I'm proud to announce the official release of my new novel, The Spectacular Simon Burchwood. It is the sequel to The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood. Over a year in the making, The Spectacular Simon Burchwood continues a few years after the first novel left off, finding Simon down and out, newly divorced and his writing career in shambles, yet on the verge of discovering the inspiration to his next literary masterpiece. The new novel is available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook versions at several fine retailers across the interwebs. Read the description below and find links to buy your copy today. Whether holding a book in your hands or reading on your favorite eReader, enjoy another crazy trip with the one and only Simon Burchwood!

Credits: Novel written by Scott Semegran. Cover illustrated by Scott Semegran. Edited by Brandon R. Wood. Photo of Scott Semegran by James Grayson.

Description: Recently divorced and his writing career in shambles, Simon Burchwood's life is a complete disaster. He reluctantly finds work as a computer support technician and resigns that his career as the next great American novelist will never come to fruition. When he learns that his ex-wife abruptly moves to Dallas with his children, he embarks on a crazy road trip with a nerdy coworker and a hitchhiking punk rock girl and discovers the inspiration he desperately needs for his new literary masterpiece. Take another trip with the one and only Simon Burchwood.

Read an Excerpt here.

ISBN: 978-1-257-94215-2

Copyright: © 2011 Scott Semegran

Language: English

Edition: First Edition

Printed: 236 pages, 6" x 9", perfect binding, cream interior paper (60# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink

Publisher: Lulu.com

Category: Literature & Fiction

List Price: $16.99

Purchase paperback versions here:

Purchase hardcover edition here:

Printed: 236 pages, 6" x 9", hardcover (dust jacket), cream interior paper, black and white interior ink

List Price: $24.99

Or download eBook versions here:

ISBN: 978-1-4657-4502-6

Copyright: © 2011 Scott Semegran

Word Count: 77,721

List Price: $1.99

If you still haven't caught onto eBooks and love the feel of a real book in your hands then, boy, do I have the thing for you. Three of my books are now available in hard covers! Yep, hard cover books with glossy slip covers, beautifully assembled to last forever, these beauties are the thing to get if you like the feel of a book in your hands. All I can say is, "Awesome!" Check them out:

• The Spectacular Simon Burchwood - Hardcover Edition
• The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood - Hardcover Edition
• Modicum - Hardcover Edition
• Mr. Grieves - Hardcover Edition

They really are a sight to behold. If you would like a signed copy, then please contact me for details. Thanks for supporting indie publishing!

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Amy Edelman, founder of IndieReader.com, the source for the best indie books, posted the 5 Best Summer Indie Beach Reads in the Huffington Post Books section today. My novel, The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood, made the list. According to Amy:

"Look no further, my friend, because we at IndieReader (via the Huffington Post) have gathered some of our best reviewed books, compiled here, for your reading enjoyment. Because someone has to discover the next Stieg Larsson, Janet Evanovich and [fill in the blank]. No reason why it shouldn't be you!"

Wow! I'm honored to have my book on such a great list. Support indie publishing and check out all of these fantastic books. Check out the list of 5 Best Summer Indie Beach Reads here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-edelman/indie-books_b_894944.html#s307265&title=4_The_Meteoric

Read the original review of The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood on IndieReader.com here:

http://indiereader.com/2011/05/the-meteoric-rise-of-simon-burchwood/

And go to my Books page to find your favorite retailer that carries The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood:

http://www.scottsemegran.com/store/books.html

I'm proud to announce that I am a featured author at Charlie Courtland's book review blog Bitsy Bling Books. Charlie is an accomplished writer herself but also writes reviews for novels during her spare time (when is that, Charlie?). For the months of May and June, she is sponsoring an event called Twisted Tales which features authors who write novels of dark fiction, dark comedy, absurdist, bizarro and pulp fiction. I'm excited that she's including The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood along with novels by other awesome indie authors like Lance Carbuncle, Kirk Jones, and many more. Check out what she had to say about my novel and peruse the work of these other fantastic indie writers.

