S. Smith's Blog, page 23

The Bookshop Hotel

The Bookshop Hotel by A.K. Klemm is a thin little book that could have been fleshed out more, but it was still a sweet read. If you love finding out-of-the-way bookstores with nooks and crannies and lots of character, you’ll enjoy this book. You will wish and hope that The Bookshop Hotel is a real place that you can visit.

I’m not the kind of person who needs to always be reading flashy, action-packed, page-turners. Yes, I do like those kinds of books (Dan Brown). But I also like books such as Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, and All Creatures Great and Small. Books that make you want to bite into a crisp apple, take a trip to Tuscany, or as The Bookshelf Hotel does, settle into a character-rich old bookstore with a good book and something nice to drink. And it will bring back memories of all the great times you spent in bookstores and libraries hunting for that special find.

I should mention that the first edition of this book has numerous editorial errors, so if that bugs you, consider yourself warned. The setting, story, and characters, however, will warm your heart.

I definitely look forward to seeing more from this author. Everyone who reads The Bookshop Hotel will hope it’s a real place and want to visit!

S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter. 
Download Cat and Mouse: Companion Short Stories, Poems and More FOR FREE to get a taste of Seed Savers!

Does a Book Series Always Have to be Read in Order?

I would argue “no.” Case in point: prequels.Or one better–is there ever really a beginning? (or an ending for that matter?)

What about those books that are told out of order (I’m thinking of Jodi Picoult’s first book, Songs of the Humpback Whale)? How about the Chronicles of Narnia? Maybe it just depends on the series.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently in relation to my own book series. When I was on a recent book tour with the first three books in my five book series, some people thought it necessary to begin with the first book. Others asked if the books “needed” to be read in order, and still others asked me which one I thought they should start with. In response I often referenced Star Wars–not told in order. Here’s the thing with the first three Seed Savers books: book 1 is written for a slightly younger audience, so for the kids I suggested they start there. Book 2 is slightly older, and book 3 even more so since there is more politics. For the adult readers I assured them they could easily start with book 3 (Star Wars reference inserted here).

If I have the chance to talk with people personally, I also explain that I like to try out different techniques. Book one is told in third person point of view, book two in first person, book three with dual storylines, dual POV. Sometimes readers have a preference.

I have tried my best to give enough backstory at the beginning of each book that you can jump right in without being lost and also without being too bogged down. I firmly believe you can start reading the series starting with any of the three books. There are two more books before the series is complete; it is not a trilogy.

This is what Portland Book Review said about Heirloom without having read the first two books:

“While it would be helpful to read the first two books prior to this one, it’s not strictly necessary.”

Another reader who read only book three (Heirloom) told me that she felt like not knowing everything was good, it was very engaging that way–and that’s what I mean in my above comment about is there ever really a beginning. Good stories tend to start somewhere in the middle. Her summation, “I think it works as a stand-alone just fine.”

Why do I bring this up? Well, because I don’t want you to pass up a deal on somebody’s sequel just because you haven’t read book one! And, that’s right, I’m about to offer you a deal.

I am having a Summer Solstice Sale on Heirloom. Heirloom is a futuristic book about reconnecting to our past. In it we have a young teen searching for a father she never knew. We have a brother and sister separated from their mother, living in Canada as gardening refugees. There is a long distance solar-powered motorcycle ride, young romance, and eccentric characters. There’s politics and fresh apple cider, the heat of summer and the cold of winter, poetry, food, and gardening.

If that sounds like something you’d like to try, it’s on sale now, June 21-June 27 for 99 cents as a Kindle Countdown Deal.

And let me know what you think–do you ever read a series out of order? If you download and read Heirloom, come back and tell me if you think it was okay out of order. And certainly leave me a review :). Thanks.

 

S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!

Leaving Reviews for Indie Authors

You know that friend who’s always pleading harassing  asking you to leave them a book review on Amazon? The one whose book you read? Possibly you even got the book for free? Okay, so ME for some of you.

This is just a little tutorial/explanation of why it is so important and how to do it. One more encouragement to get you over there, leave the review, and drop the guilt. :)

First of all, is one more review really important? YES! Unless the book has over 100 reviews, it’s important. And the author checks every day on occasion to see if there is a new review. And it really makes the author’s day to see a new review (unless it is 2 stars or less and then they feel kind of bummed).

I. WHY REVIEWS ARE IMPORTANT

1) When a potential buyer goes to an author’s book’s Amazon page, one of the first things he or she does is look at the star rating and then number next to it (number of reviews). The higher the number, the more likely the trust in taking a chance on a new book he/she hasn’t heard much about. Social proof.

