Sunday, August 23, 2015

Book Promotion Services


Authors/publicists/publishers may contact for the following book promotion services which we are offering:

Book Spotlight:
This service is available to authors who wish to share information about one book (i.e., new release, cover reveal, free day, price drop, etc.).
This package includes the following:
-a post containing information about one book
-social media promotion across our social media networks
-a minimum of ten blogs

Cost:$100

* If a giveaway is to be included with Book Spotlight post, additional $25 administration fee is required. Name and contact information of the winner(s) will be provided and it will be the author’s responsibility to send the prize(s).

Author Interview:
Authors will be provided with approximately 25 – 30 questions, out of which they must answer at least 10 – 12. An author will be required to provide profile photo along with book images for the post. This service is available to all authors.
This package includes the following:
-a post containing the questions, answers, and responses + images
-social media promotion across our social media networks

Cost:$40

* If a giveaway is to be included with the Interview, additional $25 administration fee is required. Name and contact information of the winner(s) will be provided and it will be the author’s responsibility to send the prize(s).

Book Review:
We accept books for review. It will take approximately 10 – 15 days for the review to be posted live on our blog. If you need expedited review, from 24 hours to less than ten days, you can make a request.
This package includes the following:
-a review post on our blog. If you required Amazon post you will have make a specific request
-sharing of the review through our social media networks

Cost:

Book (less than 10,000 words) = $40
10,000 to 40,000 words = $60
40,000 to 80,000 words = $80
80,001+ words = $100
Expedited review , add $100 for less than 3 days and $50 for 4 – 9 days.

* If a giveaway is to be included with the review, additional $25 administration fee is required. Name and contact information of the winner(s) will be provided and it will be the author’s responsibility to send the prize(s).

Book Blast:
A Book Blast involves multiple blogs (we normally arrange 10 – 15 blogs) with all participating blogs posting the same material about the book, purchasing information, author information, etc. A Book Blast also involves a shared Rafflecopter giveaway (usually for a $25, $50, or $100 Amazon gift card and/or PayPal cash) where individuals gain entries by adding the book to a Goodreads shelf, following the author, following the participating blogs, and so on. A Book Blast’s main purpose is to gain exposure for the book and followers for the author.
This package includes the following:
-A sign-up post and book blast post
-Social media promotion which includes tweets, Google+, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram shares
-Coordination and management of a 2 week giveaway

Cost:$100 (includes $25 giveaway prize)

Blog Book Review:
A Blog Book Review requires the participation of bloggers to post reviews on their blogs and spread words about the book. This program requires about four weeks to recruit bloggers. All participating bloggers will be sent Kindle gifted copy of the book and they may post a review on Amazon as well (but not a must).
All reviews must be constructive, regardless of whether they are positive or negative.
This package includes the following:
-A Blog Book Review sign-up post and social media promotion
-Email reminders to individuals who sign-up
-A final Blog Book Review post highlighting reviews obtained during the promotion period
-Managing of the Blog Book Review giveaway

Cost: $150

Blog Tour:
A Blog Tour involves multiple sites posting book reviews, author interviews, excerpts or other information about a book; a shared giveaway and, promotion via a number of social media outlets. Tours will last between 1 week and 3 weeks depending on how many stops you would like. There is a guarantee of a minimum of 10 stops. Electronic copies of the book (mobi, pdf, and epub preferrably, mobi and pdf, minimally) must be available for the tour. Print copies may also be requested at times. The purpose of a Blog Tour is to gain exposure for the book and the author as well as obtain public reviews of the book. This package includes the following:
-Supervision and personal comment for each blog tour stop
-Each blog stop tour gets tweeted
-Facebook shares
-Google+ shares
-Book recommendation
-Goodreads TBR list
-Pinterest pin
-Managing of Rafflecopter Giveaway for an Amazon gift card or PayPal cash prize

Cost:

-10 to 14 stops: $200
-Each additional 5 stops will increase the price incrementally by $25. Add cost of gift card/cash for the Giveaway Prize ($25, $50, or $100; minimum $25)
-Minimum of 5 weeks prior to the start of the tour. Minimum 2 blog tours per week


30 Days Social Media Blitz:
If for some reason you are unable to keep up with promoting your book via social media accounts or don't even have them set up, we can help. This will help create buzz around the book and gain widespread exposure. This package includes the following:
-Set up account with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and others
-Management of daily social media tasks such as updates, promotion, etc.
-Gain new followers for your social media accounts
-Maintain your blog and website by posting new updates
-Create buzz around the book, etc

Cost:
-30 days: $200
-60 days: $300

Here's a look at our statistics:

- approximately 2,50,000 Twitter followers
- approximately 30,000 Facebook likes
- approximately 7,000 blog followers
- approximately 4,000 Pinterest followers
- approximately 1,000 Instagram followers
- approximately 1,000 Tumblr followers
- plus LinkedIn, Google+, Goodreads connection

For additional information, please contact thegreatreads (at) gmail (dot) com

Friday, August 14, 2015

The Courtesan by Alexandra Curry

24611456A book that shines a small light on the large history of China’s relationship with the West, The Courtesan is a novel that distills, with the economy of a poem, a woman’s journey of untold miles to discern what is real and abiding.

