Happy Birthday Aiden!
Wow, nine years old today. Happy birthday buddy!
You're always on my mind.
Kalamazoo!
You're always on my mind.
Kalamazoo!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sonoma County Book Festival
About 40 people stopped by my booth. By the end of the day, I think I had explained my book so many times I could have done it in my sleep.
The few moments where there wasn't a visitor, I spent my time talking with my boothmate, Ezra Barany, who is the most light-hearted and friendly person I've met recently. At the end of the day, we exchanged books. So I picked up a copy of The Torah Codes ("a Jewish DaVinci Code") which I look forward to reading. I also met a woman named Margaret Murray, who has written an existential story called Sundagger.net. I haven't started it yet, but I'm looking forward to reading more!
Of course, no great book festival would be complete without a visit at the end to a local brewery. So my wife Kim and I slid over Russian River Brewing Company, where a beer and pizza bites put a cap on a great day!
Kalamazoo!
Christopher
Friday, September 9, 2011
Exhibiting at the Sonoma County Book Festival!
It's been a while since I posted as I've been pretty busy traveling abroad for work and just plain working (not to mention dodging hurricanes in the Outer Banks for a friend's wedding last week and training for my third triathlon.)
So, I'm excited to finally have something new and book-related to post. I'll be attending and exhibiting at the Sonoma County Book Festival on September 24, 2011 in Santa Rosa, CA.
If you're in the area, I'll have a booth at the event and will be offering signed hardcovers of The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun. Come by and say hi. It's my brother's birthday that day too, which is a funny coincidence, and I'll be offering a 30% discount to mark the day.
In other book news, The Midwest Book Review gave my first book a nice review, saying it is "a fun entry into a brand new youth science fiction series, highly recommended!" although I wish they would have recognized it is more of an adventure novel set in space than true sci-fi. But that's a small point to quibble over. Thanks for the kind words MBR!
I also offered a free giveaway of my final paperback advance review copies on Goodreads.com. Although I only listed 150 books, I got over 1,100 requests! That was pretty exciting. I hope those who won them enjoy them as they are a rarefied version of my book now. I originally printed over 1,000 of them, gave about 700 away to kids, schools, and industry press and now only have about 50 left after the latest giveaway. If you were one of the winners, keep sending me your emails as feedback is key to me evolving the Onyx Sun series!
Lastly, since we're on the topic of the series, I have gotten a number of inquiries over the last few months about Book 2: The Wicked Adversaries of the Onyx Sun. Yes, I am working on it. I've got about 70 pages written so far and continue to chip away at it a few pages at a time. I did take a brief break to write a different novel - another book for younger readers but geared more firmly toward the YA crowd. Now that is done and out to agents for consideration, I am back to working on the Onyx Sun Book 2, while I promote Book 1.
Thanks again to all you who have supported me, sent letters from your children or students, or bought a book. I am much encouraged by all your positive support, words, and feedback.
Kalamazoo!
Christopher
So, I'm excited to finally have something new and book-related to post. I'll be attending and exhibiting at the Sonoma County Book Festival on September 24, 2011 in Santa Rosa, CA.
If you're in the area, I'll have a booth at the event and will be offering signed hardcovers of The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun. Come by and say hi. It's my brother's birthday that day too, which is a funny coincidence, and I'll be offering a 30% discount to mark the day.
In other book news, The Midwest Book Review gave my first book a nice review, saying it is "a fun entry into a brand new youth science fiction series, highly recommended!" although I wish they would have recognized it is more of an adventure novel set in space than true sci-fi. But that's a small point to quibble over. Thanks for the kind words MBR!
I also offered a free giveaway of my final paperback advance review copies on Goodreads.com. Although I only listed 150 books, I got over 1,100 requests! That was pretty exciting. I hope those who won them enjoy them as they are a rarefied version of my book now. I originally printed over 1,000 of them, gave about 700 away to kids, schools, and industry press and now only have about 50 left after the latest giveaway. If you were one of the winners, keep sending me your emails as feedback is key to me evolving the Onyx Sun series!
Lastly, since we're on the topic of the series, I have gotten a number of inquiries over the last few months about Book 2: The Wicked Adversaries of the Onyx Sun. Yes, I am working on it. I've got about 70 pages written so far and continue to chip away at it a few pages at a time. I did take a brief break to write a different novel - another book for younger readers but geared more firmly toward the YA crowd. Now that is done and out to agents for consideration, I am back to working on the Onyx Sun Book 2, while I promote Book 1.
Thanks again to all you who have supported me, sent letters from your children or students, or bought a book. I am much encouraged by all your positive support, words, and feedback.
