Leon Stevens's Blog, page 76
June 5, 2023
Music Monday June 5: I don’t understand the words but it doesn’t matter, does it?
There is a radio show on CBC here in Canada that occasionally does a feature called SYNTH: Songs You Need To Hear.
CBC MUSIC, Central · Mornings with CBC Music
Now, I can’t say to someone, “You’ll like this song” (or book for that matter) because I can’t presume that others will share my taste in music (or books), so it is safer to say, “You might like this” and if they don’t like it, so be it. Maybe you will find a new favorite.
Music Monday
Ricky Martin. Enrique Iglesias. Gloria Estevan, Elvis Crespo, Shakira, Mark Anthony, and Pitbull. All pioneers of Spanish/Latin American pop. But go back farther and you find artists like Richie Valens, Santana, and Ruben Blades to name a few, who brought a different language to American music.
Enter Reggaeton. Reggaeton, also known as reggaetón and reguetón, is a style of popular and electronic music that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, Latin American, and Caribbean music.
So, since they sing in Spanish, I have know idea what they are saying, although, with my remedial knowledge of the language, I can pick up a word or two. I know it’s a beautiful thing to say mi corazon, meaning “my heart”, or more eloquently, “my love.”
I elected to give you the audio only because I am not a fan of the overt sexuality portrayed in many of the videos, so I don’t want that to detract from the music I find very entertaining.
Renewed interest in Latin pop soared with this song featuring Justin Bieber, but I’ll share the original because … well, because.
But, far from jumping on the bandwagon, I actually was introduced to the style to Latin pop when the Sirius satellite radio came on unexpectedly, tuned to the channel, Caliente, and I heard Daddy Yankee for the first time.
This came on shortly after and is way too catchy:
Sound familiar? You might have heard that in one of the Fast and Furious movies (#4? #3? #6? Who knows.)
Like Pitbull in the 2000s, Daddy Yankee started showing up in almost every Reggaetón song.
Not Reggaetón, but this Colombian singer is worth a listen.
Along the same line would be the Mexican band Mana.
That’s all for this week.
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
June 3, 2023
Weekend Wrap-up June 22: Just the Highlights
Sometimes there is nothing entertaining or informative to say, so …
On my blog this week:
Free Book Friday June 2: Too many books?
Weird Wednesday May 31th: OK. Now what do I do?
Tuesday Tidbits: End of an Era
Music Monday May 29: I was going to do a Top 10 …
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
June 2, 2023
Free Book Friday June 2: Too many books?
If you are an avid reader, you probably believe that you can’t have too many books, but if you have more books than you can possibly read, well …
Giving away free books is a risk because sometimes a book is taken because it is free and FOMO* takes over, resulting in your book being added to an Everest size TBR* list.
I am amazed at the speed (and the amount) some people read. I am a slow reader, and I can’t commit to reading X number of books each month. I do try to skim though the books of my featured authors to make sure they are a right fit for my subscribers.
How many books are in your TBR list, and do you have any hope of getting through it?
-Leon
*Fear of missing out / to be read.
The story behind Free Book Friday:I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.
Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.
Here are this week’s promos to check out:
Reads From StoryOrigin and BookFunnelStoryOrigin and BookFunnel allows authors to advertise their books to each other’s audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!
Purchase LinksPromo note:
Some promos have over 20 books, and it is easy for a reader to be overwhelmed by the choices, and for an author, even though more participating authors means a larger reach to more potential new readers, it is easy for a book to be buried in the mix, so I decided to create one with only five books.
Free BooksSign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book (poetry or science fiction or both): Leon’s Newsletter
Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words
Previous promos: Discover New Authors and Free Books.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
May 31, 2023
Weird Wednesday May 31th: OK. Now what do I do?
After 3 years I finally decided to change my newsletter frequency from weekly to bi-weekly. I did this for several reasons:
It is a lot of workI don’t have any new books to promoteDid I say It is a lot of work?So, now it’s Wednesday and I have less to do. Yay! But I miss doing a newsletter already …
I told my subscribers I wasn’t going to cram two weeks worth of stuff into each newsletter and gave them my social media / blog links if they want more regular content.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
May 30, 2023
Tuesday Tidbits: End of an Era
An era? Isn’t that a bit dramatic?
Well, I made you look, right?
At the beginning of February, I received an email indicating that book one of my sci-fi trilogy was selected to be enrolled in Amazon’s Prime Reading program, meaning it would be available for free to any Prime members. After some research (making sure it wasn’t a scam and what benefits other authors felt it gave them, I decided to accept.
No royalties are given to the author, and At one time, authors got a monetary compensation to make up for lost royalties until Amazon realized that many, or most, would do it for free. Since I was giving The View from Here away, my hope was that many or most would choose to purchase the next two books.
From March until the end of May, it has hovered in the high top 100 science fiction books, reaching #49 briefly.
If you are wondering about the spike at the left side, I ran a 99 cent sale that week.
Now, true to form, Amazon won’t divulge the number of downloads the book has received, so my best guess it that since it takes about 100 sales/day to reach the top 10, my book has been averaging about 10/day. With that estimate, I should be looking at about 900 books (10 books x 90 days).
That sounds high, so let’s be conservative and say 500 books were “sold”. If half of those readers are compelled to continue that adventure (I do consider it a stand-alone book, but with unanswered questions), I should see 500 more books sold (250 each for books 2 and 3).
Time will tell.
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!Submit a form.
May 29, 2023
Music Monday May 29: I was going to do a Top 10 …
There is a radio show on CBC here in Canada that occasionally does a feature called SYNTH: Songs You Need To Hear.
