Cover Reveal

Here it is, the cover reveal for my latest fantasy novel, the follow-up to Province of a Thief.

Releasing in a matter of days:  Darkness and Dragons, Volume I

A special announcement will be following in a few days!  Don't forget, you can find me on Twitter as well @ScottBorgman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/saborgman

Special Plans in the Works!!!

Hi, everyone!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be having some very special news coming up within the next few weeks.  I can't reveal anything right now, as I still have some details to work out, but I can let you know what's coming up.

First, there will be a cover reveal for my next novel, 'Darkness and Dragons, Volume I' which I will be posting on here, on my Twitter (@ScottBorgman) and on my Author page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/saborgman).

After that will come the announcement, hopefully about a week before the book goes live on Amazon, which I will of course write a blog up for, as well as mention on my Facebook page and tweet about.

I want to let everyone know beforehand though, that this is something that I feel is very important, something that I feel very strongly about and am fully dedicated to doing.  I'm truly excited about it... I wish I could say more right now (believe me, it's hard not to reveal much info right now, as much as I would like to!) but I will keep you updated.

I'm going to try and pair the cover reveal with the announcement, so stay tuned!  If you're on Twitter, pop on in and give me a follow @ScottBorgman.  If you're on Facebook, drop on by www.facebook.com/saborgman and give me a 'like' so you can stay up to date!

I hope you'll be as excited as I am when the time comes.  Keep an eye out, the cover reveal will be coming shortly!!!

All My Best,
Scott

Think About It

The other day a story went viral - chances are you saw it, but for those that may not have read it, here is a link to a follow-up story.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julia-wykes/the-disturbing-trend-i-noticed-when-my-breastfeeding-story-went-viral_b_5551589.html


Take a moment to read the story.  Don't worry, I'll wait :)
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Okay, I assume you've read the story, or already knew about it.  I'm writing this blog because I feel that I should voice my thoughts on this incident.

First, to the barista of that Starbucks, my thanks go out to you.  To the mother, my deepest thanks and respect to you for having the strength to stand proud against the backlashing you received from this incident.

Of course there are those out there who for one or more reasons find that seeing a mother breastfeeding in public offensive, disgusting, and not something they want to see.  There are those that fully support the practice as well.  I count myself among the second group, personally.

In the center of this story, we had an infant who was hungry.  That is the most important issue here.  An infant that needed to be nourished/fed, however you want to describe it.  Surrounding that infant, there was a woman (and possibly others in the store) who was disgusted at seeing the infant's mother breastfeeding him and wanted her to leave, go somewhere else, cover up... do SOMETHING so she didn't have to see it.

And that is the point of this blog.  For you Trekkie fans (and even if you're not a fan you've probably heard this famous line) remember Spock's line in Wrath of Khan?

'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.  Or the one.'

I'm altering that line slightly for this situation.  On one end, we have an infant that needs to be fed.  On the other, we have people that don't want to see the mother breastfeeding in public.  Infant needs, peoples' wants.  Needs and wants.

'The need of the one outweighs the wants of the few.  Or the many.'

We all have wants, and we all have needs.  We want material things, money, etc etc.  We need the basics:  food, water, air, clothing... you get the idea.

To the mother who put her child's needs above someone else's wants, you have my thanks, my respect, and my best wishes.

I hope the next time this kind of thing takes place, that there will be a pause, and that someone who doesn't want to see a mother breastfeeding her child in public for one reason or another will realize that the needs of the child outweigh their feelings of not wanting to see it.  Think about it.

When Opportunities Arise

Well, it's almost the end of June already... where does the time go???  I've had to make some decisions these past few weeks on what's best, not only for me, but for you as well.

I'll be forever grateful to Smashwords for giving me a home when I first stepped onto the path of the Indie Author.  But like most things in life, opportunities come around and changes are made.

So in a sense, I've moved into a new home, one that better suits me, as a writer, and I hope suits each of you who have read my work.  While my collection of poetry and my other free book will always be available on Smashwords, my novels are now available exclusively through Amazon.

These include my Exiled trilogy (The Exiled, The Exiled: Continuation, and The Exiled: Infinity), and my first book set in a pure fantasy world, Province of a Thief.  If you've been following along on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/saborgman) you of course know that my new novel is close to release.

