The Long Way: Book Review & Blog Tour Giveaway!
Book for Review:
The Long Way
by Aaron Redfern
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Adventure
Blurb: In a move that defies all logic and likelihood, a young boy named Spiff is called upon to carry out the most important quest that has ever been undertaken. His mission drags him headlong across the face of the world, through a veritable pantheon of hardships and threats that are at once chilling and baffling. Along the way he meets dragons and madmen, and learns that the lovable and the monstrous are two sides of the same coin.
Conceived as a darkly whimsical loose retelling of the Tolkien saga, The Long Way poses the question that high fantasy rarely cares to ask: Why?
Book Review by Kevin: A BookRix Team Member:
A friend threw this book at me with Harry Potter and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Series as references, and the blurb mentions the Tolkien saga so I had an idea of the terrain; magic, magical critters; trolls, gremlins, wizards, elves, human types. For those of you who haven’t read this book yet, AR’s [Aaron Redern] got it going on! It’s a wild adventure with both familiar and really unusual characters. Some pretty cool stuff. It’s quite a trip.
There are lots of levels. Straight up excellent story-telling of a journey of search and discovery. It’s rich and gooey with abandon and insight. It reads like an homage to the tradition (of crazy fun) of which AR is obviously a big fan. In this generous offering of crazy fun he upholds those references and introduces some very unique twists and characters. This book rocks big!
In the beginning, our hero’s father, Scoff, lives and works on the farm he will one day inherit. Then one day, he receives a beautiful, seemingly innocent, gold and emerald ring in exchange for some handyman tasks he performed for a wizard. The ring, he then bestows upon his beloved Clara before asking for her hand in marriage. After more than a decade of married life, the wizard demands they return the ring to him without any kind of explanation or offer of compensation. Considering how a demand from a wizard isn’t a request, they send the ring back in the hands of their young off-spring, Spiff.
Spiff, the type who is often lost in whimsy, is in his own world until, in a flash, what was securely in his hand is snatched away. Now, empty-handed, he has no recourse but to pursue the thief fearing punishment from his father for the failed delivery, and the possibility of being turned into something small and slimy by an angry wizard. Fortunately he runs right into the wizard just as he is about to become something’s lunch and is saved. For the most part.
The explanation from the wizard about the importance of recapturing the ring falls upon ears without references or desire to understand. Spiff somehow only acknowledges his own silent fears and concerns for his own safety while almost hearing about things he could care less about: “He wondered why he was being told all of this and whether he would still be turned in to a worm. He didn’t want to live in a jar.” Well, he is a little young to be bothered by such things, right?
Before being scooted off to the unknown to retrieve the ring, the wizard arms him with tools to keep him alive to complete the task, including the assistance and company of an amazing critter, aptly named Euclid, who is kinda handy to have around and real, real funny.
The travel is all on foot and the sudden climates and terrain changes turn a long walk into punishment. One really gets that “real time” feeling when the passing of time is punctuated by occurrences one can’t immediately explain or understand; the behavior of people and beings one needs time to observe before deciding if they’re friend or foe. It reminded me of Carlos Casteneda and how Don Juan was constantly whispering in his ear. Even Euclid didn’t have all the answers all the time.
From the hilarious suggestions of the healers, the Merai; all comfort and refuge. Sanctuary. Euclid notes, “There’s nothing wrong with them, (but)…A place like this can’t exist… Life is change and imperfection, but nothing ever happens here….this place is a bubble” to the Nornmen, who live to fight, and the poetic wisdom of the last wooly Mammoth. There are such beautifully unique layers from each. Rich. Aye.
Euclid’s “reminders” to Spiff, who isn’t up for any of it, especially after getting to know the Merai, to allow himself to see the situation for what it is, “…you have to take it [the ring] there. There is no other way. Those are the rules. There’s no cheating… Can’t you just accept what you have to do?…don’t you realize what’s at stake?”, like Don Juan’s prodding of Carlos (Carlitos) to do something similar. The path.
All Spiff wants is to return that dang ring (somewhere, anywhere) and just go back to the comfort and safety of his home, his parents, and his life as his companion asked, “Why do I have to keep pushing you every step of the way?” There’s a few times when fatigue takes him off and in dreams he’s shown the historical significance, the unavoidable, dire importance of it all and his pivotal role in it, in Technicolor®. He could care less about any of it of course, so he tends to forget about it right away or just ignore it.
