The Magic Battery and Spells of War are available at half price as part of Smashwords’ site-wide July promotion. No coupon code is necessary; just go to the book’s page. These prices are good through the end of July 2022.
Some employees of a huge corporation demanded it should decide which books are acceptable for customers. They engaged in what’s called a “die-in,” which consists of lying on the ground while issuing demands. They demanded that Amazon decide which books it approves of and not make others available to customers.
This is small stuff, but it’s weird that anyone would demand that a mega-corporation which is the world’s largest bookseller should have an Index of Prohibited Books that it won’t sell. The protesters fantasize that they’ll get to call the shots. They imagine that they’ll decide what’s on the Index; probably they all think they’ll be promoted to the new position that compiles the Index.
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I thought I had read To Kill a Mockingbird before, but I must have been mistaken. I couldn’t have forgotten so much of so powerful a book.
It must have been the movie that confused my memory. It’s an excellent adaptation of the book, but it focuses more on the Tom Robinson trial. The trial is an important part of Harper Lee’s novel, but the canvas is broader.
The novel presents the experiences of a girl growing up in a small Alabama town in the 1930s. Her father is Atticus Finch, an attorney of impeccable integrity. It presents what seems to me like an honest picture of people’s attitudes in that place and time.
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Monica Cellio has posted a review of Spells of War.
Spells of War tells an interesting story with characters I cared about. In both books, the author made me care about, and understand the inner struggles of, people who are on the “other side” — the inquisitor in the first book and Petros and his peers in the second. Spells of War shows the devastation that war causes on all involved.
As she notes, Monica was a beta reader and got a free copy in return for her useful advice. There was no quid pro quo beyond that.
Here’s the information on ordering Spells of War.
It’s safe to say I’m an obscure novelist. I know lots of other obscure novelists and even a few you’ve likely heard of. When they’re friends, I try to make them a little less obscure. It doesn’t take a lot of effort. Authors love reviews, but a full review isn’t necessary. Any mention helps if it isn’t too negative.
If you have a blog or use social media, mentioning the books you’ve read lately helps the authors. Dan Brown may not care, but it can make a significant difference to someone who’s hoping to hit a thousand sales. If you use sites like LibraryThing and Goodreads, follow the authors you know and rate their books. If they run a promotion, let your friends know about it.
You might even learn something about your friends’ interests and knowledge from the books they’ve written.
To put my keyboard where my mouth is, here are some novels by authors I know who are less than famous:
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