Book Journey

Wednesday Evening At The Book Expo in New York – Harper Collins

Published on June 5, 2014June 7, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)25 Comments

Here is the second of my Book Expo Week posts. Yesterday I shared with you what the “BEA Bloggers” event was like, and today I want to talk with you about the amazing publishing company that is Harper Collins.

Harper Collins is one of the highlight events of the Book Expo. They do such an incredible job on sharing what the “hot titles” will be. I wish I had my notes from the Harper sneak peek of upcoming great reads but I am pretty sure I packed it into a box and the books… have not yet arrived. 🙂 I will have to share in more detail at a later date.

Basically what happens at this event is that the different divisions of Harper stand up in the front of the room and share 2-4 titles each of what they are excited about that is coming out. There is something about someone gushing about a book isn’t there? As I looked at the different titles and covers there may be one that does not really speak to me… but then when someone is sharing the excitement of the book… I pick it up again. How can you not react? 😀

One book that really caught my attention was The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, releasing August 26th of this year.

The cover is GORGEOUS. And listening to the description of the book and the bidding war that went on to win this book (Harper won!) makes me sooooooo curious and EXCITED about this book.

And of course, at Harper is where I get a chance to see my BEA buddies! I am always thrilled to see Kathy from Bermuda Onion, Julie from Booking Mama, Swapna from S Kirshna’s Books, Gayle from Everyday I Write The Book, Nicole from Linus’ Blanket (who I was on the panel with), Candace from Beth Fish Reads (roommate) and of course, Alison from Alison’s Book Marks. (I could kick myself for not getting more group pics!)

If you know my Alison story, you know that we met at the Book Expo at the Harper Collins Party in 2010. We read a lot of the same books and on line, are always sharing audio book suggestions. After that first year and having a picture taken together it has become a standing joke with us that we must get our “Harper Collins picture!” And… we always do:

from left to right: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. I change….she does not 😀 Always a blast Alison!

And then of course there is the Harper Collins party… a combination of the publishers, authors, and bloggers. It is such a BLAST!

Harper Collins, BEA, Book JOurney, Sheila DeChantal — Right up front left is Gail from Ticket To Anywhere and center is Kristin from Always With A Book!

So that is my Harper Collins recap for now. More on the books coming up!

Have a super day everyone 😀

What book has your attention today?

FACE OFF – Authors face off their protagonists against each other! Edited by David Baldacci

Published on June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Ever wonder what your favorite thriller authors are doing between books? They are imaging how their protagonists would stand up to the likes of other thriller writer protagonists… 😉 ~Sheila

Imagine if the protagonists from your favorite thriller writers teamed up to work together (or not). What level could you take a storyline?

What if Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenvie ran into Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch while apparently on a stake out for the same man?

Or John Sanford’s Lucas Davenport finds himself in the vicinity of Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme?

Or Lee Child’s Jack Reacher is hanging out with Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller?

And add-on a total of 22 characters facing off in 11 short stories, collaborated by the two authors to make each short story. And, (I think this is fun) each story starts out with a page or two blurb of how the authors worked together to create a short yet engaging thriller story in about 20 pages or less.

I have to say, I loved the idea of this book, and then actually reading it made me love it more. This is one of those remarkable ideas of bringing authors together with their protagonists for a big party! Always the fan of Dennis Lehane I rad his story that was created with Michael Connelly first and loved the quick paced thriller with a humorous edge to it.

Bosch looked over Patrick. “You like baseball Patrick?”

“Big time. Why?”

“You’re the first guy I have seen in this town not wearing a sox hat.”

Patrick pulled off his hat and considered the front of it as he ran a hand through his hair. “Imagine that. I didn’t even look when I left the house.”

“Is that a rule or something around here? You’ve all got to represent Red Sox Nation or something?”

“It’s not a rule per se, more like a guideline.”

Fans of thrillers this book is a must.

Each author has donated his or her story and all of the proceeds from the book go to fund ITW (International Thriller Writers), which charges no dues to its members.

Wednesday At the Book Expo: Blogger Con – BEA Bloggers

Published on June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Good morning! As promised, there will be Book Expo recaps and this is the first one.