A timeless novel of one woman who bridged two worlds in a tumultuous era of East meets West

The Courtesan is an astonishing tale inspired by the real life of a woman who lived and loved in the extraordinary twilight decades of the Qing dynasty. To this day, Sai Jinhua is a legend in her native land of China, and this is her story, told the way it might have been.

The year is 1881. Seven-year-old Jinhua is left an orphan, alone and unprotected after her mandarin father’s summary execution for the crime of speaking the truth. For seven silver coins, she is sold to a brothel-keeper and subjected to the worst of human nature. Will the private ritual that is her father’s legacy and the wise friendship of the crippled brothel maid be enough to sustain her?

When an elegant but troubled scholar takes Jinhua as his concubine, she enters the close world of his jealous first wife. Yet it is Jinhua who accompanies him--as Emissary to the foreign devil nations of Prussia, Austro-Hungary, and Russia--on an exotic journey to Vienna. As he struggles to play his part in China's early, blundering diplomatic engagement with the western world, Jinhua’s eyes and heart are opened to the irresistible possibilities of a place that is mesmerizing and strange, where she will struggle against the constraints of tradition and her husband’s authority and seek to find “Great Love.”

Sai Jinhua is an altered woman when she returns to a changed and changing China, where a dangerous clash of cultures pits East against West. The moment arrives when Jinhua’s western sympathies will threaten not only her own survival, but the survival of those who are most dear to her.

A book that shines a small light on the large history of China’s relationship with the West, The Courtesan is a novel that distills, with the economy of a poem, a woman’s journey of untold miles to discern what is real and abiding.

Review: The Courtesan by Alexandra Curry heart-breakingly beautiful and a real joy to read. There are different threads in the story which beautifully merges in the end. I love the way author Alexandra Curry weaves the story and her handling of the prose is simply superb. It makes the story all the more richer.

What is particularly fascinating about the book is the larger picture contained in the story and I really feel connected with the characters. While the setting may be a bit strange to many readers, no one would feel lost once a grip is made on the story. This is a story that will resonate deeply with women all over the world.

Minute Zero by Todd Moss

24611506Fresh off the harrowing events of The Golden Hour, State Department crisis manager Judd Ryker is suddenly thrown into a quickly developing emergency which threatens the lives of millions, including his own.

An extraordinary international thriller by the former deputy assistant secretary of state and author of the national bestseller The Golden Hour.

In the life of every country, at a moment of extreme national disruption, there is a brief period of breakdown, when everything is uncertain, events can turn on a dime. That is the moment to act, to shape events how you want them to go. That is Minute Zero.

Fresh off the harrowing events of The Golden Hour, State Department crisis manager Judd Ryker is suddenly thrown into a quickly developing emergency in Zimbabwe, where a longtime strongman is being challenged for the presidency. Rumors are flying furiously: armed gangs, military crackdowns, shady outside money pouring in, and, most disturbing for the United States, reports of highly enriched uranium leaking into the market.

And that’s all before Ryker even lands in the country. It gets much worse after that. If he can’t get control, shape his Minute Zero, a lot of people are going to die—not least of all himself.

Review: Minute Zero by Todd Moss is an absorbing story that deals with diplomatic intrigue in which US State Department crisis manager Judd Ryker is tasked with overseeing the tricky Zimbabwean presidential election, a direct face-off between Winston Tinotenda and his rival Gugu Mutonga, a female candidate but certainly not a pushover.

Both candidates have strong backers, and it is apparent that foreign money is being pumped in. To resolve the fluidity of the situation Ryker comes up with an idea known as Minute Zero enabling either candidate to grab power at the opportune time. Todd Moss' second Judd Ryker is hugely entertaining, brilliantly paced and plotted craftily. Ryker is a character who will endear to readers and the suspense is almost unbearable. With his experience as a fromer diplomat, Moss knows what he is writing about and gives a touch of authenticity to the story.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham

Sebastian Rudd is not your typical street lawyer. He works out of a customized bulletproof van, complete with Wi-Fi, a bar, a small fridge, fine leather chairs, a hidden gun compartment, and a heavily armed driver. He has no firm, no partners, no associates, and only one employee, his driver, who’s also his bodyguard, law clerk, confidant, and golf caddy. He lives alone in a small but extremely safe penthouse apartment, and his primary piece of furniture is a vintage pool table. He drinks small-batch bourbon and carries a gun.

