This Kid Reviews Books.com: The Mahogany Door

Nine-year-old Erik (three months shy of his 10th birthday) writes a blog entitled "This Kid Reviews Books." It's read by other kids and their parents all over the globe. He reviewed "The Mahogany Door" -- and the CD -- and interviewed the author. Since he a member of the book's target audience, we couldn't be happier with his review. Enjoy!

The Mahogany Door and Interview with Author J. Mark Boliek

by Erik

What would you do if you could save someone who was lost in a different world? Years ago, JT, Kali, Michael and Charlie traveled to the world of Bruinduer through The Mahogany Door, a magical portal. The friends thought Charlie died in Bruinduer, but he didn’t. He is just trapped and the others now realize it and they vow to get him back. JT, Kali and Michael have to travel back through The Mahogany Door. They’ll face old enemies, fight in a war, cross a desert, have to find trust in Billy (their guide in Bruinduer) and convince Charlie (who wasn’t happy to see them) to come back home.

I have to say, when I first started into the story I thought it was going to be too much like the Witch, Lion and the Wardrobe, but it wasn’t. The story of The Mahogany Door is unique. The story really kept me reading (seriously, I couldn’t put the book down (see my Dad’s comments below)). I like how the book is told by a narrator telling the story to young kids. The reading level was good for 9+ readers and there really are no parts that are slow. There are also some nice illustrations throughout the book. I recommend it to everyone!!!!!

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF ERIK'S REVIEW

Press Release: J. Mark Boliek Featured on "The Bookworms: Young Adult Book Reviews" Blog

To discuss the songs on his new book’s soundtrack CD

August 19, 2011 -- J. Mark Boliek, the author of The Mahogany Door and composer of the book’s accompanying all-original soundtrack CD, was the featured guest on "The Bookworms: Young Adult Book Reviews” blog.

The Mahogany Door is a 353-page urban fantasy-adventure novel about three friends – JT, Michael and Kali -- who have been separated for years by a tragedy, but who must reunite to return to the fantasy land of Bruindeur beyond the mahogany door to fulfill a destiny before that world collapses. The journey back to the world behind the door leads to self-discovery and to the realization that things in life are not always as they seem. The songs on the CD capture themes and emotions from the book.

For The Bookworms blog, Boliek focused on his three favorite songs from the CD: “All Alone,” “In The Afternoon,” and “Goodbyes.”

“All Alone” is the theme song of the book, he said. The main characters “find themselves alone in their own little space in the world, and it is not until they are able to reunite will they be able to face the demons from their past and conquer them.”

The song also speaks to the reason he wrote the book: “Many bad things have happened in my life, and along the way I have felt very much alone. It is when I started to find my true inner self that I could move forward, in some cases dealing with the mundane of everyday life.”

“In The Afternoon” addresses the way a single event can drastically change one’s life in just a few hours. “For JT in the book,” Boliek said, “he wakes up on his farm bee-bopping around, and by the afternoon his whole world has been turned upside down by a little boy who comes to him and tells a crazy story about his past.”

Boliek told The Bookworms that “Goodbyes”, however, is the most special song on the CD to him, yet it’s also the most difficult for him to listen to even today.

“I wrote it during one of the worst times in my life. It is so hard to say goodbye to the ones you love, but sometimes it is closure that humans need to move on,” he said. His character Kali “wants closure to everything that has happened to her, but it will not be easy for her to find.”

The Bookworms blog provides audio files for listening to the three songs from the CD. To see the entire post, go to http://thebookworms.org and click on “Guest Post: J. Mark Boliek” under Recent posts.

The Mahogany Door is currently available at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC, on the author’s website, and in e-book versions at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. For more information on the book and the accompanying CD, visit www.jmarkboliek.com.

Industry woes : what some authors need, but don't get

Hey guys-
I have read so many great blogs with so many great tips, that I had to put my own two cents in. Author Jody Hedlund has a great post on her blog http://jodyhedlund.blogspot.com/ about why publishers and agents are so picky. I have to agree with her - though like a lot of authors I DON'T WANT TO.

It is a huge risk for publishers and agents to take a risk on a no-name, but you also have to remember that the heavy weights at the top were no-names themselves - that is very important to remember as to what I am about to say.

As an author myself (I like to think so - but a no-name nonetheless), we believe our stories are so fresh and exciting that how could any agent or publisher turn us down? I mean I won the whatever award for best children's book of the century, certainly that gives me the right to an agent.

The problem I see is that there is just so much stuff out there. Everywhere you turn, people want to become writers, and it is an open market. By trade, I am a SAS programmer - haven't heard of that? Well that's good, because what I do partains to a very small group of people with a particular set of skills and good ones are hard to find. There is your answer to the publishing problem.

