Sunday, July 9, 2017

Dinner Conversations by Jason Reid



Title: DINNER CONVERSATIONS
Author: Jason Reid
Publisher: Createspace/Reid Group
Pages: 348
Genre: Humor / Family / Parenting

BOOK BLURB: 

“You are going to LAUGH! You are going to then wonder if these conversations actually happened. You are going to wonder what kind of guy would actually say these things to his family.”

The answer is simple—yes, these conversations did actually happen. They occurred over a period of roughly 5 years, mainly at my dinner table.  I took them verbatim and posted them on Facebook so that all my friends could get a good laugh.
I must be honest with you, some of you will are going to laugh and say things like “…that sounds like something I would say or want to say” others are going to think that I am a horrible parent.  I am ok with either thought process.
What I hope is that after laughing, scratching your head and wondering what is wrong with Jay Reid, you realize that you need to create more of your own Dinner Conversations.  
Please join me @ www.Facebook.com/DinnerConversations to read more and post your own.” 

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble


Book Excerpt:
Taxes

Kids
"You have to pay how much in taxes?!?"


Jay

"Yep, half or more of my money goes to pay taxes, the rest goes to pay for you guys. I have almost nothing left over."


Kids
"That's crazy!”


Jay
"I agree, but I am stuck with all of you."

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Hearts at Seaside by Addison Cole



Title: HEARTS AT SEASIDE (Sweet with Heat: Seaside Summers Book 3)
Author: Addison Cole
Publisher: World Literary Press
Pages: 280
Genre: Sweet with Heat Romance

BOOK BLURB:

Sweet with Heat: Seaside Summers features a group of fun, flirty, and emotional friends who gather each summer at their Cape Cod cottages. They're sassy, flawed, and so easy to relate to, you'll be begging to enter their circle of friends! 

Hearts at Seaside by Addison Cole is the sweet edition of New York Times bestselling author Melissa Foster's steamy romance novel Seaside Hearts. The stories and characters remain the same and convey all of the passion you expect between two people in love, without any explicit scenes or harsh language. 

In HEARTS at
SEASIDE... 
Jenna Ward is vivacious, spontaneous, and confident--except when she's around the man who stole her heart years earlier, strikingly handsome, quiet, and reliable Pete Lacroux. After years of trying to get his attention and overwhelmed from dealing with her mother's new cougar lifestyle, Jenna's giving up on Peter--and is ready to explore other men. 

As the eldest of five siblings, with an alcoholic father to care for, boat craftsman Pete Lacroux always does the right thing and has no time for a real relationship. He's looking forward to seeing his friend Jenna, a welcome distraction who's so sexy and painfully shy that she equally entertains and confuses him. 

When Jenna picks up a hard-bodied construction worker, jealousy ignites Pete's true feelings, and he's unable to ignore the desires for Jenna he never realized he had. But Pete's not the quiet guy he appears to be, and his life is anything but conducive to a relationship. Can Jenna handle the real Pete Lacroux--the most alpha male she's ever seen--or will she crack under pressure? And can Pete reclaim the life he once had without tearing apart his family? 

SWEET WITH HEAT: SEASIDE SUMMERS SERIES 
Read, Write, Love at Seaside 
Dreaming at Seaside 
Hearts at Seaside 
Sunsets at Seaside 
Secrets at Seaside 
Nights at Seaside 
Seized by Love at Seaside 
Embraced at Seaside 
Lovers at Seaside 
Whispers at Seaside 

