First the newest news: Got another book-signing for my Maui novel Small Island today. It’s at Barnes & Noble in Lahaina, which is the only dedicated bookstore on the island that sells new books in any serious quantity. It runs from 4-6pm and should be fun. Should be…
So… yeah: writing a novel is difficult, but getting that book out in front of people who are willing to shell out $14.95 for a paperback copy ($3.99 for e-version) is even worse. I suppose it’s easier for writers who get big contracts with big publishing houses, but I opted to have small, friendly, extremely competent Event Horizon Press, which is basically just a husband and wife team based in Palm Springs, California publish my Small Island. That means a lot of the marketing is up to me.
Which means I was doubly happy to read the other day that Hawaii Book Blog, which is really just two dedicated people on Oahu who love books and give critical attention to books written and/or published locally, had finally reviewed Small Island. Given the serious lack of media attention given to books pretty much everywhere, HBB is seriously back-logged with review requests, which is why I sent them a copy of Small Island in the fall but only got the review a week or so ago.
In any case, Alex Alba (the site editor) gave me a pretty good review, which felt really good. Here’s my favorite part:
I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s take on Maui—the island itself feels like such a prominent force throughout the book. Whether it’s the descriptive breakdown of Maui neighborhoods and how their inherent personalities lends further color to already fleshed out characters, or the common insistence throughout the story that Maui is a “small island,” one whose business and legal acumen are at least a decade behind the mainland, making it a true “Wild West” for cutthroat developers and wealthy outsiders to take advantage of the locals and the land; Pignataro does a great job incorporating a sense of Maui into his story.
It’s always nice to see someone other than myself (and, I suppose, my publisher) got what I was trying to say.
Anthony Pignataro 