Jason Zandri's Blog: The GUNDERSTONE GOODREADS Review, page 25

As Life Goes: Elementary – now available for PRE-ORDER

As you might have read a few months back (Two projects on tap – the “As Life Goes” five book series and “I, Hero”), I started a couple of new book series – I Hero and As Life Goes.

I was supposed to start with As Life Goes – Elementary and that was to be ready for the end of September. I also wrote at the time “While I was outlining this another story cropped up on me (“I, Hero”) so I MAY (big MAY) try to execute this now ahead of the summer writing session.”

If you’re following my releases, “I, Hero – The Beginning” has been finished and is already released.

With that, I have been cranking along with As Life Goes – Elementary and I am expecting it to be completed by the end of June now which gives me all of July to get it edited and finished. As such, I now have it available for pre-order.

I am figuring to release “I, Hero – Nathan Returns” by the end of August now, the second book of that series and then I plan to follow up with “As Life Goes: The End of the Innocence” – (expected November 2015). I MIGHT have enough secondary material from “As Life Goes: Elementary” “left over” that I might want to tie up so I may offer a novella titled “As Life Goes: Summer.” If that ends up being the case I’ll drop that for the end of September.

“As Life Goes: The End of the Innocence” is supposed to take place with Matthew, Melissa, Michael, Tim and the others in their senior year of high school. That is a jump from fifth grade in “As Life Goes: Elementary” so if I have that remainder material to wrap up I will do it in “As Life Goes: Summer”

That’s you’re catch up on what I have going on.

Thanks for following the blog and reading my work.

You don’t get paid unless people actually read your book: the new Kindle Unlimited royalties – by Kirsten Reach

I am unable to REBLOG this directly so I have the intro below and the link back to Kirsten’s full article.

You don’t get paid unless people actually read your book: the new Kindle Unlimited royalties

by Kirsten Reach

This July, Amazon is changing the way it pays authors for books in Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. In short, it’s paying the authors a royalty based on pages read, rather than paying authors a royalty each time a reader makes it through 10% of a book.

Read the remainder of this article on the Melville House site at http://www.mhpbooks.com/you-dont-get-paid-unless-people-actually-read-your-book-the-new-kindle-unlimited-royalties/

Four free excerpts for “I, Hero – The Beginning”

An unlikely friendship, a random act of violence, a budding romance, all part of a life changed.

“When it’s your time, there’s nothing you can do to change that outcome. The only thing you can do is meet it head on. You have to hope that the life you had with others, while you were here, has made a positive impact.” – Brian Devron

“Where there is darkness, you are light. Where others know fear, you will be brave. When there are setbacks, you will persevere. Where others find weakness, you bring strength. Where there is despair, you are hope. Where cowardice falls, you rise courageously. Where others do not have the ability to believe, you have faith. You will suffer, so that others will endure. You will triumph where others would fall.” – Cici Johnson

“This is it; it all changes tonight. Anything I do tonight, at a minimum, is going to at least expose all of this to the world.” – Nathan Devron.

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt I http://bit.ly/1MKrwsF

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt II http://bit.ly/1CCp4Sl

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt III http://bit.ly/1HlZEYo

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt IV http://bit.ly/1CwNg3l

If you like what you’ve read please consider ordering a copy for your Kindle via http://www.amazon.com/I-Hero-Beginning-Jason-Zandri-ebook/dp/B00Y3LA41M/

‘HELLO’ FROM AMAZON – Big Brother style review censorship

Originally posted on writerchristophfischer:

Dear Readers A few weeks ago I woke up to this message: Hello from Amazon.com  We are writing to inform you that we have removed your review privileges and suppressed all of your reviews. Any new reviews written will automatically be suppressed. We took this action because you have failed to comply with our review guidelines and manipulated product reviews. For detailed information on the guidelines, please visit: http://amazon.com/help/customer-reviews-guidelines. Surprised and curious I asked them for clarification on the matter but have had no personal reply to my appeal.  Amazon removed all of the reviews I wrote: 1700 of them without discussion or ‘trial’. Eventually I received this: Hello,  We’ve removed Customer Reviews left by your account because it’s come to our attention that you have violated our policies by manipulating Customer Reviews. Any attempt to manipulate ratings, feedback, or Customer Reviews is prohibited. After reviewing your account, we’ve determined…

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How to Score Great Amazon Reviews: Resources and More

Originally posted on Nicholas C. Rossis:

With the recent controversy on the issue of reviews, triggered by Amazon’s decision to remove all of Christoph Fischer’s 1,700 reviews, it seems this is the issue of the day.

