Maybe you hate the droning sound of your own voice in your head. Maybe the part of storytelling you like the most is the telling. Maybe you don’t like the look of the printed word on paper (gross). Maybe you want to keep your eyes on the road when you’re driving.
Whatever the reason you love audiobooks, you’ll be excited to know I have started production on an aural version of my dystopian satire Utopia PR.
Audiobook cover for Utopia PR
I for one cannot wait to hear the voices of Blake “The Hammer” Hamner and his presidential PR comrades come to life in glorious stereo sound. I wrote the novel in a style that I think is a great match for the spoken word. Narrator Tristan Wright has signed on for the project through Findaway Voices. Utopia PR designer Bailey McGinn will square-ify the cover per audiobook convention.
I had a great experience with Findaway on The Wanderer and the New West and am looking forward to hearing Utopia PR. I’m not yet ready to announce a release date, but please keep your eye on my blog–and subscribe to my newsletter–for updates on this exciting project.
¡Buenas noticias para los lectores en español! David, de Artifacs Libros, me escribió recientemente y me preguntó si podía traducir seis de mis relatos al español. Por supuesto, dije que sí. Estoy muy emocionado de poder llegar a una nueva audiencia de lectores con mi ficción.
El eBook incluye los relatos:
Intercambio de Vida (Life Trade)
Rincón de Fumadores (Smokers Corner)
Día de la Invasión (Invasion Day)
Ojos de Fuego (Fire Eyes),
Una Boda de IntercambioDeVida (A Lifetrade Wedding)
Great news for Spanish-language readers! David from Artifacs Libros reached out recently asking if he could translate six of my short stories intoSpanish. Of course, I said yes. I’m so excited to be able to reach a new audience of readers with my fiction.
I gave away free signed copies of The Wanderer and the New West to librarians and educators from around the country. The good folks at the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) hosted me and were a big help bringing in the crowds. My wife Mallika lent a hand getting me set up and taking photos as dystopian fans arrived to learn more about my novel.
Must … sign books … faster …
The conference itself took place in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and was widely attended. Mallika and I saw great keynotes by Frank Miller and Hoda Kotb.
Look at the size of that floor!
I brought a suitcase full of books — 25 copies in all — and I have to admit that I was a little scared going in that I’d have to bring most of them home. In actuality, I gave out all the books before my 20 minutes was up at the stand! I even gave out a few eBook and audiobook editions to visitors who didn’t get a paperback.
I’m all out of bullets … er, books!
The event left me on a pretty big high! I hope to get out to another big event like this soon. It was great to meet everyone who stopped by!
Big news for library lovers! SELF-e by Library Journal selected my dystopian sci-fi novel Divided We Fall for a select pilot program with library eBook distributor OverDrive.
The addition to SELF-e Select on OverDrive means that Divided We Fall will be available free to 40,000 libraries and schools in 70 countries for one year. Also, Library Journal will promote my book in its magazine.
Divided We Fall reveals insurrection against a dystopian government that keeps a Watched list of its own citizens. Agent Eve Parker must arrest her fiancé after he loses his memory and becomes a revolutionary named Seven in a fight against the government. However, when she learns more about the President’s plan to broaden citizen surveillance, she begins to question just who is right.
Here’s more information about the pilot program from the email I received this week:
We have some exciting news! As you already know Divided We Fall was chosen by Library Journal as a SELF-e Select book, digitally placing it in every library participating in the SELF-e program on BiblioBoard, supporting nationwide discovery by new readers.
We are reaching out because Divided We Fall has now been selected for an even more refined collection, the best of the best, SELF-e Select on OverDrive.
SELF-e Select on OverDrive is a new one-year pilot project in partnership with industry leader OverDrive, who support a network of 40,000 libraries and schools in 70 countries. Beginning June 1, 2018 OverDrive partner libraries can enroll in the program at no charge. Following their enrollment libraries will offer the full SELF-e Select on OverDrive collection to their users for 12-months. After the conclusion of the program in July 2019, participating authors will receive usage data from BiblioBoard. As part of this collection, we will also be doing special advertising and promotion for your book with Library Journal, bringing more exposure to your book.
Pretty cool! Please look out for all my books in your local library. If you can’t find them, please request them from your favorite librarian!
The Wanderer hits another bullseye with a great review from Publishers Weekly, plus Kirkus Reviews features the novel as an Indie Book of the Month!
Thanks to everyone who has picked up a copy (digital or physical) of my new novel, The Wanderer and the New West. I continue to be blown away by the kind words and excitement I’m hearing from critics and new readers about my Dystopian Western.
Recently, the Wanderer tossed his hat into the ring for the BookLife Prize by Publishers Weekly. While winners won’t be announced for several months, all entrants receive a critical assessment from Publishers Weekly, and I’m happy to report that I just received an 8 out of 10!
Here’s my favorite line: “Bender’s prose and ability to weave poignancy and humor throughout the story elevates his novel above others in the genre.”
Meanwhile, Kirkus Reviews featured my novel in their magazine for a second time, this time in a list of the “Indie Books of the Month” for April! if you don’t subscribe, here’s the online list.
Yep, that’s definitely one for the bulletin board.
Oh, this was pretty cool. My book appeared in the Spring Books issue of The New York Review of Books. I swear I didn’t plan this at all, but the cover story was all about American gun culture.
Critics are great, but I really love hearing what readers think. It’s been awesome seeing all of your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. Please keep them coming! I’m an indie author with a limited marketing budget, so this is really the best way to help me spread the word.
Don’t have a copy yet? Check out the official page for more details on where you can buy my novel.
Charity & Events
I’m always excited to support a good cause. I donated a signed copy of The Wanderer and the New West for the annual Writers for Hope auction during Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April. The auction is organized by Kelly Johnson and proceeds went to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).
Last weekend, I donated autographed copies of my three novels for a silent auction at the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund (DVLF) Heroes awards, started 11 years ago to honor individuals whose work and leadership advance the rights of the LGBT community.
Coming up, look out for the Wanderer at BookExpo 2018 in New York City from May 30 to June 1 as part of the New Title Showcase! Then, my novel will appear June 22-25 at the American Library Association 2018 conference.
