April Pohren of Cafe of Dreams Wins Blog Host of the Month Award

Pump Up Your Book Promotion would like to extend their congratulations to April Pohren of Cafe of Dreams for winning our coveted Blog Host of the Month Award. April hosts our authors on virtual book tours throughout the months and special recognition goes to her for all her good work she has done for us in our behalf. Read a special interview we did with her prior to her winning our award here! If you would like to find out more about April and her wonderful book blog, visit www.cafeofdreams.blogspot.com. Congratulations, April!

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Interview with J.W. Nicklaus, Author of THE LIGHT, THE DARK & EMBER BETWEEN

J.W. Nicklaus resides in a place not entirely fit for human habitation about five months of the year. No pets to speak of, only the apparitions from which all romantics suffer. An Arizona native, he’s been from one coast to the other, and a few places in between. College brought an AA in Journalism with a minor in Photography, and a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications. His work experience has run the gamut from Creative Director for a small advertising firm in Tucson to a litigation support bureau in Phoenix (and assuredly some awkward stuff in the mix). Snow has been featured prominently in his stories, perhaps because of the seasonless cli-mate he lives in. Nature was meant to be enjoyed and experienced, not hidden from the senses. So to that end, he hopes someday to live amongst those who are able to live through four true seasons, and not just blast furnace and warm. He enjoys the occasional Arizona Diamondbacks game with his son, as well as watching him grow up. The experience of being a single dad has taught him far more about himself than he ever thought possible. Within the expanse of every waking moment, he hopes his guardian angel keeps its arms open wide and heart ever watchful, for there but for one true Hope goes She. For more about J.W. visit www.avomnia.com. Welcome to Pump Up Your Online Book Promotion, J.W. Can we begin by having you tell us what The Light, The Dark, & Ember Between is about and why you wrote it? It’s a collection of short stories told from various facets of our human need and desire for the slightest shard of Hope. Stories about love lost, love remembered, love taught, and even some of the deeper threads which sometimes unexpectedly tug at our hearts. Hopefully they're stories which will allow the reader to easily identify with a character, if only for the life of the story, and come away with something a little more intangible but still important when they've finished reading it. I've given thought to the "why" question for quite some time, and the answer that keeps coming back to me is "I had to." I kept writing the stories for so long, no consideration given at the time of their completion to publishing them, and eventually a little voice told me to look at the common thread amongst all of them—that's when it hit me, the notion to pursue publishing. Given the sour economy and overall economic mood the timing of its publication contains a smidgen of serendipity to it. The Light, The Dark, & Ember Between is a short story anthology. Why did you choose this genre to write? Did you choose it or did it choose you? While I've always enjoyed novels, there has always been something about the tight structure to a short story that's always appealed to me. I do believe the format chose me, in its own clandestine way. Being able to write from my own personal experiences was—as it is for most—a very cathartic thing. My experiences are not the least bit uncommon, nor are the emotions. But the more I began toying with stories and characters I found that I needed them as much as they needed me. When I later got the impulse to consider publishing them I thought of all those stories I’ve read that delicately reached in and touched me in some manner. The short gets you from A to B with little time to forget details. It doesn't allow for a tremendous amount of character exploration, but there's enough room to make the characters palpable. I really like that particular challenge of it. In regards to promotion, what have you been doing to promote your book online? Currently I maintain my own website (www.avomnia.com) geared more specifically to my writing style which features some shameless self-promotion about the book, including the trailer (which is really pretty nice if I may say so!). I also have a blog (avomnia.wordpress.com) which is more what's-on-my-mind kind of stuff but also features stuff about the book, and will also have links to all of my stops during the tour. I'm also listed on GoodReads.com, and stay in touch with a couple other authors on that site. I have listed my tour information there as well. Additionally, I follow other writers' blogs and comment on them whenever possible, and even on those whose blogs I read for fun, I try not to let a good opportunity for promotion slip by. Of all the promotional items (bookmarks, press kits, etc…) you have used to promote your book, which one was used most effectively? Thus far I've only used bookmarks, which will become far more prevalent once I get into the post-release marketing, but comments on them so far have been very positive! Do you have a book trailer? Yes! Watch it here! Do you feel that the Internet has opened doors for authors who never dreamed they’d ever see a publishing contract and how has it influenced you in regards to your own publishing journey? I think it's beyond any possible measure of doubt that it has. Just to be able to get their writing out in front of the public has caused a complete shift in publishing dynamic over the last half decade, and I think that will only become more pronounced as time goes on. The internet is something of an equalizer—plenty of mediocre stuff gets through for nothing more than profit, but there are also untold numbers of genuinely good writers out there deserving of a shot, and the internet finally gives them a way to begin getting it out there. Caution still needs to be paid, but control has largely been wrested from the big publishing houses now. The majority of us still will yearn to make it to "The Show" someday, but in the meantime, if we can make a difference, however small, in someone's life by going an untraditional route then I think the internet is a good place to begin looking. If you were in the middle of Manhattan (or any busy thoroughfare) and you wanted to call attention to your book, what would you do and what would you say? Manhattan . . .what a place to get exposure! I'd like to suspend a full color banner above, well most anywhere in Manhattan. Something large enough to garner pleasant distraction but not get me in trouble with NY's Finest. Stand on one of the corners with a couple boxes of copies and hand them out for free, signing those that wanted them signed. Then repeat the same procedure once a day for an entire week in different parts of the city: Times Square, Central Park, Greenwich Village, etc. While assuredly a costly venture, imagine all the eyeballs that would see the banner over a week's time and the word-of-mouth the free books would engender. That would be quite an experience! If you could trade places with any author just for a day, who would it be and why? I've dipped this tea bag into my Cup of Considerations and let it steep for a bit, and while assuredly there are a number of writers I'd love to talk to or meet, a number of them are dead—so changing places isn't ideal in those situations ;^) I've always loved Steinbeck and Hemingway, Thomas Paine, David McCullough, even John Grisham and relative unknown Mary Akers. But I can't say I'd want to change places with them, even for a day. I love their writing because it's theirs, not because I want it to surreptitiously be mine. Plus, my logical half tells me that if I change places with them, that means they have to be me for a day, and obviously I get the better end of that stick! Lastly, how do you determine your book’s success? If by "determine" you mean "define," I can't honestly say that I'm relying upon sales figures alone. For me the biggest part of success lies in how it's received by readers. If most people who read the stories come away with a smile, a laugh, or even a tear, then I consider that a far greater measure of success than mere numbers alone. Thank you for coming, J.W.! Can you tell us where everyone can pick up a copy of The Light, The Dark, & Ember Between? Certainly! After it's release in May it will be available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and at PDBoostore.com, as well as select independent bookstores around the country. I'm also planning on setting up a means of purchasing from my website so those who may wish to purchase a signed copy may do so!

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