Seumas Gallacher has survived long enough to savour places, characters and events for more than forty years in the Far East and the Arabian Gulf.
He started life in Scotland, travelled far and wide as a wannabe Trainee Master of the Universe, but the Universe had other plans for him.
From a career in banking, he escaped to become a corporate trouble-shooter.
He discovered the joy and torture of becoming a wordsmith, writing five best-selling crime novels, a book of poetry, and being hyper-active on social media.
‘Strangely, I’m Still Here’ is his story.
Author Bio:
SEUMAS GALLACHER escaped from the world of finance years ago, after a career spanning three continents and five decades.
As the self-professed ‘oldest computer Jurassic on the planet’ his headlong immersion into the dizzy world of eBook publishing opened his eyes, mind, and pleasure to the joys of self-publishing.
As a former businessman, he rapidly understood the concept of a writer’s need to ‘build the platform’, and from a standing start began to develop a social networking outreach, which now tops 30,000 direct contacts.
His first four crime-thrillers, in what has become the ‘Jack Calder’ series, THE VIOLIN MAN’S LEGACY, VENGEANCE WEARS BLACK, SAVAGE PAYBACK and KILLER CITY have blown his mind with more than 90,000 e-link downloads to date. The fifth in the series, DEADLY IMPASSE, was published in the third quarter 2016. When he reaches the 100,000 sales/downloads mark he may indulge an extra Fried Mars Bar to celebrate.
He started a humorous, informative, self-publishers blog, never having heard of a ‘blog’ prior to that, was voted ‘Blogger of the Year 2013’ and now has a loyal blog following on his networks. He says the novels contain his ‘Author’s Voice’, while the blog carries his ‘Author’s Brand’. And he’s still LUVVIN IT!
Reading Challenges have become very popular over the years. They’re a huge social talking point among readers and writers. As any introvert will tell you, if you want to strike up a conversation with them, ask them what they’re currently reading and you’ll earn yourself a worthy literary conversation.
As a mother, teacher and author, I think swapping Reading Challenge Lists is a wonderful way for friends, family and like minded individuals to connect and have meaningful conversations.
If you’re looking to add more books to your own To-Read List, (A-hem, coughs in a please-notice-me-but-I-don’t-want-to-be-rude-about-it sort of way) I just happen to have a few that might interest you or your children.
The Old BookShop Of Bordentown is the 8th stop on my Independent Book Store tour. In an effort to bring awareness of how vital these places are, I’m interviewing the great folks who manage them.
Located in historic Bordentown City in central New Jersey, The Old Bookshop of Bordentown are purveyors of out of print and antiquarian books. They have titles that cater to history buffs, sports and erotica fans, aspiring thespians, gardeners and religious folk.
But wait, there’s more!
Their inventory also includes
fantasy titles like Eragon, George R. R. Martin’s epic saga Game of
Thrones as well as Manga, mysteries, an expanding entertainment section and
a children’s room. It’s bookworm heaven!
Don’t worry if your book budget is
limited, the Old Bookshop has many discounted titles, some as low as a $1.00.
(FYI: if you check out their Facebook page you
may find even more savings.)
Their doors are open Wednesday through Saturday from
11:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday from
12:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
Doug, the owner of The Old Bookshop Of Bordentown, was kind enough to answer a few questions about his store and the value it adds to his community of readers.
Hi, Doug, welcome to Angel Kiss Publications. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview.
Thank you for having me.
What motivated you to open (or work at) an Independent Book Store?
I’ve been a book collector since I was about 14 years
old. After spending a career on Wall Street and with a large amount of books,
many in storage, I began to consign material to a cooperative shop in the late
1990s.
Once I got fed up with commuting to New York City from
the Princeton, NJ area and decided I’d rather watch my two little sons grow up,
we opened a shop in Freehold, NJ.
The bookselling trade is rewarding in ways other than
financial (it’s not particularly remunerative).
I like to think, however, that we’re providing a valuable service–books give people pleasure, knowledge, sometimes comfort, and help to expand horizons.
Can you tell us a little about Old
Bookshop Of Bordentown?
The Old Book Shop of Bordentown is a general used and
out-of-print bookstore with vintage and rare editions as well. Most of the
stock on our shelves is priced under $10 (though we also carry material that
runs into the thousands of dollars).