The new novel is set in the same world as Province, and takes place roughly two years after that.  I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about it.  If you're a fantasy fan, I invite you to pick up a copy of Province.  (www.amazon.com/Province-Thief-Scott-Borgman-ebook/dp/B00KR140EO)

I hope the move to Amazon benefits you as much as it does me.  If you're an Amazon Prime customer, you've got an amazing chance to pick up those books for free with the Lending Library through Amazon.  If you're not a Prime member, I invite you to check it out, it truly is an amazing program.

I hope you're all having a wonderful summer so far!  I'll update again when the follow-up to Province goes live at Amazon.  No set date yet, but almost certainly sometime in July!  And of course, I'll post the cover image on here when it goes live for those of you who happen to check my blog before you hit the Amazon store ;)

Don't forget to check out my Facebook page, and give me a like while you're there, as well as my Twitter @ScottBorgman

All My Best,
Scott

The Art of the Book Review

I wanted to take time out from editing my latest novel to talk about something very important - book reviews, and just how important they are to Indie Authors.

As an Indie Author, I can attest that I look forward to readers taking the time to review my work, and I'm sure every author, traditionally published and Indie Author alike, feels the same way.  Certainly we love to see book sales, but a review of the books that we write means just as much to us.

When we see book sales, it's really nothing more than a number to us.  That number represents a copy of our book that was sold, but that's all it does.  But there's a reader behind there as well, someone who is more than just a number.  It's a person who lives and breathes and has thoughts and opinions about the book.  We want to know what those thoughts and opinions are.

Book reviews are the absolute best way for the reader to let both the author and other readers know what they thought of the book.  However, like books that can be both good and bad, reviews walk that same path as well.

Now, I'm not talking about the rating that the reader puts on the review.  I'm talking about the content of the review itself.  Certainly no one expects a review to be its own book, and it shouldn't by any means give anything away (it's a review after all, not a book report), but it should convey the thoughts and opinions the reader had about the book.

To show what I mean, here are a few examples:

'This was a good book, I loved it!  5 stars!'

Or on the flip side:

'Didn't finish it.  I got bored after the first two chapters.'

Two reviews (and those were merely examples), one good, one bad.  But they lack depth, and in general are not taken seriously by anyone, reader or author alike.  Now here's two other examples to compare the first two against:

'This book captured my attention from the first page.  The story is filled with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end.  (Author) brought the town and the people to life, and the characters' struggles were so believable that I felt as if I were right there, feeling every emotion along with them.  Though I felt the book ended sooner than I wanted it to, it was a wonderful book nonetheless, and I'm looking forward to the next one!  4 Stars!'

And the second one:

'I struggled with this book.  Though the characters are described pretty good, they felt bland - like they were just going through the motions without feeling.  The story bounced between time periods so often that it became confusing, making it difficult to understand most of the time.  There were some interesting moments in the book, but they seemed to be over quickly, while other parts that I thought were kind of dull and pointless seemed to drag on forever.  1 1/2 Stars.'

See the difference?  The first two examples simply say 'I liked it' and 'I didn't like it', but nothing else.  No explanations or reasoning why.  They don't give enough of an opinion to help either other readers or the author. 

The second set of examples are what other readers in general take more seriously, and what we authors hope to see in every review.  The examples not only say that the reader enjoyed the book or didn't, but they expand on those feelings by giving some of the reasons why they did or didn't enjoy the book they reviewed.  In addition, whether they enjoyed the book or not, they point out both strong and weak points in their review. 

The second set of examples are the kind of reviews that I personally pay more attention to when I'm curious about a book.  While ultimately the decision to read a book lies in my hands, I like to know what others thought about the book as well.  And they do play a part in my decision.  10,000 people that give a book a 5 star informative review tends to raise an eyebrow, after all.  And truthfully, as a reader, reviews like those first examples I typically scroll past without any consideration, because there's simply nothing TO consider.

Switching back to the author's viewpoint, sure we love to see glowing reviews painted in gold, but no book is perfect, and we know that.  WE'RE not perfect.  We want to get better, and that takes practice, just like everything else.  We use reviews as a tool to see what we may need to work on.