2) Most advertising sites that authors turn to require that a certain amount of reviews be posted before they will even accept the book for advertising. BookBub, the mother of all book advertisers, is very hard to get a listing on, even at over $200 for a listing. They actually will REFUSE TO TAKE YOUR MONEY if they don’t see enough reviews posted.

3) Reviews keep your authors going in times of despair. :)

II. WHY PEOPLE PUT OFF LEAVING REVIEWS

1) We are all just human (well, except for the aliens among us); we procrastinate. It’s our nature. We are busy. There is always so much else to do. Is it really that important?  *see section one above

2) We’ve never left a review on Amazon before and don’t know how to do it. *see sections three and four below

3) We are not writers! We cannot leave reviews! We hated book reports in school and blast it if we are going to write one now! *see sections one and three

4) We read the book too long ago and can’t remember enough now to write a decent review. *section three

5) We don’t want to leave our real name out there on the internet! (You don’t have to; *section four :))

III. TIPS TO GET THOSE REVIEWS WRITTEN AND MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY!

The first thing you should do is realize that your review does not have to be the be-all and end-all of reviews. Chances are that your author has already contacted several book bloggers and there are numerous lengthy reviews complete with synopses already posted. And remember, your 7th grade teacher will not be grading your review and neither will the author. TWO OR THREE SENTENCES ARE FINE!  TIP: Look over the reviews already posted; you will see that people focus on different things. It’s all good. (well, unless people are nasty; don’t be nasty)

What kind of things can you say if you liked the book?

You can say what your favorite part is. Did you like the plot? A particular character? The themes of the book. Did you think it was well-written? If you feel like you read it too long ago, just think back and if you remember you liked it, try to remember the general feeling. Did you read it all at once? Did it make you cry or laugh? When you were finished, did you want to read more? Who else might enjoy the book?

If you read the book but it wasn’t really your cup of tea, can you at least give the book 3 stars? You may certainly leave bad reviews, but remember to leave fair and constructive reviews if you go this route. If you dislike a book because that’s not the kind of book you enjoy, but it was well-written and you think a different audience might enjoy it, say that. “This book wasn’t that appealing to me, but it was well-written and ________ would probably enjoy it.” If the book is full of spelling errors but the story is good, say both.

 Take Away: Just two sentences is fine if that’s all you can think of or have time for. Every time the number goes up, it helps the book and the author. *section one above

IV. ACTUAL STEPS IN LEAVING A REVIEW ON AMAZON

1. (Make sure you are logged into your Amazon account.) Go to the book’s Amazon page. Scroll down to the bottom of the reviews. You will see a gray box that says “Write A Customer Review.” Click the box.

2. For those of you who want a secret identity (don’t we all?), the first thing to do on the new page is look in the upper right-hand corner. Here is where you can change your public name to something other than your real name.

3. Next, you fill out the star rating. Click on the number of stars you wish to give the book.

4. Then make a short headline for your review, such as “Love This Book,” or “Good Book for Kids and Adults,” whatever, be creative or not. See what others have done.

5. Now it’s time for your review. There are even some little questions in the box to help you if you can’t think of what to write. Remember, you can keep it short and sweet. “I really enjoyed this book. It was well-written and interesting. It made me feel like eating a big, fresh tomato from my garden.” Seriously, that’s enough. The author will be grateful.  *see section one

6. Click the submit button and you’re done! Wasn’t that easy? Now go and do it again for the other books by your favorite author. :)

Here are the links for my books. If you have read them, I’m expecting your reviews. TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY. MAKE ME HAPPY :)

Treasure

Lily

Heirloom

If you haven’t read any of my books but were so moved by this plea thoughtful essay that you want to write a review, here is a coupon code to download Lily FOR FREE today only. (Don’t forget the review!) The code is CC58K at Smashwords. Enter the code at checkout. :0

 

S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers.  Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!

 

 

 

The Food Revolution — Let’s Win This One

 

Haury Farms

If food is the new cool, why aren’t people gobbling up my book series?

I read an article in the USA Today trending page calling food “the new cool” and asserting that “food has become the topic du jour and consumes consumers.” And it’s true. People today are getting back to the basics when it comes to their food. Not everybody, of course. But more and more. Sure, we don’t all know the proper pronunciation of quinoa, but most of us have eaten it. When I was a kid I hadn’t even eaten yogurt. When I was a kid, t.v. dinners in the little aluminum trays were impressive.