Contrary to popular belief, Amazon does not require that you’ve bought a book in order to review it. It does ask that you mention in your review if you haven’t, explaining how you came across it (usually with a simple “a copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review” statement at the end).

This myth is based on the fact that Amazon does require that you’ve bought at least one physical item from its shops before you’re allowed to place a review. This is to verify that you’re an actual human, with a valid physical address, instead of a robot, a troll or a spammer.

Now that’s been cleared, how can one go around securing these elusive reviews?

Book Reviewer…

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Three BOOKS OF THE MONTH over at Rave Reviews Book Club

I wanted to drop a quick note out to everyone with a quick update from things over at the #RRBC as I take a break from my four kids (they are leaving next week for ten weeks in Poland and I think they are trying to jam what will be all that missed time into one afternoon – THEY ARE GOING TO KILL ME- SEND HELP!)

I first quick thing – if you’re not a member, you should be; such great help there from readers and fellow authors. They will really make you feel like a rock star when you’ve hit one out of the park and they will help you better understand those time where you swing and miss because they WANT to see your next “at bat” be the next hit out of the park.

This section IS a shameless plug for the group – please consider joining (and tell them Jason Zandri / @GUNDERSTONE sent you).

Above and beyond that, we have THREE (3) BOOKS OF THE MONTH that I wanted to highlight:

Silevethiel (The Vaelinel Trilogy Book 1) by Andi O’Connor 

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Nikki Magee by Peter Wendt

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The One Enlightened: Chronicles of the Diasodz, Book 2 by Yvette M Calleiro

I am going back out into the yard so the four kids can kill me now; before I pass on to another realm I wanted to give my fellow authors and RRBC members th shout out – ROCK ON!

How to be a Jerk Reviewer

GUNDERSTONE:

This is the #FF #MUSTREAD

Originally posted on TRISH MARIE DAWSON:

In the deepest shadows hidden behind the cyber sparks of the ever-reaching interwebs, the Jerk Reviewer thrives on the quiet anguish of authors and the attention of unsuspecting potential book buyers. Make no mistake, the Jerk Reviewer is real, be this person female, male, child or adult. I’m mostly talking about ebook reviewers, but since the explosion of the online review, everyone is an expert and no one is accountable for what they say online – and not just for books, but for everything they spend a buck on. It’s become a bit of an epidemic – the idea that because you can, you should. We’ve all read a book we didn’t like. Some we’ve even hated. But not everyone will leave a truly appalling review of those books online. It takes a special kind of reader to do that.

So, today we’re talking about the less than classy reviews…

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Special giveaway for Kindle copies of “I, Hero – The Beginning”

“I, Hero – The Beginning” is now available on the Kindle.

With the release I am offering a special for a limited number of copies. Contact me via my Facebook author page with a PM (private message) and request a REVIEW COPY and your email address and I will send along a copy FOR FREE.

In return all I am asking for is consideration of an honest review. You do not have to commit to one but I would like you to consider it.

Here is the blurb on the book (below) and then directly below that, links to chapter excerpts of “I, Hero – The Beginning” for your consideration.

I Hero: The Beginning Kindle Edition

An everyday man, living less than ordinary life in New York City, simply makes his way about his work life and one at home. A kind heart and an empathetic soul, who tended to think of others before he thought of himself.

With his childhood totally left behind and gone with the final resting of his father, Nathan has come to terms with his past as he forges his life in the present, unaware of what lies ahead.

