Monday, September 16, 2013

Best of the Indies

The Mission: To find great books.
Readers: How do you find great books from talented Indie writers?
Answer: Through The Fussy Librarian.
This new site conducts personalized searches for its readers’ preferred genres, alerting them via e-mail of the many great writings by participating Indie authors.
Authors may submit books with a prescribed number of high-starred reviews.
Let’s give The Fussy Librarian a hand for great success with this effort to bring together fussy readers and great Indie books.
Check it all out here: http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/

Friday, September 13, 2013

Rare British Historical Fiction

Author James M. Hockey was born on the slopes of the Iron Age hill fort of Ham Hill (check out the Ham Hill face book page). During the Roman period the IInd Legion had a camp here. This fort is only eight miles from the Cadbury hill fort, the favored if speculative location for Camelot and Arthur during post-Roman times. It is in this countryside that Alfred the Great hid and plotted the defeat of the invading Danes.

Moving just two miles down the road Hockey spent the early years of his life under the shadow of St. Michaels Hill, the scene of one of the last abortive rebellions against the Normans after 1066.

It is hardly surprising that history is in his blood and that his writing is set in this historic countryside.

We have all read about the Tudors, the Stuarts, and of course the late-comers to history, the Windsors. But in his two sprawling historical fiction sagas, Mr. Hockey takes us straight into the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 and through a fireside storyteller back to the story of the early migrations of Germanic peoples during the 5th Century.

In the West Country of England, the invaders were the followers of Gewis and were known as the Gewissae. They were also known as ‘The Trusted Ones.’ It is this that leads to the hypothesis on which Hockey’s two dark-age yarns are based.

Most migrating invaders needed to steal land and food to survive and had to fight to do this. So how is it, he asks, that the Gewissae settled so peacefully?
The assumption is that they had sufficient resources to buy rather than steal land and food.
                                 

The first book The Axe the Shield and the Triton shows the adventures of Gewis as a Vandalic pirate in the Middle Sea as the Roman Empire crumbles into anarchy leading to the sack of Rome. From this, indirectly, Gewis becomes wealthy enough to finance the peaceful migration of his tribe.



The second book The Axe the Shield and the Halig Rood  follows the Gewissae as the vicissitudes of Fate land them in an unintended place where, in exchange for the land they need they become embroiled in the wars between petty kinglets and chieftains, each seeking to gain dominance over a province broken apart by the withdrawal of the Legions.


Both these books are imbued with a belief in the workings of Fate. These bring about, through Gewis and the Gewissae, Cerdic the king and Arthur the Peacekeeper, the creation of the kingdom of Wessex and the conditions for the eventual re-unification of England.

Both books have been extremely well received by their readers. I urge you to visit Mr. Hockey’s Author pages here:



Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Favorable Review for Shadow Sanctuary

Part romance, part mystery, part mythic journey - four stars
As always, do not let my star count override your judgement of content. More on the stars, counting, and my rating challenges later. On to Borg’s story.

Monika Lenz is a successful, fifty, woman with an unsuccessful love life. (If you’ve read other Borg stories, you’ll enjoy the cameo appearance of Edward, the advice-giving Laura, and the recollections of other unsavoury men.)  Suffering from both career frustration and career envy, she decides to spend months in a lonely cabin, translating German into English to finance herself. She begins to go downhill almost at once. The story is of her near-death experiences, of which there are several of different kinds.
The writing is full of sparkling lines like this: Monika followed the pleasant sound and found a lively rivulet skipping over moss-covered boulders, unmindful of the passing of time; like a happy child.

Again, you will find passages like this: She glanced at the heat-ravaged slopes flying by, robbed of their soft groundcover by voracious fires, polished by flash floods. These barren hillsides stood fast only for themselves, harsh and unforgiving. Just like city people, she thought.
There is personal insight as well, as in this: An uncomfortable sense of being out of place swept over Monika. She shrank into her overstated clothes and hid her manicured nails in her pockets.
This is writing for adults: All-powerful, avaricious, and secretly horny they— just as Scarpia deceived Puccini’s loyal heroine— had pushed her against the wall or, in her case, against the glass ceiling. Except in her early days, it had been the filing cabinets. There is sex in this story, and as usual with Borg, it is well done and not overly graphic.
 Again, Borg’s research and/or background knowledge are impeccable; pretty much everything is exactly correct. On a second reading you will see there was foreshadowing here and there, which set up later actions of Borg’s chief protagonist. This is good writing.

