Fiction Bestseller Stature is a Prize To Be Earned

Feb. 21, 2012 - PRLog -- In contemporary and classic fiction, there are legends: John Grisham. Jane Austen. James Michener. Stephen King. Ayn Rand. Twain; Faulkner; Hemmingway. Household words all. And yet new talents, equally gifted but more recently arrived, now and then boil to the surface. "The quality of the best new literary voices is not in question," points out FreeFlight Publishing, themselves a boutique shop. "It's just that it takes a little time to garner broadbase recognition. In the marketing sense, the biggest names are brands. And those authors have worked hard to estabish the value of those brands, both in their product and on the business side. The publisher's job, a publisher who chooses to be associated with top quality, is not to establish reward but to simply create recognition. For excellence. The reward will follow, in the form of exponential readership growth and public appreciation."

A fresh example: Author Debra Brown's debut novel THE COMPANION OF LADY HOLMSHIRE, represented by World Castle Publishing, touched down on shelves and sites less than a year ago. In record time and against the steepest of odds, last month it hit Amazon Bestseller status.

"I'm thrilled that so many lovers of historical fiction have found and enjoyed my book," Brown said when asked about her phenomenon. "I've always preferred historical fiction in both my reading and movie-watching time. As an author I'm now meeting a world-wide circle of others with the same love." Among discerning readers, her recent success generates little in the way of surprise; Brown's work has been favorably compared to titles by Jane Austen and even Charles Dickens; one reviewer commented that her style can be likened to "an Austen-esque voice."

Professionals hail the arrival of this new champion too. Author Judith Arnopp wrote, "Her attention to historical detail is remarkable; the writing is equal to the complexities of a plot which is as good as any Georgette Heyer novel." The "Caffeinated Book Reviewer" Kimba remarked, "Brown weaves a delightful tale involving different ranks of society, from the poor to the Queen. The story offers romance, intrigue, and a compelling mystery with a shocker ending," and summed up with the unmistakeable endorsement phrase "a seasoned author."

Other up-and-coming titles are fast on their way to that same bestselling tier. Mystery-suspense thriller ARCHANGEL, by Michael Vorhis, has seen 60% gains month to month throughout its first year, and shows no signs of leveling off. FreeFlight says ARCHANGEL owes its impressive climb to a universally intriguing plot, deft literary execution, and "a hero who inspires." Noted author and publisher Emily Hill of A.V.Harrison Publishing commented last year, "Vorhis more than holds his own. He has style...the presence, and skill, to stir in the most three dimensional characters any debut novelist has a right to claim." Author Robert DeCoteau describes the work as, "a class five hurricane...sheer storytelling genius...takes fiction from good to great." Readers have even said the debut novel has rekindled their interest in fiction.

"My mainstream genre, where I personally like to read and write, puts me up against some really big names," says Vorhis, who spent eleven years in the creation of ARCHANGEL. "Still, I love it. The response has been terrific. I believe a novel is a bestseller if it's going to be. Somewhere on its time line that will happen, that will be proven out."

Vorhis takes nothing away from those who have already seen that requisite threshold of downloads. "They did it! Debra Brown did it. She has beaten the odds, purely on the strength of world-class skill and a book that can go toe to toe with anyone's. I've said it before--smart readers want to be tantalized with great suspense, the undercurrent of forbidden romance, mystery, beauty, promise, doubt, heroic deeds...it all gets the pulse going, it all thrills the soul."

Bestselling and best-trending books must ultimately stand on their own merits. They're read because they enrich lives and because they're endorsed, grass-roots style, in lunch rooms and locker rooms and coffee shops--recommended neighbor to neighbor, lover to lover, friend to friend. That they do so over months and years and never stumble speaks...well, volumes.

Captivating a worldwide readership, THE COMPANION OF LADY HOLMSHIRE is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions (http://www.amazon.com/Companion-Lady-Holmeshire-Debra-Bro...). Debra Brown's blog site is found at ( www.authordebrabrown.blogspot.com/2011/05/welcome.html ).

Acclaimed in 17 countries, ARCHANGEL is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions (http://www.amazon.com/Archangel-Michael-Vorhis/dp/0983898502). It is also available at Barnes & Noble in paperback (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/archangel-michael-vorhis/...) and Nook eBook ( http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/archangel-michael-vorhis/1102213409?ean=2940012196200&itm=1&USRI=archangel+vorhis& ) editions. ARCHANGEL is also available through Sony and Kobo bookstores online, the Apple iBookstore online, and at Books Inc. retail stores throughout the San Francisco Bay Area ( http://www.booksinc.net/book/9780983898504 ).

# # #

FreeFlight Publishing is a premiere publisher of highest quality literature, including fiction, true-life drama, high quality humor, and other compelling works.