Last Wednesday was the Blogger Convention Day of The Book Expo. This year they called it BEA Bloggers. The whole point of this day, which is actually a prequel to the expo, is a chance for book bloggers to educate themselves on topics that are relevant. Such topics this year were:

Design 101 Creating a Picture Perfect Blog
Design 201: Taking Your Blog To The Next Level
Software 101: Best Blogging Tools
Technology 201: Ad Works
Beyond The Blog – Introduce Yourself To Vlogging and Podcasting
Blogging And The Law
The Publishing Process – How Bloggers Have Changed The Game
Engaging Your Readers – Taking Your Writing To The Next Level

The panels were combinations of bloggers, publishers, media…. trying to get a good mix of opinion. The 101 sessions were designed for newer bloggers and the 201 more advanced. I spoke at the final session of the day, Engaging Your Readers.

First off the Keynote Speaker was author and Twitter gal, Maureen Johnson. If you are not familiar with Maureen’s work, she is a YA author who has written 13 Little Blue Envelopes, The Name Of The Star, and Scarlett Fever just to name a few.

Maureen as always was funny, sharing some moments about writing, and engaging readers.

I then went into the The Design 201 group with Hafsah Faizal from Icey Designs. Apparently (new to me) this is a site that helps you design amazing blogs… and they are beautiful – I checked them out. I did not pick up a lot from this session.

Next up I went to Technology 201: Ad Networks. This is a subject I have been curious about and my pal Florinda from The 3 R’s Blog was the moderator. If you know Florinda, she is this sweet gal and I believe… is 4′ 8″. Yup…. she is short. 🙂 Before her panel she said to me, “I wonder what I will look like behind the podium?” I suggested we go find out before the people started coming in for the session. We went to the front and she stood behind the podium.

We had a quick laugh together, and Florinda decided to moderate from the table:

Swapna from S. Krishna’s Books was also on this panel. This panel discussed a few options out there for advertising on your blog – not that it will make you rich and you will leave your day job, but if you are considering bringing in a little money from your site. Swapna has sold ads herself on her website and said it is a lot of work to keep up on. Jason from Litbreaker was also on the panel (3rd one in) and he explained how Litbreaker works. Litbreaker is the only ad I currently have here at Book Journey. This panel did a wonderful job of answering questions and sharing insights.

I skipped out on the Vlogging session and the Blogging and The Law session. These were at the same time and I do not see myself vlogging any time soon, and I have in on a law session before, although I did pop my head in to see if there was anything new they were discussing.

Then, our group was up. We had a fun panel. Mandy Boles was our moderator, Nicole from Linus’ Blanket, myself and Jason from Mediander (which I need to look more into). Our task was to share what other posts we wrote besides book reviews, different ways to format your posts to be more eye appealing, and how to use social media to enhance your posts.

Some of the highlights that came out of our panel was:

Have post titles that are engaging and make people want to click to see what you wrote.

Asking questions at the end of your post, or writing posts that encourage discussion will create comments

If you are looking for people to read and comment on your blog, you need to put yourself out there on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instigram, Storify, whatever works for you. Comment on other blogs. Join in on meme’s.

Make your comments on posts good. Do not say “nice review” and PLEASE do not add your links to your own posts or blog in the comment. Comments should encourage conversation. Mention your thoughts on the same book, or something you particularly found interesting about the post… if your comments are interesting people will go to your blog to check out what you are writing.

Keep your blog current – try to post at least 4 times a week.

Tag your photo’s that you use in your posts – do not leave them listed under 72.jpg, but change that to include your blog name, maybe your name, author and book title if it is a book pic… this will drive more traffic to your blog when people search images.

Write beyond the books – interesting bookish topics, book club discussions, author events, etc… If you do not know what to write about look up what people are searching for that brings them to your blog.
Break up posts with pictures – always when writing reviews add a picture of the book. Long posts should have another picture in it to break up the wording. We are a visual society.

Font matters, change it up in posts.

Posts should not be longer than 800 words. If you have a long post – consider breaking it up into a series.

Try clicky.com to set up a tracking on your blog to see what is receiving the most attention.