The story is deceptively straightforward. There are unanswered questions. There are relationships of all kinds, some of them strained as Monika travels on her own journey toward the final discovery of self. There is a cabin farther up the road which does or does not exist. There is a pilot who does or does not like Monika. There is a wild animal whose danger level is uncertain; there is a wild-ish man of similar attributes.  Again, this is writing for adults, and a fun read.

Back to the stars. My personal guidelines, when doing an ‘official’ KBR review, are as follows: five stars means, roughly equal to best in genre. Rarely given. Four stars means, extremely good. Three stars means, definitely recommendable. I am a tough reviewer. In my opinion, Borg just keeps on getting better. Four stars this book easily rates. 

Definitely recommended.

Jim Bennett, Kindle Book Review Team member.
(Note: this reviewer received a free copy of this book for an independent review. He is not associated with the author or Amazon.)

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Authors Sharing Tips

Author Christoph Fischer’s blog http://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/
has become a daily must-check for me. Not only does he bring an amazing array of wonderful new Indie writers and their books to his fans’ attention, but he selflessly shares tips and contacts for what we Indie writers yearn most: New ways of getting our books out to potential readers.

Here is Christoph’s Interview with Charlie Bray,  founder of the Indie Tribe, a promotional website for Indie authors.
* * *

The Indie Tribe


Many of you have asked me recently about the Indie Tribe and how I made it into their charts. I don’t know about the charts, but I can explain a little about the Tribe.
I joined the Indie Tribe back in January. It is simply an online group of independent writers to promote our books. This website features books published by the members on a regular basis and offers links to blogs and websites, a news flash service and other promotional tools for free. It is also a great source of information for readers and writers and features writers tips and guest blogs regularly.
On top of that is a range of commercially available options. I have taken out the Gold Membership for £45, which gives me an independent review of the book an author interview, guest blog and a review of my website.
Book showcases, a book store and a full editing service are also offered.
For any author who has a number of books to promote, the Indietribe’s Multi Book Promotion offers extreme value for money at a one-off £45 fee. Every book is showcased, including future ones, and every book is included in Indietribe’s Book Store. The writer also enjoys an enhanced link to his website or blog.
I have been looking online for good publicity tools ever since I published my book in November and I have to say that this seems a very reasonable offer, given the amount of time the man behind the scenes puts into it. So apologies for advertising but here is the man, Charlie Bray, himself, to talk about how the tribe came to be and how he is doing thus far.
Hello Charlie, thanks for joining me on my blog. So first things first: When did you have the idea for the Indietribe and how did you bring it to life? Were there many other people involved or is it a complete one man operation?
Having joined the ever-growing tribe of wannabe authors who write a book, upload it themselves to Amazon as an eBook, I suffered the pain of realising that sales don’t necessarily follow. I quickly realised that thousands of others share that pain, and decided to do something about it. I launched http://www.theindietribe.com myself, and operate it alone. Having said that, it would be nothing without members and their contributions keep the plate spinning.

How much of your time does your work for the tribe take up?
Around ten hours a day, seven days a week. Retirement from the day job enables me to do this, but my own writing and, of course, my wife suffer.It is quite a commitment you put in there for others. How do you motivate yourself to keep going?
It’s very much a labour of love. I love books, I love fellow authors, well, the vast majority anyway.
Most of all I feel passionate about the indie movement and will always do all I can to support it.
How large is your audience and where are your main followers?
Indietribe currently has over 1,000 members and we have around 1,500 Twitter followers and a loyal following on Facebook, Goodreads and Linkedin, which is great since I only launched in September.
Members tend to pass the word around to other indie authors and our membership is on an upward spiral.
What is your background in publishing/ writing?
I’ve been writing short stories and magazine features since the 70s and published and contributed to my own art and frame trade magazine, Art & Frame Buyer for many years.
What do you enjoy most about the work for the tribe?
The feeling of satisfaction from seeing members’ sell more books by being part of the tribe. Our weekly Top 10 is a result of hundreds of click-throughs to Amazon each month.
What is the least enjoyable part?
Struggling to meet self-inflicted deadlines and occasional abuse from the odd member who is getting everything for free anyway.
Where can you be contacted?
Through the contact page on http://www.theindietribe.com

