Bernard Jan's Blog, page 16
March 4, 2018
Why do I Write – A Motivational Paper
I wrote this piece as homework for my coach Derek Doepker. Now I want to share it with you. Please send me your comments, I would like to hear what you think of it!
There are places hidden behind the unlocked door of my imagination. The worlds to be discovered. People ready to share their destinies with the outer world of our reality. Desperate in their need to show themselves or seek for our help. Whatever the reason is.
Do you remember that tingling sensation while you were doing something just to be distracted by the pecking silent sound in your head telling you over and over again to let it out? Did you ever have that feeling of a need to give birth to something or someone other than your physical child? And the pain—or rather pleasure—of the hard labor before seeing it come to life?
Why do you write? Why do I write?
Why do any of us write?
Please click here to continue reading the whole paper.
Bernard Jan
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
There are places hidden behind the unlocked door of my imagination. The worlds to be discovered. People ready to share their destinies with the outer world of our reality. Desperate in their need to show themselves or seek for our help. Whatever the reason is.
Do you remember that tingling sensation while you were doing something just to be distracted by the pecking silent sound in your head telling you over and over again to let it out? Did you ever have that feeling of a need to give birth to something or someone other than your physical child? And the pain—or rather pleasure—of the hard labor before seeing it come to life?
Why do you write? Why do I write?
Why do any of us write?
Please click here to continue reading the whole paper.
Bernard Jan
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
February 27, 2018
Book Review: The Key to Unlocking Your Reviewers' Hearts
NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews 2018 by Gisela HausmannMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I beg other authors not to hold it against me for reading and reviewing NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews 2018 by Gisela Hausmann ahead of the schedule and before theirs. This book came at the right moment to my attention, when I was on the mission of seeking and hunting new reviews for A World Without Color, the true story of the last three days I spent with my cat, and I was too curious and hungry for good advice. And I got it!
It's not that I didn't ask around and collected information on what is allowed and what is not allowed when asking for a review and posting my own reviews on Amazon before I read this book. I did it by the book, not breaking any rules, which came as a relief.
NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews 2018, Gisela Hausmann reminded me of things I could have done better, more thoughtful and... more refined. As a "self-publishing industry veteran, an email evangelist and a top reviewer," as her Goodreads profile says, in her 86 pages long fourth edition (earlier editions were 2015, 2016 and 2017), she offers us her insight and knowledge on how to better understand Amazon's review platform and introduces us to 10 different kinds of reviews.
Spending years in collecting information and studying the shape-shifting of the patterns of Amazon's behavior to its readers and authors and as a response to the actions of its readers and authors, the Amazon top reviewer Gisela Hausmann delivered us a short but well-informed handbook of Amazon dos and don'ts.
I love this book. I love its simplicity of writing and the clarity of advice and examples Hausmann uses to tell us what we should do to get more reviews for our precious books. Like a good teacher or a caring parent she explains her every claim so everyone can understand it. Don't touch a heated oven or you might get burned, don't ride your bicycle over the red light or you might get hit by a car. Reward your teachers with a smile and thank you for the knowledge they gave you because they are also humans and kind words open many doors.
Apart from stating the rules in NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews 2018 we should follow, should we want to make our books successful, Hausmann tells us probably the biggest secret of all on how to get desired reviews. I am sure we all know that secret on some basic, primal level, but we somehow forgot it in our rush to count our daily written words, haste to build our launch team or finish the formatting before we catch the self-imposed publishing deadline.
Every successful relationship is built individually, on respect and personal level, with just the right emotion and enough passion to spark it into existence. The same applies to our books and their reviewers, to us and how we treat them.
For further information please read the book.
Bernard Jan
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
View all my reviews
February 24, 2018
Self-publish With Less Stress and More Ease
To my fellow authors I want to recommend four books that may transform your life! Reading them, studying them and taking their advice at heart is a must for the successful launch of your books and their fruitful life online. We have to be realistic, writing a book comes easy to the most of us. Handling our books afterward is for most of us a nightmare and enigma.
Why don't our books succeed if they are so good? Why don't readers buy them? What did we do wrong?
Please take time to check the following books. Read them at random order or by choosing your priority and urgency, but skip none of them. Each of them will be helpful to you.
Book Launch: How to Write, Market & Publish Your First Bestseller in Three Months or Less AND Use it to Start and Grow a Six Figure Business by Chandler Bolt
A young man who hated writing turns with his buddy their short productivity guide into a book, launches it on Amazon and goes snowboarding in Austria. While sitting in the chairlift he learns his book became Amazon Bestseller and went on to start a 6-figure business. Book Launch offers you a tried, tested, and proven book launch formula and helps you write your book in record time!
Kindle Bestseller Secrets: 10 Tricks Bestselling Non-Fiction Authors Use To Dominate Kindle by Derek Doepker
Derek wrote a powerful and informative book full of tricks and tips that will save your time and help you keep your spirits up as you pave your way through the overcrowded road to your readers! The step-by-step blueprint will guide you on your way from struggling author with a low budget to the best choice among the competition! And it works both for non-fiction and fiction authors!
