Category: Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week, Uncategorized, weekly self published book review

Tuesday Book Review: “Two Towers: A Memoir”

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review:

two towers t d arkenberg

cipa evvy 2018

Two Towers

by T.D. Arkenberg

ISBN: 9781478722007

Synopsis*:

Sometimes, life pushes you to the brink. In his poignant memoir, Two Towers, T.D. Arkenberg navigates readers through a personal perfect storm. A resurgence of his father’s long-dormant cancer and chaos at his job in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks serve as the backdrop for a private struggle with a secret hidden for thirty-seven years. The story opens on Christmas Eve, 2001. Alone, he stands in his empty childhood home. Two months earlier, his father succumbed to cancer after a lengthy struggle. Five weeks after that painful loss, his mother’s unexpected death shattered his world. The double-barreled blast toppled his towers of strength and unconditional love at a time he was barely treading water. Only weeks before his parents’ deaths, his professional life descended into turmoil. Nineteen hijackers commandeered four commercial jets, unleashing unspeakable terror on US soil. Two towers collapsed into piles of twisted steel, a dusty grave for thousands of innocent souls. Two of the planes belonged to his employer. Eighteen colleagues were killed and thousands of others were soon without jobs. His leadership would never be more severely tested. Friends don’t know how he survives. Neither does he, especially with the added burden of a dark secret. As his world starts to crumble, fate offers a lifeline. Jim, a facilitator of a men’s coming-out group guides him through the process of accepting his sexuality. With towers collapsing around him, Jim might be able to save him from becoming another casualty. Two Towers stands as testament to duty and the power of love.

 * courtesy of Amazon.com

Featured Review

Final Descent may have been T.D. Arkenberg’s debut novel but Two Towers is a deeply connected return to this crushing accuracy and devotion as an airline employee. This is his first memoir and it is a love letter.

Arkenberg has inherited a work ethic from another generation. Throughout the narrative, which details the trials of the late 90’s into early 2000’s, even into the Crisis Center in Chicago O’Hare airport on September 11th, 2001, his dedication to United Airlines and his fellow employees is clear. He recalls how the airline grounded flights just before the devastating moment they discovered two of the hijacked planes were their own and the profound grief that caused: “Our airplanes were used as missiles. Our passengers and employees were murdered.” The depth of identity with his position reflects the very deep devotion to his company and the connection to his sense of self.

The story is also a love letter to his parents’ fortitude and endurance. How they shaped him cultivated respect and crafted an iron clad work ethic without ever knowing their son’s deepest sense of self and secret. Tender vignettes reveal his devotion to the aging couple, culminating in his father’s return to Montgomery Ward as they begin to liquidate locations.  Arkenberg demonstrates an acute sensitivity to the inner world of his family. He offers to take his father back to the closing location musing that “perhaps Dad’s fond memories of Ward outweighed the hurt.”

As a devoted son, he goes beyond the physical expectations of helping with snow shoveling and heavy lifting but also cares for their mental and emotional well-being. Arkenberg’s own capacity as caretaker is a gentle mirror of his steadfast mother as she remains a faithful caretaker during her husband’s life and lengthy fight with cancer.

Endurance is a running theme throughout Two Towers. As his career shifts, seemingly every few months, and he climbs ever higher on the precarious ladder of airline management during a most unsteady time, and as his father lapses into weakness and his mother finds less time to be herself as they pass slowly–or suddenly–into the grave, Arkenberg has committed to himself to come out of the closet and to live a full life without secrets. Again and again, he must reveal himself while learning to navigate the world not as the perfect son or model employee but as Todd Arkenberg, a gay man who loves his partner, Jim. Though he may be considered middle aged, his youthful fear and innocence in to the foray of that new existence heighten the tale.

Hundreds of stories about the events of 9/11 have surfaced but few invite us into the Crisis Center for United Airlines in Chicago as the events unfold. Countless memoirs may have shared the stories of caring sons but few offer the humanity of their own internal struggles beyond that role. More and more stories of ‘coming out’ are reaching the light, inspiring those who feel trapped, and Arkenberg’s tale joins in the voices of attaining strength through vulnerability.

