May Indie Author Spotlight and Book Giveaway

For our May Mother's Day newsletter issue, we'll be spotlighting indie author and mom Ellen Tomaszewski and her book My Blindy Girl - A Mother's Journey through Achromatopsia. Reviews have said it is "...a remarkable memoir that braids Katy's challenges, Ellen's determination, and God's grace into hope. It is a heart-warming, life-changing book, one you'll not forget."

Don't miss out on this amazing story of a mother's battle for and with her daughter and the story of unconditional love only a parent could know. Read more about the book and the full interview with the author found only in our May newsletter (see an excerpt). There's still time to sign up for the newsletter!

Ellen has donated a signed copy of her book and we'll be giving it away to one of our lucky newsletter subscribers on May 10.

Not yet a subscriber? Sign up for our monthly newsletter now!

Newbie Writer or Freelancer? Get your word out with a guest blog post or book review!

Are you a new or independent author who wants to get your word out? What about freelancers? Are you a freelance writer that would like more exposure? Guest blogs are a great way to become exposed to new audiences. And? Lucky for you we're looking for guest bloggers and guest book reviewers! Here's the skinny:

Guest Bloggers

We are looking for guest bloggers to write about books, writing, publishing or anything to do with the literary world. Posts must be original and cannot appear (previously or in the future) on any other blog or site. We'll link back to your site and/or contact information.

Guest Book Reviewers

We are looking for reviews on books you've read - any genre, any topic, any age (can be a newer release or older). And? You don't have to be a writer or in the book industry to write a review for us. Anyone who has read a book they'd like to share is eligible. Just like for bloggers, we'll also link back to your site and/or contact information.


What do you get for your trouble?
Exposure to new audiences for your blog, book, or writing. Depending on the timing, your review may also appear on our website and in our newsletter.

Interested? Leave a comment here or email us with your blog topic pitch or the book you'd like to review.

Let the games begin.

Kindle Kills Signed Copies?

In Part Deux of my electronic book blogging, I'm here to ask:
What will happen to author signed copies in the electronic book world?

Flash forward to Kindle World:
You are attending an author reading from the new bestselling author J.K. Wilson (you haven't heard of her, but she's going to be big. REALLY BIG...). The room is packed. You look at each other excitedly as the reading concludes. You arrange yourselves in a kindergarten-ingrained straight line to meet the author. You wipe your sweaty hands on your pants as the line approaches the author. You make nervous small talk with the person in front of you. You're next. FINALLY! You get to meet your favorite author. You approach, smiling cautiously, and extend your Kindle only to have her...slap an autographed Post-It note on the screen?


Think about it, people.
Kindle World.
There will be no substitute.

Name a Book, Win $100 Gift Certificate (Is there more fun than that?!?)

How often have you seen a book and thought, "Wow. I could come up with a waaaaaay cooler title!" (OK, maybe that's just us. Whatever.)

Anyway...

Indie author Elle C. Turner (real name Laina Molaski) is asking for our help in naming her upcoming chick lit novel. Part of the Presley Thurman Series, Elle's debut (and yet untitled) novel will be released in August 2009 and she wants you involved in the book naming contest.

Wait, that's not all!

If you are a Book Blues Bookstore customer who wins the contest Elle will give you $100 gift certificate to shop The Book Blues Bookstore! The winner will also get his or her title in print, a signed copy of the first release, and your name in the dedication.

Groovy, huh?

Here's some info on the book:

Presley Thurman, lover of shoes and Starbucks, thinks she's starting a fun new career as a writer until it turns into something unexpected. The person she's to write about, a U.S. Senator is murdered! Presley hasn't seen this much excitement since the spring sample sale at Saks...read more about the book

Head on over to Elle's blog to check out the cover. And then get your thinking caps on because you only have until May 30. When you're ready to enter your choices, go to Elle's contact page and fill out the required information with your title suggestions in the message field. (Don't forget to let her know The Book Blues Bookstore sent you!) Elle says, "Enter as many times as you wish when inspiration hits or when you're just really, really bored."

The winners will be announced June 1, 2009, and we'll re-post the winning title information here.

So, go on now, get creative (but don't embarrass us)!

Oo-Oo That Smell (of Used Books)

Have you ever ordered a book from an independent bookstore or individual online only to find that it reeks of smoke when it arrives? What about those great finds at garage sales or thrift stores that smell musty?

We have your answer.

In our bookstore we have used and new books. This means that we get a great deal of used books in various conditions and states.

Especially smelly ones.

When we first opened our store, we went through several trial and error processes (on our own and on the suggestion of others) to rid our used books of smells. Many of them smelled like smoke. (Are you a bookseller that smokes? You've been forewarned. You can't smell it on the books, but we can!) Some smelled musty (you know, grandma had a gazillion books in her attic and now we want you to have them). Some smelled like body odor.

Seriously.

So we had a dilemma. We pride ourselves on the quality of our used books, so we didn't want to sell a book that smelled like it had spent last night at the local pub or that Uncle Frank didn't know that there were combinations of deodorant AND antiperspirant.

So what to do?


Things that didn't work for us:

1. Letting the book "air out".
This included removing the jacket from hardcovers, opening the books, and letting clean air get to them. Doesn't work. Don't even try.


2. Use baking soda.

The recommendation was to place the book in an enclosed area/dish/pan/bag and pour baking soda around it. It does get rid of the smell. Sound messy? It was. And? There's something to be said for your customers (or your mother-in-law) wondering what that "white substance" is in/on your books. We tried this for several months before coming up with the ONE THING that consistently worked for us:


FABRIC SOFTENER SHEETS FOR YOUR DRYER


We buy the cheapest brand we can find (hey, we're on a budget here) and insert them inside the book, place it in a Ziploc bag with a couple of other sheets and VOILA! Smell is gone. Have extra-super-smelly books? Add a couple of more sheets throughout the book and inside the bag and let it sit a little longer. Change out the sheets, let is sit for another couple of days.


