Do we have other ecofiction authors in this group?

[Treesong]

Okay, I sent you the mobi. Hope you enjoy it!

[Clare]

Thank you! I'm currently writing college assignments so reading your book may take a little time.

Change

[Clare]

Really annoying and time wasting for me, the spambots have found me. Are any other readers / authors getting these?
I get a message, X likes your review, X is following your reviews, but when I check out X the profile picture is blank and the bio is a spam web link. Do check these messages!
During the last two days I've had about 14 from the identical profile with different names, and many have a secondary photo which advertises the goods in the link.

To contact the Help - don't go to the help section. That's no use for reporting spambots.
Bottom left of the screen on my PC I can see Company and below it, About us. Click on About us, then Contact us. That provides a form. You need to take the link for the spammer's page and paste it.

Another way to flag content is, if the profile photo has an image you can flag that. If it doesn't you can't.

By clicking on your own profile photo, top right on my computer, you can get a list; go to Friends and that gives the option to look at your Followers. Remove all the spambot ones. Really. No use having three hundred followers if many are visibly ad bots.

You can also, on the spammer's profile page, see a small arrow to the right of their details on my computer; that gives you the option to block them. They can't see you. That just applies to the one fake profile though.

The Goodreads team do take spam seriously and will remove offending content or profiles. Tell them about the problem. Spam ruins the site for everyone and the more the spammers get away with it, the more they'll flood the site.
The help I am giving here, may not apply to screens on a phone.

[Clare]

At the top of your screen on a desktop computer you will see a banner for Goodreads Choice Awards.
When you go to the awards they are set by category and only books published in the past year are eligible.
So nominate any great books by Green Group authors you have read.
Or nominate a world-class book dealing with the kind of subjects we discuss.
Most voters won't nominate so they go by choices already made available. You can make a Green book available.

When you nominate the site will tell you if the book is eligible. If it is, feel free to come and tell us here, or keep your good deed quiet if you wish. But authors really appreciate just knowing someone thought highly enough of the book to nominate.

[Clare]

I have nominated Climate Change Captives 2035 and Project SAVE: Students Help Save the Earth

in categories YA SF and Middle Grade.

[Treesong]

Clare wrote: "At the top of your screen on a desktop computer you will see a banner for Goodreads Choice Awards.
When you go to the awards they are set by category and only books published in the past year are ..."

Thank you for telling us about this! It's a quite prominent banner, but I may not have clicked into it without your recommendation.

[Treesong]

Here's what I've nominated so far:

Science Fiction: Everything Change, Volume II: An Anthology of Climate Fiction

Nonfiction: No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference

Romance: Side Chick Nation

I struggle to pick "favorites" among my many favorite books. Everything Change seemed like a good choice because it features numerous new authors, all who bring something interesting to climate discourse. And the Greta book seemed like a good choice for nonfiction because of the relevance of her youth climate activism. There are surely other nonfiction environment or climate titles that could be written in too! But honestly I've not looked at much nonfiction in 2019, so my ideas were limited.

As for the romance novel choice, I don't think I've ever actually read a romance novel before. :) But I read a fascinating article about that title's themes, so I decided to give it a try, and I enjoyed it. It addresses climate change, feminism, and anti-colonialism, which is much more "profound discourse" than I usually associate with romance novels! But they did manage to address it all well. I suspect that romance novel readers will like it as a romance novel, while also getting something out of those themes.

[Clare]

Thanks, fabulous choices.
The nominating period is short unfortunately.

[Clare]

On Lifehacker which is part of Gizmodo, I found an excellent article explaining to me why so many authors try to get me to pre-order their books. Note to authors: I have years' worth of reading stacked in the house to manage, so I don't pre-order anything.

https://lifehacker.com/the-best-thing...

Pre-ordering, especially in a small bookshop, gets a real human's attention and they will order in a few copies and display them with greater prominence than if nobody seems interested.

The bottom of the article has links to other articles about books and libraries.

[Clare]

Today we can take a minute to vote for books in the Goodreads Awards. This has an impact on the authors and the sales of their books.

[Julia]

Hello,
I am relatively new to Goodreads and completely new to this group. To be honest, this is the first time I heard the term "eco-fiction" and I love it.

So far, my novel "Gaya - A Second Chance" is labeled science-fiction and I think eco-fiction is much more accurate. It is the first part of a series about a group of people starting all over again on an earth-like planet. They have a lot of good intentions, not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the past. However, they are still human and want to survive.

I first published it in German this summer and then translated it. Unfortunately, it seems impossible to do a giveaway because I am based in Germany. Or is there an option I missed?
If one of you is interested in reviewing, I could send a file.

I'm very much looking forward to the discussions in this group.
Thanks, Julia

[Clare]

Hi Julia! Welcome to the group.

End of college semester for me but I will talk to you later when I am not so rushed...

[Geoffrey]

Yes, I just signed with my publisher for my second novel, Thicker than Water, an eco-thriller.