We sub-specialize in New Jersey books (naturally) and
have the largest section of New Jersey titles in the state. We carry general history,
American history (American Revolution, Civil War and WWII), fiction and
literature (geared more toward the classic authors like Austen, Hemingway,
Virgina Woolf, Tolkein, etc).
We also have sections on art, architecture, music,
theater, movie and TV, cooking, antiques, etc.
There are some 10,000 books on our open shelves and we
also have an online inventory of some 9,000 titles.
What’s involved with running an independent bookstore?
Nowadays a small independent operating in a brick-and mortar
open location has to be in a place where the cost of location operation is low
enough to stay in business. This is very difficult in New Jersey.
In order to pay the rent, one usually gives up any
significant walking traffic. For example, if I were in Princeton where there is
a large walking population during the days and evening, my rent would be 5 to
10 times what it is here—and I’d be out of business within 90 days.
Acquisition of inventory is also a critical issue—what do
you carry and from where do you get it?
We don’t buy inventory directly from publishers or from
overstock houses (except for a few very local history titles). We can’t compete
with Barnes and Noble in terms of prices or customer volume on that material.
We buy from individuals (people who are moving,
down-sizing), estates, historical societies or libraries who are deaccessioning
material, etc. One big advantage to having an open shop is that you get buying
opportunities that you would not otherwise.
As with any such business, it’s always a bit of a guessing
game — hopefully what we buy will interest our customers. Sometimes it is and
sometimes we have things in inventory for years.
Is competition with online
retailers difficult?
Competition with other online retailers is always an
issue. Certain ones, Amazon particularly but eBay as well, are a headlong dive
to the bottom of the barrel. Anyone with a cardboard box of books in their
garage and a computer can be a “bookseller”.
That hugely increases supply and buyers on these sites
usually are looking for the cheapest possible item—and they’re often
disappointed with the actual item when it arrives (or so a number of customers
have always told me). They are the world’s low-end yard sales.
How do small bookstores compete
with Amazon and Barnes & Noble?
All that having been said, you have to deal with the
devil. We sell on Amazon and it in fact makes up a significant percentage of
our monthly revenues. We get a greater number of orders through them than
through any other sales channel, but the orders are also almost always for
lower priced items—and there is absolutely zero customer loyalty as they are
hysterical about keeping sellers and buyers from communicating directly.
Barnes & Noble is not a competitive factor for us as we don’t deal in new books. We’re signed up as vendors for out of print stuff with them but rarely get an order.
Barnes & Noble is not a competitive factor for us as we don’t deal in new books. We’re signed up as vendors for out of print stuff with them but rarely get an order.
What makes your store unique?
We try to offer a bit of everything so that folks who
come in can hopefully find things they didn’t know they wanted when they came
in.
We also have a whole room full of books for children and young adults—everything from baby picture books to Nancy Drew, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and even more mature titles for teens.
I feel strongly about getting books into the hands of
children at an early age—that’s what my mom did with me and my sister when we
were little.
What are your biggest sellers?
Our single biggest seller over the years since we’ve been
here has been the Harry Potter series. We sell the hardcovers for around $7 and
the paperbacks for around $3.
J. K. Rowling has, in my opinion, done more to advance
literacy than anyone else in the last half-century.
We sell lots of New Jersey books—Pine Barrens and Jersey
Devil stuff is popular given our geographic location. American history is a
good seller as well.
In terms of adult fiction and literature, our steady
sellers have been Jane Austen, Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, J. R. R. Tolkien and
more recently Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin and Chuck Palahniuk.
There’s always a run on books with current TV and movie
tie-ins like Game of Thrones.
Do you have promotions throughout
the year?
Not really. We coordinate more with the big events here
in Bordentown: the Cranberry Festival in October, the Holiday Chocolate Walk
and the Valentine’s Day Chocolate Walk. Those events provide us with a
ready-made crowd.
Do you have author book signings?
We’re too small to do it effectively. The only exception
is for local authors that put out local history books or general interest
things—we have two local authors who have published children’s books and we’ve
had signings with them. We schedule those sessions during the bigger two events
as mentioned above so they get good exposure.
What advice would you give to
authors just starting out?
Don’t give up your day jobs.
The current publishing environment is extremely
competitive as writers have many more venues than just traditional hard-copy
publishers.
