Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Readers are My Inspiration

Knowing readers get so lost in A Soul Less Broken that they are overcome with deep emotions is one of the greatest rewards of being a writer. This reaction is exactly the type that inspires me to keep writing.

"I just finished your book and all I could say is wow I have never cried so hard over a book, please let me know when your next book is out please! I am going to share with everyone I know about your book it's very powerful."  -- Tina Hein (via Facebook)

Thanks so much Tina!



Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Review from Moonlight Gleams Bookshelf


Excerpt From Guest Reviewer Jenny Needham on Moonlight Gleams Bookshelf :

”… I loved the emotions and the feeling portrayed in this book. The ups and downs in the story are so well written and believable, that you find that you are so engrossed in the story you want to read on. Overall I gave this book a 5/5 as I found it an amazing, soul searching read. I personally found this very emotional and cried at the end both with happiness and sadness, and I must say that it not something I normally do. I will definitely be wanting to read more from this author in the future, as I’m sure other readers will want to do too.”

Jenny, thank you so much for taking the time to read & review A Soul Less Broken! I'm thrilled to hear how much you enjoyed it!


Full review can be read here: Moonlight Gleams BookShelf


Monday, October 3, 2011

More Reader Feedback

From Chris Wheeler:

"I didn't just like it, I loved it! When is the new one coming out?"

Chris, thanks so much for your comments - I have begun work on the sequel which is called "A Soul To Be Forgiven" so stay tuned!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

My Readers are Amazing Women

I continue to be so humbled and touched by readers writing to me about A Soul Less Broken. One reviewer wrote: "Here is a great debut novel that will inspire you in the most incredible way possible!" And another young woman who had been raped herself wrote about how much she loved the story and how much it meant to her. My characters are fictional - she is a real survivor! My readers are amazing women! Thank you for writing to me and letting me know what the story means to you!






Monday, June 27, 2011

eBook now Official for Kindle, Nook, and iBooks

So excited - in addition to being able to purchase all formats through Smashwords, the eBook for A Soul Less Broken is now officially in the eBook online catalogs for these major distributors!

Monday, June 20, 2011

eBook for A Soul Less Broken Now Available on iTunes

In addition to being able to purchase all formats through Smashwords, the eBook for Apple Reading Devices (iPads, iPhones) of A Soul Less Broken is now available in the iTunes catalog!



Sunday, June 5, 2011

eBook Publishing - My Experience So Far...

For any of you authors out there (Kimberly!) who are working on a book or are about to publish, let me share with you my experience with eBook publishing so far.

As you know, the print copy A Soul Less Broken was officially released almost a year ago... it has taken me this long to release it as an eBook for a variety of reasons.
  1. Trying to figure out how to format & convert my manuscript into all the different formats needed for the different readers was overwhelming (mobi for Kindle, epub for Nook, LRF for Sony Reader, etc).
  2. There are various services out there who will convert your manuscript for you ... for a price... my print publisher wanted $300 just to do the Kindle version alone. 
  3. Taking #1 and #2 above in consideration, I kept wondering if it was really worth it to do an eBook version. I knew I would do it eventually, but it just wasn't a priority.
That was, until a friend of my husband forwarded us an article about Amanda Hocking and her tremendous success with eBooks (if you haven't heard of her or haven't read the article, I highly recommend you do. Here is the link: http://publishing.about.com/od/SelfPublishingAndVanityPresses/a/Self-Publishing-Success-Story-E-Book-Author-Amanda-Hocking.htm 

After reading this article and reading some of Amanda's blog posts, I instantly new it was time to handle the eBook (and my husband was very motivated for me to do the eBook version!).

But I still needed to figure out #1 and #2 so I embarked on still more internet research. I came across the site for Smashwords which is an eBook publisher - and that one site solved all my problems. They provide you with instructions on how to format your Word document so that it will convert into the various eBook formats correctly. And they will convert your document into ALL of the various formats for you with no upfront charges ... yes you read that correctly ... they do the conversions for FREE. Granted, when you publish your eBook through Smashwords they of course take a cut, but you still receive 60% of your sales on the Smashwords site - and you choose the price for your book. Once your book passes their conversion approval process (which is easy if you follow their formating instructions) your eBook is instantly available on their site for sale in all the different formats. After a short time (a week or two) it is then sent by Smashwords to the various major distributors for inclusion in their eBook catalogs (Amazon for Kindle, Barnes & Noble for Nook, Sony for the Reader, Apple for the iPad/iPhone, etc).

I'm still amazed at how easy this process was and I want to encourage all the authors out there who are still stumped by #1 and #2 to check out Smashwords!  By the way, since uploading my eBook on Smashwords last night in a matter of 7 hours I had already sold 2 eBooks. Granted that's not going to make me financially independent, but it is a start! 

Saturday, June 4, 2011

eBook is Now Available

A Soul Less Broken is now available online as an EBOOK - it's available in ALL of the popular formats via Smashwords (Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, etc) and will soon be posted in the major retailers online eBook catalogs. It can be purchased now on Smashwords at this link - enjoy!

Friday, May 27, 2011

First Official BOOK REVIEW!

A Soul Less Broken has received it's very first, official BOOK REVIEW!!

