Monthly Archives: February 2015
CONSUELO SAAH BAEHR: JACKIE KENNEDY WAS GRACIOUS, FRIENDLY AND SPOKE IN A LOW VOICE
Born in El Salvador and raised in Washington, D.C., Consuelo Saah Baehr’s talent was found by the readers 26 years after the debut of her book Three Daughters. Amazon’s publishing house Lake Union re-released the history fiction novel. The praise came right away. With 500+ reviews averaging 4.3 stars Three Daughters is a pure example of how a self-publishing book may draw attention. Lets welcome our next guest Conuelo Saah Baehr.
– Lady Baehr, Three Daughters was published in 1988, but still is very popular. Did you expect such success of the novel when first have been released?
– Three Daughters was out of print for many years until the advent of self-publishing allowed many writers to re-invent themselves as “digital content providers.” Jeff Bezos of Amazon provided us with a big free stage and the means to resuscitate our out-of-print books and give them the time needed to build an audience. This happened to Three Daughters. The book began to gain readership and good reviews and it was noticed by the publishing arm of Amazon. Lake Union, an Amazon imprint, re-issued the book in November and it has become a bestseller and fulfilled its potential.
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13 FACTS ABOUT THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN AND PAULA HAWKINS
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins became one of the hottest new titles for 2015. Currently the suspense thriller is #1 at Amazon bestselling list.
The novel was initially published on January 13 by different branches of Penguin around the world. The incredible story told by the main character Rachel was praised around the world. Here are some interesting facts about the book.
MIA SHERIDAN: MY HUSBAND THINKS MY HEROES ARE BASED PARTLY ON HIM
Mia Sheridan’s last book Kyland became an instant bestseller. The readers love it. Since its publishing month ago the novel gathered almost 500 reviews. It’s very rare for an author to have three books that are averaging 4.9 Amazon stars from hundreds of reviews. To be honest Mia Sheridan is the first one that I notice around the market with such high permanent recognition.
Our next guest is New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband and their four kids. Land of Books says welcome to one of the top Romantic writers on the planet.
– Mia, your last book Kyland is averaging amazing 4.9 stars in almost 500 Amazon reviews. What is the special secret of the book?
– I wish I knew! 😀 I’d attempt to duplicate it each time. 😀 But if I’m just going by the things people are saying in reviews, I’d say that there’s a good response to the emotions in the book, and that the characters are real and relatable. They face problems and feel things we’ve all felt, even if under different circumstances. It’s easier to lose yourself in a story if you can relate to the characters and understand their decisions and responses.
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BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATION: FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
If you are fan of Twilight who is dreaming to become rich and famous, there is well beaten path ahead of you. 46-year-old British Erika Mitchell, mother of two sons, decided to combine her erotic fantasies with the heroes of the well known vampire fantasy.
C.J. BRIGHTLEY: THE KING’S SWORD REVOLVES AROUND THE IDEAL OF HEROISM
C.J. Brightley debuted in the writing world with The King’s Sword, the first part of Erdemen Honor series. The American fantasy author followed with few more books from the same realms and started a new project A Long-Forgotten Song series. Let me introduce our next guest, C.J. Brightley.
– The King’s Sword is the first part of Erdemen Honor series. Would you introduce the book to the readers?
– A disillusioned soldier. A spoiled, untried prince. A coup that threatens the country they love.
When retired soldier Kemen finds the young prince Hakan fleeing an attempted assassination, he reluctantly takes the role of mentor and guardian. Keeping the prince alive is challenging enough. Making him a man is harder.
As usurper Vidar tightens his grip on power, Kemen wrestles with questions of duty and honor. What if the prince isn’t the best ruler after all?
Invasion looms, and Kemen’s decisions will shape the fate of a nation. What will he sacrifice for friendship and honor?
