George A. Bernstein's Blog, page 5
November 14, 2012
Recent Author Interview Questions
This is everything about TRAPPED from a recent Author Interview, and for the current Blog Hop. Here’s a link to the next member of the blog: http://ltbentley.wordpress.com). Click on it to see what she has to say, too.
AN INTERVIEW WITH George A Bernstein, author of TRAPPED
What is the working title of your book?
Trapped
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Many years ago, a beautiful neighbor woman suffered an anesthetic accident during surgery, becoming comatose. Her plight gave me the idea of whom to center the story around
What genre does your book fall under?
I consider TRAPPED to be Mainstream, but also Suspense. Some have classified it as a Parapsychological Thriller
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Never an easy task because the author creates his own image in his mind as his characters develop, but here’s a “possible” list:
Katherin Heigl for Jackee
Greg Grunberg for Kevin
Ryan Gossling for Phil
Debroah Ann Woll for Rhonda
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
TRAPPED is a story of love, disillusionment, terror, resurgence, and ultimate revenge.
Is your book self-published, published or represented by an agency?
TRAPPED is published by TAG Publishers, after winning their “Next Great American Novel” contest. It’s available on Amazon and book stores as a Trade Paperback, and also as a Kindle, Nook, and all e-book options
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
About 6 months…over 20 years ago. TRAPPED has intermittently undergone many editing changes, both in content and style over the years, while I wrote 3 other suspense novels. TAG editors helped me polish it into this final form
What other books or authors would you compare this story to within your genre?
Another tough questions, since I have not patterned my writing after any other author. I write in my own “voice,” and TRAPPED is generally considered a rather unique story. Maybe a bit of Dean Koontz, when he strays from the supernatural, like “The Husband” or “The Good Guy.”
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I guess my wife, who, when I was able to retire fairly young, said, “You need something other than Golf to keep you busy. You always loved to write…and were good at it. Why don’t you write a novel?” Neither of us really knew what we were letting ourselves in for!
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Probably two things: the reality of “Locked-in Syndrome,” where 20 years ago, sentient people were probably “unplugged” and allowed to die because they were thought to be brain dead; and the potential power of the mind, when one has nothing else to work with.
Where can we find your work? (Ex: Website links, blog links, publishers links)
My The direct Amazon link to the book: http://amzn.to/P2xxaT
web site: http://www.georgeabernstein.com
My Blog: http://www.georgeabernstein.wordpress...
November 13, 2012
Making the Amazon top 100
WOW! Thanks to everyone’s participation, the Best Seller Campaign was a huge success. On November 1, TRAPPED moved you fronm 295,000 to 89th for Suspense, and 91st for General Fiction. Very exciting.
The feedback I’m getting is also erengizing. Comments like:
Barbara said, “I started reading TRAPPED last night, and next thing I knew, it was 2 hours past my bed time. Couldn’t put it down.”
Len wrote me, “I was surprised. I read mostly best selling authors, but someone recommended Trapped, and I found it is as well written and intriguing as any novel I’ve ever read.”
Gloria, ” I read it in 2 days, and loved the suspense, and especially the ending.”
Thanks again for all your support.
November 5, 2012
BEST SELLER RESULTS
All very gratifying, and sales are still perking along. There are many 5-star reviews on Amazon, but I hope you readers will post a review here, too.
I'll be working with TAG Publishers on my next novel, A THIRD TIME TO DIE, which I hope will be out in the spring of 2013.
October 31, 2012
AMAZON BEST SELLER CAMPAIGN
Thursday, Nov. 1, I’m running a “Best Seller” campaign for my award-winning novel, TRAPPED.
The campaign will take place between 6 PM and 11 PM, EST. I hope some of you will find the novel interesting enough to buy one during that time slot. It’s already received five 5-Star reviews in the 2 weeks it’s been available. The direct Amazon link to TRAPPED’s Amazon page is:
http://amzn.to/P2xxaT
where you can read about the novel, “Like” the page, and/or buy. If you enjoy something a bit different in suspense, I think TRAPPED will do it for you.