Sebastian defends people other lawyers won’t go near: a drug-addled, tattooed kid rumored to be in a satanic cult, who is accused of molesting and murdering two little girls; a vicious crime lord on death row; a homeowner arrested for shooting at a SWAT team that mistakenly invaded his house.  Why these clients? Because he believes everyone is entitled to a fair trial, even if he, Sebastian, has to cheat to secure one. He hates injustice, doesn’t like insurance companies, banks, or big corporations; he distrusts all levels of government and laughs at the justice system’s notions of ethical behavior.

Sebastian Rudd is one of John Grisham’s most colorful, outrageous, and vividly drawn characters yet. Gritty, witty, and impossible to put down, Rogue Lawyer showcases the master of the legal thriller at his very best.

About John Grisham: Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, John Grisham was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.

One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.

That might have put an end to Grisham's hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career—and spark one of publishing's greatest success stories. The day after Grisham completed A Time to Kill, he began work on another novel, the story of a hotshot young attorney lured to an apparently perfect law firm that was not what it appeared. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.

The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham's reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham's success even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller.

Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written one novel a year (his other books are The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, The King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, The Broker, Playing for Pizza, and The Appeal) and all of them have become international bestsellers. There are currently over 225 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 29 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, A Painted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an original screenplay, The Gingerbread Man. The Innocent Man (October 2006) marked his first foray into non-fiction.

Grisham lives with his wife Renee and their two children Ty and Shea. The family splits their time between their Victorian home on a farm in Mississippi and a plantation near Charlottesville, VA.

Grisham took time off from writing for several months in 1996 to return, after a five-year hiatus, to the courtroom. He was honoring a commitment made before he had retired from the law to become a full-time writer: representing the family of a railroad brakeman killed when he was pinned between two cars. Preparing his case with the same passion and dedication as his books' protagonists, Grisham successfully argued his clients' case, earning them a jury award of $683,500—the biggest verdict of his career.

When he's not writing, Grisham devotes time to charitable causes, including most recently his Rebuild The Coast Fund, which raised 8.8 million dollars for Gulf Coast relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He also keeps up with his greatest passion: baseball. The man who dreamed of being a professional baseball player now serves as the local Little League commissioner. The six ballfields he built on his property have played host to over 350 kids on 26 Little League teams.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

COMING NOVEMBER 10, 2015

Mitch Albom creates his most unforgettable fictional character—Frankie Presto, the greatest guitarist to ever walk the earth—in this magical novel about the bands we join in life and the power of talent to change our lives.

An epic story of the greatest guitar player to ever live, and the six lives he changed with his magical blue strings.

In Albom’s most sweeping novel yet, the voice of Music narrates the tale of its most beloved disciple, young Frankie Presto, a war orphan raised by a blind music teacher in a small Spanish town. At nine years old, Frankie is sent to America in the bottom of a boat. His only possession is an old guitar and six precious strings.

But Frankie’s talent is touched by the gods, and his amazing journey weaves him through the musical landscape of the 20th century, from classical to jazz to rock and roll, with his stunning talent affecting numerous stars along the way, including Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Carole King, Wynton Marsalis and even KISS.

Frankie becomes a pop star himself. He makes records. He is adored. But his gift is also his burden, as he realizes, through his music, he can actually affect people’s futures—with one string turning blue whenever a life is altered.

At the height of his popularity, Frankie Presto vanishes. His legend grows. Only decades later, does he reappear—just before his spectacular death—to change one last life.

With its Forest Gump-like romp through the music world, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto is a classic in the making. A lifelong musician himself, Mitch Albom delivers a remarkable novel, infused with the message that “everyone joins a band in this life” and those connections change us all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mitch Albom is a bestselling novelist, a screen-writer, a playwright, and an award-winning journalist. He is the author of six consecutive number-one New York Times bestsellers and has sold more than thirty-four million copies of his books in forty-two languages worldwide. Tuesdays with Morrie, which spent four years atop the New York Times list, is the bestselling memoir of all time.

Albom has founded seven charities, including the first-ever full-time medical clinic for homeless children in America. He also operates an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He lives with his wife, Janine, in suburban Detroit.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Hot Sur by Laura Restrepo

Image Not Found.From revered Colombian writer Laura Restrepo comes the smart, thrilling story of a young woman trying to outrun a nightmare.

María Paz is a young Latin American woman who, like many others, has come to America chasing a dream. When she is accused of murdering her husband and sentenced to life behind bars, she must struggle to keep hope alive as she works to prove her innocence. But the dangers of prison are not her only obstacles: gaining freedom would mean facing an even greater horror lying in wait outside the prison gates, one that will stop at nothing to get her back. Can María Paz survive this double threat in a land where danger and desperation are always one step behind, and safety and happiness seem just out of reach?

