Mark Matthews's Blog, page 53
September 7, 2011
My Novel 'Stray' Gets A Little Love, and A Second Edition, and 'The Jade Rabbit' Gets A Shout Out
A dear blogger posted on the importance and role of books in our lives, and included The Jade Rabbit. Here's the link: http://sb-newauthors.blogspot.com/2011/09/importance-of-books-in-our-lives.html
But then there's my first born. Stray is my first baby, and as all parents know, we learn a ton with our first. There are some things we would have done differently, but the experience of creation is a miracle, the nurturing moments are so powerful they leave imprints on us everywhere we go, so how could you have it any other way.
The novel is sweet and full of compassion and redemption, but deals with some raw, edgy, and ravaging moments. (By the way, the whole novel is true, it just all happened in different order, all of it to different people at different moments, so pretty much nobody is recognizable. Well, all of it is true except the ending, that was made up. But even if it isn't true, doesn't mean it didn't happen.)
So, I had seen the novel as kind of an endearing and rockin' garage band that may not sound good in your car but sure is powerful when you feel its energy. Well, after a few comments and reviews from readers about me sending my baby out into the world without the proper attire, I decided to make some changes, and a second edition is now available. Thanks to my friend Katy from Goodreads, it has been proof-read and cleaned up, and the new version is now available on amazon, smashwords, and should appear soon on Barnes and Noble and in the paperback version.
And just in time, Stray is getting a little love at the following blog: http://bookreviewsbykandes.blogspot.com/ by the mad tiger reader Kandes.
Yes, I copied and pasted a small quote below, but please click and look at her other reviews. Kandes reads books like I eat licorice:
"My favorite character in this book was Rachel. I'm a huge huge huge animal lover (I have 2 chihuahuas and 1 retriever mix myself) and I just loved the scenes that were set in the animal shelter. And I really felt her pain when she had to euthanize these poor poor creatures that did nothing wrong other then be around these horrible people that use and abuse these animals. I really don't know how people can handle euthanizing them, they must be so strong.
Overall, I highly recommend this story, although I don't recommend it for kids under 18 due to the graphic nature of the drug use and slight sex scenes from what I remember."
In honor of the new edition, and a new paperback cover, look for a paperback giveway on Goodreads soon. Option two: if you send me an email to xmarkm@yahoo.com, I will give the first three callers a coupon for a free ebook download on smashwords. Well, the first three emailers, but you get the drill.Thanks!
But then there's my first born. Stray is my first baby, and as all parents know, we learn a ton with our first. There are some things we would have done differently, but the experience of creation is a miracle, the nurturing moments are so powerful they leave imprints on us everywhere we go, so how could you have it any other way.
The novel is sweet and full of compassion and redemption, but deals with some raw, edgy, and ravaging moments. (By the way, the whole novel is true, it just all happened in different order, all of it to different people at different moments, so pretty much nobody is recognizable. Well, all of it is true except the ending, that was made up. But even if it isn't true, doesn't mean it didn't happen.)
So, I had seen the novel as kind of an endearing and rockin' garage band that may not sound good in your car but sure is powerful when you feel its energy. Well, after a few comments and reviews from readers about me sending my baby out into the world without the proper attire, I decided to make some changes, and a second edition is now available. Thanks to my friend Katy from Goodreads, it has been proof-read and cleaned up, and the new version is now available on amazon, smashwords, and should appear soon on Barnes and Noble and in the paperback version.
And just in time, Stray is getting a little love at the following blog: http://bookreviewsbykandes.blogspot.com/ by the mad tiger reader Kandes.
Yes, I copied and pasted a small quote below, but please click and look at her other reviews. Kandes reads books like I eat licorice:
"My favorite character in this book was Rachel. I'm a huge huge huge animal lover (I have 2 chihuahuas and 1 retriever mix myself) and I just loved the scenes that were set in the animal shelter. And I really felt her pain when she had to euthanize these poor poor creatures that did nothing wrong other then be around these horrible people that use and abuse these animals. I really don't know how people can handle euthanizing them, they must be so strong.
Overall, I highly recommend this story, although I don't recommend it for kids under 18 due to the graphic nature of the drug use and slight sex scenes from what I remember."
