Tag Archives: authors

Torn from Normal: My Review

Posted on December 11, 2010 | 2 comments

I am sure that if you know who I am, you probably know who Martin Bartloff is. Martin and I have a history where his book is concerned. But during the month of November, while we werre both participating in NaNoWriMo, he had some doubts as to whether he could finish his. So I made a deal with him, if he made his 50,000 words, I would read his book by 12/16/2010. You can see by the date of this post, that I have days to spare.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to read his book because I didn’t think it would be good, I had explained to Martin several times, that it just wasn’t my type of book. I had chosen not to read it for very personal reasons. Martin now knows those reasons, but it seemed very important to him that I read this book, so I did.

I finished it today. It was exactly as I expected it to be. I had some issues, but all techinical. Below you will find my very honest review of Martin Bartloff’s TORN FROM NORMAL. Would I recommend this book? you ask. Absolutely. It is a wonderful book, just be prepared. LOVE STORY ain’t got nothin’ on TORN FROM NORMAL when it comes to emotion.

“Martin Bartloff has taken a horribly complex topic and developed a beautiful story from it. TORN FROM NORMAL is by far one of the most emotional books I’ve ever read. Bartloff uses his warm voice/style to tell readers a stirring and evocative tale of teen angst. Broaching the most difficult of topics, from adoption, grief, and teen suicide, Bartloff takes readers into the very hearts and souls of his characters as they deal with each of these things. Martin Bartloff has the spirit of a remarkable storyteller and should be applauded for his deft handling of such darkness.”

On a different note, if you read my Blog on any kind of regular basis you know that one of our Echelon authors is going through a horrible time right now. We are all saying lots of prayers for Dave Anderson (author of KILLER COWS), but Martin took things a step farther. Martin has committed to donate all his profits from his Kindle sales through Christmas to Dave and his family. You can check out the info on Dave’s condition by visiting his page on The Caring Bridge. But you can also help Dave and his family by purchasing your copy of TORN FROM NORMAL by Martin for Kindle.

Torn from Normal:

Torn from his normal life by a double tragedy, Andy Riley finds himself living on the beach with street kids. When a robbery goes wrong, the kids attack him. A blue Porsche races to the rescue—driven by the man his friends tried to rob.

Danny has had many foster brothers over the years and knows his father won’t leave a kid bleeding in an alley all alone. They bring Andy home and discover a boy in the depths of despair. Danny welcomes Andy as a new brother, eager to soothe his own loneliness and offer his help and friendship.

An abusive aunt, eager for the government check to support her nephew, demands custody of Andy. The loss of his new family is more than he can bear. When he disappears, Danny and Marvin hurry to find him, before it’s too late.

2 Comments

Posted in Blatherings, Book Reviews, My Reviews

Tagged adoption, author, authors, books, death, ebooks, family, foster parents, grief, Killer Cows, Martin Bartloff, readers, reading, social issues for teens, teen angst, teen issues, teen suicide, Torn From Normal, Writing

Authors Held at Gunpoint

Posted on December 4, 2010 | 6 comments

I received a note from a friend recently that asked me a very disturbing question. She wanted to know if I would offer my opinion on whether or not I thought she should pay to have her books reviewed.

It seems there is an independent bookstore that requires “certain” authors to have their books reviewed by this specific service in order to be carried in their store. They have been carrying the author’s books, but now have decided that they will remove the books unless the author meets this new requirement. Furthermore, the author must PAY to have those reviews done.

Once the reviews have been done, the store will then take the books into the store on consignment only. It would seem that the store also receives a fee for the books reviewed.

Now, I fully understand that some stores (mostly chain stores) charge for shelf placement, but even under those circumstances it is prime shelf space, not the difference between in the store or not.

Is it just me or have the chances for an author actually selling books become as dangerous as driving through gang territory? There seems to be a constant barrage of bullets flying from all directions determined to take out the authors that some booksellers deem unworthy.