Authorpreneur: Build the Brand, Business, and Lifestyle You Deserve. It's Time to Write Your Book by Jesse Tevelow
If you are into a serious business and think of yourself as a big player, this book is for you! Books can be your source of income, success and security, not just your friends. Add your strong will and hard work to your passion of writing, and you are half-way to reaching your goal. Authorpreneur has a mission to turn talented and not recognized authors into influential entrepreneurs.
How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis: A Step-by-Step System for Enticing New Readers, Selling More Fiction, and Making Your Books Sound Good by Bryan Cohen
We all know how to write a book but we suck at writing a capturing blurb! Either it is too long or too boring to hook our readers. Writing a sizzling synopsis is possible if we follow a few simple rules and use the tools to get online book browsers click our Buy button every single day. This book is a gold mine! Dig in!
These authors also have free or paid webinars and online courses so I suggest getting in touch with them and subscribing to receive free updates and latest information. When you are down and feel stuck and lost in your creativity or entrepreneurship, listening to them can be a much needed source of motivation and encouragement.
Happy writing and publishing!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
Why don't our books succeed if they are so good? Why don't readers buy them? What did we do wrong?
Please take time to check the following books. Read them at random order or by choosing your priority and urgency, but skip none of them. Each of them will be helpful to you.
Book Launch: How to Write, Market & Publish Your First Bestseller in Three Months or Less AND Use it to Start and Grow a Six Figure Business by Chandler Bolt
A young man who hated writing turns with his buddy their short productivity guide into a book, launches it on Amazon and goes snowboarding in Austria. While sitting in the chairlift he learns his book became Amazon Bestseller and went on to start a 6-figure business. Book Launch offers you a tried, tested, and proven book launch formula and helps you write your book in record time!
Kindle Bestseller Secrets: 10 Tricks Bestselling Non-Fiction Authors Use To Dominate Kindle by Derek Doepker
Derek wrote a powerful and informative book full of tricks and tips that will save your time and help you keep your spirits up as you pave your way through the overcrowded road to your readers! The step-by-step blueprint will guide you on your way from struggling author with a low budget to the best choice among the competition! And it works both for non-fiction and fiction authors!
Authorpreneur: Build the Brand, Business, and Lifestyle You Deserve. It's Time to Write Your Book by Jesse Tevelow
If you are into a serious business and think of yourself as a big player, this book is for you! Books can be your source of income, success and security, not just your friends. Add your strong will and hard work to your passion of writing, and you are half-way to reaching your goal. Authorpreneur has a mission to turn talented and not recognized authors into influential entrepreneurs.
How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis: A Step-by-Step System for Enticing New Readers, Selling More Fiction, and Making Your Books Sound Good by Bryan Cohen
We all know how to write a book but we suck at writing a capturing blurb! Either it is too long or too boring to hook our readers. Writing a sizzling synopsis is possible if we follow a few simple rules and use the tools to get online book browsers click our Buy button every single day. This book is a gold mine! Dig in!
These authors also have free or paid webinars and online courses so I suggest getting in touch with them and subscribing to receive free updates and latest information. When you are down and feel stuck and lost in your creativity or entrepreneurship, listening to them can be a much needed source of motivation and encouragement.
Happy writing and publishing!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
February 21, 2018
Angel, Aliens and Zombies Review
Angel Ramon Medina is the author who writes faster than I get to read his books. He is the unstoppable writing machine and in less than past three months he has published his two new books! And as I write this, he is working on his new book. Crazy man, I tell you! Crazy in a good way.
If you like aliens, grab the last sequel Life's a Beach Expansion Pack Story of his The Thousand Years War series. If you like zombies, dig into the plagued action horror Angel's Nightmare Adventure 3: Nemesis.
On a second thought why choose between any of them? Just read both books!
If you have followed this indie author from his first self-published books, you have noticed the advancement in his writing and style. With these two new books, Angel did one more step forward toward his old/new Videogame/LitRPG/GameLit genre. You may ask yourself what the heck is that? It's best we let Angel tell us in his own words.
"When you think of a GameLit book whether it’s LitRPG, LitFPS, or whichever sub-genre, you think that the story mostly takes place in a "video game" world. The term GameLit is coined as a genre that has elements of a video game and we know that video games are not "real life". In other words, most titles in the genre have no real consequences in the real world since they take place in a separate virtual world." (From his article Gamelit/LitRPG – The Real Life Connection published on greatlitrpg.com, January 23, 2018)
Video games are not for everyone (I am not too big a fan either; if I have to choose between a video game and a book, books will win by a hundred to zero percent) but that doesn't have to concern you. His books are readable and fluent also with the GameLit touch, in a way adding to them being even more interesting.
Life's a Beach Expansion Pack Story is set in Puerto Rico and its story carries on from the events of the first book of The Thousand Years War series but you can read it as a standalone. While Angel and Maria with their new mates Ben and Steven are on a vacation in Puerto Rico, the gloobas summon their forces using the virtual world and strike again in their attempt to take over the world. Reading this novel after the actual catastrophe that in 2017 hit the whole island of Puerto Rico with hurricanes Irma and Maria is a bit an awkward and bizarre experience. However, Angel Ramon Medina, who survived the wrath of both hurricanes, has every moral right to plummet his fictional island into another ice age, freezing it to change the climate on the whole planet.
