Wednesday, September 7, 2011

My Novel 'Stray' Gets A Little Love and A Second Edition. 'The Jade Rabbit' Gets A Shout Out

A dear blogger posted on the importance and role of books in our lives, and included The Jade Rabbit. Here's the link: New Authors Blog

But then there's my first born. Stray is my first baby, and as all parents know, we learn a ton with our first.  There are some things we would have done differently, but the experience of creation is a miracle, the nurturing moments are so powerful they leave imprints on us everywhere we go, so how could you have it any other way.

The novel is sweet and full of compassion and redemption, but deals with some raw, edgy, and ravaging moments.  (By the way, the whole novel is true, it just all happened in different order, all of it to different people at different moments, so pretty much nobody is recognizable.  Well, all of it is true except the ending, that was made up.  But even if it isn't true, doesn't mean it didn't happen.)

So, I had seen the novel as kind of an endearing and rockin' garage band that may not sound good in your car but sure is powerful when you feel its energy.  Well, after a few comments and reviews from readers about me sending my baby out into the world without the proper attire, I decided to make some changes, and a second edition is now available. Thanks to my friend Katy from Goodreads, it has been proof-read and cleaned up, and the new version is now available on amazon, smashwords, and should appear soon on Barnes and Noble and in the paperback version.

And just in time, Stray is getting a little love at the following blog: Kandes Book Reviews by the mad tiger reader Kandes.

Yes, I copied and pasted a small quote below, but please click and look at her other reviews. Kandes reads books like I eat licorice:

"My favorite character in this book was Rachel. I'm a huge huge huge animal lover (I have 2 chihuahuas and 1 retriever mix myself) and I just loved the scenes that were set in the animal shelter. And I really felt her pain when she had to euthanize these poor poor creatures that did nothing wrong other then be around these horrible people that use and abuse these animals. I really don't know how people can handle euthanizing them, they must be so strong.

Overall, I highly recommend this story, although I don't recommend it for kids under 18 due to the graphic nature of the drug use and slight sex scenes from what I remember."

In honor of the new edition, and a new paperback cover, look for a paperback giveway on Goodreads soon. Option two: if you send me an email to xmarkm@yahoo.com, I will give the first three callers a coupon for a free ebook download on smashwords.  Well, the first three emailers, but you get the drill.
Thanks!

1 comment:

Katy S said...

thanks, Mark - it was nice to work on, even if I had a REALLY hard time with the portions that dealt with the animals; kept having to stop and be all sad ... :-) Remember to send me a signed copy of the paperback when you can ... ;-)

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