Farmers’ markets, so popular today, only became a phenomenon in the late 1990s. I grew up in the interim between when people still gardened and when they began subscribing to CSAs and routinely visiting farmers’ market. As a young adult, open markets were something I had never encountered in this country, only in the “third world” countries I visited or saw on t.v. Nowadays there are a number of markets, several days of the week in my city and surrounding towns. They are wonderful, colorful, scent-filled places. Places where you never know what you will find and always buy more than you intend to, but feel good about your purchase.

So food is the new cool. The article discusses the push for McDonald’s to become healthier. About other companies taking the caramel coloring out of their roast beef. How did this all happen? Was there a vestige of people my age who still remembered eating seasonally and the deliciousness of fresh food, or was it the obesity epidemic, allergy epidemic, and other rampant ailments that caused people to pay attention to what they put in their bodies? Or did it start with the farmers? The Oregon Encyclopedia states “By the 1970s, the number of locally owned grocery stores willing or able to buy from local farmers had dwindled, and most Oregonians no longer knew the people who grew their food. Oregon farmers’ markets that started in the 1970s and 1980s were organized largely by farmers looking for a place to sell their produce, because the trend toward national and regional food distribution had separated most small producers from grocery stores and institutional purchasers. Some markets were created or assisted by anti-poverty agencies seeking to provide low-priced produce in low-income neighborhoods. Organizers envisioned venues where farmers could sell their “extra” produce at near-wholesale prices.”

Whatever the cause, I agree that healthy eating is in the spotlight, and well it should be. With powerful corporations throwing their money around, people need to be vigilant. Corporations can’t make us eat their chemical-laced food products (and I’m not talking about sprays here, I’m talking about the ingredient list on packaged food!!), but they can influence our right to know.

In the Seed Savers Series, I write about a future where citizens have lost their right to garden, and the children don’t recognize real food anymore. In it, Gov-Ag has used food illness outbreaks as a way of regulating our rights away from us, and they have converted all the food into neatly packaged processed food groups as a way of preventing the financial loss associated with fresh produce. It’s a cautionary, yet hopeful tale. The most recent addition is Heirloom. Check it out. 

And garden on.

S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers.  Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!

 

June Haiku and Other Stuff

Roses shout at the

passers-by; announcing that

summer has arrived

And now for the “other stuff.”

First, in honor of summer’s imminent arrival here in the cool and cloudy Pacific Northwest: Yahoo!!!!

Okay, enough of that. I need to get outside soon and lay some soaker hoses in the garden before everything grows too much..

school visits, book clubs, gardening camps

Tuesday I will be doing, most likely, my last author visit of the school year at Claggett Creek Middle School in Salem. So unless you get in touch with me ASAP, pencil me in for the 2014-2015 school year. More about my school visits can be found here. Also, my books are always available for gardening classes, whether in schools or summer kids gardening camps, whatever. They can be purchased online (Amazon, Barnes and Noble…), through wholesalers (Ingram), or directly from me (authorssmith@gmail.com).

news and specials

Big News: In the next month or so I will be publishing some new Seed Savers material. It’s not book 4, but it is a compilation of short stories, poetry, and more, featuring characters from the series. Exciting! In the meantime, I have put Treasure on sale for FREE at Smashwords. This might be the last time you ever see it for free.

That’s about it for now. Remember, if you like the books, please leave reviews on Amazon and tell your friends.

Happy gardening.

S.

S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers.  Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!

Author S. Smith Press Release

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

LOCAL AUTHOR COMPLETES TEXAS BOOK TOUR
Ultimate Food Police Imagined in Speculative YA Series

SALEM, Ore. May 10, 2014—Would you still garden if it were illegal? That is the question confronted in Smith’s futuristic series, Seed Savers. Seed Savers envisions a day when corporate agriculture and the government have merged into one controlling agency—GRIM. Gardening and seed ownership are illegal, the population eats an ultra-processed version of food, internet access is limited, and Big Brother is always watching.

Smith—gardener, seed saver, and teacher—set out to write an enjoyable book that could be used in gardening classes and clubs. Raised on a family farm just east of Salem, Smith still grows much of her own food. “Seed Savers is a love story starring homegrown food … politics obviously comes into the book series, but it’s much more than that,” she said. When asked if the novels have a message, Smith said, “… the main message is that kids (and grown-ups) can make a difference in their world.”  

