On Episode 223 of The Martin Lastrapes Show Podcast Hour, I talked with Ben Fox, creator of Shepherd.com. Ben talks about:
His awesome website that helps readers discover their next favorite book
Some of his own favorite books
The behind-the-scenes work of creating Shepherd.com
Living abroad in Portugal
Press the PLAY button below to enjoy the full conversation!
You can also listen to Episode 223 with the links below:
My name is Ben Fox and I’m the founder of Shepherd.com. Shepherd is bringing the “fun” back to online book discovery.
Buying books online is boring! The big bookstores sell books the same way they sell toothpaste—without passion. They are constantly trying to shove us into book lists made by machine algorithms that have the same personality as my pet rock. This is deeply wrong and I am on a mission to fix this.
My inspiration started with my local bookstore. I love wandering around my local bookstore until a book catches my eye. Maybe the book has a cover of a decapitated unicorn, maybe a staff member marked it as one of their favorites, or maybe the title triggers something in my subconscious. Regardless it is all fun and that is what I’m doing with Shepherd. I’m trying to make online book discovery more of an experience rather than a chore.
I started by asking authors to recommend five of their favorite books around a topic, theme, or mood. We feature the author and their book at the top of that list. The goal is to give readers five delicious book recommendations while getting the author’s book in front of the perfect audience. Thus, the topic, theme, or mood should be near the author’s book in order to make a good pairing.
Martin made a great list on the best dark fiction books that explore the hidden shadows of humanity if you want to see the end result.
For authors, it is critical that your book matches the topic, theme, or mood of your book list in order to be effective at selling your book. If your book is about an alien invasion set in 2048 and your book recommendation list is about “the best books on D-Day” nobody is going to be interested in your book.
Once an author makes a list, we go to work. Our job is to get your list in front of readers and create an amazing book browsing experience for them. I should note, we are only one year old and frantically working to build more features for readers and authors. Here are a few of the ways we help readers discover books while helping authors sell their book.
We give readers a way to browse books based on a topic and to keep following their curiosity to related topics. For example, if a reader lands on our bookshelf about the best unicorn books they can browse books and book lists connected with unicorns. As well as keep following that onward to bookshelves about sea monsters, goblins, magic, or imagination. Later this year we will add filters so that readers can show only unicorn books for adults, or only unicorn books for age 10, or only unicorn books that are science fiction. We want to empower them to find what they are looking for while keeping a healthy dose of serendipity in the process.
We also have search, although it is not about finding what you want, but rather discovering what you did not know you needed. Readers can search for a favorite book, a favorite author, or a topic you are interested in and get recommendations for where to start browsing.
Go to Shepherd.com and type in vampire. You will be suggested book lists like this:
As well as bookshelves about vampires and dark comedy. The system that powers this uses machine learning to look for similarities but at the heart of everything we do are humans picking their favorite books. You can read a big breakdown of how that system works here.
This year we will launch a new recommendation system, a better UX for bookshelves, genre pages, genre filters, and much more. After we get the base features in place I will start bringing in new and unique ways to find books. I am testing two new methods with readers and I will share them with authors on the newsletter this month or next (one is aimed at helping fiction authors and the other non-fiction authors). We also have a newsletter for authors where we share traffic details, what we are learning, and give early access to new features to authors. If you want to take part email us at forauthors@shepherd.com and check out our website for authors here.
Ben Fox is a serial entrepreneur who loves to read. He lives in live Portugal with his wife and his five-year-old son.
I was invited by Shepherd.com to participate in their awesome website where authors share lists of their favorite books. They asked me to create a list that relates to my award-winning/bestselling book Inside the Outside, so I came up with this: The Best Dark Fiction Books that Explore the Hidden Shadows of Humanity.
If you want to find out which books I chose and why I love them, check out my article on Shepherd.
On Episode 222 of The Martin Lastrapes Show Podcast Hour, I chat with author and editor extraordinaire, Tammy Salyer. We talk about indie publishing, outlining novels, and book editing, as well as Tammy’s latest novel, Gnome on the Range: Otherworld Outlaws 1.
On Episode 221 of The Martin Lastrapes Show Podcast Hour, I talk about what it's like to receive negative book reviews and read a few brutal reviews I’ve received over the years. I also share an update on my hunt for a literary agent.
On Episode 220 of The Martin Lastrapes Show Podcast Hour, I talk to my old pal, Will Entrekin, about indie publishing, querying literary agents, and his new novel, Secondhand Emotions. I also bend Will’s ear about my current obsession will RuPaul's Drag Race.
Press PLAY below to listen:
In Episode 219 of the Martin Lastrapes Show Podcast Hour, I talk about finishing my new novel, indie publishing vs. traditional publishing, and my current hunt for a literary agent. I also talk about why I stopped podcasting for over a year (did you miss me?).
Press PLAY below to listen:
I recently had the opportunity to be a guest on Franze and Friends, which is an informative, edgy, and entertaining podcast hosted by Jay Franze. On each episode, Jay talks with leaders from all industries, picking their brains about the specific expertise they have to offer.
