It’s (almost) ALL in the NAME!

Local Authors (!) appear at the Chappaqua, NY library on Monday, July 16th.

A book by any other author would not sell as sweet!

Former President Bill Clinton and best-selling author James Patterson live in neighboring towns in New York. They teamed up to write this summer’s hottest book: The President is Missing. The thriller has sold millions of books so far, in spite of some carefully worded, restrained reviews. The headline of the New York Times review by Nicolle Wallace declares “Bill Clinton and James Patterson Have Written a Thriller. It’s Good.” The reviewer seems excited about the collaboration, but there are no exclamation points about the story! Then there is Ron Charles of The Washington Post, who’s review was not so forgiving.

“. . . the novel is full of tepid moralizing. . . .The larger problem, though, is how cramped the scope remains.”

Even these two authors, a celebrity and a proven best seller, know it is not enough to just write a book, you have to promote it. They stomached the lackluster reviews and went on a book selling tour — standard marketing for any author.

It’s never easy!

On the tour, the man with the biggest Brand Name is dealing with a brand image problem: he is facing questions from reporters about Monica Lewinsky, who recently joined the “Me Too” movement, rather than questions about his new book. The good news is that the negative publicity does not seem to be putting a damper on the book’s sales. There is probably something still to the old adage, “any publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right. . .”

I for one, am looking forward to Monday night’s event. It will be great to meet my two neighbors (!), buy their book and make my own judgment about its literary merits. There are tickets still available, if you want to join me.

I am proud to say I will buy a copy of this thriller from the Chappaqua Library’s book vendor Scattered Books, the very same bookstore that carries my Enjella® Adventure Series!

I wonder if former President Clinton will reciprocate my efforts and attend one of my appearances on my next book tour?