Yes, it’s easier to get your stuff out there via the
innumerable online venues but it’s incredibly difficult to actually get
eyeballs on your work.
And if you want to get an authentic following, don’t
write books about growing up, issues with your parents/siblings/spouses, or
your views on the cosmos, or poetry.
Write something that may be unique, write local history,
develop and write children’s book characters.
In terms of fiction, try young adult and have a plan for books two,
three and more in case you catch lightning in a bottle. Then you might have a
shot.
Is there anything else you’d like
readers to know about you and your store?
The same thing I say to consumers about all small local
businesses: “Use ‘em or lose ‘em”.
We welcome everyone to come in and browse, poke around
the shelves, try something new or just pick up a copy of an old friend. Just
picking up a $2 or $3 paperback or hardcover helps pay the rent and keep us
open.
Want to read The Great Gatsby (another of our most steady sellers)? Try finding a paperback copy at B&N for less than $15. We sell them for $3 or $4.
What are some of your favorite books/authors?
I enjoy historical mysteries set in the Middle Ages, the
Victorian Era, and the colonial period, so we usually have a good selection of
those.
I’ve also been a Sherlock Holmes fan since I was a
teenager, so we have a nice selection of that material.
My favorite 20th century American author is
John Steinbeck (I think The Grapes ofWrath was the greatest 20th
c. American novel) so we have lots of his books.
By way of introduction, here is Robin Goldblum’s bio:
Robin Goldblum has had her nose stuck in a book for as long as she can remember, and crafting words in to stories followed.
During her formative years, she won a National Scholastics Award and had the honor of reading her story at the Library of Congress.
As the editor of her college literary magazine, she found organizing writers to be much like wrangling wendigos!
Robin had to take a difficult break from writing as she fought through the rigors of veterinary school and developing her career. She won for being the Best Veterinarian in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 2019.
Yet, when the urge to write overwhelmed her, she let the words pour out of her. Today, she lives with her wonderful husband and their three beautiful, but rambunctious, children and a library packed with books.
Now that you’ve been introduced to Robin, let’s get to know her a little better.
Hello, Robin, welcome to Angel Kiss Publications and thank you for agreeing to do this interview.
Thank you for having me.
What inspired you to be a writer?
It all started with a love of reading and stories. It was
very exciting when I discovered I could craft my own stories.
Is writing your full-time profession?
No, I’m a veterinarian professionally.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing since I was a kid, and I even attempted to
write a novel in middle school! In college, I was the co-editor and contributed
numerous pieces to the campus literary magazine.
I had to put my writing on hold during veterinary school and
as I established my career, but the urge to write returned several years ago.
Have you won any awards?
I won 2 awards for short stories in high school. One of them
was first place in the National Scholastic’s Writing Contest and I got to read
my story at the Library of Congress.
That’s amazing!
How many books have you written?
One full length novel and one novella
Which genres do you write?
These two are western horror romance stories.
What do you find most challenging writing for these genres?
I had to do lots of research on the Wild West!
What are you working on now?
A science fiction/romance novel that jumps between the dreams
of an unconscious man living in our world of the past and the woman he loves
trying to protect his sleeping body in an apocalyptic world invaded by aliens.
Where do you find inspiration for your characters?
Real life heroes, characters in books, movies and TV, and a
little bit of myself.
What has been your most rewarding experience since publishing
your work? Holding my printed book that I’d worked so hard on for so many years
in my hands.
What advice would you give to authors just starting out?
Just keep plugging away. It is so much work to write a book,
but it is so satisfying once you get to the end.
Is there anything else you’d like your readers to know about
you?
As well as being a writer, I adore being a veterinarian. I
won Best Veterinarian in Bucks County, Pa.
Congratulations!
What message are you sharing in your books?
Keep away from wendigos!
What are your favorite books?
So many! The Stand by Stephen King, Watchers by Dean Koontz, Star Trek:TNG- Imzadi by Peter David, My Life by Golda Meir, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and more!
If you could create an author’s group with writers from any time
period, who would you invite?
Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, Robin McKinley, Peter Beagle,
Mary Shelley
Who has influenced your writing the most?
Dean Koontz, because he started me on my love of horror books.
I love his writing style of switching between different characters to tell the
story.
When you’re not writing where can we find you?
Playing with my children.
A movie producer wants to turn your book into a movie, and
you get to make a cameo. What would you do in the movie?
