Scott Semegran's Blog, page 17

Boys

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The Bestselling, Award-winning Book with Three Captivating Stories

IndieReader Discovery Awards - Winner for Short Stories, 2018

These are the stories of three boys living in Texas: one growing up, one dreaming, and one fighting to stay alive in the face of destitution and adversity. There's second-grader William, a shy yet imaginative boy who schemes about how to get back at his school-yard bully, Randy. Then there's Sam, a 15-year-old boy who dreams of getting a 1980 Mazda RX-7 for his sixteenth birthday but has to work at a Greek restaurant to fund his dream. Finally, there's Seff, a 21-year-old on the brink of manhood, trying to survive along with his roommate, working as waiters and barely making ends meet. These three stories are told with heart, humor, and an uncompromising look at what it meant to grow up in Texas during the 1980s and 1990s.

"The writing is sharp and unpretentiously thoughtful." — Kirkus Reviews

"Draws readers right into the heart of his well-developed characters." — IndieReader

"Boys offers an engaging read—one short fiction fans are sure to enjoy." — BlueInk Review

"Boys is compellingly realistic fiction." — Foreword Clarion Reviews

AUDIOBOOK INFO

ISBN: 978-0999717370

Copyright: © 2018 Scott Semegran

Narrated by: J.R. Moorland, John Stempien, and Cody Roberts

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Publisher: Mutt Press

Category: Fiction / Short Stories / Humor / Coming of Age

For more information about Boys by Scott Semegran including eBook, paperback, and hardcover editions, please go here.

BOYS: 2018 IndieReader Discovery Awards Winner for Short Stories

June 2, 2018 – Today, Robin Cutler, Director of IngramSpark, announced the winners of the 2018 annual IndieReader Discovery Awards (IRDAs) at BookExpo America (BEA) / BookCon, a major trade show in New York City. BOYS: Stories about Bullies, Jobs, and Other Unpleasant Rights of Passage from Boyhood to Manhood by Scott Semegran won in the Short Stories category.

IndieReader launched the IRDAs in order to help worthy indie authors get the attention of top indie professionals, with the goal of reaching more readers.  Noted Amy Edelman, founder of IR, “The books that won the IRDAs this year are not just great indie books; they are great books, period.  We hope that our efforts via the IRDAs insure that they receive attention from the people who matter most.  Potential readers.” 

Judges for the awards included notable publishers, agents, publicists and bloggers. BOYS received the following verdict by IndieReader’s reviewers:

Sweet, funny, sometimes a bit cynical, the short stories (and one longer story) in BOYS are a wry salute to juvenile masculinity, from the boy eager to come to terms with a bully to the young men navigating life as waiters in an Italian restaurant. Semegran captures a nice mix of swaggering adolescent self-assurance and private vulnerability, making each of his BOYS a thoroughly likeable individual with a full, three-dimensional personality.

For the official verdict for BOYS: https://indiereader.com/2018/01/boys/

For more information about BOYS: https://www.scottsemegran.com/books/boys.html

For more information about BOYS Audiobook: https://www.scottsemegran.com/audiobooks/boys.html

For more information about the 2018 IndieReader Discovery Awards: https://indiereader.com/enter-discovery-awards/

For more information about IndieReader: https://indiereader.com/

To download the official press release: PDF File

Lulu Author Talks | Scott Semegran

Lulu chats with "Sammie & Budgie" author Scott Semegran about his experience self-publishing and what he's learned along the way.

Originally posted on May 25, 2018: https://youtu.be/j1aBG-4gyz0

Sammie & Budgie: 2018 Texas Authors Double Award Winner

The 2018 Texas Authors Book Awards winners were announced and Sammie & Budgie was a double winner! My latest novel placed first in the following award categories:

First Place Winner for General Fiction: Sammie & Budgie - 2018 Texas Authors Book Awards
First Place Winner for Fiction: Sammie & Budgie - 2018 Texas Authors Book Cover Awards

I would like to thank the Texas Association of Authors for supporting my novel. It's an honor.