This is excellent reading, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I can’t wait to read the follow up!
*FYI – The Long Way is part one of a two book series – Check out The Forgotten Way to find out what happens to Spiff after the world is saved.
AND now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for – THE GIVEAWAY!
At the end of the tour, BookRix will be giving away three great prizes to three lucky winners:
1st prize: A $100 Amazon gift card, a BookRix Sampler Pack (several great eBooks published by BookRix members), a copy of the newly released The Long Way, and also some great swag (t-shirts, bookmarks)!
2nd Prize: A $50 Amazon gift card and two free eBooks!
3rd Prize: A $25 Amazon gift card and a free eBook!
You know you want those prizes, so sign-up for the giveaway for your chance to win!
To follow the tour, please visit The Long Way Tour Schedule Page.
BUY LINKS: Amazon Kobo iTunes BookRix Goodreads
Aaron Redfern: Bio
Aaron Redfern
Aaron has written three novels, including The Long Way and its sequel, The Forgotten Way. His short-fiction titles include Stories About the Rain and Crawl.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Ronald Reagan’s Daughter Self Publishes
Getting published by a traditional publishing house these days is tough. Ask any writer about their publishing experience and you’ll hear a variety stories with poor results. The process can induce nerves and anxiety, even for those who have a thick skin. But when you think about celebrities and the famous people of the world, it’s hard to imagine them on the receiving end of a rejection letter from a publishing house. After all, they’re popular. Don’t people want to read about them? That’s what we thought. But yesterday we learned about Patti Davis, Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s daughter, who struggled to find approval with her latest book. Although she sings her literary agents praises in interviews, she says she was unable to get a book deal for her latest book Til Human Voices Wake Us. This fictional piece focuses on a mother who falls in love with her sister-in-law while mourning the loss of her husband.
But this wasn’t Patti Davis’ first literary rodeo. She penned her first book Home Front back in 1986. Unfortunately, it was not well received. This was rumored to have been caused by her families’ political involvement. Since then she has written 8 more books. Her struggle with publishing Til Human Voices Wake Us was the motivating factor behind self publishing. “With each of my traditionally published books”, says Patti, “I felt like I was dropping off my child in a strange city, in the senseless murder district, with, ‘Hope you make it’”. Sadly, many authors are familiar with this feeling.
BookRix was created to give writers a platform to publish and distribute their work while having a sense of control. Self publishing also eliminates the waiting game many encounter with traditional publishing houses. Getting your book out there shouldn’t be that hard. And when people, even famous people, are taking control of their book, it’s really encouraging.
“There is now a boundary line in my career separating being conventionally published and self published”, Patti says. “And I’m very much at peace on this side of that boundary line.”
Good for you, Patti. Your determination is commendable!
Blurb:
Willie North is a successful, hardworking pig farmer, known all around Muddy Fork as a kind man and a good neighbor. However, due to his weight and looks, Willie couldn’t attract a woman, no matter how hard he tried. He was the only single man in Muddy Fork, so in an act of desperation, he pays $1000 for a mail order bride. When word spreads, the whole of Muddy Fork is at the train station to greet her. Will she turn out just as he imagined, or will he end up with a broken heart? A Muddy Fork Short Story.
When One Blog Tour Ends, Another Begins: Giveaway Winner Announced!
Thank you all so much for participating in our second blog tour featuring Heroes and Hearts Crystal Palace Chronicles: Book One by BookRix author Noemi Betancourt. We’re pleased to announce the winner for this Blog Tour Giveaway:
Congratulations, Bailey Ember! We’ll be reaching out to you soon.
Noemi’s second book in the Crystal Palace Chronicles, Descendents of Quendaris, was released over the weekend and we’re thrilled! Naomi really knows how to write an enticing book blurb (writers, take note!) and we’re pleased to share it with you here:
She was no one’s pawn!
Groomed to be the perfect Southern belle, debutante and trophy wife, Nancy Harrington now refuses to marry her intended, prophecy or no! Still, would being bound for all eternity to a gorgeous man so devoted to his people be such a sacrifice?
He has a duty to his kingdom and his people!
A kind ruler, loyal to the needs of his people, King Iskander always has the good of his kingdom in mind, even if it that means taking a wife he doesn’t love in order to fulfill a prophecy. So when his future bride, an unsuitable hot-blooded shrew, refuses to marry him why is he not relieved?
