Interview: Read an E-Book Week Founder, Rita Toews

Please welcome today Read an E-Book Week founder, Rita Toews!

She’s VERY excited about next week and the growth of E-books. In addition to founding this event and running the website – Read an E-Book Week - Rita is also an author. So she has a lot going on in her life!

So I thank her for answering a few questions for me…

Read an E-Book Week! Give us some details about this event!

Read an E-Book Week is an officially recognized week dedicated to informing the public about the pleasures and benefits of e-books and electronic reading in all its forms. Anyone with an interest in the industry has the opportunity to promote their particular area of expertise through the website, and/or any other event they wish to hold under the banner of Read an E-Book Week. A promotional event may include making arrangements for a segment on internet radio, an interview on a tv or radio talk show, planning a library display or scheduling a reading of an e-book at a school. One great idea would be a reading challange. Anyone willing to start one?

The companies and individuals on our partners page have become involved as their resources direct. Authors and publishers have either committed a free e-book or a number of e-books. Some individuals are contributing essays and blog reports. Warren Adler wrote a fine article and is donating a free book and story. Gogreereade.com provided traffic allowance upgrading so the site doesn't crash under traffic. ePublishers Weekly has an entire page on their website about reading e-books.

You can visit Read an E-Book Week at Read an E-Book Week

Why did you launch Read an E-Book Week? Give us the humble beginnings…

In 2004, when I launched Read an E-Book Week, people didn't understand e-books so the industry was regarded with suspicion - even snubbed. Authors who released their books in electronic format weren't taken seriously. Many promotional doors were closed to them. I hoped that a registered event that celebrated e-books would give authors some degree of "legitimacy" when they approached promotional venues. Now they could say "I'm available for an interview during Read an E-Book Week", or "I'm willing to set up a library display for Read an E-Book Week". When the tv station or library checked, Read an E-Book Week was an actual registered event. It was a slow start, but in the past few years e-books have really taken off - especially this past year. E-book sales in the educational sector have increased 400% over last year.

Who are some of the biggest partners for this event?

There are many recognizable names on the partners page of our website. One big name in the arts world stands out - author and playwright Warren Adler. Movie-goers will remember the movie from his novel The War of the Roses, directed by Danny DeVito and staring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Mr Adler has written a great article on our main page and is donating a book and short story. E Ink has been wonderfully supportive, as has Sony. Gogreenreade.com donated the funds needed to upgrade our site traffic so it wouldn't crash under heavy use. We appreciate everyone who has contributed, or would have liked to contribute. For some their business is technology - pretty had to make that tangible! Blogger such as yourself are incredibly valuable to Read an E-Book Week since they get the word out about e-books.

How are books selected for the website’s store?

I wanted to bring visitors to the site so I selected the bestsellers from Amazon.com Once people are on the site they are able to see other vendors featured on the same page who carry wonderful niche-market books, free books, and books from small presses. I've tried to contact the bookstores for reading devices other than Kindle but its incredibly hard to reach anyone other than technical help at most e-book reader book stores.

Book returns are a big problem with the industry, both financially and environmentally. E-Books obviously eliminate this problem, but digital printing has had an impact as well. What are your thoughts on digital printing?

Digital printing is definitely an improvement over mass production of books that end up being used as window dressing for book stores and then returned to the printer. The quality of the book may be slightly lower, but at least the book was produced for a prospective sale rather than speculation of a sale.

Most people still like to hold a physical book. How soon do you see that changing? Or will there be room for both mediums?

E-book readers have really evolved. With e-ink technology the screen image is almost a replication of reading on paper. Also, I think people are becoming more aware of the environment. Paper comes from trees, and the process of turning trees into paper is highly polluting. I see people's attitudes about reading e-books - or reading electronically - changing. And I definitely see that there is room for both digital and print books. Some books that just don't cut it as e-books. Books for babies that are made on cloth for instance, or art books. Those beautiful coffee-table style books are a joy to hold and read. But I think the genre books do very well as electronic books, as do product manuals, and a doctor's
pharmacopeia. I know several doctors who can't be even surgically removed from their PDAs.

Then, of course, there's the matter of travellers who want to bring a lot of books along on vacation. What could be better than loading 5 or so on to an e-book reader and setting off to Spain?

Do you have an E-Book reader? Or do you read on your computer?


