Lela Michael | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Pest on the Run by Gerry Burke

Spoofs are a serious business in literature, particularly when murder is involved. Pulling off a send-up of hard-boiled detective and spy novels is like singing badly on purpose – it ain’t as easy as it looks.

This volume of fifteen short stories, the third in a related series by Australian writer Gerry Burke, provides the reader with everything the crime spoof genre has to offer. Burke’s writing style is terse, the read is quick and no one is bothered by any pesky Oxford commas in these fifteen short stories.

Our narrator is Patrick Pesticide, aka Paddy Pest, a self-referenced ‘discount […]

Lela Michael2014-05-06T22:28:20+02:00April 8th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Short Stories|

Review: The Puddingstone Well by William Westhoven

Glancing at the cover of this book we know right off the bat something is up with that well. There are too many historical writings about fountains of youth to count, not to mention the legendary island of Avalon and utopian villages such as Shangri-La. In The Puddingstone Well, the second novel from William Westhoven, variations of these myths are indeed relied upon, but with a contemporary spin. In the Prologue to Part One, the phrase “what history does not recall” lets us know this is Westhoven’s tale for the telling.

Our first protagonist is a freelance writer for […]

Lela Michael2019-01-22T07:12:18+02:00December 20th, 2012|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Mystery|

Diary in the Dark: A Whirlwind Self-Publishing Story

A former mobile disc jockey, voiceover artist and Crazy Eddie store manager, William Westhoven was a full-time journalist from 1989 to 2011, when he fell victim to newspaper industry-wide layoffs. Since then, he has switched to fiction, writing and self-publishing novels. One-Hit Willie, a historical novel that covers 50 years of music in America, was released in December of 2011. The Puddingstone Well, a contemporary mystery-fantasy, was released on October 26, 2012, three days before Superstorm Sandy hit the Jersey Shore.

Westhoven began writing his personal account of surviving the storm just three days after getting power restored […]

Lela Michael2012-12-12T13:58:28+02:00December 12th, 2012|Categories: Interviews, Lead Story|

Review: The Life and Times of Car Johnson by Rebekah Webb

The Life and Times of Car Johnson by Rebekah Webb is a comedic biography of a fictional character. One could almost say my reading experience of this book was a trip.

The book is presented in first-person, as though the character is dictating. During the first few chapters, I thought I was reading a transcript of a stand-up routine. In the beginning I was thinking, this is decently written comedy but when does the story begin? Surely a “life and times” includes a story?

I hung in with the book because the material has a flow. I felt I was […]

Lela Michael2020-02-21T06:29:53+02:00November 27th, 2012|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Humor|

Interview: Fantasy Author Melissa McPhail on the Use of Languages

Melissa McPhail is a classically trained pianist, violinist and composer, a Vinyasa yoga instructor, and an avid Fantasy reader. A long-time student of philosophy, she is passionate about the Fantasy genre because of its inherent philosophical explorations. For this interview, we focus on the author’s selection and use of languages in creating a world for her fantasy series, A Pattern of Shadow & Light. Our story is set in the mythical realm of Alorin, three centuries after a massive war which almost wiped out an entire race called the Adepts.

SELF-PUBLISHING REVIEW: In my SPR review of Cephrael’s Hand[…]

Lela Michael2014-05-06T10:00:10+02:00July 13th, 2012|Categories: Interviews, Lead Story|

Self-Publishing News: E-Lending, Big Deals, Book Pirates

In this roundup: As recently discussed here at SPR, we are inching closer to the day when self-published eBooks will be stocked by libraries. Consider using your author platform to promote your local library’s eBook lending policy and make friends with your local library ahead of time. Also, is landing a publishing deal for your self-published book one of your big dreams? Plus, tips on how to know if your eBook has been pirated, and what you can do if it happens.

Two items from TeleRead regarding eBooks and libraries. First, “ALA OITP releases backgrounder document on eBooks […]

Lela Michael2012-07-11T08:28:23+02:00July 11th, 2012|Categories: News, Resources|Tags: Book Promotion|

In Search of Free Images for Blog Posts and Book Covers

Whatever your budget, chances are you could do with a few free photos for your author blog or even your book’s cover. This article explores several websites offering the use of royalty-free images at no cost to you. You also need to familiarize yourself with different types of licensing when using royalty-free images.

DON’T GET SUED

Before you download an image from anywhere, including the websites discussed in this article, be aware that there are rules, regulations, and laws governing the licensing and use of images found on the Internet. Improperly (translation: illegally) using a photo on your blog […]

Lela Michael2012-07-10T13:19:47+02:00July 10th, 2012|Categories: Lead Story, Resources|

Time Management for Authors: Arguing the Case

Who do you talk to more on social media, your readers or other authors? Do you spend more time online than you do writing? How much of your online time is devoted to arguing about the “future of publishing”?

At Digital Book World’s Expert Publishing Blog, Bob Mayer writes in his post The Great Publishing Wars of 2012:

I think there is a tipping point in social media for authors. Where it begins to detract rather than attract. Where you are turning more people off than you are being of interest to. Especially if you are on one

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Lela Michael2012-07-09T07:22:52+02:00July 9th, 2012|Categories: Member Blog|