Set your posts up to go automatically to Twitter when you write them, add them to other social media as well.

I am certain I am not recalling everything from this session this is just my recollection. Everyone had such great input and I think we did ok. 🙂

So that was the blogger convention. Next BEA post will be about Harper Collins… the books, the excitement… the party! Stay tuned…. 😉

Brown Bag Author: Nathan Jorgenson “Writing a Book Is Like Getting Naked In Public”

Published on June 3, 2014June 3, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

The Friends of The Brainerd Public Library sponsor each June and July our Brown Bag Author Series. This is a series of Minnesota authors who come and speak each Monday from noon to one at our library. This event is open to the public, and the authors are able to sell their books at the end of the hour.

Our first author for the 2014 line up was Nathan Jorngenson. Nathan is the author of three books, Waiting For White Horses, The Mulligan, and A Crooked Number. For Waiting For White Horses, Nathan was the winner of the 2004 Benjamin Franklin Award, Best New Voice 2005 Foreward Magazine Book of the Year Award Finalist 2005 Independent Publishers Book Award Finalist. The Mulligan was 2007 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award Finalist and 2007 Independent Publisher Book Award Finalist for Book of the Year.

Nathan is a delightful speaker. He was able to capture the attention of the 70 people who showed up to listen to him talk about his books. (An excellent count and kick off to this years events!) Each cover, has a story, and I was thrilled to find out that the cover of Waiting For White Horses is actually a picture of Nathan and his dog. The Mulligan, Nathan said was said to be “too dark a cover”. “Too brown” he was told, yet, “The cover won an award.” A Crooked Number, also has a story and the pictures on the back are actually some of Nathan’s own pictures. I LOVE the personal touch he has put in his covers!

Nathan read a little out of both Waiting For White Horses and A Crooked Number. He shared a funny story about book signings. He was encouraged once to take his dog with him to a signing. “Everyone loves dogs” he was told. Nathan said that every time someone came up to sign a book, they just reeked of a foul odor. He had no idea what was going on, finally his wife said, “You have to get the dog out of here, he is farting every time someone approaches”. Nathan said it was a sad day that he had to fire his dog from future signings. 😀

Writing, is like getting naked in public.

Nathan spoke on writing. You expose yourself to the world, for better of for worse. “You must write from the heart, that is all you can do.” He shared another funny instance where at a signing an elderly woman came up to him and said, “Why are your books so pornographic?” (For the record here – they are not… not even close!) A man standing behind the woman chimed in and said, “We love your books. In fact our Pastor has recommended two of them from the Pulpit.” It is all a matter of opinion.

Nathan enjoys reading Harlan Coben and Scott Turrow. He admits to writing his first two books with a #2 pencil. “I am pretty old school,” he chuckles.

I purchased copies of Waiting For White Horses and A Crooked Number. The first being a book I have been told time and again that I must read, and the second a book I have wanted to read for a while now. Nathan generously donated copies of all three of his books to our library, and another set to be auctioned off at our Fall event, Wine and Words.

Morning Meanderings…. Check Out What Is Happening Here!

Published on June 3, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

Good morning! SO much going on here I am just going to get to it.

After I get my COFFEE.

*pads over to coffee pot. Returns*

Yea! I hope you have coffee too! Let’s have a cup together!

Did you know….

This is audio book month? Oh yeah…. get ready for it Laurel 😉 I have some fun things coming up AND some great giveaways, stay tuned! (lol… get it.. tuned… because you are listening…. 😉 )

ALSO – June 9th is my 5 year Blogiversary! I know right? And if you have been here in the past years... you know I LOVE to make a big fat hairy deal out of it with giveaways and more…. as long as my BEA boxes are here by Saturday, I plan to set up the big celebration probably then. Watch for it… it will be EPIC and worth your read. 😀

AND a shout out to my dear friend Belinda who has a birthday today! Yippy!!!! Can not wait to hang out with you! Cabin weekend plans need to be made!

And probably the big scary awesome news is that last night I went to .net. Yes, yes…. 5 years it takes me but I am not addressed here at bookjourney.net. SOOOOOO much easier to type! LOL

If you did not get a chance to see my super cool new office on Facebook, here is a quick pic of it:

SQQQQUUUEEEEEE!! This is where I will be working today. SWEET!

