Bernard Jan's Blog - Posts Tagged "amazon"

Ghost Flight by Bear Grylls

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Ever heard of Bear Grylls? I truly hope so, because this former soldier in the British Special Forces, the youngest ever Chief Scout to the UK Scout Association and an honorary Colonel to the Royal Marine Commandos is also an adventurer, writer and television presenter. His Facebook bio says that “Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure.”

I first heard about Bear Grylls seven years ago when I was on my vacation visiting my friends in Sweden and we watched his Ultimate Survival (also known as Born Survivor/Man vs. Wild) on the Discovery Channel. Needless to say that Bear Grylls captured my attention on the spot, that I wanted to see more of him, making me check for him online immediately after returning home to Croatia.

I loved the concept of his show in which he was left stranded with his crew in an unfamiliar wilderness – rainforests, glaciers, deserts, islands, to name just a few – with only one goal: to survive and find his way back to civilization.

The similar pattern follows his entertaining and exciting thriller Ghost Flight. Packed with action, adventure, beautiful landscapes of the remote Amazon jungle where lies hidden a mysterious WWII warplane, Ghost Flight guarantees to keep even the most demanding fans of this genre glued to its pages. It is so easy to picture Bear Grylls, an ex-soldier and a survivor, as an ex-soldier Will Jaeger, also a leader of a team of former elite warriors in their quest to uncover the mystery of the hidden warplane and the secret of Nazi evil forces (Wir sind die Zukunft) that lie buried in it.

I am a sucker for WWII novels and I am a sucker for Amazon rainforest. When those two are combined, you have an explosive reading before you. You are drinking up a cocktail made of ghosts from not so recent past, to majority of people almost forgotten, but the ghosts which are patiently waiting for their moment of the rise of the new Reich, and a pristine nature beaming with both beautiful and deadly life.

Ghost Flight is a successful debut novel with interesting and well-developed characters, full of action, twists and turns and gripping moments. It is also a very detailed novel which probably might not help us in a fight against the rise of a new Reich if it comes to it, but it could very well serve us as a survival guide in a primeval rainforest if we ever find ourselves in our personal mission under the canopy of magnificent trees where neither evil Nazis nor modern-day humans got to leave their destructive imprint.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



View all my reviews

The Unofficial Authors Guide To Buying And Selling Your Book On Amazon: The Top 5 Cheat Sheet by Richard McCartney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Indie authors, pay attention! The Unofficial Authors Guide To Buying And Selling Your Book On Amazon: The Top 5 Cheat Sheet by Richard McCartney is something you might want to grab a hold on.

I can't remember how and where I got a free copy of this booklet, but I am glad I got it. It is a timely read for me because I am learning and gathering information on how to self-publish my first novella A World Without Color—a true story about my cat Marcel, in English. Besides, I don't think you care why I lost track of it in the flood of free e-books I've got recently, probably as a gift for submitting my email (somewhere).

The Unofficial Author's Guide To Selling Your Book On Amazon is a small and a fast read but very useful, informative and explosive too! Some advice thoroughly described in 5 + 1 cheat sheets I won't implement because it's not me. Nonetheless, learning about how Amazon functions and what you can do—if you decide for it—to get more visibility and ultimately become a best-selling and hot stuff author on Amazon was altogether an enlightening experience.

Richard McCartney had his saying. What I want to tell you is to consider getting that booklet, read it and see which tactics and tricks you will or will not use to help improve the ranks of your book. Be cautious, though, some of them might backfire at you! The author warns you, do take care with such “black hat” tricks, so be careful what you wish for.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!



View all my reviews
Bernard Jan

I planned it for weeks and it came almost overnight!

Amazon approved it and my novella A World Without Color is finally available for pre-order! This means you can order it for a symbolic price of $1.99 almost three weeks before its official release date on July 1, 2017!

It was a long and stressful way that lead to this moment, and it started already in 2008 with its original edition in Croatian. But I am glad this happened, I am glad I took this challenge because I learned a lot and pushed my barriers way out of my comfort zone.

The only thing I wish I could change would trade this book for the life of my cat. I wish Marcel was still alive and I didn't have to write our story....

If you want to meet him and get to know him through the pages I wrote, please (pre)order the e-book A World Without Color. Be a part of my world that will keep him alive. Thank you.

"This short book is the deeply-felt and well-written account of the love and interdependence between a man and his companion animal. All those who have had a pet, and there are many of us, know that the time comes when the last kindness we can give them is to ease their journey out of the world. Here, we see the heart-breaking decision and the lonely aftermath sensitively portrayed. Many will recognise these feelings."—Kath Middleton, author and e-book reviewer

Bernard Jan
www.bernardjan.com

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!

A World Without Color

You found the link; you purchased my story A World Without Color; you read it and wrote the review on Amazon. I thank you for that! Or, if you are a member, you found it on Kindle Unlimited, read it for free and posted your kind review. And I'm grateful again!

Under the title A World Without Color: A True Story Of the Last Three Days With My Cat you noticed my name Bernard Jan in smaller letters. Its bluish color shows that this is the link to Amazon's Bernard Jan Page. In other words my page.

