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First Reviews

May 23, 2012

5-Star Review for “Reichold Street”

It’s always nice to find out someone likes your work.

I have a lot of family and friends who praise the things I do, and my novel “Reichold Street” has been no exception.

Still, there is always something inside you that, no matter how much people who know you say they like it, makes you hope someone you don’t know, someone who may never have heard of you before, will like it, too. A person who doesn’t feel obligated to say nice things.

Little things, like a reader commenting: “Oh, my goodness. This is a good book!”

Or online reviews that say things like: “masterfully written.”

And then there is that outside reviewer, that stranger you hoped for, who writes things like this:

“Reichold Street” is an extremely moving coming-of-age account during the turbulent 1960’s
This book will appeal to a vast audience
You will be moved by Albert’s shady beginnings to find out the real story behind all the madness
A great piece of literature…wonderful addition to any library

Then there’s my personal favorite:

Ronald L. Herron is a master of the art of character development

If this all sounds like a bit of bragging, you’re probably right. But the press releases don’t go out until next week.

Until then, the book is still on sale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble Bookstore. Perhaps you should head on over and get your copy, before the crowds gather. LOL!

Seriously, it’s a lot of fun but, all things considered, it’s probably a good thing I’m retired and don’t have to worry about my day job. I don’t know how most writers survive.

Find out more about my books on the web site: Broken Glass

Tags:amazon books, amazon kindle, barnes & noble, new author, new novels, nook books, Reichold Street
Posted in Book Promotion, Branding, Market Your Book, Storytelling | 2 Comments »

Reichold Street – the Novel

April 14, 2012

“Reichold Street” The new book by R.L. Herron

All the writing work is done, the cover (and back cover) have been designed; it’s available both as an e-Book and in print. Now all I have to do is sit back and wait, right?

Wrong. Now comes the hard part.

I’ve written a book (almost 80,000 words dredged from somewhere inside over the course of months … and months) and transferred those thought-bubbles to … well, I almost said paper … but it wasn’t to paper, it was to a digital Word file.

That was converted into an e-Pub file so Barnes & Noble and i-Pad could offer it online. To publish as an e-Book on Amazon, it had to be converted to a mobi file.

Do I know what any of that is? No … not exactly. But I also had to turn the word document into a PDF file (with embedded fonts) so it could be published as ink-on-paper.

With almost 280 pages, I won’t bore you with how many times I have poured over proofs in each format, spotting different errors each time!

Now that it’s done, I’m proud of it (it already has one 4-star review from someone on Barnes & Noble), but the really hard part in any of this is spreading the word.

Visit the links, sign-in to your Amazon account, go to the “Reichold Street” page, and at least hit the “like” button. Scroll down the page and look at the “tags” — and click on some of them to add your agreement (you don’t have to write a thing).

Purchase it, if you’re so inclined … or don’t, as you wish. I think you’ll like it, if you do. It would be nice to add “best-selling author” to the promotion, and my pride might be affected if people ignore it, but my livelihood doesn’t depend on it (thank goodness)!

But please, spread the word.

Help me give it a chance. It’s available for the Kindle e-Reader, or in print, on Amazon, or for the Nook e-reader at Barnes & Noble.

You can also visit “Broken Glass” – my writing web site to find links for free apps to read Amazon Kindle e-Reader files or Barnes & Noble Nook e-Reader files on your home computer.

I’m dying to know what you think about it!

Tags:amazon account, amazon kindle, barnes & noble, books, kindle e-reader, literature, new novel, nook e-reader
Posted in Book Promotion, Branding, Storytelling | Leave a Comment »

New Year…Again

December 30, 2011

“Patterns” © R.L. Herron

I’ve probably used this image before. It looks familiar, but so do my New Year resolutions.

When I looked at last year’s list to gather hints for this year, I realized most of my 2011 resolutions are not yet done.

Sigh. Did I really think they would be?

Well … yeah, I did. That’s why I made them.

Looks like I’ll have to make them again. I’m not sure why I keep doing this to myself. Is it because other people expect it, or because I do?

My lovely bride is after me again to shed some pounds. She’s even solicited help from my white-haired mother. Oh, she’ll deny it, but the two of them have a similar mantra.

Coincidence? I think not.

I have to admit, it’s a resolution I would enjoy keeping – except for the work and exercise part. And the forgoing of fried food. Or cookies and cake. And the occasional beer or other alcoholic beverage.

Then there’s my writing.

I did do a lot more of that in 2011. Not here, of course. But I did it. One of my poems “Woodland Avenue” was actually published in a respected online journal, Slow Trains.

I have almost 67,000 words written on my novel. Another 10-15 thousand or so and I’ll be ready to edit. I also have a collection of short stories that is now up to 36,000 words.

Nothing published yet, so that’s still a to do.

I’ve submitted poetry and short stories to about a dozen venues this year. Nothing accepted yet, so I have to re-submit elsewhere in 2012. Plus, I participate in an online writer’s forum every day.

Seems like a lot. So why doesn’t it feel satisfying?

Oh, I attended the Rochester Writer’s Forum again this year, so I can check that one off. Why are you smiling?

Almost forgot, I traced my family lineage back to 1617 in Ireland (I always thought before I was German). My first paternal ancestor landed in Virginia, in 1635. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it?

I meant to do some traveling, and I have. We spent about 11-12 weeks of this year in Florida, with the grandkids. Maybe next year we’ll go somewhere just for the two of us.

There was also something I know I said about avoiding political commentary. It’s hard in such an overtly political climate.

I’ve managed to keep most of my friends, so I must be doing all right on that score.

Then again, maybe not. There’s a group of us who said we’d meet for lunch once every quarter, and we’ve only met twice. I don’t see us getting in the other two meetings tomorrow.

So, for 2012, I guess I’ll just polish off last year’s list (changing all the 2011 headings to 2012, of course), and try it all again.

Maybe next year I’ll find a publisher, or at least gather enough cohonies to e-publish something myself. Maybe next year I’ll avoid political disagreements altogether (I can already see this one failing).

Perhaps I’ll even do a little traveling and get together with all my old friends. Next year. Why does that sound so damn familiar?

Maybe I’ll finally get around to my original “Blog365” idea, with a short piece of writing every day.

Whoa…wait a minute. Next year is a leap year. There’s 366 days in it. Damn. There goes that idea, too.

Take care, my friends. Happy New Year.