Seasons of Reading Blog Hop

Gifts and Giving Blog Hop

For the full list of author pages on the blog hop, go to Jo Ramsey's blog.

This hop has to do with the impact of a book, either one you have received or one you have given. Jump from here to Jo's blog to continue the blog hops. Giveaways are available at every stop, so be sure to visit them all.

Now on to my gift book post.



Legend in His Own Time - Tales of a Texas Boy

You've heard the phrase "A Legend in His Own Time." That's when somebody does something so extraordinary they create a legend around themselves. As time moves on, the legendary aspect grows and morphs into something bigger and, well, more legendary.


Then, there's the play on words, "A Legend in His Own Mind." That's when a person's ego grows beyond reality. They believe themselves to be so wonderful, they're a legend. Of course, they are the only ones who think so.


Then there's another type of legend. It's when an author bases a book on a real person, but exaggerates the person's feats to make for good reading; the writer creates the legend. Can you think of a case where this has occurred? I imagine there are many, considering possible biographers who hero-worship their subject past the point of reality.


Then I come to my own mini-legendary person: Little Eddie from Tales of a Texas Boy. The stories are mostly based on some brief vignette passed to me from my father. Those of you who have read the print edition might have slowed down enough to peruse the Foreword where I lay out that Eddie is my father and some additional background on his life. Nothing too exciting there. He just happened to have a few incidents in his life that I could turn from a passing comment into a short story.


I made my father a legend. The stories I wrote about his experiences are so enhanced, they have become the stuff of legends. Yes, a very small part of the population know the stories. However, how long will the Tales books be out in the world? I published the first edition in June, 2007. In four years, more than 3000 people have had possession of the book in some form. They may have even read it. If I keep the book in print, how many people will get to know Eddie in ten years? 


What's my point here? Not sure other than to state my realization that even not so famous people can become legendary to some extent from some author deciding to write about them.


I think that my "gift book" that had the most impact is this one. "Tales of a Texas Boy" was a gift to my father. He certainly enjoyed hearing "his" stories and quite a few people now know him who would not have without that book. I think making somebody a legend in his own time is about as big an impact as a book can supply.


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My giveaway book is obviously going to be "Tales of a Texas Boy." However, the winner, whoever they may be can choose another in my collection. I have descriptive pages with information on my books at my website: http://marvadasef.com/ . I'll select a winner at random from comments on this post and Jo Ramsey's Seasons blog post. I will be donating a copy of Tales to the school across the street. The local library already has a copy on the shelves.


Tales of a Texas Boy is only 99 cents for the ebook version on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other on-line bookstores. The Large Print paperback edition is very popular with the more mature among us, especially if they grew up in a rural area. They often recognize something in Texas Boy that relates to their own coming of age.


Here are some links to buy sites and a link to the book trailer:


Amazon Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Tales-of-a-Texas-Boy/dp/B001E3A0RU/


Amazon Large Print Paperback http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1438235453/


Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Nto2Zbars