"Laibach has written a brilliant novel that brings this theme to a terrifying pinnacle in a story about rape, healing, friendships, and the power of love..."

Needless to say I'm very pleased - Read the full review at Pacific Book Reviews: 


Sunday, May 22, 2011

Book Trailer has Launched!

I'm very excited to share that the Book Trailer for A Soul Less Broken has finally been launched and can be viewed on YouTube - please watch and share with everyone you know! Click to watch!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

So we have a 3-Way Tie for Who Should Star as Dr Alan Peterson in the movie version of A Soul Less Broken. It's between Thomas Gibson, Patrick Dempsey, and John Hamm. Thanks for voting! Final poll will be for who should star as Madeline Jessops, stay tuned...

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Radio Interview - Eric Hines

My interview with Eric Hines from the "What's Cookin" Show on CRN Radio is now posted on my website if you'd like to listen - feel free to share with your friends too!

 

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Voting Poll - Who Should Star as Dr Alan Peterson?

Not all readers liked the format of the Facebook Poll for Who Should Star as Catherine when A Soul Less Broken is made into a movie ... so I've transferred the polling to my website. Now it's your turn to vote for Who Should Star as Dr Alan Peterson ... The choices of actors are those that I feel would best embody the character - cast your vote today! Polling will close May 22nd.

http://www.helenlaibach.com/polls.html
 

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Poll Results - Who Should Star as Catherine

For the FaceBook Poll Results on Who Should Star as Catherine, we actually had a tie! Both Rachel McAdams and Emily Blunt had the same number of votes for first place!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Looking Forward

Met with my publicist at The Grove in LA - excellent meeting. Registered the treatment for A Soul Less Broken with the Writers Guild while I was up there. Excited about what's coming next!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Always Glad When Homework is Finished...

Finally selected a publicist to represent the novel and we have our first meeting in LA on Tuesday. Finished my first homework assignment from my publicist this weekend - which was to write the treatment for A Soul Less Broken  to be optioned as a feature theatrical film. Condensing an entire novel down into six pages was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be. Excited that it's done!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Cast Your Vote!

The other day I commented that "if" A Soul Less Broken is made into a movie ... and my reader Dianna quickly corrected me stating that the word should be "when"... (thanks Dianna!). So on that note, I thought it would be fun to let readers vote for who they think should star in the leading rolls, starting with Catherine. Just click on the Facebook link below to cast your vote from the actresses I think would best capture the character. Results will be posted on April 18th.

http://apps.facebook.com/opinionpolls/poll.php?pid=ABItfQZ02WM

Friday, April 1, 2011

Another Reader Comment

Cody Jendro, a high school student and family friend, was kind enough to post his comments on my website. We all know how discerning teenagers can be, which makes his review even more impressive:

"... I am reading your book, and it rocks! I am doing a book report on it for English!! I can't wait for more books to come! Congratulations on your creation of such a great novel! The best book I have read, I don't like reading, but when I picked up your book, It's sooo hard to put it down. Honestly, A GREAT BOOK!"

It continues to amaze and delight me to see how A Soul Less Broken appeals to so many different people, young and old alike. And to think a book report has now been written on it ... who would have thought?

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Universe Works in Amazing Ways...

So I'm sure you've heard the saying that once you commit to a goal or an intention, that the Universe (or God, or Holy Spirit, or Guardian Angel - whatever you're comfortable calling it) immediately begins to set into motion people, circumstances and events to help you achieve your goal. We just have to be open to the sometimes subtle indications we are given and when we feel that divine inspiration - take action. In my case, within 24 hours of recommitting to my writing, I was contacted by the SAIC Women's Network to come back as a guest for another book signing/book club event. I will get the opportunity to hear feedback from readers and find out what they would like to see in the sequel! I'm very excited and grateful for this opportunity to meet with these wonderful women again!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Living Your Passion

To my dear readers who have been with me from the start - let me apologize for being silent for so long. Suffice it to say that after starting a new, very demanding "day job" that has consumed my time and attention for the last several months, I haven't been able to find the time to devote to writing, even in my blog ... or at least that's been the excuse I've been peddling. But excuses aside, if I'm truly meant to follow my passion (which is writing) then I have to make the time no matter what.

Which leads me to the topic of this post... Living Your Passion... it's one thing to "find your passion" ... but to Live Your Passion requires action; action that only you can take. Many of us discover our passion, feel inspired for a time, then that inspiration gets pushed aside by all the excuses that we conjure up for why we can't do it. That inspiration fades into the background, overshadowed by our very busy "every-day life". I've certainly fallen into that trap. So we have to ask ourselves, if we were truly satisfied with our "every-day life" why do we still have that sense that something is missing? Why do we still have that inner yearning for more...?

If you've just recently discovered your true passion, I applaud you - congratulations!  Discovering your passion is the first step. But once we discover our passion and decide we really want to live it ... then we have to be willing to set aside our excuses and take the actions necessary to make our passion our central focus. Even if it's just doing one small thing every day. Having said all that, you're going to see a lot more from me... it's time for me to take my own advice... and if you're ready, you're welcome to join me!

Henry David Thoreau said it best:

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Live the life you have imagined."