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November 2020

Google Books?

We’ve been talking about libraries of free images, now we’re going to introduce you to a library of free digitized books.

Since 2004, Google has partnered with libraries and publishers around the world to preserve books and make the information accessible to people everywhere. To date there are more than 40 million titles scanned.

False Flag – Chapter 2

By Jay Barrett

I awoke two hours later than usual at 8:30 a.m. The light, brightening off-white plaster walls of my bedroom, announced the coming of another day. The ancient steam radiator of this century-old red brick building hissed loudly, slaving to push the room temperature above sixty. Weak sunlight, contributing no heat, slid through the gaps of lowered shades covering windows that faced Boston Harbor. Half asleep, I reached over to Ellen’s side of the bed, then remembered why she wasn’t with me, and sighed.

Canadian Thanksgiving

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving, too. We’re very “Please” and “Thank you” people. We have turkey and sides (sometimes we call them “fixin’s”) and people travel from all over to be at the family’s gathering spot. But that’s where most of the similarities end.

KDP Reports in a Nutshell

Amazon/KDP Reports used to be very confusing. With the arrive of KDP DASHBOARD, Amazon tried to make the reports more transparent, but they still need some explanation.

BTW, KDP stands for Kindle Direct Publishing. It is the publishing arm of Amazon and where you will find all your sales information.

Let’s try to make them more understandable.

Early Education

Early Education
An excerpt from “Family Tales from Tehran” by Manijeh Badiozamani

When I was four, I had a brief and unsuccessful encounter with something my parents called “kindergarten.” I have no idea how long I attended—perhaps a week or two—and then they stopped sending me. I have only one memory from this period.

Two Horses

The Horse Thieves

By John W Prince
He stood there, leaning heavily on the rusty bicycle, pointing west on the eastbound road toward Russia; rags wrapped around the wheels of the contraption where rubber tubes and tires should be; ragged, dirty, hungry and exhausted; outside the broken fence of their burned-out farmhouse.

“Guten Morgen,” he said softly, as if asking a question.

Indie Author Project

Indie Authors in Your Local Library
If you’re an Indie author, you know how hard it is to market your book and get it in a library collection.

Now public libraries have gotten together and created The Indie Author Project. Authors are able to submit their e-book directly to their local public library to then be vetted by industry editorial partners and regional library editorial boards. Being selected by these curators can lead to expanded discovery, distribution, and networking opportunities.

Whoever Said History Was Boring

Whoever said history was boring? Our forefathers used urine to tan animal skins, so families would pee in a pot. Once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive, you were, “piss poor.” But worse than that were the really poor folks who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot. They “didn’t have a pot to piss in” and were considered the lowest of the low.

Only a Month Until the Competition Deadline

The 2021 Hallard Press Covid-19 Short Story Competition kicked off November 1 and entries will be accepted until December 15, 2020. The top five short stories (curated by the Hallard Press judging team) will run in the publisher’s online Breakfast Serial feature starting with the January 22, 2021 issue.

Do I Need to Copyright My Book?

Well, no, Maybe? This is a question we get all the time. And the final answer is a lawyerly “Maybe.” Here’s how it works. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (better known as the “Berne Convention” because it was originally signed in Berne, Switzerland and has been amended several times …

Do I Need to Copyright My Book? Read More »

Bookstore Scent Powers Powells

Overtones of old books with hints of wood, leather and glue. West coast bookstores, Powell’s, has happened upon a new product for bibliophiles—“Powell’s by Powells.” According to reports by CNN they have developed a unisex perfume that “creates an atmosphere ripe with mood and possibility, invoking a labyrinth of books; secret libraries; ancient scrolls; and …

Bookstore Scent Powers Powells Read More »

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