If you tasted the smell of explosions, scare and unease of Resident Evil while reading the first two books of Angel's Nightmare Adventure, the third part of the series Nemesis will catapult you there. The biggest change in the last sequel is that Angel is gone (lost somewhere in Croatia) and his girlfriend Maria is left to fight zombies and many other creatures that escaped from Hybrid's underground laboratory without him. Surviving the second zombie outbreak put her capabilities of survival to another test after she finds her family murdered and the whole of New York City faces the biggest threat ever.
If you like to be scared and thrown around by unstoppable action, those are the books for you. Angel Ramon Medina offers little compassion to his heroes and villains, sacrifices are given and taken with each turn of the page.
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
If you like aliens, grab the last sequel Life's a Beach Expansion Pack Story of his The Thousand Years War series. If you like zombies, dig into the plagued action horror Angel's Nightmare Adventure 3: Nemesis.
On a second thought why choose between any of them? Just read both books!
If you have followed this indie author from his first self-published books, you have noticed the advancement in his writing and style. With these two new books, Angel did one more step forward toward his old/new Videogame/LitRPG/GameLit genre. You may ask yourself what the heck is that? It's best we let Angel tell us in his own words.
"When you think of a GameLit book whether it’s LitRPG, LitFPS, or whichever sub-genre, you think that the story mostly takes place in a "video game" world. The term GameLit is coined as a genre that has elements of a video game and we know that video games are not "real life". In other words, most titles in the genre have no real consequences in the real world since they take place in a separate virtual world." (From his article Gamelit/LitRPG – The Real Life Connection published on greatlitrpg.com, January 23, 2018)
Video games are not for everyone (I am not too big a fan either; if I have to choose between a video game and a book, books will win by a hundred to zero percent) but that doesn't have to concern you. His books are readable and fluent also with the GameLit touch, in a way adding to them being even more interesting.
Life's a Beach Expansion Pack Story is set in Puerto Rico and its story carries on from the events of the first book of The Thousand Years War series but you can read it as a standalone. While Angel and Maria with their new mates Ben and Steven are on a vacation in Puerto Rico, the gloobas summon their forces using the virtual world and strike again in their attempt to take over the world. Reading this novel after the actual catastrophe that in 2017 hit the whole island of Puerto Rico with hurricanes Irma and Maria is a bit an awkward and bizarre experience. However, Angel Ramon Medina, who survived the wrath of both hurricanes, has every moral right to plummet his fictional island into another ice age, freezing it to change the climate on the whole planet.
If you tasted the smell of explosions, scare and unease of Resident Evil while reading the first two books of Angel's Nightmare Adventure, the third part of the series Nemesis will catapult you there. The biggest change in the last sequel is that Angel is gone (lost somewhere in Croatia) and his girlfriend Maria is left to fight zombies and many other creatures that escaped from Hybrid's underground laboratory without him. Surviving the second zombie outbreak put her capabilities of survival to another test after she finds her family murdered and the whole of New York City faces the biggest threat ever.
If you like to be scared and thrown around by unstoppable action, those are the books for you. Angel Ramon Medina offers little compassion to his heroes and villains, sacrifices are given and taken with each turn of the page.
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
February 17, 2018
Subscribe and Get a Gift Voucher!
I have very interesting news and offer for you!
If you still ponder whether to subscribe to my email list and blog Muse, this might be the right moment to do it. Why? Check this cool offer I have for you!
Do you need a logo design, flyers & posters, business cards, banner ads, book cover design or social media design? Do you dream of an attractively designed website? Or wish for an inspiring video trailer with the latest video effects and design for your book or business?
You can get it now with just one click!
In collaboration with MKM Media, a freelance graphic designer from Rome, a 30% discount on graphic design, web design, and video editing is waiting for you. After subscribing to my blog/email list, all you need to do is download the e-voucher and get your discount. In a few simple steps, you can enjoy the benefits of this innovative graphic designer!
Cool, right?
If you are skeptical and don't trust me, you can trust the voters and readers who awarded the cover he made for my book A World Without Color with the 3rd place in Cover Wars in Author Shout one-week contest, the 2nd place in the AllAuthor Cover of the month August contest and gold or the 1st place in the Literary Fiction category of AUTHORSdb contest!
When you hit the Get Your Bonuses button, you will also see a reminder where you can read my true story of the last three days I spent with my cat for free with Kindle Unlimited. But only for a limited time!
So grab this wonderful opportunity Mario from MKM Media has for you, read my book while you exchange your ideas with him and leave an honest review on Amazon when you are done reading.
Welcome to my growing team of friends and followers! And never forget to share what you love with those who appreciate it!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
If you still ponder whether to subscribe to my email list and blog Muse, this might be the right moment to do it. Why? Check this cool offer I have for you!
Do you need a logo design, flyers & posters, business cards, banner ads, book cover design or social media design? Do you dream of an attractively designed website? Or wish for an inspiring video trailer with the latest video effects and design for your book or business?
You can get it now with just one click!