In honor of the new edition, and a new paperback cover, look for a paperback giveway on Goodreads soon. Option two: if you send me an email to xmarkm@yahoo.com, I will give the first three callers a coupon for a free ebook download on smashwords. Well, the first three emailers, but you get the drill.Thanks!
My novel Stray Gets A Little Love, and A Second Edition
Stray is my first baby, and as all parents know, we learn a ton with our first. There are some things we would have done differently, but the experience of creation is a miracle, the nurturing moments are so powerful they leave imprints on us everywhere we go, so how could you have it any other way.
The novel is sweet and full of compassion and redemption, but deals with some raw, edgy, and ravaging moments. (By the way, the whole novel is true, it just all happened in different order, all of it to different people at different moments, so pretty much nobody is recognizable. Well, all of it is true except the ending, that was made up. But even if it isn't true, doesn't mean it didn't happen.)
So, I had seen the novel as kind of an endearing and rockin' garage band that may not sound good in your car but sure is powerful when you feel its energy. Well, after a few comments and reviews from readers about me sending my baby out into the world without the proper attire, I decided to make some changes, and a second edition is now available. Thanks to my friend Katy from Goodreads, it has been proof-read and cleaned up, and the new version is now available on amazon, smashwords, and should appear soon on Barnes and Noble and in the paperback version.
And just in time, Stray is getting a little love at the following blog: http://bookreviewsbykandes.blogspot.com/ by the mad tiger reader Kandes.
Yes, I copied and pasted a small quote below, but please click and look at her other reviews. Kandes reads books like I eat licorice:
"My favorite character in this book was Rachel. I'm a huge huge huge animal lover (I have 2 chihuahuas and 1 retriever mix myself) and I just loved the scenes that were set in the animal shelter. And I really felt her pain when she had to euthanize these poor poor creatures that did nothing wrong other then be around these horrible people that use and abuse these animals. I really don't know how people can handle euthanizing them, they must be so strong.
Overall, I highly recommend this story, although I don't recommend it for kids under 18 due to the graphic nature of the drug use and slight sex scenes from what I remember."
In honor of the new edition, and a new paperback cover, look for a paperback giveway on Goodreads soon. Option two: if you send me an email to xmarkm@yahoo.com, I will give the first three callers a coupon for a free ebook download on smashwords. Well, the first three emailers, but you get the drill.Thanks!
The novel is sweet and full of compassion and redemption, but deals with some raw, edgy, and ravaging moments. (By the way, the whole novel is true, it just all happened in different order, all of it to different people at different moments, so pretty much nobody is recognizable. Well, all of it is true except the ending, that was made up. But even if it isn't true, doesn't mean it didn't happen.)
So, I had seen the novel as kind of an endearing and rockin' garage band that may not sound good in your car but sure is powerful when you feel its energy. Well, after a few comments and reviews from readers about me sending my baby out into the world without the proper attire, I decided to make some changes, and a second edition is now available. Thanks to my friend Katy from Goodreads, it has been proof-read and cleaned up, and the new version is now available on amazon, smashwords, and should appear soon on Barnes and Noble and in the paperback version.
And just in time, Stray is getting a little love at the following blog: http://bookreviewsbykandes.blogspot.com/ by the mad tiger reader Kandes.
Yes, I copied and pasted a small quote below, but please click and look at her other reviews. Kandes reads books like I eat licorice:
"My favorite character in this book was Rachel. I'm a huge huge huge animal lover (I have 2 chihuahuas and 1 retriever mix myself) and I just loved the scenes that were set in the animal shelter. And I really felt her pain when she had to euthanize these poor poor creatures that did nothing wrong other then be around these horrible people that use and abuse these animals. I really don't know how people can handle euthanizing them, they must be so strong.
Overall, I highly recommend this story, although I don't recommend it for kids under 18 due to the graphic nature of the drug use and slight sex scenes from what I remember."
In honor of the new edition, and a new paperback cover, look for a paperback giveway on Goodreads soon. Option two: if you send me an email to xmarkm@yahoo.com, I will give the first three callers a coupon for a free ebook download on smashwords. Well, the first three emailers, but you get the drill.Thanks!
