Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn't scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine? (from goodreads)

Since I have a long weekend, I figured it was time to get in gear and start pumping out some reviews (as I keep promising I will, which obviously keeps failing).  Anyway, I figured I would do a sort of theme this month for reviews.  I figured since its pretty close to Halloween, who doesn't love a good scary story?  I will be reviewing a few YA mysteries, YA and Adult horrors, and some Middle Grade horror-ish stuff too.  And what better way to start it off than with the recently released Ten!

After reading Posses, Gretchen McNeil’s debut novel, I knew she was an author that I would be watching out for, no matter what.  I loved Possess that much.  And when I found out she was writing a teen horror/thriller?  I was immediately pining for it (though the book sounded awesome and I would have been excited even for it even if I wasn't already a fan).  When I finally got my copy, I dropped everything and dove in, and I am glad I did.

While I didn't quite like Ten as much as Possess, it is still an extremely good read.  I admit, I absolutely love horror movies, and Ten brings all the things from a horror movie into book form.  From the beginning, the mystery is on, and I needed to know who was going to be offed next and who the killer was.  And while I had my theories on who it was, I didn’t manage to guess the killer even after all my brainstorming (I didn’t even come close actually).  The book was fast paced, and Gretchen owes me a few hours of sleep because Ten refused to be put down so I could you know... sleep.  And the whole twistiness that is the ending of the novel was just awesome.  The big question is, did it have the scary/creepy factor?  Yep.  The beginning of the book was ominous, but the second half of the book was what really creeped me out. 

What kind of set me back from completely loving Ten were the characters.  A lot of them didn’t seem to have as much development as others, and I just didn’t quite feel the connection to them, yet at the same time, I really felt for some of the other characters.  Meg, the main character, took a little while to connect with, but eventually I really began to like her.  I also really liked Minnie’s character.  I’m not sure why, considering she is obnoxious, but there was just something really interesting about her.

Anyway, if you are looking for a great Halloween read with plenty of suspense and unexpected twists, definitely check out Ten.  I waited forever for it, and it did not disappoint.

It Only Takes One Click Blog Tour: Review of Send by Patty Blount

Title: Send

Author: Patty Blount

Pages: 304

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you Sourcebooks!

Rating: 4.5

 Also I am not going to give the summary mostly because it kind of reveals a big thing that happens in the book that would have been an even bigger surprise if I didn't have the summary in my mind the whole time.  Boo for revealing summaries :(  Anyway...

Considering bullying is such a big issue right now, and the novel focuses on suicide as the result of bullying, I was very excited to read Send.  A bully who turns around and tries to make up for what he’s done?  Sounds pretty interesting to me.  And it was. 

Send was a very intense story and a very moving one too. We start off with Dan, who bullied a fellow student which resulted in the student's suicide.  To have a former bully as the main character seemed like it was something that would be kind of hard to relate to.  Luckily I was proved wrong by Ms. Blount, who managed to tell the story in a way, that not only did I feel connected to Dan, but I also sympathized with him.  To write about a character that had done something that had led to such a horrible thing and then get the reader to sympathize with that character, I felt it was extremely amazing.  I never would have expected to really feel bad for someone who people in the story made out to be a bad person.  The story was fast paced and intriguing, and I read the book in a matter of two days.  And the ending.  Oh, the ending part of the novel shocked me.  There were plenty of clues as to what was going to happen, but when they actually came together, it was still hard to take in.  It was just insane, in a good way of course.  My only complaint is that there were a few parts of the novel that seemed confusing at first and I had to reread to clarify what was happening.

Again, I absolutely loved the fact that Ms. Blount managed to draw me into the story and really make me feel connected to Dan and his situation.  And all the characters felt so real.  I often wanted to slap and or yell at some of the chaarcters, but then they would turn around and make me want to hug them.  Especially Julie.  I also thought the inclusion of the Kenny character that kind of exists inside of Dan’s head was really cool.  I liked that it was done in a way that it didn’t make Dan seem insane even though the fact that he talks to his inner personality is kind of crazy.  Plus I have never really read about a character with a second voice inside their head.  Plus Kenny was pretty funny, and funny is always accepted, especially when most of the novel is pretty tense.

Overall, I loved the novel- the way it was written, the way it made me feel in the end, everything.  Full of likeable, interesting characters, an intense and fast paced story, I definitely recommend Send!