Monday, June 28, 2021

PRESIDENT HAMILTON – Last Post Before Launch! Lots of Cool News!

 

Only ONE WEEK to go before the official release of PRESIDENT HAMILTON: A NOVEL OF ALTERNATIVE HISTORY, and I wanted to share all the latest info with my faithful blog readers as I prepare to promote what I firmly believe will be the most successful book I have written yet!  Several interesting things have transpired since my last update, so let me talk about those first.

          Last time I mentioned how I had connected with Doug Hamilton, the five times great-grandson of my protagonist, and how he had enjoyed and agreed to endorse my novel.  Since then, I have gotten in contact with another Hamilton family member, the delightful Mary Anne Hamilton.  She is the widow of Alexander Hamilton’s great-great-grandson, Laurens Morgan Hamilton, and has become a caretaker of the family’s legacy since her husband’s death thirty-five years ago.  Mary Anne is a wonderful, fiery 87-year-old with a great sense of humor, and when she accepted my friend request on Facebook, I sent her a PM explaining who I was and what my book was about and asked her to read it.  She agreed, and I emailed her a copy that day.  She finished the book within a week and told me that she found it to be absolutely enthralling.  She sent me a lovely, signed letter of endorsement, along with a photograph of her posing with Lin-Manuel Miranda, taken after she attended a Broadway performance of HAMILTON a few years back.

          But besides endorsing my story, Mary Anne also put me in touch with Rand Scholet, the founder of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society.  Rand also read the book and fell in love with it, and we’ve conversed on the phone several times now.  He is wonderfully well-connected, with a wide range of friendships and contacts in the historical and entertainment communities.  He informed me that he wants to do all he can to help me promote PRESIDENT HAMILTON, because he thinks it is both a wonderful story as well as a positive portrayal of Hamilton that may help counter some of the negative publicity the “ten-dollar Founding Father” has endured recently.  Without giving away a lot of details (because some of the necessary networking is still going on), I think Rand is going to make sure this book is available in many venues that I could only have dreamed of a few weeks ago.  He’s also reached out to my publishers at Electio in order to make sure their promotion efforts are coordinated.  I’m thrilled and honored to have him in my corner, and I can’t wait to see what results our collaboration might yield.

          When the book is officially available on July 6, here are some things that you can do to help me increase its visibility.  If you’ve read this far, I would assume that you are willing to help.  So, here goes! 


1. BUY THE BOOK!  It will be available at all online bookselling platforms (which means Amazon for 95% of you, but also at places like iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and, as always, from my own publisher, Electio Publishing).  If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, please consider coming to my launch party at Half Price Books in Rockwall, TX on July 24, or at one of my later signing events in the Metroplex – you can see the schedule of appearances at my website,
www.lewisbensmith.com, by clicking the “Meet Lewis” tab.   One other thing – if you live in the USA but not in North Texas, and would like a signed copy of PRESIDENT HAMILTON, you may purchase one directly by messaging me on FB.  I will, of course, have to charge you for the shipping, but sending books by Media Mail rate is only about $4.   As far as price goes, the paperback version on Amazon goes for $24.99.  I’ll be charging $26 for signed copies at my events (still cheaper than paying postage).

2.  SHARE THE LINKS!  Help me get the word out about PRESIDENT HAMILTON by posting the Amazon link to it on your personal media, and any social media groups you belong to where you think people might be interested.  Nothing helps more than word of mouth advertising from happy readers!

3.  LEAVE A REVIEW!  I love hearing back from my readers.  If you loved the book, tell me!  If you didn’t like it, tell me why!  I’d rather have an honest one-star review than an insincere five-star rating from a bot account.  The more reviews I get, the happier I am.  So please, after you’ve read the book swing by Amazon and leave your thoughts!

4.  Follow me online!  I have an author page on FB, and I’m also on Twitter and Instagram.  I love interacting with my readers.

          It’s been a long and bumpy ride.  I knew this story was special as I was writing it, but at this time last year I was wondering if it would ever be published.  Now we’re just a few days away, and I want to say “Thank You!” to everyone who has encouraged me along the way. May PRESIDENT HAMILTON live up to your fondest expectations!  Special thanks to Annee Helmreich for the marvelous cover art, and to Christopher and Jesse at Electio Publishing, for taking another chance on me as an author, and bringing PRESIDENT HAMILTON to you all, and finally to all the good people mentioned above who have endorsed my humble story.

          Till next time!

 

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