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Ten years ago, I was at dinner with publishing professionals, and I heard the story of a powerful editor, and chair of a national book award, who nominated her own author for this prestigious award. I had already heard this story from another reliable industry source, but overall I wasn't surprised. Years earlier, I had worked in the space program during the Challenger disaster and was shocked to learn that internal corruption had contributed to the deaths of the astronauts. If you ever read Dickens, you realize that suspect dealings have been part of the equation since the dawn of business.

As the story went, the nominated book was summarily ignored by the award committee. So what was this editor trying to accomplish? The mere nomination, especially word of it throughout the industry, multiplied sales of the book many times over. The nomination alone had created legitimacy for the book. Powerful.

My first book had just been published and was doing well—for a small press book. That meant regional acceptance in parts of the world, whenever the local media shined favor upon my work. Otherwise there seemed no legitimate outlets for book promotion and definitely no benefactors in the inner circles of national book awards. Small, academic, and self-published books were virtually barred from the public discourse. The Eric Hoffer Book Award did not yet exist.

A quick survey revealed that, outside of the Pushcart Prize, the landscape was dotted with cottage indie book awards that carried exorbitant entry fees and questionable results. It appeared that each tried to pick "the best" books that came their way, but they did little to get the word out after the winners were selected. In fact, I had never heard of most of these awards.

As the editor of a literary magazine, as well as a healthy writer's blog, I had decent access to writers and authors. On a whim, the Eric Hoffer Book Award, named after the great American philosopher and freethinker, was created. I had a small publicity machine going for my first novel and planned to "promote the hell out of" the winners. I sought impartial judges—editors, agents, and industry-specific experts. The entrance fee needed to be affordable, yet cover expenses. Finally, I planned to do the unthinkable—exclude the major presses. I kept thinking of how to turn the tables on that infamous editor and therefore right the wrongs of the past. Mostly I wanted the kind of award to which I'd send my own book for consideration. Ironically as its creator, I could not. ... (read more)

Featured Books

A New Global Intrigue

Glimpses of a Black Op
by Dean Evans
Lulu

reviewed by Corrina Underwood

"If he discounted genes and lifestyle then what was left? A random effect, a random variation was another less believable theory. He noted the sometimes link between threats from strangers and pains in various body parts. The threats and pains were not random in those instances."

Meet D, a disillusioned analyst living a postmodern world where technology supersedes nature and technology is power; a world in which social control lies in the hands of the very few. When a random encounter leads to a growing web of paranoia, collusion, and intrigue within a vast intelligence network that underpins global politics and economies, D inadvertently becomes more and more enmeshed. He catches glimpses of a deeply sinister world, where cutting-edge technology meets ancient texts and genealogical theory meets social engineering. ... (read more)

Creating the Perfect Family

Chasing Her Destiny
by Terri Friedlander
Black Rose Writing

reviewed by Sheila M. Trask

"Sherri barely heard a word of what followed. A new number! A new reality! Another possible baby she could call her own!"

The road to motherhood is not always straightforward, and Friedlander takes her readers through every turn of the maze in this novel about a career woman trying everything to start a family. All her life, Sherri has been in control. She's got a high-powered career in communications. She bought her own house and even her own boat. When she wanted to get married, she set her sights with a personal ad and found Kent in record time. ... (read more)

Rooms with a View

A Thousand Windows
by Coy Williams
Trafford Publishing

reviewed by J. Alpha

"Beneath your eyelids a different name sleeps with you"

A Thousand Windows, by Coy Williams, is an emotionally compelling collection of 61 poems, the majority of which effectively develop the intimacy and immediacy of a second-person narrative point of view...

Returning across the night,
I drift in the smoke
from a thousand candles
of your love,
softly leading me home. ... (read more)

Are We All the Same?

The LastCave Bear II:
A Search for Intelligent Life
by Shannon VanSlyke
DEWI Inc

reviewed by Manton Selby

"Wainwright had to admit to an occasional lapse of memory or judgment. But it was frustrating to never be able to convince someone when they were wrong, or even get them to take the time to think things through."

