Attention, Book Clubs!

Seven Noble Knights, as you may know, is popular with book clubs. Its cast of characters and uniquely fascinating setting provide fertile material for informative discussions that easily turn gruesome or hilarious, depending on the group dynamic. Check out the suggestions for a Seven Noble Knights book club here.

If you're in a book club, I'd like to suggest a website that makes your organizing convenient, your book choices well informed, and and your meetings more fun than they ever have been. Register free at BookMovement.com and reap the benefits with awesome book meetings for years to come.

Many publishers and authors reach out to book groups via BookMovement to get feedback or just to show the love with free books and swag. This month, Seven Noble Knights is participating in a giveaway for registered members of BookMovement only. One lucky book club will receive free copies of Seven Noble Knights and the chance to chat with yours truly in person or via Skype!

See into the mind of Doña Lambra. Ride with Gonzalo and his brothers. Fall in love along with Mudarra. The reading guide page has an excerpt you won't see anywhere else. It shows a devoted father and husband meeting the shining civilization of the Caliphate of Cordoba in the worst way possible.

Join now, enter to win wonderful treats for your book club... forever!

Book Club Magic with Divas, Sangría, and Medieval Spain

Reading makes you blossom 

The Literary Divas February meeting, which featured discussion of everyone's favorite epic of medieval Spain, Seven Noble Knights, had near perfect attendance and a special appearance by yours truly, the elusive author J. K. Knauss.

Seven Noble Knights, hurrah! 

The group has varied tastes and don't often agree on books, but luckily, everyone found something to like in Seven Noble Knights. I let the readers control the discussion, which ranged delightfully all over. I was tickled to hear comparisons to Game of Thrones, and the consensus was that reading Seven Noble Knights is like being inside a movie. We discussed the pleasant challenges of a book with more than thirty characters and how long it takes to write an epic novel. We delved into the psychology of Doña Lambra, Zaida, Don Gonzalo, and Gonzalico, and agreed that Blanca Flor is more mysterious than I intended. Almanzor was a favorite character, and I got to explain that his reputation in history is terrifying, so it was thrilling to portray him in a positive light. My inspiration and years of research paid off when many readers picked up on subtle details.

I'm always surprised when readers want little ol' me to sign their books, but there was a whole lot of signing going on, too.

"The book club needed a book like this," one enthusiastic reader said. "It's well written and we all learned a lot!"

The group enjoyed an elegant selection of Spanish tapas: Mediterranean salad, paella, tortilla de patatas, bread, Manchego cheese, chorizo, Spanish olives, almonds, and sangría, with olive oil in almost everything and a delicious, colorful fruit tart for dessert.

The evening concluded with an impromptu reading of my prize-winning flash fiction, "Stairs to the Beach." The dark humor was highly appreciated.

You, too, can experience Seven Noble Knights with your book club! Check out suggestions here and contact the author if you'd like to schedule an author appearance or Skype or Zoom session.

New Review of Law and Order in Medieval Spain

Whenever I sell a copy of Law and Order in Medieval Spain, I'm a little amazed. I love finding out that there are some people looking for a nonfiction book of literary criticism of thirteenth-century poetry based on legal tracts. I recently had occasion to be dumbfounded when I wandered onto the Amazon page for this book with a different objective to find that a thoughtful reader had taken the time to leave an unsolicited (but much appreciated) five-star review.

Readers, there is nothing that makes an author's day like an unexpected bit of honest appreciation from someone who connected with that author's book.

"A book for a well rounded library," this singular review proclaims. "Enjoyed reading this book and so glad I found it. In college I took a music history class that covered the cantigas of the Virgin Mary."

Me, too. My first exposure to the Cantigas was in "Música Española," a class for American college students in Córdoba, Spain.

"I did find many other books but they were mostly in Latin and the prices were in the range from fifty dollars up to six hundred. This book was at the right price for me but the author put her heart into this book."

Quality academic publishing is expensive, but students are the people who can least afford high prices. I priced the book to be accessible to everyone who might have a hint of interest. Yes, I admit, I put my heart into this book — thanks for appreciating it!

"All her research is well documented and footnoted with names of other authors and universities where I could even get more history."

The highest academic standards were in place at all times during construction of this book. Blood, sweat, and tears. It's nice to know readers like that.

"The ancient art work is a treasure to behold especially since I don't think I'll be traveling to Spain. The subject of this book can interest those who like history, religion, music, or art. All these reasons are why I think this book is for a well rounded library."

That's what I love most about the Cantigas de Santa Maria: they touch so many aspects of medieval life. They aren't unitary, but a combination.

"I even wish the author would write a second book with more on the cantigas of the Virgin Mary." 

Of course this makes me want to drop everything and head to the library to start researching more! 

You can read the whole review without interruption by scrolling down here. Thank you for sharing my joy.

Five Truths About Reading Fiction

The delightful Robert Bruce (no, not Robert the Bruce!) did a post on five myths of reading over at Jeff Goins's site. It's a useful post! Today, I'm going to come at it from the positive angle (which Bruce ends up doing, anyway).

