N.H. Senzai's Blog, page 8

Changing Publishing Paradigms

U.S. publishers had net sales of $24.3 billion in 2008, down from $25.0 billion in 2007, representing a 2.8% decrease. Association of American Publishers (AAP)


I tend to keep my "other" work life separate from my writing life, but increasingly, I've find the two coming together. I live and work in Silicon Valley, surrounded by technology. During the day I look at patents, inventions and technologies covering a huge array of industries – Increasingly I'm watching how technological innovation...

More Debuts

Three other debut novels are coming out this week from fellow 2k10 authors.


ISLAND STING, by Bonnie J. Doerr
Kenzie didn't realize her first summer in the Florida Keys would be murder.Cute guys, awesome boats, endangered species, gun-toting thugs. Angelo's wild world rocked hers.


THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer R. Hubbard
After his secret girlfriend's death, seventeen-year-old Colt finds the notebook she left behind, but he is unprepared for the truths he discovers about their intense relationship.

Kirkus LIVES (well, maybe)

Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it -- W. Somerset Maugham

Kirkus's death may have been greatly exaggerated as the latest news comes in...
At the end of 2009 it was annouced that Nielsen Business Media would shut down the venerable Kirkus Reviews. Just a few days into 2010, the news  is much more positive -- Kirkus Reviews will continue publication for the foreseeable future.
According to an internal memo obtained by...

FREAKSVILLE Launches!

Fellow debut author Kitty Keswick's book, FREAKSVILLE, comes out this week. 


Here's a little blurb about the book:
A group of teenagers, trapped in a haunted theater on the night of a full moon, find out that ghosts are the least of their worries…
Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly give up. All she wants is a nrmal life. Shopping and talking about boys with her best friend and long-time sidekick, Gillie Godshall, consume her...

Happy Holidays and 2010

Happy Holidays to everyone -- I hope you recieved what you wanted, both in goods, well wishes, inspiration, good will and love.  Here's to a bright 2010, which brings to all good health, success and a healthy measure of fun.

Books for Charity

In August of 2009, 86% of fundraisers at charitable organizations surveyed said that the economy was having a negative or very negative impact on their fundraising abilities.

It's the holiday season! Think of giving.... books of course... charities that giveawy books? Even better.

I stumbled across this ad for the the The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. The organization was established to address the underfunding of Canadian school libraries and the literacy crisis. Love of Reading...

Burka Barbie

Barbie has had more than 80 careers -- everything from a rock star to a paleontologist to a presidential candidate.

A friend forwarded me a recent article – Muslim Wold: Barbie's 50th Anniversary Islamic Makeover. According to the article:


"Wearing the traditional Islamic dress with a mesh eyehole, she went under the hammer along with 500 other Barbie dolls dressed in unique outfits at an auction in Florence, Italy, at the renowned auction house Sotheby's to raise funds for Save the Children...

Final Week of 2K9 Grad Contest!

It's the Final Week to Celebrate the Graduation of the Class of 2K9!
(And the final chance for you to win one of their great books in the 2K10 giveaway!)
WATERSMEET by Ellen Jensen Abbott
SHRINKING VIOLET by Danielle Joseph
CRASH INTO ME by Albert Borris
INITIATION by Susan Fine
GIVE UP THE GHOST by Megan Crewe
MY INVENTED LIFE by Lauren Bjorkman
NOTHING LIKE YOU by Lauren Strasnic
DREAMING ANASTASIA by Joy Preble
Contest Rules: For a chance to win one of the featured books, post a comment at the end...

Pencil to Paper

Pencils didn't have erasers on them until 100 years ago because teachers felt they would encourage children to make mistakes.


Ask a writer when they started writing and most will pause a moment, slightly confused and cross eyed. You can see their mind whir and churn, travelling back to the moment they were compelled to pick up a pencil and put it to paper– it could have been a poem, an essay, a story, or diary entry. For the most part, most writers have, well, written, since they were kids...

Bell Tolls for Kirkus

Asking a writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp post how it feels about dogs - Ann Landers

Reviews... the word sends a chill down an author's spine (okay, I exaggerate a little) We authors, no matter how nonchalant, can't help but notice what others are saying about their book. You can ignore most, but it's hard to ignore professional reviews that appear in the media -- they have the power to affect  book sales and perhaps, even your career as a writer.   Interestingly, a...