Here's the full cover of Sammie & Budgie:

Read more about Sammie & Budgie. Available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook: https://www.scottsemegran.com/books/sammie-budgie.html

Find more of Keri Knutson's work (the graphic designer for the book cover) at Alchemy Book Covers and Design: https://www.alchemybookcovers.com

For more about the Texas Association of Authors: https://www.txauthors.com

The announcement for the awards here.

BOYS: The Bestselling Book with Three Captivating Stories is FREE for a Limited Time

BOYS: The bestselling book with three captivating stories is FREE for a limited time! Available at the following retailers: Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Google Play Books, Kobo, Apple iBooks, Smashwords, and more. Find the eBook retailer you prefer at the following book deal websites:

Sammie & Budgie: 2018 Texas Authors Book Cover Awards Winner

The 2018 Texas Authors Book Cover Awards winners were announced this week and Sammie & Budgie was the first place winner for fiction. Here was their criteria for picking the winners. The judges first looked at the artistic value of the cover. Secondly, they looked to see if the cover would match the sales pitch, which when combined would draw the reader to want to know more about the book by reading what was inside.

First Place Winner for Fiction: Sammie & Budgie

Graphic Artist: Keri Knutson

Author: Scott Semegran

Here's the full cover of Sammie & Budgie:

Read more about Sammie & Budgie. Available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook: https://www.scottsemegran.com/books/sammie-budgie.html

Find more of Keri's work at Alchemy Book Covers and Design: https://www.alchemybookcovers.com

For more about the Texas Association of Authors: https://www.txauthors.com

Five Novels that Will Change Your Mind About Indie Books

Indie books sometimes get a bad rap because they are not from the big five publishers. Some indie books are from regional, small presses and others are from self-published authors. Here are five novels that will change your mind about indie books.

The El Paso Red Flame Gas Station - "A well-wrought panorama of small-town dramas and discontents." — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Missing Mr. Wingfield - "With his impressively honed craft, Clark has produced an equally compelling literary draw." — BlueInk Review (Starred Review)

Sammie & Budgie - "Semegran is a gifted writer, with a wry sense of humor. Poignant, yet never maudlin, this novel will appeal to literary-minded readers and fans of magical realism." — BlueInk Review (Starred Review)

No Big Thing - "A well-written story—one that includes Old South traditions and dirt-road romances, with a healthy dose of beer joint camaraderie thrown in for good measure." — BlueInk Review (Starred Review)

Delivering Virtue - "Threads of satire are skillfully woven into this tapestry of humor and pathos, magical realism, and historical fact." — Foreword Clarion Reviews. Clarion Rating: 5 out of 5. 2015 INDIES Finalist.

Originally posted on Rifflebooks.com on 2/1/2018

Traditional Publishing Vs. Self-Publishing: Which Publishing Path is Best for You?

Originally posted on Lulu.com 02/05/2018

This past year while promoting my latest two books, Boys and Sammie & Budgie, I was asked quite a lot during interviews, "Would I go with a traditional publisher for my next book?" Having taken the indie route and self-published some of my fiction work, I initially thought this question to be intriguing. Could I relinquish all the control I have as a self-publisher and opt for a traditional publisher to take control of my new book's life? My initial response was, "Sure! Why not?" Then on further reflection, my thought was, "Well, I don't know." What a conundrum!

I decided to research this issue and I found that there were drastically different opinions on this: traditional publishing versus self-publishing. Many authors still tout the traditional publishing model as the best way to go, particularly if you want to be taken "seriously" as a writer. One author, Ros Barber, declared that she'd rather starve as a traditionally published author than risk appearing amateurish as a self-published author. Another author, Hugh Howey, favored self-publishing because he spent less time jumping through the hoops of the traditional system and instead published straight to the "real" gatekeepers: the readers. Both writers have a point. Ultimately, aren't they both trying to accomplish the same thing? They both have the desire to be published writers. Arguing about the method of publishing is like arguing about the best way to get from Texas to California: budget airplane ticket or expensive automobile. Would you rather fly cheaply or drive an expensive car? Who cares! I just want to get to California. Most writers just want to publish their work for the world to read.