Can readers follow the tribe?
Yes, quite easily. They can join for free on this link:http://www.theindietribe.com/contact-2/They can follow the tribe by clicking the RSS button on the home page of my site, or by subscribing to our email newsletter on the same page. I am keen to attract as many readers as possible to the Indietribe. They are our life-blood. They can use this link: http://www.theindietribe.com

How often do you publish the features / interviews and reviews?
Normally a new post appears around three or four times per week so there is always something fresh to see.
Where do you post the reviews?
Everything is posted on http://www.theindietribe.com, but each post is also reproduced in full on Facebook, Goodreads and Linkedin and Twitter

* * *
Again, thank you Christoph, for sharing your insightful interview with us.

* **

Christoph Fischer is the author of two amazing novels:
The Luck of the Weissensteiners, and Sebastian.



Friday, June 7, 2013

A 5-Star Review for Shadow Sanctuary

Maybe all that pain of rewriting and renaming this novella did pay off (see my prior post on "pandering").
SHADOW SANCTUARY received the following 5-Star Review.

** *
5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely story, May 30, 2013
This review is from: Shadow Sanctuary (Kindle Edition)
This is a great story about a woman burnt too many times by love, retreating to the mountains of Sierra Nevada to escape the troubles of life, her disappointment with men and maybe find herself new. What she does find however is that neither human kind nor your troubles can be escaped completely wherever you go
The author has written a lovely little novel with a convincing and interesting main character - who of us has never thought of doing just that, get away from it all and just look out for ourselves? Set in a beautiful surrounding this is a lovely and heart warming read with some surprising twists and events that make this short story very entertaining and worth reading.


* * *
I couldn't be more pleased, and only hope that other readers will enjoy the book as well.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

New Publication - Old Pain

SHADOW SANCTUARY is finally out.
Reason to celebrate--mainly because that Novella gave me more trouble than all of my other books.

First, it rattled around my head for decades.
When I finally had it written down, I wanted to slap my main character "to get a grip."
(If she had there would have been no story).
Then, I noodled around a lot with the title, only to come up with a "chick-lit" cover.

Now, it's out. It's done. Hope somebody enjoys it -- because, I AM CELEBRATING!





Thursday, May 23, 2013

To Pander or Not To Pander

Against my better judgment, I listened to general "marketing" sentiment. I was wrong. The cover for my new novella, Clouds of the Heart, clearly pandered to a different crowd.

Under “readers also looked at...” the books that came up had muscles bulging, bosoms heaving, bodies thrashing...you get the idea. Those readers would have clearly been disappointed with my protagonist’s journey (and probably impatient with my writing style). So, I unpublished Clouds.

Thank goodness for honest friends. The book will be slightly revamped (to deepen its mystery), and republished in June under its new title Shadow Sanctuary, with a new cover; no heaving. Granted, both may appear esoteric to the casual reader, and I won’t get rich. But I will be a lot happier to have my name associated with it.

The cover depicts the Edelgriess Peak in the Dachstein region, second highest in the Austrian Alps (2,995m—9,826ft). This typical trail way-station was photographed by the author’s father in the 1950s. Back then, people hiked from peak to peak on foot, often taking a whole week. These days, everyone can enjoy the breathtaking panoramas comfortably from gondolas and ski lifts.