[Clare]

Well done Geoffrey, hope the book does well.

[Geoffrey]

Thank you. I’ll keep you guys informed.

[Julia]

Just wanted to let you know that my novel "Gaya - A Second Chance" is available for free on kindle until December 26.
I wish you a wonderful Christmas time!

[Geoffrey]

Congratulations. Best of luck and Season’s Greetings.

[Clare]

Christopher Tolkien has passed away.

https://www.independent.ie/world-news...

[Jimmy]

I just finished watching the movie Tolkien today.

[Clare]

Has anyone written a novel /novella / published short story / YA book, of SF or fantasy which was published in 2019 and which they would like me to read?
This could be to your advantage.
I'm looking for environmentally conscious works but I'll consider any. 2019 only please.

[Julia]

Yes, please! What format do you prefer and where should I send it to?

[Clare]

Great, Julia!
Please send a Pdf or mobi file to me at author @ clareobeara.ie leaving out the spaces. We put spaces in here to fool the bots.
I'm looking forward to the read.

[David]

My climate change novel 'The Ministry for Ignoring Climate Change' came out a couple of days ago.

It's a satire about a government that starts to believe it really can control the climate, and an island community that might just have discovered how to. Hopefully it combines humour with some worthwhile and different climate observations.

You can find it at https://www.amazon.com/Ministry-Ignor...

If you like the blurb and promise to post a review I'd be happy to send you the PDF.

[Clare]

Sounds intriguing, David!

I promise to review as soon as I read it - if you send a Pdf to address above it will get seen. Books don't go any further than my computer, they don't get shared.
Thanks for the offer.

[Mary]

Hello, I write ecofiction under the pen name Clara Hume and run a big site, Dragonfly.eco, that explores the subject. I have dozens of author interviews with some of the major authors in the field, a database of hundreds of books, and a lot more.

My own titles so far, also listed at Dragonflypub.ca:
Back to the Garden (published)
Bird Song: A Novella (comes out this fall)
The Stolen Child (in progress)
Up the River (in progress)

[Virginia]

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

www.virginiaarthurauthor,com

I write Eco-political friction, based on my life as an "environmentalist", whatever the hell that means.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Reviews welcome, of course. Thank you.

VA

[Clare]

Hi Virginia, welcome!

You are among some environmentalists here, we come in a wide variety.

[John]

I just published a novella about how the global warming/climate change apocalypse will unfold in the coming decades. I wrote this to educate people about this looming climate calamity and also to educate people about the science surrounding global warming/climate change.

It is available as an eBook at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086HXT5BD?...

It will soon be available as a softcover book on Amazon.

[Clare]

Hi John, well done!

[Joanna]

Hello, I am a new eco-fiction author for children's books.
This Earth Day, I would like to share the upcoming title of a multigenerational, eco-fiction children's book called The Wolf-Pup Gang. This new children's story is about misunderstandings and childhood friendships, people and wolves, our homes - our environments, and the strength of youth. Let's celebrate children and their contributions this Earth Day. Be well.

[Clare]

Happy Earth day Joanna!
Welcome to the Group and thanks for letting us know about your work.
When the book launches, come back and show the cover.

[Clare]

I'm getting a lot less exercise, now college has ended for the semester and I am indoors a lot. My exercise used to add a backpack to my brisk walks, so a walk around the block really doesn't replace it.
We need to watch we don't gain a lot of weight while being more sedentary. This good article for writers looks at why we add weight during winter and lose in summer - new to me, blue sunlight shrinks fat cells - and how we can live a bit more healthily right now.

http://writingandwellness.com/2020/04...

[Nick]

Hi.

I am an ecofiction author, with: The Moment Between Two Thoughts.

I hold two masters degrees in Ecology and Conservation, with specialisms in Climate Change.

[Clare]

Hi Nick, thanks for joining and you are very welcome. Feel free to post useful info or just chat on the threads.
We like authors to promote their books only in the right thread, but you can always recommend books which you have read.

Everyone, Nick's got a giveaway on his GR blog! Sign up before the end of May!

[Maia]

Hi Nick! I have not been on here in a while. I'm going to join your giveaway. Please check out my own author page - I'm answering questions there, too! Be well.

[Clare]

Here is a blog which lists lots of contests to enter and writing submissions which pay.
For instance:

"Mslexia. Genre: Poems and stories on theme of WILDLIFE. "We’re inviting submissions on all creatures great and small. Whether it’s a mosquito or marmoset, a flea or a ferret, we’re itching to read your zoological creations." Payment: £25. Deadline: June 8, 2020."

"Prairie Fire: Living in a House on Fire. Genre: Fiction, creative non-fiction, essays, and poetry that explore the topic of living in our current time of tremendous uncertainty. We believe that taking on the task of articulating the affective consequences of climate change will help countless others as they find their own language for inevitable loss. General submissions (non-themed) also open. Payment: Prose: $0.10 per word. Poetry: $40 per poem. Deadline: June 5, 2020."

