Halloween - Elle Lothlorien- DELAY

Due to being stuck in Manhattan with no power and limited internet, look for Amazon Bestselling Author Elle Lothlorien's Guest Blog on Friday, November 2nd. We apologize for the delay, and wish everyone a spooky Halloween! Happy Trick or Treating!

I'm Ready!

Lucas the Painter!

Where do you buy your books?

Some traditional family book-time

We wanted to post a question to our reading audience, and would love to get some comments on this one! Where do you buy your books? Have you committed to shopping online or at a bookstore? Have you committed to the eBook and App revolution, or do you still prefer books in your hand?

 1. Amazon.com or BN.com.

These are the world’s two largest booksellers and most visited sites to buy actual books. Any given day, these two sites compete on price for books, eBooks and apps for their reading populations. Amazon typically has lower prices, but also is heavily ad-driven and you never can tell if you are buying a new book or paying a third-party vendor for a used and tattered edition that you are looking for. Amazon is also a true online retailer, so they sell much more than reading content, making it sometimes a little ominous for the newer online shopper.

2.  Bookstores like Barnes Noble

In the 1990’s, the book superstore became popular. People flocked to the new book behemoths that Barnes & Noble and Borders became. Coffee shops and large seating areas were included inside these stores, and large selections of books, music and videos became a staple. While the digital revolution and the rise of online retail giant Amazon severely impacted this industry, costing Borders it’s existence, there are still large numbers of book buyers that inhabit bookstores on a daily basis.

3. Small Local Bookstores

           

            This is the route for many traditionalists. Local bookstores tend to be more genre-specific, and you may have a better chance of making a rare find if you are willing to look. These type of stores do cater to a very literate audience that has time to make a long and conscientious choice, not really someone looking to shop quickly or just go in and out of stores.

In future posts we will ask where eBooks and Apps are easier to purchase, but for now, let’s keep it to physical books. Is it easier to shop online, or is it easier to see the book in front of view and look through it before buying it? We are very interested in people’s opinion of this!

Happy reading!

Nicole

Who's influencing you?

My Biggest Influence! 

I have been thinking a lot lately about all of the different people and ideas that have influenced me as I watch my little Lucas grow up and wonder what he is being influenced by. The things that influence a child, and later an adult, can have such a profound effect on a person’s growth and development at any stage.

1. Childhood

My first influencers were my parents and grandparents. I idolized my grandfathers, loved the women in my life tremendously, and thought my dad was the smartest guy on earth. These kinds of feelings tend to age gracefully, and although you can start seeing these early influencers as the normal humans that they are, they still take on a superhuman quality in your memory.

2. Adolescence

I was a boy who loved to read and play sports, so my next influences came from both my imagination and my sports watching. My favorite books were mostly from fantasy, like the “Chronicles of Narnia” or “Lord of the Rings.”  My next favorites were swashbuckling adventures like “The Three Musketeers.” From sports, being from Chicago, your idols were Walter Payton and Michael Jordan. One was the epitome of class and effort on the football field, while the other was an athlete who seemed like he was from another planet he was so gifted.

3. Late Teens/Early Twenties

Books were still a large part of my life at this point, and I discovered my love for science fiction, and became enamored by Philip K. Dick and Douglas Adams. These two writers represented polar opposites in the sci-fi world, but reminded of the importance of always getting out of your head for a little bit. I also became an avid reader of non-fiction, where I discovered a yearning for truth that I never had known inside me. To this day, I am great at researching things because of my innate desire to understand the whole truth of what I am researching.

4. Adulthood/Parenthood

Living in reality has been the biggest influence on me now. My son and my wife are the greatest influences I can imagine. They are a constant and steady reminder that life is a beautiful and magical thing that needs to be lived and appreciated in every moment.

What influences you? Do you pay attention to the little things that inspire you to keep on working, keep on moving, and keep on living?

Happy parenting!

Damir

Autumn in Illinois! Happy Early Halloween!

Lucas loves the Outdoors!

Take a sneak peek at a future book from Luca Lashes!

Luca Lashes visits Mommy in the Hospital

Meet Charles Fuller - Chinese Narrator/Translator!

Being a Translator for Luca Lashes

Charles Fuller

I have studied Chinese on-and-off for 40 years. I have used Chinese to do research in China and as a prerequisite for several jobs over the years. When I lived in Macao I wrote a weekly column for a local Chinese newspaper. In all of the ways I have used Chinese, I am finding doing translation for Luca Lashes the most enjoyable. When I translate the stories I find I have to think like a Chinese child, if that is possible, and write more colloquially. When I translate advertising copy I often need to transform English expressions into corresponding Chinese idioms. Since much of the language of what I translate deals with e-publishing and internet jargon, I have been accessing many Chinese web sites to learn this new and evolving language. Serving the Luca Lashes community is also fun because I believe in its mission. It is as much a learning experience as a professional experience. I am proud to be part of this collaboration.