Two Towers is not as fanciful or imaginative as his two Faulkner-Wisdom nominated novels, Jell-O and Jackie–O and None Shall Sleep, yet Arkenberg fans will still see the depth and introspection present in his earlier work. The earnest telling of his coming-of-middle-age and his slowly strengthening sense of self among the rubble of his childhood and first career in the airlines is a moving exploration of what pieces we use to put ourselves together. It is a tumultuous expression of how outrageous events can rock us out of the shell of our status quo. Arkenberg asks a number of introspective questions throughout the book and while not all of them get an answer, it makes for a thoughtful and emotional read.

– reviewed by Elizabeth Melvin  on Windy City Reviews

Other Reviews

An in-depth accounting of the life of a normal American, a joy to discover.

I have read all of T.D. Arkenberg’s books and each is unique and interesting. They are as different as the stories they depict, and each is it’s own unique journey. This book however was a journey of my own life in parts as well, since I had lived through a portion of this same story, as have all Americans, who were living on September 11, 2001. My own path and job responsibilities of that tumultuous time relived in this reading. I had other moments of empathy having lost both of my parents and becoming an ‘orphan’ as well. It means, in my case, I am forever a parent but never again a child. This author is gifted in being able to bring to words the emotions and personal details of his life in a way that can truly express what I and others have felt during the similar challenges faced in one’s lifetime. The best compliment I can give a book is to say that I couldn’t put it down and that I’d recommend it to others. Both are true. Go read it for yourself. Now.

 – reviewed on Amazon by Valerie Driskill

Raw emotion with accurate detail.

This book eloquently and accurately captures the events at United during this time period, from balls supporting our communities to bankruptcy. Todd shares the challenges of caring for aging parents, corporate decisions and coming out in a society that did not fully support gay lifestyle. In my opinion this book accurately captures the outstanding individual that Todd is corporately, personally and creatively. Can’t wait for more!

 – reviewed on Amazon by Andra

 

tuesday book review

Thanks for reading!  Keep up with the latest in the world of indie and self-published books by watching this space!

Self Publishing Advisor

selfpubicon1

news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 8.27.2018 – Publishing Trends Roundup

august month

And now for the news!

Some highlights from this month in the world of self-publishing, specifically regarding publishing trends within the publishing industry, and their implications for all authors!

This article from Dave Sutton of Business2Community is a study in expectations, met and unmet. It opens with the eye-catching line, “What do 99 cent romance novels and marketing strategies have in common? On Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program, it’s more than you might think, and it all ties back to profit.” And the article only builds in intensity from there (not bodice-ripping intensity, though, despite its focus on romance-novels). Sutton does not go easy on the self-publishing companies which have, in many ways, enabled the ascendancy of Romance: “This microcosm of the publishing industry is a cutthroat example of what it looks like when profits cloud your view of everything else,” he writes, referring to unethical vanity publishing and self-publishing companies who are willing to milk customers for every last drop of profit. Despite his ambivalence toward self-publishing as a whole, Sutton does tackle important issues, including so-called “book-stuffing” (which we’ve discussed recently here). He also provides some real and positive solutions, including striving for real authenticity rather than just the monetized performance of self. His whole article is interesting, and worth a look!

This article comes to us from The Times of India, by way of the Business Standard, and it tackles some of the broad-brush-strokes, big-picture situation elements of self-publishing that are easy to lose track of when you’re in the midst of it, and grappling with one’s own personal place in the industry. It’s also a portrait of an author who’s making it big in self-publishing, but who hasn’t yet reached “household name” status on this side of the pond: Vineet Bajpai. While we may be more familiar with the trials and travails of American- or British-based self-publishing authors, Bajpai brings a whole different side of the experience to light: what it’s like to self-publish in a country where distribution networks are not available to sell your book. According to the article, Bajpai “could sell his books only via American online retail channels such as Amazon.com (as the India channel did not exist) and BN.com and his titles remained unavailable in India” for much of the earliest part of his publishing career. This made for some disconnect between his ideal audience–which is global, and partially if not significantly rooted in India–and the readers he could actually reach–which were based in highly specific Western countries, like America and Britain. But Bajpai has found a way, and is now seeing success in selling his books. How did he do it? I’ll leave that explanation for this most fascinating article, which we highly recommend you take a look at.

