The New Book Review

This blog, #TheNewBookReview, is "new" because it eschews #bookbigotry. It lets readers, reviewers, authors, and publishers expand the exposure of their favorite reviews, FREE. Info for submissions is in the "Send Me Your Fave Book Review" circle icon in the right column below. Find resources to help your career using the mini search engine below. #TheNewBookReview is a multi-award-winning blog including a MastersInEnglish.org recommendation.

Thursday, June 11, 2026

SEND US YOUR FAVE MARKETING TIP: ONE MORE WAY TO GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE AS AN AUTHOR OF TALENT


Do your have one successful marketing tip to share with your fellow authors, publicists and book marketers? Just send it to me at carolynhjohnson@icloud.com with the words "My fave marketing tip" in the subject line, using the format below. We will publish your tip and give a special award as the WINNER OF THE MONTH to the one which receives the greatest number of views that month.  



Hi, I'm Lois W. Stern, Associate here at Carolyn's wonderful blogs. 


We all know that even the best of books won’t go far without some good marketing behind them, so how about sending us your FAVE marketing tip, using the form below. That’s a big deal for you ‘cause, with so many eyeballs focused on your idea, it gives you one more opportunity to highlight your accomplishments as an Author, Editor, Publisher or Marketing guru.


HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR FAVE MARKETING TIP:

To make the submission process easier, first copy and paste the template below to help you gather all your data. Then I will post it for FREE on my blogs.

 

TEMPLATE for SUBMITTING a FAVE MARKETING TIP


YOUR NAME: 


YOUR CREDENTIALS:: How you want to be known  

(Author, Publicist, Editor , Marketing guru . . .)


TITLE(S) OF BOOK(S) YOU SUCCESSFULLY MARKETED:


MARKETING TIP  ITSELF, of course!


IMAGES: Please include JPEG IMAGES of your choice, (ie Your logo, Your photo, Anything that helps define you and the book you marketed). Kindly send each with an identifying caption,


ABOUT YOU, THE MARKETING GURU: With Optional Biography/credit line. 

(Don’t be shy. This is your opportunity to let readers know of all your wonderful accomplishments.)


YOUR  FAVE LINKS: 


YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS: ____________________________

Do you want this email to be included with your marketing tip?

 ___ Yes ___ NO


LAST CHECK: NITTY GRITTY BUT IMPORTANT PUBLISHING STUFF


YOUR SUBMISSION WILL INCLUDE:


Your name as submitter of this marketing tip.

Title of book you are marketing.

Actual marketing tip.

Permission to print your marketing tip 

Photos of your choice in JPEG format.

Caption to identify each submitted photo.


Note #1: If you would like to quote a testimonial or blurb of twenty-five words or under at the end of your marketing tip, please feel free to do so. 

If you need help editing blurbs, read Carolyn’s The Frugal Editor using the Index to find appropriate entries.  



MORE ABOUT #THENEWBOOKREVIEW BLOG The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines in Lois W. Stern’s silver circle icon in the right column of this blog, in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at https://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews Authors and publishers will want to access use Lois W. Stern's #AuthorsHelpingAuthors services. All are free and listed in her silver-circle icons in the right column. WARNING some cell phones cut off the right column of the blog, so try it using your desktop!) Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author and veteran educator, she also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing HowToDoItFrugally https://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews.

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Review of HIDEBOUND, a SCI-FI THRILLER







BOOK TITLE: HIDEBOUND


AUTHOR OF BOOK: Joy V. Smith


GENRE: Science fiction (Adult content)


ISBN: 979-8-224-23122-5

 

PAGE COUNT: 68


AMAZON or FAVE LINK to BUY BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Hidebound-Joy-V-Smith-ebook/dp/B005ICFOHY/ref=sr_1_1crid=XXB8DP05ZA1A&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5um1Y3ysXTMdSnF1eH7WOlcxnZyPgclgEEPjQGzCno.Viazmj20hxdMedfr7OfeHGBf1muXe3IpfJDIyomTv9w&dib_tag=se&keywords=Hidebound+by+Joy+v+smith&qid=1774341491&s=books&sprefix=hidebound+by+joy+v+smith%2Cstripbooks%2C120&sr=1-1

 

THE REVIEW ITSELF:  

by Vincent Miskell

Permission granted 03-22-26 

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2011


5.0 out of 5 stars

 

