Book Review: Domino

Having read Kia Heavey’s other books, I was already a fan of her work by the time her Kindle Scout campaign was launched. Voting for Domino was a safe bet to make, and I’m glad that I did.

Domino tells the tale of a cat’s struggle to hold onto its territory and it’s purpose in the world, as those around him insist that he must change his nature and embrace the more enlightened way of doing things. This new philosophy is brought to Domino’s neighborhood by a city cat named Socrates, who allies himself with not only a dog, but an ever-growing swarm of rats who begin to infest the territories of neighborhood cats, eating their food and endangering their lives, all in the name of progress.

Others have compared this story to Animal Farm, so I won’t do that. This fable is capable of standing on its own as a reflection of the world we live in today, with the “adapt or die” mentality that so many people have preached in recent years. The story illustrates the difference between blindly giving of yourself until there is nothing left to give, and working with those who you don’t necessarily like or agree with in order to achieve a greater good.

Domino is a book that will appeal to readers of most ages. While some of the descriptions may be a little gory for very young readers (we are talking about cats and rats after all), there is nothing done in poor taste or in an attempt to sensationalize violence. The story explores themes of family and social bonds, and the priorities that must be established within those relationships. It does this without getting preachy or saccharine. Truth be told, I’m more of a dog person, but Domino had me cheering for a cat. That has to mean something. I highly recommend this book for both parents and their children. It would be a great way to start a discussion about the world we live in.

 

Domino is now available on Amazon, both in paperback and digital formats. You can find it by clicking here.

Remember to leave a review if you do read it! Reviews help authors learn from your reading experience, and they let other readers know which authors can be depended on for a good read.

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Proof Positive

The proof for my new book arrived today!

For those who aren’t hip to the lingo, a proof is the physical copy of your book that you get, so that you can check for printing errors and give the book a good look before making it available in paperback form. It has the cover art and all of that, so it’s really the first chance that you have to hold your baby book in your arms and look at what you’ve created.

There are issues with my proof. Little things that I have to fix here and there, but for the most part, I’m pretty happy with it. I chose “cream” paper instead of “white” this time, which I think was a good call. It’s easier on the eyes and looks more like the rest of the books on my shelf. I liked white paper for my other books, because I thought it seemed cleaner and crisper, but the cream feels right for this one.

In terms of font, I went with Book Antiqua this time. I know that it seems like you’d just use whichever font you happened to land on when writing a book, but it took me a while to finally settle on this one. It has a nice classic look to it. It’s easy to read. It’s not too showy.

One of the other elements that I had to put some thought into was the chapter numbers. Did I want to spell out “Chapter One” or simply put in a “1”? For this book, I opted for the simple number headers, with a drop shadow. I was worried that the shadow would look cheesy, but it actually came out pretty nice.

There are small things here and there that I need to fix. Some programs automatically add hyperlinks when you type out a URL, so I have to go through and make sure that there are no hyperlinks in the file that I’m using for the paperbacks. I also have to fix some of the wording in the copyright information. And this is why we get a proof… If you go through the process (and you don’t have “people” for this sort of thing) make sure that you look at all of the little details once you have the book in your hand. What you missed on a computer screen could look a lot more obvious on paper.

 

You can look at the paperback copy of Freedom/Hate yourself, when it goes on sale on April 19, 2016. If you’d prefer to read the digital copy, you can pre-order the book now by clicking here.

Author Profile : Erin Lale

Every so often, I hope to spotlight some of the other authors out there, both with book reviews and with author profiles. Profiles are made up of basic information about the author, giving readers the information that they need to find and follow the writer in question.

(This is the first author profile on my blog. Don’t be surprised if the format changes a bit over time)

 

Author: Erin Lale

Erin is a writer of science fiction, nonfiction, among other genres. Her latest project is a Viking-themed anthology called No Horns On These Helmets, for which she not only serves as writer (along with several other authors), but also as the book’s editor.

Her short story, Woodencloak, appears in the book. It is the retelling of the classic Katie Woodencloak folktale.

Hear Erin talk about the her work on Freedomizer Radio’s Proof Negative on Thursday, March 17, at 8:00pm pacific time.

 

For more information on No Horns On These Helmets, CLICK HERE.

For more information on Erin Lale, visit her AUTHOR PAGE.

 

 

Five Years Earlier…

As I continue to prepare my new book, Freedom/Hate for release (pre-order your copy today!), I have had some old friends stopping by for a visit in my head.

Five years ago this month, I sat down to begin writing Starlette (purchase your copy today!). It’s hard to tell whether I should feel as though it were only yesterday, or if it feels like a hundred years have passed since then. Either way, it was an exciting time for me.

The story began, oddly enough, five years earlier. As I was watching the Oscars red carpet show on television, I couldn’t help but get annoyed with the actors that I was listening to. The way they spoke about their films being “important” irritated me. They acted as though they were saving the world by making movies.

Interior Design (aka A Journey into the Abyss)

I’ve been thinking that I should use this blog as something more than what it’s been. This shouldn’t be too hard, since it hasn’t been much of anything.

What I’ve decided to try and do is document more of my writing/publishing process. This will be less for the enjoyment of you readers (since it will probably be boring), and more about me documenting my writerly struggles, so that my family will know that I don’t just watch funny kitten videos all day. (which I don’t do, because I’m a dog person)

Some of these blog entries will be more interesting than others. At the moment, I’m not building any worlds or having fun with characters. Today, I’m trying to format the print edition of my new book, Freedom/Hate.

(the Kindle version of Freedom/Hate will be released on April 19! Pre-order your copy today by clicking on this link!)