AMAZON LINK

Still Waters by Viveca Sten

Image Not Found.On a hot July morning on Sweden’s idyllic vacation island of Sandhamn, a man takes his dog for a walk and makes a gruesome discovery: a body, tangled in fishing net, has washed ashore.

Police detective Thomas Andreasson is the first to arrive on the scene. Before long, he has identified the deceased as Krister Berggren, a bachelor from the mainland who has been missing for months. All signs point to an accident—until another brutalized corpse is found at the local bed-and-breakfast. But this time it is Berggren’s cousin, whom Thomas interviewed in Stockholm just days before.

As the island’s residents reel from the news, Thomas turns to his childhood friend, local lawyer Nora Linde. Together, they attempt to unravel the riddles left behind by these two mysterious outsiders—while trying to make sense of the difficult twists their own lives have taken since the shared summer days of their youth.

AMAZON LINK

The Prettiest One by James Hankins

Image Not Found.When Caitlin Sommers finds herself alone in a deserted parking lot with blood on her clothes and no memory of the past few months, it seems like one of the nightmares that have tormented her for years…but it’s all too real. Desperate to learn the truth about where she’s been and what has happened to her but terrified of what she may find, Caitlin embarks on a search for answers that takes her from the safe suburban world she knows to a seedy town she’s never heard of, where a terrible truth from her past lies hidden—a truth she can’t quite remember yet can’t completely forget.

AMAZON LINK

A Land Divided by K.M. Ashman

Image Not Found.1081. William’s bloody conquest is over and Britain is under Norman rule. But one bastion of resistance remains: Wales. A divided land where brother fights brother and kings battle for power. The English use this to further their own ends, and while one king is tempted by an offer he cannot resist, the others wage war over long-forgotten feuds.

Gruffydd ap Cynan, true heir to the kingdom of Gwynedd, is in exile across the sea. When he hears of the betrayal of the Welsh people by the imposter in his throne, Gruffydd unites with Tewdwr, a monarch deposed by the traitors, and they forge an army from the ashes of their kingdoms. But Tewdwr’s wife and daughter—the source of much of the allies’ strength—are a weakness their enemies will exploit.

Betrayal, treachery and war await, but both men know they must fight to the bitter end, when the sundered lands of Wales are drenched...in the blood of kings.

AMAZON LINK

Love You Better by Natalie K Martin

Image Not Found.After a soul-destroying breakup with her ex, Smith, Effie Abbott has met the man of her dreams. She’s had the whirlwind romance and the fairy-tale wedding to the charming and suave Oliver Barton-Cole, and life seems firmly back on track.

Things were never simple between Smith and Effie, so when he forces his way back into her life, Effie knows he’s a complication she doesn’t want or need. After all, she has Oliver, a man who loves her better than Smith ever did.

But when cracks in her marriage begin to emerge and Oliver shows flashes of a darker side, Effie has to question just how well she really knows her husband, and whether Smith is back to derail her seemingly perfect marriage or save her from it.

AMAZON LINK

Pale Queen Rising by A. R. Kahler

Image Not Found.
Pale Queen Rising (Pale Queen Series Book 1) by A. R. Kahler



As the royal assassin, Claire is used to moving between the mortal world and the Winter Kingdom. When the queen commands her to kill, Claire does the job and doesn’t ask questions. Her deadly skills and loyalty are soon tested when Claire is sent to the Immortal Circus, one of the many places where “Dream” is harvested from the imaginings of mortals. There she must find the culprit who is causing Dream to mysteriously disappear before the Winter Kingdom’s supply is depleted enough to threaten its very survival. But when she meets Roxie, a beautiful mortal singer with a strange link to the Dream thieves, Claire quickly recognizes an odd and unexplained connection that may cloud her judgment. As each new clue unveils another secret, Claire finds herself confronting the riddle of her own buried past—and a dangerous illusion that, as part of the Immortal Circus, is just another act in the show.

AMAZON LINK

Kissing Mr. Right by Michelle Major

Image Not Found.Kendall Clark has always dreamed of anchoring the national news. The dedicated Denver journalist has worked hard to earn more than her fluff-piece reporting job. When she’s asked to star in an on-air dating show to increase her station’s ratings, she initially refuses…until she learns that participating will give her a shot at a national news-desk position in New York.

But nothing prepares Kendall for the dating show’s popularity—or for the laughable dates she’s forced to endure on camera. To complicate matters further, she’s falling hard for Tyler Bishop, the handsome scientist hired to consult on her first big news story. Ty soon finds himself equally smitten with Kendall and sets out to prove he’s her Mr. Right. But is there room in his quiet life for a woman with such a public image? And when Kendall’s integrity is questioned, will she choose her dream job or her dream man?

AMAZON LINK