spa-news

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

selfpubicon1

elizabeth speaks, in your corner, Uncategorized

In Your Corner: Growing Your Market With Eyes For the Future Harvest

fall computer autumn

In many parts of America, it’s already Fall. Oh, maybe pumpkin spice mochas haven’t quite hit the menu yet, but school is back in session or just about to return to session, and many of us are starting to plan ahead for the coming seasons: Fall means back-to-school and back-to-daily-routine planning and the comedown from summer vacations; Winter means the holidays have well and truly arrive, and all the reunions and trips and expenses that come with them; Spring means the winter doldrums are over and it’s time to lay the groundwork for the new year. This transition time, between Summer and Fall, is our last best chance to plan ahead before things get well and truly busy.

It’s time to prepare the soil and plant the seeds for your next marketing plan.

Technically, when it comes to marketing, including marketing for your own self-published book or books, it’s always time to plant these seeds. After all, the best marketing plan is a robust one with a whole stable of ideas running simultaneously, from attending book fairs to scheduling book readings to participating in a book blog tour to reaching out to your local radio stations to creating meaningful content for your social media posts. But since we’re human beings, we need things broken down into manageable bits and bytes for us to move forward without falling over our own feet.  Or at least, this is a common enough necessity that I too have experienced it: We all need to hit the “reset” button every now and then, whether our plans grew so messy in the previous season as to drive us to exhaustion, or because they fizzled out and we need to relaunch them with fresh vim and vigor.

reset button

So … if resetting one’s marketing plan is equivalent to laying the groundwork for your next harvest, what does resetting actually look like?

  1. First off, resetting doesn’t mean “stop everything you’re doing and burn it all down.” That would be a crying shame, given that even the slimmest of strategies, even the ones which tapered off sooner than you would have liked or that never really got off the ground, did some important work–work like getting you registered on your social media platforms of choice, or acquiring some followers on your blog.
  2. Resetting does mean taking stock. It’s time to make an inventory of all the marketing strategies you’ve tried, and running some numbers. What kind of engagement did you see on this or that social media platform? Did you see more success with Twitter or Instagram? Your blog or your Facebook page? And this is just as important: How much time did you spend, on average, marketing through each of these avenues? Get that down on paper (or pixels), too. Don’t cast any judgments or make any emotional calls until you’ve had a chance to actually run these numbers and put them all on one page.
  3. Then you get to make some judgment calls. And yes, your emotions about these things totally matter! If you had a negative personal experience with a social media platform, Twitter for example, you may not feel comfortable returning to it for marketing reasons. And that’s okay. That would make for a great reason to try out an alternate platform, if it leaves you with a gap. If you’re quitting Facebook, try Goodreads. If you’re quitting Twitter, try Instagram. If you’re quitting Snapchat, try YouTube. There are so many choices to choose from! But keeping it manageable is the real trick here.
  4. Keeping it manageable applies to all aspects of your marketing. If your original marketing plan fizzled out without much success, it’s usually because either the original plan was A) too ambitious, or B) not ambitious enough. You’ll know instinctively which of these was your struggle simply by looking at your inventory of time spent marketing. And if your original marketing plan stalled out because you were exhausted from trying to keep all the balls in the air, very likely you’d be in the former category, not the latter. If you were in camp B), it’s time to experiment a little. I can’t force you to, and it’s very likely I can’t even entice you to, but I will certainly encourage you to pick up one or two new marketing strategies this year–and to go back to the beginning, as if you’ve never marketed your book before. (Just be sure to hang on to those followers and strategies which you’ve already established.) If you’re camp A), your reset must include scaling back. This doesn’t mean burning bridges or quitting social media platforms altogether, however; I suggest announcing your new plans on all of your platforms, even to the point where you announce you’re scaling back on your engagement in some areas so that you can focus on others. This gives you a chance to direct your followers to those platforms where you saw the most return on your time and energy. while still giving those followers on less-high-return platforms something to remind them that your book exists and you care about them as readers. But you do need to scale back the time and energy you’re spending on marketing if you find yourself burnt out. You need to feel free to experiment and play and enjoy yourself, too!
  5. Resetting means returning to the things which bring you joy. Resetting is about recovery, and rejuvenation, and starting afresh. You can’t start afresh if the very thought of marketing, or of doing more, depresses you! Worse still, your potential readers can totally pick up on a lack of enthusiasm, given their skill at … oh, reading between the lines. So focus on those things which bring you joy. What platforms, marketing strategies, and daily marketing habits were the least intrusive? Which ones made you smile? Focus your energy there for a while. It’s okay to pull back, take stock, and re-center on those things. I give you permission. The world gives you permission. Your book gives you permission! And once you’re in a good place, you’re in the perfect place to craft the architecture of your next marketing plan–and to start growing those strategies which will bring in your next harvest.

