Texas Readers - Award Nominated Books discussion

Hi all,

I would like to recommend The Secrets of Islay, a book released on January 5, for your consideration as a read of the month for this group (I am a member). I realize that the group doesn’t have a moderator; perhaps someone can post this. I hope you at least will read a few pages of Amazon’s preview – to get a feel for my writing ability. I wrote the book to help the island. This group can help. And I think many readers will enjoy the book’s colorful Scottish history. The Texas publisher, virtualbookworm.com (College Station), has done a wonderful job; but this small company needs support. Please buy the paperback directly through its website. That also raises more money for the high school - compared to purchasing through Amazon.

My book has recently been featured in the Argyll news: http://forargyll.com/2015/01/robert-k...

If you’d like a PDF or MOBI copy of the book to review, let me know. I hope someone can recommend it for a read in an upcoming month. The book is featured as a Goodreads giveaway until February 28 (five copies).

This book will compete for recognition in several awards, including the Rubery Book and Wishing Shelf Awards. The publisher may also decide to include it in The People's Book Prize competition. The president of the international Gourmand Awards, based in Madrid, Spain encouraged entry into his annual awards contest, which is closely associated with the prestigious Frankfurt Book Fair, held in October. Mr. Cointreau also kindly posted an Amazon review, the first for the book. With his encouragement, the book has also been submitted for other awards in the US and in the UK.

I wrote the book primarily as a way of giving back to my many, many incredibly generous Scottish hosts and as an effort spread the word about Islay and the Argyll region, which, sadly, are losing population (second worst area in Scotland). The island is now down to just over 3,000.

The book tells a tale that involves a marathon, golf, and single malt Scotch, not necessarily in that order – set on Islay, the island known affectionately as “Queen of the Hebrides.” For history lovers, the book details Islay’s past from the stone ages to medieval lairds – with emphasis on the glorious era when the Viking-Pict sailor-lords of Islay ruled the sea lanes. For Scotch drinkers, it features the eight single malt distilleries of Islay; and for runners it describes the re-appearance of the free spirit Caballo Blanco and his pal El Guapo. For golfers, the book gives a glimpse at what is arguably the course with the most blind shots (15) of them all (although the new owners may change that). And for all of us, the book answers the question of “Quid est veritas?” – as Islay finally decides to share its secrets.

Once production expenses are met, I plan to donate half the proceeds to the local high school on the island. The students take a mission trip every two years. The marathon and golf event will be held on September 20, 2015 – www.lordsoftheisles.com – which also raises money for the students.

A preview of the book is available on Amazon at http://amzn.to/1tTDLhz where you can sample my writing style. For a more detailed look at my credentials, you can go to www.kroegerbooks.weebly.com. The book is available in paperback and eBook formats.
If you like the book, please consider taking a few minutes to post a review of it on Amazon and Goodreads. That would help immensely.

Here are a few highlights:

Foreword by Alex Miceli, Senior writer, GolfWeek, and contributor, The Golf Channel. Alex, wearing his trademark bowtie, didn’t back down in his interview with Tiger.
Afterword by Donald Steel, International golf course architect based in England, author of several books on links golf, and past champion of The President’s Putter (Oxford and Cambridge golfers at Rye GC)
Preface by Gary Allen, Founder and director of Maine’s MDI marathon and elite marathon runner (five decades of sub-three-hour marathons).
A work of creative non-fiction, written by an author who’s played on over 300 courses in the UK and Eire, won golf tournaments, written six books on golf, and run over 68 marathons, qualifying for Boston in many of them.
Half of book proceeds will be donated to the students of Islay high school for their mission trip to a third-world country.

If you have any questions, let me know. Thanks for your consideration! I would be fascinated to hear the opinions of the members in our group.

Cheers,
Bob Kroeger
Cincinnati