Interview posted on The Dan O'Brien Project

The Dan O'Brien Project was nice enough to interview me about Luke and various other bits...

http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-ten-spot-meet-aaron-cohen.html

If you are a reader or a writer, you should check out his blog. He updates it daily (unlike some blogs I know of), and had some great interviews with interesting writers.

Happy three-day weekend!

Starring Marisa Tomei as Leanne

I always pictured Marisa Tomei as Leanne. This is what she was thinking in Chapter 22...

Be strong, Leanne. You are a bad ass bitch and you will beat them. Don’t let them see any cracks. You are in control. Focus. Be here now. Be whole now. There is only now.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DOMWB6M

First 5-star Amazon review: 50 Shades + Star Wars + Carl Hiaasen = Luke

This was the first review of Luke posted on Amazon. This lovely person will always have my undying gratitude, whom ever she is...

The 5-star review:

Tons of fun. Carl Hiaasen meets Star Wars meets 50 Shades of Gray meets Elmore Leonard. It's not much of a spoiler to let you know this a sexed-up parody of Star Wars, set in Las Vegas, as you'll figure that out quite quickly.

The Death Star is now the Dark Star, a new 10,000 room brothel that will monopolize the sex industry in Nevada and practically enslave its workers. Darth Vadar is David Vaddio, the force behind the Dark Star. Obi-Wan appears as a retired mobster who lives by The Code. My favorite re-imagining is probably the Millennium Falcon as an RV, but Chewbacca as a mute who shares his thoughts in a journal is a close second.

It's a quick read. It does a great job of engrossing you in a new story, while eliciting chuckles at Star Wars moments.

Al and Leanne do not look alike

From Chapter 22

It is hard to believe that Al is Leanne’s father. Leanne is beautiful. Even on the hastily taped video message, she is drop dead gorgeous. Al is not. Ugly doesn’t quite apply, because the guy smiles so much it somehow counteracts his big, lumpy nose, his oversized ears, his bulbous, insect-like eyes, his bumpy complexion, and the absence of any trace of a chin. He looks like the offspring of a fly and a gorilla. How he could have fathered Leanne is a mystery to Luke.

But what a nice guy! Luke had been expecting a smarmy, abusive, womanizing brute. Instead, Al turned out to be friendly, jovial, always grinning, and caring. He asked about not just Leanne, but also Luke’s aunt and uncle, and Luke himself. Al had promised to help in any way he could. After talking to Al, Luke felt for the first time in a while that things might turn out okay.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DOMWB6M

Three five-star reviews on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Luke-ebook/dp/B00DOMWB6M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376709038&sr=8-1&keywords=luke+aaron+cohen

I now have three five star reviews. Woohoo! I can't you how good that feels. Entertain even that many people is somehow a rush and makes me want to do it again.

Writing of the next novel has begun,.

Kirkus Review Says Luke Is "Hilarious" And "A Page-Turning Adventure"

I'd been waiting for the Kirkus review to come in for almost two months. I was ready for the reviewer to hate it. I had to be mentally prepared for a bad review.

Turns out, I didn't have to do that. The reviewer liked it. He (or she) really liked it!

Here it is...

LUKE

Cohen, Aaron D.

$14.99 paperback, $2.99 e-book

BOOK REVIEW

Cohen’s debut, a reimagining of Star Wars set in the underworld of Las Vegas, is a page-turning adventure full of allusions for fans of the movie series.

What if, instead of battling “in a galaxy far, far away,” Luke went on his Jedi journey in the sands of Nevada and did battle with the vicious Empire Gaming instead of the Empire? 

Cohen’s novel gives the answer: It trades light sabers and blasters for brass knuckles and .38s, “the Force” for the Code, and Stormtroopers for suit-wearing thugs who complain about wearing jackets in the desert heat. Instead of Princess Leia, there’s Leanne—a beautiful madam fighting to protect the rights of the prostitutes who work for her. Artie, a code-cracking little person, plays R2-D2; the lecherous, smooth-talking Cecil is C-3PO. Darth Vader? He’s David, a monstrous former wise guy who suffers from asthma. Luke is still Luke, but in this incarnation, he has an unstoppable sex drive and an unfortunate penchant for getting beaten up.

The rest of the cast is here as well, including the drug-running war vet Hank (Han Solo) and his growling, tongueless Samoan sidekick Charlie (Chewie). As in the movie, the characters do their best to stop an evil empire, but instead of saving planets, they’re protecting strip clubs, adult bookstores and other Vegas outposts. Empire’s plan is to legally outlaw pole dancing and limit prostitution to hotels with 10,000 or more rooms. It just so happens that it owns the Dark Star, the only establishment that meets the criteria. Cohen’s writing is crisp, and his dialogue snappy. Seeing elements of the classic space adventure adapted to Sin City is often hilariously entertaining. The novel sticks closely to the source material but deviates enough to maintain interest. While the plot begins to slow toward the end, Cohen’s writing holds the tension, while also preparing for possible sequels.

Delivers action and laughs with its memorable characters and dialogue, despite a dip in momentum before the finish.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/aaron-d-cohen/luke/

Review Luke - Get Any Kindle Book For Free

Let’s try something crazy…

I think I’ve written a pretty good book, the kind of book I would like to read. People who I trust have read it, given a lot of feedback, and say they like it. I’ve read it many, many times, and I like it. If I didn’t, it would still be collecting dust somewhere in my hard drive.

In order to sell this book, I’m told I need get reviews on Amazon. I’m told that only 1 out of every 200-300 purchases results in a review. I’ve sold 21 copies.

I’m also told that’s not bad for an unknown author self-publishing on Kindle for the first time. Still, I’d like to do better.

I’ve tried the common tactic of offering a free signed copy of the paper book version in exchange for proof of an Amazon review. That has not worked. I still have only the one review. It is a five-star review, and bless the soul that wrote it, but that review alone isn’t going to do the trick.

So let’s try something…

I am willing to send the first 10 people who write reviews of Luke a Kindle book of their choice (up to a $14.99 value). Here is how it will work...

1. You buy, read and review Luke. It’s got to be an honest review of the entire novel. No reading a few pages and throwing down a three word sentence. The review must be 300 words or more.

2. Write me at 107reader@gmail.com. Tell me the name the review is under and the text of the review. Also, tell me the book you want. The new Dan Brown? The new Grisham? 50 Shades? Ulysses? Whatever you want. I will gift it to you through the Amazon gifting system. You’ll get your gift in your email box.

3. AND! If you want a signed copy of the paperbook version, I’ll give you one of those too. Just put your mailing address in the email.

I will do this for the first ten reviews I get. After that, I’ll figure out if it’s worth continuing.

So there you go! That’s the deal. Make sense? Let me know!

Luke is on sale here... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DOMWB6M

Cheers,

Aaron