Booking Through Thursday: TMI (Too Much Information!)

For those who may not already know, BTT is a weekly event hosted by MizB and this week's question was suggested by Simon Thomas:

Have you ever been put off an author’s books after reading a biography of them? Or the reverse - a biography has made you love an author more?

This is an interesting question. Let me start by saying how much I've always enjoyed reading biographies. I love learning about where people come from and how they got to where they are. So now, to answer the question:

No, I've never had a biography change the way I feel about an author's books. If anything, it makes me more intrigued after learning about their life. However, I have been very disappointed after seeing an author interview that made me buy their particular book. Fortunately, it hasn't happened often, in fact, only once that really stands out in my mind. I don't need to go into detail and name the author, but suffice it to say that I had a very strong negative reaction to the book that left me questioning my interpretation of the interview I saw. I don't know if it made a difference that the book was non-fiction, but I was really surpised at how much I wanted to like the book, but actually ended up hating it.

How about you? Has a biography changed your perception of an author's books, or does it enhance your appreciation of them? Leave me a comment and let me know. For more comments on this question, click here.

Guest Blogger: Jayne Pupek, Author of Tomato Girl

Writing a book is easy.

Selling a book is the hard part. People are creatures of habit. Readers know which authors they enjoy; when they stop by their local bookstore or go online to book browse, they tend to buy books by those authors. This is especially true for the avid reader who may have so many favorite authors that it is impossible to read everything written by them. If someone lives on a budget, as more and more people do in our current economy, book dollars have to stretch further than ever. Books are a bargain compared to many other forms of entertainment, but folks understandably spend money first on essentials like gas and groceries. To save money, they may buy used books, trade books with friends, and visit the library. When they splurge on a new hardbound book, it is more often than not by an author they know and love. Familiarity is a safe choice.

The struggle for the new author is to find readers willing to give the unknown a chance. It is a challenge that reminds me of the times I tried to convince my sons to eat broccoli when they were toddlers. I still remember how they scrunched up their faces and declared, "But it's green!" Only when my mother started calling the broccoli florets "trees" did my boys get excited about trying this new vegetable. The idea of eating "trees" appealed to their imaginations, and soon, broccoli became their favorite vegetable. If only selling a book could be so simple.

With the release of my debut novel, Tomato Girl, I entered the unfamiliar and daunting world of book promotion. I use the word daunting not only because of the challenge of competing for readers, but because I'm the prototypical reclusive writer who is happier in a cave than on a stage. Me pitch a book? I couldn't sell water to a goldfish caught on dry land.

The unexpected delight for me along this journey has been my discovery of the online book community. I have met so many enthusiastic book lovers in communities like GoodReads, LibraryThing, and Shelfari. I've also gotten to know many book bloggers, and I can say with certainty that these folks are not lukewarm about books. They take books seriously. They not only devour books with great passion, they spend their time and energy to share their reading experiences with others. It is an amazing network of book aficionados who write detailed reviews, share book news, host giveaways, conduct interviews, make recomendations and welcome new authors with enthusiasm. I have been honored to see Tomato Girl reviewed on so many blogs and to be invited to particpate in this growing and dynamic community. I may never have a knack for sales, but I am deeply grateful to all the generous and hardworking book bloggers who seek out books by new writers and then do what they do best: spread the word.

Jayne Pupek is the author of the recently released novel, Tomato Girl (Algonquin Books), and a book of poems titled Forms of Intercession (Mayapple Press). She resides near Richmond, Virginia. Visit Jayne Pupek's website to learn more about her and what she's working on now.

I'd like to thank Jayne Pupek for agreeing to be my guest blogger today and her generosity in sending me a copy of TOMATO GIRL to read for myself. To read my review, please click here.

TLC Book Tour: Author Guest Kathleen McCleary

Today is a special day for Books & Cooks book blog. My very first author guest! I am honored to welcome the author of the very popular HOUSE AND HOME . . . Kathleen McCleary! The book was released in July and readers loved it! It's the story of Ellen Flanagan, a woman who seemingly has it all - a sexy husband, two beautiful young daughters, her own business and a house that over the years she has turned into a warm, loving home for her family. Then things happen that make it impossible to keep the house. Anyone who has loved their home, cared for it as if it were part of the family, then had to leave it, knows the heartache that can bring. When I read her book in July I simply did not want to put it down. You can read my review here. There's also a wonderful book trailer here that is worth seeing.