Yes I will still be writing BEA posts, probably tomorrow. Later today I have an author event coming up that I was at yesterday that I could not pass up writing about right away… but the posts are coming and they will be fun – pics, events, the expo, highlights, author pics, books… and more 😀

Have a super awesome Tuesday! Sunny in Minnesota today – what’s happening with your day?

Faces On Book Covers… Like Or Dislike?

Published on June 2, 2014June 2, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)52 Comments

Today I was at an author event where the author was discussing his book covers. He actually had some fascinating thoughts on them (more on that in tomorrow’s post) but one thing he mentioned stood out to me. He has a cover with a little girl on a tricycle peddling away so you do not see her face, he said he had her riding away as when you see the face on a cover it gives you an image of what the character looks like and he feels that should be part of the reading experience; to create the character in your mind.

Part of the reading experience should be to create the character in your mind.

Ooh…. I like that.

I have always had a sort of dislike for covers that have a picture of the characters on them. Why? Because that image is now in my head as I read the book. The girl (or boy) on the cover is now who is running through the pages which is fine if it is a move cover as we already have the character defined for us by the big box… but not for the original pre-movie (or no-movie) book.

Ok so above – is my example. To the left, is the book I mentioned from the author today. It is an engaging cover and I like it… I want to know where she is going, or where she has went, or who has taken her…. the only thing that would bother me here is if the girl in the book has long flowing BLOND hair, or if her hair is short, unlike the cover. To the right, is Vampire Academy. Nothing against the book… but this girl on the cover makes me think of an older girl than the protagonist in the book.

There have been books I have read that the character inside the book is NOTHING like the cover picture and I can not even tell you how bat sh** crazy that makes me. I seriously flip from the cover to the page I am reading to the cover again… if the girl (or boy) on the cover is not the one described in the book, then who is she or he?

There is one instance that comes to mind from a few years back where the cover actually caused an all out battle. Seriously… anyone remember LIAR?

LIAR is the story of Micah who is well… a liar. And I will say she is! Or at least the people who made the cover are, because Micah, is an African-American girl… not at all the one in the cover. There is a HUGE story behind this cover and there was a refusal by bloggers to review the book as they were all so upset that the publishing company went with a white girl on the cover. Seriously…. this is a whole other story so Google it someday, but the ending result of this battle was:

Yup. Seriously amazing… and all of this could have been avoided.

I really prefer non-face covers. Give me a lake setting, a boat, abandoned car, a road, a house, even people way in the background so you can not really make them out… you name it… I can pretty much work with it… all of these lead me into the story…

“Who lives there?”

“Where are they going?”

What is going to happen?

What are your thoughts on book covers? Preferences? Do you mind faces on book covers? How do you feel when the cover does not match the story?

Don’t Forget…

Published on June 2, 2014June 6, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)1 Comment

Watch for reviews, interviews, and giveaways throughout June, here at Book Journey.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on June 1, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments

Hey there! Welcome to It’s Monday, What Are You Reading!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. Fair warning… this meme tends to add to your reading list!

I just landed back in Minnesota late last night. The Book Expo was a lot of fun but I am ready to be back to my regularly scheduled life. 🙂 As you can probably guess with me running around New York all last week that not a lot was posted. I did manage to put some posts up at the Armchair BEA site which I will link as well as what I have completed here:

Live From BEA: Interview with Author Bette Lee Crosby

The Summer Of Letting Go by Gae Polisner (audio)

Life From Bea: From The Expo Floor

Awkward Moments At The Book Expo

Live From BEA The Grudge Keeper by Mara Rockliff and Peachtree Publishing

File Under 13 Suspicious Incidents by Lemony Snicket (fun audio!)

Live From BEA: Kristin Haas and Arbordale Publishing

Oh my gosh! I actually posted a lot. ROCKSTAR! LOL

So what is on deck for this week? So glad you asked!