Smith has sold her books at various events in Silverton and Salem and recently returned home from a book signing tour in Texas. Why Texas? “I have a fan base there. I’m not sure why, but I do. There is a book blogger in the Houston area who invited me down two years ago, and I also became aware of a small private school in Austin where a fifth grade class was using my first book in a sustainability unit. The time seemed right. It was a fantastic trip.” Smith visited fifteen bookstores in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, and spoke at two schools.

Heirloom, the most recent book in the five book series, was listed in the March issue of San Francisco Kids Book Review and was given a four star rating in the Portland Book Review. The Portland Book Review said of Heirloom: “The concept of gardening being an illegal activity in this country is an interesting one, particularly in light of the growing use of processed and genetically modified foods in our diet. The concept becomes even more intriguing when a powerful company begins to systematically eliminate real food from the palates of American citizens… The characters are well developed and will be endearing to readers… Heirloom is a satisfying dystopian novel that younger fans of sci-fi will enjoy.”

Smith is a former ESL teacher in the Salem-Keizer school district and currently grows out and saves seeds for the Marion-Polk Seed Share. 

Seed Savers, a series of five, can be ordered through bookstores, from the author, or online, and is available digitally and in paperback. The first three titles are Treasure, Lily, and Heirloom, with two more in the works. For more information visit http://authorssmith.com or write Smith at authorssmith@gmail.com.

Cover Design by Aileen Smith

 

# # #

Contact:

Sandra L. Smith

503-362-6591

authorssmith@gmail.com

http://authorssmith.com

Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop!

Last year I had a lot of fun participating in the Kid Lit Giveaway Hop in honor of Children’s Book Week, so I am pleased to take part again this year. Thanks to the hosts, Youth Literature Reviews and Mother Daughter Book Reviews! The Giveaway Hop lasts from May 12 – May 18.

What is a kid lit giveaway hop? Why, you get to hop from one blog to the next, checking out what great kids’ books you might win! At the end of this post you will find the link to the list that will keep you hopping.

If this is your first time to Author S. Smith.com, welcome! (And even if it’s not your first time :))
THE GIVEAWAY

I’m giving away one signed paperback copy of the first book in my Seed Savers Series, Treasure. If you already own Treasure, then you may choose one of the other books (Lily or Heirloom).

In a future where growing your own food is against the law, three young friends risk their safety by studying the illegal subject of gardening. The children’s mentor, an elderly acquaintance named Ana, entices the children with her description of the food she knew as a child–food unlike the square, processed, packaged food they have always known. Constantly watching, however, is GRIM, the government agency that controls the nation’s food source and keeps in check all potential troublemakers.

Can they, only children, help change the world?

“A creative, engaging, well written book series, that is filled with action, and a lot of  truth as it touches the very real issue of  preserving seeds from Greedy Corporate Seed Monopoly and understanding the importance of knowing how to grow our own healthy food. This book series is AWESOME!!!!!!!”  –Rachel Parent, teen activist and founder of Kids Right to Know

One winner will be chosen via random.org and the giveaway is open internationally. The winner will be contacted by email and his/her name posted on AuthorSSmith Facebook page.

FIVE WAYS TO ENTER

I had so much fun last year reading about everyone’s favorite childhood books, that I’d like to do a similar thing this year. I’d like the focus to be on novels rather than picture books, and think of one that you read or had read to you that was less well-known. I think we’ve all heard of Little Women, but do you all know about the Princess and the Goblin?  Or how about Hitty: Her First Hundred Years? These were both books I enjoyed reading aloud to my children when they were little. How about you; what lesser-known books were/are favorites for you and/your kids?

To Enter:

1) Leave a comment and your email in the comment section below answering the above question for one entry in the giveaway.

2) Sign up to receive newsletter updates about Seed Savers for a second entry.

3) Like AuthorSSmith on Facebook.

4.) Follow me on Twitter.

5) If you have already read any of  the Seed Savers books, leave a review on Amazon.  If you do this, please send me an email (authorssmith@gmail.com) so that I know which review is yours.

As promised, click here for the linky list that keeps you hopping.

Share with your friends and don’t forget to leave a comment! Happy hopping. :)

S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers.  Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!

Texas Tour Interview with S. Smith

authorssmith:

Post tour interview…

Originally posted on Anakalian Whims:

1. You came to Texas for the first time for an Earth Day celebration book signing tour. Let’s recap, what stores and schools did you visit?