HOUSE AND HOME is Kathleen's first published novel and I recently asked her what changes this has brought to her life. I am pleased to welcome her to Books and Cooks!

How Life Has Changed Since I Became a Published Author


So I have to admit, I can daydream with the best of them. When I sold my first novel last year in a “pre-empt” after multiple publishers were interested, it was hard not to have some pretty big fantasies of runaway success. I saw my book atop The New York Times bestseller list for weeks on end. I envisioned a call from Julia Roberts, or Diane Lane, to say how much she loved the novel and was dying to star in a film version (with Reese Witherspoon in a rare, bad-girl role as Jordan). I perused million dollar houses online in some of my favorite places, such as Cannon Beach, Oregon and the San Juan Islands. I started contemplating which charities would make the best use of my generous donations. Now, two months after publication, here’s the reality. I’ve been lucky enough to get some fantastic publicity (rare for a first-time author) in O at Home, The New York Times, Family Circle, and USA Weekend, as well as in many terrific online sites (LHJ.com, freshfiction.com, curledup.com, and a host of terrific book blogs). But other than watching my Amazon ranking, which varies wildly from hour to hour (it’s 954! Oooh, wait a minute, now it’s 286,954!), I have no idea how well the book is selling. Hollywood has not yet called. No one has stopped me on the street to say Oh, my God, I saw your photo on the jacket of that amazing book I just read. You’re Kathleen McCleary! I’ve been visiting bookstores wherever I happen to be to see if they’re carrying the book and to offer to sign a few copies, so they’ll have autographed copies to sell. Every single bookseller has had to look me up in a database and then hunt around the store to find the book. One or two have asked me not to sign too many copies because they can’t return the autographed ones if they don’t sell. It’s humbling. The other day in Barnes & Noble I noticed the big CLEARANCE racks by the front door, with hardbound books selling for as little as $1.99. “So you realize I’m about six months away from the big sale rack here,” I said to my husband. He laughed, but it’s true. Here’s a statistic I found: More than 50,000 new fiction titles were published in the U.S. last year, which averages out to 960 a week. Yikes. And how many of those go on to become best-sellers, let alone best-sellers for more than a few weeks? And of those, how many are by first time authors? I’m willing to guess it’s just a handful. So since I became a published author, here’s what my life is like: I get up at 6:15 to get my youngest daughter up and on her way to school by seven. I try to walk with a friend for an hour after that. Then I drive my oldest to her school, and come home and write for a few hours. After that I do laundry, run errands, clean the bathroom, and perform a thousand other mundane chores before leaving to pick up my oldest at school and start the whole soccer/gymnastics/dance class car pool. I try hard not to look at my Amazon ranking. Don’t get me wrong, getting my novel published is the culmination of a life-long dream and is an accomplishment that I cherish each and every day. I LOVE having my book out there, I LOVE getting letters from people who have read it and been touched by it in some way. I’m enormously proud of the book; I’m enormously grateful for the support my husband and children have given me throughout the whole process. I’m blown away by the openness and generosity and passion of my readers. But I’m still scrubbing my kitchen floor myself, and dreaming about that house on Cannon Beach, with the views of the sun setting over the ocean.

Maybe when I sell book number two…..


Well Kathleen, I will definitely be looking for your next novel! And I would just like to thank you for taking the time to share your experience and for being my first author guest! I wish you nothing but continued success and that home on Cannon Beach! And now I'm happy to announce that Kathleen has graciously provided a copy of HOUSE AND HOME for me to give away to one lucky reader! All you have to do is leave a comment here for Kathleen. The contest will run through this Saturday (13th) at midnight (EST). The winner will be drawn at random and I'll post the results on Sunday the 14th.

You can learn more about Kathleen and HOUSE AND HOME by visiting her website at http://www.kathleenmccleary.com/ or http://www.everywomansvoice.com/. I'd like to take a moment and thank TLC Book Tours for sponsoring this event and for being so helpful to me. Be sure to look for these upcoming stops on Kathleen's tour:

Friday, September 12th - Breaking the Spine
Monday, September 15th - She Is Too Fond Of Books
Wednesday, September 17th -Caribousmom
Thursday, September 18th - Age 30 - A Year of Books
Monday, September 22nd - Booking Mama
Wednesday, September 24th -The Inside Cover
Friday, September 26th - In the Shadow of Mt. TBR

Monday, September 29th - Displaced Beach Bums