And many non-eco themed opportunities.

Publishing And Other Forms of Insanity by Erica Verrillo.
https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com...

[Geoffrey]

Hello again. My name is Geoff Carter and I just published my second novel, an eco-thriller titled Thicker Than Water. It’s about two antagonistic brothers struggling for control of their inheritance, the last tract of old-growth forest in Northern Wisconsin.

When I was coming up, my family spent our summers at our cabin up north. I grew up on a lake and spent weeks without ever putting on a pair of shoes. It was beautiful; the book is about the value of that land and how it must be preserved.

I’m rattling on. The description of the book is on my website.

https://geoffreymalcolmcarter.com/thi...

Thanks.

[Clare]

Mary wrote: "Hello, I write ecofiction under the pen name Clara Hume and run a big site, Dragonfly.eco, that explores the subject. I have dozens of author interviews with some of the major authors in the field,..."

Hi Mary, you are very welcome. Apologies that I missed seeing your message and replying earlier - that was when we started lockdowns.

[Clare]

Hi Geoffrey, thank you for this news!

The more environmentally themed books on the shelves, the better. I hope this is a success for you.

That's a striking cover.

[Peter]

Hi

I have just published ICEAPELAGO, a climate change thriller. There are very few cli-fi authors its appears.
More info on www.iceapelago.com



Peter

[Clare]

Hi Peter! Well done. Keep up the good work.


Looks timely.

I have just checked your profile and I see we are both in Dublin. I've been educating people about climate change for a few decades now through my work as a tree surgeon. My husband and I attend talks in the RDS and TCD on this topic (and others).

I recommend you take an Author Page on Goodreads which you can do by claiming your book. I believe you will need to join the Librarians Group to sort out any issues about other authors by the same name. Once you have the Author Page your bio etc. will transfer over and readers may start to follow you.

[Geoffrey]

Thank you, Clare. I hope you get a chance to read it. I grew up in the Wisconsin Northwoods, so this is a setting that’s near and dear to me.

Take care,
Geoff

[Clare]

We visited Wisconsin almost 20 years ago. I didn't get to see any woods though, but I could smell them on the wind constantly.

[Clare]

My first book in three years has been released and I'll talk about it in Promotions. The quarantine situation has affected some writers more than others, as they report finding it difficult to write, especially if they are contracted to write mundane romances / mysteries etc when the world is undergoing change. Others, like me, are using the time and quiet to get the writing done.

Let us know how you are getting on. Sitting down to write can get tough at times, but you know the way to get the work done is to keep showing up to work.

[Debra]

Hi, Everyone.
I'm a former book publisher, educator, and multiple-award-winning author of 7 books of fiction—many of them exploring, wholly or in part, the degradation of the environment. My forthcoming memoir, Selling the Farm (which won the 2019 C&R Press Nonfiction Award and will ship 09/15/20) likewise examines the natural environment, this time through the lens of my past—and projecting into the future. Here's a brief description for those who might be interested in a more lyrical approach to the topic:


*Winner of the 2019 C&R Press Nonfiction Award.*
The old house burnt to ash. Acres sold to strangers. So many dead…
Raised in a family of seven, in a small ramshackle farmhouse without plumbing, award-winning author Debra Di Blasi maps a candid and eloquent memoir of a Midwest childhood both land rich and dirt poor, both heaven and hell. Surrounded by creatures big and small, rolling fields and pastures, weedy lawn, deep woods and shimmering waters, she wrestles with the complexity of a crowded family shaped by place and doomed to tear itself apart. Selling the Farm explores the difficult intersection of grief and love, and the many contradictions in nature, life and death, and memory itself. Her lyrical recollections move from season to season with language visually and aurally shaped to reconsider the ways that we bear witness to any place and time—and to ourselves amid all. As personal and global extinctions loom in the foreground, and family farms become increasingly scarce, these elegiac ruminations remind us how much has been—and will be—lost to us all.

ALSO: If you're interested: I'm offering a giveaway of paperback Advance Reader Copies of Selling the Farm which won the 2019 C&R Press Nonfiction Award and will ship 09/15/20.

A limited number is available to those who complete a Reader Survey and qualify for the giveaway.

Those selected to receive the book are under no further obligation. Importantly, your information remains private; I will not sell, share or otherwise disseminate. If you're interested, please go to: Reader Survey


Selling the Farm

Thanks for reading!

[Clare]

Hi Debra!
Lovely to have you join us.

I wish your book every success.

[Verity]

Jilda's Ark published by Harmony Ink Press is about sea-level rise, environmental refugees, and saving their animals.

[Clare]

And this book is an excellent YA thriller!

[Verity]

Clare wrote: "
And this book is an excellent YA thriller!"
Thanks as always for your support Clare!

[Clare]

Welcome!