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The Next Bestseller: Book Marketing for Success is a hands-on book to help authors tackle marketing problems and needs. Tim Riordan, a pastor and an experienced author, uses his knowledge from publishing both bestselling fiction and religious non-fiction to offer a lot of advice primarily to newer authors and self-publishers. The book explores the often difficult and time-consuming marketing that most authors must do, no matter where they were published, and the first half introduces basics like finding your platform and using a website and social media. Later chapters move from intermediate to advanced author techniques such as video, conferences and public speaking, mastery of Amazon's features, and revitalization of older publications.    
 
For authors faced with a maze of book marketing options, The Next Bestseller: Book Marketing for Success is a great, comprehensive summary of the tricks of the trade. An impressive array of tips and strategies are explored here, and the book doesn’t underdeliver. There’s a lot of material packaged into The Next Bestseller that, if applied, can really take an author from beginner to polished, branded author over time. The thoroughness of the topics was impressive and I found that the lists of useful links, the pie chart of author platform components, and the sample job description to send to a launch team made this book a real find. Tim Riordan’s cheerful sincerity about how he incorporates God into his marketing plan and goals as a writer makes this a must-have for Christian authors who are researching a publishing journey, but this is a perfect overall study resource for anyone who wants to learn the secrets of how to improve their book sales.

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Chronomancer and the Time God: Death of a Paradise is the first book in a fantasy trilogy by James Meadows. In the world of Zarathea, Aleister, a brilliant young battle mage whose talents are matched by his arrogance, is from the kingdom of Mystas, which despises religion. But there are many who do still worship the gods. Because of a disturbing letter sent by a mysterious figure known as the Chronomancer, King Aldon of Lamoria summons three priests from Zarathea’s major religions to go on a quest with Aleister as their leader. Since he hates religion, Aleister is resentful about the quest and the priests do nothing but squabble. But their gods aren’t the only ones who exist—or who once existed. The map leads to the four pieces that contain the power of the ancient god Rael, the god of Time. And its first stop is the seemingly idyllic, constantly floating paradise city of Cockagaine. Aleister is going to be tested to the limits to get his team out of Cockaigne alive.
 
An unusually involving fantasy story, James Meadow's book takes many of the elements of a good epic adventure yarn and spins out a tale that’s intriguing, mystical, and notched with fun twists and turns. Aleister’s dislike of religion is matched by the philosophical complexity of the three faiths represented by his friends—freedom-loving (and thieving) Droma, idealistic Ardath, and stern but ultimately insecure Cameron. There’s nothing better than a book you want to read again and this world of warring kingdoms divided over profound philosophies since practically forever tells that kind of story. The heroes, pitted against immeasurably powerful gods and their crafty minions, argue deeply about things they care about, and beneath a quest and teamwork story stand the frail, adamant, divided, and lovable people who have taken sides in an epic struggle of ideas. I’ve read many fantasy books and I’d have to put Chronomancer and the Time God: Death of a Paradise near the top for its nuanced story and pertinent concepts.

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The Cosmic Playbook for Writers: 30 Vital Mini-Meditations to Boost Your Creativity, Resilience, and Passion is a short book of yoga-type meditations to help empower writers to achieve their fullest. Author P. K. Davies uses neatly linked, simple meditations that read like free-verse poetry—lilting, relaxed invitations to feel confident about each step of the authoring process. An artistic caption begins each meditation and all meditations are devoted to a different need an author might have. The book begins with the definition of a writer’s calling, “Integrity," and moves into calming, uplifting reflection verses for finding time to write, pride in the flow of creative ideas, finding readers, socializing with other authors, learning the craft through mentors, and appropriately integrating money into the author cycle.
 
This little book was very enjoyable for me. It’s a really pleasant work to browse and I loved the gentleness of the meditations. As an author, I find The Cosmic Playbook for Writers addresses the emotions I’ve had and celebrates the things I find fulfilling about writing. The meditations use vivid and intuitive imagery to pull you into a moment where you can feel objective about the specific situation—imagine yourself on a beach in the warm sun to help understand the ebb and flow of your writing or in a pool of light as you carefully seek wisdom about what to charge for your books. My favorite meditation was about the idea process, comparing it to opening a majestic treasure box out of which magical ideas flow. As a writer herself, P. K. Davies shows a real sympathy and understanding of unique writer emotional needs and her book is wonderful.