Jeffrey Miller's Blog: Jeffrey Miller Writes, page 10

An Awesome Review of When A Hard Rain Falls

A rave review of When A Hard Rain Falls:

This wasn’t quite what I expected from the blurb on the front advertising it as a “fast-paced gripping ride” – to describe it in such a way is to do it something of an injustice; When A Hard Rain Falls is much more than that.

The pace of the novel begins quite slowly, giving the reader plenty of time to get to know the character’s two protagonists: Keith, the struggling, divorced father of two who finds himself in a situation this will be all-too-familiar to those who have done no wrong except make a few bad choices; and Nicky, a young man fresh out of prison, rough and happy that way.

Miller does a fantastic job of making these characters fully-developed and relatable. It would be easy for the young ex-con and the single father to be clichés or caricatures, the type seen often on any number of police-related TV shows. Instead, we are given full backgrounds on the two men; what happened to them and how they ended up where they are now. There is a fascinating contrast between the two in that Keith is a good man but questions the choices he has made and makes, while Nicky is cruel and remorseless but never doubts what he does.

The exposition of these two is what makes the climax of the novel, when they finally meet, so interesting. However, they do not meet until the very end of the story, so it would be wrong to expect a story of constant conflict. Instead, Miller slowly builds up the suspense as the two men move closer and closer to the moment they will meet. The reader knows it is going to happen and as each action brings them nearer, the suspense builds until it bursts, much like the banks of the canal in the final scenes.

The storm which causes this is described in wonderful detail, bursting into the story as unexpectedly as it would be to the characters and having a huge influence on what happens. The story ends with some nice intrigue as well, leaving the reader to wonder what will happen to Keith, his sons and everyone else.

All in all, this is an excellently written thriller, full of suspense and bursts of action that never fail to draw you in and keep you entertained. Beneath that, though, is a deeper story of family love, attempted redemption and the tale of how a man can easy fall through the system into deeper darkness. Just don’t expect an episode of 24 with non-stop action; this is more akin to the quality of a show like The Wire, but all the better for being a book!

Thanks, Steve Justice! You just persuaded me to buy my own book!

87 Men and Modern English — It was thirty years ago today

Modern English

It was thirty years ago today when 87 Men (formerly The Jerks) opened for Modern English at Augustana College.

It was also my best friend, Chris Vasquez’s birthday.

That was a fun and wild night that lasted until the next morning.  The lead singer of the band was really cool, coming up to us after the concert and asking us if everything was okay. Later, we ended up at the Mad Hatter in Davenport, Iowa and then someone’s house and a party that was still going on the next morning.

87 Men, which already had a loyal fan base in the Quad Cities pumped up the crowd (which included a large contingency from the Illinois Valley. It was also the first time for Chris and Tony Innis to play with Dick Verucchi and Alan Thacker.

Gotta love those New Wave days of the early 80s.

 

What’s the Best Way to Promote your Book: Word of Mouth!

Let’s face it, folks, in today’s competitive eBook world, trying to carve out a niche in the market can be quite a daunting, not to mention time-consuming experience. And if you are on a tight budget, which for some people means no budget at all, trying to market your book becomes all the more daunting.

However, there is hope.

Without question, Word Of Mouth Advertising (WOMA) or Word Of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) are a self-published author’s greatest tools. But it takes more than telling your friends on Facebook or other social networking sites that you recently published a book. Most of your friends will immediately “like” your post and that’s about how far it will go. REALITY CHECK: Sadly, all those people who said they would buy your book, if you ever sat down and wrote a book, are not the ones lining up to buy your book.

First of all, if you want to promote your book you need to have a platform, e.g. a Facebook page, blog, or a website to start spreading the word about your book. Of course, most people who have already published a book know this, but there are some important tips to remember:

as much as we want to tell everyone about our books, don’t  inundate your friends and acquaintances with one status update after another about your great literary achievement
don’t be afraid to talk about your achievements. If your book goes from number 42 to 41, TALK ABOUT IT
promote other authors. Read their books and review them. The authors will love you and just may tell their friends how cool you are
If you are a member of Goodreads, offer some book giveaways
Be a guest blogger for another author’s blog or website (but don’t request a link back to your blog or website)
Write about things which are connected to your books. For example, my first novel was about the Korean War, so I often have posts related to the war and its consequences, e.g. when the remains of a US service member have been identified
promote other authors; yes, it’s important to mention this twice.  I sometimes use Twitter to rave about a fellow author
Don’t offer free book downloads. Sadly, a lot of people are takers and not givers, and may not talk about your work as much as you hope they would.

Hopefully some of these will work for you. It just takes time for you to establish yourself and for people to start spreading the word about you and your books.

When A Hard Rain Falls: You CAN judge a book by its cover

Believe it or not, When A Hard Rain Falls has quickly become one of my best selling books.

Although it does not have the kind of reviews that War Remains and Ice Cream Headache have, it is one of my best selling books on a day-to-day basis.

Inasmuch as it is a good story about a father fighting evil to protect his sons while they are on a camping trip, the cover work by the very multi-talent artist and designer Anna Takahashi proves that you CAN judge a book by its cover.

I just love the cover design and how Anna was able to capture the intensity and the suspense of Keith Mitchell’s story and how an ordinary camping trip becomes one of survival.