Jay invited me onto the show to share my expertise on writing and publishing. I also talked about horror movies from the 1980s, the inspiration for Daddy Marlow’s Boys in my novel Inside the Outside, and the first time I made a move on my future wife and occasional cohost, Chanel Chakko.
Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories recently received a glowing 5-star book review from Self-Publishing Review.
Check it out:
For anyone tired of vampires that glitter and werewolves who are really just confused about their identity, Dolph the Unicorn Killer and Other Stories by Martin Lastrapes is right up your alley. This award-winning author has stepped away from his hit novels and into the realm of raucous short stories, and this is a collection of high-fantasy weirdos with a healthy dose of…
Sorry to cut you off, but you can read the full review by clicking HERE.
Self-Publishing Review was founded by award-winning author and blogger Henry Baum in 2008. It’s based both in the UK and the US. They have a dedicated staff of professional reviewers and publishing professionals and, since it’s founding, Self-Publishing Review has firmly established itself as one of the top online resources for self-published authors.
And if that doesn’t impress you, then this should: Self-Publishing Review has been recommended in Forbes, Publisher’s Weekly, The Guardian, and more, as a top resource for self-publishers.
A few months ago, I won the 2018 SPR Book Award from the Self-Publishing Review for Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories. After winning the award, I did an interview for Self-Publishing Review, which you can see part of below:
Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories is a gloriously vulgar, gut-punching, giddy-inducing collection of interconnected horror, fantasy, comedy, and literary stories that weaves together an eclectic tapestry of characters who are bonded by themes of loneliness, revenge, friendship, and sex. It’s vampires, serial killers, unicorns, and more, all of them intersecting within that alluring stretch of the American Southwest known as Las Vegas.
I love telling stories. It’s probably my favorite thing to do, outside of being told a great story.
I love the freedom self-publishing offers, such as overseeing the creation of the cover art and deciding the publication date. I also love telling myself “yes,” instead of letting agents and publishers tell me “no.”
You can read the entire interview by clicking HERE.
So, this is pretty cool. Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories is featured in wiki video on Wiki.ezvid.com called “10 Outrageous and Pulpy Books That Mix Violence and Humor.“
Click the image below to see the article and watch the video (HINT: Dolph turns up at the 1:20 mark):
Established in 2011, Wiki.ezvid.com is a free-to-use video wiki published by the California technology company Ezvid Inc. Wikis are generally architected around a video, whereby a user is introduced to a concept in the space of a four-to-seven minute video presentation, and then additional text, images, data, and links to third-party information sources are provided to add more detail to each topic. The gentle nature of Ezvid's introductions to thousands of topics renders the Wiki particularly useful for teaching environments. Ezvid Wiki evolved from the message board surrounding Ezvid For Windows, first released in 2010. In those years it has grown from a small user-generated forum into the largest and most comprehensive video wiki on the planet, providing useful, unbiased information and actionable guidance to hundreds of millions of users around the world, in thousands of knowledge categories. You can contribute your own ideas and research to Ezvid Wiki by using Ezvid Wikimaker.
Check out the official book trailer for Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories!
Just press PLAY and enjoy.
What are you waiting for?
Did I mention a unicorn gets beheaded in the video?
Why are you still reading this?
Well, since you’re still here, a word of advice:
Keep the subtitles on. You’ll be glad you did.
That’s it, now go press PLAY!
DOLPH THE UNICORN KILLER & OTHER STORIES is a gloriously vulgar, gut-punching, giddy-inducing collection of short stories that shifts seamlessly from horror and comedy to fantasy and literary fiction, weaving together an eclectic tapestry of characters who are bonded by themes of loneliness, revenge, friendship, and sex.
It’s a good time to be a unicorn killer!
Dolph has been getting a lot of really positive attention lately, including a glowing review from the San Francisco Review of Books.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Wild fantasies and science fiction type stories can either plunk along to aid ennui, or they can soar – and soaring is what these shorties do. Martin Lastrapes is a first class scribe about whom we will most assuredly hear more.”
They also said this:
“At times naughty, at times even insightful, the short stories in this book are little masterworks of ingenuity.”
Heavens to Murgatroyd! Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories is officially an Amazon Bestseller!
This week, Dolph ascended up three of Amazon’s Bestseller lists:
Now, you may wondering what the difference between Fiction Satire and Satire (Kindle) is. As best as I can tell, the Fiction Satire list encompasses books across all formats (i.e., paperback, hardcover, ebooks, and audio) and Satire (Kindle) is specifically for ebooks.
Anyhow, enjoy more screenshots of Dolph as a bestseller…
I mean, what? Dolph is on the same list as Kurt Vonnegut?!
Not bad, Dolph. Not bad at all.
Now, go kill some unicorns.
Wait, what? Dolph won another literary award?! Yup, this time he won the 2018 SPR (Self-Publishing Review) Book Award. Check out the press release below:
Congratulations to our 2018 winners! All entrants will be notified by newsletter of the results, and how to get reader feedback on your entry. This year’s competition was fierce, with the biggest number of entries we have ever had, and the standard was very high, which goes to show independent publishing is growing in quality and interest. Thanks to everyone who entered!