And by that I mean the technical aspects of the story, such as descriptions, depth, etc.  Saying that Jack should have ended up with Tara instead of Susan at the end of the book isn't what I mean.  In fact, a review should never have something like that in them. Little things that give away the story make it less enjoyable for other readers.  That's why they're called book reviews instead of book reports, after all.

I realize I mentioned that earlier, but I wanted to stress the point again because one of the things that make books so special is finding out what happens for yourself.  It's like the first time I watched The Usual Suspects.  Now, if someone had told me how good it was and then what happened, versus how good it was and why they thought so, I wouldn't have enjoyed the movie nearly as much.  The same thing applies to book reviews.

Now I'm sure some of you may have that thought running through your head, or have had it at one time or another.  You know the one: '(Author) already got money from the sale, what does it matter if I liked the book or not?'

It matters.  It matters, it matters, it matters.  It matters as much as that sale does, perhaps more.  Why?  Remember at the beginning when I said book sales are just a number, but authors know there's a person behind that number?  Writing an honest, insightful book review brings that person, with their thoughts and opinions, out from behind that number and gives that number a voice.

But it's not just allowing other readers to read your thoughts and opinions on the book.  Authors want to know as well.  We depend on it, in fact, because like everything else, if we don't know there's a problem we can't work on strengthening our weaknesses in order to become better writers.  At the same time, we also like to hear what we've done right.

Think of writing a review like being a coach.  Every good coach understands that letting a player know what they need to practice on should be coupled with praising them on what the player's strengths are.  It's yin and yang, hot and cold, sun and moon.  It's balance.

Balance.  A coach who focuses on just the negatives will make a player lose confidence in him or herself and whether it's intended or not, the player will get in the mindset that no matter how hard they work, it won't make a difference.  Eventually they'll give up, and the potential that was within them will never have a chance to come out.

At the same time, focusing on only the positives may make that player over-confident and cocky, to the point that eventually constructive criticism goes in one ear and out the other, and the things they need to work on never improve.  Once again, the potential that is within them is never fully realized.

So when you grab a book, whether you enjoy it or not, if you're considering writing a review on it after you've finished reading it, keep these things in mind.  Make a list of what you honestly liked and what you didn't and go from there.

And remember this:  We authors appreciate those reviews more than you may realize.  Good, bad, and everything in between, we are grateful for every honest, insightful review.

Scott A. Borgman



Spreading my Wings

I've been hard at work on my latest project, the follow-up to Province of a Thief.  While it's a separate story set in the same world, there are old friends reuniting in it, as well as new ones to meet.  Currently it's in the editing phase, and I'm hoping to get it published by the end of June, if not sooner.

In light of that little tidbit of info, I'd like to let everyone know that I've expanded from Smashwords (www.smashwords.com) where I have published my works exclusively, and expanded to Amazon.  Currently, only Province is available on Amazon, but if there's interest I would certainly be happy to include my Exiled trilogy there as well.

And with that, I should get back to work... the novel isn't going to edit itself, after all!

A Weekend Update

Hello Friends!

First, my sincerest apologies for the lack of new material on my blog.  Keeping up with the social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, and the blog) is something I need to work on.  I've been working on a new project, and I have a habit of getting sucked into the writing and putting the social media sites on a backburner.  I will try to do better!

I would like to take a moment to give a very heartfelt Thank You to fellow author Carol Kauffman, who has posted an interview with me on her website, Vision and Verse.  It's a wonderful site, and I invite each of you to check it out, where you can read interviews with other authors, artists, find out about some new books that are coming out, and more.  Here is the website address:

www.visionandverse.blogspot.com


As I said, I have been hard at work on my latest project, which is a follow-up to my last novel, Province of a Thief.  It's not so much a sequel as it is a new adventure, though many of the characters from Province do make a return.  There are also new characters that are introduced, and a grander story that will be split up into two different books.  I'm still working on a title (the tentative one I have is okay but I can do better!)

On that point, I am getting close to finishing the first of the two books... at least the writing phase of it.  After that will come the editing and rewriting phases, cover design, and finally publishing it.  I was hoping to get the writing phase done this week, but it looks like it will push on a few days into next week.

I hope everyone's had a good week!