I have not one but TWO e-book readers. The first one I acquired was a Hiebook. I loved it because it had a light so I could read in bed without disturbing my husband. The light, unfortunately, caused a huge drain on the battery, and the reader only supported the .kml format. I now own a new Sony reader and love the clarity of the screen. It's easy to download books to it and I forget I'm reading an e-book.

I don't read books on my computer. My favorite reading position seems to be lying down - rather hard to do with a computer!

From an author’s standpoint, has your book’s availability as an E-Book increased sales?

My e-books were always e-books, never available in print. My print published book (Body Traffic) was not released as an e-book. I do know that my e-book revenue has surpassed my print book revenue - so that says something. My website (I write with a co-author) is at: Domokos

Finally, tell us a little bit about your Bully books!

I have several anti-bully books for children. The Bully was first released as a free download because I thought the information was important enough to be available to everyone. I soon began to get calls and emails asking for the book in print. "We need to hand it to the parents," the callers said. When I received an order for several hundred copies I decided to provide it in print. To date The Bully: A Discussion and Activity Story is in schools throughout Canada and the U.S. It has been shipped to Tasmania, Australia and England. It is used by schools, police departments, several mental health facilities and service groups.

In e-book format I provide Why Me? - an anti-bully book for teen girls, and Bullying-A Parent's Primer for parents.

You can visit my bully books site at : The Bully Book

And the last word, Rita…?

If you've never tried reading an e-book - give it a try. If you have in the past and didn't take to the reader, try a new Sony reader. The e-ink screen makes reading an e-book a pleasure.

And now for something completely different...

Jamieson Wolf was my guest on Thursday – thanks so much, Jamieson!
http://www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com/

If you haven’t discovered your role model, you need to head over to Marvin’s site:
http://inspiritandtruths.blogspot.com/2009/03/who-is-your-role-model.html

Donna McDine posted a writing contest:
http://donna-mcdine.blogspot.com/2009/03/contest-write-what-inspires-you.html

Angela Breidenbach will be my guest Sunday. She is an awesome person!
http://godusesbrokenvessels.blogspot.com/

Pete Masterson's site has great book production tips:
http://www.aeonix.com/

In other news, the Dallas Cowboys finally released Terrell Owens!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/wires/03/05/2020.ap.fbn.cowboys.to.cut.3rd.ld.writethru.0349/index.html

And finally, words of wisdom from Spunky the cat:

“Take time to let down your fur and act psychotic!”

Guest Today - Author Jamieson Wolf!

Today I would like to introduce you to author Jamieson Wolf!

I ‘met’ Jamieson a few years back. He is proud to be his own person! An author and a book reviewer, I’ve still not figured out how he fits it all into his busy schedule. He loves a good book and crafts great stories himself – I’ve recommended his books to many who have loved them.

So please welcome Jamieson Wolf, author extraordinaire!

You are one of the most prolific writers I know – when do you find the time?

Well, I really don’t know.

Just kidding. I actually write every day. And I usually work on many different projects at once. I tend to get bored easily so I’m always working on at least two things. At the moment, I’m working on a memoir and a romance novel. Variety is the spice of life after all.

I just make sure that I write every day, even if I really don’t feel like it. That way, it establishes some sort of routine in my crazy life.

Explain your deep love for Stephen King!

Well, I first realized that I wanted to be a writer after reading Stephen King’s Skeleton Crew. That book scared the bejeesus out of me and, after reading it, I thought: This is what I’d love to do.

Of course it took several more years for that dream to become a reality. But it happened. Plus, he just writes so incredibly well. He writes what he wants to write and has developed his craft over time.

He is what I aspire to be. And he’s just a darn great writer. He continues to find the darker places in life that we try to ignore but that we know are there.

Talk a little about The Book Pedler – how did you get started reviewing books?

I’ve been reviewing books for years. I started reviewing books for several online review magazines before it occurred to me to start my own.

I’ve always loved reviewing books and telling others about all the great books there are to read. When I was thinking of starting my own book review site, I took a while to think about the name.

I often think of myself as a Pedler, someone that would go around selling wears or showing others new sites to see. It seemed like a great title for a book review site as that’s what I do through my reviews: tell others about great books!

You can find The Book Pelder by clicking here: http://www.thebookpedler.com/

You’re on several social networking sites – which one do you like best?