Hey, ya'll, Dolph did it! After putting in his time as a bridesmaid, your favorite unicorn-killing superhero won the Grand Prize in the New England Book Festival. Check out the press release below:
NEW ENGLAND_The first collection of short stories by an award-winning novelist is the winner of the 2018 New England Book Festival.
Martin Lastrapes’s Dolph The Unicorn Killer & Other Stories (Cannibal Press) is a collection that shifts from horror to comedy and fantasy to literary fiction, bringing together a unique collection of characters bonded by themes of loneliness, revenge, friendship and sex. The captivating collection is the fifth book from Lastrapes.
Hey, all you lovers of unicorn killers, I'm very excited to share that Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories won Honorable Mention in the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest.
The official press release is below...
Readers' Favorite recognizes "Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories" by Martin Lastrapes in its annual international book award contest, currently available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0985704330.
The Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest featured thousands of contestants from over a dozen countries, ranging from new independent authors to NYT best-sellers and celebrities.
Readers' Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the "Best Websites for Authors" and "Honoring Excellence" awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies.
We receive thousands of entries from all over the world. Because of these large submission numbers, we are able to break down our contest into 140+ genres, and each genre is judged separately, ensuring that books only compete against books of their same genre for a fairer and more accurate competition. We receive submissions from independent authors, small publishers, and publishing giants such as Random House, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, with contestants that range from the first-time, self-published author to New York Times bestsellers like J.A. Jance, James Rollins, and #1 best-selling author Daniel Silva, as well as celebrity authors like Jim Carrey (Bruce Almighty), Henry Winkler (Happy Days), and Eriq La Salle (E.R., Coming to America).
"When the right books are picked as winners we pay attention. We will be spreading the word about Readers' Favorite." --Karen A., Editor for Penguin Random House
Readers' Favorite is proud to announce that "Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories" by Martin Lastrapes won the Honorable Mention Award in the Fiction - Anthology category.
You can learn more about Martin Lastrapes and "Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories" at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/dolph-the-unicorn-killer-other-stories where you can read reviews and the author’s biography, as well as connect with the author directly or through their website and social media pages.
Readers' Favorite LLC
Media Relations
Louisville, KY 40202
800-RF-REVIEW
support@readersfavorite.com
https://readersfavorite.com
I am terrifically honored that Readers' Favorite recently gave Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories a 5-Star review. It's worth noting that reviews for any artistic endeavor are subjective, as there's no accounting for taste, but it's nonetheless gratifying to read nice things about my book from an unbiased and objective reader who isn't biologically bound to love and support me.
That said, here's the review by Justine Reyes for Readers' Favorite. (Italicised words, quotation marks, and hyperlinks that differ from original form were done by me.):
It is not often that I stumble upon a book with a title such as Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories. It isn’t often that the covers of such books feature a man built like a bull, holding the freshly severed head of a unicorn in one hand and a sword in the other. It definitely stood out and immediately piqued my curiosity. Because why on earth would anybody kill unicorns? Martin Lastrapes, the author of this comical anthology, will bluntly lay it down for you. Of course, "Dolph the Unicorn Killer" isn’t the only story in this book and, despite being in the title, it is one of the last chapters. Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories can be interpreted as both a satire and a bit of an homage to Sin City and supernatural fiction anthologies. Yet be warned, there are vampires, profanity, and a whole lot of laughter.
I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories in this sub-genre of science fiction and fantasy, at least nothing as profoundly imaginative. Lastrapes does not let the conventional boundaries of fiction writing tie him down. The development of each story is thoughtful and humorous. The plots are ingenious. Figuratively speaking, Lastrapes is a madman with a pen. His word usage is tastefully vulgar and necessary, and although the violence and profanity may deter some people from reading, they will only end up sorely regretting not taking a glimpse at the whimsical tales within the pages of this book.
You can check out the Readers' Favorite review in its original form HERE.
Dolph the Unicorn Killer & Other Stories is a Finalist for the 2017 Foreword INDIES Book of Year.
Wait, what? My strange and vulgar unicorn-killing anti-hero, Dolph, has been named a finalist for a prestigious award?!
In a competition with thousands of other entrants, I’m genuinely humbled that Dolph has made it this far.
Here’s the official Press Release:
Traverse City, MI, March 20, 2018—As part of its mission to discover, review, and share the best books from university and independent publishers, Foreword Reviews is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2017 INDIES Book of the Year Awards.
More than 2,000 entries spread across 68 genres were submitted for consideration. The list of finalists was determined by Foreword’s editorial team. Winners are now being decided by a panel of judges across the country, reflecting Foreword’s readership of booksellers and librarians.
The complete list of finalists can be found at:
https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/finalists/2017/
“Choosing finalists for the INDIES is always the highlight of our year, but the job is very difficult due to the high quality of submissions,” said Victoria Sutherland, founder/publisher of Foreword Reviews. “Each new book award season proves again how independent publishers are the real innovators in the industry.”
Winners in each genre—along with Editor’s Choice Prize winners and Foreword’s INDIE Publisher of the Year—will be announced June 15, 2018.
June will be here before you know it, so, if you’ve got a couple of spare fingers, keep ‘em crossed for me.