September 1, 2011
Ten Reasons Why I Love Goodreads, and One Reason Titles of Posts Always Seem to Need A List With A Specific Number Attached
You ever notice there always has to be a number attached to any title? For example, its "4 secrets to getting into heaven" or "5 ways to be a better juggler" or "the top 12 reasons you should floss." I guess we all want definites, and it makes the author of the post or book sound much more official because in all their wisdom and research, they have found a definite number attached to the clues to the universe.
So, in that spirt, Ten Reasons On Why I love Goodreads.
1. You can talk about any kind of books; pop culture, pulp fiction, zombie fiction, wizard books, classic works, and anything under the sun and you are treated the same. You can talk as artsy-fartsy as your college unshowered English Lit Prof, and as much power and passion there has been with your relationship to books, there is someone out there who seems to have more.
2. You can get to know other like minded folks by seeing how many stars they gave your favorite book.
3. The lines between reader and writer are slowly getting erased, all of us are bits of both, maybe more one than the other, but it feels like a hippie writer commune at times and not so culturally elite.
4. It doesn't have the privacy invading arm of facebook, and it isn't just full of quips like Twittter.
5. Merging your blogs into the author page. (one complaint: the post shown is usually not the most current.)
6. Updating on your most current read, being able to comment as you go, looking at other folks reviews and saying, 'dang, the review is a piece of art'
7. Befriending folks who slam your book, just to show you can take it.
8. Befriending folks who praise your book, cause that just seems right.
9. All the cool subgroups; name it, and its there.
10. Smut-free.
-By the way, this could turn into top 12 reasons, or top 8 reasons, since the number is pretty arbitrary. The important thing is, the site is great and is right on.
So, in that spirt, Ten Reasons On Why I love Goodreads.
1. You can talk about any kind of books; pop culture, pulp fiction, zombie fiction, wizard books, classic works, and anything under the sun and you are treated the same. You can talk as artsy-fartsy as your college unshowered English Lit Prof, and as much power and passion there has been with your relationship to books, there is someone out there who seems to have more.
2. You can get to know other like minded folks by seeing how many stars they gave your favorite book.
3. The lines between reader and writer are slowly getting erased, all of us are bits of both, maybe more one than the other, but it feels like a hippie writer commune at times and not so culturally elite.
4. It doesn't have the privacy invading arm of facebook, and it isn't just full of quips like Twittter.
5. Merging your blogs into the author page. (one complaint: the post shown is usually not the most current.)
6. Updating on your most current read, being able to comment as you go, looking at other folks reviews and saying, 'dang, the review is a piece of art'
7. Befriending folks who slam your book, just to show you can take it.
8. Befriending folks who praise your book, cause that just seems right.
9. All the cool subgroups; name it, and its there.
10. Smut-free.
-By the way, this could turn into top 12 reasons, or top 8 reasons, since the number is pretty arbitrary. The important thing is, the site is great and is right on.
Ten Reasons Why I Love Goodreads, and One Reason Titles of Posts Always Seem to Need A List And Specific Number Attached
You ever notice there always has to be a number attached to any title? For example, its "4 secrets to getting into heaven" or "5 ways to be a better juggler" or "the top 12 reasons you should floss." I guess we all want definites, and it makes the author of the post or book sound much more official because in all their wisdom and research, they have found a definite number attached to the clues to the universe.
So, in that spirt, Ten Reasons On Why I love Goodreads.
1. You can talk about any kind of books; pop culture, pulp fiction, zombie fiction, wizard books, classic works, and anything under the sun and you are treated the same. You can talk as artsy-fartsy as your college unshowered English Lit Prof, and as much power and passion there has been with your relationship to books, there is someone out there who seems to have more.
2. You can get to know other like minded folks by seeing how many stars they gave your favorite book.
3. The lines between reader and writer are slowly getting erased, all of us are bits of both, maybe more one than the other, but it feels like a hippie writer commune at times and not so culturally elite.
4. It doesn't have the privacy invading arm of facebook, and it isn't just full of quips like Twittter.
5. Merging your blogs into the author page. (one complaint: the post shown is usually not the most current.)
6. Updating on your most current read, being able to comment as you go, looking at other folks reviews and saying, 'dang, the review is a piece of art'
7. Befriending folks who slam your book, just to show you can take it.
8. Befriending folks who praise your book, cause that just seems right.
9. All the cool subgroups; name it, and its there.
10. Smut-free.
-By the way, this could turn into top 12 reasons, or top 8 reasons, since the number is pretty arbitrary. The important thing is, the site is great and is right on.