You are more than welcome to click on it and follow me. Beside my book(s) displayed there, you can also read my updates, which means my latest blog posts streamed directly from my web page www.bernardjan.com to my Amazon's Bernard Jan Page. Don't miss those updates, there is some cool stuff to read!

If you want to socialize with me on my other networking platforms, I am happy to connect with you on Twitter, Goodreads, LinkedIn, and Steemit!

Thanks and see you there, guys!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan

I am happy to tell you that my e-book A World Without Color, a true story about the last three days I spent with my beloved cat Marcel, has been selected to partake in the monthly "Cover of The Month" contest for August, 2017 on AllAuthor—a fast growing bibliophile network connecting readers and authors together.

The book cover is beautifully designed by Mario Kožar from MKM Media, while the amazing cover photo was taken by a fashion, lifestyle and portrait photographer Zach Singh.

At the moment my book's rank is #4 with 38 votes. It's excellent, considering 113 books compete this month. Since it's highest rank a couple of days ago was #3, you and me both know that with your help it can do better and rank even higher!

Please vote for my book and give it a boost!

You can also purchase A World Without Color e-book at Amazon or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited.

Thank you a million and thanks to all of you who have already voted for it!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!
Bernard Jan

The long journey is over and I have reached my destination! After a long delay and lots of postponing, my novella A World Without Color is available as paperback!

On September 13, 2017 it was released for publication on CreateSpace and since yesterday, September 16, 2017, it is available for purchase on Amazon as well.

If you prefer a paperback over an e-book (like me), go grab your copy!

You curl up in your new hideout, and the soft light of the April afternoon washes your worn-out body. You are aware of my closeness. You confirm that with a gentle sigh while my palm tenderly slides down your fur. You still like my touch, although pain is what you now mostly feel. And uncertainty—but for how long?

Beside the new paperback release, A World Without Color e-book is until September 25 in the Anniversary Giveaway on the Animal Bliss blog. Enter it now to get a chance to be one of the two lucky winners!

If you like the cover of my book, please cast a vote for it in AUTHORSdb Cover Contest 2017 and help it make it to the next round!

Thank you for purchasing and reading A World Without Color, for writing an honest review and posting it on Amazon and for giving my book a long life!

Thank you for your patience and for not losing faith in me!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

Cover photo by Zach Singh; Cover design by Mario Kožar MKM Media

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!

I don't want to prejudge it, but there is a great chance—and hope!—that you've read A World Without Color, my first book I published this summer in English. And if you read it as an e-book or paperback, there is even greater hope you liked it! At least this is what I like to think, haha!

But did you share your thoughts about it with someone? There is a simple way for everyone to hear what you think of my true story of the last three days I spent with my cat. For that you need an Amazon or Goodreads account through which you can post your review that can range from a simple sentence to a small article, depending on how impressed you are and motivated to test your own writing skills!

Why are reviews so important to indie authors like me? Because many readers use them as a reference point whether to pursue with buying a book or skipping it altogether. The more reviews, the more people read your book. Cool, right? Sure, except getting there is not always so cool and easy.

This is why I ask you: if you loved my book, if it brought any emotion in you, please post your review. Don't be shy, a simple line or two will do. Anything more than that is a welcome bonus for me!

I want to show you with a few examples how easy it is. Below there are highlights of five authors and readers who read my book, their reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and their blogs. You can see their complete reviews in the Review A World Without Color page on my website or by following the links to their original posts on Amazon and Goodreads.

The tale is poetic, heartfelt and unique. I was pleased to read such a fine story by a talented, compassionate author. - Amazon Customer, Amazon

Bernard Jan describes the life of his beloved cat with such poignancy. His writing style is straightforward and emotionally moving. Happier times with Marcel brought a smile to my lips, while his deteriorating decline brought tears to my eyes. Most moving of all was the author’s profound love, devotion, and grief for his cat. - Leigh Holland, Amazon and Goodreads

Bernard Jan has taken a piece of his own heart and soul and put down in words, his feelings, his thoughts, and the utter devastation of the raw loss of his beloved pet. - Dianne, Tome Tender and Goodreads

If you're looking for a sad story then this is for you. (...) I felt that I was Bernard at the end of the book, I love books that pull me in and make me feel that I'm part of the book. You'll have to read it for yourself to experience this. - Angel Ramon Medina, indie author, The Hybrid Nation

In this book, the author tells his whole story about what his cat Marcel’s last 3 days were like interlaced with memories of the past. He writes about the effects of losing a best friend for himself and his family. (...) At multiple times I cried and could feel his emotions. He expresses what he’s feeling physically, his thoughts and emotions, everything so raw and real. Despite the sadness, I love the way this author writes. - Mischenko, ReadRantRock&Roll, Amazon and Goodreads

I hope those reviews won't discourage you; quite on the contrary, I wish they give you courage and determination to plow through my emotional and honest read and experience with me the last three days I spent with my Marcel.