Now you know our secret (shhhh...don't tell anyone). What's your secret for getting those smells out of your books?

New Twist on #amazonfail: Indie Bookstores Take a Hit

Censorship. It's an ugly enough word to make anyone shudder, especially in relation to banning books (at least for us).

If you haven't yet heard of the #amazonfail movement you're either
1) in a chocolate-bunny-induced coma, or
2) don't own a computer.

Either one of those and you probably won't care about this post. However, there are many people that are up in arms about (what seems) Amazon's censorship on some books the company deems questionable.

To give some background, a few days ago authors and readers started to notice that some of their favorite books were no longer showing up on Amazon searches. In brief, the books had been deranked by Amazon (and books with no rankings don't show up on Amazon). The reason? Amazon categorized them to have "adult content" (a definition of which no one seems to be able to extract from Amazon). Some of the books had gay and lesbian content. Some were romance novels. Some were young adult books. The LA Times did a great article on this. Head on over for the full details.

Anyway, the word spread quickly online via Twitter and the #amazonfail movement was created. Now we're hearing a lot of grumblings about people boycotting Amazon.

The unlucky victims in this?
Independent bookstores who use Amazon as their vehicle to sell books - either via an Amazon webstore or individual listings on Amazon.

Why do we care?
We're one of them. Our website is run through Amazon as a Webstore and it's our main venue for selling books.

After initially building a site and then realizing that it was going to take time-consuming conversions to work with our POS software, we had to make a switch to an Amazon site. And here we are, an Amazon seller.

And now we're stuck in the crossfire.

You wouldn't know that our site is an Amazon store until you get to checkout, where you're asked to login to your Amazon account. Now we're being told that people aren't going to buy from Amazon, which ultimately means they aren't going to buy from us.

We understand how upset you are. We disagree with censorship, too. It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree with the content of these books. We aren't asking you to discard your views and disregard what Amazon is doing. What we do ask is that you reconsider your boycott when shopping with independent bookstores, like us, who run their site through Amazon out of budgetary necessity.

There are other ways to fight this (just Google #amazonfail and you'll find pages of ways or visit this blog - Warning: the blog contains explicit language). And just maybe these other ways won't sacrifice the unassuming independent bookstores for a decision over which they had no control.

Are we killing books?

Remember a time without cell phones in every hand? A time when only joggers wore music headphones? Remember when you left work, that's where email stayed? Or, better yet, you didn't have email at work or home?

Remember?

It was called 1987.

In all seriousness, I recently had a discussion on Twitter that has left me disturbed. A fellow Tweeter gave a raving review about her new Kindle and how she probably wouldn't buy another "real" book again. EVER.

Of course, as a book seller, this left me quite disturbed. But as a book lover, it bugged me even more.

I haven't seen a Kindle. I haven't held one in my hands, so I can't really discuss the product itself. I can, however, discuss the theory of electronic books. I mean, as the way of the world now, doesn't it just seem so, I don't know...impersonal? Won't you miss the feel of an actual book in your hands? And the smell? What about the smell of books? (You book lovers know exactly what I'm talking about.) What about turning real tangible pages and the ability to place your bookmark in just the right spot? I don't foresee a cold electronic object fulfilling that need for books for me.

Look, I love technology as much as the next guy. I've been known to yell at my husband for not turning on his IM so that we can message when he is in his upstairs office and I'm working in my downstairs office. However, I just don't see myself ever choosing the ability to read a book off my telephone over holding a real book. At this point, it's just not that appealing. Reading a book is more than just the words for me. There's some connection that you get with a book, an author, when you hold the book. I've never, ever felt that way when holding an electronic device.

But that's just me.

Wonder what ever happened to all those 8-track tapes anyway?!?

April Book Review: Gordon Ramsay The Biography By Neil Simpson

April 2009 Book Review Gordon Ramsay The Biography by Neil Simpson

Reviewed By Jacqueline Wilson, The Book Blues

We Give It: 4 stars (for the interesting factor, NOT the writing.) Interesting look into one of television's most famous chefs. Covers background information that many people may not know (his professional football career, losing several important people in his life in tragic ways, his family and his involvement in charities). The writing leaves a little to be desired, but worth the read just to understand what made Gordon Ramsay who he is today. British author, British spelling. You've been forewarned.

In the fairness of full disclosure, I have to admit: I have a bit of a crush on Gordon Ramsay. I know it doesn't make sense, but crushes rarely do. He's not that great looking. He's rude to women. He shouts and swears like a sailor. It's just one of those Ethan-Hawke-singing-Violent-Femmes-in-Reality-Bites crushes. I can't explain it. It just is. Which is why I was a little conflicted about reading Gordon Ramsay The Biography by Neil Simpson. Exactly what I thought would happen did happen.

But we'll get back to that later.

Read the full review...

Social Network with The Book Blues

Have you become a fan of The Book Blues on Facebook yet? (If not, shame on you.) Head on over to see all the cool happenings and meet up with other book lovers! (All the cool kids are doing it...)

While you're at it, you might as well join us on Twitter.

Now you're in the know.

We Want You!

Are you an indie author with a book you want to get out? Or, do you love books and doing book reviews? Then we are looking for you!

We are looking to spotlight independent authors ("indies") and help them get the word out on our website and in our monthly newsletter!

We are also looking for guest book reviewers for our newsletter and blog.

Check out our indie author page.

Check out our Write 2 Win info for book reviewers.

For both indie authors and book reviewers, we are happy to link back to your own site to help get the word out about indie authors and/or writers! Help out indie authors and writers by forwarding this post or retweeting on your Twitter account.