Tag Archives: books

Jan 24 2013

Coming Soon: Emblaze

March 1Title: Emblaze

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Series: Embrace #3

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: March 1, 2013

As one of the 10 nominations in February’s Your Pick for Nik! feature, the first book in this series has been one that I’ve wanted to read for ages now! Its a book about a fallen angel who is faced with some tough choices as she is thrust into a conflict between good and evil. Seeing new books out in series I’ve got my eye on always gets me more excited to read them. Hopefully by the time book #3 comes out, I will be more than ready for it!

Here’s some information about book #1 of this series:

embraceTitle: Embrace

Overview: It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…” On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she’s willing to sacrifice. Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It’s a battle Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.

*Images and overview taken from bn.com

Jan 23 2013

The Woes of Self-Publishing Part II

snoopy_typewriterSince The Woes of Self-Publishing Part I went up a couple of weeks ago, I’ve fielded a few questions regarding some of my comments. I thought I would put together a Part II in case anyone else had the same inquiries:

Q: In the initial post, you said one of the main problems with self-publishing is the limited distribution. Does this pertain to the ebook market as well?

A: My response was with regards to physical copies only, but I assume ebook publishing would indeed allow you to get your work to more people. You do limit yourself to those who have access to e-readers though, which is something to consider based on the demographic of your target audience. As you said, the 70% payoff can be a great incentive, but you still have to work for every sale (some people like having this much direct control, so it just might ba a viable option for them). If you gain enough hype this way, you can actually get bookstore deals once you hit a certain number of sales (much like Amanda Hocking and P.D. James).

Q: It seems you have a rather negative outlook about the quality of self-published books. I find this disturbing as they seem to me to be much higher quality than your average mass market book. Where does this strong opinion come from?

A: It is possible that the ones I’ve dealt just happen to be from lower-end publishers, but I have seen hundreds of these books over the last ten years of my career and my conclusion is drawn from that. The quality is not always horrible, but to me they almost always look less professional. I will admit that I have occasionally seen some standard-looking printings over the years, but the author usually ends up charging $10 to $15 more than the market price to compensate for the higher-quality printing price. As self-published books are already slightly over-priced (mostly because the small publisher doesn’t have the resources or scale to compete with the big companies), this severely cuts back on your sales opportunities, especially if you’re not there to hand-sell them.

As for the formatting, self-published books most often come in a trade paper format, which are always higher quality than mass markets – this is true for traditionally published books as well. My initial comparison was between trade papers only, as mass markets are in a category of their own. I wish I could line up a bunch of the self-published books we’ve got next to the traditionally published ones to show you what I’m seeing. We at the bookstore have a private joke running at how blatantly they stand out. In any case, just because I’ve had some negative experiences with them doesn’t mean it’s not a viable option. These are just more things to consider when making your decision.

Q: I’m concerned that if I go the traditional route for publishing that my books will just get pulped if sales start to drop – how often does this usually happen?

A: The only books that regularly get returned for “pulping” are the mass markets, as its literally cheaper to destroy them than to ship them back. The publishers usually just print new ones if the demand ever increases. It doesn’t happen as often as you’d think… Nowadays, most new mass markets get featured at the beginning of each section or on nice displays located at the front of the store. The have at least three months of prime real estate to generate sales. If they are popular, they get what’s called “modeled” status, and we integrate them onto the shelves because we anticipate future sales. If they haven’t appealed to the market (or if we have too many copies – which happens to even bestselling authors), that’s when they get “pulped” and we don’t see them again until the tastes of the market change (hardcovers and trade papers just get redistributed to warehouses so they can go to other stores. If you get a deal that involves a hardcover or trade paper publishing before you get to the mass market stage, you’re chances of success increase that much more because you essentially double your exposure time).

Something to consider about “pulped” mass markets: we as employees get to take home a few, so even if it didn’t generate sales on the floor, you could be earning supporters even at the end stages of the process. Think of it as an ARC without the cost or hassle. I can’t tell you how many authors I now support and hand-sell because I had free access to the original titles (btw, if I like it, I always order it in and buy it). It’s a great way to make booksellers your champions!

Jan 21 2013

Your Pick for Nik! – February’s Nominations!

It’s that time again for us to pick our next book! This month I’m making a few changes to the voting process: instead of my usual two-day window for voting, I decided to leave it open for the entire week. Why, you ask? Well, it finally occurred to me that most of you aren’t glued to your computers 24/7 and might actually need more than a day or two to check out the nominations and make a selection. In any case, the voting starts today (January 21, 2013) and you’ll have all the way until Sunday the 27th to choose your favorite. 

For those of you new to this feature, Your Pick for Nik! is a monthly book club where I turn over control of my reading list to you!

