Barnes and Noble April Event!!

By: S.C. Ali

Founder/Author

The old adage goes, “When it rains, it pours.” After five months of no book events, I was fortunate to be a participant in two books events one week after another. Last week, I posted my reflection of my event with Bronze Lifestyle contributing writer Andrew Blitman at his Books and Books event. This past Saturday, I had what may be my final Barnes and Noble event for a while.

This event was oriented toward educators at the elementary, middle, and high school level. There were a series of events that took place throughout the day, and the segment involving local authors was during the final hour. There were seven authors (myself and Andrew included), and as a result, the configuration of the event was a bit different compared to previous Barnes and Noble events. Four tables were set up with two chairs per table for authors. It was oriented in a book fair style where people could walk by the tables and speak to whichever author they wished.

The Community Relations Manager (CRM) did a fantastic job in composing a summary sheet with our biographies on it. In addition, on the left side of the page, he sorted our literary works according to age group. That way, people could clearly see what novel targets which demographic. The last thing I’d want is for children under five reading my book, because it is targeted for an older audience.

My most memorable moment in the whole event was when a third grader came up to me and said, “Your book looks interesting.” Then, I explained the premise of the book to her and her parents. Her mom told me that although she was in third grade, she was reading at a mature middle school level. After my explanation, she was convinced and excited, and decided to purchase the book.

The crowd was on the smaller side, but the goal of the event was to network with fellow authors and sell copies. In that regard, it was a success. There is always room for improvement, but persistence with these sorts of events is paramount. We never know how many people show up, all we can do is remain open minded and make the best use of the situation.

I’m not sure if this will be my final Barnes and Noble event, but whatever happens on the promotion front, I’ll keep you all posted!

As always, if you’d like to purchase/review my book, the paperback version is available here. It is also available on Kindle, which can be found here.

Thanks everyone!

Special Books & Books Event!!

By: S.C. Ali

Founder/Author

On Saturday April 11^th at 5pm, the most successful event (so far) in the promotion of my debut novel, The Bronze Treasures, took place. My good friend and collaborator in writing, including Bronze Lifestyle, Andrew Blitman, hosted his debut event to promote his work, “The Blitman Anthology.” In case you all don’t remember, I wrote a review and did an interview with Andrew a few months ago (see here).

Andrew requested me to be the introductory speaker. I knew it would be a fantastic opportunity, because Books & Books is one of the most well renowned book venues in Miami. Because I enjoy public speaking, it was a no-brainer to become involved. In addition, it gave me an opportunity to plug in The Bronze Treasures, which integrated with Andrew’s piece greatly because he played a major role in helping me throughout the creative process.

The planning phase was not easy. Although Andrew did most of the legwork in communicating with Books & Books, we had multiple discussions via telephone, text message, email, and in person regarding how exactly we would conduct the event. After consulting reliable sources, we decided to keep the speeches brief and focus on a question and answer session with the audience. Andrew himself dubbed it, “Inside the Author’s Studio” after the famous TV show hosted by James Lipton. This format enabled the audience to play an active rather than passive role, which is always a positive step when dealing with author events.

Once this decision was made, Andrew asked if I would be the moderator for the discussion. I was deeply honored to be nominated for this task. I learned during my college/university years how to moderate effectively, and it is something that I enjoy greatly. My role as the moderator was to transition the questions and answers seamlessly, and encourage a flow of discussion. Also, I provided any additional insight that I felt would be valuable to the audience. Based on the response and feedback, it went very well.

There were a few salient aspects of this event that made it my favorite. First, because the event was focused on Andrew as the Captain and me as the Lieutenant, we were the center of attention. This is in stark contrast to other panels where I was part of a panel of four or more authors. In addition, I had the most experience in dealing with these sorts of events this time, as opposed to the other ones where I was the least experienced. The experience was a contributing factor to the success of the event. Also, although it was a celebration of Andrew’s book, “The Blitman Anthology”, it was also a commemoration of The Bronze Treasures as well since my piece celebrated its first anniversary two weeks ago. Furthermore, Andrew and I have a dynamic rapport, and it was felt throughout the room.

In essence, this event was unique in the promotion of The Bronze Treasures. It is one that I definitely will not forget. The event was a full house, to the point where two to four people actually had to stand because there were no more chairs left. This resulted from hard work and determination of Andrew first, and yours truly second in promoting to our friends, family, and colleagues.

The official press release will be reblogged from Andrew’s site, The Written Blit, a little later today.

Thank you for your readership, and if you are interesting in hosting me as an author, please contact me at bronzelifestyle1@gmail.com. Also, my book can be found here: www.amazon.com/The-Bronze-Treasures-S-Ali/dp/0615984703/

Upcoming Events for The Bronze Treasures

Hey everyone!!

This is just a quick update about two upcoming events for my debut novel, The Bronze Treasures. The first event will be this Saturday April 11th at 5pm at the Books and Books in Coral Gables, FL. This event is in collaboration with Andrew Blitman, a contributing writer on Bronze Lifestyle and editor-in-chief of “The Written Blit”. Here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/814571015294049/

If you know anyone who is in the Miami area, we’d love to see you there!

The second event will be next Saturday April 18th at 1pm at the Barnes and Noble in Wellington. It is an educator event, and I will be part of a local author panel. Again, if you know anyone who lives in Palm Beach County, please invite them!

If you’d like to purchase my book, please see the left sidebar and click on the cover photo.

I intend to write a reflection of both events on Bronze Lifestyle after, so stay tuned!