I love social networking sites. You never know who you’re going to meet or find a new way to promote yourself or your work.

Here’s a few places where you can find me out and about:

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jamiesonwolf

Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jamieson_Wolf/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Jamieson-Wolf/737780701

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jamiesonwolf

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiesonwolf

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/798401.Jamieson_Wolf

LibraryThing: http://www.librarything.com/author/wolfjamieson

Ning: http://romanceauthor.ning.com/

I know that looks like a lot, but in reality, I only use a few of them. This should tell you which one I like best.

I also love Yahoo. It enables me to have my very own newsletter/mailing list AND stay in touch with my readers for free! You can’t beat that!

I use Twitter every day, several times a day. I love the ease of it, the simplicity and the joy it brings to read about others, to connect with others, all in 140 character posts.

Facebook, well, Facebook is the devil. I go on to update my status and my virtual bookshelf and that’s it; otherwise, I’m on there for an hour.

I don’t really like Myspace; I don’t know why. I just never got into it like some other people did. Speaking of which, I should update my MySpace page….

I signed up to Linkedin to connect with others and hopefully branch out into writing other things. So far, I’m not impressed and haven’t linked up with anyone; though never say never.

I love GoodReads and LibraryThing. Both of them are book cataloguing sites where you can keep track of all the books in your library. I like LibraryThing more than GoodReads (it’s easier to use and laid out better) but both are fantastic for the book lover.

I don’t think I’ve used the Ning social network since I created it. You can have members join and what not, but I’ve never gotten the hand of it. I know some authors that swear by it so maybe I just have to give it a chance.

So in the end, Twitter, Facebook and LibraryThing are my favourites but to each their own.

You are Canadian! Born & raised?

Yes m’am! I was born in Ottawa Ontario Canada and that’s where I live now. I’ve left a few times to see the world, but always come back. For some reason, it always feels like home.

“Hunted” is out in paperback – tell us about this book!

Well, Hunted is the first book in my Hunted Series. It’s also one of my favourite books that I’ve written and I couldn’t be happier that it’s out in print! In it, we meet Susan Halliway. Here’s a bit about the novel:
Susan Halliway is desperate to change her life. But something is desperate to hunt her....
A serial killer begins to leave increasingly frightening notes for Susan after he kills each of his victims. Little girls with blond hair and bright eyes. She receives details of the killings days before the bodies are found. The trouble is, the killings match a storyline on the soap opera "Hope Falls". The storyline where Susan's old character was the final victim.
Turning to Erin Edwards, the script writer who wrote the "Hope Falls" storyline, they both try to solve the puzzle of who is killing little girls and why they've targeted Susan. Meanwhile, Derrick Madison, Susan's old flame comes back into her life.Will Derrick's flame for Susan get in the way of his police investigation? Or will Susan's lust for Derrick blind her to powerful secrets that Derrick may be withholding from her. They will need all their cunning, all their daring, if they are to reach the end of this hunt alive....

It’s got everything you could want in a thriller: Soap operas, zombies, magic, lust, love, murder, redemption and more!

You can actually learn more about The Hunted Series by visiting the web site which can be found here: http://www.thehuntedseries.synthasite.com/ And make sure to check out the free downloads!

“Valentine’s Labyrinth” – tell us a little about these romance books!

Well, I had always wanted to write romance. But I didn’t fulfil this dream until early last year when my first romance novel, Valentine, was published.

Valentine and Valentine’s Labyrinth revolve around the old myth of St. Valentine’s Day. The legend says that Valentine was an actual person who was held captive by his jailer Asterius while waiting execution.

I wanted to play around with the historical legend and wondered what would happen if Asterius and Valentine got to know each other before the events that took place. It was never meant to be a series, but Valentine’s Labyrinth followed. There is one more book planned in the series called Valentine’s Promise.

You can learn about Valentine here: http://www.valentineanovel.blogspot.com/

And Valentine’s Labyrinth here: http://www.valentineslabyrinth.blogspot.com/

Each blog has tons of freebies for you so make sure to check them out!

I’ve also got a few more romance novels out: Witches: The Written Word Book One and Finding Beauty. Silent Communication: The Written Word Book Two is being published later this year. Check out my web site at http://www.jamiesonwolf.com/ for my complete booklist.

Are you a mushy-romance kind of person?

