Nine years ago, William Demsey’s brother Jimmy faked his own death and ran away from being framed for a horrible crime. Now, eighteen years old, William decides to head to Amsterdam, where Jimmy is thought to be, where it all started. Along the way he encounters all sorts of people; drug dealers, prostitutes, and mob bosses, just to name a few. He ends up chasing a man that goes by the name of “Hunt” and the revelation to this man’s true identity forces William to make a choice that will determine not only his fate, but his family’s as well.

Dutch Coffee Shop is a dark story of redemption that cuts through all the extraneous noise and gets to the core of the choices we humans make.

Dutch Coffee Shop is available for pre-order on Amazon.com now. Look forward to more information on this great book and it’s release in October.

As Candy Pratts Price, executive fashion director at Vogue, said in the 2009 documentary The September Issue, “September is the January in fashion. This is when I change, this is when I get back on those high heels.”

Such is the case for the fall season in publishing. This is our time to “get back on those high heels”, reinvigorate ourselves and bring out the best we have. Here at BRIO we’re doing just that. Over the next weeks, count on more blog updates showcasing the great authors and titles we have for fall 2010.

This week we have Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure by Dr. Jamie Koufman, Dr. Jordan Stern, and Mark Bauer.

Acid reflux is one of the most misunderstood and preventable diseases today. Studies estimate that 100 million Americans have acid reflux and many of them are unaware of it, or they have been incorrectly diagnosed. Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure is the first book to offer a non-traditional diet to help cure reflux, as well as the best and worst foods for a reflux sufferer to have. It’s the beginning of a shift in how the medical field, and our society in general looks at reflux and cooking. Dr. Koufman’s innovative recipes include a variety of dishes that prove you don’t have to sacrifice good, delicious food when living with reflux.

Dr. Koufman has lectured widely on the subject, both nationally and internationally and is one of the world’s leading authorities on acid reflux. For three decades, she has been pioneering research and cures for reflux. Dr. Koufman is the founder and Director of the Voice institute of New York, one of the premier comprehensive voice treatment centers in the US.

For more information, and a glimpse into exactly what you can expect from this book, take a look at the cookbook blog (http://www.refluxcookbookblog.com/) Dr. Koufman has been writing, in addition to the medical blogs she contributes to.

Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure will be available on Amazon.com and other retailers come September (keep checking back for more information!).

Get back on those high heels and get rid of that reflux.

Lorna Hanson

While there are many who would agree with this Florida mother, it is disturbing that one person could have such control over what other people read. Read the LA Times story here.

In support of books that have been banned, take a look at the American Library Association’s list of the Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books. People and/or groups have attempted to restrict or remove the listed books from curriculum and libraries. The lists can be viewed by year, author, decade, or statistics. You would be surprised by which books were challenged. If you’re intrigued, head to the other tabs to see what the ALA has gathered on censorship

Personally, when I get wind of a challenged or banned book, I want to go out and read it for myself.

Lorna Hanson

Ryu Murakami is one of my favorite authors, so I may buy an e-book this time around. However, this brings up an important point: I am drawn to this because I love the author’s work. Since Murakami is such a big name in the world of writing and novels, will he bring his fans along with him in switching to the e-book format? What will happen to the traditional publisher?

This is a large step in the e-publishing world as now it has gone as far as well-established authors using the e-book format to publish their work. Whether you are in the traditional sector, or going the self-publishing route, everyone can agree that this is an exciting transitioning time for the publishing industry.

Read the article at The Wall Street Journal here.

Thoughts? Any other big name authors you know or wish would publish this way?

By Lorna Hanson

As in the example she gave, “big” doesn’t always mean “eipc”. When you “think big” you should be thinking about character development, before the development of a big story. When the characters are solid, the story will follow.

Epic stories about fighting off death and destruction aren’t always the powerhouses in the literary world. Small stories about small people with “big” problems will grip the reader. “Big” problems such as, an affair, loss of interest in a job or relationship, what to cook for a big dinner party tonight (and they haven’t even begun the preparations!). “Less is more” as the adage says. However, it is the power you pack into the “less” which will give you “more”.

Readers can definitely tell when an author has poorly copy and pasted a conventional idea of what a “big book” is. They can spot the knock-offs and the overuse of predictable plots.

Surprise them with an epic story about a plain, everyday occurrence.

Check out the article here.

Check it out here, and don’t forget to take a look at the video. Linda gives some great tips for anyone who enjoys cooking.

By: Lorna Hanson

• Have a valid iTunes Store account with a credit card on file.
• Be running Quicktime v7.0.3 or later.
• Book in ePub format, and the book must pass the ePubCheck 1.0.5.
• Files can only be uploaded to the iBookstore on a Mac computer running OSX 10.5 or higher.

It’s becoming apparent that to resist ebooks and epublishing is pretty futile, but for those who don’t already own a Mac computer, what purpose does this serve? It should be said that it is possible to get around the Mac lockdown, but you’ll have to go through one of Apple’s approved aggregators (Lulu, Biblio Core, and Ingram to name a few) in order to upload to the iBookstore. Still, Why lock it up? To have more people buy Apple products?

It should be interesting when Barnes & Noble unleashes their e-publishing platform. So that makes…Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble…who else will create the next big e-publisher?

By: Lorna Hanson

The industry is changing. However, as it always has been, there is writing with good content and writing without. What makes a good book is what’s between the pages, not how it was printed and published.

But Keillor says: “When everyone’s a writer, no one is.”

Well, anyone can be a writer. Vanity publishing is nothing new, it’s been around for years. What Keillor is talking about is all vanity publishing, which, admittedly, does produce stuff that isn’t as up to par as books coming out of traditional publishing presses. What matters is the content.

Yes, anyone can write a book; anyone can print a book. Not everyone can successfully sell a book. Is the concept interesting and innovative? Does the story draw readers? Is it a page turner? Does it make people think? These are points that will make a book sell. If 100 books are printed through a vanity publisher and none of those books has anything to make it sell, it won’t. The only readers these books will reach are people related to the writer or those who bought it after seeing said writer peddling the book in stores or online.

It is difficult to sell a book by yourself. With no help from a publisher, no help from PR reps, selling a book by the words of your mouth is difficult. In most cases overwhelming success doesn’t happen.

Furthermore, what isn’t difficult about using your own money to have self-publishing presses help you polish your work? It takes time, and lots of it, to go back and forth between an editor, get a book design down, and promote it to the community; and the all money is coming out of one pocket: the writer’s. What about that is simple and easy?

If just one of those 100 books has a great story, great pull, then it will sell. Perhaps it will even be picked up by a larger, traditional publisher. If that happens, then it ends up being no different that what traditional publishers decide to publish anyway. Just like everyone else, they’re looking for the next big hit, the book that will reach the top of the New York Times lists and win awards. They’re also looking for just a really good story, one that readers will connect with and love; and that is what really matters at the heart of this.

If there’s no content, it won’t reach the larger population and it won’t make much of an impact on the publishing world.

Sorry, Mr Keillor, but self-publishing is no walk in the park. Hang up the martyr and let’s move with the future.

By: Lorna Hanson

Now there is Pubit.

This summer, Barnes and noble (B&N) will unleash their version of e-publishing, Pubit. Writers write the book, create the cover art, ecetera, and upload it to Pubit which will convert everything to an ePUB format. Then the book will be available for purchase and download from anywhere. It’s designed as a companion to B&N’s Nook e-reader, but consumers will be able to purchase e-books through the B&N apps on the iPhone, iPad, and BlackBerry, to name a few.

Pubit will be another avenue for the exploding arena of self-publishing. B&N has yet to release information on the royalty model (i.e. who owns what and where the profits go) and without that we have yet to see how much of a game-changer Pubit will be, though the anticipation is high. B&N is going up against Apple and Amazon, just to name a few big names, with Pubit. Anticipation is very high.

…It’s like the Clash of the Titans.

Check back here for updates on B&N and Pubit.

By: Lorna Hanson

“Vanity publishing” is no new concept. It’s been around for years. These days the words “self-publishing” have come to be something synonymous with “vanity publishing”. The lines are being blurred and the word “vanity” can’t contain it all anymore. Should it still be called “vanity”?

First, we should break down just what people mean when they use the words “vanity publishing.”

Vanity publishing, in its most simple form, is in which a writer pays money to get their book printed. The writer is, in essence, the editor and PR agent all wrapped up in one. Writers can print virtually anything they want and how they want. This process gives rise to the idea that vanity publishing only produces what a writer thinks will be successful despite the reality of it. Although many writers hope for their books to be picked up by the big name publishing companies, it rarely happens. In other words, the lack of selectivity in what gets self-published leads to mainstream companies shunning the vanity publishing arena.

As vanity publishing is becoming more of a thread in the industry’s consciousness, many have tried to gravitate towards the term of “self-publishing.” It’s beginning to move away from the negative stigma of vanity publishing…with only a few similarities.

Like vanity publishing, self-publishing requires a writer to pay the printing fees. However, companies now have a larger role in producing the books they release. Manuscripts are submitted, the writer works with an editor and a design team to ensure their book comes out in the best form. PR, distribution, and sales are now part of several packages writers can choose from. The only thing that is truly “vanity” about it is that the writer is still paying for these services, but they are getting their money’s worth.

Nothing can guarantee success and wild sales, even with a mainstream publisher. What matters is how much is put into a book and how much time a writer wants to spend with their publisher. It is a lot more work than handing over a manuscript and having a book on shelves the next month. Collaborative work is essential; but the writer is not alone in this long process.

The road from manuscript to bookstore shelf is a shared effort now. So don’t knock self-publishing as a vain corner of the industry. You’d be surprised by what comes out.

By: Lorna Hanson