Twelve years later!

So, here it is the day before the twelfth anniversary of the worse terrorist attack on American soil ever and the second year since my novel DROP OUT was published. DROP OUT ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U ) examines the tragedy left behind for the survivors and how one man copes with his incredible loss. In honorarium, I do not market or promote this book on that date.

People deal with loss in all kinds of ways. Some may blame themselves for not doing enough to help the person in need. Some get depressed and angry over the situation. And some give up on life completely and hide themselves away in isolation.

That is the predicament of the main character in this powerful novel. It is who this character meets and how she helps him overcome his tragic loss and debilitating depression and anger that makes this book so special and why it has garnered nearly two dozen five star reviews from all over the world on Amazon. Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo have many more five star reviews.

What makes this book so special is how life affirming it is. I received more than a dozen emails a day (on average) every day from readers who have been affected by the story. I’m not looking to get rich (if I was I’d price it a lot higher than $1.99) I just want readers to understand how precious our mortal time on this planet is. Feedback I’ve gotten is worth more than any amount of money (though money is always nice).

Please take a look at the sample chapters and check out the reviews, one of which was placed just yesterday. If you think the book can help you please read it. It may just change your life.

***

5.0 out of 5 stars Humbling Tale, September 9, 2013

By 

Bea - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase (What's this?)

This review is from: Drop Out (Kindle Edition)

This is a quick read, but there's a lot in this powerful story. The setup to the story requires reliving the horrible events of 9/11, but this is a tale of initial despair and subsequent rebirth.

Time, love, loss, afterlife, hope......all are skillfully woven into the story. Nathan's selfless support of Miriam, Mariam's young words of wisdom for Nathan; touching and moving (not sappy and cheesy), this story will make you think and feel. It reinforces my personal beliefs but despite your worldview, the book is humble and thoughtful.

Rewarding read.

Dog days

If you follow this blog you know I've recently acquired a rescue dog, part beagle/part ?. He is a good dog, friendly, gentle, and quiet; as I've mentioned before, a good writers dog. However, I have notice my writing productivity has nosedived since this animal entered my life.

Is that a good thing?

The past few years I’ve spend nearly half my day, almost every day in front of my computer. I’ve missed out on beautiful sunny afternoons and long hikes in the woods. I’ve spent hours marketing and promoting my books while my friends headed out for evenings of fun. I’ve missed out on quite a bit trying to achieve this dream of writing for a living.

But has it all been worth it?

This new dog of mine is showing me that there is more to life than writing (I know, sounds crazy). By needing my attention he has forced me to leave my solitude and actually go for walks and car rides. This dog won’t allow me to spend the beautiful days holed up inside. In just two short weeks this dog has shown me what may be more important than writing.

Enjoying life.

Reviews speak for themselves

DROP OUT http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U continues to pull in five star reviews from all over the world and I’m still getting an average of ten to fifteen emails a day from readers telling me how much the story has affected them. It took a powerful experience such as watching my friend die quickly from cancer to have forged such an intense and emotional story. Though the actual plot of the story is fiction, I’m continually getting notes from people asking if I really went through what happens in the story.

Like all good fiction the story is based on actual events but the details are imaginary. As a writer, I try and capture the human experience with words and when I’ve done it properly (as I believe in the case of this book) the reward is beyond material.

As I finish my latest book (a dystopian sci-fi) I’m gearing up to start another literary fiction. Unlike DROP OUT, this new novel will deal with what happens right after you die, not the emotions prior, as is the case with DROP OUT. We are all curious about what happens when we pass away. Though I do have a brief outline written I’m excited to see where this concept will lead and what plots will develop. I’m planning on the novel taking nine months to write.

Until then, here is another five star review for DROP OUT recently placed on Amazon. Please read the book. It will affect you. To learn more about me and my books please check out my blog: ALWAYS WRITING 

Click here to read my blog!

http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com

*******

5.0 out of 5 stars Drop Out, August 31, 2013

By 

E M Bahnsen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drop Out (Kindle Edition)

This was an interesting and unique story, fast paced, heart pounding, with realistic and well-rounded characters that hit home.