Deep within the dark depths of the earth an ancient enemy awakens from his slumber…
Determined as ever to conquer the world, the Goblin King wakes to discover his chance to win the war, and only an ancient and powerful magic can defeat him. Do Nancy and Iskander have what it takes to lead the Crystal Palace Alliance to victory, reveal a traitor, and bring peace to Otherealm once and for all?
Sounds like a great read, doesn’t it? We’re looking forward to it ourselves.
Blurb: In a move that defies all logic and likelihood, a young boy named Spiff is called upon to carry out the most important quest that has ever been undertaken. His mission drags him headlong across the face of the world, through a veritable pantheon of hardships and threats that are at once chilling and baffling. Along the way he meets dragons and madmen, and learns that the lovable and the monstrous are two sides of the same coin.
Conceived as a darkly whimsical loose retelling of the Tolkien saga, The Long Way poses the question that high fantasy rarely cares to ask: Why?
How to add your self-published eBook to Goodreads AND enable Kobo book reviews
For those of you who don’t already know, Goodreads is the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations. Their mission is to help people find and share books they love. Basically, they are making reading more social and it’s working! If you’re an author who sells your books through Kobo, you’ll know just how important Goodreads is. At the moment, only people with Goodreads accounts can leave a book review at Kobo. You have to sign-in to your Goodreads account, search for the book, add it to one of your bookshelves (read, to read, currently reading), give it a star rating and then, if you want, leave a personal review about the book. This review will then automatically show up on the book’s Kobo page.
For indie authors, reviews can make or break the success of a book. Most readers find new books through word of mouth or recommendations from a friend. The great thing about Goodreads is that your friends can share their reviews and recommendations with you, or you can visit their profile to see what books they’re reading or read (and enjoyed) in the past. BookRix is similar, we add books to our favorites and add our reviews to the book info pages – then our friends can see what we think about other books on the site. Leaving a book review on BookRix is easy because all the free eBooks are already available on the site, and the self-published eBooks have accessible shop links. However, more often than not, indie books won’t be found in the Goodreads search. If a reader can’t find your book to leave a review, then other Kobo readers won’t know if anyone likes or dislikes your book. Without a review to read, they might not buy your book.
The simple thing to do is add your book to the Goodreads library. To add your book manually, here is what you do. You can visit the Goodreads Home Page, then click on the Find and add books to your shelves button which will take you to the search page. Then simply click on the Manually Add a Book button on the top right. Next, you just need to input your book info.
Here’s what you need:
1. Title and author name (*If your book is part of a series, you should add “Part One” or “Part Two” to the end of the title to alert the reader.)
2. ISBN (If you don’t know this, you can find it on the Imprint page of your BookRix book, you can also usually find it on Amazon – if not, contact our support and we’ll help you.)
3. Publisher (BookRix GmbH & Co. KG)
4. Date published (Again, if you’re not sure of the exact date, you can find it on Amazon, or on the imprint page of your BookRix book.)
5. Number of pages (If your book is a short story, just leave this part blank.)
6. Format (In this case, you would always select eBook.)
7. Edition (You only enter information here if you have published more than one edition.)
8. Description or Blurb (Just copy and paste it!)
9. Edition Language
10. Cover image (This is so important – it’s on the top right hand side and allows you to upload a jpeg from your computer. Don’t skip this step or your book won’t have a cover and we all know how important that is for potential readers.)
There is one more thing that you should know about Goodreads – it was just bought by Amazon. That’s one more major reason why your eBook should be in their library. Just because you’re an indie author, doesn’t mean you should be left behind!
*Don’t forget to sign up for the Goodreads Author Program – then you’ll be able to create a personalized profile page and promote your books.
Free Writing Contest: Enter Your eBook to Win a Marketing Package
The BookRix Young Adult Contest: Be The Best (Seller) You Can Be
Writing is your talent, your skill, and your greatness! Unfortunately, being an Indie Author comes with a downside: The grueling task of self-marketing. It’s a big, book-filled world out there, and without marketing, readers won’t know about you or your work. It’s kinda hard to be a Best Seller when nobody knows about your book, so let’s get you noticed!
Entering this contest could ease some of the pressures of marketing because BookRix will help you get your eBook out there to the world. Yes, we’re cool like that!
