• Welcome
  • Who We Are
  • What We Do
    • Book Coach
    • Book Proposal
    • Classes, Workshops & Retreats
    • Editorial Services
    • Literary Consultant
  • Why Work With Us
  • Contact
  • Blog
For the Love of Books
UntitledTown Returns for One-Day Event
by, Audrey Arnold
August 10, 2021

After an absence that followed the cancelation of their 2020 festival due to the pandemic, UntitledTown has partnered with the Friends of the Brown County Library and Lion’s Mouth Bookstore and is making a comeback with a one-day event of readings from your favorite Wisconsin and Midwestern authors. UntitledTown: the Comeback Event will take place on Saturday, August 21 from 10am to 4pm at the… [Read More]

Filed Under: Amanda Skenandore, Andrew Graff, Brown County Library, Friends of Brown County Library, Green Bay, Lion's Mouth Bookstore, Miranda and Baptiste Paul, Nickolas Butler, Pao Lor, Rebecca Makkai, UntitledTown, UntitledTown Book and Author Festival
No Comments
Bridgerton and the Romance Boom
by, Samantha Kolb
July 6, 2021
Julia Quinn The Duke and I

Though going to a brick-and-mortar bookstore has been something many of us missed dearly this past year, slowly they are reopening in most parts of the country. While it may be safe to head inside your local indie bookstore, heading to the romance section feels like an activity that needs to be done in a baseball hat, sunglasses, and perhaps a fake mustache. I won’t… [Read More]

Filed Under: Bridgerton, historical romance, Julia Quinn, The Duke and I, The Viscount Who Loved Me
No Comments
Emerging Genre
by, Jill Swenson
June 8, 2021

There’s a new kind of first-person narrative nonfiction book growing in popularity, and it is moving away from traditional commercial memoir as “misery lit” following a single template of story structure, the hero’s journey. We’re into the twenty-twenties now, and I see a pattern emerging among these new kinds of nonfiction books: a distinctive narrator’s voice, expository information about a subject matter separate from the… [Read More]

Filed Under: Book of Eels, Eva Holland, Horse Crazy, Kate Lebo, Lilly Dancyger, Lulu Miller, Memoirs, Narrative Nonfiction, Negative Space, Nerve, Patrik Svensson, Sarah Maslin Nir, The Book of Difficult Fruit, Why Fish Don't Exist
1 Comment
Trustworthy Giveaway
by, Jill Swenson
May 4, 2021

You can enter to win a free copy of Margot Bloomstein’s new book, Trustworthy: How the Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap, by leaving a comment on this blog post. Tell us what brand you trust and why. You’ll then be entered into a random drawing to be held on Saturday, May 8, 2021. One lucky winner will be sent a free… [Read More]

Filed Under: accountability, Authenticity, Book Giveaway, Empathy, Margot Bloomstein, Transparency, Trustworthy, voice, volume, vulnerability
No Comments
The Soul’s Twins: A Book Giveaway
by, Jill Swenson
February 9, 2021

Valentine’s Day is coming up and we’re giving away one free copy of The Soul’s Twins: Emancipate Your Feminine and Masculine Archetypes to one lucky reader. Author of Healing the Sacred Divide, Dream Theatres of the Soul and The Bridge to Wholeness: A Feminine Alternative to the Hero Myth, Jean Benedict Raffa offers a self-guided journey to spiritual maturity in her latest book, The Soul’s… [Read More]

Filed Under: archetypes, Jean Raffa, Jungian psychology, Red Feather MBS, Schiffer Books, The Soul's Twins
3 Comments
20 Ways to Help Authors in 2021
by, Jill Swenson
January 12, 2021

Pre-order. You might be surprised to learn that pre-ordering a book is critical to the launch of a book. Publishers may make decisions about how much marketing support to provide a new release based on the volume of pre-orders. Some even determine the size of a first print run using those numbers. If a book has strong pre-order sales, reviewers are more likely to review it,… [Read More]