In collaboration with MKM Media, a freelance graphic designer from Rome, a 30% discount on graphic design, web design, and video editing is waiting for you. After subscribing to my blog/email list, all you need to do is download the e-voucher and get your discount. In a few simple steps, you can enjoy the benefits of this innovative graphic designer!
Cool, right?
If you are skeptical and don't trust me, you can trust the voters and readers who awarded the cover he made for my book A World Without Color with the 3rd place in Cover Wars in Author Shout one-week contest, the 2nd place in the AllAuthor Cover of the month August contest and gold or the 1st place in the Literary Fiction category of AUTHORSdb contest!
When you hit the Get Your Bonuses button, you will also see a reminder where you can read my true story of the last three days I spent with my cat for free with Kindle Unlimited. But only for a limited time!
So grab this wonderful opportunity Mario from MKM Media has for you, read my book while you exchange your ideas with him and leave an honest review on Amazon when you are done reading.
Welcome to my growing team of friends and followers! And never forget to share what you love with those who appreciate it!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
February 9, 2018
Artist Review and Interview
It is interesting what you would do for something that matters to you, whether it is a person, a cause, something you created or are passionate about.
I still cannot believe Carlos persuaded me into giving him an interview for his Art & Review Vlogs and that I can now listen to myself on his YouTube channel. For those of you who want to hear what we chatted about, here is the link. No laughing please!
Carlos didn't stop there, he also reviewed me as an artist. Look me up on his Carlos Mota Veiga blog under Artist Review #1. Yes, I had the honor and privilege to be the first artist he reviewed there! Thanks, Carlos!
It's been rather long since my last post on my blog Muse on January 17, 2018. I didn't get lazy or anything; I was busy handling more things and working on my new project, my next book.
My faithful subscribers already know what it is about so if you wish to join forces with them and become one of my early readers and new friends, sign up to my mailing list too. I will have new announcements coming up soon and you don't want to miss them!
Remember: subscribing costs you nothing, you have no obligation; you don't even have to read my scribbling unless you are interested to learn about new good book recommendations, become a member of my early readers or the launch team, benefit from giveaways or other valuable content. Not that bad, right?
Thank you!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
I still cannot believe Carlos persuaded me into giving him an interview for his Art & Review Vlogs and that I can now listen to myself on his YouTube channel. For those of you who want to hear what we chatted about, here is the link. No laughing please!
Carlos didn't stop there, he also reviewed me as an artist. Look me up on his Carlos Mota Veiga blog under Artist Review #1. Yes, I had the honor and privilege to be the first artist he reviewed there! Thanks, Carlos!
It's been rather long since my last post on my blog Muse on January 17, 2018. I didn't get lazy or anything; I was busy handling more things and working on my new project, my next book.
My faithful subscribers already know what it is about so if you wish to join forces with them and become one of my early readers and new friends, sign up to my mailing list too. I will have new announcements coming up soon and you don't want to miss them!
Remember: subscribing costs you nothing, you have no obligation; you don't even have to read my scribbling unless you are interested to learn about new good book recommendations, become a member of my early readers or the launch team, benefit from giveaways or other valuable content. Not that bad, right?
Thank you!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
January 18, 2018
Review Me Part 2
I wish and hope that this year has started in a grand style for you and that will carry on like that all the way through and even further!
No reason for me to complain, because I continue to get your reviews and that means you are reading my book A World Without Color, which is the greatest reward and a gift to any writer!
When I read books before I didn't realize how important reviews are. Even if it is just one sentence. As long as they are honest and you speak from the heart.
With your review you recommend the book you loved and enjoyed reading and you also help bring more readers through the complicated Amazon algorithm. Putting it simply, the more books you buy, the more reviews you write, the more you will help a book with its ranking.
Allow me to share with you a few more honest reviews which A World Without Color received at the beginning of this and during the last year.
