Comments From Readers on "Manhattan Morning"

As regular readers presumably know, one of the purposes of this blog is to promote my novella "Manhattan Morning" -- sort of a soft-sell approach, one might say.

While a number of people have now been kind enough to read it and give me their thoughts, commercial demand has been minimal. Not that I particularly care from a monetary point of view, but authors do enjoy having readers.

One of the reasons the book hasn't done well in the marketplace is an absence of "blurbs" -- short descriptions of  the book that sing its praises in a pithy and often over-blown fashion, generally attributed to persons or institutions considered to be qualified option leaders.

Without such endorsements, people appear reluctant to invest in much of anything and one of the down-sides of self publishing is where does one get such blurbs?  If you doubt their importance, you might want to take a look at an earlier post of mine on this topic -- "Does Anything Pack More Clout in Publishing Than a Blurb?"

So ... in the absence of blurbs, I offer as endorsements the following three comments from readers, identified by their initials only (to protect the innocent!):

First

"The book is charming, gracefully written, and wise in its own modest and winsome way. I read it in one enjoyable sitting and immediately told my wife that she must read it soon. 

"I know that area in NYC, in and around 5th and 54th, for once upon a time I was a member of the University Club (best thing about it is its upstairs library, which almost no one uses). So I followed your steps down to St. Patrick's with all the stores and all the voices along the way.

"The middle story is told with generosity of spirit towards all participants and never gets near either the sensational or the exploitative. You do this well (and I must assume that at least some part of it is based on events you know well). I was wholly absorbed in the chronology. And the mother-in-law is something to behold!

"The last story is touching in its simple human beauty. You made me present and I enjoyed the company." W.C.

Second

"It is a haunting work of fascinating contrasts, elusive, bittersweet nostalgia in a mosaic-precise setting. You aren’t easy on the reader left wondering about Dan and Helen, Dan and Marcy – their relationships – never mind Gloria – and so your quirky ending is as surprising as it is charming." P.L 

Third

"I enjoyed your thoughtful walking tour of Manhattan, along streets I often traversed, thinking thoughts not unlike those of your hero."  B.M 

"Manhattan Morning" a three-chapter novella, is available in paperback format here and in e-reader format for the Amazon Kindle here, or for other types of readers here.

If for some reason you can't, or don't want to purchase it, but still want to read it, send me an email at queries.fwm@comcast.net and I will send you a copy -- until stocks run out!