Coming of Age on a Deadly Planet

Format: Kindle


Fissa's desire for independence, leaving the safety of her home planet to travel space on her cousin's ship, the St. Catherine, may be her first and final adventure. The ship is attacked, and she crash-lands in a shuttle on a planet covered with carnivorous vegetation. Now her life is in the hands of Ferenc, an alien humanoid with strange physical powers. Will he abandon her, force himself upon her, or continue to save her as they journey over deadly terrain? Under the constant threat of death and with a growing attraction for the enigmatic humanoid, Fissa must grow up fast and make some life-altering choices. Joy V. Smith has deftly combined science fiction adventure with romance, realistically exploring an emotional and physical relationship between human and humanoid.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Joy V. Smith has been writing stories since she was little; she made her own little books.  Her stories and articles have been published in print magazines, ezines, and anthologies; and her SF has been published in two audiobooks, including Sugar Time (also in print). Her books include Detour Trail; Strike Three; Well Met by WaterVelvet of SwordsCold New Planet; Crystal Quest; a collection of her published short stories, The Doorway and Other Stories.  She lives in Florida with Samwise Gamgee, a Chihuahua cross, and Pemberley, the tortoiseshell cat,

 

 

MORE ABOUT #THENEWBOOKREVIEW BLOG The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines in Lois W. Stern’s silver circle icon in the right column of this blog, in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at https://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews Authors and publishers will want to access use Lois W. Stern's #AuthorsHelpingAuthors services. All are free and listed in her silver-circle icons in the right column. WARNING some cell phones cut off the right column of the blog, so try it using your desktop!) Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author and veteran educator, she also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing HowToDoItFrugally https://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews.

Sunday, June 7, 2026

ADDING ANOTHER FEATHER TO YOUR CAP AS AN AUTHOR OF TALENT

ENTER THIS NO FEE CONTEST 

FROM TALES2INSPIRE®

Check out these value added features:

  • Critiques from 3 fellow authors
  • Opportunity to revise entry based on critiques and resubmit
  • Each winners gets:
    • Story published in a new Tales2Inspire gem anthology 
    • Dedicated full page in book to tout each author’s other accomplishments 
    • Full screen teaser about each author’s winning story on theTales2Inspire website 
    • Story and author featured as a permanent blog article on the Tales2Inspire website 
    • Story and author featured on a rotating basis in the Tales2Inspire monthly newsletter and linked to the blog posting

And did I mention that all of this is free?


So this is my invitation to you: 


If you'd like to learn more about participating in the Tales2Inspire 2026 contest, just CLICK HERE (or copy and paste https:/www.tales2inspire.com/contest-2 into your browser), for all posted details. 

Each Tales2Inspire winner gains another feather in their cap as an author of talent!



ABOUT THE CREATOR OF TALES2INSPIIRE
Lois W. Stern is an Associate at TheNewBookReview. She is also the creator of Tales2Inspire®, an Authors Helping Authors project/contest to help aspiring writers on their paths to discovery. And best of all, it’s Free. Lois has now published twelve Tales2Inspire® treasured Tales2Inspire Jewel Collection anthologies and six award winning Tales2Inspire 2-in-1 Diamond Collection anthologies. She is a multi award winning author  herself, whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Newsday, Long Island Press, Barnard Magazine, on Local Access TV and in live presentations in varied venues. As TheNewBookReview review coordinator, Lois serves as an outreach to help other authors brand themselves as authors of talent. 


 Get a FREE Tales2Inspire book at: www.tales2inspire.com/gifts       

Visit her Tales2Inspire blog HERE.



MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is "A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.MORE ABOUT #THENEWBOOKREVIEW BLOG The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines in Lois W. Stern’s silver circle icon in the right column of this blog, in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at https://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews Authors and publishers will want to access use Lois W. Stern's #AuthorsHelpingAuthors services. All are free and listed in her silver-circle icons in the right column. WARNING some cell phones cut off the right column of the blog, so try it using your desktop!) Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author and veteran educator, she also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing HowToDoItFrugally https://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews.

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Lois W. Stern Offers Writers A Fresh New Approach to Getting Reviews for Your Books

A Fresh New Approach to Getting Reviews for Your Book


BY LOIS W. STERN 



Hi, I'm Lois W. Stern here, your Associate at Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s THE NEW BOOK REVIEW BLOG. I have a fresh new idea for those of you who originally submitted data about your books, hoping to attract a reviewer or two for your book(s) As you know, that project laid a goose egg, so we have moved on 

I just initiated a mini review writing contest for Tales2Inspire, which I want to share with you, so that you can adapt it to initiate your own mini review contest.

Here is my opening pitch

Write a meaningful mini review for any of the Tales2Inspire books (even a review of 25 words works). Add a catchy title and submit your mini review to this contest, along with the following.

  • A brief bio 
  • Your headshot photo
  • URLs to any of your relevant links, (i.e.social media, website, etc.)
  • Your book cover(s) or other  object unique to you, to add to your personal banner (as pictured below).