So, in that spirt, Ten Reasons On Why I love Goodreads.
1. You can talk about any kind of books; pop culture, pulp fiction, zombie fiction, wizard books, classic works, and anything under the sun and you are treated the same. You can talk as artsy-fartsy as your college unshowered English Lit Prof, and as much power and passion there has been with your relationship to books, there is someone out there who seems to have more.
2. You can get to know other like minded folks by seeing how many stars they gave your favorite book.
3. The lines between reader and writer are slowly getting erased, all of us are bits of both, maybe more one than the other, but it feels like a hippie writer commune at times and not so culturally elite.
4. It doesn't have the privacy invading arm of facebook, and it isn't just full of quips like Twittter.
5. Merging your blogs into the author page. (one complaint: the post shown is usually not the most current.)
6. Updating on your most current read, being able to comment as you go, looking at other folks reviews and saying, 'dang, the review is a piece of art'
7. Befriending folks who slam your book, just to show you can take it.
8. Befriending folks who praise your book, cause that just seems right.
9. All the cool subgroups; name it, and its there.
10. Smut-free.
-By the way, this could turn into top 12 reasons, or top 8 reasons, since the number is pretty arbitrary. The important thing is, the site is great and is right on.
August 26, 2011
Ebook Giveaways, The Jade Rabbit for Runners, and Stray for those affected by addiction.
**As of 08/28/2011, all but one of The Jade Rabbit ebook giveaways through directly emailing me are done. Next email from a runner requesting a coupon for The Jade Rabbit gets a free ebook download. *Also, look at Goodreads.com for a free giveaway of 2 paperback copies of The Jade Rabbit. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12435554-the-jade-rabbit
The Jade Rabbit, Available in Kindle, Nook, coming soon in paperback, tells the story of an adopted Chinese woman who works at a Detroit runaway shelter and runs marathons to cope with a life full of trauma and a job full of madness. I am looking to find a few Running folks who would like a coupon for a free ebook.
The Jade Rabbit on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Jade-Rabbit-ebook/dp/B005IQM8J2
The first three emails I recieve telling me a running event you have taken part in and I will respond with a coupon code for a free ebook of The Jade Rabbit from smashwords.
Also, Stray, the novel, a story that parrallels the life of lost, stray souls struggling with addiction, and the stray animals next door who are looking for their own salvation, is also up for free downloads. It has received all four and five star reviews on Amazon.
Stray on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stray-ebook/dp/B004EYUC10
The first three emails I receive telling me either your sobriety date, or the sobriety date of a loved one, or any tidbit about how addiction has affected you, will receive a coupon code for a free download of Stray, also from smashwords.
Thanks! And by the way, reach me at xmarkm@yahoo.com.
The Jade Rabbit, Available in Kindle, Nook, coming soon in paperback, tells the story of an adopted Chinese woman who works at a Detroit runaway shelter and runs marathons to cope with a life full of trauma and a job full of madness. I am looking to find a few Running folks who would like a coupon for a free ebook.
The Jade Rabbit on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Jade-Rabbit-ebook/dp/B005IQM8J2
The first three emails I recieve telling me a running event you have taken part in and I will respond with a coupon code for a free ebook of The Jade Rabbit from smashwords.
Also, Stray, the novel, a story that parrallels the life of lost, stray souls struggling with addiction, and the stray animals next door who are looking for their own salvation, is also up for free downloads. It has received all four and five star reviews on Amazon.
Stray on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stray-ebook/dp/B004EYUC10
The first three emails I receive telling me either your sobriety date, or the sobriety date of a loved one, or any tidbit about how addiction has affected you, will receive a coupon code for a free download of Stray, also from smashwords.
Thanks! And by the way, reach me at xmarkm@yahoo.com.
August 23, 2011
The Jade Rabbit Now Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Paperback Coming Soon
No, that shaking you felt on August 23rd wasn't the east coast earthquake, it was the sound of a wonderful new novel dropping onto the earth and into your e-reader.
