What goes in this folder?

[Gertie, Please use clickable text links for book titles! :-)]

This folder is specifically for authors, publishers, marketers, bloggers, anyone making an announcement about a product.

Please only post such announcements in this folder- they are usually seen as unwelcome (a la spammy) in other areas, which should be devoted to regular conversation.

TO MAKE A POST/ANNOUNCEMENT:
Just create a New topic, and choose the Authors & Marketers Zone for the destination folder. It will create a new thread there, just for your book!
Comment or contact me if you have questions.:-)

[Jon]

Hello Gertie and All!

And thanks for this folder, Gertie. Great idea.

I'm going to do two posts, one for each of my stories featuring committed young vegetarian heroes who take a stand in defense of animals.

One of the two is a short story, "Lawrence," the tale of a simple high-school youth who takes a stand for animals and gays. Since it is short, I don't think I'll discuss it beyond that.

But I will say that this story is near to my heart, and has had an interesting history. It was accepted by a university lit-mag a couple of years ago, but I withdrew it because they sat on it for so long (too hot for them maybe?). And I'm so glad I did. I published the story as a free ebook three weeks ago on Smashwords, and it has been downloaded about 160 times already. One British reader reached my author's heart when she told me the story moved her to tears.

If the story means something to you, please do share it widely -- that's the very reason it's free!

Oh, and you can find the video of me reading the story on my GR Author Page.

Thanks and best wishes,
Jon

[Jon]

Hello again!

As noted in the preceding post, I'm writing a separate post for each of my two stories featuring committed young vegetarian heroes who take a stand in defense of animals.

The second of the two, four years in the making, is my novel The Mighty Roman, which I tout as a story about baseball and the modern American man.

One of these American men is an eighteen-year-old named Rex Hirsch, an elfin free-spirt and lifelong vegetarian who is the son of a Venice Beach hipster. His idea of a good time is playing Native American flute to the coyotes in the field across from the team's apartment on the edge of town.

Another, the title figure, is Roman Meister, the meat-loving, gun-toting, fishing, hunting middle-aged white man who manages Rex's team. Sociologists would call him an "angry white male." He hunts the yipping coyotes across from the team's apartment.

Rex and Roman bond at first when Rex's daring play brings victories to the Coyotes. But as time goes on, tensions escalate between the two over a whole bunch of hot-button social and political issues -- the treatment of animals prominent among them. Things really come to a head when Roman, wounded by Rex's refusal to admire his fishing prowess, -- SPOILER ALERT -- …

…


… indulges his anger in an in-your-face act of cruelty to an animal. That scene is the end of Chapter 7. You can see me reading it on YouTube via my Author Page (sorry for the poor lighting; a brighter version will be up in a day or two).

Rex's compassion for animals is central to the story, not a mere incident -- but I risk further spoliation if I give further details.

I want to add that I do not trash Roman. I believe, as I'm sure you do, that every person deserves to be understood. As a writer I believe that every character deserves to be understood, and deserves a fair depiction. For many millions like Roman, hunting, fishing, gun ownership, and meat-eating have deep emotional resonance. And so we go deep inside Roman's skin to understand what makes him tick.

I hasten to add that this is actually a very funny, fast-paced book despite the dark matter discussed above. It is a rich, bubbling stew -- vegetarian, natch.

I hope you will enjoy this book. I would be delighted to discuss it with you. Please know that it is on sale right now on Amazon for .99 for the ebook, and $9.49 for the paperback. And, group members, I'd be happy to sign your paperback copy if you'd like to mail it to me -- and I'll pay the postage (within the U.S.).

Thank you very much, Goodreads Veg*ns!

[Gertie, Please use clickable text links for book titles! :-)]

hi Jon. You're actually supposed to make a thread for them :-P. That way they'll be on the top level, instead of buried inside this thread. So feel free to copy and paste!

[Jon]

Gertie wrote: "hi Jon. You're actually supposed to make a thread for them :-P. That way they'll be on the top level, instead of buried inside this thread. So feel free to copy and paste!"

Oops. Excuse the lameness. I'll figure that out.

[Gertie, Please use clickable text links for book titles! :-)]

Lol, it's okay - I didn't really make it clear in my original post (I edited it now for clarity).