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | GPlay | iTunes


Book Excerpt:
There should be an unwritten rule about drooling over construction workers, but Jenna Ward was sure glad there wasn’t. She sat on the porch of the Bookstore Restaurant, soaking up the deliciousness of the three bronzed males clad in nothing more than jeans and glistening muscles that flexed and bulged like an offering to the gods as they forced thick, sticky tar into submission. Their jeans hung low on strong hips, gripping their powerful thighs like second skins and ending in scuffed and tarred work boots. What red-blooded woman didn’t get worked up over a gorgeous shirtless man in work boots?
Heaven help her, because she needed this distraction to take away her desire for Peter Lacroux, which went hand in hand with summers on the Cape and consumed her in the nine months they were apart. She zeroed in on one particularly handsome blond construction worker. His hair was nearly white, his jaw square and manly. She wanted to march right out to the middle of the road that split the earth between the restaurant and the beach and be manhandled into submission. Right there on the tar. Wrestled and groped until all thoughts of Pete evaporated.
“Wipe the drool from your chin, chica.” Amy Maples handed Jenna a margarita and, pointedly, a fresh napkin, as she settled into the chair across from her. “Goodness, woman. What’s up with you this summer? I swear you’re in heat. I can practically smell your pheromones from over here.”
Jenna gulped her drink and righted her red bikini top, which was trying its hardest to relieve itself of her enormous breasts. Even her bikini top was ready for a man. A real man. A man who craved her as much as she craved him.
Jenna reluctantly turned away from Testosterone Road and faced her best friends. The women she had spent her summers with here in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, for as long as she could remember and the women she hoped would help her through her most important summer ever.

Friday, July 7, 2017

PUYB Virtual Book Club Chats with Joseph Bendoski, author of 'When the Sky Falls'



Joe Bendoski studied psychology in college and was fascinated by all the insights it provided into human behavior, only to realize most the information never reach people, and when it did, rarely was it in a form that allowed for practical application. He started writing non-fiction, but soon came to understand how few people read that genre and began the difficult transition into fiction writing. His non-fiction works include; the Chemistry of Attraction and the Language of Emotion. 
He worked as the head writer for the television show ‘Saved by Grace.’ After being frustrated with comments like "make this scene cheaper," "What's my motivation?", and "Do we need this scene?" he decided to go in to literature.
His latest book is the thriller/espionage/conspiracy/historical novel, When the Sky Falls.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK



About the Book:

Title: WHEN THE SKY FALLS
Author: Joseph Bendoski
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 408
Genre: Thriller/Espionage/Conspiracy/Historical

“What makes you believe a lie? I’m not asking how you know someone is lying. What makes you believe? Because if you don’t understand how that works, then you won’t know when you’re being manipulated.”

In 1938 the War of the Worlds hoax panicked millions of Americans, then in 1988 another fictional media broadcast convinced nearly half of Portugal that sea monsters had risen from the ocean to destroy their cities. A team of CIA agents was sent to study the aftermath of this 6th Skyfall Event in the hope that they could turn it into a weapon of war. When the team consultant turns up dead, everyone scrambles to be the last man standing: the one who will decide if or when the sky falls.

ORDER YOUR COPY:


Before you started writing your book, what kind of research did you do to prepare yourself?

I studied a lot of mass hysteria and group sociology as I prepared to write the book, along with a lot history involving media persuasion.

Did you pursue publishers or did you opt to self-pub?

I went indie. After I was made a very small offer and informed that I would need to develop my own platform on social media and use it to sell books, I didn’t see the need to share royalties with the publisher.

If self-published, did you hire someone to format the ebook version for you or did you do it yourself?  Can you tell us what that was like?

I just watched a YouTube video for the formatting. Honestly, Amazon’s software does most of the work.

If self-published, how did you determine the price?

At the moment, I’m keeping the price about low as I can and still get 70% royalties. The reason is that I’m an unknown author, and if people see two books by unknown authors side by side they will pick the cheaper of the two. I have set certain goals that once I reach them I will increase the price of the book.

Did you purposefully choose a distinct month to release your book?  Why?

No. I wanted to be done. I’d been working on the project for seven years. It was ready, so I released it.

How did you choose your cover?

I’ve spent a fortune on the cover and messed it up multiple times. Initially, I hired an illustrator, but when it was finished, I didn’t love it. I then tried 99 Designs, and I got the exact cover I wanted, but soon realized it was miss communicating my genre so I had two more done and this final cover is awesome, but it’s taken a long time to get here. What really worked about this final cover is that I had very little say in the early drafts. I gave the designer a one paragraph summary of the book, the title, and genre. They took it from there.

Did you write your book, then revise or revise as you went?

Both. I revise a lot as I go. I think this has a lot to do with working in a critique group. As I get feedback from them, I incorporate into the book, but I also record the alpha and beta drafts and send those out for overall feedback.

Did you come up with special swag for your book and how are you using it to help get the word out about your book?

I have planned for those things, but right now I’m focusing on the book marketing specifically. Once I have that down, I’ll move into merchandising.

Did you consider making or hiring someone to make a book trailer for your book?  If so, what’s the link?

My brother does commercials and films, so he created the trailer. Currently, I’m the one doing the narration, but my Audiobook narrator Bill Nevitt plans to do the voice over of the final draft. http://joseph-bendoski.com/landing-page/

What’s your opinion on giving your book away to sell other copies of your book?

I think most writers don’t like the idea of giving away their book for free. We work really hard on them, but I understand that it’s a proven method, so I’m working on prequel right now that will be a giveaway.

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do before their book is released?

Get feedback. Make sure your cover matches your target audience. Have all your marketing ready before the launch; it’s a lot more than you expect.

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do after their book is released?

Tweak your marketing regularly. Reach out to other authors. Know that you’ll suck at marketing in the beginning.


What kind of pre-promotion did you do before the book came out?

None. Big mistake on my part.

Do you have a long term plan with your book?

Finish off the series

What would you like to say to your readers and fans about your book?

I always wonder what people’s favorite part is. I wonder if it changed the way the watch/read the news.




Wednesday, July 5, 2017

PUYB Virtual Book Club Chats with Contemporary Romance Author Kimberly Fisk


A past recipient of Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart Award, Kimberly Fisk is the bestselling author of Lake Magic. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, three children, and too many four-legged critters to count.
Her latest book is the contemporary romance, Boardwalk Summer.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK



About the Book:

In the town of Tranquility Bay, summer is the season of second chances...

Single mother Hope Thompson has built a happy life for herself and her twins in beautiful Tranquility Bay, Washington. She doesn’t dwell on her painful past—especially not on the man who broke her heart all those years ago. But when Hope’s beloved son needs help, she takes a desperate chance and reaches out to her children’s father.

Nick Fortune lives life in the spotlight as a champion race car driver. He’s shocked to hear from Hope and even more surprised to learn that he’s a father. He immediately heads to the Pacific Northwest to confront the past—and the woman he once loved.

There, on the quiet lakeshore, Nick and Hope must work together to save their son—even if it means facing their complicated past—for a second chance as a family.

PRAISE FOR BOARDWALK SUMMER

"It was late. I only meant to take a peek but ended up reading BOARDWALK SUMMER in one delicious gulp, and I'm still thinking about the characters. A terrific read. Page turning and deeply emotional. You'll fall in love with these characters who have so much at stake. Highly recommended."

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble


Before you started writing your book, what kind of research did you do to prepare yourself?

Hello!  Thank you for having me here today.  I love connecting with other readers and writers so this is a treat!!

Research!  Such a vital part of my writing process.  I try to read anything and everything I can get my hands on that deals with subjects I am writing about.  I especially love biographies.  I’ve unearthed so many wonderful plot gems by reading about someone’s personal life experiences.  I also love to garner firsthand accounts.  Nothing thrills this writer’s heart more than being able to sit back and listen to someone share their stories with me.  And to be able to ask any question that pops into my mind—pure joy!!  😊 

Did you pursue publishers or did you opt to self-pub?


I have such great respect for writers who self-pub.  Their ability to not only carve out enough time to create captivating novels but then to also have not only the time but the knowhow to successfully market their works…  Like I said, such respect for authors who choose that route.  Early on I acknowledged my strengths and weaknesses as a writer and knew self-pubbing was not for me.  Not only do I not have the time, I also don’t have the knowhow; that’s why publishing with Berkley has been a dream come true for me.  I spend my time where I’m the happiest—tucked behind a computer screen—and my publisher handles all the ins and out/nuts and bolts of getting a book into a reader’s hands.  And they do it so brilliantly (and with such great cover art!!).  A perfect match if I do say so. 

Did you purposefully choose a distinct month to release your book?  Why?

When one of my books comes out—that is all up to my publisher. 

How did you choose your cover?

With the publication of my first book, Lake Magic, I learned so much about the publishing process.  One of those things I learned was that an author has little to no input on the cover design.  At first I was stunned but then quickly realized that a job as vital and important as designing a cover that will appeal to the right readers is a job better suited to professionals.  I feel been extremely lucky with the gorgeous covers Berkley has designed for my books.  

Did you write your book, then revise or revise as you went?

A beginning of a book is slow writing for me.  At this early stage, I’m discovering well…everything.  And that discovery takes time and A LOT of revising.  I do write an outline before I begin a new book but it’s just that—a wide-sweeping arc of the beginning, middle an end.  I like to think of that outline as my book cotton candy:  it’s pretty, looks really yummy but when you dig into it you quickly discovery there’s not a lot of substance.  To unearth all those yummy, tantalizing bits that make a book special—my characters and all their wonderful flaws that make them so very real and make a reader fall in love with them and root for them to “win”; my setting and the unique aspects and quirks my fictional town has that hopefully makes it a place you want to live or at least visit; and my plot that keeps you turning the pages—all of those gems take time for me.  And the only method I’ve discovered that helps me bring them out on the page is to write, revise, write, write, revise, revise revise.  You get the idea.     

Did you come up with special swag for your book and how are you using it to help get the word out about your book?  

I am the worst on promotional items/swag.  I want to try and create an item that not only a reader would find useful but also one that showcases my book.  For Boardwalk Summer I had some really swanky bookmarks made and also a really nice pen.  I know I spent too much on the pens but, I’m a writer and a bit of a pen connoisseur 😊 so if I was going to give away a pen, it had to be a really nice one.  But I’d love to hear from readers:  what promotional items have you received that you’ve really found useful?  Fun?     

Did you consider making or hiring someone to make a book trailer for your book?  If so, what’s the link?

I love book trailers and think Boardwalk Summer would make a captivating one.  If anyone has a designer they’d recommend—please drop me a line!

What’s your opinion on giving your book away to sell other copies of your book?

The great thing about my books is that they can be checked out (or downloaded) for free through the library!  I love that my stories are available to anyone for only the price of a library card.  And if I’ve done my job correctly, I’m hopeful a reader will search out a new book of mine.

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do before their book is released?

I’m not sure if they are the most important things but I know I’ve found it valuable to:

1)      Have a website
2)      Create a presence on social media
3)      Have that group of friends who will help you celebrate your new release!!

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do after their book is released?

Again, I’m not sure if they are the three most important things and with Boardwalk Summer only my second release, I don’t feel as if I have a lot of experience but things I’ve found valuable to do after a book is released:

1)      Keep working on that next release.  After your readers gobble up your current offering (or at least we hope they gobble, right??) they are going to want to grab your next book!
2)      Keep reading and attending workshops and conferences to improve and hone your writing skills.  The more we know, the more we realize there is to know.  😊
3)      Take the time to smell the roses.  Work is wonderful and valuable but never forget that living your life to the fullest creates a richness that will invariably seep in to your books.  And you never know where that next idea will come from!

What kind of pre-promotion did you do before the book came out?
All of the questions posed here are so great and I wish I would have stumbled upon these back in my early writing days.  I could have learned so much from your guest authors—would have saved me from taking so many wrong steps.  😊

I did everything you listed above and then some in preparation for the release of Boardwalk Summer.  Website; FB; newsletter; etc.  And to be honest I was overwhelmed.  LOL  Being an introvert makes all this internet presence hard but I know how vital it is.  I really appreciate Dorothy and Pump Up Your Book for making the blog tour as easy and painless as possible.

Do you have a long term plan with your book?

The only goal I have for one of my stories is that it brings a few hours of relaxation and joy to the reader.  I have read romances for almost as long as I can remember.  They have been with me through the best times in my life and they have also carried me through some of the darker moments.  For me, romances have been like a very close friend.  If one of my books can do that for someone—nothing could make me happier!!

What would you like to say to your readers and fans about your book?

THANK YOU!!  I am incredibly grateful to each one of you who has—or will—take a chance on one of my stories.  And to show my deep appreciation, I’d love to send you some fun stuff.  Just visit my website (www.KimberlyFisk.net) and drop me note. 

Happy Reading!

Monday, July 3, 2017

Interview with Children's Book Author Miri Leshem-Pelly @MiriLeshem


Miri Leshem-Pelly is the author-illustrator of 14 children’s books. She’s also illustrated 14 books for other writers. When Miri isn’t writing she can be found speaking at schools, kindergartens and libraries. She is invited to do more than 200 presentations with her books per year. Miri is also a Regional Advisor for SCBWI (Society of Children’s book writers & illustrators). She is represented by Olswanger Literary Agency. Her works have won awards and her illustrations have been shown on several exhibitions. Miri lives in Israel with her husband and two children, and loves reading books and going on nature hikes.

Her latest book is Scribble & Author.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK


Did you pursue publishers or did you opt to self-pub?

I decided to look for a literary agent, so that my book could get a better chance to be accepted by traditional publishers. I did a lot of research and submitted to many agents, and finally got an offer from a great literary agency that I’m very happy with - Olswanger Literary Agency.

If published by a publisher, what was your deciding factor in going with them?

My agent submitted the manuscript to several publishers and we ended up getting two offers to publish the book. My agent and I thought about it together and decided to choose Kane Miller Books, a division of EDC Publishing. I liked their very unique marketing strategy and I loved their list of picture book titles.

If published by a publisher, are you happy with the price they chose?

I trust the publishing house to make the right decisions on subjects such as pricing. I think they are professionals and have a lot of experience and therefore would know which price would be best for my book.

How did you choose your cover?

I’m also the illustrator of my book, so I worked on the art for the cover. The story shows the creation process of the book, therefore I decided to draw the main character, Scribble, and show the pencil which is drawing her. That gives us the feeling that we witness the creation of the drawing. The design of the cover with the title was done by the designer of the publishing house, and I loved the way she designed it, in a whimsical, fun way.

Did you write your book, then revise or revise as you went?

Scribble & Author is a picture book with a very short story, But it took many revisions to arrive at the final story. As an author-illustrator I did many sketches and thumbnail storyboards with different variations of the story. It took me almost two years to get to the final manuscript.

Did you come up with special swag for your book and how are you using it to help get the word out about your book? 

I did a mini-book tour with my new book in New-York and Vermont, so I designed and printed bookmarks to hand out to the children that I met. I think it is important to give a souvenir after the book reading, children love it and keep it, and may use it to look for the book later on.

Did you consider making or hiring someone to make a book trailer for your book?  If so, what’s the link?

My publisher Kane Miller Books produced a lovely trailer for my book: https://vimeo.com/185727360

And I decided to hire Avi Sarid who makes video clips, to produce another short clip which would introduce me, meeting my character, Scribble! That was a lot of fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlt4Iz5CmoE

What’s your opinion on giving your book away to sell other copies of your book?

I think it is necessary to give copies for reviewers and as competition prizes, because these are good ways to draw attention to the book and make people interested about it.

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do before their book is released?

First, I think it’s important for an author to have a website which is updated and inviting. So if they don’t have a website yet, they should build it before the new book is released.
Second - they should have some social media presence and activity, to start building a crowd. Third, they should arrange a blog tour, like this one! This is a great way to get exposure for the book, and it is advised to start preparing for the blog tour around two months before the release date.

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do after their book is released?

They should look for ways to reach out to their readers, such as book reading and signing events, author visits or school visits if it’s a children’s book.

What kind of pre-promotion did you do before the book came out? 

I built and designed a new website, which features my new book as well as the previous ones. I have had another website before, but it was more for my Israeli audience, since I live in Israel. But now that Scribble & Author was published in the U.S.A., it was important for me to prepare a new website which would be for the American audience.

What would you like to say to your readers and fans about your book?

Scribble & Author is a fun book which could help children understand what is a story and how a story is created. It encourages the use of creativity and imagination in problem solving and it will entertain and surprise the young readers. For ages 3-8.

YOU GOT THIS! BOOK BLAST



Title: YOU GOT THIS! A MOTIVATIONAL GUIDE FOR ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS
Author: James Kademan
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 256
Genre: Self-help / Motivational




You Got This! A motivational guide for achieving your goals. Written by renowned business coach James Kademan of Draw In Customers Business Coaching. This is a quick read that will drive you to achieve what you have been working on. Sometimes you just need a kick in the rear to get you moving, this is that kick.

For a preview, check out this video:


ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble





James Kademan hails from a distinct past that includes a number of experiences that brought him to the point of feeling it was necessary to write a few things down. Like most writers he started with chunks of paper that were strewn all over his desk, house, garage and under more than a few car seats.

After realizing a bit of organization was needed he resolved to grab those notes, combine them, type them, edit them, polish them and ask the world for some honest feedback. That led to a couple books being written. James' first real book, You Got This! A motivational guide for achieving your goals was a small slap in the face of typical motivational books. Not through intention, just in its simplistic content.
James Kademan's upcoming soon-to-be bestseller, The BOLD Business Book will hit the shelves in couple short months.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK





James Kademan is giving away three individual 1 on 1 business coaching 1 hour phone sessions and 3 YOU GOT THIS books!!

Terms & Conditions:
  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter.
  • This giveaway ends midnight July 28.
  • Winner will be contacted via email on July 29.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!



a Rafflecopter giveaway




Title: THE MENTOR
Author: Lee Matthew Goldberg
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 336
Genre: Thriller / Suspense / Mystery

Kyle Broder has achieved his lifelong dream and is an editor at a major publishing house.
When Kyle is contacted by his favorite college professor, William Lansing, Kyle couldn’t be happier. Kyle has his mentor over for dinner to catch up and introduce him to his girlfriend, Jamie, and the three have a great time. When William mentions that he’s been writing a novel, Kyle is overjoyed. He would love to read the opus his mentor has toiled over.
Until the novel turns out to be not only horribly written, but the most depraved story Kyle has read.
After Kyle politely rejects the novel, William becomes obsessed, causing trouble between Kyle and Jamie, threatening Kyle’s career, and even his life. As Kyle delves into more of this psychopath’s work, it begins to resemble a cold case from his college town, when a girl went missing. William’s work is looking increasingly like a true crime confession.
Lee Matthew Goldberg's The Mentor is a twisty, nail-biting thriller that explores how the love of words can lead to a deadly obsession with the fate of all those connected and hanging in the balance.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon


Book Excerpt:
FROM FAR AWAY the trees at Bentley College appeared as if on fire, crowns of nuclear leaves dotting the skyline. Professor William Lansing knew it meant that fall had firmly arrived. Once October hit, the Connecticut campus became festooned with brilliant yellows, deep reds, and Sunkist orange nature. People traveled for miles to witness the foliage, rubbernecking up I-95 and flocking to nearby Devil’s Hopyard, a giant park where the students might perform Shakespeare, or enter its forest gates at nighttime to get high and wild. William had taken a meandering hike through its labyrinthine trails that morning before his seminar on Existential Ethics in Literature. It had been over a decade since he’d entered its tree-lined arms, but today, the very day he was reaching the part in his long-gestating novel that took place in Devil’s Hopyard, seemed like a fitting time to return. 
            His wife Laura hadn’t stirred when he left at dawn. He slipped out of bed and closed the mystery novel propped open on her snoring chest. He often wrote early in the mornings. Before the world awoke, he’d arm himself with a steaming coffee and a buzzing laptop, the wind from off the Connecticut River pinching his cheeks. His chirping backyard would become a den of inspiration, or he’d luxuriate in the silence of Bentley at six a.m. when the only sound might be a student or two trundling down the Green to sleep off a fueled night of debauchery.
            He’d been at Bentley for over twenty years, tenured and always next in line to be department chair. He refused even the notion of the position for fear it might eat into time spent writing his opus. His colleagues understood this mad devotion. They too had their sights set on publications, most of them well regarded in journals, only a few of them renowned beyond Bentley’s walls like William dreamed to be. Notoriety had dazzled him since he was a child—a time when his world seemed small and lifeless and dreams of fame were his only escape.  
            His colleagues often questioned him about this elusive manuscript he’d been toiling on for years, but he found it best to remain tight-lipped, to entice mystery. It was how he ran his classroom as well, letting only a few chosen students get close, keeping the rest at enough of a distance to regard him as tough and impenetrable but fair. Maybe he’d made a few students cry when a paper they stayed up all night to finish received a failing grade, or when his slashes of red pen seemed to consume one of their essays on Sartre’s Nausea, which he found trite and pedestrian; but that only made them want to do better the next time. They understood that he wanted his kingdom to be based on fear, for creativity soared in times of distress.
            William’s legs were sore after his hike that morning through Devil’s Hopyard. The terrain was hilly and its jagged trails would challenge even a younger man, but he kept fit, wearing his fifty-five year old frame well. He was an athlete back in school, a runner and a boxer who still kept a punching bag in the basement and ended his day with a brisk run through his town of Killingworth, a blue-collar suburban enclave surrounding Bentley’s college-on-a-hill. He had all his hair, which was more than he could say for most of his peers, even though silver streaks now cut through the brown. He secretly believed this made him more dashing than during his youth. Women twenty years younger still gave him a second glance, and he often found Laura taking his hand at department functions and squeezing it tight, as if to indicate that she fully claimed him and there’d be no chance for even the most innocent of flirtations. He had a closet full of blazers with elbow patches and never wore ties so he could keep his collar open and expose his chest hair, which hadn’t turned white yet. He had a handsome and regal face, well proportioned, and while his eyes drooped some due to a lifetime of battling insomnia, it gave him the well-worn look of being entirely too busy to sleep. People often spoke of him as a soul who never enjoyed being idle, someone who was always moving, expounding, and expanding. 
            “Hi, Professor Lansing,” said Nathaniel, a tall and gangly freshman, who after three weeks into the semester had yet to look William in the eye. Nathaniel’s legs twisted over one another with each step. William guessed that the boy had recently grown into his pole-like body and his brain now struggled with how to move it properly.
            “Nathaniel,” William said, wiping the sweat mustache from his top lip. He could smell his own lemony perspiration from the intense jaunt through Devil’s Hopyard. “How did your paper on The Stranger turn out?”
            Nathaniel’s eyes seemed to avoid him even more. They became intent on taking in the colorful foliage, as if it had sprouted overnight. 
            “Well…” the boy began, still a hair away from puberty, his voice hitting a high octave, “I’m not totally sure what you meant about Meursault meeting his end because he didn’t ‘play the game’.”
            William responded with a throaty laugh and a shake of his head. He placed a palm on Nathaniel’s shoulder.
            “Society’s game, Nathaniel, the dos and don’ts we all must ascribe to. How, even if we slip on occasion, we’re not supposed to admit what we did for fear of being condemned. Right?”
            Nathaniel nodded, his rather large Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in agreement too. He stuffed a bitten-down nail between his chapped lips and chewed away like a rat, leaving William to wonder if the boy was on some new-fangled type of speed. He liked Nathaniel, who barely spoke in class, but once in a while would give a nervous peep filled with promise. The students he paid the most attention to weren’t the heads of the lacrosse team or the stars of the theater productions, those students would have a million other mentors fawning over them. He looked for the hidden jewels, the ones who were waiting for that extra push, who’d been passed over their whole lives but would someday excel past their peers. Then they would thank him wholeheartedly for igniting a spark.
            “Is that why Camus didn’t personalize the victim that Meursault killed?” Nathaniel asked, wary at first, as the two entered the doors of Fanning Hall past a swirl of other students. “So we sympathize with him despite his crime?”
            William stopped in front of his classroom, its cloudy window offering a haze of students settling into their desks. He stood blocking the door so Nathaniel had no choice but to look in his eyes.
            “Did you sympathize with him?”
            “Yes…umm, it’s hard to penalize someone for one mistake,” Nathaniel said. “I know he shot the Arab guy, but…I don’t know, sometimes things just happen. I guess that makes me callous.”
            “Or human.”
            William stared at Nathaniel for an uncomfortable extra few seconds before Kelsey, a pretty sorority girl with canary yellow hair, fluttered past them.
            “Hey, Professor,” Kelsey said, without looking Nathaniel’s way. William could feel the boy’s sigh crowding the hallway.
            “Come, Nathaniel, we’ll continue this debate in class.”
            William led the boy into the room. The students immediately became hushed and rigid as he entered.
            Nathaniel slumped into a chair in the back while Kelsey cut off another girl to get a prime seat up front.
            William placed his leather satchel on the table, took out a red marker, and scribbled on the board, I didn’t know what a sin was. The handwriting looked like chicken scratch and the students had to squint a bit to decipher it; but eventually the entire class of twenty managed to correctly jot down the quote. They had gotten used to his idiosyncrasies.
            “At the end of the novel, Meursault ponders that he didn’t know what a sin was,” William said. “What does that mean?”
            A quarter of the class raised their hands, each one eager to be noticed. Kelsey clicked her tongue for attention, as if her desperation wasn’t obvious enough. She looked like she had to pee. In the back, Nathaniel was fully absorbed in a doodle that resembled Piglet from Winnie the Pooh.
            “Nathaniel,” William barked, sending the pen flying out of the boy’s hand. Nathaniel weaved his long arms around the desk to pick up the pen and then gave a slack-jawed expression as a response.
“Why does Meursault insist to the chaplain that he didn’t know what a sin was?” William continued.
            Nathaniel silently pleaded for William to call on someone else. He let out an “uuuhhhhhhh” that lasted through endless awkward seconds.
            Kelsey took it upon herself to chime in.
            “Professor, while Meursault understands he’s been found guilty for his crime, he doesn’t truly see that what he did was wrong.”
            William turned toward Kelsey to admonish her for speaking without being called on, a nasty habit that happened more and more with this ADD-addled generation than the prior one, but a red-leaf tree outside the window captured his attention instead, its color so unreal, so absorbing. The red so vibrant like its leaves had been painted with blood.
            “Professor…professor.”
            The sound came from far away, as if hidden under the earth, screaming to be acknowledged.
            “Professor Lansing?”
            Kelsey waved her arm in his direction, grounding him. She gave a pout.
            “Like, am I right, or what, Professor? He doesn’t truly see that what he did was wrong.”
            William cleared his throat, maintaining control over the room. He smiled at them the same way he would for a photograph.
            “Yes, that’s true, Kelsey. Expressing remorse would constitute his actions as wrong. He knows his views make him a stranger to society, and he is content with this judgment. He accepts death and looks forward to it with peace. The crowds will cheer hatefully at his beheading, but they will be cheering. This is what captivates the readers almost seventy years after the book’s publication. What keeps it and Camus eternal, immortal.” 
            Kelsey beamed at the class, her grin smug as ever.
            William went to the board, erased the quote, and replaced it with the word IMMORTAL in big block letters, this time written with the utmost perfect penmanship.