This short powerful novella is a must read. It gave me permission to stop grieving in many ways, because Bernard Jan told me it was okay to feel like I did and it was okay to move on, despite suffering an emptiness that will never be filled. I would give this book to anyone who has pets, because it will give you an insight into what will happen one day. We’re telling you it is okay and that you aren’t alone. - Haley Jenkins, Selcouth Station and Goodreads
As someone who has worked with hospice, in hospital, health care centers, and survivor’s of loss and trauma, for close to 40 years, I must say that this is one of the most honest, compassionate, and understanding description of what grief can feel like that I have ever read – and I’ve read a lot of books about grief, loss, death and bereavement. - Gabriel Constans, Amazon and Gabriel Constans blog
A heart-wrenching memoir of a man's last three days in the life of his beloved cat. (...) The reader can truly feel the anguish Bernard felt watching his beloved feline's life be extinguished. (...) Thank you Bernard! - Stacy from Two Gals and a Book, Goodreads
When I started reading A World Without Color, from the very first few sentences I knew what it would be like and I was very emotional from beginning to end. (...) I am a cat owner and found myself identifying with the authors feelings and grieving process. I loved this book and I highly recommend it to all to read. - Starjustin, Goodreads
This book is incredibly well written the only reason i gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is purely down to how hard and upsetting it was to read which is just a credit to how well it was written. Unfortunately it was that upsetting to read i nearly struggled to sit and carry on which is why i had to knock it down a star. Well worth a read if you feel as though you are up to it. - Justin, Goodreads
Death never arrives easy. Here, Bernard Jan chronicles the final stage in the life of a cat named Marcel, as Bernard, his family, and Marcel face Marcel’s death. The capacity for the depth of bond in an interspecies way has always amazed me. This has been illustrated to me very recently with the death of my own cat, Poppy. She was the runt of the litter, not meant to survive, smaller than my undersized palm when she arrived, but she lived for just about twenty-five years. I relay my story because this short book reflects the dilemmas and conflicted emotions faced when dealing with, and having ultimate responsibility for, the final breath of a creature greatly loved. - Rebecca Gransden, Goodreads and Amazon UK
A special thanks to Mischenko and Starjustin. After reading both their deeply moving reviews- I wanted to purchase this book for our younger daughter who has two cats. (...) In this short story we are witness to a beautiful love story between a cat and his owner and the family they are a part of. Gut wrenching loss when death comes. Rest In Peace Marcel.... - Elyse, Goodreads
If you like these beautiful words of authors, readers and reviewers who honored my book with their honest reviews, please purchase A World Without Color as e-book or paperback, or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited. And don't forget to leave an honest review on Amazon, Amazon UK or Goodreads, or your personal website or blog, for I will feature your review on my website and my booklife profile, unless you wish otherwise. And I may even shout it out to my dear subscribers via my newsletter!
Thank you for all your wonderful support to A World Without Color and for spreading the word about it! You are the reason and my motivation to carry on.
Thank you and have a wonderful January!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
No reason for me to complain, because I continue to get your reviews and that means you are reading my book A World Without Color, which is the greatest reward and a gift to any writer!
When I read books before I didn't realize how important reviews are. Even if it is just one sentence. As long as they are honest and you speak from the heart.
With your review you recommend the book you loved and enjoyed reading and you also help bring more readers through the complicated Amazon algorithm. Putting it simply, the more books you buy, the more reviews you write, the more you will help a book with its ranking.
Allow me to share with you a few more honest reviews which A World Without Color received at the beginning of this and during the last year.
This short powerful novella is a must read. It gave me permission to stop grieving in many ways, because Bernard Jan told me it was okay to feel like I did and it was okay to move on, despite suffering an emptiness that will never be filled. I would give this book to anyone who has pets, because it will give you an insight into what will happen one day. We’re telling you it is okay and that you aren’t alone. - Haley Jenkins, Selcouth Station and Goodreads
As someone who has worked with hospice, in hospital, health care centers, and survivor’s of loss and trauma, for close to 40 years, I must say that this is one of the most honest, compassionate, and understanding description of what grief can feel like that I have ever read – and I’ve read a lot of books about grief, loss, death and bereavement. - Gabriel Constans, Amazon and Gabriel Constans blog
A heart-wrenching memoir of a man's last three days in the life of his beloved cat. (...) The reader can truly feel the anguish Bernard felt watching his beloved feline's life be extinguished. (...) Thank you Bernard! - Stacy from Two Gals and a Book, Goodreads
When I started reading A World Without Color, from the very first few sentences I knew what it would be like and I was very emotional from beginning to end. (...) I am a cat owner and found myself identifying with the authors feelings and grieving process. I loved this book and I highly recommend it to all to read. - Starjustin, Goodreads
This book is incredibly well written the only reason i gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is purely down to how hard and upsetting it was to read which is just a credit to how well it was written. Unfortunately it was that upsetting to read i nearly struggled to sit and carry on which is why i had to knock it down a star. Well worth a read if you feel as though you are up to it. - Justin, Goodreads
Death never arrives easy. Here, Bernard Jan chronicles the final stage in the life of a cat named Marcel, as Bernard, his family, and Marcel face Marcel’s death. The capacity for the depth of bond in an interspecies way has always amazed me. This has been illustrated to me very recently with the death of my own cat, Poppy. She was the runt of the litter, not meant to survive, smaller than my undersized palm when she arrived, but she lived for just about twenty-five years. I relay my story because this short book reflects the dilemmas and conflicted emotions faced when dealing with, and having ultimate responsibility for, the final breath of a creature greatly loved. - Rebecca Gransden, Goodreads and Amazon UK
A special thanks to Mischenko and Starjustin. After reading both their deeply moving reviews- I wanted to purchase this book for our younger daughter who has two cats. (...) In this short story we are witness to a beautiful love story between a cat and his owner and the family they are a part of. Gut wrenching loss when death comes. Rest In Peace Marcel.... - Elyse, Goodreads
If you like these beautiful words of authors, readers and reviewers who honored my book with their honest reviews, please purchase A World Without Color as e-book or paperback, or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited. And don't forget to leave an honest review on Amazon, Amazon UK or Goodreads, or your personal website or blog, for I will feature your review on my website and my booklife profile, unless you wish otherwise. And I may even shout it out to my dear subscribers via my newsletter!
Thank you for all your wonderful support to A World Without Color and for spreading the word about it! You are the reason and my motivation to carry on.
