Bernard Jan's Blog - Posts Tagged "reading"

It did happen but I did not expect it to happen! I am one of the three winners of Paula Wynne October Book Bundle Giveaway Competition! What does that mean? It means that I have won a bundle of 16 books of various authors! Wow, amazing indeed!

I want to thank Paula for this wonderful opportunity to get such unexpected and much appreciated gift(s) and I also want to thank the following authors for giving their books for free for this competition: PJ McDermot, Mike Hartner, Jody A. Kessler, Paul Casselle, Jacky Gray, Hilary Thompson, Norma Hinkens, J. Naomi Ay, JA Andrews, Jenny Green, Ramona Flightner, Ali Dent, Andy Graham, Vered Ehsani, D.B. Martin, and Michael Bolan.

Beside me, the two other winners of Paula's 3rd Book Bundle Giveaway are Darlene Write and Carol Peace.

Here is what we said upon receiving those wonderful books:

Darlene Wright from the US: “Wow! Fantastic! Thanks So Much!! Made my day!”

Bernard Jan from Croatia: “I entered the October Book Bundle Giveway just for fun, not really expecting anything. Thank you, getting 16 books at one time is totally unbelievable, especially when you have thousands of readers who entered!”

Carol Peace from the UK: “Wow what a great surprise, I am so happy and excited. I love books and reading. Thank you so much!”

This is the link for future book giveaways.

Onwards to reading!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

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

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Bernard Jan

It's been a long and exciting year and we are all sorting our impressions at the eve of the new year. Some of us are relaxing, others are sick and trying to get better (like my parents), but we all wish for the smooth transition from the old to the new year.

Whatever our plans are for these last days of 2017, it's always good to spend time with our best friends—books! Here I have made a list for you, a few suggestions of the books I enjoyed and loved reading in 2017.

This list is reduced because I couldn't list all the authors and books I loved reading, so I hope they will forgive me for that. Some of them I have already recommended in my earlier post In the Making and Out Now, others I will mention in my future posts.

Without further ado, here are my book recommendations. I start with my favorite book I read in 2017 and continue in random order.

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman
Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, when, during the restless summer weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. Recklessly, the two verge toward the one thing both fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. It is an instant classic and one of the great love stories of our time.

Hounded by Ellie Douglas
When Calloway Foster woke up that morning, he never expected it to be a deathblow to life on earth. Nothing can prepare him for one of the world's most loved species to turn into the undead. Four-legged zombies now run rampant-hungry and intelligent, they are merciless to those still struggling to survive. Will he find his twin brother in time? Can he keep his family safe? A terrifying surprise twist will test the survivors to the brink of humanity’s very existence.

Innocence Taken by Victoria M. Patton
A young girl’s dismembered body is found on the side of the road in rural Illinois with no ID or clues left with the body. Who could do this to a beautiful young girl? Lt. Damien Kaine, the recently promoted head of the Vicious Crimes Unit out of Division Central in Chicago, and his partner Detective Joe Hagan are assigned to the case. When the little evidence they have leads to the possibility that more girls have gone missing over the last ten years, and one of their own is being stalked by the killer, Profiler FBI Special Agent McGrath is brought in to assist. Having to work with the FBI agent and deal with his personal demons waging battle against him, the already stressful case, is almost unbearable for Kaine.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, 11-year-old Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.

Rusticles by Rebecca Gransden
In Hilligoss, a tired man searches for a son, a flamingo enthrals the night, and fireworks light up the lost. In these stories and more, Rusticles offers a meandering tour through backroads bathed in half light, where shadows play along the verges and whispers of the past assault daydreams of the present. Walk the worn pathways of Hilligoss.

The Stars Just Watch by Jonathan Hill
Tonight four sit round a table playing cards. Tomorrow two leave to fight. Over an evening already fraught with tension, emotions run deep and life-shattering secrets threaten to escape. A powerful novella from the author of FAG, Pride and Not Just a Boy. This is a new version of the story previously released under the title Is it Her?.

Holy Cow by David Duchovny
Elsie Bovary is a cow and a pretty happy one at that. Until one night, Elsie sneaks out of the pasture and finds herself drawn to the farmhouse. Through the window, she sees the farmer's family gathered around a bright Box God—and what the Box God reveals about something called an 'industrial meat farm' shakes Elsie's understanding of her world to its core. The only solution? To escape to a better, safer world. And so a motley crew is formed: Elsie; Shalom, a grumpy pig who's recently converted to Judaism; and Tom, a suave turkey who can't fly, but can work an iPhone with his beak. Toting stolen passports and slapdash human disguises, they head for the airport...