For My Ears

When Saba Khan’s apartment burns in a mysterious fire, possibly a hate crime, her Chicago high school rallies around her. Her family moves rent-free into a luxury apartment, Saba’s Facebook page explodes, and she starts (secretly) dating a popular boy. Then a quirky piece of art donated to a school fund-raising effort for the Khans is revealed to be an unknown work by famous outsider artist Henry Danger, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Saba’s life turns upside down again. Should Saba’s family have all that money? Or should it go to the students who found the art? Or to the school? And just what caused that fire?

Vacationing at a luxurious Tuscan island resort, Nicolas Duhamel is hopeful that the ghosts of his past have finally been put to rest… Now a bestselling author, when he was twenty-four years old, he stumbled upon a troubling secret about his family – a secret that was carefully concealed. In shock, Nicholas embarked on a journey to uncover the truth that took him from the Basque coast to St. Petersburg – but the answers wouldn’t come easily.

In the process of digging into his past, something else happened. Nicolas began writing a novel that was met with phenomenal success, skyrocketing him to literary fame whether he was ready for it or not – and convincing him that he had put his family’s history firmly behind him. But now, years later, Nicolas must reexamine everything he thought he knew, as he learns that, however deeply buried, the secrets of the past always find a way out.

For My Eyes

Not sure what I will be reading yet….

How about you? How was your reading this past week? What is on deck for this week? Please share your Monday What Are You Reading posts below where it says click here:

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File Under 13 Suspicious Incidents by Lemony Snicket

Published on June 1, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

Listening Length: 3 hours and 1 minute
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Hachette Audio

If you are not a member of our secret organization, hello there. This is a blank audiobook which you shouldn’t listen to. ~ as seen on the back of the audio jacket

Lemony Snicket is in the town of Stain’d-by-the-Sea but his stay is not a quiet one. In thirteen separate incidents he is called upon to assist in cracking a mystery. Kidnappings, vandalism, food theft, and even potential ghosts, Lemony, along with the help of the reader, solves each case.

13 Suspicious Incidents is divided into thirteen short stories read by different narrators. Kudos to John Scieszka, Terry Gross, Sarah Vowell, Libba Bray, Ira Glass, Sophie Blackall, Jon Klassen, Chris Kluwe, Holly Black, Sook-Yin Lee, Rachel Maddow, Stephin Merritt, and Wesley Stace.

Each story is a mystery that Lemony files and then moves on to the next case. At the end of the thirteen stories, each story is quickly revisited and explains the solution. What a fun may for a middle grade student to try to solve these mysteries before they hear the answers!

I personally found the stories fun and enjoyed the different narrations. I have to admit… some of the cases had me stumped and I had to wait to the end to figure it out. 🙂

This audio is right around 3 hours long. This would be great for a car ride with kids.

Morning Meanderings… Book Expo HaNgOvEr

Published on June 1, 2014 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Good morning from….. Minnesota! Yes, I am back. I landed in Minneapolis yesterday evening and had a treacherous drive home through the storms and extreme rain. Twice I pulled over because it was raining so hard I could not see the road. There were cars pulled over everywhere. Talk about your EXTREME driving.

Now I sit in the comforts of my own home chilling with my COFFEE and feel up and thinking about my day of catching up on some household things but mostly…. lying low. I am wiped out but not as wiped out as I have been in the past which is nice. My feet do not hurt from all the walking around the expo and the streets of New York however I do think my shoe of choice today will be “flip-flop”. 😀

Sheila DeChantal, Book Journey — As you can see, Sammy is not about to let me get away any time soon. 😉

Also a few books came in while I was away:

Belly Up, MOUSEHEART, and The Search For Wondla are a win from Beth Fish Reads

Here and Again by Nicole R Dickson (audio)

The Collision Battle for Darracia by Michael Phillip Cash

Andi Under Pressure by Amanda Flower

The THREE by Sarah Lotz

Throughout this next week I will be posting Book Expo recaps so stay tuned 🙂 I am also still adding posts to Armchair BEA. This afternoon I plan to be giving Book Journey a bit of a facelift… I came up with some ideas at the expo and am excited to get started. I am not sure all what I will be doing, but my hope is that the final look will be fresh and professional looking. Feel free to peek 😉