Panicles, explores the price of fame and fortune through the eyes of two families, one wealthy and powerful, the other blue collar, from a chance meeting at a Florida poolside, to the highest levels of politics and power. This sweeping saga of love, war, money, and power leaves each family weighing their duty to their family versus service to their country.It all leads to a fateful choice—a sacrifice—which could change the course of history.
Richard lives in New York City and New Orleans with his love and inspiration, Lisa, my wife of thirty years (and counting), near their beloved grown children.
website & Social links
Website → www.Robbinsbooks.com
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/richard.robbins.7737
“Richard Robbins has presented a cast of interesting characters, and each one is fully explored. The plot engages the reader from the first page to the last. The writing style is fast-paced and flows smoothly. Author Richard Robbins has penned a captivating novel in Panicles. A fascinating read!” ~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Deborah Lloyd (5 STARS)
Follow the fates of two families, one wealthy and powerful, the other blue collar, from a chance meeting at a Florida poolside, to the highest levels of politics and power. This sweeping saga of love, war, money, and power leaves each family weighing their duty to their family versus service to their country.
It all leads to a fateful choice—a sacrifice—which could change the course of history.
EVOLVED PUBLISHING PRESENTS a contemporary literary exploration of two very different families, with their ties to politics, power and influence, and to each other. [DRM-Free]
“Panicles will make you think, make you cry, make you laugh and smile and keep you reading until the very end.” ~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Trudi LoPreto (5 STARS)
“Panicles is a novel that invites reflection with its subtle and significant meaning… Connections, effects, and a great storyline make Panicles a remarkable novel from many points of view.” ~ Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews, Astrid Iustulin (5 STARS)
Books by Richard Robbins:
- Love, Loss, and Lagniappe
- Panicles
- The Tormenting Beauty of Empathy (Coming 2020)
cLICK BELOw TO ORDER YOUR COPY!
Amazon → https://amzn.to/37wyWjR
Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/2qGgPax
After your book was released, what was the first thing you
did when getting ready for your book launch?
Marketing does not come naturally
to me, and I am self-conscious about self-promotion. However, as an author, you
are the brand, in a sense, and if you want to share your work with a wider
audience, you need to get over that quickly. I am still working on that part.
Fortunately, I have the help of a good publisher, Evolved Publishing, who handles
much of that for me. I do promote the book on my social media pages, and most
enjoyable of all, have had very well attended and fun launch parties for each
book.
After that, what was your next step?
I have also had some
success with book clubs. I have reached out to local book clubs, both in New
York as well as New Orleans,
and that has resulted in a fair amount of book sales. But perhaps more
importantly, attending some of those book clubs, and hearing first-hand
feedback, has given me more insight into how the books are received by the
readers, and I believe has made me a better writer.
Did you ever consider using a PR agency to help you promote
your book or did you prefer the DIY route?
I have spoken with a well known PR
agent, who represents a number of best-selling authors, and she has read my
books has been very encouraging and supportive. Her advice was to wait until
after the publication of my third novel, The Tormenting Beauty of Empathy,
which will be released in 2020, before embarking on an extensive (and expensive)
PR campaign.
Were finding reviews a top priority for you and, if yes, how
did you approach that?
They were a priority, but not a top priority. It was not
difficult to obtain reviews from professional review sites such as Feathered
Quill or Readers’ Favorite, and I have been encouraged by the positive way my
books have been received. However I have been continually surprised at how
difficult it is to gain reviews on Amazon. Their algorithm removes or disallows
reviews from anyone it believes has a connection to you, so many reviews, even
by followers on Facebook who I have never met, have been disallowed or removed
after being posted. I am not the only one who is up against this challenge, as
I have seen best sellers with only dozens or a couple of hundred reviews at
most. But I keep climbing that hill as best I can, asking friends for reviews,
and writing as high quality books.
Did you revamp your author’s page at Amazon in any way to
prepare for the launch (https://authorcentral.amazon.com/)?
My publisher takes care of that for me, thankfully. I provide him with short
updates, quotes, bios, etc., and he takes care of the rest.
Did you have other books you offered for free in order to
help sell your present book?
I am not a fan of free or highly discounted books.
