My First Book Signing!

I will be at Bookends & More in Radcliff, KY on October 29th from 3PM till 5PM signing copies of my book, "Becoming Mortal gods."  This will be my very first book signing event, and I'm super thrilled about it!  I'm also a bit nervous.  I'm afraid I'm going to be lonely out there, so if anyone lives nearby, please come by and say hi!  Any thoughts or tips about preparing for these types of things is very much appreciated.

Kickstarter For Enter The Hero!

So my graphic novel project, Enter The Hero, has kicked into high gear in the past week or so.  The Co-Creator of the book, Simon Butler is now dedicating all of his work time to completing the interior of the book.  In order to accomplish this appropriately, we need to raise some money.  We’ve started a Kickstarter page.  For those who are not familiar with Kickstarter, basically creators pitch their projects and ask for any donations available from the public.  In return for “backing” the project, the “backers” are rewarded with things like books, t-shirts, and downloads.  All very cool! 

If you have the chance, check it out.  I know, we are looking to raise a LOT of money, but with your help it can be done!  And don’t worry, if you can’t afford to back the project, that’s fine.  But I kindly ask that you at least consider spreading the word about our project.  Thank so much!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1709611879/enter-the-hero

A Bad Review; What do I do now?

It's amazing how much a bad review can really kill your momentum.  My book, Becoming Mortal gods, was making descent sales on Smashwords.com until one guy wrote me a less than favorable review.  The sales literally stopped over night.  Of course seeing a poor review of my work is saddening, but I pulled through.  i was sure that there would be someone who didn't like my work going into it.  The worst part is that what the reviewer actually wrote wasn't so bad, but he only gave the book a single star.  Now, any potential reader browsing titles will immediately see that single star posted right next to the book cover possibly driving away potential buyers without a second glance.

Let me be clear; I don't blame the reviewer in the least.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of my work.  That's fine.  But how do I come back from this down turn in sales?  I don't want to be one of those writers who writes their own reviews, or pays for them.  I've tried giving away copies in turn for a review, but so far I'm only giving away copies with no results.  Any ideas?  And how do you cope with the bad reviews?

Promoting or Writing. Choose one...

How do you split the time between promoting a current book and writing the next?  That is my current dilemma.  “Becoming Mortal gods” is off to a good start on sales, but it seems that the only way to keep the sales coming is to relentlessly keep promoting.  Of course I knew going into this that promoting a self-published book was going to be a huge job for one person.  I just didn’t anticipate how much it would stall me from finishing my next book.  I’ve tried making a schedule for myself, but that failed from the start.  I write when I’m inspired to, I guess.  And it’s hard to get inspired when a schedule tells me I have too.  And don’t even get me started on that annoying day job that I can’t seem to rid myself of.  Any one else have this problem?  What do you do to get past it?

Download My Book For Only $0.99... And Some Free Copies!

For a limited time, you can download my book for only $0.99 at Smashwords.com and on the Kindle at:  Amazon.com.  Also, I'm giving away five coupons that will allow you to download the book for FREE on Smashwords!  All I ask in return is that you post an honest review of the book on Amazon.com, or Smashwords.com.  If this goes well, I may give away more!  Contact me through my website for the coupon:  http://www.mheitkemperbooks.com/ ;  First come first serve!

Need Someone To Review Your Book? So Do I...

So, having slacked quite a bit from promoting my book for the last few weeks, I'm trying to redeem myself.  I have seriously lost a lot of ground, but I'm afraid it was something that could not be helped... personal matters. 

I need to find a few good readers to write their own review of Becoming Mortal gods.  In my search, I managed to run across a pretty useful link:  http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/09/15/100-best-blogs-for-book-reviews/   It's a list of the top 100 bloggers that review books.  I plan to submit to a few of them that fit my book.  I'm sure most if not all of you have this list already, but for those that don't, here it is.

And of course, if anyone reading this has any interest in reading my book, Becoming Mortal gods, and writing a reveiw, I will gladly send you a copy!  Just post a reply here.  Thanks.

BOOK REVIEW: Spartan Gold, By: Clive Cussler With Grant Blackwood

So I've found myself very busy these last few weeks; been over a month since I posted here.  So I thought I'd break the silence with a book review.  And here we go...

There are NO SPOILERS in this review.

Spartan Gold; An adventure novel from start to finish. 

In way of classic “good-guy against bad-guy” this was a truly fun book to read.  It brings to mind stories like the adventure movies National Treasure, or even Indiana Jones.  There’s plenty of adventure and almost limitless suspense all the way to the end.  The story follows a treasure hunter couple, Sam and Remi Fargo,  (who have had their fair share of adventure in the past) as they set off in search of what they believe is Napoleon’s lost wine cellar.  They are unsure of what treasure truly awaits them.  Meanwhile, a ruthless Russian millionaire/mobster is on their heels every step of the way, trying to reach the treasure first.  The Fargo’s find themselves in much tougher situations than they have ever encountered before and are pushed to their limits to find a priceless treasure.

Expertly written, I really enjoyed reading this book.  Cussler does a superb job of intertwining history and fiction.  The theme was very entertaining, and for the most part believable.  At times, I’ll admit I was lost in some of the reasoning that the Fargos placed with the clues.  I frequently asked myself, “Man, is this couple really that educated on their history?  They seem to know everything, and no resource appears to be out of their reach!  Not to mention, they can outsmart a blood thirsty Russian mobster who has managed to make himself a man feared by just about everyone over the past two decades.  The Fargos are basically Batman and Robin, without the masks and capes.”  But before you take this as a knock to the characters, let me ask you this:  What more could you really want in a hero?  The Fargos are a fun pair to root for in their quest.  And call it luck, or destiny, or straight forward skill; whatever it was, if the Fargos didn’t have it, I’m sure I’d be reading a book where the bad guys win.    

Here’s the downside of my review.  And I know I’ve already said the book was expertly written, but I have to point out one thing that frequently annoys me in many books; at times there is far too much detail.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Cussler (the author) was perhaps a master chef at one point in his life.  Reason being, he spent nearly a half page describing the Fargo’s meal, not once, but twice in the book.  And I’m talking all the way down to the spices used in the marinade.  And must we not forget the way the fish was cooked.  Did I really need this information?  I get it; the Fargos know how to pick a good restaurant.  Also, I was furthermore forced to wonder; Maybe Cussler did some architecture work in the past after his stint in culinary school?  After all, he has a profound habit of describing buildings right down to their core.  I, having worked in construction for many years, followed this easily.  But I can’t help but wonder if the lesser educated in that field would have even cared? 

So there you have it, my good thoughts and my bad on Spartan Gold.  Overall, I’d give it an 8 out of 10 on a scale of my own that doesn’t actually exist.  I’ll probably be handing my copy off to one of my friends to enjoy, and I do recommend that others pick it up and enjoy it as well. 

Thanks for reading.

Review By:  Michael Heitkemper