1. You Can Learn a Lot from Fiction. 

I have a distinct memory of Diego de la Vega in the New World Zorro saying, "You can learn a lot of things from books!" If Zorro says it, you know it's true! But seriously, aside from the misinformation and real information you can get, you also learn to distinguish between the two. Most importantly, you learn to empathize. They've done studies, but experience also confirms this one for me. Readers are simply more human.

2. You've Got Plenty of Time to Read.
Think about it. Next time you're in the subway or the DMV line, you can pick up a book. You can read over your lunch half-hour. You can read a book instead of turning on the miniseries adaptation of it. E-readers and all the apps on all the devices have made reading accessible from anywhere! That's right! It's not just for TV shows and music. And for anyone who doesn't have a gadget, the added weight of a book in your bag or your hand can count as a daily workout.

3. Reading is Great Exercise/Activity.
See above! Reading exercises muscles as well as the brain. Reading an extended piece like a novel is, in fact, one of the most complex acts humans can perform. It does wonders for your concentration and your mood, too! The importance of catharsis cannot be overemphasized.

4. Your Opinion of a Book Makes a Huge Difference.
If I said this as often as it needed to be said, I would feel like a terrible nag. There are tons of avid readers out there who keep their opinions to themselves, thereby stymying every effort at publicity. If no one had heard of a book, they can't enjoy it, too, and the author's incredible efforts go to waste. If they don't know anyone's enjoying it, they might not bother to keep writing. It's a serious possibility. Even Stephen King needs to know (once in a while) that he has an effect on someone. So, especially if you enjoy a book, please let everyone know about it! It makes a difference in the life of the writer, and from there, it makes a difference in what kinds of books are getting published.

5. All of the Above is True, No Matter Whether You're Reading Shakespeare or pulp novels.
Yup, even the worst written, toilet-paper book can teach you something, exercise your body and mind, and matter to you and others.

So THANK YOU for reading.

Readers, Only You Can Help Authors

Jeri Westerson recently laid out some things active readers can do to support their favorite authors in this exciting, confusing time. I don't necessarily think these are obligations, or even responsibilities, as she puts it, but if readers do decide to actively support a certain author, they need to know that their actions have huge, direct effects on the publishing industry, so they should purchase and engage in social media in a conscious manner.

I love being a writer, but like most other authors I'm struggling to get my writing noticed above the sound and fury.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I've already asked you to help me save the rhinos (here and here), but I have some great ideas for random acts of kindness, too. These are all things I've done to support other authors, but I figure my birthday is a great excuse to call you out in force for my sake!

You could buy my books. Try these links or request them at your local library or bookstore.

Tree/House: paperback Kindle Nook Kobo eTLC
Dusk Before Dawn: paperback Kindle Nook Kobo
Sail to Italy and Sail from Italy: paperback Kindle Nook Kobo
Threads Woven: Kindle Nook Kobo
Law and Order in Medieval Spain: paperback Kindle Nook Kobo
The Abencerraje: paperback Kindle (Also, you can still borrow it for free if you're Amazon Prime! It's like Christmas for me when you do!)

Lots to choose from!

If you have no money to spare (or, and especially if, I already gave you a free copy), these other highly appreciated acts will cost you nothing but a little bit of time.

Step 1: Log into Amazon. It's basically the same no matter which country you prefer. Search my books or use the links provided above.

Step 2: Click the Like button.

Step 3: If you've read it and liked it, write a review. If there are other reviews, click the button indicating that they were useful to you. If there are bad reviews or ones you don't agree with, vote them down. Contact me for free review copies if you haven't read it and it looks interesting to you.

Step 4: Share it via Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest (if you are so inclined).

Step 5: Scroll down until you see the section about "Tags."

With a few simple clicks, you can agree with all the relevant tags. (In this example, "crime drama" isn't relevant, so please don't agree with it.) Then you can fill in the box with any other relevant tags you can think of for that book. Creative and amusing!

Still at Amazon, you also can go to my Amazon author page and click on the Like button, look at videos, and share it via twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or even that old dinosaur, email.

It already feels better to help my cheery, thoughtful books than to play Angry Birds, doesn't it!

If you have a Goodreads.com account (I highly recommend it!), you can add my books, rate them with four or five stars (if you like them, that is), and if you really like them, add a review and add them to lists and suggest them to other readers. You can also become my fan. I'd love to have you!

Returning to this blog, there are a few more things you can do to help out.

1. Follow this blog. Get your picture up there on the left with all the other Truly Awesome People or type in your email address (I won't spam you).

2. Use the easy-peasy buttons just below the followers to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I also have other Facebook pages and amusing places to visit listed in the Contact Me page.

3. Use the silly simple buttons at the bottom of each post you like to share it via email, Blogger, Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus.

4. Comment on posts you like. Let's get the conversation going!

Did you even know there were so many ways you as the reader could assist your favorite authors? Every click helps raise Amazon rankings and makes books more visible to search engines so your favorite authors can find their sometimes elusive but always lovable target readers.

Thank you. Any of these actions performed in kindness will help to boost the world's karma in some small way. This is just about the only feedback I can get for my job, and I take it all very seriously.