CBC MUSIC, Central · Mornings with CBC Music
Now, I can’t say to someone, “You’ll like this song” (or book for that matter) because I can’t presume that others will share my taste in music (or books), so it is safer to say, “You might like this” and if they don’t like it, so be it. Maybe you will find a new favorite.
I was going to do a Top 10.
I started to, but there were just too many and I didn’t want to leave any out. I realized that if I feature a song on here it is because it has some relevance to my life. Which got me to thinking, “What was the first album I bought?”
It was Zenyatta Mondatta by The Police.
They were a new band to me, and I was unaware that they had released two previous albums (Ten years later I would be in college getting drunk playing the Roxanne drinking game*) We only had one AM radio station and unless you subscribed to one of the many popular music magazines, you were at the mercy of that one AM radio station, until …
MTV
It was a game changer in my teenage years, and then Canada jumped into the fray with MuchMusic (which is still around but only plays Ridiculousness, Jersey Shore, and The Kardashians), playing many of the bands that never would make it big outside the country. Trooper anyone?
Anyway, Zenyatta Mondatta had a lot of good tunes and here is the one that started it all for me:
OK, I know you are wondering who Trooper is. Well, here you go:
-Leon
*Not recommended
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
Smorgasbord Book Promotions – New Book on the Shelves – #Scifi The Final View (The View from Here Trilogy Book 3) by Leon Stevens
Happy to share the news of the latest release by Leon Stevens. The third book in his Sci-fi trilogy – The Final View (The View from Here Trilogy Book 3)
About the book
“We have to go back.”
That’s what April said as we sat at the bar. Now, I regret the choices.
April texted me. “When are we going back?”
I’ve thought about it constantly. We could have gone back right away, but we both decided to come home to take care of some things here first. Would the entrance still be there in the future? It had to be. We didn’t destroy it like the last time—although, I don’t think it was anything we did on purpose to seal the cave at the end of the trail. There was an earthquake, but did we do that? I don’t think so.
There is some connection that both of…
View original post 541 more words
May 27, 2023
Weekend Wrap-up May 27: Stuck at 37
Reviews that is, for my book, The View from Here. My first poetry book has 22, while my second poetry book is lagging at 4.
Some authors say that the magic number of Amazon reviews is 50. That’s when the magical algorithm kicks in. True or false? Or is it just one of many urban myths?
I don’t know. I’d like to know. How can I find out? Oh yeah, Google it and find 100 differing opinions, or I could email Amazon and get nowhere.
Or, I could just get 13 more reviews (hint, hint).
https://books.linesbyleon.com/reviewcopies
On my blog this week:
Free Book Friday May 26: Children’s Author XANDA MONTEIRO
Weird Wednesday May 24th: Cartoons
Terse Verse Tuesday
Music Monday May 22: Cover songs – Shine
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
May 26, 2023
Free Book Friday May 26: Children’s Author XANDA MONTEIRO
Featured Author: XANDA MONTEIROI was born in the small town of Beira on the East Coast of Mozambique, a place that holds a special place in my heart. It’s home to the magnificent Farol do Macuti, a lighthouse that has guided countless ships to safety over the years. One of my fondest memories is the excitement my dad brought home with a new toy – the first Polaroid camera!
I still remember the anticipation as we waited for the picture to develop on the square paper. To make the image last, we had to spread the fixer over the picture, which had a distinct smell that remains etched in my mind from childhood. It was an unnatural sharp, chemical and fruity sweet odor, but to us, it meant preserving memories that would last a lifetime.
But my childhood memories were not limited to photography. It was also with my dad that I experienced my first solar eclipse, an unforgettable sight that left me in awe of the natural world. Looking back, those memories of my childhood in Mozambique still fill me with a sense of wonder and appreciation for the beauty of life.
Growing up in Africa was an adventure in itself. I loved nothing more than exploring the vast landscape aroundme, always eager to discover new and exciting things. But with that excitement came a hint of danger. Some places and animals I encountered were quite hazardous, adding an extra layer of thrill to my explorations.
Today, I still hold a deep appreciation for the wonders of nature and the joy of exploration, and have added meditation and QiGong to my life as a way to continue that sense of wonder and connection to the world around me.
More about the Author : https://www.lightshadowandink.com/about
“Beehive Secrets : Magical Meadows” – a heartwarming story of friendship and the power of kindness.
Kaida Brightscales, a friendly dragon, loves exploring the meadow near her cave. One day, she meets Bella the Bee, who is feeling sick and needs help. With the help of a hardworking ant and a knowledgeable butterfly, Kaida sets out on a mission to cure Bella and her friends of their mysterious sickness. Along the way, Kaida learns about the importance of pollination and the hard work of bees.
This delightful book for children ages 3 to 6 is filled with colourful illustrations and a captivating story that teaches important lessons about empathy, teamwork, and perseverance. Can Kaida and her friends find a cure for the bees’ mysterious sickness? It is perfect for fans of other children’s books like “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “The Giving Tree.”
Join Kaida and Bella on their buzzing adventures as they explore the meadow and discover the secrets of the beehive. With its heartwarming message and lovable characters, “The Buzzing Adventures of Kaida and Bella” is a must-read for young readers.
Pick up a copy today and unlock the magic of friendship and the wonder of the natural world!
Check out Beehive Secrets: https://www.amazon.com/Beehive-Secrets-Magical-Meadows-heartwarming-ebook/dp/B0C5JT7VKN
The story behind Free Book Friday:I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.
Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.
Here are this week’s promos to check out:
Reads From StoryOrigin and BookFunnelStoryOrigin and BookFunnel allows authors to advertise their books to each other’s audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!
No new promos this week.
Free BooksSign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book (poetry or science fiction or both): Leon’s Newsletter
Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words
Previous promos: Discover New Authors and Free Books.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a free book!
Oh, pick me!
C’mon, space stuff!