You are not alone. ♣︎

Elizabeth

ABOUT ELIZABETH JAVOR: With over 20 years of experience in sales and management, Elizabeth Javor works as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Outskirts Press. The Sales and Marketing departments are composed of knowledgeable publishing consultants, customer service reps and book marketing specialists; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Elizabeth Javor can put you on the right path.
Book Reviews, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week, Uncategorized, weekly self published book review

Tuesday Book Review: “Misfire”

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.
When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review:

misfire by bennie c. lee

readers' favorite five stars

Misfire: Recovering & Restoring an Estranged Relationship between Me & My Father When It Seemed Impossible

by Bennie C. Lee Jr

ISBN: 9781478761495

Synopsis*:

While speaking at a summit on the campus of Georgetown University, President Barack Obama mentioned a conversation he had with a young man who asked the question, “How did you get over being mad with your dad, because I’ve got a father that beat my mom, and has left the state. I’ve never seen him because he’s trying to avoid eighty-three thousand dollars in child support payments. I want to love my dad, but I don’t know how to do that.” Many young men and women are faced with this painful quandary when dealing with an absentee father. Misfire: Recovering & Restoring an Estranged Relationship between Me & My Father When It Seemed Impossible addresses this question head on. Bennie C. Lee Jr.’s story details how an explosive relationship between his mother and father led to an estranged relationship between he and his father. For 14 years Bennie did not have much of a relationship with his father, and it seemed as if that was how the story was going to end; spending the rest of his life without his dad. To the contrary, they ended up sharing one of the greatest relationships a son could enjoy with his dad. In this book, Bennie shares six powerful, scripture-based steps on restoring an estranged relationship with one’s father.

 * courtesy of Amazon.com

Featured Review

Misfire by Bennie C. Lee Jr. is a story of one man’s journey through life and the difficulties of having to deal with an absent father, the effect it had on his impressionable young mind, and the steps he took to overcome his adversities. The author delivered his message of absenteeism among fathers as a perpetuating social issue of epidemic proportions, while using his six valuable steps to reconnect and/or establish a lasting relationship with the absent parent. Although the author states that his father was not always a part of his life, for 52 years they existed as father and son; it’s a very long time to have a relationship with his father compared to young men and/or women who never knew their parent at all.

While reading Misfire by Bennie C. Lee Jr., I found his storytelling style very refreshing and down to earth. It was like revisiting the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s through the eyes of his young character – “Rabbit” – as he matured into a grown man, with detailed descriptions of the style of clothes and the music popular in those days. The scene that brought tears to my eyes was when Rabbit was running around to the various clubs to find his father, not knowing the truth about the events surrounding that near fatal shooting until much later in life. The author even describes in much detail the steps necessary to sharing your story and the impact the absent parent had on your life, and allowing him or her to speak without judgment. I enjoyed reading this well-written book, one that touched my heart and soul. This book would make a great movie.

– reviewed by Elise Towner on Readers’ Favorite

Other Reviews

Bennie Lee’s Misfire is right on target.

The bright, almost blinding, florescent light of our cramped kitchen shown in my wide four-year-old eyes. The yells of my father toward my mother and her lover ring in my ears still forty-two years later. The silhouette of my father, standing in our front door cursing us as my mother knelt to comfort her sobbing son, are seared into my memory. This is my story and that of many others.

The power of Mr. Lee’s message in relating his life is to allow the many others like him, to safely relive the trauma caused by their absentee father, through the eyes of another who has successfully navigated to a place of peace. Peace not just for himself, not just for he and his family, but for himself, family, and for the greater good of us all.