The Last Night at Tremore Beach: A Novel by Mikel Santiago
Recently divorced and in the middle of a creative crisis, Peter Harper decides to take shelter on the scenic and isolated Tremore Beach in Ireland. But one stormy night he is struck by lightning and, as a result, begins experiencing terrible headaches and strange dreams. As the line between his dreams and reality begin to blur, Peter realizes that his bizarre visions may be a warning of horror still to come...

As you can see, I didn't list one particular book that is special to me and that is my novella A World Without Color, a true story of the last three days I spent with my cat Marcel. Despite that, I hope you will get the chance to read it and get back to me with your thoughts, if nothing else than in a form of your honest review.

Happy reading, hope you enjoy the books from my post too!

Best wishes for a great new year full of amazing books and stories!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

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Bernard Jan

I wish and hope that this year has started in a grand style for you and that will carry on like that all the way through and even further!

No reason for me to complain, because I continue to get your reviews and that means you are reading my book A World Without Color, which is the greatest reward and a gift to any writer!

When I read books before I didn't realize how important reviews are. Even if it is just one sentence. As long as they are honest and you speak from the heart.

With your review you recommend the book you loved and enjoyed reading and you also help bring more readers through the complicated Amazon algorithm. Putting it simply, the more books you buy, the more reviews you write, the more you will help a book with its ranking.

Allow me to share with you a few more honest reviews which A World Without Color received at the beginning of this and during the last year.

This short powerful novella is a must read. It gave me permission to stop grieving in many ways, because Bernard Jan told me it was okay to feel like I did and it was okay to move on, despite suffering an emptiness that will never be filled. I would give this book to anyone who has pets, because it will give you an insight into what will happen one day. We’re telling you it is okay and that you aren’t alone. - Haley Jenkins, Selcouth Station and Goodreads

As someone who has worked with hospice, in hospital, health care centers, and survivor’s of loss and trauma, for close to 40 years, I must say that this is one of the most honest, compassionate, and understanding description of what grief can feel like that I have ever read – and I’ve read a lot of books about grief, loss, death and bereavement. - Gabriel Constans, Amazon and Gabriel Constans blog

A heart-wrenching memoir of a man's last three days in the life of his beloved cat. (...) The reader can truly feel the anguish Bernard felt watching his beloved feline's life be extinguished. (...) Thank you Bernard! - Stacy from Two Gals and a Book, Goodreads

When I started reading A World Without Color, from the very first few sentences I knew what it would be like and I was very emotional from beginning to end. (...) I am a cat owner and found myself identifying with the authors feelings and grieving process. I loved this book and I highly recommend it to all to read. - Starjustin, Goodreads

This book is incredibly well written the only reason i gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is purely down to how hard and upsetting it was to read which is just a credit to how well it was written. Unfortunately it was that upsetting to read i nearly struggled to sit and carry on which is why i had to knock it down a star. Well worth a read if you feel as though you are up to it. - Justin, Goodreads

Death never arrives easy. Here, Bernard Jan chronicles the final stage in the life of a cat named Marcel, as Bernard, his family, and Marcel face Marcel’s death. The capacity for the depth of bond in an interspecies way has always amazed me. This has been illustrated to me very recently with the death of my own cat, Poppy. She was the runt of the litter, not meant to survive, smaller than my undersized palm when she arrived, but she lived for just about twenty-five years. I relay my story because this short book reflects the dilemmas and conflicted emotions faced when dealing with, and having ultimate responsibility for, the final breath of a creature greatly loved. - Rebecca Gransden, Goodreads and Amazon UK

A special thanks to Mischenko and Starjustin. After reading both their deeply moving reviews- I wanted to purchase this book for our younger daughter who has two cats. (...) In this short story we are witness to a beautiful love story between a cat and his owner and the family they are a part of. Gut wrenching loss when death comes. Rest In Peace Marcel.... - Elyse, Goodreads

​If you like these beautiful words of authors, readers and reviewers who honored my book with their honest reviews, please purchase A World Without Color as e-book or paperback, or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited. And don't forget to leave an honest review on Amazon, Amazon UK or Goodreads, or your personal website or blog, for I will feature your review on my website and my booklife profile, unless you wish otherwise. And I may even shout it out to my dear subscribers via my newsletter!

Thank you for all your wonderful support to A World Without Color and for spreading the word about it! You are the reason and my motivation to carry on.

Thank you and have a wonderful January!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

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Bernard Jan

Wanna be my early reader?

Next month I am launching my new novella Look for Me Under the Rainbow (scheduled date April 17).