Cheers

S.C. Ali

Founder/Editor-in-Chief

Reflections of an Exciting Author Event!

By: S.C. Ali

Founder/Author

Saturday November 22^nd was a significant day for the promotion of The Bronze Treasures. It marked my involvement in my first group author event. In addition, it was oriented in a discussion format rather than a simple introduction and opening the floor for questions.

The event took place at the Barnes and Noble in Wellington, and the audience was primarily residents of Palm Beach County. The discussion was moderated by a senior staff member at B&N. The fellow published authors on the panel were:

• Pamela Carey, author of Elderly Parents with all their Marbles: A Survival Guide for the Kids
• Christy Lee Taylor, co-author of Devotions for Beginning Readers
• Natorya Nicole, author of EJ and Sis: Time Out…Learning Tool

It was an interesting variety of authors because Mrs. Taylor and Ms. Nicole were more directed to the young children demographic, Mrs. Carey to the adults, and I to the mature teenager/young adult demographic. This affected our creative process. For example, the lexicon used in the books would have to differ, since a young child’s vocabulary is limited. It is interesting to note that Mrs. Taylor and Ms. Nicole’s pieces had much more illustrations present compared to Mrs. Carey’s and my own. As the saying goes, a picture is truly worth a thousand words, and young children can relate better when there are images.

My prior experience with my first book signing and an educator event that I was involved in made this event much easier to handle. There are only so many questions that people ask, and on rare occasion would I receive an unusual question. However, I acted accordingly with great results. It’s important to note that not all authors are equipped to handle the promotional aspect. There is an additional skill set in presentation that is required in order to be effective. Most importantly, authors need to feel confident about themselves because as the author, you will be expected to give some of your personal story in order to resonate with the audience.

In conclusion, I had a fantastic experience and would do it again in a heartbeat. It was great meeting fellow authors, sharing ideas, and exchanging contact information for potential future collaborations. I’d like to thank all of the welcoming staff at the Barnes and Noble in Wellington, especially the community relations manager. Not all B&N stores are operated so efficiently, so kudos to the them.

If you know of a local bookstore in your area, or any form of media (TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, etc.) that is interested in hosting/interviewing a young mystery author with a unique story, please email me at bronzelifestyle1@gmail.com and we will follow up from there.

Cheers!

Photo source

First Book Signing!

By: S.C. Ali

Founder/Author

After the release of my debut novel The Bronze Treasures, I started to implement my plan of action for promotion. It consisted of contacting local bookstores in the South Florida area. Barnes and Noble seemed like a natural choice because it is the largest brick-and-mortar store chain in America, and has gained international recognition. I thought, “If I could place some of my books in their stores, then I know this book is capable of greatness.”

After a few months of hard work and determination, I met with the Community Relations Manager for the B&N in Boca Raton. I discussed with her my motivations for writing the book, and introduced the beloved character of Charles Bronze. She was very intrigued, and noted that as soon as she saw the book cover, she thought of Mad Men immediately. My intention was to create a 1960s spy vibe, but write characters and stories that are well suited for the modern era. At the end of our discussion, we both agreed that it would be a great idea to showcase The Bronze Treasures. She decided to place it in the Customer Service section whereby anyone who passed by would be able to see it. I asked her about the possibility of doing book events, but she told me that their particular B&N branch didn’t have the facilities to host an event. She did advise me to contact the B&N in Wellington, another local branch. I proceeded as she recommended and eventually, The Bronze Treasures was placed on the bookshelves in the B&N Wellington branch.

While searching for the B&N events online, I happened to stumble on a ‘Mystery Book Club Meeting’ event post at the Wellington branch. Immediately, I emailed the CRM. He told me that it was the first meeting planned, and he wanted to see if it would take off. Since The Bronze Treasures is primarily a Mystery novel, it only seemed natural to give it a shot. I told him to sign me up, thinking that I would be on the sidelines and simply mention the book.

When I arrived on the day of the meeting, I was pleasantly surprised to see a ‘Meet the Author’ display, which had my personal bio and book synopsis. Moreover, there were ten hardcopies of my book arranged neatly. I then realized that the whole meeting was centered around The Bronze Treasures. I was a bit nervous, but very excited.

There were three ladies, and the meeting was a cordial one. They each asked me questions about the book, and a little bit about myself. It gave me a great opportunity to practice the skill of speaking with strangers. Oftentimes, we become comfortable speaking with family/friends, and it can be difficult conversing with people outside our circle. However, the ladies enjoyed hearing what I had to say, so much that two out of three purchased the book immediately. I autographed the rest of the books that were present. Although it was very small scale, it is safe to say that my first book signing was officially completed and a success. In addition, the community relations manager was so excited himself that he immediately reserved an author’s spot for me in an educator event approximately three weeks after. I left the store excited for what new adventures awaited me next in the promotion of The Bronze Treasures.

Welcome!

Welcome everyone to Bronze Lifestyle! This blog was influenced by the protagonist Charles Bronze of S.C. Ali’s The Bronze Treasures. There are multiple goals that the team of Bronze Lifestyle would like to accomplish (listed in order of priority):

• Discuss important current topics in health and nutrition
• Serve as a medium to promote S.C. Ali’s The Bronze Treasures
• Provide reviews in the arts which include but are not limited to: books, films, and music

We are eager to hear your feedback! If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to fill out the form in the “Contact Us” link on the left side. Thank you all for your readership!

Bronze Lifestyle Team