PRIZES:
The top 2 winners in this “Be The Best (Seller)” contest will each receive a MARKETING PACKAGE for special book promotions, when their winning eBook is distributed via the BookRix Self-Publishing Service. This Marketing Package includes being featured on the BookRix website /blog/Twitter & Facebook fan pages/newsletter, external book reviews, possible blog tours and exposure on external sites with a possible feature in an eBook shop. A custom cover and editing service could also be thrown into the mix because, like we said, we are cool like that!
GUIDELINES:
* You can only submit ONE entry so make sure that it’s your best work
*Anyone can enter however your story should be written for YOUNG ADULTS (YA) which is typically 13-17.
* Your entry CANNOT BE A BOOK FOR SALE
*Your entry MUST HAVE A COVER
* Your entry should be a novelette, 7,000 – 17,000 words and be a complete story (beginning, middle and end)
OR
*Your entry should be PART ONE OF A SERIES with a minimum of 4,000 words
OR
*If you are an over achiever (which we love!), feel free to enter a novel length book.
CONTEST DATES:
Submit your story in the thread, between April 3, 2013 through June 27, 2013 11a.m. EST, 4 p.m. London Time/GMT in the BookRix Free Writing Contests Entry Thread.
VOTING:
* One winner will be chosen by the BookRix Team and another winner will be chosen by the BookRix writing community, in a separate voting thread, from June 28 through July 8, 2013 11a.m. EST.
* Only quality books will be chosen so make sure that your entry is 100% proofread for spelling, grammar, syntax, etc.
HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST:
Submit a link to your eBook in the contest entry thread, on or after April 3, 2013, in the group Writing Contests on BookRix.com.
BookRix is always looking for great books to have published and we are there to help you get the exposure you need to market your eBook to become a more successful author. This contest is designed to inspire great writing to give you the push that you need to get your best out there and for us to help you get it further.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Why eBook authors can’t convert PDFs to ePubs
Creating beautiful eBooks is EASY!
It seems like the easiest way to create an eBook exactly how you want it to look would be to create a stunning PDF, right? WRONG! At this point, in the world of eBook technology, it is impossible to convert a PDF directly into an ePub. A PDF is a print format, so PDF documents are basically less-structured versions of their word-processor originals. While PDF content is made to look really good, it actually includes very little structure. And by that I mean that it doesn’t contain enough clues about the function of text elements (like bold, italics, spacing, line breaks, indentation, paragraph alignment, etc.,) or how they should be displayed in a different context (I.E. YOUR EBOOK). This means that converting a PDF document to ePub first requires conversion to a more structured text format, like Microsoft Word… So now you’re back to the basics.
As an author, you have to remember that an eBook just isn’t a print book. Look at the books on your eReading devices and you’ll start to get a better understanding. Each eReader is different. On my Kobo, I can even change the font type, which would totally disregard whatever the author initially chose. Honestly, I love this option. Years ago (before my love affair with eReaders) I tried reading a paperback copy of Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie three times and could never seem to get into it. Then, while visiting a friend, I picked up her copy and started reading it without any trouble. Upon closer inspection of my own copy, I realized that the font was just too difficult to wrap my eyes around. It was old fashioned and looked slightly smudged on the somewhat yellowed page. My friend’s copy was crisp and clean and so easy to read. As much as I miss the smell of an old book, being able to read The Brothers Karamazov on my eReader, in a lovely modern font type, is a dream come true. The most important thing about reading is actually being able to read. It’s not the smell of the book, the feel of the pages, or even adding another title to your ever-growing bookshelf; it’s about the story, it’s about imagination, and it’s about losing yourself over and over again to the power of a good book.
I’m off track. The point of all of this is that the formatting from a PDF can’t be extracted because it just doesn’t work as an ePub. If you want nice clean formatting in your eBook, all you need is Microsoft Word (for you Mac users out there, you can save your Pages doc as a Word doc). Using the BookRix Self-Publishing service couldn’t be easier with Word, just write your story and make sure each chapter title is formatted as a “Heading” (you can find the Heading option in the same tool bar as bold, italics and alignment – just look to the right, you can’t miss it) and then, when you create an eBook our editor will automatically set all those Headings as chapters. This way, when you download an eBook you’ve got a fully interactive table of contents. Easy-peasy, right? RIGHT!
Self-publishing is about freedom and ease, so take advantage of it and spend more time writing!