Wainwright is a patent attorney working in the legal department of a tire manufacturer. He is brilliant and introspective, but has difficulty in expressing himself in a manner that has a positive impact. He constantly evaluates the motives and feelings of others and also has a paranoiac fear of the various personality combinations. Wainwright notes with disdain that his ideas are disregarded at dinner until the group finds out that he has practiced patent law for twenty-five years. His thoughts are valuable regardless of his credentials. ... (read more)

The Alter Ego of the Universe

True Surrealism
by Christopher Klim
Hopewell Publications

reviewed by Thomas E. Kennedy

"I was not the type of guy who believed in the stars or premonitions. When people told me that they had lived past lives or received a signal from a dead aunt or a bunch of clouds arranged in a particular pattern, I tried not to laugh in their faces. However a few days ago, I discovered the alter ego of the universe."

The stories in Klim's new collection include tales of controlling women and ne'er-do-well men trying, well, to do well if they could; an upscale chef helping to prepare a condemned man's last meal; best friends who find themselves in a middle eastern battlefield; a rocket scientist on the drink who gets lucky; a heartbreaking and haunting tale of a neglected boy and what he learns from his runaway dog... (read more)

A Deal Too Good to Be True

A Bridge to Treachery
by Larry Crane
Brighton Publishing LLC

reviewed by Russ Roberts

"He could almost feel the beaten down mud of a mountain trail under his hands as he lowered himself to the ground and lay there cringing against the next mortar shard. "

There's an old saying that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Former Army Ranger and current investment broker Lou Christopher ignores that axiom when a plum account falls into his lap from nowhere. Suddenly he's raking in huge fees and ignoring that nagging voice in his head that things are never as good as they seem. Sure enough the nagging voice is right; that plum account leads to Christopher being recruited because of his military background to lead a strike force in a faux attack against a busy bridge. It's all part of an elaborate plot to scare people into voting for the incumbent conservative president... (read more)

Scarpy Wandering

The Wayward Haggis
by Helena Edwards Bishop
Illustrated by Franklin Bishop
Carnation Books

reviewed by Maggie Harding

"They were small with short legs, rounded, yellow furry bodies with bright brown eyes, black noses and huge floppy ears, which had brown and white stripes. Their slender tails had a white, fluffy tip. Now Haggis were very proud of their tails."

Wikipedia states that, according to Scottish folklore, a Haggis is a small animal that has two legs shorter than the other two so that it can stand on the steep Scottish Highlands. This description and the cute little Haggis family in this delightful story are much more appealing than the real thing. Unless, of course, you enjoy eating sheep organs cooked in the critter's own stomach. ... (read more)

A Savage Mind

Unintended Consequences
by Dave Edlund
Morgan Mackenzie Publishing

reviewed by Russ Roberts

"Today OPEC, or the oil cartel as they are informally known, controls thirty-six percent of global oil production and they own two-thirds of known petroleum reserves."

Abiogenics is a theory that claims that oil and natural gas is not just the result of decaying animal and plant life, but rather is a byproduct of existing chemicals such as methane. Although the theory has its pros and cons, that hasn't stopped it from becoming the focal point of a corking new thriller by Dave Edlund. If abiogenics is correct, then the amount of oil and natural gas is not finite but rather infinite. This would be bad news for those that control the current oil supplies, because it means that anyone who figures out how to use abiogenics to produce oil and gas would become energy independent. Edlund uses that as the basis for his plot, which has abiogenic scientists around the world being bumped off and the U.S. government trying to stop the killings.. ... (read more)

A New Consumer Model

Collaboration and Co-Creation
by Gaurav Bhalla
Springer

reviewed by K.R. Mecom

"Companies today are dealing with a new type of costumer–one that is better educated, more collaborative, and infinitely more resourceful than at any time in the past."

