First, let me say that I am truly appreciative of everyone who took the time to enter my contest. When I began to brainstorm about what the title of my second poetry book should be, I quickly decided to turn to my readership in order to come up with the best title possible. And, when I engaged you, the reader, I was not disappointed at all. So many ideas poured in, and I was a bit overwhelmed by the added quality of so many; that made my job of picking just one so much more difficult. I was patient and diligent in coming to my decision, and I turned to some of those people within my inner circle that did not submit an entry into the fun title contest for some added input and opinion. To them, I am also extremely grateful!

So, after putting many hours into this decision, I am excited to announce that the winner of the “Title My Next Book” contest and hence recipient of a signed copy of the upcoming book upon its release is (drum roll… ) Andrew McLaren! Congratulations! I have selected “Guerrilla Wordfare” as the title of my next book. This title really speaks to the heart and soul of the content that will fill this book’s pages! Again, I am thankful for the great contest participation, and I look forward to providing book release details as they become available!

Thanks again for swinging back by. Many of you have requested the link to the chapter preview of my next poetry book, and I appreciated all of the feedback and your time to check out the progress of my new book. In an effort to fill the current and future requests for this preview, I am including the link here! The preview is a PDF, and it is password protected, a decision made because of spam bots, etc. Therefore, once you open or save this PDF, the password is simply 61110! If you have any questions or issues, please do not hesitate to comment below. Also, I would enjoy hearing your feedback and insight as you get time! Have a great day!

Currently, I am wrapping up my second poetry book. I anticipate that this book will be published and available to the public sometime in the late spring of this year. My first book, Reflections on Life’s Roller Coaster Rides, contained 100 poems and coming up with the title was pretty easy as the book described how life has its ups and downs, just like a great and terrifying roller coaster. However, my follow-up book of poetry will be a bit longer (currently enlisting 260 of my most recent poems over a vast array of life changing topics). The overall theme of the book is that of famous battles within our lives, and I could envision my cover, which has yet to be drawn, as a battlefield of some sort, but that is by no means set in stone. This is where you, the avid reader, come in. I would like to engage you, my creative and intelligent reader, to come up with what the title of this book should be. I set out to write this book with the goal of enabling each reader to make it his or her own, a book that he or she could relate to in some way, shape, or form.

Here are some of the book particulars that might help you visualize and conceptualize my next book’s title. The book has three main sections and a total of 13 themed chapters. Below, I have listed the current outline of my book (example: theme – current chapter title).

Section 1

1. Beauty – Battle of Beauty Bay
2. Hope/Future – Humbled at Hope Harbor
3. Inspiration – Invasion on Inspiration Island
4. Love – Attack on Lover’s Lake

Section 2

1. Challenges – Covert Ops on The Challenge Chamber
2. Disappointment – Destroying Disappointment Dungeon
3. Frustrations/Stress – Assault on Fort Frustration
4. Loneliness – The Landing at Lonely Lodge
5. Reality – Raid on Reality Ridge

Section 3

1. Honor/Integrity/Trust – Intrusion on Trusting Times
2. Promises and Commitments – The Climb to Promise Peak
3. Courage – Infiltrating Courage Cove
4. Wisdom – Sneak Attack on Wisdom Warship

I ask that you comment to this blog below with your recommended book title (a subtitle is optional) so everyone else can see. Just to clarify, this is a free-spirited contest. This contest will remain open until the end of January. On February 1, 2010, I will take only those recommended titles that are submitted via this blog’s comments and declare a winner. I will post the name of the contest winner as a new blog post and via Facebook, Twitter, and on MCH Publications’s website! By entering a name in the contest and being chosen, you are giving the name and all rights to it to me and my publisher. In exchange for the winning title, I will acknowledge the winner in the book, and I will send (within North America) a free, signed copy of the book to the winner upon the book’s release.

As the world and economy continues to progress towards a recovery, it appears that more shoppers will be out this year. Many experts are expecting solid Black Friday and related Christmas shopping revenue, but customers are still looking for a great deal and a unique gift that is personalized in the eyes of the gift receiver. So, what are you going to give your family and friends this year. I begin to look at that question in my quest to find economical, long-lasting, and satisfying gift ideas for those closest to my heart, and I suddenly remember what Delirious Girl (a former contributor in RedRoom that I met last year) posted a great blog about buying a book for those on your Christmas list. I must say that I really have to agree, and this year is no different than last. A book is really a great idea. They come in all shapes and sizes; they even cover an array of subject matters. Knowledge is a great gift, so I recommend that you share a book or two this Christmas season. If you have an avid reader in the family or a friend that likes to learn new things, I would recommend that you grab a book or two from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or even your local bookstore. There are so many books within the marketplace, and there are many reviews out there (along with helpful customer service representatives and customer comments) available at your disposal. Many are offering solid discounts in a race to earn your money.

Ironically, I just found a few great deals on Amazon – one very popular and highly-acclaimed book (The Cluetrain Manifesto: 10th Anniversary edition) that came this summer was offered for a mere $4.42 this week. Wow! I thought that I needed to get my eyes checked when I saw that steal of a deal. I mean… that book normally retails for over five times that amount, so I could not pass up such a deal. No matter what book you might prefer, I am certain that there are numerous deals just at the right price point for you. In the end, your friends and family will be grateful for such a thoughtful gift. So, when in doubt, go with the economical, long-lasting gift… an enjoyable book, one filled with knowledge and inspiration.

Borders or Barnes & Noble?

After a long day of projects, stress, and the fast-paced world that we have grown accustom to, I like to find time to go up to a bookstore to read and enjoy a large cup (or two) of hot chocolate with caramel, whipped cream, and many great unnecessary and unhealthy toppings. No matter where I have lived or visited, I have found that there was always either a Borders or Barnes & Noble bookstore nearby. In most cases, both were within reasonable driving range. To give you a brief background on my experience with both, Borders actually was the first of the two that I visited as the nearest Barnes & Noble bookstore (at the time) was over thirty miles away, so I learned my way around the local Borders store. After Barnes & Noble opened a store within ten minutes of my residence, I tried it out and enjoyed the time there.

As a writer, I then was hearing that it would be easier to get my book on the shelves of local Barnes & Noble Stores because Borders was not doing so well financially and was rumored to be out its way out. However, both still operate storefronts, both online and off.  Both even are book-reader friendly, providing accommodating areas to drink, eat, and read, all without directly buying a book or even requiring the reader, you, to buy from their overpriced café. Both Borders and Barnes & Noble are now offering their wi-fi services for free, something that they used to charge for. I must say that Barnes & Noble has upset me when their café took the Godiva hot chocolate off the menu, and I was pleasantly pleased to see that Borders’ café (Seattle’s Best) has happy hour pricing at the nearby location.

As you can see, they all offer added value to their customers, knowing that they might offer some small level of loyalty to their companies when they want to purchase their next book. Then again, maybe not, but their actions are not hurting, and doing anything less will just drive the potential customers away to the next competitor. So, which bookstore is doing things right? In the end, both offer similar perks and added value, but which one is really excelling the most at the moment? Or, do you just go to these bookstores to read and purchase your next book on Amazon?