The Basement just took the Number 2 spot in the German Kindle store. It's in English, too! The reason for the sudden surge is that today it was made the Kindle Daily Deal in Germany. That's pretty much a guarantee of success. When The Basement was made the Kindle Daily Deal in the US it reached the Number slot, though only for a few hours. Unfortunately I was asleep so never managed to get a screen shot, but I do have a picture of it at Number 2! Hopefully this will lead to more sales for me in Germany. Fingers crossed!
Congrats Steve!
ReplyDeleteI don't have to tell you this (as you live on that side of the pond) but english is widely spoke in Europe and translation isn't completely needed. When I got sent overseas with the Army I though, "Wow, I have to learn German now!"
Nope, other than ordering beer and a few insults I never learned a lick. Didn't need to.
Enjoy your success in 2012.
Writing Trip
Stephen,
ReplyDeleteI'm going to say something negative about The Basement. But before I do, I want to make something absolutely clear. I loved the book. The negative comment I'm going to make is minor.
The book uses American vernacular well. But it's not perfect and the occasional mistake is jarring to the American ear. I was barely into the book when I became certain that its author was British.
Some specific examples:
- Americans do not speak of apartment blocks. They say apartment buildings.
- Americans write offense and not offence. The book spelled this word inconsistently.
- No American would say that someone lived in Fifth Avenue. They would say on Fifth Avenue.
- Americans don't slim. They diet. Those doing so are dieters, not slimmers.
- In some contexts Americans say gotten rather than got. The book gets that mostly right but slips up occasionally with lines like you've got over the first hurdle.
Thanks Al... I'm glad you enjoyed The Basement. And yes, I'm definitely a Brit and so was taking a risk writing a book set in the US, where smoking a fag can get you into far more trouble than it would in the UK! I'm guessing you have an earlier - self-published - copy. Amazon took over the book (along with Once Bitten) late last year and the version that is now up has been worked on by an American editor. She removed a lot of the British-isms!
ReplyDeleteStephen,
DeleteJust FYI, the edition I read was the Amazon ebook. I downloaded it less than a week ago.
Wow, thanks for letting me know. I'll pass the info on to Amazon Encore and they can make the changes.... thanks so much!
ReplyDelete