Free Book Contest for July

Don't miss your chance to win a FREE book, compliments of Feathered Quill Book Reviews. This month's book is the teen thriller, Prism. You can read the review here. To register for our contest, simply go to our contest page and fill out a short form.

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Tip of the Week: Make friends with your local media. I’ve told my clients a million times; I can do as much as possible on my end. I can send the review copies, email the press releases, and make the phone calls for you. However, it’s so much more effective for your local media to put a face with your name, as opposed to dealing with “Publicist Sara Dobie”—some faceless ghost person who only exists in the electronic realm and as a disembodied voice on the phone. If you have a book coming out (or heck, even if your book came out a year ago), be sure your local media knows you. Don’t be afraid to show up at your local TV station with a copy of your book, and just say, “HEY! I’m a local author. I’m amazingly important, and here is a complimentary copy of my book. And but of course, I would love to stay for a quick interview.” You will be making a reporter’s job much easier. You will be handing them a story. Don’t fear the media. They’re your friends. They will help you sell books. Just make sure they know who the heck you are and that you’re a literary phenomenon, thriving in their back yard.

Feel free to stop by my blog, too: Saradobie.wordpress.com. You'll find all sorts of useful information and interviews there.

A Few Book Suggestions

Steve Hely's satiric novel masquerades as the tell-all memoir of Pete Tarslaw, author of the runaway bestseller The Tornado Ashes Club who's become a lit-world pariah. Two years out of college, Pete still moons after the brilliant Polly Pawson, who dropped him post-graduation for law school. His hygiene and motivation have degraded such that he's accumulating beer bottles next to his bed as convenient substitutes for the toilet. His dubious job transforming the convoluted prose of wealthy foreign students into earnest college entrance essays depresses him, more for its lack of prestige than any ethical implications. When Polly announces her engagement in a gleeful mass email, Pete's desire to upstage her at the wedding inflames his obsession with the fame, fortune, and female attention enjoyed by bestselling authors--clever charlatans, in his estimation. What follows is Pete's exposé of the Machiavellian tactics he employed in creating and selling a maudlin mess of a book. It lands him a spot on the New York Times bestsellers list (hilariously parodied by Hely) and an unwisely candid prime-time TV interview, in which his theories on authors as con artists spark a book-world feud, spike his Amazon sales rank, and force him into a literary showdown at a Texan book festival. Along the way, no one connected to books--writers, writing teachers, lit agents, publishers, critics, book buyers--gets off unskewered by Hely's rapier pen (and readers may wonder, on occasion, if Steve Hely has employed Tarslawian strategies in his own bid for a slot on the bestsellers lists). But out of the irony emerges something that feels like genuine reverence for great books, and for those who write out of honesty. For fellow book lovers weary of tracking book sales trends, Hely's wrap-up might even feel like a catharsis. -- Mari Malcolm

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Shortly after sixth-grader Miranda and her best friend Sal part ways, for some inexplicable reason her once familiar world turns upside down. Maybe it's because she's caught up in reading A Wrinkle in Time and trying to understand time travel, or perhaps it's because she's been receiving mysterious notes which accurately predict the future. Rebecca Stead's poignant novel, When You Reach Me, captures the interior monologue and observations of kids who are starting to recognize and negotiate the complexities of friendship and family, class and identity. Set in New York City in 1979, the story takes its cue from beloved Manhattan tales for middle graders like E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy, and Norma Klein's Mom the Wolfman and Me. Like those earlier novels, When You Reach Me will stir the imaginations of young readers curious about day-to-day life in a big city. --Lauren Nemroff

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"If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared." The ninth book in Daniel Silva's smart, fast-paced series about enigmatic assassin and art restorer Gabriel Allon begins with an epigraph courtesy of Machiavelli. A fitting start to a twisty spy thriller chock full of clandestine meetings, tenuous alliances, and ruthless men. The beauty of Silva's series is that it is easy on acronyms and byzantine operations (so you don't have to be a spy novel aficionado to enjoy it), and each book gives you a discreet rundown on familiar characters and back-stories (so you don't have to start at the beginning). In The Defector, the disappearance of Russian defector and dissident Grigori Bulganov draws Gabriel out of semi-retirement and into the path of Ivan Kharkov, the former KGB agent and Russian oligarch from Moscow Rules. Exotic locales, intriguing characters, and a breakneck pace make for a riveting summer read. --Daphne Durham

Readers - Tell us what you want!

Readers - is there a book you're curious about but before investing your money and time to read it, you'd like to read a review? Tell us what book(s) you'd like to see reviewed and we'll do our best to get a review copy. We're here to help YOU! Suggestions? Send us an email at info@featheredquill.com

Author interview with Behcet Kaya

Today we're excited to chat with Behcet Kaya, author of Voice of Conscience.