Here’s how it works: I will nominate titles from my TBR list and YOU will choose which one gets featured. It can be one you’ve already read and want to discuss, one you want to read but wish to see my feedback on first, or – and this is my favorite part – you can read it along with me!

Depicted below are my 10 nominees* for February. Simply vote for your favorite, and let the best book win! At 10:00 am (MST) on Monday the 28th I will announce the winner. Come the end of February, I will post a thorough review of the chosen title – and hopefully find out what you thought of it as well!

To cast your vote, just leave a comment indicating your chosen title – and may the best book win!

February’s Nominations: 

2Title: The Drowning City

Author: Amanda Downum

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: Symir — the Drowning City. home to exiles and expatriates, pirates and smugglers. And violent revolutionaries who will stop at nothing to overthrow the corrupt Imperial government. For Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and spy, the brewing revolution is a chance to prove herself to her crown. All she has to do is find and finance the revolutionaries, and help topple the palaces of Symir. But she is torn between her new friends and her duties, and the longer she stays in this monsoon-drenched city, the more intrigue she uncovers — even the dead are plotting. As the waters rise and the dams crack, Isyllt must choose between her mission and the city she came to save.

1Title: Beyonders: A World Without Heroes

Author: Brandon Mull

Genre: Young Reader

Overview: Jason Walker has often wished his life could be a bit less predictable—until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank to a place unlike anything he’s ever seen. In the past, the people of Lyrian welcomed visitors from the Beyond, but attitudes have changed since the wizard emperor Maldor rose to power. The brave resistors who opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail. In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes.

aaaaTitle: Dragon Keeper

Author: Robin Hobb

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: Too much time has passed since the powerful dragon Tintaglia helped the people of the Trader cities stave off an invasion of their enemies. The Traders have forgotten their promises, weary of the labor and expense of tending earthbound dragons who were hatched weak and deformed. If neglected, the creatures will rampage—or die—so it is decreed that they must move farther upriver toward Kelsingra, the mythical homeland whose location is locked deep within the dragons’ uncertain ancestral memories. Thymara, an unschooled forest girl, and Alise, wife of an unloving and wealthy Trader, are among the disparate group entrusted with escorting the dragons to their new home. And on an extraordinary odyssey with no promise of return, many lessons will be learned—as dragons and tenders alike experience hardships, betrayals… and joys beyond their wildest imaginings.

1111Title: Wither

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Overview: Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but they’re still in danger. Outside, they find a world even more disquieting than the one they ran away from. Determined to get to Manhattan and find Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan, the two press forward, amid threats of being captured again…or worse. The road they are on is long and perilous—and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and men die at age twenty-five, time is precious. In this sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price—now that she has more to lose than ever.

castingsTitle: Blood Ties

Author: Pamela Freeman

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: A thousand years ago, the Eleven Domains were invaded and the original inhabitants forced on the road as Travelers, belonging nowhere, welcomed by no-one. Now the Domains are governed with an iron fist by the Warlords, but there are wilder elements to the landscape which cannot be controlled and which may prove their undoing. Some are spirits of place, of water and air and fire and earth. Some are greater than these. And some are human. Bramble: a village girl, whom no-one living can tame … forced to flee from her home for a crime she did not commit. Ash: apprentice to a safeguarder, forced to kill for an employer he cannot escape. Saker: an enchanter, who will not rest until the land is returned to his people. As their three stories unfold, along with the stories of those whose lives they touch, it becomes clear that they are bound together in ways that not even a stonecaster could foresee – bound by their past, their future, and their blood.

estepTitle: Spider’s Bite

Author: Jennifer Estep

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Overview: After Gin’s family was murdered by a Fire elemental when she was thirteen, she lived on the streets and eventually became an assassin to survive. Now, Gin is given an assignment by her handler to rub out an Ashland businessman, but it turns out to be a trap. After Gin’s handler is brutally murdered, she teams up with the sexy detective investigating the case to figure out who double-crossed her and why. Only one thing is for sure —Gin has no qualms about killing her way to the top of the conspiracy.

embraceTitle: Embrace

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…” On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she’s willing to sacrifice. Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It’s a battle Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.

demonsTitle: The Demon Awakens

Author: R.A. Salvatore

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: A great evil has awakened in the land of Corona, a terrible demon determined to spread death and misery. His goblin armies and fearsome giants ravage the settlements of the frontier, and in the small village of Dundallis their merciless attack leaves behind two shattered orphans: Pony and her lifelong friend, the youth Elbryan. Taken in by elves, Elbryan is raised to become a formidable ranger–a fateful role that will lead him into harrowing confrontation. Meanwhile, on a far-off island, a shower of gemstones will fall onto the black sand shores. These heaven-sent stones carry within them an incredible power–the key to all that is good in the world and all that is evil, and it is up to one young monk to liberate them from the corrupt monastery that harvests them. Pray that they don’t fall into the wrong, clawed hands . . . As the demon dactyl awakens and unleashes a plague of violence as gruesome as it is far-reaching, orphaned friends Pony and Elbryan are compelled by fate to take up a struggle against a sinister force that will tip the balance of good and evil one way or the other….