He does this in three parts: firstly by relating a powerful autobiography which poignantly illustrates the key issues, pitfalls, blind spots, misdirections that torment and entangle many people who have experienced an absentee father, and reveals how beneficial and healing it is to repair the relationship; secondly he reveals how this trauma can manifest itself in our personally destructive behavior and how reconnecting with one’s absentee father can have a profound healing influence for ourselves, family, and the community; and finally he correctly instructs those who are suffering to seek expert help. Like the blind leading the blind, we often do not realize how our own filters impact our perceptions then actions.

 – reviewed on Amazon by Dicken Greene

Mr. Lee is able to tell his intricate tale of seemingly personal and family bliss wrenched into turmoil, and its resulting wake of devastation and desperation, in a concise, riveting, and easily read format. Before long, we are drawn in and identify with his experience, because not one of us is, have been, or will be without abandonment in some fashion. His candid, raw, pathos-filled, no-holds-barred reflections of personalities, events, and their effects upon his life and others’ are discussed without varnish or candy coat. This is a true love story that ends well. Take his recommendations for healing seriously, for he has traveled the cruel highway of abandonment and arrived scarred, but strong and victorious.

 – reviewed on Amazon by C.R. Evans

 

tuesday book review

Thanks for reading!  Keep up with the latest in the world of indie and self-published books by watching this space!

Self Publishing Advisor

selfpubicon1

news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 8.20.2018 – New Releases!

august month

And now for the news!

Some highlights from this month in the world of self-publishing, specifically new releases written by self-publishing authors and published by independent presses! Today we’ll be featuring brand-new releases in the Outskirts Press Bookstore!

Here’s a debut for the ages! In The Escapee: Happiness in a Bottle, setting and timing is everything. It is New York City, May of 1950, and Hollywood screenwriter Harrison Harper is in turmoil—devastated by the death of his fiancée, Amelia, and torn by his feelings for the newest woman in his life, film star Venus Kingsley.  Struggling through alcoholism, Harrison suddenly finds himself being blackmailed by a mysterious stranger who claims to know the truth behind Amelia’s death—a truth that Harrison has kept secret for two agonizing years. As dangers rise and situations worsen, Harrison must conquer his vices and his enemies, and overcome the agony of lost love, all the while trying to resist the call from a bottle of liquor … and to stay alive in the process. This book is packed with tension, texture, and thoroughly researched details of the time and place. If you’re a history buff, or like a good star-crossed romance, or a hero in the process of bec;oming, this is the novel for you!

Looking for a magical tale to take home to the junior reader in your life? This may just be the perfect book for you and your preteen to enjoy together. Its fascinating premise, replete with the titular dragons and fairies, begs one very important question: What does the Queen want most of all? Welcome to the Kingdom of Ing, where dragons are playful and kind, and where fairies surround the land with enchantment. It should be the very happiest place—but King Alexander and Queen Arabella are downcast because they don’t have a baby dragon. Time is passing, and the kingdom needs a prince or princess. Night after night, the Queen can be heard sighing and weeping. The queen dreams of a baby to love, and somewhere, an orphaned baby dreams of her. Can the queen of the fairies and her very best team work their magic to bring a bundle of joy to the Kingdom of Ing? This book carries you along as their two stories dovetail. With delightful rhyming lyrics focused on words with “-ing” endings, this imaginative fable is fun to read aloud, while providing opportunities for early reader, vocabulary, and counting skills. With its whimsical illustrations and heartwarming story, this tale of a mother’s longing for a child is sure to become a family favorite.

Are you feeling stuck and looking for a way forward? Or, are you looking for a way to boost your already existing mindfulness practices over the coming months? This book is for you, and for anyone interested in understanding themselves and their place in the world a little better. The authors, each of whom is in possession of a lifetime of rich experience and expertise, have painstakingly created a one-year, one-a-day template for writing about your thoughts and feelings as well as a nice mix of active, hands-on exercises to keep it interesting and to help you avoid the so-called “journal fatigue.”

All three of the authors have been working with individuals, including students and adults, with mental health concerns; their clinical and practical expertise includes peer mentoring, stress management, mood and anxiety disorders, and life coaching as well as mentoring. This is a guided journal with specific application in those circumstances, as well as a broader appeal based on shared and universal human experiences. So, as the sales copy encourages you to do: find a comfy chair, grab your favorite hot beverage, a good pen and start journaling!

spa-news

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

selfpubicon1