I am very pleased to announce that The Jade Rabbit has been published, and is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords with a paperback copy soon to follow. I am thrilled, and looking to get it into some readers' hands. Look for some unique giveaways soon. The Jade Rabbit is an emotional, visceral novel you will not soon forget.
Here are the links:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/The-Jade-Rabbit-ebook/dp/B005IQM8J2
BARNES & NOBLE
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Jade-Rabbit/Mark-Matthews/e/2940013040380
Here is the description:
A female infant is abandoned by her birth-mother in a small Chinese village and spends her first ten months in an orphanage. She is adopted and raised in the United States where she becomes a social worker in order to help children in a desolate Detroit neighborhood.
As director of a shelter for runaway and neglected youth, Janice Zhu Woodward gets pulled into the lives of the lost children of the Detroit streets. Angry parents, stories of ghosts who haunt the shelter's basement, and her own history of being left by a birth-mother who may have long forgotten her fuel her compassion and her pain. To stay strong and spiritually inspired, Janice emulates her adoptive mother and becomes an avid, nearly obsessed marathon runner. When a mysterious girl with dreadlocks is abandoned at the shelter's front door, the two form a relationship based on their common bonds, and together, rediscover the transcendental power of motherhood love.
August 2, 2011
The Yellow Brick Road of A Marathon Runner
All existence is suffering, and all of our efforts are to relieve that suffering, if but only for moments. Another bittersweet Buddhist belief. My paraphrase on one of the four noble truths.
However, with the right efforts, you can relieve that suffering so well that you transcend to something much higher than life. Do it again and again, and your suffering baseline gets higher, your peaks of living continue to exceed the last one, and the dips of your life are completely manageable.
All this to to try and explain why I run. I have found that it puts me into a space outside of the world. It heats up my insides and boils my truths to the top, detoxes my brain and rearranges things, and when the run is over, it all settles into a new place. A rebirth happens with every run.
In times of turbulence, running brings me back to a deeper truth about myself and how to navigate in the world. It is like going to see the wizard of Oz, and all along the yellow brick road, I am forced to use the very thing in my being that I thought I lacked, and when I get to the end, the wizard points out how it was there all along. Yes, those scary flying monkeys are there too.
And this is why I love my character Janice Zhu Woodward, the narrator of The Jade Rabbit. Janice has an incredible amount of angst and truths in her that need to be 'boiled out', and she has a quiet strength in her, a feminine strength really. She needs direction, perspective, and is yearning for her self-doubt to be erased. With every run, she finds the answers and resolutions she is looking for to attack another day. And with her final run in the marathon, she has an epiphany that some will see as incredulous while others, who have felt the spirit of the marathon run, will see it as a veritable truth.
We all have our yellow brick road, the journey we take to bring out the best in us. Ask yourself what is yours.
However, with the right efforts, you can relieve that suffering so well that you transcend to something much higher than life. Do it again and again, and your suffering baseline gets higher, your peaks of living continue to exceed the last one, and the dips of your life are completely manageable.
All this to to try and explain why I run. I have found that it puts me into a space outside of the world. It heats up my insides and boils my truths to the top, detoxes my brain and rearranges things, and when the run is over, it all settles into a new place. A rebirth happens with every run.
In times of turbulence, running brings me back to a deeper truth about myself and how to navigate in the world. It is like going to see the wizard of Oz, and all along the yellow brick road, I am forced to use the very thing in my being that I thought I lacked, and when I get to the end, the wizard points out how it was there all along. Yes, those scary flying monkeys are there too.
And this is why I love my character Janice Zhu Woodward, the narrator of The Jade Rabbit. Janice has an incredible amount of angst and truths in her that need to be 'boiled out', and she has a quiet strength in her, a feminine strength really. She needs direction, perspective, and is yearning for her self-doubt to be erased. With every run, she finds the answers and resolutions she is looking for to attack another day. And with her final run in the marathon, she has an epiphany that some will see as incredulous while others, who have felt the spirit of the marathon run, will see it as a veritable truth.
We all have our yellow brick road, the journey we take to bring out the best in us. Ask yourself what is yours.