I’d like to think so.

Though my romances tend to be hot and heavy, there is love there. Each of my characters strive for true love, ever lasting love. It mirrors what I have in my own life, to a certain degree.

So yes, I’m very much a mushy romantic at heart.

Okay, tell us about Mave and why she thinks she’s people!

Well, Mave is my thirteen-year-old Tortoiseshell Calico.

She was a stray that I took in. Someone had put a litter of kittens outside and my friend at the time found her under the porch when she went to outside to have a cigarette. She called me and I took her in and I’ve had her ever since.

I think she’s part dog, part cat and part people. She plays fetch like a dog does and has very human mood swings. She also has a very odd taste in the snacks she eats.

She doesn’t like fish, tuna, milk, cream or anything like that. Instead, she prefers lettuce, Miss Vickies Chips, shortbread, Gingersnaps, shrimp and anything we seem to be eating. Oh, her new favourite treat is yogurt, if you can believe it.

Mave is a very odd cat, but she’s my baby.

And the last word, Jamieson…?

Supercalafragalisticexpialidocious!

Just kidding. The last word would be this: If you want to write, don’t give up on your dream and don’t give up on yourself. Write every day, even if it’s just a few lines, and your dream will be achieved.

Thanks for having me Diane! You’re a pleasure as always!

* Thank YOU, Jamieson!*

Author Terri Blackstock

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing
Double Minds Zondervan (February 1, 2009)
by Terri Blackstock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Terri Blackstock hasn’t always written for the Lord. Just over a decade ago she was an award-winning secular novelist writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, and Silhouette. With thirty-two titles published and 3.5 million books in print, she found that she was miserable. The compromises she had made in her career had taken their toll on her spiritual life, and she yearned to renew her relationship with Christ.
After much soul-searching and wrestling with God, she finally told the Lord that she would never write another thing that didn’t glorify Him. Thinking she might never be published again, she began planning ways to supplement her income, while she worked on her first idea for a Christian novel.
Because she enjoyed reading suspense novels, she tried weaving a faith message into a fast-paced page-turner with ordinary people in jeopardy. When Christian publishers expressed great interest, she realized that a secondary job would not be necessary. God was paving the way for her to enter the Christian publishing world.
Since that time, she’s sold 2 million Christian novels. She has over thirty Christian titles, many of which have been number one best-sellers. Her latest book, Dawn's Light is part of her popular Restoration Series. True Light, reached number one on the Top 50 of all Christian books the first full month it was in stores. Night Light was the winner of the 2007 Retailer’s Choice Award for General Fiction. Other reader favorites include her Cape Refuge Series, her Newpointe 911 Series, her SunCoast Chronicles Series and her “Seasons” books written with co-author Beverly LaHaye.
Terri is literally a native of nowhere since she was raised in the Air Force, She makes her home in Mississippi. Terri and her husband are the parents of three adult children--a blended family which she considers one more of God's provisions.
Terri has appeared on national television programs such as “The 700 Club” and “Home Life,” and has been a guest on numerous radio programs across the country.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Struggling to succeed in the Nashville music scene, talented singer/songwriter Parker James finds the competition fierce – even deadly. A young woman’s murder, industry corruption, and a menacing stalker draw Parker into danger and intrigue. Nothing is as it appears, and unraveling the truth challenges everything Parker believes about her talent, her future, and her faith.
The young girl with the Bohemian style was on the floor where she’d fallen, between Parker's computer case and her file cabinet. She wore a long, flowing skirt—lavender, the color of calm—and camel-colored Uggs. She lay on her back, her long, wavy blonde hair matted with blood.
For struggling singer/songwriter Parker James, the music business has just turned deadly. Her desk in the reception area of a busy recording studio has become a crime scene, and Parker finds herself drawn into a mystery where nothing is as it seems.
Unraveling the truth puts her own life at risk when she uncovers high-level industry corruption and is terrorized by a menacing stalker. As the danger escalates, Parker begins to question her dreams, her future, and even her faith.
Double Minds is a double treat—combining a compelling suspense novel with an inside look at the world of the Christian music industry in Nashville. Terri Blackstock grabs readers at page one and keeps them riveted until the final plot twist is untangled.

You can preview a Book Trailer on her site HERE

If you would like to read the first chapter of Double Minds, go HERE

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310250633