Writers partain to a very LARGE group of people with word processors - AND - wait for it - good ones are hard to find.

It is very rare that there is an overnight success, and it is very hard to guess at what the next story in the market will be. Anyone even see the vampire thing coming? I did not. The last thing about vampires I even remember was the movie "The Lost Boys" from 1987. You will never predict what the mass market will clamor for. The next thing I knew the YA bookshelf at B&N turned black (the color of the millions of vampire books that came out).

So it is hard for writers to accept the fact that a larger audience goes for one story, but not theirs, but in turn think to themselves - I write better than that person. But the masses my friend do not owe you a thing.

Jody is very clever in mentioning the "branding" word - but it is a very delicate matter. As new authors we need to build our branding one brick at a time, and that involves knowing our audience. You must remember that our audience is not a large number of folks - for example, the United States has over 300 million people, the world over 6 billion. If you sell 50 thousand copies being a first time author - then that is pretty big, but a very very very (infinite "very's") small part of the population, but that is the population you must focus on. Your audience is NOT the population of the world.

Every once in a while you will grab folks from another demographic, but your focus remains on your targeted audience. Go where they go and be where they be --- I mean are.

The children's market in the 90's was stagnate at best when Harry Potter hit. I only mention Harry Potter, because that seems to be the bar. JK Rowling couldn't have asked for better timing with a great new book. And even though her demographic is accross the board, she always focuses on her target audience - young 8-12 year old, working to middle class English readers (readers from England - not those that speak English). There is always a luck factor involved in what will be the next big thing, or if you become successful or not, but only one person can determine your success, and that is you.

If an agent passes on you, then go to the next one. You and her may not have been a good match anyway. Build your branding enough to where agents cannot help but notice you, because in such a picky industry, if you are standing out from the crowd and are a bright new face, and people are talking about your book, even picky people are inclined to look twice.

Try to have fun anyway. The internet and social outlets has made it possible for people to believe there is a super highway to the top - there is not. The road should start in your own backyard.

The Mahogany Door Now Available at The Regulator Bookshop

August 15, 2011 (Durham, NC) – “The Mahogany Door,” a new fantasy-adventure novel for young and young adult readers by Durham-based author J. Mark Boliek, is now available at the Regulator Bookshop in Durham.

Published by Split Rail Books, “The Mahogany Door” is the first of a trilogy of books entitled The Bruindeur Narrative and it comes with an all-original-music soundtrack CD created by the author and other musicians.

“The Mahogany Door” tells the story of three 20-something friends, separated years earlier by a tragic event, who must reunite to return to the fantasy world of Bruindeur to fulfill a destiny before that world collapses. As they pass through the mahogany door in the basement of an old coastal mansion that leads to Bruindeur, they become children again and a series of fast-paced adventures begin.

Boliek worked on the book off and on for nearly 10 years. During that time he found California artist Lauren Gallegos, who provided the full-color cover illustrations and the black-and-white interior illustrations.

“The Mahogany Door” book and CD have been available on the author’s website, www.jmarkboliek.com since May. The e-book versions, both regular and enhanced with embedded music, were more recently released via a host of online sources. But The Regulator Bookshop is the first brick-and-mortar bookstore to carry it.

Boliek delivered the books and CDs to the store this week, along with a handcrafted, limited edition wooden box that contains the book, CD, and bookmarks behind a “mahogany door.”

The Regulator Bookshop is a 35-year-old independent bookstore, located at 720 Ninth Street in downtown Durham, that “contributes to the cultural life of our community by creating a space for authors -- from the Triangle, from North Carolina, from around the country and from around the world -- to meet with their readers,” according to the store’s website.

“This is a dream come true for me, as it would be for any first-time author,” Boliek said. “To actually see your book on the shelves of an actual bookstore is beyond exciting. I can’t thank the folks at the Regulator enough for giving me this opportunity.”

For more information on The Regulator Bookshop, go to www.regulatorbookshop.com.

For more information on “The Mahogany Door,” visit www.jmarkboliek.com or the book’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JMarkBoliek.

The U.K.'s Fantasy Book Review Publishes Interview with The Mahogany Door's author J. Mark Boliek

August 2011

Magic swords, secret potions, holy grails – these are some of the objects that colour most fantasy-adventure novels. But what happens when marvels and magic, secrets and spiritual beings represent real-life events and emotions? The story that evolves represents feelings about friendship, perseverance, and about accepting help from someone larger than one’s self along the way. This is the story Durham, NC, author Mark Boliek shares in his new novel for young and young adult readers entitled, The Mahogany Door. Read more...