I feel that my decision “not to pander” is the right one.
All I can hope for is that my readers will agree.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Inge H. Borg – Interviewed by Christoph Fischer

Please tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been writing, and how did you start?
From early on, I was passionate about books and spent a lot of time reading. That led to becoming a good speller. It also nurtured my apparently natural (or maternally inherited) penchant to write. My teachers often made me read my essay to the class (which softened them up when it came to my deplorable Math grades, an inherited trait as well, as my mother bluntly informed the school. I was allowed to graduate).
Being a secretary was not a bad career in my day. Speaking and writing several languages with shorthand (and my willingness to keep my bags packed) provided the springboard that catapulted me out into the world.
Also (in my day), one stayed in touch with family and friends by writing copiously (at least, I did for my part). The recipients always spouted how much they loved my letters; if only they could decipher them. Penmanship was not one of my noteworthy accomplishments.
I loved my IBM Selectric, and when they tried to foist my first computer on me, I balked pressing my typewriter protectively to my bosom (or vice versa). Little did I know how many grateful hours I would spend over my new keyboard. We are on quite familiar terms these days, and my laptop is high on my to-be-saved-in-case-of-tornado list; right after the cat and my pearls.

How did you come up with the idea for your books?
It sounds banal, but someone said “you should write a book.” Oh, wait. That was usually suggested after I had regaled a girlfriend or two with some of my life’s interludes. Seriously though, there was somebody who suggested that “I could write a book,” and rattled off snippets of an Egyptian saga. I laughed. No way.
A couple of weeks later, I showed him the first chapter. However, when he realized what was involved—research, and—oh my—spelling and correct word usage (he was a veritable Mr. Malaprop), he lost interest in this clearly non-get-rich-quick scheme.
But I was hooked. As the time was “B.G.” (Before Google), and I poured over ever-conflicting research material about Egypt’s Old Kingdom. In the end, the 250,000-word manuscript (and its many pink slips and cancelled checks from bogus-agents) rested buried in a drawer for twenty years while I kept writing long letters home.
It was not until Amazon’s e-book swell struck a chord. I re-edited Khamsin, chiselling it down to 150,000 words (with those tossed 100,000 words, “I could have been somebody”). After Khamsin was selected as an “Editor’s Choice” by the Historical Novel Society, the fires were lit—I wrote Sirocco over the following eight months, and published three other minor works.
I now have the time and—one should grant me—the tenacity, to work all day, every day on my writing. That is a great luxury—and I have never been happier (well, not lately anyway).

What is your connection to Egypt?
Pure imagination; possibly arrogance thinking I could write about it. I have no background in Egyptology nor in any other archaeology. Books with exotic settings fascinate me. However, writing about locales I knew nothing about was a bit like walking into a minefield; it took a lot of tiptoeing, and even more research.
Luckily, so far, I was only “admonished” about one supposed mistake, using “Royal Bark” instead of “Barque.” I could prove that I was not wrong. This reader actually did me a great favor because I went back and painstakingly re-edited the book one more time. After which that reviewer graciously changed her ranking from 3 to 5 stars.

What made you think of writing historical fiction? Did you ever consider other genres?
I am too passionate to limit myself to a one-formula-type of style, despite the sad fact that this is what seems to sell an author these days. Even though the pundits tout that it is counter-productive to change genres, I would eventually get bored (though it would save a lot of research).
Actually, the second book in the “Legends of the Winged Scarab” series, Sirocco, Storm over Land and Sea, is a present-day thriller. It does have tie-ins to archaeological treasures from Khamsin, as will the planned Books Three and Four—each will play out during in very different places and times.
I also wrote a non-fiction book about my days as a shelter volunteer—and “the darn cat” that got the better of me.
My WIP, Mountain Shadows, might fit into a new category even though I did not know that’s what I was writing until I saw a Goodreads group that wants to breathe life into Boomer Lit.

Historical Fiction—Too boring, scholarly, irrelevant?
The emphasis here is on fiction. While I don’t write steamy, explicit stuff, there is plenty of action, innuendo and human deviousness in Khamsin. People then as now have their strengths and weaknesses, their foibles, ambitions and desires. It just plays out at a different time, in a different place. We, in our flawed humanity, have not changed for the better—nor will we do so any time soon.

How difficult was it to draw the balance between research and invention/ imagination?
There must be balance. The tendency “to show” what one knows is always there. To keep it from coming through as condescending, or even boring, surroundings, customs, etc. need to be woven into the action unobtrusively. If the reader feels he is there, even if he learns something new, you succeeded. There are plenty of knowledgeable readers—so you had better be accurate.
Particularly for Egypt, debates are being waged regarding the use of current names for cities and deities versus the Greek labels bestowed upon a conquered land. I mostly opted for the old Egyptian names (with an extensive glossary), but kept a couple of familiar gods.

