Building Fierce Loyalty & the World according to Sarah Robinson

I recently stumbled upon a free eBook, written and compiled by Sarah Robinson, who is an authority on building loyalty around a business. This is among the clearest and most provocative works compiled on the new world of social media that I've read in ages. It's compact and gets straight to the point in just 46 pages. Robinson establishes her authority through the voices of several experts (guest bloggers and leaders in their fields) on the topic of brand loyalty. According to her and her guests, a community-driven ("social pull") approach (rather than the old "push" model) can be most effective in marketing, in observing and meeting customer needs. True engagement with a community of customers leads to the collaborative effort of defining a brand. And, without further ado, I give you the eBook...  

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4WiqUdRMR7hOGVlWnpBUjFUU3lBbXUwZkJHMzl6UQ/edit?pli=1

The Lily, The Aster and more...

Read The Lily & The Aster but eager to learn more about what else I was reading as I wrote the book? Click here to sample the haiku of Matsuo Basho, Richard Wright (that's right, the author of Native Son), Sonia Sanchez and others for nodes of inspiration...  Want to read unedited excerpts from my travel essays from Romania, Ghana and Spain? Click here to be directed to the FREE promotional blog ...

Excited about the new book and would like to write a customer review for Amazon? Simply log on to Amazon, look under the title The Lily & The Aster, click on "customer review" at the top of the page and, finally, click on "create your own review"! 

Still haven't read the book but would like to get your hands on the eBook or the paperback? Click here or send me an email (at thelilyandtheaster@gmail.com) with the number of copies you would like to order.

JOIN THE PARTY! Just imagine, for less than the price of dinner and a movie you can own the paperback - 180 pages with 150 haiku, 20 short poems, 10 photographs and 3 travel essays. For less than the cost of a glass of a fine wine or a tall cup of your favorite coffee, you can own the eBook... And they're just clicks away...

Just Published: The Lily & The Aster...

I have just published my third book, The Lily & The Aster, edited by Xavier Martin, and it is now available as an eBook or in paperback on Amazon! Soon to be available at other major retailers!

Riding the wave of success of my first two books, whose poetry established me as Semi-finalist in the New Millennium Writing's 2010 Poetry Contest, as well as Semi-finalist in the World Poetry Movement's 2011 Poetry Contest, this may be my best book yet!


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Take a look at the review on the back of the book:

"January Nicole Wilson has again written a thoughtful and provocative collection of poetry with The Lily & The Aster, her third book.

In this book, Wilson uses a Japanese form of poetry, the haiku, to communicate her message. Each haiku is a meditation on the love, music and politics that fill her daily life.

To borrow the title from her second chapter, time and again her poetry is 'a confession of joy.'

She uses haiku to introduce three travel essays, included in The Lily & The Aster. Each essay tells an absorbing story of adventure in three different regions of the world, spanning Europe & Africa."

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Take your time. Click here to see the book trailer. Click here to read the customer reviews, to look inside the book and to read the product description on Amazon.


For those of you who already have an Amazon account, owning the book is just three clicks away. You do not need an e-reader to read the book. It will be delivered wirelessly to your computer for just $4.99! Amazon Prime members will read the book for FREE!

Click here to make your purchase.

Amazon Kindle Device: Your purchase will be sent automatically and wirelessly to your Kindle via Amazon Whispernet.

Free Reading Apps: Your purchase will be sent automatically to your Android, iPad, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone 7 device. Don't have a free Kindle Reading App? Download one here.

If you'd like your own signed copy of the paperback, simply send me an email (at thelilyandtheaster@gmail.com) with your name (or the names of the individuals who you'd like to receive a book) and your address. I'll send you the mailing address to which you can send a check for payment.

Own your book today!

The BIG winner of last week's Book Give-Away Challenge is...

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It's the day you've all been waiting for! The winner of the Book Give-Away Challenge is Shirley Fletcher from Dover, Delaware! Congratulations to her. She will recieve a free signed copy of The Lily & The Aster in the mail on the book's official date of publication next Saturday, May 5. I will be contacting others who entered the contest individually so that they can take advantage of the discount associated with the Challenge. Please also see Amazon or Createspace for details. Send an email to thelilyandtheaster@gmail.com with any questions or concerns. Happy reading!!
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Book Give-Away Challenge

Well, The Lily & The Aster is about to be published. The following quiz is intended to give you an idea of whether or not you are ready for The Lily & The Aster. Take the quiz. Answer "yes" or "no" to the following questions. Hold on to your answers. I have a surprise in store. Read more below.

