Tag Archives: books

Guess Who Is A New Literary Agent…

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…ME!!! I’m thrilled to announce that I am now an Associate Agent with the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in NY!!!

Don’t worry though! I’m still an author, so I’m continuing to write and freelance edit, as well. But this is something I’ve been working toward for a very long time and it’s a dream come true! All the details about what kind of books I’ll be representing are on the JDLit Agency website here: https://www.jdlit.com/marloberliner

And if you could help me spread the word among the writing community by sharing one of the tweets about the announcement, I’d be ever so grateful!

https://twitter.com/MarloBerliner/status/1062504006306672640

https://twitter.com/JDLitAgency/status/1062348402384625665

Who better to advocate for writers than someone who has been in the trenches herself? I’m looking forward to helping make dreams come true for some worthy writers 🙂

 

Death of a Bookstore

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Below is a post I wrote years ago, before I was published, but I thought I’d repost it now that  Barnes & Noble is in trouble. See this NYT article: SAVE BARNES & NOBLE!

Now this old post seems both timely and heartbreaking to me, especially since I’ve forged such close relationships with many B&N managers and booksellers over the years since the first book in THE GHOST CHRONICLES series was first released.

 

THE REPOST:

Our local bookstore, the Borders I’ve always taken my children to for so long, is closing down. So the other day, I took my two boys one last time. I didn’t think the excursion would make me feel so nostalgic and melancholy at the same time, but it did.

I’d always loved taking my kids to the bookstore. I’ve been taking them since before they were old enough to read. When they were toddlers, we would go for the story time readings, or just spend time playing with the Thomas trains the store had on display in the children’s section. It was a way to get out of the house on a rainy day and a good excuse for me to go buy a new book.

There’s something about roaming through a bookstore on the hunt for something new and interesting. Not knowing exactly what might catch your eye. Being able to pick up a book, feel the weight of it in your hand, read the exciting back cover copy and discover a fresh, new story. I wanted my children to experience that at a young age and be captured by the same love of books that I had been when I was growing up. So as they got older, we would make a bookstore run at least once a month.

This time though, everything about our favorite store had changed. The shelves were partially bare and the remaining books in disarray. To me, it somehow seemed disrespectful to the books that were left, and as we walked around, a hollow feeling settled into the pit of my stomach. Maybe I was hungry at the time too, but I don’t think that was quite it.

My older son’s reaction to our visit surprised me the most. He looked almost as melancholy as I did. I hadn’t realized just how much he had enjoyed going to the bookstore until he said to me, “Do you remember all those hours we waited in line for the midnight release of Harry Potter five?”

“Of course I do,” I said with a tiny smile. “Remember the awful excuse for butterbeer that they served?” We both laughed.

So we wandered around one last time, picked over the messy bins and shelves like old bones, and chose a few books.

As we left my younger son asked me, “Mom, do you think eventually all the bookstores will close?”

“I hope not,” I said, “I sure hope not.”

So, has a favorite bookstore near you closed lately? Do you think one day all the bookstores might be gone and if so, would this bother you?

Enter this YA Beach Reads Giveaway! 21 Chances to Win!

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Happy almost-summer! Do you need more books for your beach bag? Of course, you do! So here’s your chance to win big! I’ve joined forces with some amazing YA authors and we’re giving away over $500 in paperback books! Crazy right?

One grand prize winner will receive all twenty of the books! Twenty other individual winners will each receive one book! So that’s 21 chances to win big!

It’s super easy to enter, just click here: YA Beach Reads Giveaway

But hurry! This giveaway ends on 6/12 at midnight!

YA Promo Facebook Graphic

Good luck! And may the odds be ever in your favor!

All my best,

~Marlo

Amazon Prime Members Can Read THE GHOST CHRONICLES for Free!