Kalamazoo!
Christopher
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Midwest Book Review Covers the Onyx Sun!
Thankfully, a few months later I did a random Google search and found out they had! Here's what they had to say:
The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun
Christopher Mahoney
Privately Published
9780979520259, $19.95, www.onyxsun.com
Being one of the youngest astronauts ever sounds cool, until the inevitable evil buts its head into the picture. "The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun" follows Zack Goodspeed as he embraces his wildest dreams becoming part of a new generation of space explorers. But there may be trouble in his voyage to the moon, and it's up to Zack to act fast before his first mission turns into a disaster. "The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun" is a fun entry into a brand new youth science fiction series, highly recommended.
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/jun_11.htm#Fantasy/SciFi
Kalamazoo!
Christopher
Friday, May 28, 2010
Publisher's Weekly Glows About the Onyx Sun!
One of the great benefits of making it to the semifinals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards contest is that your manuscript gets attention from some serious industry players. This is both nerve-wracking and exciting as you learn that Penguin editors and Publisher's Weekly will be reading your whole story.
So, it was with a tremendous amount of relief when I read the following from Publisher's Weekly about my book:
"This space adventure yarn has the right stuff. Zack Goodspeed’s unusual grandfather, Professor Goodspeed, is an adorable nutty genius who lives next door and whose garage has been transformed into a laboratory where he’s invented, among other things, a small black cube called the Onyx Sun, which is “a source of unlimited power.” One night, soon after he has shown Zack the Onyx Sun, the professor disappears into the woods. Zack and his neighbor, Angelina “Max” Maximillian, follow him and discover a tree that opens up to an elevator that leads to the center of the earth, where the Onyx Pioneer, an enormous spaceship invented by his grandfather and powered by the Onyx Sun, is docked in preparation for its colonization mission to the moon. Zack and Max stowaway on the ship and quickly discover that the evil Dr. Machvel plans to steal the Onyx Sun and use its power for destruction. Together with their new friend, Sanjay, they work to foil Dr. Machvel’s quest for domination. The fast-paced novel keeps the reader engaged throughout. The main characters are nicely done, the plot is exciting, and there’s a clear jumping off point for a sequel, which young sci-fi fans would surely look forward to."
Exciting to see a respected member of the writing community enjoy my book. It feels validating after four years and almost a thousand hours of work.
Now, if I could just find an agent and a publisher...
Kalamazoo!
Christopher
So, it was with a tremendous amount of relief when I read the following from Publisher's Weekly about my book:
"This space adventure yarn has the right stuff. Zack Goodspeed’s unusual grandfather, Professor Goodspeed, is an adorable nutty genius who lives next door and whose garage has been transformed into a laboratory where he’s invented, among other things, a small black cube called the Onyx Sun, which is “a source of unlimited power.” One night, soon after he has shown Zack the Onyx Sun, the professor disappears into the woods. Zack and his neighbor, Angelina “Max” Maximillian, follow him and discover a tree that opens up to an elevator that leads to the center of the earth, where the Onyx Pioneer, an enormous spaceship invented by his grandfather and powered by the Onyx Sun, is docked in preparation for its colonization mission to the moon. Zack and Max stowaway on the ship and quickly discover that the evil Dr. Machvel plans to steal the Onyx Sun and use its power for destruction. Together with their new friend, Sanjay, they work to foil Dr. Machvel’s quest for domination. The fast-paced novel keeps the reader engaged throughout. The main characters are nicely done, the plot is exciting, and there’s a clear jumping off point for a sequel, which young sci-fi fans would surely look forward to."
Exciting to see a respected member of the writing community enjoy my book. It feels validating after four years and almost a thousand hours of work.
Now, if I could just find an agent and a publisher...
Kalamazoo!
Christopher
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Onyx Sun Reaches Semifinals of Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards
I can announce this now that I know where I stand.After months of watching my book climb from a general submission, to making the first cut, to being a quarterfinalist, to finally reaching the semifinals, I at last know where I stand.
It is with mixed emotions I learned today that Amazon has selected the finalists for their 2010 Breakthrough Novel Awards. And although the first Onyx Sun book made it from a field of 5,000 entrants to only 50 Semifinalists, it will not be proceeding to the finals.
I'm very proud of my book, especially considering it is my first. To reach the top 1% of submissions is an achievement beyond what I expected. But I have to admit, as much as I tried not to, I was already visualizing flying to Seattle for the finals.
Ah well. My thanks goes out to Amazon for running such an amazing contest, Publisher's Weekly for their upbeat and positive review, and to the members of the community for reading and voting on my submission.
Kalamazoo!
Christopher
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)