Magical Matthew

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Two New Reviews up on Amazon!

5.0 out of 5 stars A cute and imaginative book for children, December 10, 2013

Shannon V. Brown (Dublin, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Magical Matthew (Paperback)

Magical Matthew is a really cute and imaginative children’s book that teaches children the value of helping, sharing and friendship in a fun way. It shows that being disabled doesn’t matter when it comes to true friendship and it’s important to do the best you can to help people out. Children will wish they had magical abilities like Matthew and will learn to tap into some magic of their own.
*****

5.0 out of 5 stars Children will love it!, November 26, 2013

B. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Matthew (Hardcover)

This is the kind of book that kids are drawn to. Matthew has magical powers which help him fix things. However, his magic does have limits, and Matthew has to learn how to use his secret power responsibly. But Matthew has his good friend Lily, who helps him learn about caring and the importance of doing good deeds. The story is short and simple, with great characters and an important message to kids. The ending has that sweet sadness that we all experience while watching our little ones transition from one stage of childhood to another. Both my 5-year-old and my 8-year-old loved it. Overall, a wonderful book.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

My Wonderful Weeks of Magical Awards, Book Sales, and Signings

I've had a wonderful couple of weeks! November 20-22nd, I went to Miami to receive my Bronze Medal for Magical Mathew! I met some lovely authors and went to the huge Miami International Book Fair. There were some lovely speakers (see 11/26/13 post). Here are the official photos:

When I returned from Miami, it was a rush to get ready for Thanksgiving (overcooked the pie and stopped up the drain with potato peelings!) Still, we had a wonderful family gathering at my brother's.

Then it was the Black Friday weekend Book Sales and Signing with the Fremont Area Writers Club. I sold MagMatt and MagMea books every day!

Today was the icing on the cake:
I received my Creative Child Magazine Kids' Holiday Gift edition and found that Magical Mea won a Preferred Choice Award from Moms and Educators!

Then I received an email that Magical Mea won a Fall 2013 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award from NABE! Woo hoo!

What a great couple of weeks!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Received my Bronze Medal for "Magical Matthew" at the Readers' Favorite Awards Ceremony

I just returned from the Readers' Favorite Awards Ceremony and the Miami International Book Fair! There I received my Bronze Medal for Magical Matthew and was also acknowledged for Magical Mea being a finalist, too! It was very exciting to be there and meet other award winning writers who were also being honored.

We had the opportunity to hear some great talks on marketing:
1) Find the audience for your book and pursue it relentlessly. Sell yourself, sell your stories.
2) Make your presentations fun and memorable. Tell them something new. Share. Joke. Sell.
3) Dress up in costume, if appropriate. Have a memorable image, gimmick, showcase.
4) Volunteer as a speaker to community organizations (libraries, service clubs, churches, schools, book clubs, parent groups, etc ).
5) Become well-known. You = your product; brand yourself. (T-shirts, stuffed animals, dolls, hats?)

How to pursue adapting your book for a movie or TV show:
1) When writing your book try to make it "cinematic," with 3 Act structure and castable characters.
2) Find out who wants/needs movies/TV shows with your theme/subject; communicate marketabilty.
3) Know your target audience and how to connect with them; have significant readership.
4) Write a great two page synopsis of your vision; be persistent, but not a pest; be passionate.
5) Set realistic goals. One no just means it's not right for that producer/film company; be gracious.

And the future of the independent author and publisher.
1) Market to the right publisher for your genre and audience.
2) Investigate self-publishing as a viable alternative with growing interest, audience, and respect.
3) Be smart with marketing and PR; find your audience and market to them.
4) Know the business side of writing (budget, design, pricing, marketing/PR, outsourcing, website).

All were short presentations, but interesting, supportive, and inspiring. It made me want to go back next year. But then I'll have to enter another book by May 1st, 2014!

Here I am at the Miami International Book Fair where our award winning books were displayed.

Here I am with Debra Gaynor, Founder of the Readers' Favorite Awards Program.
We'll get the official photo of the medal being awarded on December first and I'll post that, too. And now it's back to work on the next book!
Readers' Favorite Winner: Bronze Medal 2013

Readers' Favorite Winner: Bronze Medal 2013

Friday, November 1, 2013

November 2013 - Guardian-Angel-Kids.com/ - Free Online Interactive Magazine for Kids: It Must Be Magic!

Published by Guardian Angel Publishing:

http://Guardian-Angel-Kids.com/

Free Online Magazine.

BOOK FEATURE- The Magic Violin

POEM- It Must Be Magic by Robert Niven;

SHORT STORIES-A Fairy’s Flight for Firefly Freedom by Shari L. Klase; Magic Mud for Sale by Billie A Williams; A Different Kind of Magic by Felicity Nisbet;

NON-FICTION ARTICLES; The True Magic of Nicholas Flamel by Donna Marie West; Open Sesame–Is it Magic? Christine Collier

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Magical Matthew translated into Spanish - Mágico Mateo

Magical Matthew has been translated into Spanish and is up on the Guardian Angel Publishing website as Mágico Mateo!

Here is the link to see the first two pages and to order from GAP:

http://guardianangelpublishing.com/magmateo.htm

It should soon be up on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other quality online book sellers.

If you can't wait for Amazon, you can buy the softcover and ebook editions from GAP.