FQ: The early life of the main character in Voice of Conscience, Ramzi Ozcomert Jr. closely mirrors your own. Did you base Ramzi on yourself?

In part. Yes, as far as the basic facts that Ramzi was born in a small village in eastern Turkey, travelled to England for school, and then came to America, the great land of opportunity. But no, as far as the actual events that shaped Ramzi’s life, they are all fictitious.

FQ: The descriptions of village life in Turkey are quite vivid and realistic. Are you describing your own childhood home? Was it hard to revisit that time in your life?

Yes, the descriptions are of my village and village life. In fact, (except for the name of the village) the introduction is not fiction, but is based on true archival information. No, it was not hard to revisit that time in my life, for it will always be a part of who I am.

FQ: Every character needs a difficult father-in-law and you certainly gave Ramzi one with A.W. Townsend! Was Mr. Townsend created in part to show the cultural differences, what a young Muslim man might have to deal with here in the States?

Not entirely. I created a very proud father who was overly protective of his daughter. I believe the father would have felt the same prejudices even if the prospective son-in-law had been European, or even American, for that matter. The point being, here was an unknown entity taking his daughter away. However, being a Turk and Muslim did exacerbate the situation. One important thing to remember, most westerners consider Turks to be in the same basket as the rest of the Muslim world. This assumption could not be farther from the truth. Here I can speak for myself and the majority of Turks that Turks are Turk first and Muslim second.

FQ: Throughout the story, there is a strong theme of family bonds. Is this something that you hold sacrosanct?

Yes, this is the culture into which I was born. Family is all consuming, family comes first, and family members will go to any length to protect their loved ones and protect their land. Land inherited from the father is sacred and sons will kill for it or be killed over it.

FQ: Ramzi is a very successful man, building an incredibly successful business, he has a great family, etc. How did that success play into the story of revenge? Would the story have played out differently if Ramzi was poor?

I don’t know if there would have been a story at all. Ramzi’s sole purpose in life was revenge and he believed the only way he could achieve this was through success and money. He knew that being wealthy would open the doors for the opportunity to settle his ultimate payback.

FQ: I see you're working on a sequel to Voice of Conscience. Would you tell us about it?

Yes, there will be a sequel to Voice of Conscience. This novel will follow Ramzi’s daughter Erin, as she searches for her roots and tries to find answers as to why her father followed the course he did. However, although I have quite a few chapters written, for the time being this novel has taken a back seat to another story that has been percolating in my head for the last nine months. I have begun work on this novel, and have written over one-third of the story.

To learn more about Voice of Conscience, please visit our website and read the review at: Feathered Quill Book Reviews.

Technorati Tags: oice of conscience, behcet kaya ramzi ozcomert, Turkey, cultural clashes, revenge

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sara Dobie, Public Relations Coordinator for Sylvan Dell Publishing in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. I've seen books thrive; I've seen books fail. It's all thanks to the author. It's all thanks to self-promotion. So here we are. From now on, you'll get a tip of the week from me on topics ranging from website etiquette to book events and signings. Feel free to stop by my blog, too: Saradobie.wordpress.com. You'll find all sorts of useful information and interviews there. Let's get started. Self-promotion or DEATH!

Tip of the Week:

“If you’re an author/writer, I’m assuming you have a website dedicated to you and your work. (If you don’t, we have trouble. If you don’t, get one NOW, whether it be a blog or an expensive, designer site. Just DO IT.) On your website, do you have an easy way for people to order your book? It sounds simple, but people overlook it all the time. On your website/blog, you should have a link to your publisher’s website, a link to Amazon, and a listing of which bookstores carry your book. How else are you going to make your money if people don’t buy your product? So be sure you make ordering easy for your fans. Otherwise, you’ll never make a profit, because let’s face it, people are lazy. But it you give them a magic button that says BUY THIS BOOK, they are much more likely to cough up the dough and build your fan base.”

Technorati Tags: sara dobie, sylvan dell publishing, book self-promotion, promote website

Book Contest Winner

Congratulations to Elizabeth Weiss of Walnut Creek, CA. She won the June FREE book contest and receives the book The Little Pot by Dawn Stephens. Our July contest features the hot-off-the-press book Prism. This teen mystery/suspense novel by Faye Kellerman is climbing high on the sales charts at Amazon and you can win a brand new copy just by visiting our site and filling out a simple entry blank. To learn more about Prism, read our review here. Then simply go to our book contest page to enter. Good luck!