Thank you and have a wonderful January!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
January 10, 2018
Magnetic Reverie Review
Magnetic Reverie by Nico J. GenesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
She is beautiful; she is young, and she is torn between two loves—a perfect husband who adores her and cannot live without her and a mysterious young and attractive woman in her dreams. As she travels on a super-fast reality-fantasy track from one continent to another and back, Lana discovers herself as a person, as a desirable woman and a lover, and as a mother.
Will one love die and discard its petals on the shores of unexpectedly discovered female attraction? Will the initial confusion give in to the emotional and physical yearnings and cravings that defy the set norms and rules of our society?
Magnetic Reverie by Nico J. Genes is a passionate and erotic novel, a cocktail of mixed emotions, things supposed to be logical and insatiable desires of the heart. Just as you think you've finished your drink and are ready to leave the bar and go, a hand appears in front of you and serves you another glass. Surprised, you realize the story is yet to unfold.
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
View all my reviews
January 4, 2018
Marcel and Oswald
The original idea for writing this post was to say thanks and reflect with a few figures on the launch and the journey of my book A World Without Color in 2017. That I will do as planned, but first I must let you know about something that happened on the last day of 2017.
With deep regret and sadness in my heart I have to tell you that Oswald, the beautiful cat from the cover of my book, has passed away. I learned that in the early afternoon hours of December 31st, 2017 and spilled many tears that day.
Zach Singh, a New York-based photographer, and his cat Oswald brought the story of my beloved cat Marcel to life. Marcel had passed away on April 19, 2006 and left me heartbroken. Last year I brought him back to life again by publishing his story in English so I could share it with all of you.
Oswald and Zach are the two great guys on the photo of my book cover who gave the prettiest face and character to my book. I am eternally grateful to Zach for letting me use it. My joy was honest, true and profound as much as is my sadness now at losing Oswald. Oswald is no longer with his beloved family. Instead, together with Marcel, while he keeps on living in my book and in the hearts of those who loved and still love him.
Thanks to Oswald, Marcel and my love for him are alive for you too, and thanks to Marcel and his story, Oswald will live as long as my book lives. And that, my dear readers, depends on you and me.
Thanks to you and only you, A World Without Color had a good start last year.
I published it as e-book on July 1 and as paperback on September 13, 2017.
Its two awesome trailers (B/W and the blue edition) produced by Mario Kožar MKM Media, who also designed the great book cover, were released on October 29, 2017.
A World Without Color was one of the nominees in the TCK Publishing 2017 Readers Choice Awards in the Memoir category for the book of the year and also took part in four book cover contests.
My book cover was reviewed by The Book Designer in the e-Book Cover Design Awards for July 2017 while thanks to you it won the 3rd place in Cover Wars in Author Shout one-week contest, the 2nd place in the AllAuthor Cover of the month August contest and gold or the 1st place in the Literary Fiction category of AUTHORSdb contest! Thank you all for your votes!
You supported it in the Anniversary Giveaway on the Animal Bliss blog when two lucky winners out of 320 entries got my e-book!
Those of you who bought it or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited rewarded A World Without Color with great and touching reviews: 24 reviews on Amazon, 6 reviews on Amazon UK and 27 reviews and 36 ratings on Goodreads!
For that I am thankful to you, my fellow readers, authors and dear supporters! Thank you for accepting my book so well, thank you for reading and reviewing it and for spreading the message all over the Internet and your social network platforms!
There is one thing I learned from the past and my first six months as an indie author. Indie authors are not competitors, they are friends and supporters (at least those I know). We are encouragement to each other and that's the nicest thing about self-publishing and being an indie. Together with our faithful readers and honest reviewers, we are one body that lives and breathes for good books. And that is fantastic!
My sincere gratitude goes to each and every one of you for giving a chance to my true story of the last three days I spent with my cat Marcel. Thank you for accepting and loving it, thank you for shedding tears with me.
If they were alive, both Marcel and Oswald would purr their gratitude to you, dancing with their tails up around your legs or jumping into your lap for a cuddle or the feels-so-good scratching behind their ears and under their chins.
Although they are gone and no longer with us, you can still try to do that with the power of your imagination and with cuddles through the lines and pages of A World Without Color.
I thank you for your continuous support to A World Without Color in the new year and hopefully years to come and to my new books and other projects.
Have a fantastic year full of great books, love each other and love and care for your and other animals!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Cover photo by Zach Singh; Cover design by Mario Kožar MKM Media
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
With deep regret and sadness in my heart I have to tell you that Oswald, the beautiful cat from the cover of my book, has passed away. I learned that in the early afternoon hours of December 31st, 2017 and spilled many tears that day.
Zach Singh, a New York-based photographer, and his cat Oswald brought the story of my beloved cat Marcel to life. Marcel had passed away on April 19, 2006 and left me heartbroken. Last year I brought him back to life again by publishing his story in English so I could share it with all of you.
Oswald and Zach are the two great guys on the photo of my book cover who gave the prettiest face and character to my book. I am eternally grateful to Zach for letting me use it. My joy was honest, true and profound as much as is my sadness now at losing Oswald. Oswald is no longer with his beloved family. Instead, together with Marcel, while he keeps on living in my book and in the hearts of those who loved and still love him.