You can purchase my e-book or paperback on Amazon or read it for free on KindleUnlimited. Either way, your review counts! And in either, both or any way, I will be grateful for your honest review because honest reviews are the only reviews I care about.

Once you post them contact me and I will repost them on my website and blog their highlights in one of my future posts here as motivation and encouragement for others, if you have nothing against it.

Thank you for purchasing, reading, reviewing and recommending my book by word of mouth! This is the best way to support me as an indie author and for making your voice and thoughts heard by many!

Thank you for your love because there is no greater joy than to share what you love with those who appreciate it!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

Cover photo by Zach Singh; Cover design by Mario Kožar MKM Media

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!

Bernard Jan

NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews 2018 by Gisela Hausmann

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I beg other authors not to hold it against me for reading and reviewing NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews 2018 by Gisela Hausmann ahead of the schedule and before theirs. This book came at the right moment to my attention, when I was on the mission of seeking and hunting new reviews for A World Without Color, the true story of the last three days I spent with my cat, and I was too curious and hungry for good advice. And I got it!

It's not that I didn't ask around and collected information on what is allowed and what is not allowed when asking for a review and posting my own reviews on Amazon before I read this book. I did it by the book, not breaking any rules, which came as a relief.

NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews 2018, Gisela Hausmann reminded me of things I could have done better, more thoughtful and... more refined. As a "self-publishing industry veteran, an email evangelist and a top reviewer," as her Goodreads profile says, in her 86 pages long fourth edition (earlier editions were 2015, 2016 and 2017), she offers us her insight and knowledge on how to better understand Amazon's review platform and introduces us to 10 different kinds of reviews.

Spending years in collecting information and studying the shape-shifting of the patterns of Amazon's behavior to its readers and authors and as a response to the actions of its readers and authors, the Amazon top reviewer Gisela Hausmann delivered us a short but well-informed handbook of Amazon dos and don'ts.

I love this book. I love its simplicity of writing and the clarity of advice and examples Hausmann uses to tell us what we should do to get more reviews for our precious books. Like a good teacher or a caring parent she explains her every claim so everyone can understand it. Don't touch a heated oven or you might get burned, don't ride your bicycle over the red light or you might get hit by a car. Reward your teachers with a smile and thank you for the knowledge they gave you because they are also humans and kind words open many doors.

Apart from stating the rules in NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews 2018 we should follow, should we want to make our books successful, Hausmann tells us probably the biggest secret of all on how to get desired reviews. I am sure we all know that secret on some basic, primal level, but we somehow forgot it in our rush to count our daily written words, haste to build our launch team or finish the formatting before we catch the self-imposed publishing deadline.

Every successful relationship is built individually, on respect and personal level, with just the right emotion and enough passion to spark it into existence. The same applies to our books and their reviewers, to us and how we treat them.

For further information please read the book.

Bernard Jan
www.bernardjan.com

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!

Bernard Jan



View all my reviews

Book Launch Gladiator: The 4 Phase Approach to Kindle Book Marketing Success in 2018 by Jordan Ring

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


New authors, pay attention to this book! If only I had it last year when I was stumbling through the catacombs of self-publishing, trying to figure out what to do, where and when! I had a few good friends who helped me with their advice and experience but not even they knew or used all the tricks of the trade. And there is a lot about it to learn and know, believe me. Writing is the easier part!

Like it or not, you are now in the self-publishing arena. To survive and save your book from sinking into an oblivion of mere statistics (once upon a time there was a book published by an unknown author and read by a few), you need to arm yourself. With as many weapons (books, information) you can get.

Become a gladiator and fight for your books!

Book Launch Gladiator: The 4 Phase Approach to Kindle Book Marketing Success in 2018 by Jordan Ring will help you with that. Consider it your guide, a map about which path to cross and what tactics to use to succeed once you step in the Kindle Colosseum.

Jordan Ring wrote this guide from his experience on the front lines and he wants to help you with the important decision-making. You will get your answers on launching and marketing and everything you need to know about a not so easy journey from a green and insecure beginner to a happy and successful indie author. Isn't that a great starting point?

Good luck!

Bernard Jan
www.bernardjan.com

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!

Bernard Jan



View all my reviews

This is a onetime opportunity! Five days of free download of my book!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018, 12:00 AM PDT to Sunday, March 25, 2018, 11:59 PM PDT

Remember those dates, don't miss the opportunity to get A World Without Color, the true story of the last three days with my cat, at no cost for you!

On March 27, 2018 I am pulling my book out of KDP Select so it won't be available as free read on Amazon anymore. This is why this opportunity is the perfect time for you to get your ebook for free and read (and review it too) at your own time and pace.

Even if you don't get A World Without Color for free during those five days from March 21 to March 25, it won't be the end of the world, for you will be able to get it at a discount price. But more about it... later.

Good luck on my book hunt from March 21 to March 25, hope you will enjoy reading it! And don't forget, honest reviews are welcome and appreciated. :)

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!

Cover photo by Zach Singh, Cover design by Mario Kožar MKM Media



Bernard Jan