Tell us briefly about all of your books.
Sirocco, Storm over Land and Sea is Book 2 of the “Legends of the Winged Scarab.” It is a present-day thriller with tie-ins to Khamsin, but stands alone in its action.
By the way, I was counseled against using a stolen Rembrandt painting as my cover—but I thought the public domain image portrayed ‘the perfect storm’ and I wove it into my story. Recently, the FBI issued a poster asking the public for help in the recovery of this work of art—something which I had already done in my foreword the prior year (there is a $5 million reward).
Edward, Con Extraordinaire, is a collection of short stories of a charmer’s San Diego escapades; it does have tie-ins to Sirocco, in which Edward turns out to be less gallant.
Pasha, From Animal Shelter to A Sheltered Life – non-fiction mentioned above.
Moments of the Heart, A Book of Poems and Short Prose – an early collection of—yes—poems and short stories.

What do you like best about writing? What’s your least favorite thing?
Although by upbringing, education and travel, I am socially adept and have always had to deal with people, I am basically a solitary creature. This writing life now suits me; I revel in it.
My least favorite things—and I am certain this is echoed by many fellow-authors—are editing and marketing. Trumpeting one’s name and titles onto indifferent ears, flogging unsuspecting readers with burps and blurbs, searching, weeding, hoping, giving away scores of books…it is painful to the artistic soul.
Of course, any day turns aglow when a thoughtful review is posted, a reaffirmation that one might have produced a book worthwhile reading. My hat is off to those dedicated readers who not only read for their own enjoyment but take the time and trouble to post reviews and let especially us “Indies” know how a book resonated with them.

Did you have any say in your cover art? What do you think of it? Tell us about the artist.
When my cover designer, fellow-author Diana Wilder—who also writes about Egyptian history—sent me the cover for Khamsin, she had inserted a small Khepri, a winged scarab, into her wind-swept landscape. ‘How cool,’ I thought. Uploading a corrected copy of the book, I slyly inserted a paragraph for this scarab to become the personal seal of the high priest, chiseled onto the Golden Tablets that serve as the tie-in to Sirocco.
For Sirocco, I again asked Diana to superimpose the small scarab onto that cover. Thanks to her inventive mind, I had my Leitmotif. The Legends of the Winged Scarab series was born (yes, there are two more volumes rattling around in my head).

What books have you read more than once or want to read again?
For sheer delight, I reread Peter Mayle’s Provence series every couple of years. They provide an escape for my earnest soul.

Did you find it difficult to research? How did you research?
Nowadays, the Internet is invaluable. If one takes its offerings with the proverbial grain of salt; and if one realizes what is public domain and what might not be. For instance, I was looking for a harbor on the island of Crete. And there was Loutro, tiny fishing village accessible only by water. Nothing could have been more perfect for my double-dealing yachties in Sirocco.

What would your characters say about the book?
Quite a few would shake their fists at me: “Did you have to kill me off!” (And my answer would be “Yes.”)

Who are your favourite characters and why?
I can’t explain why, from my myriad of characters in Khamsin, I often think of one who occupies barely half a page: Hanni, the Ostrich Egg Gatherer. Bent and battered, he lifts his rheumy eyes up at the High Priest in hopes of reprieve from his arduous tasks. His shriek, as he falls, still echoes.

Which author would you most like to invite to dinner, and what would you fix me? I mean, him. Or her.
Clive Cussler. (Surprised?) He not only writes about adventure, he has lived it. His thrills and technologically futuristic ideas are amazing (or they were before he started to draw on all those co-authors).
We’ll chat around the fireplace, over a Cognac. (I am a lousy cook).

How do you handle criticism of your work?
What criticism? Seriously, at first blush I huff and puff a bit. But then, I correct it, if it’s a glaring mistake, or change it if a better ‘whatever’ is suggested, as I did with the second edition of Sirocco where I was told to ‘for heaven’s sake, have Jonathan get laid already.’… “Oh, my!” I listened …

Tell us one weird thing, one nice thing, and one fact about where you live.
A) It’s a “dry” county—and I don’t mean it lacks for rain.
B) Lots of lakes, woods and hills. Very quiet and peaceful.
C) Tornado-prone area.