Thanks to Oswald, Marcel and my love for him are alive for you too, and thanks to Marcel and his story, Oswald will live as long as my book lives. And that, my dear readers, depends on you and me.
Thanks to you and only you, A World Without Color had a good start last year.
I published it as e-book on July 1 and as paperback on September 13, 2017.
Its two awesome trailers (B/W and the blue edition) produced by Mario Kožar MKM Media, who also designed the great book cover, were released on October 29, 2017.
A World Without Color was one of the nominees in the TCK Publishing 2017 Readers Choice Awards in the Memoir category for the book of the year and also took part in four book cover contests.
My book cover was reviewed by The Book Designer in the e-Book Cover Design Awards for July 2017 while thanks to you it won the 3rd place in Cover Wars in Author Shout one-week contest, the 2nd place in the AllAuthor Cover of the month August contest and gold or the 1st place in the Literary Fiction category of AUTHORSdb contest! Thank you all for your votes!
You supported it in the Anniversary Giveaway on the Animal Bliss blog when two lucky winners out of 320 entries got my e-book!
Those of you who bought it or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited rewarded A World Without Color with great and touching reviews: 24 reviews on Amazon, 6 reviews on Amazon UK and 27 reviews and 36 ratings on Goodreads!
For that I am thankful to you, my fellow readers, authors and dear supporters! Thank you for accepting my book so well, thank you for reading and reviewing it and for spreading the message all over the Internet and your social network platforms!
There is one thing I learned from the past and my first six months as an indie author. Indie authors are not competitors, they are friends and supporters (at least those I know). We are encouragement to each other and that's the nicest thing about self-publishing and being an indie. Together with our faithful readers and honest reviewers, we are one body that lives and breathes for good books. And that is fantastic!
My sincere gratitude goes to each and every one of you for giving a chance to my true story of the last three days I spent with my cat Marcel. Thank you for accepting and loving it, thank you for shedding tears with me.
If they were alive, both Marcel and Oswald would purr their gratitude to you, dancing with their tails up around your legs or jumping into your lap for a cuddle or the feels-so-good scratching behind their ears and under their chins.
Although they are gone and no longer with us, you can still try to do that with the power of your imagination and with cuddles through the lines and pages of A World Without Color.
I thank you for your continuous support to A World Without Color in the new year and hopefully years to come and to my new books and other projects.
Have a fantastic year full of great books, love each other and love and care for your and other animals!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Cover photo by Zach Singh; Cover design by Mario Kožar MKM Media
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
December 30, 2017
My Book Recommendations
It's been a long and exciting year and we are all sorting our impressions at the eve of the new year. Some of us are relaxing, others are sick and trying to get better (like my parents), but we all wish for the smooth transition from the old to the new year.
Whatever our plans are for these last days of 2017, it's always good to spend time with our best friends—books! Here I have made a list for you, a few suggestions of the books I enjoyed and loved reading in 2017.
This list is reduced because I couldn't list all the authors and books I loved reading, so I hope they will forgive me for that. Some of them I have already recommended in my earlier post In the Making and Out Now, others I will mention in my future posts.
Without further ado, here are my book recommendations. I start with my favorite book I read in 2017 and continue in random order.
Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman
Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, when, during the restless summer weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. Recklessly, the two verge toward the one thing both fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. It is an instant classic and one of the great love stories of our time.
Hounded by Ellie Douglas
When Calloway Foster woke up that morning, he never expected it to be a deathblow to life on earth. Nothing can prepare him for one of the world's most loved species to turn into the undead. Four-legged zombies now run rampant-hungry and intelligent, they are merciless to those still struggling to survive. Will he find his twin brother in time? Can he keep his family safe? A terrifying surprise twist will test the survivors to the brink of humanity’s very existence.
Innocence Taken by Victoria M. Patton
A young girl’s dismembered body is found on the side of the road in rural Illinois with no ID or clues left with the body. Who could do this to a beautiful young girl? Lt. Damien Kaine, the recently promoted head of the Vicious Crimes Unit out of Division Central in Chicago, and his partner Detective Joe Hagan are assigned to the case. When the little evidence they have leads to the possibility that more girls have gone missing over the last ten years, and one of their own is being stalked by the killer, Profiler FBI Special Agent McGrath is brought in to assist. Having to work with the FBI agent and deal with his personal demons waging battle against him, the already stressful case, is almost unbearable for Kaine.
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, 11-year-old Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.
Rusticles by Rebecca Gransden
In Hilligoss, a tired man searches for a son, a flamingo enthrals the night, and fireworks light up the lost. In these stories and more, Rusticles offers a meandering tour through backroads bathed in half light, where shadows play along the verges and whispers of the past assault daydreams of the present. Walk the worn pathways of Hilligoss.
The Stars Just Watch by Jonathan Hill
Tonight four sit round a table playing cards. Tomorrow two leave to fight. Over an evening already fraught with tension, emotions run deep and life-shattering secrets threaten to escape. A powerful novella from the author of FAG, Pride and Not Just a Boy. This is a new version of the story previously released under the title Is it Her?.