I believe creatives need to be compensated for their time and creativity, even
though it seems like I’m swimming upstream in that regards. I see greeting
cards for sale for $4.95, why should my book be 99 cents. But in the end, I am
not in this for financial reward, I just believe that people value what they
pay for, and if I do not value my work, how can I expect others to?
Did you set up booksignings and, if so, how did that work
for you?
I have done booksignings, with mixed success. Well attended ones are
great fun, and it is a pleasure to interact with readers. Poorly attended ones can
be a downer, and try though I may, I still have difficulty predicting which ones
will be well attended. But overall, it is worth a few lonely days at a folded
table to have the chance to interact with readers at the well-attended events.
What was the best money you ever spent on your book launch?
Booze. Turns out, people are happier when there’s booze present. You heard it
first from me. Also, I have had wonderful settings for each of my book launch
events. At my first, my friends Rick and Irene Rounick were gracious enough to
allow me to have it at their wonderful art gallery, the Soho
Contemporary Art
Gallery. And my second launch party
was at the Milton Latter Memorial Library in New Orleans,
which is a wonderful, historic venue.
Any tips for those authors wanting to set up a successful
book launch?
Did you see the part about the booze in the prior paragraph? And get some cool friends with an art
gallery, that works too. And good luck
to all the other writers out there. It has been my pleasure to share my
thoughts with you. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to
reach me at www.Robbinsbooks.com
Marketing does not come naturally to me, and I am self-conscious about self-promotion. However, as an author, you are the brand, in a sense, and if you want to share your work with a wider audience, you need to get over that quickly. I am still working on that part. Fortunately, I have the help of a good publisher, Evolved Publishing, who handles much of that for me. I do promote the book on my social media pages, and most enjoyable of all, have had very well attended and fun launch parties for each book.
I have also had some success with book clubs. I have reached out to local book clubs, both in New York as well as New Orleans, and that has resulted in a fair amount of book sales. But perhaps more importantly, attending some of those book clubs, and hearing first-hand feedback, has given me more insight into how the books are received by the readers, and I believe has made me a better writer.
I have spoken with a well known PR agent, who represents a number of best-selling authors, and she has read my books has been very encouraging and supportive. Her advice was to wait until after the publication of my third novel, The Tormenting Beauty of Empathy, which will be released in 2020, before embarking on an extensive (and expensive) PR campaign.
They were a priority, but not a top priority. It was not difficult to obtain reviews from professional review sites such as Feathered Quill or Readers’ Favorite, and I have been encouraged by the positive way my books have been received. However I have been continually surprised at how difficult it is to gain reviews on Amazon. Their algorithm removes or disallows reviews from anyone it believes has a connection to you, so many reviews, even by followers on Facebook who I have never met, have been disallowed or removed after being posted. I am not the only one who is up against this challenge, as I have seen best sellers with only dozens or a couple of hundred reviews at most. But I keep climbing that hill as best I can, asking friends for reviews, and writing as high quality books.
My publisher takes care of that for me, thankfully. I provide him with short updates, quotes, bios, etc., and he takes care of the rest.
I am not a fan of free or highly discounted books. I believe creatives need to be compensated for their time and creativity, even though it seems like I’m swimming upstream in that regards. I see greeting cards for sale for $4.95, why should my book be 99 cents. But in the end, I am not in this for financial reward, I just believe that people value what they pay for, and if I do not value my work, how can I expect others to?
I have done booksignings, with mixed success. Well attended ones are great fun, and it is a pleasure to interact with readers. Poorly attended ones can be a downer, and try though I may, I still have difficulty predicting which ones will be well attended. But overall, it is worth a few lonely days at a folded table to have the chance to interact with readers at the well-attended events.
Booze. Turns out, people are happier when there’s booze present. You heard it first from me. Also, I have had wonderful settings for each of my book launch events. At my first, my friends Rick and Irene Rounick were gracious enough to allow me to have it at their wonderful art gallery, the Soho Contemporary Art Gallery. And my second launch party was at the Milton Latter Memorial Library in New Orleans, which is a wonderful, historic venue.
Did you see the part about the booze in the prior paragraph? And get some cool friends with an art gallery, that works too. And good luck to all the other writers out there. It has been my pleasure to share my thoughts with you. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to reach me at www.Robbinsbooks.com
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