Using Focus Groups to get Feedback on your Book

Guest post on Verdict Book Reviews: http://verdictbookreviews.blogspot.ca/2013/02/guest-post-focus-groups-by-mike-slabon.html

I placed 2nd in the Chompasaurus Reviews Flash-Fiction contest. Thank you Annie for the great wirting challenge!

Fool's Quest

What Fools are they, worthy men;

upon errant quest to have undertaken,
amidst Hesperian gardens, an eternity forsaken,
to seek a Grail more glitter than golden.

To four corners distant, journeying from pole to pole,

Time withers all memories endeared,
leaving all for lost, amidst the wasted years;
An empty longing even tears cannot console.

So my dearest Kathryn, only one promise I make unto thee:

An errant knight upon Fool’s quest, I’m afraid I cannot be.

Noble Matter

Rewarded, like Launcelot by Baumain’s blade,
for vanquished foes and damsels saved.
The knight and virtue, as it appears:
artifice manifested in shield and spear.

The quest for love, honesty and truth;

the sword does lie - my pen speaks truth:
strength exists not in chivalry’s fate,
but within heart beats ‘neath armor plate.

Love most noble: a matter of the heart,
for that which seems to matter most, matters not.

I placed 1st in the Chompasaurus Reviews "IC-Sci-Fi Challenge"

http://chompasaurusreviews.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/i-c-sci-fi-1st-place-winner-a-second-chance/

Thank you Chompasaurus for the writing challenge!

Undead Reckoning in The Indie Spotlight Feature

Click on the link: http://www.theindiespotlight.com/?p=11715

Review in July issue of Shelf Life

Found this review in the July 2012 issue of Shelf Life (Thank you for the review, and to Gord Mood of www.lamoodcomics.com for getting me a copy of the publication).

Reprinted with permission from Paul Sutter (Editor/Publisher – Shelf Life)

As a book reviewer for m...ore than thirty years, there are times when from the thousands of books reviewed, one imagines, “how did this get printed?” Yet we hear stories of excellent books that get turned down countless times. It is a shame that Mike Slabon had to go the self-publishing route, because the book is good enough to be represented by a publishing house.
Slabon is a London Ontario bank employee, who had the idea for this book for some time. The writing process took several years. It was worth the wait as the book was printed with a popular zombie theme.
There are many layers to the book. Eddie Griffin is the main character, a former football star, the youngest to win a Super Bowl. As he is touring Fort Hood, he learns that most of the world’s population drops dead. Then they rise up as zombies. It is the minority versus the brain eating creatures, as Griffin and Lt. Jim Shrike are on a mission to figure out what has happened and why.
The book meanders into science-fiction, fantasy, and manages to toss in some Nazis as well. There is a mystical parallel world called Nabisusha, where ancient beings rule. We find out the correlation between the zombies and prophecies fulfilled.
Undead Reckoning is a fun ride, with a little bit of everything to engage your interest and imagination.

Check out Shelf Life website for more reviews: http://shelflifemag.tripod.com/