What of the readers? Don’t they deserve to choose the books they want and not have to settle just for what booksellers tell them the should read?

6 Comments

Posted in Blatherings, Business, Marketing, Writing

Tagged author, authors, books, bookstores, change, money, publishing, readers, reading

Response to Hostage Demands

Posted on November 5, 2010 | 1 comment

Okay, quite a few of you have asked to see my repsonse to yesterday’s hostage demands. There are those who will think the following is unprofessional. That is probably true. I probably should not have made the contents of the note public in the first place. I, however, think that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others. I have made my position on things like this so clear you’d have to be dead not to know what was going to happen. Below is my response. Do I feel bad about it? Do I feel bad about posting it on a public forum? No! When you send stupidity to me, I will respond as I see fit. It is the chance you take for poking me in the eye with a stick.

On a professional note. People, learn this. The cover letter or query you send a publisher is usually a first impression. Do your best to make it a good one. If you know a person and wish to use that familiarity to your benefit, use your powers for good, not evil stupidity. If you honestly think that I am the only publisher who makes fun of things like this, you are sadly mistaken. I may be the only one foolish enough to post my thoughts on my Blog, but others talk.

One thing you should all know about me. I take publishing very seriously. I may laugh and I may joke, I may not be the epitome of professionalism, but that doe NOT mean I don’t put my entire self into what I do. Echelon does not want to work with people who think themselves above everyone else. We are a team. I don’t do things like everyone else, and you should know that going in. I believe in every author I acquire and I fully expect them to have the same belief in themself. I will not tolerate any author in my house thinking they are better than anyone else. We are all in this for the same reason. TO MAKE READERS HAPPY! You want to make a million dollars? Go start the next eBay or Amazon and good luck with that!

Dear Writer,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding your work, although I am unclear as to what actual work you were referring to as there was no indication of an actual submission. ~~Did you forget to put that part in?~~

I ~~regret~~ would like to inform you that I will be unable to meet any of your ~~ridiculous~~ demands. It ~~pisses me off~~ disturbs me to realize that the impact I have on authors at events is not what I had hoped for. I had led myself to believe ~~nut job that I am~~ that I since I was speaking very clearly to the masses about what they could and could not expect from a relationship with Echelon Press.

While your letter was written very well, the content was absolutely unthinkable. ~~What the hell were you thinking?~~ Echelon is not a large company and many of the larger houses would not even agree to these terms. Though we have been in business nearly ten years, we are still growing into our rightful place among respected publishers. We do this with the full and realistic support of our authors.

I ~~just about laughed my arse off~~ was particularly unsettled by your request for an annual marketing budget and a guarantee of acquisitions of your next four books. ~~Really? Show me some sales track record.~~

I have a considerable number of bits of advice to give you, but they are all things I know I said when last we met. ~~“You didn’t pay any attention then, why would you now?~~ It is a shame that you chose to ignore my previous comments and display yourself in such a manipulative manner. I will be unable to offer you any furhter consideration and your e-mail address has been flagged as SPAM.

I would strongly urge you to familiarize yourself with how this industry actually works. The basic submission process begins with a query letter. Had you done any research regarding Echelon and myself, you would have known well in advance how this would play out.

Furthermore, you closed your letter by acknowledging me as “friend.” Please note that I am not your friend. Nor would I have been should you have actually submitted your work and we had acquired it. While I am quite fond of many of my authors, and a few I do call friend. A person who behaves so irresponsibly unprofessional would not fall into that category.

Publishing is a business and should be treated as such before, during, and after publication. Assumptions such as yours did not have the desired results. I am not so easily manipulated by a word. Please note that we do not wish to work with you at this time or any other time. Our submissions for all divisions are closed to you.

I sincerely hope you will consider my response before you ~~try and hold another publisher hostage for your own personal gain use this manner to~~ submit to another publisher.

Karen Syed, President
Echelon Press LLC