Filed Under: Amazon, GoodReads, independent bookstore, Little Free Libraries, shop local, Social Media, Support Authors, support indie
No Comments
Webtoon – Innovation in the World of Comics
by, Audrey Arnold
March 24, 2020

You may think of comics as panels in a newspaper or as physical serialized issues featuring superheroes, but today, a new trend has taken hold in the form of Webtoons. While the concept of online comics is not a new thing, one comic app in particular is transforming the way readers consume this content. Launched in South Korea in 2004, LINE Webtoon features full-color comics… [Read More]

Filed Under: Comic Creator, Free Comics, LINE Webtoon, Online Comics, Web Comics, Webtoon, What is Webtoon
2 Comments
Indies Over Amazon
by, Audrey Arnold
December 10, 2019

As gift-giving season draws closer, publishers look to retailers to stock up for the holidays, but this season, one of the largest retailers, Amazon, decided to drastically cut book orders to publishers. The cuts are due to space issues in Amazon’s warehouses as they make room for “bigger-ticket items for Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” Publisher’s Weekly suggests. This choice to cut orders has a… [Read More]

Filed Under: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Industry, book publishing, brick-and-mortar, Independent Book Publishers Association, independent bookstore, indie bookstore, publisher''s weekly, support indie, Walmart
1 Comment
Thrills and Chills
by, Audrey Arnold
November 26, 2019

Know someone who loves a suspenseful page-turner? From fast-paced action to stories that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, thrillers can encompass a wide variety of subjects, themes, and plotlines. With book buying season upon us, these selections are sure to make great gifts for the thriller lover in your life. Recursion by Blake Crouch From the best-selling author… [Read More]

Filed Under: apocalyptic fiction, Benjamin Percy, Blake Crouch, book recommendation, book selections, fiction, gift of books, Jeremy Robinson, Lisa Jewell, Love of books, mystery, Recursion, Ruth Ware, science fiction, SecondWorld, The Dark Net, The Death of Mrs. Westaway, Then She Was Gone, thrillers
No Comments
A New Chapter – Reader’s Loft Closing, Lion’s Mouth Opening
by, Audrey Arnold
September 10, 2019

For 26 years, the Reader’s Loft bookstore in Green Bay has served the community, but on August 31, the store closed its doors. This comes following store owner Virginia Kress’s announcement of her retirement on the Reader’s Loft website and Facebook page. “These past 26 years have brought so much joy I don’t even know how to properly express it,” she writes, “Not just the… [Read More]

Filed Under: Amy Mazzariello, book culture, Book Festival, Brown County Library, CityDeck, Downtown Green Bay, Fox River Trail, independent bookstore, Kickstarter, Lion's Mouth, Margaret Atwood, Meyer Theater, R. L. Stine, Readers Loft, Roxanne Gay, Susan Orlean, UntitledTown, UntitledTown Book and Author Festival, Virginia Kress, Walter Mosley
4 Comments

Posts navigation

Older posts
Newer posts
NEWSLETTER
Newsletter Mailchimp

RECENT ARTICLES
Family History and Human Connection—An Interview with Naomi Helen Yaeger
Oct 7, 2025   |   Audrey Arnold
Blooming Hollyhocks Coming This October
Sep 16, 2025   |   Jill Swenson
Your Bookish Summer Bucket List
Jul 15, 2025   |   Audrey Arnold
Confronting Violence in American Culture – an Interview with Rachel Wagner
Apr 8, 2025   |   Audrey Arnold
Finding Courage – an Interview with Sondra Brooks
Feb 11, 2025   |   Audrey Arnold
view more

ARCHIVES

Growing Good Ideas Into Great Books

CONTACT US

    LINKS

    • Blog
    • Contact
    • Welcome
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • Why Work With Us
    Copyright © Swenson Book Development - All Rights Reserved
    Privacy Policy