––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Here are the payoffs I offer my Tales2Inspire reviewers, but you will need to adapt the words in green font below for your book review campaign:

👉 Carolyn Howard-Johnson will select the winning reviews, posting them on The NewBookReview blog, and highlighting the reviewer for their achievement. 

👉 Each winner will receive a personal banner to use as they wish for all their promotional needs.

👉 Each contest winner's review will end with an About the Reviewer section with the reviewer's bio, headshot and reviewer's preferred links included.

👉 I will feature each contest winning reviewer in my Tales2Inspire newsletter.


NOTE: I am fortunate to be working with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, so she will be selecting my Tales2Inspire mini review contest winners and highlighting them on her TheNewBookReview blog. If you are replicating this project, try to connect with someone to work with you that might lend authenticity to your project. And if you have a newsletter, that's another good place to thank the reviewer.)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Tips for structuring your contest 

👉 Think of a way that you can honor your winners. Do you have a blog, website, newsletter, Twitter or Facebook page? Promise them some payoff and follow through. 

 ðŸ‘‰ If you can get a respected author or other person of note to select your contest winners, it will add authenticity to your contest. 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Tell your readers how to submit their mini reviews 

 ðŸ‘‰ Provide the name and email address of the person to whom the reviewer should submit their review. 

(Reviews for any of the Tales2Inspire books should be sent to Carolyn at: hojonews@gmail.com with a CC to me at tales2inspire2@gmail.com.)


 ðŸ‘‰ Tell them to put the words Mini Review Contest in the subject line.

 

👉 Remind them to include the following items with their mini review:

  • A brief bio 
  • Their headshot photo
  • The URL to any of their relevant links, (i.e.social media, website, etc.)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Tips for writing a winning mini-review


👉 Write a catchy heading for your review in 10 words or less. (HINT: Use strong words for your title as that is what other readers will see first, and sometimes the only part they read. So make it pop!)


👉 Sincerity counts. Give the book the number of stars you think it deserves.

 (1 is the lowest score, 5 is the highest. A 5-star rating means that you really liked the book, 4 stars means it was very good, 3 stars, just okay, etc. ).   


👉 Answer a few of questions about the book you are reviewing. (I make this easy for reviewers by including Book Discussion Questions at the end of each of my Tales2Inspire books, but you can always ask the author to send you some questions as suggestions of topics they would like you to address.)

                                                         

👉 End your review with your actual name, not a pseudonym. Readers will take more notice of your words if written by a person with an authentic name.


👉 Finally, read over your review to correct any errors before pressing that submit button.

👉 If possible, post your mini review on Amazon, 'cause short reviews count just as much as detailed long ones when Amazon displays the total number of reviews a book has received. 

👉 But even if for some reason Amazon rejects your review, we can still post it 0n Amazon's Editorial Reviews section, (according to their guidelines), and that's a big deal. Here's why:


Your Editorial Review

Although Amazon no longer counts Editorial Reviews toward the total number of reviews a book receives, those Editorial Reviews do something super good for the reviewer! Along with your review, we will include your relevant credentials (i.e. author of, or other pertinent info).  And as you already know, Amazon is a great place for wide exposure without costing you a dime!


––––––––––––––––––––––––––

About the Author:

Lois W. Stern is a multi award winning author whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Newsday, Long Island Press, Barnard Magazine, on Local Access TV and in live presentations in many varied venues. She has now published twelve Tales2Inspire® treasured anthologies of her contest winners' stories. As TheNewBookReview review coordinator, Lois serves as an outreach to help authors on their paths to discovery.

Lois created her Tales2Inspire® ‘Authors Helping Authors’ project in 2012, helping hundreds of talented newbies and seasoned authors alike enhance their visibility. Click here to learn more about entering her annual no fee Tales2Inspire contestThat’s right, it’s free! What emerges from these annual contests are highly professional anthologies of inspirational memoirs. Fans of Chicken Soup for the Soul are particularly enamored of Tales2Inspire® books, because aside from being expertly crafted, inspirational memoirs, they are filled with original photos to further enhance the power of each story. Lois invites interested readers to get a FREE Tales2Inspire® sampler book at: www.tales2inspire.com/gifts and visit Lois at these Media Marketing sites

Website: https://www.tales2Inspirel.com 


Spend some media marketing time with Lois at: 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tales2inspire

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tales2inspire2




About #TheNewBookReview Blog The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.MORE ABOUT #THENEWBOOKREVIEW BLOG The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read and love. Please see submission guidelines in Lois W. Stern’s silver circle icon in the right column of this blog, in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at https://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews Authors and publishers will want to access use Lois W. Stern's #AuthorsHelpingAuthors services. All are free and listed in her silver-circle icons in the right column. WARNING some cell phones cut off the right column of the blog, so try it using your desktop!) Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author and veteran educator, she also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing HowToDoItFrugally https://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews.