The Bulls of War in Tonight's Top 10* List!
The Bulls of War in Tonight's Top 10* List!
Top what!?
Look, I know I've mentioned Amazon rankings in each of my last two blog posts and I’m no more of a fan of repetitive headlines than you are, but come on: Top 10? Top 150 in the broader fantasy category? I have to mention that somehow. But at the risk of repeating myself, I’ll leave it that it’s just great to see The Bulls of War continue its climb to the upper tier of Amazon’s rankings*, and hope it’s nothing but a sign of things to come – and hopefully it’s a sign that my goal of Top 50 overall draws ever closer… 93 spots to go. Lest it go unsaid, thank you for all of those that have helped make this happen!
It’s also nice to see some additional reader praise coming in. Procuring Amazon reader reviews is one of those recurring challenges that any independent author will kvetch about, but the reality is folks are busy and don’t always feel like committing the time and resources to do it. I’m guilty of it as much as anyone; most of the authors of my favorite books remain unaware of my fondness for their works, at least through the medium of the heralded Amazon comment section. Oh, for shame.
In any event, The Bulls of War received a nicely prosed five-star review from a “Hall of Fame[r]”, “Top 100 Reviewer”, and “Vine Voice” (all Amazon terms) today, which I cherry pick from here:
“This epic novel is the stuff of dreams of past times and Thomas delivers it in a realistic, raw, grand manner. At times we get lost in the names and places – but try watching Game of Thrones: Thomas’ tale makes more sense, is easier to follow, and has more inherent depth – fantasy though it be. This is a genre for lovers of big tales. It will not disappoint.”
High praise and much appreciated. And to the extent any of you have had a chance to take a look at Bulls, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave your thoughts on its Amazon page as well. Every little bit helps, but it’s also nice just to hear your thoughts on the novel. Just click here...
Let there be paper…
The other big piece of news this week is the completion and availability of The Bulls of War in paperback! Though I’m a self-professed e-book convert, I’ll be the first to admit that there is still something to the experience of holding a book in hand. Now the process of providing that experience in the case of Bulls is slightly less, uh, enjoyable? I.e., getting the precise formatting in place for all images and the manuscript itself was an incredible exercise in tedium, albeit a necessary one. In any event, I’m happy with how it turned out:
Non Sequiturs
The Night Of (HBO): meh, just not feeling it. The show’s overall statement about the creation of criminals through the American criminal justice system is poignant and demands insight, but taken as produced, the show is lacking. At the risk of providing spoilers, I’ll hold off on any further detailed analysis, but I’m hoping for a ‘wow’ season finale next week.
So excited for Season 2 of Narcos coming soon. New trailer just came out. If you are looking for something to tide you over til then, I highly recommend Peaky Blinders, also on Netflix. It’s about organized crime in Post-World War I England, the IRA, and loads of other good stuff. Just watch it.