It is no surprise to anyone that the role of the consumer in today's economy is very different than it was in the past. Today's consumer in pro-active, intelligent, and well informed. In a harsh economy where consumers make hard decisions on where and how to spend their income, companies must not only listen to their costumer's needs and wants, but must create a business model that invites those costumers to feel like a part of the company. ... (read more)

Rough Seas

Deceptive Times (e-book)
by Matthew Liburdi

reviewed by Michael Radon

"For the first time in his ten-year association with the military, Street felt overcome with emotion. He had failed as a leader by heading into enemy fire without due caution."

A tale of terrorism, singular heroism, and intrigue set on the high seas, Deceptive Times by Matthew Liburdi tells the story of Captain Red Street, owner and operator of a small diving expedition craft. Running his mouth and chasing money, Captain Red quickly gets involved with some seriously shady characters and has his hand forced into sneaking some strangers through Bahamian immigration. As more and more is revealed about his two new passengers... (read more)

The World According to Harry

From All Sides: The Squeeze
by Phil Scrima
Illustrations by Charlo Nocete
Xlibris

reviewed by Sheila M. Trask

"He’s using me as an example of the struggle of the species, both the good and bad. He’s trying to convince them that humans have potential and should eventually join other intelligent species, in the cosmos, on the second level and beyond."

Harry might be privy to afterworld conversations with Einstein and energy beams from beyond, but at heart he is just a regular guy trying to keep it together in 21st century America. Living in San Francisco with his wife and three children in a beautiful home, Harry tries to hold together all he has built as the tides turn on his struggling business and mid-life marriage. ... (read more)

The Course of Prosperity

Free People, Free Markets:
Their Evolutionary Origins
by Ralph L. Bayrer
New Academia Publishing

reviewed by L.A. Webb

"When creative human action is married to an efficient deployment of capital, modern science, and limited government intrusion, the most rapid growth of the economy occurs."

Two centuries ago Adam Smith asked, "Why do some countries prosper and others do not?" Bayrer's well-researched book does a masterful job tackling Smith's ponderous question. This in-depth look at mankind's social, economic, and political history proves that economic freedom is essential for prosperity. Economic freedom gives individuals the chance to unleash their talents by growing entrepreneurial businesses that benefit not just the individual, but society as a whole. ... (read more)

A Mystical Journey

Pleiades Rising
by Christine Candland
iUniverse

reviewed by Susan J. Illis

"My backpack is lighter now that I'm not carrying Yacate's bones but I miss having him with me. What is Yacate's story?"

Seventeen-year-old Maggie Marland meets Will Brighton when she is freeing her pet deer. The two quickly discover a shared love of archaeology, and while exploring a cave near Will's home, they find a gold coin, or Castellano. Maggie embarks on an investigation of the coin's history, with and without the fickle Will, whose interest in the coin and Maggie is not as great as her fascination with both the Castellano and Will. ... (read more)

The Car You Want

Euopean Style with American Muscle
by Mike Gulett
Lulu

reviewed by Mihar Shah

"These cars are art on wheels and are great collector cars. They are not a footnote but an important chapter in the history of the car."

Mike Gulett's European Style with American Muscle is a must for all car aficionados. The book consists of twenty-five chapters, with each chapter dedicated to a collector car company, one-of-a-kind worldwide. Gulett's knowledge of these cars is commendable and instrumental in providing insight to not only the most passionate, but the casual car enthusiast. In fact, European Style with American Muscle narrates the intriguing history of classic cars and companies such as AC Cars Group Ltd, Allard, Monteverdi, and many others. ... (read more)

Penance

Traces of Bliss
by Cecilia Velasegui
Libros Publishing

reviewed by Jenifer Kimble

"...the ancestral memories theory postulates that our DNA is encoded with specific memories from the experiences of our ancestors. I would say that Mrs. Hemieh has just demonstrated the extent of the details that one can unintentionally remember going back many, many generations."

In an affluent suburb of Los Angeles, several wealthy seniors inadvertently begin experiencing the tragic memories of their ancestors, following aromatherapy massage sessions with their trusted massage therapist. Mostly discarded by their blood relatives, or with none remaining at all, the seniors rely solely upon their trusted caregivers, each of whom are also full of unhappiness and despair searching for fulfillment and worth at the hands of their senior employers. ... (read more)