What's Around the Town Books Been Up to?

Around the Town Books is a blog I always meant to get back to but never had time for with all my other writing and publishing initiatives.

My primary blog is Robert Stanek's Books & Things. This blog is where I do most of my actual blogging and it's a popular destination for readers and writers alike with many, many posts and about 100,000 visits.

The other blog I maintain is Read Indies Blog. This blog is also a popular destination for readers and writers alike, including deep insights into publishing and promotion. With over 200,000 visits, it's even more popular than my primary blog. Some few of the posts here are contributed, most are written by me.

Some of the top posts at Read Indies:

Book Promotion Sites Ranked & Rated Part 1: AwesomeGang, FussyLibrarian, Ereader News Today, EbookSoda, ReadCheaply, BookBub

With millions of published books out there from authors, there’s no shortage of book promotion sites looking to cash in. Some of these are...

A Tribute to William Robert Stanek, an American Author Who Should Be on Everyone’s Must Read List

My name is Jennifer Blake. This guest post is in honor of William Robert Stanek, an author recently named "an American author who should be on everyone's must read list . . . "

Authors Who Trash Competitors

My first book was published by Macmillan in 1995. That bestselling book—Electronic Publishing Unleashed—and it’s bestselling follow up . . .

Finding Success as a Writer and Becoming a Bestselling Author

I'm Robert Stanek and today I'm writing about finding success as a writer and becoming a bestseller.  In 1995, I attended a writer’s conference . . .

Book Promotion Sites Ranked & Rated: More Thoughts & Tips for Getting into BookBub from BookBub, Plus 20 Questions & Answers with BookBub

So many have pinged me about Book Promotion Sites Ranked & Rated and asked questions that I added more to the article originally and . . .

More on Social Media Promotion Services: BuckBooks (NO!) and BKnights (Maybe!)

BuckBooks, operated by ArchAngelInk (AKA ArchAngelEST, Matt Stone, Rob Archangel, Buck Flogging, et al), is a promotion service that . . .

A Lifetime of Books – 30 Years of Robert Stanek Books

My name is Emily Asimov. When I heard of Robert Stanek’s lifetime achievement nomination, I jumped at the chance to write a tribute. Robert Stanek . . .

Authors “Writing” Their Own Reviews

I’ve been silent on the topic of authors “writing” their own reviews for far too long. Partly because I’ve been tracking the activities of . . .

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Happy Reading!

Debits, Credits, & Finding Balance with Ashley Fontainne

Earlier this week I talked with Ashley Fontainne about her books, Accountable to None and Zero Balance. Today, I decided to take a closer look at her books here at Around the Town Books.


The Eviscerating the Snake series is set inside a large, fictional accounting firm in Phoenix, Arizona. The first book, Accountable to None, is about Audra Tanner. Audra was a brilliant CPA that for years worked the grueling hours her job demanded as she made her way from lowly grunt auditor to a minority partner at the firm. One night she met with a managing partner, Olin Kemper, to discuss a promotion but learns she has to give something to get something in return. She doesn't want to and it leads to her violent beating and rape.

Five years later, Audra sets out to take down Olin, and all those in power at the firm who knew about Olin's plans to coerce her that night and looked the other way. Now head of the IT department and a self-taught hacker, Audra digs in and takes the opportunity to exact revenge on all those responsible for her pain.

Without getting into spoilers, in the sequel, Zero Balance, Audra gets a starker lesson in reality than she hoped for. She learns she only wounded the snake, and that the snake is out for vengeance of its own.

I'll leave it to your imagination, and reading of the book, to determine whether the snake is metaphorical or physical. I will tell you that bent, but not broken, Audra may learn to dance in the the hurricane raging around her.











Sound interesting? Want to watch Audra make a few debits and credits to balance the ledger? Then check out Accountable to None and Zero Balance.



Learn more about Ashley Fontainne at her blog. Ashley's also on Facebook and Twitter.

Check Out Grimsley Hollow -- the Debut Novel of Nicole Storey!

Today, I'm writing about Nicole Storey, an up-and-coming novelist. Nicole hangs out online at her blog (http://nicolestorey.wordpress.com/), on Facebook (at https://www.facebook.com/nicolestoreyfans) and on Twitter (at http://twitter.com/#!/Nicole_Storey).

Nicole's Grimsley Hollow - The Chosen One, a fantasy novel for young adults, stars 11-year-old Gage Gilbert. Gage has always been happy with the safety and security of his family, but longs for new friends and adventures, not just the ones he makes up in his head. When he meets Eve, a young witch from Grimsley Hollow, everything changes and suddenly he’s off on an exciting adventure.

In the tradition of Narnia and other stories which take readers from our contemporary world to magical lands, Grimsley Hollow delivers a fun ride. A good middle-grade reader. Recommended for ages 9 and up.

Find the book at Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.