More info at my web site:
http://www.georgeabernstein.com
October 25, 2012
Vagary of contests
As you may remember, TRAPPED was a finalist at the large Florida Writers RPLA contest, and I just got the results…and the rating sheets from the 3 judges.
First, 2 judges read the synopsis and the 1st 30 pages, and they rate 10 areas, from 1 – 5 points…so a max total of 50. An entry needs at least 80 pts. to become a finalist. TRAPPED received 92, and the judge giving 48 pts. loved character development and the way I described the action, solely through my protagonists eyes. It was my editor at TAG who suggested a single, 1st person point of view throughout, and I agreed. It wasn’t easy, but in the end, we both felt it was terrific.
Unfortunately, the critic who read the entire book didn’t agree with us…or the earlier judges. He downrated the book because he wanted scenes from other characters’ viewpoints. As I always say, “That’s why they make chocolate, vanilla and 39 other flavors.”
This isn’t the 1st time I’ve had one judge rave about something, like characters or scenes or settings, while another denigrated them. It’s the same reasons authors like Louis L’Amore (America’s top Western writer…for EVER) was rejected 350 time before finally getting published. And J.K. Rowling, probably the wealthy woman in the World right now, struggled for years before finding a small publisher to take a chance on Harry Potter. The stories of rejection are legion, because you can’t accommodate for taste.
Luckily, TRAPPED has already received three 5-Star reviews at Amazon, and I’ve flieded a plethora of calls and e-mail raves from the first readers. So I think I’ll cherish the good reviews and ignore the others. I suggest this attitude should work for all of you, no matter what your endeavors.
October 21, 2012
Amazon
Amazon has become the giant of publishing, and even if your book is available elsewhere (book store, speciality shops, B & N Nook, etc.), Amazon rules the roost…but it seems almost impossible to get any real info there.
Like all eager new authors, I want to monitor sales for my new novel, TRAPPED. I set up an author’s page and an Affiliate Account, but when I check them out, Amazon says my sales are only 14% of what my publisher shows. I personally know of dozens of people who were eager to get my book…and claim they ordered it…but Amazon doesn’t show them. I was concerned at first that there was a glitch in their system, and orders may have fallen between the cracks, but apparently not, since my publisher, TAG Publishers, can monitor the REAL sales.
It’s almost impossible to find a way to contact them, but I finally dug up an e-mail and phone number. Got an e-mail response that they have no record of me as a vendor (maybe because TAG is the vendor, not me, individually), so I’m going to try the phone next week.
I’ll post my findings, and I’d love to hear from anyone with similar problems…or answers thereto.
October 19, 2012
Locked-In Syndrom
I’ve been asked about the chilling aspect…and reality…of the Locked-in Syndrom suffered by Jackee in my award-winning novel, TRAPPED. The fact is, I originally created the condition from my imagination when I first wrote TRAPPED, but then learned that it is, in fact, a real condition. It’s probable that, in the past, people in Locked-in Syndrom where diagonosed as being in a coma…vegative & brain-dead…when in fact they were very much mentally alert. Surely, some have been allowed to…or aided…to die, when they were aware of what was happening. How chilling is that?
I’ve since found that there are other works of fiction that have refered to the condition. Possibly the oldest example was the character, M. Noirtier de Villefort, in Alexandre Dumas‘s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, who apparently suffers from locked-in syndrome. He is described as a “corpse with living eyes.”
If you’re interested, here are some links to real people who have suffered the condition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Dominique_Bauby
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/10/18/ns-stroke-suit.html
More about my novel, TRAPPED, is available from my web site: www.GeorgeABernstein.com
October 17, 2012
about promotion
Just returned from a 3-day Authors’ Seminar with my publisheer, TAG Publishers. It’s run by Dee & Liz and was very informative…and a bit daunting! I’ve been working on everything, a bit at a time. My novel. TRAPPED, is now available on Amazon (http://amzn.to/P2xxaT), so it’s up to me to push sales. Wish it were just enough to write a great story! I’m eager to see what I can achieve.
October 14, 2012
Hello world!
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