dragonlordTitle: The Last Dragonlord

Author: Joanne Bertin

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: Dragonlord Linden Rathan, last-born of a race of immortal weredragons, has spent six hundred years alone, searching for his soultwin while his fellow Dragonlords watch over humanity’s Five Kingdoms. When the Queen of Cassori dies mysteriously, Linden and the other Dragonlords are called upon to prevent civil war as two human claimants vie for the regency. As the battle for Cassori rule escalates, Linden becomes the target of the Fellowship, a secret society of true-humans who could actually destroy his immortal life. Then he meets a beautiful young ship captain named Maurynna who may be the only one who can help Linden bring Cassori back from the brink of chaos.

garthTitle: Sabriel

Author: Garth Nix

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: Sabriel, daughter of the necromancer Abhorsen, must journey into the mysterious and magical Old Kingdom to rescue her father from the Land of the Dead.

*Overviews taken from bn.com

Jan 18 2013

Coming Soon: Sword-Bound (Tiger and Del #7)

feb 5Title: Sword-Bound

Author: Jennifer Roberson

Series: Tiger and Del #7

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: February 5, 2013* Now Available!

As one of the most memorable series I’ve read over the last ten years, Tiger and Del will always have a warm place in my heart. After finishing the final book back in 2003 (Sword–Sworn) I was content with where the author left things and considered the story complete. This new release really took me by surprise, and I can’t tell you how tickled I am to go on another adventure in this world! Thank you, Roberson!

For some information about the series up to this point, here’s a link to a review I posted a few months ago: Sword-Dancer/Sword Singer

*Unless there’s an error, it looks like the release date for this title is a soft one, and you may be able to order it now… I’m getting one.

Jan 15 2013

Coming Soon: Dark Triumph

Apr 2Title: Dark Triumph

Author: Robin LaFevers

Series: His Fair Assassin Trilogy #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Release Date: April 2, 2013

Sold from the tagline on the cover, Grave Mercy captured my attention right from the start. I thoroughly enjoyed the unique and historical edge LaFevers wrote with – she really presented a strong first novel (read full review). Although the second book focuses on a different character, I fully expect Dark Triumph to be just as good. Especially since, I find Sybella almost more fascinating than Ismae . You bet I’m picking this one up as soon as it comes out!

If you’re unfamiliar with LaFevers, here’s a short overview of the first book:

graveTitle: Grave Mercy

Overview: Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage to the respite of the convent of St. Mortain. Here she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts and a violent destiny. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. But how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who has stolen her heart?

*Overview taken from bn.com

Jan 13 2013

Book Review: Hidden by Sophie Jordan

mTitle: Hidden

Author: Sophie Jordan

Series: Firelight #3

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Overview: Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the “prince” of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian’s sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there’s no guarantee they’ll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning….

The Review:

Has anyone else noticed that most romance novels focus mostly on relationship development and inner conflict? It seems as though creating any sort of sustainable plot is a low priority. I supposed that’s the point, though, as the author is trying to evoke emotion. Personally, I prefer my novels with a bit more substance. This is why I didn’t enjoy Hidden as much as I could have; it was clear the author was drawing heavily on her skills as a romance writer.

Books one and two were decent, and I really got into the whole concept of this hidden society of dragon-shifters. Jordan did a great job at building the world, making it my overall favorite element of the series. This final book, however, brought the whole thing down for me. The storyline was just a bit too thin, and I caught holes in the plot left and right which definitely took away from my enjoyment of the story. The sad thing is that they were stupid errors that I think could have been easily avoided with a little revising. This speaks to a rushed and almost lazy effort on the part of the author (which, to be fair, could’ve been due to pressure from the publisher). Either way, a book I’ve been anticipating for a year got put down in favor of other books no fewer than three times. 

Plot holes aside, I found it irritatingly repetitive. I don’t usually go into specifics, but holy crap – if she explained one more time that the human can’t understand what she’s saying while in dragon form I was going to throw the book across the room. It was seriously tacked on to literally every sentence. Again, this is another thing that points towards a rushed effort because I think if anyone examined it closely they would’ve caught such a blatant repetition.

I realize I”m being harsh, but I haven’t been so let down by a book in a long time. The only reason I gave it a 2.5/5 is because there was resolution to the series, the relationship development was actually quite good, and the first books made great impressions on me. Despite my gripes, I would still recommend reading it if you’ve already committed to the first books – you might as well see how it all ends.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes