Wonderful Reviews for Knives on the Cutting Edge

When we have great books, like Bob Macdonald's Knives on the Cutting Edge: The Great Chefs' Dining Revolution, we can't help but be proud of them. And when other people love them, well that's even better. So we just wanted to briefly share the great reviews we've received so far.

From Foreword Reviews:
"Highly innovative gourmet meals and the exquisitely selected wines to accompany them may be as intricate as a symphony, and as tricky to explain, but here the author has taken an orderly approach to describing the hunt for culinary perfection....Yet, just when one eating tale seems like another, MacDonald lets loose with an unexpected account, often brimming with intrigue, that puts a reader in mind of the ultimate dining compliment: 'I’ll have what he’s having.' At least, in a vicarious way, his hungry readers can." Read the rest here.

From Jesse Kornbluth on Huffington Post Food, and on his website (Headbutler.com):

What keeps him human -- what keeps this book from a wallow in meals that read like NC-17 movies -- is his lack of snobbery about his good fortune. 'Our meals in local bistros and even picnics with fresh French bread and favorites such as pork rillettes, sliced sausages and hams, celery remoulade and Comte cheese could be just as memorable.'
...You get the idea: the Macdonalds have had decades of the kind of experiences that are unrealized dreams for most foodies. For those dreamers, as for me, this is armchair dining, and at the highest level." Read the rest of the article here.

Why You Should Preorder Your Favorite Books

Why do people preorder books? Are they just too lazy to go to a bookstore the day the book arrives? Actually, people preorder books because they love their authors! Each book you preorder tells Amazon/Barnes & Noble/whoever that one more person needs this book so badly that they're willing to pay for it long before they'll actually receive it. Maybe you're thinking, well what does that change? It changes the number of books those same companies (Amazon/Barnes & Noble/etc) will purchase for their shelves (or in the case of Amazon, their warehouses).
The more buzz and preorders an author can get, the more likely booksellers will promote that book. Because there's already proof that it's something people are interested in.
And you're not just helping out your favorites authors by preordering their books, you're also helping out your checking account. How's that, you ask? Most preordered books are discounted.

Barnes & Noble Vs Amazon

Tuesday of this week, Barnes & Noble made a bold statement by informing the world that they would not be selling books released by Amazon Publishing in their bookstores. Barnes & Noble's chief merchandising officer has been quoted as saying, "Our decision is based on Amazon's continued push for exclusivity with publishers, agents and the authors they represent...Their actions have undermined the industry as a whole and have prevented millions of customers from having access to content."
This decision could seriously hinder Amazon's hopes to sign authors who would want their books sold in Barnes & Noble stores. And if Barnes & Noble won't sell Amazon's books, it seems pretty unlikely independent bookstores in the United States would be willing to stock them either.
Whoever would have thought Barnes & Noble could become the David in a David and Goliath story, but I say more power to them. I won't lie, I've used and loved Amazon in the past, but this exclusivity talk just sounds selfish. And if the publishing world really is in jeopardy, like so many say it is, shouldn't we all be working together?

Tips: How to help out your favorite Authors!

At Scarletta Press, we can't help but push for you to love our authors. And we know there is a lot of love out there, but can you show it. Sometimes, that's all an author needs! Thanks to Lindsay Buroker, here are a few things you can do to help our authors, or any of your favorite authors!

Helping out on Amazon

Amazon is the big kahuna of book sellers, especially when it comes to ebooks, so helping an author “get found” on there can give them a big boost. You can certainly do these things on other bookstore sites as well (nothing against copying and pasting a review, for example), but Amazon tends to have more cool features to help an author get found.

Here’s the list (any one of these things can help):