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You heard that right! Amazon is concentrating on being a bookseller again with its latest Prime perk. If you subscribe to the company’s $99-a-year Prime membership, which provides free two-day shipping on many products (among other things), your newest benefit is called Prime Reading. Just announced in October, Prime Reading gives US Prime members unlimited access to a rotating selection of books, magazines, comics, and shorter reading materials.

And guess what? THE GHOST CHRONICLES is one of those books! I’m not sure how long this offer will last, but take advantage while you can. Not all books are included in Amazon’s new program, so I’m honored that my book was chosen.

You can read all about Amazon’s new program here:

Amazon Adds Free Books to the Ever-Growing List of Prime Benefits

And you can grab THE GHOST CHRONICLES by clicking on this link:

THE GHOST CHRONICLES on Kindle

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This is a limited time offer, so hurry!

All best,

~Marlo

THE GHOST CHRONICLES is a Finalist!

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GLBadgeFinalist_2016I am proud to announce that THE GHOST CHRONICLES is a finalist for Best First Book in the 2016 New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Contest! Winners will be announced in October at the NJRW Conference. I am over the moon at all the wonderful accomplishments and professional reviews this book is racking up. Here are just a few:

“A haunting journey that will leave readers craving more.” – Natalie Zaman, co-author of the Sirenz series and Blonde Ops

“…Berliner’s touches give her novel innovation…” and“…dramatic and paranormal elements give this winsome tale flavor.” – Kirkus

“I loved The Ghost Chronicles. Simply loved it. Billed as a young adult novel with crossover appeal for the adult crowd, this book certainly got the attention of this adult…I highly recommend this book, and look forward to reading more from the extremely promising and talented new author, Marlo Berliner, as soon as I possibly can!” – Tracy A. Fischer for Readers’ Favorite, 5-stars

“…a most beguiling, intriguing, mystery-filled adventure. With a literary nod to the movie Ghost…and a certain resonance with the Odd Thomas series by the master of the genre, Dean Koontz, the story does remind us frequently that it is intended for Young Adults. And yet, the excellent plotting, precise editing, and well-projected development of storyline all guarantee that the writing is also perfectly suitable for an Old Adult.” – Joel R. Dennstedt for Readers’ Favorite, 5-stars

“This is an original and thought-provoking story that will keep readers wondering and looking forward to the next book in the series. It’s highly recommended.” – Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite, 5-stars

“For teens and adults alike, The Ghost Chronicles is an unusually thoughtful and mature take on supernatural romance that deserves attention for its efforts to break away from convention, all for the better. For curious readers old and new to the genre, The Ghost Chronicles is sure to set your mind ablaze, and puts “life” back into the “afterlife.” “ – James Grimsby for Self-Publishing Review, 4.5-stars

“Berliner has crafted a fascinating world, with layers of history and mythology intertwined, and this book is just the beginning of what promises to be an epic series.” – Sarah Wathen, YA Books Central, 4.5-stars

The reader reviews have been fantastic as well and I can’t tell you how grateful I am to each and every one of you that has left me a review on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Goodreads.

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Here are just a few of the reader reviews from Amazon:

This was great. I can’t believe this is a first novel. It was well written and good for ANY age group. I thoroughly loved it. It gave a great view of ghosts and what they could be like. I look forward to reading more of Marlo’s work. – Kindle Customer, ★★★★★

A Journey Worth Taking. From the very first page I knew this was going to be a good book. I was wrong. It was fantastic! Instantly I felt a connection to the man character Michael who, obviously, dies in a most tragic way. There was never a dull moment nor was there any scrap of detail left out. Marlo built a world I could visualize in my head. One that I could relate to. There was a little love, a little mystery, a little spook but a big life lesson. This was a delightful and easy read for me as I finished it in 3 days (full-time mom & job otherwise I would have finished in one sitting). Highly recommend this book to anyone. Can’t wait for the next installment! ★★★★★

Thank you all so much!

Now back to putting the finishing touches on Book Two 🙂

All best,

~Marlo