Sunday, May 19, 2013

NEWS | Free New eBook Now Available

Thanks so much for your support, readers and friends!

"If I were to disappear, would anybody notice?"

My first nonfiction book, 8 Reasons Your Life Matters, is now available FREE from most retailers! It is available exclusively in e-book format. It also provides some background into why I choose to write the novels I write.

Because of its short length of 50 pages or so, 8 Reasons isn't available in print. However, for those of you who enjoy reading your books in print, there is a PDF format you can print.

Find out more about 8 Reasons Your Life Matters at http://tinyurl.com/afmo38d.

Bookstore and download links at http://tinyurl.com/b28cz2a.

I hope you find encouragement in its pages. If you do, I'd love to hear about it. That's one of the greatest gifts a writer can receive!

Never give up!

John Herrick
www.johnherrick.net
johnherricknet.blogspot.com

Today's Playlist:  Gather Up by Peter Bradley Adams

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

My Latest Music Discoveries

I love music that kindle within me the fire to write! For anyone looking to hear some fresh music before the artists become well known by the public, I’ll share a couple of recommendations here. Both artists fall along the lines of Phillip Phillips but contain their own unique sounds.

Gather Up by Peter Bradley Adams – www.peterbradleyadams.com
The artist has released music for a decade or so. This album is several years old and provides terrific ambience for writing or a road trip. My favorite track on the album is the gorgeous “One Foot Down.”

I hadn’t heard of Adams until watching a recent movie that featured one of his songs, “The Longer I Run” (not on this album). The vocals and production grabbed my heart. Filmmakers tend to use his music here and there because of its understated value. As it turns out, I’d heard another song of his in the Cameron Crowe film Elizabethtown and have enjoyed it on the soundtrack album for years! The song is called “Hard Times,” which Adams recorded it as part of the duo eastmountainsouth.

All For You by Christian Porter – www.christianportermusic.com
I’m addicted to the track “All About You.” Awesome vocals and a stirring chorus. In the first few lines, Porter sounds like a front man for The Fray. Porter anchors his album on solid love songs.

As for how I learned about this artist, you can’t make these things up. Back in March, I visited my brother in Los Angeles. Outside the Burbank airport, I wound up standing curbside between a guy named Christian Porter. We chatted for a couple of minutes while we waited for our rides. Porter was a contestant on NBC show The Voice, but nobody knew who he was since his audition episode wouldn’t air for two more days. We exchanged business cards, and I planned to check out his music eventually. On Sunday night, my brother, sister-in-law and I had the TV on The Voice and were about to turn on a movie when we saw the pre-commercial preview. I said, “Stop! That’s the guy I met at the airport!” We kept the show on to catch Porter’s performance, a re-envisioned R&B take on the rap song “Sexy and I Know It,” which climaxed in a Prince-like falsetto. An electric, badass performance. I bought his album a few days later and it’s remained on my playlist. He got eliminated during the battle round—a travesty, in my opinion. I expect this guy to hit it huge in the years to come.

Never give up!

John Herrick
johnherrick.net
johnherricknet.blogspot.com

Thursday, May 2, 2013

NEWS | New Book Release Coming Soon

Despite my renewed intention to post to my blog each week, I fell short. But I have a good reason: I turned my attention to my new book, 8 Reasons Your Life Matters, set for release this spring!

8 Reasons Your Life Matters will be an e-book exclusive. It’s a short read and my first nonfiction book, which communicates the overall message I try to convey in my novels: your life has a purpose. You are not an accident. 8 Reasons explores angles you might not have considered. That book concept burned in me for about a year before I fleshed it out. I wanted the chance to speak straight from my heart to yours, just as a voice of encouragement. The book will be available for free—yes, for free—from most e-book retailers.

You can find out more about it on my website.

Never give up!

John Herrick

Today’s Playlist:  All About You by Christian Porter