July 26, 2011
Stray, the novel, reduced to $2.99 for 30 days. Coupon Code for $2 off paperback.
Stray has been reduced to $2.99 for the next 30 days, amazon site only. http://www.amazon.com/Stray-ebook/dp/B004EYUC10
Also, if you are interested in the paperback version of Stray, use the following code on createspace for $2.00 off: 89HPA4HE Only available here: https://www.createspace.com/3623341
In other news, I snagged the line below from a Blog I follow (who of course snagged it from someone else.)
"The lust for comfort kills the passions of the soul."
Time to get out of our comfort zone and blast past previously self-imposed artficial barriers. Whatever they may be. Be the hero of your own life and adventure into the universe.
Yes, yes, I know. All of this so hard to do with a full DVR waiting for me, the postman bringing me netflix movies everyday, and a bag of sour cream cheesey ruffle chips on the table.
Also, if you are interested in the paperback version of Stray, use the following code on createspace for $2.00 off: 89HPA4HE Only available here: https://www.createspace.com/3623341
In other news, I snagged the line below from a Blog I follow (who of course snagged it from someone else.)
"The lust for comfort kills the passions of the soul."
Time to get out of our comfort zone and blast past previously self-imposed artficial barriers. Whatever they may be. Be the hero of your own life and adventure into the universe.
Yes, yes, I know. All of this so hard to do with a full DVR waiting for me, the postman bringing me netflix movies everyday, and a bag of sour cream cheesey ruffle chips on the table.
July 25, 2011
My novel, The Jade Rabbit, at the editors office. Chapters 1 and 2 available
I have released my baby for her first overnight.
Sure, a handful of trusted baby-sitters have watched her for a few hours here and there, but never an overnight. Now she is completely away, for many overnights in fact, and I will have to sleep with my cell at my bedside.
Of course, I am speaking of my coming novel, The Jade Rabbit, which has been sent to an editors office. Fortunately, I can call whenever I want to check in.
What's it about you ask? Here's a blurb.
A female infant is abandoned by her birth-mother in a small Chinese village and spends her first ten months in an orphanage. She is adopted and raised in the United States where she becomes a social worker in order to help children in a desolate Detroit neighborhood. This woman is the first person narrator of The Jade Rabbit.
As director of a shelter for runaway and neglected youth, Janice Zhu Woodward gets pulled into the lives of the lost children of the streets and is forced to relive her own traumatic past. To stay strong and spiritually inspired, Janice emulates her adoptive mother and becomes an avid, nearly obsessed marathon runner. When a mysterious girl with dreadlocks is abandoned at the shelter's front door, the two form a relationship based on their common bonds, and together, rediscover the transcendental power of motherhood love.
Chapter one is available here: http://markmatthewsauthor.blogspot.com/p/jade-rabbit-chapter-one.html
And Chapter two: http://markmatthewsauthor.blogspot.com/p/jade-rabbit-chapter-two.html
Sure, a handful of trusted baby-sitters have watched her for a few hours here and there, but never an overnight. Now she is completely away, for many overnights in fact, and I will have to sleep with my cell at my bedside.
Of course, I am speaking of my coming novel, The Jade Rabbit, which has been sent to an editors office. Fortunately, I can call whenever I want to check in.
What's it about you ask? Here's a blurb.
A female infant is abandoned by her birth-mother in a small Chinese village and spends her first ten months in an orphanage. She is adopted and raised in the United States where she becomes a social worker in order to help children in a desolate Detroit neighborhood. This woman is the first person narrator of The Jade Rabbit.
As director of a shelter for runaway and neglected youth, Janice Zhu Woodward gets pulled into the lives of the lost children of the streets and is forced to relive her own traumatic past. To stay strong and spiritually inspired, Janice emulates her adoptive mother and becomes an avid, nearly obsessed marathon runner. When a mysterious girl with dreadlocks is abandoned at the shelter's front door, the two form a relationship based on their common bonds, and together, rediscover the transcendental power of motherhood love.
Chapter one is available here: http://markmatthewsauthor.blogspot.com/p/jade-rabbit-chapter-one.html
And Chapter two: http://markmatthewsauthor.blogspot.com/p/jade-rabbit-chapter-two.html