The King’s Sword and the rest of the Erdemen Honor series revolve around the ideal of heroism. Heroes aren’t perfect people, but they choose to do the right thing, even when it’s hard. One of my reviewers said that I write the opposite of grimdark. I think that’s true. Grimdark is very “in” right now, but I don’t love it. To me, it’s characterized by not only dark characters but a dark world, in which good cannot triumph and justice cannot prevail. There’s a place for darkness in literature, for understanding that the good guys don’t always win.
But sometimes they do! Sometimes courage and kindness really do change the world, or at least one corner of the world. C. S. Lewis said, about fairytales, “Since it is so likely that [children] will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave nights and heroic courage.” Those are the stories I write.
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DIANNE GALLAGHER: TALENT DOESN’T ALWAYS WIN
Dianne Gallagher’s first line of her introduction is “Life is Never a Straight Line”. The prove of the sentence is hiding into her debut novel Too Dark To Sleep. The readers loved the thriller. “Great nod to classic noir”, “Excellent read”, “Scary, edge of my seat” are just a few of reviewers’ opinions. With average 4.7 stars in Amazon the novel is one to read.
– How did you decide to write your book Too Dark To Sleep?
– I guess the catalyst was wine and a bunch a friends. After the proper amount of wine was consumed, someone asked the question, “What if you lost everything?” I was completely surprised by the answers. Several people thought it would be very freeing. They could start over with a blank slate. For me, well… I realized if I lost most elements of my life, I would survive and just rebuild my life with a few changes. Even if I lost my husband… who I love and would miss. The thing is… we had time together and, even though it would be tragic and sad and very difficult, I would still be able to continue my life. If I lost my kids. That would be another story. I’m not sure I could go on.
And that’s how Too Dark to Sleep started. That kernel. And a lot of research and rewrites.
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HELEN BRYAN: 90% OF THE STORIES IN WAR BRIDES ARE BASED ON REAL PEOPLE
Helen Bryan was born in Virginia, but is living in London. She wrote four books. With each new one her fans around the world are growing. War Brides was published in 2007, but once again is among the top downloaded novels in Amazon (av. 4.2 rating from 7000 plus reviews). Let’s say welcome to our next honorable guest Lady Helen Bryan. She was very kind to share with us many interesting things about her books.
– Helen, War Brides is still a huge hit 8 years after the publication? Did you expect the novel to have such a great success?
– I have to say that I’ve been happily surprised. I don’t think many authors “expect” success, however much we hope for it, so when a book sells well, and you’ve made a connection with so many readers, it’s wonderful.
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KENDRA ELLIOT: I NEVER EXPECTED TO MAKE A LIVING AS AN AUTHOR
In 2014 Kendra Elliot’s novel Buried won Daphne du Maurier award for best Romantic Suspense. The American author released her new book Bridged on February 10. It’s the second part of well received Callahan&McLane series. We’ve got an exclusive chance to learn more about it in our next interview.
– Kendra, After the great success of Vanished what Bridged will bring up to the readers?
– BRIDGED kicks off with a fascinating crime and investigation. My main characters are assigned to the same case and the reader gets to see the next stage of their growing relationship that began in VANISHED.
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ACADEMY AWARDS FACTS
87th Academy Awards are coming this weekend. The ceremony will be broadcasted live in 200 countries on February 22. 24 different categories will have their winners from all the movies in 2014. You may see all the nominations here
To warm up the spectacle Land of Books puts some interesting facts around the Oscars. Here they are
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KARL FREITAG: I AM HOPING PEOPLE ARE STILL READING MY STORIES 50 YEARS FROM NOW
Karl Freitag is one of the most popular people in the boxing world. He is pioneer in internet coverage of boxing. His web page Fightnews is well respected source of news.
Few days ago our next guest published his debut book. Short, Short, Science Fiction Stories was released on February 11. Lets unveil something more about the book from the author himself.
– What is your debut book Short, Short Science Fiction Stories about?
– These are very short stories, or flash fiction as some call it. They cover the normal themes you’d expect in the science/speculative fiction genre but in an exciting, different way.
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