Most importantly, I'd like to thank book reviewers like Charlie as well as other reviewers (Red Adept, Great Books Under $5, etc.) who feature indie authors. With the fast changes in the publishing industry brought about by the popularity of reading devices like the Kindle, Nook, iPad, Sony Reader, and more, events like Twisted Tales highlight some fantastic indie books out there waiting to be devoured by avid readers. Most likely, you will not discover these books through your local newspaper, from Oprah Book Club recommendations, or even your local book store but that does not diminish in any way their merit as outstanding books. I hope, more than anything, that the books highlighted in Twisted Tales will inspire readers to seek out more books from these featured authors (including yours truly) as well as other great indie writers on the interwebs. We are waiting to fill your mind with literary goodness and, in the case of my Twisted Tales brethren, satisfy your appetite for bizarro fiction. Enjoy!

I began the next novel in my series about the one and only Simon Burchwood last month and I decided to create a writing project through Kickstarter to finance it. What is Kickstarter? Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields. How cool is that?

To read more about my project, go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottsemegran/the-spectacular-simon-burchwood.

Check this out:

I'm very proud to introduce my latest book titled Modicum. It is a compilation of short stories, musings, and cartoons by yours truly and will be available in print and eBook versions. For the print version, it will have a glossy, full-color cover with an original illustration by me (watercolor with ink for the curious types out there) and a black & white interior on cream pages. For the eBook versions, the same full-color cover will "explode" in its rasterized glory and the interior content will be exactly the same as the print version: cartoons, stories and all. I've written here about my fondness for eBooks but I thought it only fair for those who prefer killing trees to have their print version as well. The eBook version will be available through various retailers such as Smashwords (who supplies my catalog of eBooks to Apple, Sony, Barnes & Noble, Diesel, Kobo, and more), Amazon, and Mobipocket. The print version will be available through Lulu and Amazon. Please support independent publishing and these fine retailers!

Praise for Modicum:

"Funny, sweet, dark, and sad, Scott Semegran's comics and short stories create a wholly convincing world of love, loss, and fear. His light touch with heavy subjects is a gift, and his forays into silliness are a delight. I can't tell if his kids should read it as soon as possible, or never." - Emily Flake, cartoonist and author of LuLu Eightball

"Hilarious, poignant, twisted... and those are just the stories. Scott Semegran's cartoons bring an added one-two visceral punch to a powerful collection of work." - Davy Rothbart, author of The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas and publisher of FOUND Magazine

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For more information about Modicum and my other books, please go here.

The nice folks at Scribd.com have selected Mr. Grieves #152 as a Featured Document! How cool is that? Scribd.com is one of the most popular document sharing sites on the web so this is an honor. Thanks for the monkey love.

On occasion, coupons are generated at Smashwords.com for my eBooks. Use the coupon codes at checkout for discounts. In some cases, the eBooks may even be FREE. Now who doesn't like stuff for FREE?

Get to know Simon Burchwood in his first novel The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood. On his way to New York to celebrate his impending literary success, Simon Burchwood is the prototypical American careerist. But a quick detour to Montgomery, Alabama to visit a childhood friend sends Simon on a bizarre journey, challenging his hopes and dreams of becoming a famous writer. This is a character study that delves into the psyche of a man who desperately tries to redefine himself. Is Simon pompous? Yes. A jerk? Yes. Will you like him? Absolutely! "The book is told entirely from Simon’s viewpoint. Simon is not a very likable guy; as a matter of fact, he is a self-centered, pompous jerk. But for some reason, it’s pretty fun to be inside his head, mainly because he is an inadvertent, oblivious jerk... you will learn Simon’s views on smoking, cleanliness and going to the bathroom, just to name a few. There were times that I laughed out loud... A very good novel that was humorous throughout." 4 1/2 Stars - Red Adept Reviews

More praise for The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood:

"Verdict: An ambitious, enjoyable read with a superb ending that changed my interpretation of the entire text." --IndieReader.com

"Simon is such a character that I couldn't wait to find what he did next." --Great Books Under $5

"Overall a very good and funny read." --Ashton the Book Blogger

"The actual story was humorous, and the character of Simon, while not especially likable, drew you like a car accident might. You just could not help but wonder what he would do next." --Literary R&R

"This book will have you rolling in laughter at a man who can not or will not realize who and what he is. Non stop laugh beginning to end." --Free Book Reviews

"This novel did have me in fits of laughter at times and this is something I haven't experienced in a while with a novel. Overall a funny read and I would recommend this book." --Every Book Has a Soul

Smashword Coupon

Use the code XA23D at checkout to get my novel The Meteoric Rise of Simon Burchwood for FREE! (Hurry, offer good thru Oct 1, 2011)

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/4225