Enthralling, entertaining, humorous … a definite page-turner

Tags

alex smith, books

Gavin Webber of Australian blog The Greening Of Gavin has just published a rather nice review of The Aviator. Here’s the punchline:

Without giving away any more spoilers, I found the story enthralling, entertaining, humorous, chilling in places, and believable. It was also a definite page-turner. I couldn’t put it down once I started and it took me a day to finish. Normally a work of fiction would take a week or two to get through, especially then it weighs in at over 100,000 words.

It even featured goats, with magical cheese, and they even stumble upon what is left of the Heartland Institute which has a hilarious twist.

Well written, well thought through, and well edited. This book is a must read and well worth the asking price of US$4.99.

Gavin has also posted a nice (but much shorter) review at the Australian iBooks store. Thanks Gavin, and thanks also to Alex Smith at Radio Ecoshock for giving me the chance to plug the book on a recent show. You can also hear me talking about the book with Glenn Williams in the latest edition of The Climate Show (about 30 minutes in, after much discussion of this year’s dramatic meltdown in the Arctic).

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Paperback published

So I uploaded the corrected text, clicked the “submit” button, and now The Aviator is available for sale as a paperback book at the CreateSpace estore. Over the next week or two the book will start to appear at Amazon stores in North America and Europe, and also at other major retailers. I’ll provide links to every seller as they get the book onto their web stores.

The ebook is also going to be available to libraries and schools in New Zealand, Australia and the UK via Wheelers. Again, I’ll update the “Buy the book” page with details as they come to hand.

Now my focus moves to setting up reviews, interviews and general promotion for the book. More soon…

Paperback writer

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Amazon, The Aviator

Yesterday’s post included my proof copy of the paperback edition of The Aviator as printed by print-on-demand service CreateSpace – 384 pages of papery goodness, with a very fine cover. All I have to now is upload the final text file, including some last minute proof corrections, and the book will be available for purchase from a selection of internet retailers, including Amazon worldwide. I’ll post here when it’s available.

The quality of the print, binding and cover is really impressive. It feels and looks just like a paperback from a traditional print run. Print-on-demand technology has obviously made enormous advances in the last decade. Remarkable what you can do with a souped-up photocopier, a bit of glue and some sharp blades…

[The Fabs]

“A great read”

Woke up this morning and: Arthur Smith reviews The Aviator at Amazon.com, and makes a comparison that makes my day…

At times the novel reminded me of some of the ambience and free-wheeling twists and turns of Neal Stephenson’s novels – “Snow Crash” and “Anathem” particularly.

Given that I think Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon is one of the finest books (in any genre, or without one) of the last 20 years, you could say that I’m chuffed.

Square-eyed but bushy-tailed

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Amazon, Apple, Createspace, Limestone Hills, Smashwords, The Aviator

Square-eyed but bushy-tailed: not some strange mammal, but the state of your author after completing the layout of the printed version of The Aviator. The last time I dug down into the innards of InDesign to create anything more ambitious than a leaflet was back in the days of The Truffle Book, in 2005, and much re-learning and concentration was required. But it’s done. 384 pages of 11 point Garamond text, with Dylan’s artwork wrapped around it to create a package that will go on sale just as soon as I get a proof copy and pass it for publication. Pricing will be US$15, £9.50, €11.50 at Amazon, CreateSpace and other retailers.

Meanwhile, the ebook is gradually spreading out amongst retailers through Smashwords. The latest additions are Apple’s various iBooks stores. There are lots of them, but here are direct links to The Aviator in iBooks USA, UK, and Australia.

Don’t forget that you can download the first three and half chapters (more than 10,000 words!) as a free sample from Amazon or Smashwords. I’ll also have samples in various formats available from Limestone Hills before too long. Don’t delay, dip in today…