1) Do you like to read poetry? ____

2) Have you seen the book trailer? ____

3) Do you enjoy photography? _____

4) Have you read the Interview with the Editor, Xavier Martin? ____

5) Do you appreciate a good laugh as opposed to a good cry? ____

6) Do you enjoy an occasional love poem? ______

7) Do you prefer happy endings? _____

8) Have you seen Amazon's Author's page for the book? _____

9) Would you consider writing a review for Amazon if you were to read the book?_____

10) Would you be willing to provide your mailing address should you win the contest? _____

Instructions: Give yourself one point for each question to which you answered "yes". Tally your score. Be the 8th person to contact me at thelilyandtheaster@gmail.com with your name and your score. Write "Book Give-Away Challenge" as the subject of your email. The winner will be announced in next Saturday's blog and will receive a new copy of The Lily & The Aster. All runners-up will find out about and receive a HUGE discount on their books next week. Enter the contest and win!

Conversation with the Editor / Xavier Martin / Editor of The Lily & The Aster, a book of haiku, by January Nicole Wilson

Last week, I conducted an interview with Xavier Martin, the editor of The Lily & The Aster. He sat down with me and I asked him a few questions about the book:

JW: What was your first impression of the manuscript?

XM: Your manuscript came as a surprise. Here was a new form of poetry for you - the haiku. I was fascinated by this new shorter form. The form uses metaphor and contradiction in new and important ways. The frame or structure is more restrictive and has more rules than the open form you used in previous books. But, I think that you've been quite successful with haiku.

JW: What was your favorite poem from The Lily & The Aster? Why?

XM: The chapter called Rain was my favorite chapter. It captures the essence of what haiku are. I love the simplicity of the poems contained in this chapter. The poems use mainly nouns. There are not too many adjectives. They are direct poems with clear and beautiful messages. They are poems that talk about nature, about reality, about what the senses perceive. I particularly like:

“Naked to the rain,

 the rose bush is pelted

into submission”

It’s a beautiful and powerful image. One can see the rose bush just by reading these short poems. You do not need anything else. There are no extra words. The simplicity of the poem is one of its great strengths. I love this haiku.

JW: What defines my literary style in this book? 

XM: The haiku defines your work. You capture the essence of what a haiku is and you adapt your style in order to be able to express what you want to tell us. It is a new style, but one can still recognize you in your haiku.

I love the images that you create and how you play with language. Haiku require precision and you always find the right words to create an image. I also like how you tend to use contradictions to capture the varied angles from which you can see one issue. The sense of your haiku can suddenly change in the last sentence where you tend to use metaphors to give a new turn to a poem.

As for your travel essays, your use of memory is remarkable. You take an introspective look at what your travel experiences mean to you. You share very personal experiences and you open up to your readers. There is a lot of generosity in these chapters.

JW: We worked on a number of key elements of this book before finishing the final product. What were the most memorable?

XM: Working on the travel essay concerning Spain was quite memorable, in part, because I am from there and I was interested to learn about your experiences there. Developing this essay was a great challenge. It was difficult to capture and portray the experience on many different levels and at the same time make it readable and entertaining. There were many anecdotes and it was difficult to arrange them in a way that the chapter would flow well. In the end, I really think that you did a very good job.

JW: Why did you take on this project?

XM: I took on this project because I enjoyed working with you on your second book so much. I love witnessing the making of your books--how your ideas evolve and take shape in the form of poems. I feel that I have the opportunity to see how your poems evolve from an idea to a powerful poem.

JW: Would you say my haiku struck a balance between being profound and being playful? Elaborate.

XM: I was particularly impressed by your haiku in this respect because these poems are so short and you are constrained by very strict rules. You have to think a lot about what you are saying and I think that what you've done is quite remarkable. It is the first book where you systematically use the structure of haiku to express your emotions. I do not have any doubt that we still enjoy many more haikus from you. You have truly mastered the art of haiku!

Publish Date Postponed

This is a short note to let you know that the publish date for The Lily & The Aster will be postponed until the near future. Stay tuned for the latest updates, including an interview with the editor. Thanks.