What three books have you read recently and would recommend?
Sadly, I am not reading as much as I should or want. But my “to-be-read” list is growing, not in the least from your own writings and recommendations in this blog. High on my list are books by Diana Wilder, James Hockey, and Tui Allen’s "Ripple," a dolphin’s tale. Last but not least, Christoph, I have just added your own writings.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
On Kauai, the least crowded of the Hawaian islands.

If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go? (Don’t worry about the money. Your publisher is paying.)
Oh well, if it’s all paid for, then I would like to take a cruise up the Nile and visit all the sites in Upper Egypt, led by Dr. Zahi Hawass (but only if he is in a benign mood and wears his trade-mark Fedora).

What are you working on now?
A contemporary novel called Mountain Shadows, slated for publication in May (the main character is one of Edward’s former victims). There is also a time-constraint, only noticeable for those who read Sirocco and paid attention to the epilogue.
What else would you like us to know about yourself and your books?
I write what I write with enthusiasm; I care about what I write; I like what I write with the hope that my readers might like it too.

Read the complete interview at:

* * *
Christoph Fischer is an Independent widely-traveled writer from Germany, based in the UK.
His first book “The Luck of the Weissensteiners” is a historical novel set in 1930s and 1940s Slovakia and was published in November 2012.






And he just published “Sebastian,” another historical novel, set in Vienna in the 1910s.

Read more about Christoph on http://www.christophfischerbooks.com/


Christoph Fischer is also a reviewer of independent books and his recommendation pages on his blog feature interviews and reviews of the books that have most captured his attention and appreciation by genre.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

A 5-Star Review for SIROCCO

This review of SIROCCO, Storm over Land and Sea, is from a self-proclaimed 'highly addicted' reader--who read and reviewed Book One of the "Legends of the Winged Scarab" series--KHAMSIN, The Devil Wind of The Nile--first, also giving it five stars.


Great Story April 7, 2013
By diebus
Format:Paperback
I read "Sirocco, Storm over Land and Sea" by Inge H. Borg as a follow up to "Khamsin", her histroical novel set 3080 B.C., since I read that there were some connections between the two books. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first book I was pleasantly surprised to find Borg change direction from one genre to the next.

Set in present day Egypt with its political unrest during the Arab Spring and beyond it tells the story of Archaeologists, Museums, art collectors and their procedures, rivalry and bureaucracy during an expedition to Cairo where ancient golden tablets are to be deciphered.

Borg describes with great detail procedures and technology used in modern Archaeology and I settled in to a great contemporary book about Egyptology where the people and times of the previous book now have become the object of historical study. Just then two of the artefacts are stolen and a hunt through Greece and the Mediterranean Sea ensues.

Thrown into this is also a love triangle and rivalry between several characters, all of which have different interests in the missing artefacts. Borg enriches the plot with themes such as ancient curses to give you one more example of the broad spectrum of what to expect from this novel and thriller.

I enjoyed this book even more than the first in the series and loved when the old turned up in the new. In that it helps to bring to live the first book again and to underline again the bringing to life of the past that good historical fiction can achieve. While we where living with the ancient Priest in the last book, now he is the author of an ancient scroll and a mysterious figure.
The ancient storm, Sirocco, a symbol of the 'blast from the past' and the force of nature, which blows everything over, is a brilliant title for a book that has many more layers than I would have expected.

Besides all of this, it has great suspense and intriguing characters. I am glad that I read Khamsin first to appreciate everything the author has put into this book, but for its story alone it does not need the predecessor. A great read.

----------------------------------------
Take a "Look Inside" here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008Y6GXZ8

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Offshore Sailing


White Wings on an Ocean,
straining, a billowing team.
The sailor braces against his contrary wheel
raping the rudder as lines wail taut.
The storm flogs with malice.

White Wings on an Ocean
screamed into shreds that bandage the mast. 
A halyard flails, lifelines gone,
the dinghy torn off.
The sailor weeps for soft green meadows.


Excerpted from my
Moments of the Heart,
A Book of Poems and Short Prose