When asked for advice about what authors should look for in agents, editors, and publishers, award-winning and Charming As A Verb (Balzer + Bray, October 13, 2020) author Ben Philippe, encourages finding industry professionals whose emails they are unafraid to receive. “I have friends who are also writers, they have that fear of their own editors and publishers,” he tells So Booking Cool. “They’re like ‘Oh, I made too … Read the rest
Interview With Author & Composer Jay Coles!
Many of us at some point have looked back on some of our early work and cringed (or simply uttered something along the lines of, “I’ve come a long way!”) Author of several novels including the starred-reviewed Tyler Johnson Was Here and critically acclaimed anthologies (Black Enough and Hungry Hearts), Jay Coles, explained why he thinks his first few books are bad. Instead of being authentic in … Read the rest
Interview With “The Hidden Opponent” Founder & Resource in “Geese Are Never Swans” by Kobe Bryant & Eva Clark!
When former Division 1 player and PAC-12 champion, Victoria Garrick, met with Kobe Bryant to discuss her organization, The Hidden Opponent, an advocacy group for student-athlete mental health, she learned he was developing a project that aligned with her passion. That project was the new book, Geese Are Never Swans (Granity Studios, July 21, 2020), a multi-category #1 New Release on Amazon. “After that, I received an alert from … Read the rest
Interview With “Trust the Grind” Author Jeremy Bhandari!
Author and previous ESPN sports content researcher, Jeremy Bhandari, wants to inspire youth with his debut book, Trust the Grind: How World-Class Athletes Got To The Top (Mango Publishing, April 14, 2020), an Amazon Teen and Young Adult Sports multi-category bestseller since its launch. The intention was to create a successful-habit template for children no matter their career path. He also wants young people to understand the importance of … Read the rest
Interview With “Given” Author Nandi Taylor!
After enjoying abundant success online via Wattpad including over a million reads and being a two-time Watty award winner including the 2018 Worldbuilders award, Given by Nandi Taylor is now gearing up for international release under Wattpad Books on January 21, 2020. Taylor discussed why her story ascending into trade publication is meaningful to her. “Posting the book online was kind of my way to keep myself accountable and … Read the rest
Review: Legacy and the Queen by Annie Matthew and creator Kobe Bryant
![Legacy Cover[2]](https://i0.wp.com/sobookingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Legacy-Cover2.png?resize=1080%2C1620&ssl=1)
LEGACY AND THE QUEEN, Annie Matthew, Kobe Bryant. Granity Studios, $11.88 (208p) ISBN-13: 978-1949520033
Publication date: September 3, 2019
From Kobe Bryant’s Granity Studios, comes the unique and beautiful middle grade fantasy novel, Legacy and the Queen, penned by the talented Annie Matthew. Endearing as it is inspiring, the tale centers on Legacy, a selfless tween from the Republic of Nova, who, when she is not helping her … Read the rest
Interview With “How to Be Remy Cameron” Author Julian Winters! (Part 1)
When Julian Winters reflects on how he has grown as a writer since his award-winning debut, Running With Lions (Interlude Press, 2018), he acknowledges both personal and professional improvements. One of the challenges he initially faced when penning his sophomore novel, How to Be Remy Cameron, released earlier this month by the same parent publisher, were his doubts about telling a story in the first-person.
“Running With … Read the rest
Interview (Part 1) With “A Good Kind of Trouble” Author Lisa Moore Ramée!
While the novel A Good Kind of Trouble has pretty much been dubbed the junior high school version of The Hate U Give, also a Balzer + Bray title, it is a book that had been more than 20 years in the making. It is based on the author, Lisa Moore Ramée’s experiences in elementary and middle school as well as her daughter’s, who is now in college. … Read the rest
Interview With Words Without Borders Campus’ Editor & Curriculum Designer, Nadia Kalman!
If you’ve ever taught a class, prepared a workshop or seminar, chances are you can relate to Nadia Kalman’s thoughts on curriculum. “A curriculum is only as good as the day that you present a lesson to a particular group of students,” the education consultant told So Booking Cool. “So, as a teacher, even if you are given a curriculum to execute, you have to modify it for … Read the rest
Interview With Michelle Wolett, Owner of Once Upon a Book Club!
Once Upon a Book Club is not the typical book subscription box. It enhances the reading experience by including a replication of an item mentioned in the novel. As you can imagine, this concept is engaging for people, an aspect that the company’s founder, Michelle Wolett, appreciates. “I’ve learned that it’s really helping the world read more,” Wolett told So Booking Cool. “So that’s the part that I … Read the rest