Aloha! I'm Maui Bound This Week!

I am taking off for sun and fun and will be in Maui on a much-needed holiday this week. 

In the meantime, check out my interview series with bestselling author Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff - he is the first author to publish a book about Osama Bin Laden and his books have topped Amazon's Bestsellers' Lists!

Aloha - I'll see you in a week!

Bestselling Author Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff Shares Why His Brand Stands Out & Discusses Upcoming Book "Shadow Falls: Angel of Death"

Part 3 - this is the final installment of my fantastic interview with Mark. 


How do you market your books and your Wordsushi.com/MYN brand? Your brand is raw, quirky and edgy and you definitely are not a 'cookie-cutter' horror/thriller writer. 

Marketing fiction is difficult and more competitive - there are thousands and thousands coming out each month. The more you put out, the more you will sell your other books. Put out a book every month. It is a monumental thing to complete a novel, but that's just a portion of the battle. I’m more of a commercial writer – I get away with what I get away with because of my brand. I don’t ever want to know what happens next and have a good career because of that. Sure, I could write twenty books with the same characters, but that's boring to me. I am satisfied with my output and eager to find prospective media partners because I have established a brand as a troublemaker. Some people freakin’ hate me because I played a character on my podcast who was a big mouth. When you are able to brand yourself in a way – and people see you as two-dimensional – you can be rebellious and get away with doing outrageous stuff. I wrote a family-friendly kid's book and it freaked people out. It's a totally different voice because that’s what I do, and I don't want to pigeon hole myself.

As a writer, do you have any weird/strange rituals that you do when you have writer’s block?

I have never had stage fright or writer’s block because I have spent my entire adult life as an artist/composer and writer. I am very tuned into my creative and mental space. I’m at it 24,7 and am writing all the time. The last thing I do in bed is write. I don't have a ritual. I am just addicted to writing. If I go two or three days without writing something, I get weirded out. Dictation programs don’t work for me. I need that moment of pause between brain and hands. I’m very fortunate because I am NOT the stereotypical writer who is a clichéd procrastinator. My ritual is, when the house is quiet, I put my headphones on and crank away -- best feeling in the world! 

What projects do you have on the horizon? What's coming up next?

I have a ridiculous back catalog of unexploited work. My plan is to publish 14 books in the next twelve months. I have written stuff and come back to it years later. I have a ton of completed works. I have a screenplay that I was paid to write but didn’t happen. I then wrangled the thing back with rights and adapted into a book. I am building a real platform with enough revenue coming in; writing and publishing is full-time for me. Everytime I embark on a project and someone picks up the phone to call me, an opportunity opens up. 

My upcoming novel "Shadow Falls: Angel of Death" is part of a series and has a supernatural edge to it modeled after LOST. I wrote prequel "Shadow Falls: Badlands" which is a re-telling of Cain and Abel mythology. "Diary of a Madman" is the bridge between  the two books. "Badlands" is 150 years in the past and "Diary" takes place in present day. The series isn't linear and there are gaps. "Angel of Death" is very experimental  (not "Game of Thrones"). I am eager for people to read "Angel of Death".  What I aspire to do with fiction – tell these fantastical tales and adventures with lots of violence in them. The books have deep and real themes with a high cost to tradition.

For more information about Mark's soon-to-be-released novel "Shadow Falls: Angel of Death" check out his website . 

Bestselling Author Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff Shares Success Behind His Book "The Killing of Osama Bin Laden"

I dusted off my journalist's hat last week and interviewed bestselling, award-winning author Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff. I appreciate Mark taking the time out of his busy schedule to talk with me about the method to his writing 'madness'. Literally - all puns intended. Mark writes dark, edgy horror thrillers including: "Diary of a Madman" and "Killing My Boss" (just to name a few!)

Mark made a living writing music for television before opportunity knocked and transformed him into a screen/TV writer and later an award-winning and bestselling author featured on “Access Hollywood.” A podcast he recorded in his car turned into a drive-time radio show on Sirius five nights a week. This led to a handsome feature in Playboy Magazine that compared Mark to Howard Stern and Jon Stewart. Mark later created an internet video series that led to him being cast as the on-screen host of TV’s “The MoShow”, a nationally syndicated newsmagazine about smartphones and mobile entertainment.

His book The Killing of Osama Bin Laden, released less than a week after U.S. Navy SEALs killed the Al Qaeda leader, has become a fixture on several Amazon bestseller lists, including the non-fiction top 100 for all books.
Your book “The Killing of Osama Bin Laden” took Amazon by storm. You are THE FIRST author to write a book about the killing of Bin Laden.  Where did you get the idea to write this book AND how did you crank it out so fast?


Mark: I was stunned by the news. It was mind-blowing  and it was one of those moments that shatter your psyche. The news that we had got “the guy” – it just struck a chord in me and I was consumed by the news. I am a news JUNKIE! I grew up in a newsroom so news is in my blood. The morning after Bin Laden was killed I was searching furiously and reading bits and pieces everywhere about how they got him. It was a Hollywood blockbuster story that was all true. I saw how all the narrative fell together; it really was a perfect story.
I am a ridiculously prolific writer. I can can write an enormous amount of content in a short amount of time. I became addicted to the process, and I put it together in four days days and worked ten to twelve hours to crank it out . I made phone calls and read everything I could get my hands on. It became apparent that I was going to be the first guy to put out a book about the killing of Bin Laden. As a result, I became enamored by the idea. Wow, I could REALLY be the first person to do it. This would be something very different for me, but not too far off from my brand.

I didn’t have big expectations for the book. I published it within a week and it exploded!  During that first weekend, it hit the nonfiction top 100 list. It spent 72 days on the Amazon History bestseller list and hit that list the first week it was published. I also hit my Kindle-only subcategory list for Middle East history in the first 24 hours. Now two months later, the book continues to do well and has been steady on Amazon’s nonfiction top 100 list.

The biggest surprise from this book was my comic book project. I was contacted by the CEO of an animation company just five days after the book was published. As a result, I negotiated a comic book series, SEAL TEAM X. Think “Men in Black” meets aliens with a sci-fi twist. The series will be launching in the upcoming months.

The best advice I’ve received since writing and publishing books is from a good friend who puts out an indie label in New York City. He told me the best way to sell your back catalog is by putting out new content. It was great advice that I’ve taken to heart – it’s helped me expand my horizons and readership.
Mark’s “The Killing of Osama Bin Laden” book is proof of that sage advice!

Stay tuned for Part Two this week. Learn more inside tips and tricks from Mark – how to effectively market and put your best face forward when it comes to your online brand.

For more information about Mark Yashimoto Nemcoff and his books, please visit http://wordsushi.com/  or his Facebook page. Mark is currently offering a FREE download of “Shadow Falls: Badland” on iBooks to kick off the next in his series of the dark horror thriller, “Shadow Falls: Angel of Death.”