As the summer ends, the Fall flow of life begins. It has been established that my novel, Leaving Cleveland, has traveled more than I have. Readers have sent selfies of my book from Italy, Mexico, New Mexico, Florida, California, Ohio, New York, Texas, Montana, Colorado, and 15 other States and Countries. As a big thank you, I am offering an E-version of my book for only $2.99 till the end of August. After that the price will go up to $8.99. Purchase it here: Leaving Cleveland.
Goldberg Award:
The Goldberg Award is a competition that awards a writer’s debut novel about the Jewish Experience. Inaugurated in 1950, the National Jewish Book Awards is the longest-running North American awards program of its kind and is recognized as the most prestigious. The Awards are intended to recognize authors, and encourage reading, of outstanding English-language books of Jewish interest. The winner is announced in January 2024. Wish me luck.
Finally, I Would Like To Thank…
I would like to thank all of you who took the time to write a review of my book. As an author it means a lot to me and all writers who put their heart out their and the hopes their story will be read. All my reviews on Amazon are authentic, meaning I did not pay anyone or a service to write them. I would rather have few authentic reviews that hundreds of fake ones. That said, if you have read the book please go to Amazon and share you thoughts about my book with other readers.
Have a great weekend.
I will head to NYC next week to drop off my daughter to college, see some friends, and sell some books. I will be back after the holiday week for the next blog. In the meantime, be safe and have fun.
That is right, you read the headline from August 14th till August 31st. The E-Version of my book will now only cost $2.99. As promised, I said I would give back when my book received 25 reviews on Amazon. I am overjoyed with all the great reviews; 24 are Five Stars. As a heartfelt thank you, I wanted to reduce the price of the e-book. I would love to reduce the cost of the hardback and paperback, but if I did, I would be paying you to buy the book, not much of a profit margin on physical books. I only ask that after you read the book, rate it and/or write a review of what you thought and spread the word. Click on this link to purchase your book now: $2.99. The price change has not taken effect, so check in a few days. I was just too excited to hold back this news.
I will be back next week with more exciting news about the adventures of being an author and the next step for my novel Leaving Cleveland. Enjoy your summers.
I received a text today that a book I sent to New York City did not arrive. You are probably thinking, the Postal system strikes again. Perhaps, but the envelope arrived, and the book Leaving Cleveland, enclosed, did not. Did someone steal the book? Or did the book envelope fail, and the glue came undone. I was flattered to think someone would go through the trouble to steal my book, but it is under further investigation. A trip to the post office revealed that, most likely, the glue came undone, and the book fell out at the NYC mail facility.
The culprit was cheap glue that melted, allowing the book Leaving Cleveland to be lost in the mail room forever!
Why does this even matter? You ask?
I sent out this book to my NYC contact because she informed me that a writer for the New York Times is interested in reading my book. I will not reveal their name, but I can tell you this person is well known in the photography/culture circles. Of course, nothing may come of this interest, but what have I got to lose? I guess the loss of a book.
What is new in the world of Leaving Cleveland and it’s Author?
I have been creating more video reviews of my book and am up to 21 five-star reviews, 1 four-star review, and 1 one-star ( no check or name, just someone trying to undermine my book’s success. I have recorded 5 reviews thus far, and my goal is to record all of them by year’s end.
You can go to my YouTube channel, Leaving Cleveland, to watch all the videos; just click on this Link to see all the videos, and while you are there, subscribe to keep up with the latest from Leaving Cleveland.
Chutzpa is a Yiddish world meaning ” crazy” courage.
Those who know me know I can get crazy with Chutzpa. For example, I contacted Barnes and Noble in Manhattan on Fifth Ave. I thought since I had a successful book signing in Denver at the B&N, surely the 5th Ave store would want me. I will be traveling to NYC at the end of this month to drop my daughter off at college, and since I am there… Well, the good news is they got back to me right away; the bad news is the person said that unless I can guarantee 200 people showing up for the book signing, it would not happen. Knowing that taxes and death are the only guarantees, I had to be honest and say, ” I am not sure.” She did say I should try other bookstores in Manhattan, an excellent way to leave the discussion. That is the definition of Chutzpah.
How’s It Going?
That question often arises when people ask me how the book Leaving Cleveland sells. My only reply is, ” I don’t know.” I have learned that you must wait four months to receive your first royalty check when you publish a book on Amazon. Since my book came out on April 12, 2023, I imagine I will know by the second week of this month. It is not a best seller yet, but it has consistent rankings. What does ranking mean? Here is where it gets crazy. So my book Leaving Cleveland has been averaging a ranking of 500k and as low as 80k, and as depressing as that sounds, it is pretty good on Amazon. For instance, the book Zombie is ranked at 1.5 million. There are millions of readers on Amazon.
If you have read the book, review and rate the book.
Please get the word out to friends, book clubs, and local bookstores. If I hit 25 four-star reviews on Amazon, I can sell the Kindle version of the book for $2.99; I am three reviews away from that goal.
Thank you for subscribing and taking the time to read my blog, Leaving Cleveland. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or comments.
It has been a productive week. I created 4 short videos of reviews of my book Leaving Cleveland. My goal is to do 4 a week. Before I make the next batch, tell me the one you like best. If you have read the book, please leave a review on Amazon. I need 5 more studies to be able to discount my E-Book.
Please take a look and while you are there subscribe to my YouTube channel for the latest update and videos.
Have a great weekend, and I look forward to your feedback.
So excited to be mentioned in Steve Anchell’s Nexus Newsletter.
Last week I received a request from a book club in North Carolina to Zoom with them and did a Q&A for the group that had just finished my book. Unfortunately, I was unavailable, but I created talking points/prompts to guide the conversation about Leaving Cleveland. If your book club is thinking about or has read my book, here are the prompts:
1
The text states that the main protagonist in the book is named Sam, and he is based on Voltaire’s character Pangloss from Candide. Sam is described as a pedantic and always optimistic tutor, similar to Candide. Although Sam is not specifically a tutor, he approaches every situation with optimism. Additionally, the text mentions that this narrative structure, one of the “seven stories” by Christopher Booker, has been used in other classical works, including Greek classics.
2
Although Izzy appears to be a difficult person, does she have redeeming qualities?
3
Should artists be forgiven for their poor behavior because they are famous?
4
What do you know about generational trauma? In the book, Sam’s nightmares are caused by his father’s experience in the concentration camps. Are there other classes of people who may suffer from generational trauma?
5
Should celebrities be put on a pedestal in our society, and how do we perpetuate this ideal?
6
Has the book enlightened you about something that you never knew about?
7
If so, what was it, and did it change your worldview?
8
What would you do if you were Sam and had a boss like Izzy?
9
The journey is one of the “ seven stories, “ according to Christopher Booker, in a narrative. What other classics used this narrative to tell the story? It goes way back to the Greek Classics.
Have a book club interested in Leaving Cleveland?
The book can be purchased as E-Book, Paperback, and Collector Edition in Hardback at BookBaby, Barnes&Noble and, of course, Amazon.
In the next issue learn about how my book Leaving Cleveland will soon be found at your local libraries.
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Leaving Cleveland 