Toot's Book Reviews: Interview & Giveaway : The Book by Jessica Bell (Adult Contemporary)

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Book Blurb

The Book by Jessica Bell
Publication date: January 18th 2013
Genre: Adult Contemporary (Novella)

This book is not The Book. The Book is in this book. And The Book in this book is both the goodie and the baddie.

Bonnie is five. She wants to bury The Book because it is a demon that should go to hell. Penny, Bonnie’s mother, does bury The Book, but every day she digs it up and writes in it. John, Bonnie’s father, doesn’t live with them anymore. But he still likes to write in it from time to time. Ted, Bonnie’s stepfather, would like to write in The Book, but Penny won’t allow it.

To Bonnie, The Book is sadness.
To Penny, The Book is liberation.
To John, The Book is forgiveness.
To Ted, The Book is envy.
But The Book in this book isn’t what it seems at all.

If there was one thing in this world you wished you could hold in your hand, what would it be? The world bets it would be The Book.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16233259-the-book?ac=1

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B31EQ28

Interview

What are some of the best tools available today for writers, especially those just starting out?

Definitely blogging, and all sorts of social media. Some excellent community websites to look into are:

http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/

http://writerunboxed.com/

http://www.worldliterarycafe.com/

What contributes to making a writer successful?

Persistence and stamina all the way.

Do you have any advice for writers?

Learn the rules and then break them intelligently.

What do you do to unwind and relax?

You'll always catch me reading when I go to bed. But I'm also a sucker for a great TV series. My favorites are Homeland, Grey's Anatomy, Dexter and Fringe.

When you wish to end your career, stop writing, and look back on your life, what thoughts would you like to have?

That I don't regret one minute of it.

You are also a musician. How would you describe your discography until today?

Grunge-pop, atmospheric? To be honest I have no idea. My style varies quite a lot from album to album. Bar the latest album, Melody Hill, which is the soundtrack to my novel, String Bridge, I think my music is in major need of reproduction. If only I had the money, then I could make my music sound how I hear it in my head, rather than what my wallet determines.

Do you consider yourself above all a singer/songwriter or a writer?

A writer for sure. I was born into music, so it came naturally, but writing is something I gradually learned I wanted for myself and had a strong passion to pursue.

What gives you the hardest time? Lyrics for a song or a poem?

Neither. I love to write both, and when I love something, the word “hard” does not have a place in my vocabulary.

What are the messages that you think your readers will take away after reading your books?

Take control. You are the only one who can make your life what you want it to be. Embrace the good and the bad. If you look at the bigger picture, there is no such thing as a bad experience. Believe in love and hope; if there’s a will, there’s a way.

Tell us about Vine Leaves Press … Is self-publishing the only solution?

Vine Leaves Press is my self-publishing imprint. No, self-publishing is not the only solution, but nowadays, if you’re not writing about vampires, werewolves, or paranormal activity, it’s really hard to get that big break because the Big 5 publishers are only looking for what is going to make them money. And what makes money nowadays is not the modern day F. Scott Fitzgerald. It’s logical. It’s business. But it’s not the be-all-and-end-all.

Publishing has changed so much over the past few years, and I think it's time people learn to embrace it, just like they had to embrace the digital revolution of the music industry. Independent artists are everywhere now. What people have to understand is, authors don’t self publish because they're lazy to go through the slog of submitting queries to agents, or editing their manuscripts properly, or simply out of impatience to see their work in print. Self-published authors are, in fact, some of the most motivated and tough-skinned authors I've ever known.

A lot of them, including me, have huge stories behind the reason they self publish. Stories that most people will never know about, because when someone releases a book, it's not like you can say on the blurb, "This book is self-published, but I actually once had an agent and a book deal with a Big 6 publisher, but decided to go the indie route because I felt it was better for me, both professionally and emotionally."

Or …

“This book is self-published because I spent years and years querying it, was told that the writing was great, but no agent believed they could sell it. So ... here's my book. I don't need to sell a million copies, a few hundred is enough for me. Plus it's been through so many edits after all the agent feedback, I doubt you'll be able to find one thing wrong with it."

Or …

“This book is self-published, but actually it was once traditionally published by a small press. Unfortunately they liquidated and I had to get it back on the market as quickly as possible before all my marketing efforts went to waste."

So ... I urge everyone who is skeptical about self-published works, to think about the story behind it, and the effort it's taken to get it out there, and the heartache the writer has been through to finally come to the decision to do it on their own. Self-publishing is no longer for the impatient ... it's for authors who have done everything they can before finally deciding to take their fate into their own hands.

Author Info

If Jessica Bell could choose only one creative mentor, she'd give the role to Euterpe, the Greek muse of music and lyrics. This is not only because she currently resides in Athens, Greece, but because of her life as a thirty-something Australian-native contemporary fiction author, poet and singer/songwriter/guitarist, whose literary inspiration often stems from songs she's written. Jessica is the Co-Publishing Editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal and annually runs the Homeric Writers' Retreat & Workshop on the Greek island of Ithaca. For more information, please visit her website: www.jessicabellauthor.com

Links:

Website: http://www.jessicabellauthor.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4538875.Jessica_Bell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.jessica.bell

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MsBessieBell

~Giveaway~