An unlikely friendship, a random act of violence, a budding romance, all part of a life changed.

“When it’s your time, there’s nothing you can do to change that outcome. The only thing you can do is meet it head on. You have to hope that the life you had with others, while you were here, has made a positive impact.” – Brian Devron

“Where there is darkness, you are light. Where others know fear, you will be brave. When there are setbacks, you will persevere. Where others find weakness, you bring strength. Where there is despair, you are hope. Where cowardice falls, you rise courageously. Where others do not have the ability to believe, you have faith. You will suffer, so that others will endure. You will triumph where others would fall.” – Cici Johnson

“This is it; it all changes tonight. Anything I do tonight, at a minimum, is going to at least expose all of this to the world.” – Nathan Devron.

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt I http://bit.ly/1MKrwsF

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt II http://bit.ly/1CCp4Sl

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt III http://bit.ly/1HlZEYo

“I, Hero – The Beginning” – Excerpt IV http://bit.ly/1CwNg3l

Goodreads Book Giveaway for TEN copies of Another Sunset

I am really excited regarding this current Book Giveaway For Another Sunset. The giveaways have helped me build my audience (along with other efforts that I have been engaging in such as being an active and engaged member at Rave Reviews Book Club among other things) – since the late November release of the book, six months ago, I have managed to receive 50 reviews at Amazon.

I have a few less at GoodReads (and some are duplicated from the Amazon reviewers and vice versa) but I am happy to have all the feedback. I think the details from those reviews speak for themselves.

Thank you all for making my first work a of fiction a great success; I am looking to the future for even bigger and better things with Another Sunset as the word spreads about the story to other readers.

That and I am also looking forward to calling more attention to my new release – “I Hero – The Beginning” which is on sale now.

In the meantime – here is the information regarding my Goodreads Book Giveaway for TEN copies of Another Sunset

Goodreads Book Giveaway


Another Sunset
by Jason Zandri

Giveaway ends June 13, 2015.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to Win

BETHANY TURNER “PAY IT FORWARD” WEEK – Today’s RRBC Author – Micki Peluso

Hello readers – today on THE GUNDERSTONE REVIEW, as well as on ALL of my social media sites, I am going to spotlight, promote, and propel one of my fellow authors from my online book club – #RaveReviews BookClub ( #RRBC )

The “BETHANY TURNER “PAY IT FORWARD” WEEK” effort is the brain child of member Bethany Turner to which I have volunteered – three days in total this week for three different authors.

If you are an author and want this kind of support, you can get in on “that action” via membership to the #RaveReviews BookClub.

Today I am spotlighting Micki Peluso, author of AND THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG

In her own words:

I have written since I learned to hold a pencil. But life interferred with serious writing until a tragedy struck my family.I have written since I learned to hold a pencil. But life interferred with serious writing until a tragedy struck my family. This time I took up the pen and wrote as a catharsis to my grief–where spoken words failed, written words helped heal my wounded soul.

My first short story of the incident was published in an International Journal, and a career in writing was launched.After enough rejection slips to wallpaper my kitchen, I discovered writing for newspapers. After that there were no more rejections, which was a great relief. I became a staff freelance writer for a bi-weekly award winning newspaper and freelance slice of life writer for the larger local paper, serving a city of 500,000 people. The diversity of writing for newspapers let me experiment in many areas of writing from essays, commentaries, interviews, humor, pathos, analogy, and short fiction.

I have recently published my first non-fiction book, . . .AND THE WHIPPOORWILL SANG, dedicated to the one I lost. Published by Light Sword Publishing, it is a funny, poignant celebration of life rather than a eulogy of death. My next book is a sci-fi chapter book for children, co-written with my 11 year-old grandson, who demands top billing. I still write short stories, my favorite category, especially humor and paranormal and have several other childrens’ books in progress

You can follow Micki and her works through the following links:

Author Blog – http://www.mallie1025.blogspot.com/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/mickipeluso

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Micki-Peluso/e/B002BLZ7JK/