Bookstores:

Good Books in the Woods, Spring TX

Half Price Books in Houston at these locations:

Clear Lake

Humble

Montrose

Half Price Books in San Antonio at these locations:

Broadway

North Central

Huebner

Bandera

Half Price Books Austin area:

Round Rock

South Lamar

Southpark Meadows

North Lamar

Half Price Books in Dallas area:

Lewisville

Mesquite

Flagship (hpb.com/001)

Schools:

Claughton Middle School in Houston

Austin Jewish Academy in Austin

2. Did you meet any memorable customers you’d like to send a shout out to?

Oh my gosh—so many! The young woman from Spain studying in the futures program, sorry I can’t remember the name of the program and don’t know if I got hers. What a long, great conversation. There was Rob who was interested…

View original 770 more words

Texas Earth Day Tour Recap

It wasn’t a blog tour, it was a real tour. We left on April 9 and returned–on schedule–May 1. A rental car we wished we could keep carried us safely through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada as we attended the wedding of a niece and appeared in bookstores and schools in Texas. I met great folks in fifteen bookstores in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. I wrote with students at Claughton Middle School in the Spring district (Houston area) and watched in awe the presentation of projects made by students in response to an assignment after the class read  Seed Savers:Treasure at Austin Jewish Academy. I am so sorry that many of the photos from that visit did not come out for one reason or another…

I met for the first time my biggest fan in Texas and had dinner with a friend I knew thirty years ago on a summer mission to Japan. My husband and I enjoyed an evening on the famous Riverwalk of San Antonio and took in a quick jaunt at the Grand Canyon and a stop at Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico on the drive back. 

We listened to three entire books on tape, pieces of three more, and countless Garrison Keillor stories. We played John Denver through Colorado, and Springsteen crowed about his Oklahoma home being blowed away as we drove through the dust of northern Texas where I imagined some of the dust was, indeed, pieces of Oklahoma. We narrowly missed snowstorms, tornadoes, and golf-ball sized hail. The traffic was mostly always in our favor. (Except for Austin, where apparently the traffic is never in anyone’s favor.)

It was a trip to be remembered and I am grateful for the opportunity. My husband, Cy, drove in all the big cities and did a majority of the overall driving. Andi, my biggest Texas fan, accompanied us to all of the stores in Houston, took pictures, and even baked cupcakes! Diana in San Antonio was  a great help. Mary provided a wonderful place for us to recoup in Dallas before our long drive home. Thanks to you all and many more.

I have started getting photos from the trip up on my Author Facebook Page. Sadly, I do not have a smartphone, or even a reasonably intelligent camera, so it has been a struggle. And I’ll admit, I don’t know all the ins and outs of moving things from here to there either.  I also realize  that not everyone participates in Facebook, so I have added a page here at the website with some of the photos.

There will be a lot going on in May, and I’ll be putting it out in my May newsletter (email) within the next couple of weeks. If you haven’t signed up yet, here is the link.

Remember, I love to hear from you! Drop me a line anytime at authorssmith@gmail.com or leave a comment. :)

 

S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers.  Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!

 

 

 

The Eden at the End of the Oregon Trail

Like a fish in water not appreciating it until he’s gasping for air out of it, so, I think, it takes those of us born and raised in the Willamette Valley some time to realize that we live in one of the best places on earth. I think I realized this in my thirties, but at the conclusion of my recent three-week road trip, I am once again reminded of it.

Don’t get me wrong: I appreciated every new place and vista encountered; the giant complexes of roads in the sky around Houston and Dallas; the dust storms of northern Texas; Nevada; the Grand Canyon; the big sky in places without trees or mountains.

But is there anything quite like returning to the Willamette Valley in mid-spring, on a rare warm sunshiny day? What a sense of “get out there and plant more, decorate every nook and cranny of outdoors with something lush and green and productive!” These were my thoughts upon returning home.

I thought of my grandfather. In my mid-twenties I moved to China for three years (but came home for the summers). My grandpa, who lived in the hills above Scotts Mills and who was born in Nebraska, could not understand it. Didn’t I already live in the best place on earth, he would ask earnestly. That’s not what it was about for me at the time. However, I also hadn’t yet discovered that I really did live in the Eden at the End of the  Trail.

Y’all come visit. But as Tom McCall would say, “Don’t stay.” :)

 

*I wrote this the morning after arriving home; it just took a bit to get it posted. I also spent hours looking for a photo of a sign I once saw calling Oregon the Eden at the End of the Oregon Trail. I wasn’t able to find it online. If anyone knows the sign I’m talking about, please drop me a line. Thanks!

 

S. Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade series, Seed Savers.  Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!