Look for Me Under the Rainbow is a story of the harp seal pups Danny and Jon and the plight of seal pups in Canada hunted and clubbed for their soft fur, and the group of environmentalists and activists determined to save them. It carries a strong ecological message and is a loud call for humanity. My editor says, "Anyone not moved by it has no heart." I couldn't agree more!

I'm opening up to 50 spots for a special team of fans to be early readers.

Interested? Please subscribe at www.bernardjan.com and I'll get back to you! If you are already subscribed and on my team, please ignore this.

Thanks!

This is a short extract from my novella to get you motivated and help you make the decision to join my ranks.

***

“What is man, Mom?”

“Man’s a great mystery. We know not where he comes from, nor where he’s going. Elusive, like a shadow, he leaves wasteland in his wake.”

“This... man, is he dangerous?”

“Very dangerous, son. You must try never to meet one. If you do come across man but it’s too late to run, be brave. Wait for him. Whatever happens, never, ever turn your back on him. Look him straight in the eye. It’s the only way you might save your life. That’s the moment when he’s most vulnerable and won’t harm you.”

“But how can I not meet a man? How do I avoid him?”

“You’ll sense him coming close. You know, son, man has a special smell. The scent of fear, misfortune and pain. He feeds on it. You’ll recognize him by this scent.”

***

BJ
www.bernardjan.com
"There is no greater joy than to share what you love with those who appreciate it."

Join my mailing list, subscribe to blog Muse!

Bernard Jan

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Words are like emotions and in The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley Shaun David Hutchinson portrays with great attention and knowledge every stage of heartbreak, guilt, recuperation, laughter, desperation, apathy, hope. And love.

Drew is a boy who doesn’t want to leave the hell of the hospital in which his family died. He hides, draws and works there in his self-induced punishment driven by a strong sense of guilt. He is also a boy whose heart is full of love for two other terminally ill children, his friends Lexi and Trevor, he is trying to save from the claws of death. But he also is a boy who is pulled to Rusty, another teenage boy who is wheeled into the ER in a loud agony with half his body burned.

Drew’s and Rusty’s worlds collide and shape into a new reality of hope and happiness that can happen outside the walls of the hospital, a reality which is not completely devoid of painful pasts and sadness which linger anchored to it.

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley is a beautiful Young Adult dark book about finding the way out of dark with the comic book by Christine Larsen inside it and the ending which could last a few heartbeats (or heartbreaks) longer.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com
Bernard Jan



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I have amazing news! Look for Me Under the Rainbow (Potraži me ispod duge in Croatian) continues to be listed as a reading of choice in Croatian elementary schools for seventh graders among 177 other books for sixth to eighth graders like The Little Prince, Diary of Anne Frank, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Chronicles of Narnia, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Old Man and the Sea, Oliver Twist, The Hobbit, to name just a few! What an honor!

In 2018 I have published the English translation Look for Me Under the Rainbow as eBook and paperback on Amazon, so my English-speaking readers all over the world can read it too.

Please check out why this gentle story of the seal pup Danny, his family, Helen and other young environmentalists and Rainbow Warriors activists whose mission is to save animals from being hunted for their fur is so popular and winning hearts of Croatian teachers and their students!

Buy and read Look for Me Under the Rainbow and leave an honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Share your thoughts and tell me what you think of it.

Thank you!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

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Source: Večernji list, Idemo u školu, August 2019


Bernard Jan

The Unbroken Circle by Thomas Grant Bruso

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I devoured this book in a day, which doesn’t happen often lately. But when I opened The Unbroken Circle, I reminded myself how much I loved Jay Bird and how I missed reading more about Jay and Rocco.

The Unbroken Circle is a perfect sequel in which Jay and Rocco cross the threshold of adulthood. It is a story of two young teenage boys who stay together through thick and thin to keep their love alive. But it is also a story of their parents, control freaks and dominant individuals, their mothers especially, who rule their families by the book or enslaved by tradition.

There is a moral of this capturing and emotional story with strongly portrayed characters who became more alive with each spoken sentence. Or, better to say, underneath it runs a subtle and justified critique to our society which doesn’t accept any kind of diversity. This society is harsh and unforgiving and shows no tolerance for those who are “different” and don’t fit into the general pattern of living, loving, and existence.

I do not know if Thomas Grant Bruso, the author of Jay Bird and The Unbroken Circle, plans to write another book in the series, but I hope this is not the end. Jay and Rocco deserve that, as well as all the readers and fans who enjoy their company.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

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Bernard Jan



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