The hero Nathan Cruz, a Philadelphia Phillies fan, survived that horrific day on 09/11/2001 in New York City. He is able to save other's lives, except those that mean the most to him: his pregnant fiancé and both parents in Tower Two. He is badly scarred - physically and emotionally - and lost...so he drops out of society.

Ten years' later, Nathan lives a solitary life on an old boat, growing his own herbs, and fishing for his own meals in the Florida Keys. His only companion is a chicken who lives on the boat with him.

Nathan doesn't seek shelter when a Hurricane is approaching. He has nothing to live for anyway. Despite his boat being destroyed and losing what few possessions he owned, he survives. He meets the only other human being brave enough to stay behind.

Miriam has her own heart-wrenching story and only days to share it with Nathan. She enables Nathan to embrace his physical scars, to care again, to feel again, to love again. For ten years, Nathan lived in the darkness of his survival guilt. Within two days, Miriam helps Nathan to see the lightness of life.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U

Freddie

August has been a rough month for my creativity and output. It seems that every day there’s another distraction that keeps me from my craft. There are family obligations, work obligations, friend obligations, and now dog obligations.

Yup, just got a dog the other day. He’s a rescue dog from a shelter, so I feel like I’ve saved a life. How does a serious writer such as myself go about picking the right dog? Well, first of all it had to be an older dog. Training and disciplining puppies can takes weeks away from my everyday schedule of morning writing and marketing in the afternoon. It had to be a quiet dog, for obvious reasons. It had to be housebroken, for obvious reasons. And it had to be gentle and sweet, for obvious reasons.

With a little luck and a lot of research, I welcomed Freddie the puggle into my home. As I sit here writing this post, Freddie is lounged-out in front of my office door bathing in the golden sunlight coming through the glass. He is a good, quiet, gentle writer’s dog. As I watch him twitch and quiver with dreams, I can only imagine, as years go by, how many novels I will write with Freddie at my side. Perhaps, he may even inspire one or two. Good boy, Freddi. Good boy.

Yes, marketing works!

I’ve been reading a lot of threads and forums lately dealing with the topic of marketing your book. It seems there are a lot of “newbies” out there in this relatively virgin explosion of indie publishing and many can’t understand why their book isn’t selling. When asked if they market and promote their books most say yes, but complain that they have limited time, maybe a few hours a week.

These authors wonder why they have little or no sales. Well, here’s a hard truth. To be a successful indie author you have to market your books as much if not more than you spend time writing them. It takes a lot of work to get noticed in a publishing sea that now includes a million new published books yearly. Competition to get readers’ attention is ten times harder than it was just three years ago. But it is not impossible.

With the internet, the exhaustive task of promoting is now accessible to even the most introverted writer. No longer must writers sit in nearly empty bookstores peddling their signed wares or go out on long book tours just to get a little recognition, that recognition can now be achieved at home. It can be done. You can get noticed. But it ain’t easy.

Internet marketing does sell books. I’m living proof. A complete unknown two years ago, since then I’ve sold thousands of books to absolute strangers. I also spend an average of two hours a day marketing. It’s tough to find the time, believe me, but I do it. I used to pay for sponsorships with mediocre results and placed samples of my books on all those hundreds of author sites that promise tons of exposure. They worked to some degree, but not worth the hours of drudgery downloading in comparison to sales. Then I discovered the secret to gaining an audience.

Blindly spamming and pushing your book over and over on social media only turns readers off. You come off seeming desperate for anyone to buy your book. The proper way to promote is to build a readership through online book discussions and joining groups. Respond when a reader emails you. Get involved in discussions other than about your own work. Get people interested in you by being interesting online. Your audience will grow in time. It will! Yes, marketing on the internet will sell your book, but you have to do it properly. And have patience, if you can tell a great story the readers will find out about you.

To read more about me and my books please check out my blog: ALWAYS WRITING 

Click here to read my blog!

http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com