我已经断断续续地学了40多年的中文了。我在中国做过几次研究， 并且几十年以来，我有好几分工作都必需用到中文。我住在澳门的时候，还为当地的一个中文报纸定期写了一个叫 “老外清谈” 的专栏。虽然过去，无论是在学术上或是专业工作上，我都有过很多使用中文的机会，但我发现翻译《路卡莱西》是最有趣的。 当我把《路卡莱西》的原著故事翻成中文时，我得先尽可能地用一个中国小孩儿的思维去体会，并选择适合小孩儿语气的词汇。当我翻译宣传资料时，我经常得把英文的习惯用语译成中文成语或片语。由于很多词汇是跟电子出版业和互联网的术语有关，我常常需要上中文网页学习这类演变快速的语言。为《路卡莱西》翻译是一件又有趣又令人满足的工作，因为我相信并支持它的使命。这项工作不但是一个职业性的经验，也是一个学习的机会（活到老学到老，不是吗？）。我很荣幸跟路卡莱西有限公司共同合作，同心协力。

Luca Lashes and his First Trip to the Doctor!

This is an Illustration from our upcoming eBook/App!

How do you get people to read more?

I am working on a theory, and hope to continue seeing data in this direction going forward. I believe that in entertainment, just like everything else, things work in cycles. I’m sure we all remember times when it seemed like movies were badly written, poorly directed, and there was just a long period of very formulaic movies that were not earth-shattering. The same goes for television, video games, books and music. My particular feeling is that books have been in a critical and unimaginative malaise, but there is hope of a rebirth.

Being a consistent reader always looking at both my favorite writer and what is bestselling, I find it exciting that books are driving certain parts of entertainment once more. The greatest part of this phenomenon is that self-published writers writing eBooks meant to be read on mobile phones and tablets are driving it. A certain book, a fan-fiction story written for the Internet, created a completely new genre and found a voice and audience rapidly. This book has created a phenomenon where new magazines now exist, music around the genre has been compiled, and physical book sales of this particular eBook have revitalized the entire book industry.

It is almost as if the eReading revolution has re-created the buzz necessary to keep a fire under both the publishing industry and new and existing authors. Each genre of books has its own leader, and it is heartening to see Hollywood studios looking to current books to make new movies, as some would say the creative well has dried up slightly in screenwriting.

My personal theory of what is happening currently is that eReaders and Tablets have reminded people of how much they like to read. While there is some sense of the eventuality of all books becoming digital at some point, I would argue that there is still plenty of room at the table for real hardcovers and paperbacks too. The one format I would like to see gone is the mass market, which is highly portable but functionally difficult because of the small print.  

Using Widgets to reach different Social Media!

I am an active member of the social media community and am avid omnivore of all things “social media”, although I am also an admitted novice in the field. I focus most of my energy in four major areas of social networking for our eBook and App series, and it is such a rewarding experience to do all of them!

1. Blog Writing

Yes, what I am doing right now is considered social networking. Whether it’s parenting topics, writing topics, or stuff about getting eBooks and Apps produced, sharing your experiences with the world is an extraordinary experience. It is not always easy! For example, when writing on a parenting topic, you have to use a lot of hyperlinks to make sure that what you are writing has some support.

2. Twitter

My next favorite part of social networking is Twitter. It is such a direct and immediate way to connect with people who have an interest in your eBooks, Apps, or just your general thoughts that day. There are so many little things to learn about Twitter that you have to muddle your way to learn. Getting followers, keeping them engaged, sharing original and heartfelt content, these are just part of the power of Twitter. It is also a good way to stay abreast of current news, as many news outlets live tweet news before it hits any other media.

3. Facebook

This is sometimes the most intimidating social network to use, because so many people use Facebook for different reasons. Do you use it to play the social media app games like Farmville? Do you update your status regularly and check out all the functionality of Facebook on your Timeline and Newsfeed? Do you actually read and click on the Ads? Nevertheless, we update our brand page regularly and truly feel connected to a global community. Our fans seem to be from around the world, not just in the five languages that our eBooks and Apps are published in! It is humbling to have reached such a broad, global community in this billion-user medium!

4. LinkedIn

Most people use LinkedIn as a tool to network with business contacts, find out about new jobs, and in general share their career news with like-minded people. We have found a large independent author/content-creator community on LinkedIn, and have been able to share news about our industry and connect with some real movers/shakers within our community of writers, illustrators and others involved in the production of eBooks and Apps!

Overall, it has been a truly unique way to reach all of our different audiences and let them know everything that is going on with Luca Lashes and what affects our business and creativity on a daily basis. I’ve included links to each of our major social networking sites, and we look forward to adding more, as Pinterest and GoodReads are on next on the list!

Happy Networking!

Damir