Our Blog

The legendary Nikola Tesla died 73 years ago today. In honor of the brilliant physicist (and inventor, and engineer), we're giving away a set of our Nick & Tesla series (Books 1-5)! 

It’s the start of a brand new year, and for most of us, that means it’s time to start making some changes. While the most common resolutions might be to lose weight or save money, why not set some literature-inspired goals for yourself for 2016? Read more, smile more, be more confident or find a little extra kindness in your year. It may not help you fit into those skinny jeans, but it could make you a lot happier.

Here to help are some of the best quotes from fictional characters – even though they live only in our imaginations, that’s no reason not to turn to them for advice when it comes to keeping your resolutions.

One of the best parts of a new year is making resolutions. Imagine a wonderful year of possibilities where you might just come out the other end happier, more accomplished than you were when you started. However, the smallest hitch can make a resolution seem hopeless come March. 

Never fear, dear reader, because we’ve come up with some of the best bookish resolutions to make, along with some hints and tips to help you see them through until the end of 2016.

Having breakfast in bed? Making breakfast in bed for the book lover in your life? A beautiful breakfast tray is the perfect way to serve it up! Make one yourself with pages from an old book, a favorite book, or a book that has seen better days. Here’s how:

The Kickstarter Handbook: Real-Life Success Stories of Artists, Inventors, and Entrepreneurs by Don Steinberg only $3.99

KINDLE | NOOK | KOBO | IBOOKSTORE

So you want to produce a short film. Or design a new line of jewelry. Or manufacture a revolutionary solar-powered garden sprinkler. There’s just one catch: You need $100,000 to bankroll your dream, and your checking account has barely enough to cover the rent.

Enter Kickstarter.com—the phenomenal “crowdfunding” website launched in 2009 that brings venture capital to the masses. At Kickstarter, it’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to raise $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, or more. All you need is a great idea—and The Kickstarter Handbook.

Business journalist Don Steinberg has interviewed dozens of artists and inventors who launched their passion projects online. Through their voices, you’ll explore all the strategies of a successful Kickstarter campaign. You’ll learn the elements of a compelling Kickstarter video, innovative ways to market your projects, tips for getting donors onboard, and the secrets of irresistible Kickstarter “rewards.” You’ll also discover what to do in a best-case scenario—when your project goes viral and the cash starts flowing in. On Kickstarter, it happens to a few lucky visionaries every week. Here’s how to be one of them.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Steve Hockensmith: Only $3.99

KINDLE | NOOK | KOBO | IBOOKSTORE

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and its prequel, Dawn of the Dreadfuls, were both New York Times best sellers, with a combined 1.3 million copies in print. Now the PPZ trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After.

The story opens with our newly married protagonists, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, defending their village from an army of flesh-eating “unmentionables.” But the honeymoon has barely begun when poor Mr. Darcy is nipped by a rampaging dreadful. Elizabeth knows the proper course of action is to promptly behead her husband (and then burn the corpse, just to be safe). But when she learns of a miracle antidote under development in London, she realizes there may be one last chance to save her true love—and for everyone to live happily ever after. 

Complete with romance, heartbreak, martial arts, cannibalism, and an army of shambling corpses. Dreadfully Ever After brings the story of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to a thrilling conclusion.

STEVE HOCKENSMITH is an award-winning novelist and reporter. His mystery Holmes on the Range was a finalist for the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony awards. He lives in Alameda, California