I want to be a wendigo!
An elf named 12-25 approaches you. He’s sneezing, wheezing,
coughing and there’s a strange tattoo of a snoring dog on his cheek. What do
you do?
I feel like this is a trick or inside question that is going
over my head, but I’ll roll with it. I’d start with a physical exam.
As I am unfamiliar with the species, I’d hope the patient
would fill me in on details of afflictions that would cause his clinical signs
and possible remedies to treat him.
Of course, I’m a curious person and would ask about the
snoring dog tattoo. I could tell this elf all about snoring dogs and ask if
they have Pugs and Bulldogs where he comes from!
Do you have a website/Facebook page, etc?
www.Robin Goldblum.com
On Facebook, find me at Robin Goldblum’s Books
Where can we find your books?
All of my links are available on my website, as well as the
link to my free novella. The main location is on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Kisses-Gruesome-Bites-Romance-ebook/dp/B07VCLSHNH.
Thank you, Robin, for spending time with us and sharing your story. We wish you continued success and lots of luck!
Sheriff Bill is horrified when he finds a viciously mangled corpse just outside town limits.
Jane is busy keeping her students calm while hysterical rumors blow through Morely like tumbleweed. The local tribe claims the dead are being possessed by cannibalistic demons called Wendigos. Calvin is skeptical until a Wendigo tries to eat his brother. Then it’s not just a myth anymore.
The whole town begins to panic.
Calvin and Jane desperately try to find a solution together. Townspeople fall prey to deadly bites, jealousy and fear. The inconvenient passion between Calvin and Jane could prove just as dangerous as her husband’s drinking sprees.
Shots are fired, friendships are shattered and love is found. As the danger comes closer, the townsfolk need to band together for their survival. Or are they already doomed?
Tasha Madison has a B.A. from the Edward
R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University, an M.B.A.
from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and a J.D. from Seattle
University’s School of Law.
She is a Huntsville, Alabama
transplant from Seattle, Washington. She loves all things Jane Austen. She is
also a sucker for Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes.
As a Communications professional
with over 15 years of experience, she has been a desktop publisher, a
journalist and a copy editor.
Now that you’ve been introduced to Tashsa, let’s get to know her a little better.
Hello, Tasha, welcome to Angel Kiss
Publications.
Thank you for having me.
What inspired you to be a writer?
I’ve always had a hearty appetite
for the written word, even from a very young age. I was a very avid reader as a
child. I would stay up late at night, trying to read the next chapter with my
flashlight, long after my mom told me it was time for bed. My love for writing started
with poetry and prose, and quickly blossomed into a passion for storytelling.
Is writing your full-time
profession?
Not yet, but I hope it will be one
day.
How long have you been writing?
I first started writing in the third grade. By the fifth grade, I wrote my first novella. I still have it! By the eighth grade, I wrote my first novel. So, I started writing pretty early.
How many books have you written?
Fabric of a Generation is my debut novel.
Which genres do you write?
YA and historical fiction.
What do you find most challenging
writing for these genres?
YA fiction is challenging because I
like to tackle important issues in my writing. So, my endeavor is to thread
valuable YA discussions and experiences into the pages of my writing while
maintaining authenticity.
Historical fiction can also be intimidating,
especially if you are writing a novel based on a true story or inspired by the
lives of historical actors. Authors of historical fiction bear the burden
between remaining true to the story/time period and true to themselves and the
creativity of their craft. The two don’t
always coexist peaceably, so it is important to find balance.
What are you working on now?
My work-in-progress is a historical
fiction novel about an ancient civilization.
Where do you find inspiration for
your characters?
I find inspiration from so many
things … my personal experiences, people I know, have met, or simply observed, locations
I’ve visited, activities I enjoy, etc. Bits and pieces come from a multitude of
places and then I weave them together to create an interesting character.
What has been your most rewarding experience
since publishing your work?
I recently had a young adult reader
say that she loved my book and tell me that she stayed up all night so that she
could find out what happened next. She said she read my book in 24 hours. There’s
nothing more satisfying than having your target reader understand and
appreciate your work.
What advice would you give to
authors just starting out?
Research! Research! Research! Research
your novel’s topic. Research your craft. Research the publishing industry.