Panama Daze

You might say that I have been in a daze since I started working on my new novel which takes place in Panama during the 1970s-1980s.  For the past two months I have been working on this new novel as much as I can when I am not teaching or spending time with my children. Because of my schedule and wanting to spend time with my children, I only write in the morning from 5-7 and in the evening from 9-12. Surprisingly I have been averaging around 500-700 words a day. I’m nearing the 55,000 word count mark and I can easily see this novel coming in at around 65,000-70,000 words.

Without question, this is my most ambitious novel since War Remains which contains to stay in the top 50 for Korean War best sellers at Amazon. Today it is at Number 7.

There has been a lot of research and more to come.

It really feels as though I am back in Panama. That period of my life, from 1977-1978, was such an important time. I am happy to finally write about it.

All The Right Moves

If you’ve walked past the 3rd floor gymnasium on Tuesday mornings between 9:00-11:00 you’ve probably heard a lot of shouting. Don’t be alarmed. It’s just Dr. Kim Choon-won conducting one of his Taekwondo classes.

Leonard’s Bicycle Shop

 

 

Although I don’t directly mention Leonard’s Bicycle Shop directly in Ice Cream Headache, the bicycle shop plays an important role in the novella. Looking at this photo, it was probably taken right around the time that the story takes place.

Set in a small, industrial town in Illinois in 1968, the lives of five people intertwine on one fateful spring day. Under the low-lying dark cloud of the Vietnam war, these five people act out their personal dramas within a milieu of sadness, regret, guilt, envy, cowardice and bitterness: Ray Jackson, isolated and strong in the face of losing his business and wife; Johnny Fitzpatrick, who has decided to run off to Canada to avoid the draft; Jimmy Smith, who overcomes physical and mental limitations and willing to believe the best about people; Nancy Smith, who has devoted her entire life to raising her only child in the face of great odds; and Earl Jansen who carries the guilt of an accidental shooting two years earlier that forced him off the police force. However there is also in equal measure all-consuming love, courage, loyalty, kindness, mercy, gentleness and the enduring strength of the human spirit. Linked together in conflict, articulate friendship and understanding, their plight as human beings is one we all share.

What I’ve Learned from “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte”

Art speaks to us in many ways. Sometimes it makes us feel an emotion; other times it inspires us.

That’s how I have always felt about Georges Seurat’s, “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.”

The first time I viewed this painting at the Art Institute in Chicago, was in the summer of 1983. It was the first time for me to visit any kind of art museum or gallery and it changed my life. It just happened that summer there was an French Impressionism exhibition at the Institute and it was the talk of town.

What I liked most about this painting was Seurat’s use of pointillism. When you get really close to the painting, all you see are these dots of paint with spaces between them; as you move back and begin to look at the painting as  a whole, those spaces between the dots connect it all together.

In my latest novel, I have one of the characters describing this technique and how it affects our perception of reality.

Georgia Tech Bound

Although they come from three different backgrounds and two countries, three SolBridge Students share a common appointment with destiny: they will soon be hitting the books at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) in the fall 2014 semester.

Lingling “Jessica” Zhang, Zhongfan Jian, and Kim “Kate” So-hyun will be joining seven other SolBridge students who have already taken advantage of this unique 2+2 program the two schools have with each other whereby students can obtain two degrees.

“I want to study in America, perhaps study MBA in the US. I think it’s good to spend two years here and two years in America to experience the two cultures,” Jessica said. “Here I am not too homesick because I am close to my home (China).”

Zhongfan, echoed Jessica’s sentiments.

“According to my mom’s view, it was a good idea for me to study in the United States which is still the frontier of the business field,” Zhongfan said.

Interestingly, Zhongfan’s mother already knew about Georgia Tech and hoped that her son would be able to attend after studying at SolBridge for two years.

Kate, on the other hand, had been planning to go to Georgia Tech ever since she started SolBridge to expand her horizons.

“Georgia Tech was the reason why I came to SolBridge,” Kate said. “I had been thinking about going to nursing school at Woosong, but when I heard about Georgia Tech and the 2+2 program SolBridge had with the school, I thought that studying business would be a perfect fit for me.”

Finding out information about Georgia Tech was easy for all three students who either heard about the program by visiting SolBridge’s website or by talking to their classmates. However, all three students advised students who are thinking about attending to plan as early as they can.

“Choose your courses wisely,” Zhongfan suggested.

Although Georgia Tech might be the right choice for some students who would like to expand their horizons, it might not be a good idea for those looking for a job closer to home.

“If you want to find a good job in Korea maybe it’s not wise to go there,” Jessica said.

At least one student is concerned about what awaits once they arrive in the United States.

“I am really scared about going to America because there will be no one to support me,” Kate said. “I am afraid of the language barrier and all the papers I will have to write. I heard from the people already there that we will have to study more, too.”

Nonetheless, Jessica, Zhongfan, and Kate are confident that they will do well once they start Georgia Tech.

“Maybe there’s a little nervousness,” Jessica said. “I’ve never been too far from my home country, but after two years in Korea I think I can manage it.”

“Don’t be afraid to take a challenge,” Kate added.

Former US Congressman Visits SolBridge

A former US congressman visited SolBridge the other day to address the students; a former congressman from Illinois I might add.

Donald Manzullo, from Illinois’ 16th Congressional District. Just up the road a bit from the LaSalle-Peru area. He’s currently the President and the CEO of the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEIA)

We had the chance to talk a little but after his lecture, but he had a train to catch. Fortunately, I talked to one of his aides and sent him some of the photos I took. I mentioned my Korean War novel, War Remains. I hope the former congressman checks it out.