I’ve had great book news recently. This week, two of my books have received critical acclaim. All my hard work pays off.
Great Book News #1
Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? won the 2023 New Mexico/Arizona book award in the category of Self Help/Guide. This book was also a finalist in the health category. Last year, it also won the 2022 New Mexico/Arizona book award in the category of Body, Mind & Spirit (health/humor).
This blog became the foundation for that book—the inspiration because I wrote the core in this blog during the pandemic. It saved my sanity as I processed what I went through during the pandemic. I wrote in poetry and prose format. The reader has a choice: read it from cover-to-cover, or the chapters stand independently. Each chapter begins with a thought-provoking photo and quote. Then the chapter ends with a reflection question to ponder. Read, reflect and respond—so we can move on to better, not bitter.
For those interested in buying this award-winning book, choose of one the links below:
You can also buy it from me and get your own autographed copy. Contact me at Larada@LaradasBooks.com for the details.
More Book News
My newest book, Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir, hit #1 on Amazon in three e-book categories:
- Christmas (Kindle Store)
- US Historical Biographies
- Christian Inspiration
Again, some of my blog posts make up a foundational part of the book with many additional snippets of my Christmas memories.
I love Christmas and this seemed like the next nature book for me to write. The hard part—editing, revising and creating it in July! I put on Christmas music and enjoyed the season out of the season!
My E-book of Hair on Fire
Yes, I got the e-book published before we went to Germany and Austria—Bavaria (more about Germany starting next week). Being super-organized, I had to set up all the promotions before we left, so I had busy days ahead of that trip. 2916 readers from nine countries downloaded my new e-book from: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Germany, Mexico, France, and Italy. Those numbers pushed it to #1 in the three categories.
My Paperback of Hair on Fire
So, while we were in Germany, I finally got the final cover, so I uploaded it one night. I proofed the book online, but there was an issue. It said that the trim size (size of the book) didn’t match something, so they adjusted it by resizing it. I knew the trim size of the interior of the book and the cover matched so it could have been an international issue. That night I order a “proof” copy and it arrived on Thursday, the day after we got home.
Oh, no! The text was like shrunk to the center of the page, leaving a large margin all the way around. I spent several hours proofreading it that day, and I realized the “proof” didn’t have the Table of Contents! Oh, no, again! In my rush before we left, I had not selected the Table of Contents to be printed in the print copy of my book. I fixed that easily.
But I had another issue—the cover fit a book of 230 pages. After adding the Table of Contents and fixing a layout problem, I had 224—fewer pages! Now, how did that happen? So, I spent several hours going through and enlarging pictures and doing what I could to rearrange parts! Finally, I ended up with 230 pages, so I uploaded the revision, ran it through the Previewer online and published it.
The print copies will be here on Tuesday, October 2, so I’m excited.
On Thursday, when I opened the package with the “proof” copy, I got all choked up! The first time I see my book in print seems surreal! My words, my stories, my poems! What an emotional experience.
So, I will spend the next two months promoting it before Christmas and I will have a book launch sometime soon. Listen for the details.
Finally,
My seventh book published! Great book news this week about two of my books! Life is good!
If you’re interested, catch the e-book at this discounted price of $1.99 for a limited time at:
You have a choice for the paperback: either buy an autographed copy from me at Larada@LaradasBooks.com
Or
Go to Amazon. The price is the same: $15.00.
Because this book would make a great Christmas gift for everyone in your family, keep tuned in. I’m going to have some great prices for the purchase of three books or five books. Buying five copies will be the best price!