Writing is fun but, after the manuscript is finished, it has to be edited and
refined. Then, it has to be formatted, distributed, and marketed. Writing is
only one small piece of the puzzle. So, do your homework!
Is there anything else you’d like
your readers to know about you?
Apart from the fact that I own the
entire collectible set of Lord of the Rings, complete with my very own Gollum
statue? No, not really.
What message are you sharing in
your books?
My characters face serious and
often daunting obstacles. So, my message boils down to hope. Hope for the future
… hope for the possibility that something great can still happen in spite of past
struggles, failures, and fears. I want to share hope with the world!
What are your favorite books?
I was completely obsessed with the Nancy Drew mysteries growing up. Now, I read across several fiction genres as well as nonfiction. As a result, my favorite book is usually whatever I am reading at the time.
If you could create an author’s
group with writers from any time period, who would you invite?
Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, Carolyn Keene, Agatha Christie, Maya Angelou, and Langston
Hughes.
Who has influenced your writing the
most?
Definitely Maya Angelou. The ability
she had to use her pen to empower and move people beyond words should be every
writer’s goal.
When you’re not writing where can
we find you?
In the craft store buying scrapbooking
and cardmaking supplies!
A movie producer wants to turn your
book into a movie and you get to make a cameo. What would you do in the movie?
I’d totally be the Stan Lee “extra”
in my movies … a part of the movie but only a quick, humorous addendum to the
storyline.
An elf named 12-25 approaches you.
He’s sneezing, wheezing, coughing and there’s a strange tattoo of a snoring dog
on his cheek. What do you do?
First, I would ask if he was okay (because
I’ve got manners after all), and then I would inquire about who he is and from where
he came.
Thank you, Tasha, for spending time with us and sharing your story. We wish you continued success and lots of luck!
Miranda dreams of disappearing. That and torturing her younger brainiac of a brother. To sidestep the risk of personal vulnerability (and her much-hated history class), she plays soccer or skips school by escaping to her favorite magic shop whenever she gets the chance.
As her truancy creates a rift between her ambitious TV producer mother and misunderstood stay-at-home dad, Miranda begins to covet the unknown destiny of strangers and questions whether she will ever have one of her own worth living.
Miranda’s relationships are laced with the strychnine of blame, envy, and doubt. So, when she finds a mystical shawl in the attic, she thinks all her dreams have come true! Her discovery initiates a free fall through time. As she navigates through the hilarious, treacherous, and heartbreaking road to maturity, the strained relationship between her and her mother ignites a troubled path to selflessness and compassion.
Can she use her present circumstances to help redeem herself from her past mistakes? If Miranda cannot find her way back home, she might be forever stuck in time.
Anyone seeking a coming-of-age tale with an addicting family saga that explores life lessons on money, love, and relationships will enjoy the rabbit-hole adventures of this book.
Buy this historical fantasy today to discover Miranda’s journey through time!
William Grannetino served in the US navy during World War II. From the day he landed on Omaha Beach to the morning he sailed out of the Pacific theatre for the last time, he was surrounded by violence, trauma, death, and a comradery unparalleled in civilian life.
Through the pen of Grannetino’s son, readers are provided a glimpse of a sailor’s gut-wrenching realities of war as he relates details about little-known landings that happened ahead of the initial D-Day assault and unique facts somehow lost in history.
Compelling descriptions of street to street fighting in the city of Caen, the urgency of rushing military support to the Battle of the Bulge, and the terror of Kamikaze attacks in the Pacific, transport readers right to the battle zone.
From the jubilation over the end of hostilities to the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Tom Grannetino has captured his father’s stories and crafted an historical and deeply personal account of one man’s experiences in the Second World War….
About The Author:
Tom Grannetino credits his father, William, for his strong work ethic and technical abilities, which have brought him great success in the construction industry as a craftsman and construction superintendent.
He also spent years listening to his dad tell stories about his experiences in the US Navy during World War II. After hearing his father lament numerous times, “I should have written a book,” Tom decided to write the book himself for his children, grandchildren, and anyone else with an interest in military and US history.
Tom describes himself as a religious person who is committed to his church, where he occasionally fills in for his Pastor leading worship and delivering the sermon.
He and his wife, Kathleen, live in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, and have two daughters and five grandchildren, with whom Tom loves to share quality time with. Tom enjoys studying theology, traveling, hunting, fishing, and watching both golf and football.