I think the better approach to this dilemma is to figure out other factors that influence the writer in you. Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit? Or do you like to focus only on writing? Does marketing your books sound appealing to you or does it make your brain hurt? Does graphic design and typesetting sound fun or does it turn you off? How involved do you want to be with the life of your book? Do you want to give it to a publisher then walk away, trusting that they have editors and graphic designers and marketers? Or do you want to follow it down the long tail of its distribution, getting involved with the book cover design as well as marketing and promotion? Like discovering your love language for a successful romantic relationship, figuring out some of these personality traits in your writer-self will be important in deciding the publishing route you should pursue.

Scott Semegran’s Advice to Fellow Indies: “Don’t let anyone get in the way of your desire to be creative and write.”

Originally posted by IndieReader.com on January 30, 2018

BOYS received a 5 star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.

Following find an interview with author Scott Semegran.

What is the name of the book and when was it published?

BOYS by Scott Semegran. It was published June 27, 2015.

What’s the book’s first line? 

“The little boy sat on the floor in his room surrounded by his toys–Micronauts action figures, Hot Wheels race cars, Star Wars action figures and vehicles, Evel Knievel doll and motor cycle, Shogun Warriors in various sizes, and a pile of Legos intermixed from various sets.”

What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”. 

BOYS is about three young, male characters growing up in central Texas during the 1980s and 1990s: a third-grader, a high-schooler, and a recent college graduate. All struggle with finding love and acceptance, either because their family life is unfulfilling or they are trying to navigate through life on their own for the first time. They long for friendship and companionship and ultimately find it in unlikely places. I put as much humor and raw emotion as I could into each story, allowing the love these characters have for their friends to shine through the darkness that life throws their way.

What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event? 

BOYS is a compilation of a short story, a novelette, and a novella. It didn’t start as a single project. After completing all three at the beginning of 2015, I saw the thematic thread through all three stories, although it was not intentional. They were intended for different purposes i.e. literary journals, magazines, or a book of some kind. It seemed to me that they would make great companion pieces to each other in one book so I hired a graphic designer for the cover and a couple of editors for the manuscript. As for inspiration, all three stories were inspired by my nostalgia for growing up in Texas. Although BOYS is not autobiographical, it was written with a loving nod to the friendships and connections I made as a boy and a young man growing up in central Texas.

Scott Semegran - Keeping Readers Up into the Wee Hours of the Night

Originally posted by ManyBooks on January 3, 2018

When Scott Semegran isn't drawing cartoons, brewing beer, cooking, whistling or bending metal, he enjoys writing books. Evidently readers also enjoy reading them - Semegran is a Kindle bestselling author. As our Author of the Day, Semegran tells us about his latest book, Sammie & Budgie, talks about his characters and explains why humor is excellent subterfuge for finding the truth.

Please give us a short introduction to what Sammie & Budgie is about.

Sammie & Budgie is the third book in the Simon Adventures series. The first book, The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood, delves into Simon's obsession with becoming a famous writer. The second, The Spectacular Simon Burchwood, dives into the aftermath of a failed writing career and divorce. Sammie & Budgie explores Simon's relationship with his children, particularly Sammie, who he discovers can see the future. I wanted to examine a realistic response to a single parent's discovery of this type of paranormal dilemma. When Sammie foretells that his grandfather is in some kind of trouble, it propels the family on a road trip to visit the prickly patriarch.

You are also a cartoonist - how much different was writing a book from creating comic strips?

Well, the inspiration comes from the same place but the mechanics and structure are obviously very different. The comic strips I created had weekly deadlines for newspapers and each one usually had a humorous premise to workaround or conclude with. Then there was the cartooning part. Writing a novel takes months and months of rough drafts and edits and rewrites and more edits. But Sammie & Budgie is an illustrated novel, so I was able to use both of my creative tool boxes to create this book. I illustrated the chapter title pages and gave my daughter and co-illustrator, Mia Ryan Semegran, art direction for Sammie's cartoons.

Which character in this book did you find the most challenging to create?

Sammie was, by far, the most challenging to execute. I wanted him to be cute and funny but also inquisitive and melancholy. His power to see the future overwhelms him and he has so many questions. He's embarrassed and ashamed by it, too.