Holy Cow by David Duchovny
Elsie Bovary is a cow and a pretty happy one at that. Until one night, Elsie sneaks out of the pasture and finds herself drawn to the farmhouse. Through the window, she sees the farmer's family gathered around a bright Box God—and what the Box God reveals about something called an 'industrial meat farm' shakes Elsie's understanding of her world to its core. The only solution? To escape to a better, safer world. And so a motley crew is formed: Elsie; Shalom, a grumpy pig who's recently converted to Judaism; and Tom, a suave turkey who can't fly, but can work an iPhone with his beak. Toting stolen passports and slapdash human disguises, they head for the airport...
The Last Night at Tremore Beach: A Novel by Mikel Santiago
Recently divorced and in the middle of a creative crisis, Peter Harper decides to take shelter on the scenic and isolated Tremore Beach in Ireland. But one stormy night he is struck by lightning and, as a result, begins experiencing terrible headaches and strange dreams. As the line between his dreams and reality begin to blur, Peter realizes that his bizarre visions may be a warning of horror still to come...
As you can see, I didn't list one particular book that is special to me and that is my novella A World Without Color, a true story of the last three days I spent with my cat Marcel. Despite that, I hope you will get the chance to read it and get back to me with your thoughts, if nothing else than in a form of your honest review.
Happy reading, hope you enjoy the books from my post too!
Best wishes for a great new year full of amazing books and stories!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
Whatever our plans are for these last days of 2017, it's always good to spend time with our best friends—books! Here I have made a list for you, a few suggestions of the books I enjoyed and loved reading in 2017.
This list is reduced because I couldn't list all the authors and books I loved reading, so I hope they will forgive me for that. Some of them I have already recommended in my earlier post In the Making and Out Now, others I will mention in my future posts.
Without further ado, here are my book recommendations. I start with my favorite book I read in 2017 and continue in random order.
Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman
Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, when, during the restless summer weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. Recklessly, the two verge toward the one thing both fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. It is an instant classic and one of the great love stories of our time.
Hounded by Ellie Douglas
When Calloway Foster woke up that morning, he never expected it to be a deathblow to life on earth. Nothing can prepare him for one of the world's most loved species to turn into the undead. Four-legged zombies now run rampant-hungry and intelligent, they are merciless to those still struggling to survive. Will he find his twin brother in time? Can he keep his family safe? A terrifying surprise twist will test the survivors to the brink of humanity’s very existence.
Innocence Taken by Victoria M. Patton
A young girl’s dismembered body is found on the side of the road in rural Illinois with no ID or clues left with the body. Who could do this to a beautiful young girl? Lt. Damien Kaine, the recently promoted head of the Vicious Crimes Unit out of Division Central in Chicago, and his partner Detective Joe Hagan are assigned to the case. When the little evidence they have leads to the possibility that more girls have gone missing over the last ten years, and one of their own is being stalked by the killer, Profiler FBI Special Agent McGrath is brought in to assist. Having to work with the FBI agent and deal with his personal demons waging battle against him, the already stressful case, is almost unbearable for Kaine.
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, 11-year-old Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.
Rusticles by Rebecca Gransden
In Hilligoss, a tired man searches for a son, a flamingo enthrals the night, and fireworks light up the lost. In these stories and more, Rusticles offers a meandering tour through backroads bathed in half light, where shadows play along the verges and whispers of the past assault daydreams of the present. Walk the worn pathways of Hilligoss.
The Stars Just Watch by Jonathan Hill
Tonight four sit round a table playing cards. Tomorrow two leave to fight. Over an evening already fraught with tension, emotions run deep and life-shattering secrets threaten to escape. A powerful novella from the author of FAG, Pride and Not Just a Boy. This is a new version of the story previously released under the title Is it Her?.
Holy Cow by David Duchovny
Elsie Bovary is a cow and a pretty happy one at that. Until one night, Elsie sneaks out of the pasture and finds herself drawn to the farmhouse. Through the window, she sees the farmer's family gathered around a bright Box God—and what the Box God reveals about something called an 'industrial meat farm' shakes Elsie's understanding of her world to its core. The only solution? To escape to a better, safer world. And so a motley crew is formed: Elsie; Shalom, a grumpy pig who's recently converted to Judaism; and Tom, a suave turkey who can't fly, but can work an iPhone with his beak. Toting stolen passports and slapdash human disguises, they head for the airport...
The Last Night at Tremore Beach: A Novel by Mikel Santiago
Recently divorced and in the middle of a creative crisis, Peter Harper decides to take shelter on the scenic and isolated Tremore Beach in Ireland. But one stormy night he is struck by lightning and, as a result, begins experiencing terrible headaches and strange dreams. As the line between his dreams and reality begin to blur, Peter realizes that his bizarre visions may be a warning of horror still to come...
As you can see, I didn't list one particular book that is special to me and that is my novella A World Without Color, a true story of the last three days I spent with my cat Marcel. Despite that, I hope you will get the chance to read it and get back to me with your thoughts, if nothing else than in a form of your honest review.
Happy reading, hope you enjoy the books from my post too!
Best wishes for a great new year full of amazing books and stories!
BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan
