Stories From a Lifetime Virtual Book Tour June & July 2011

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Join Hugh Aaron, author of the short story collection, Stories From a Lifetime (Stones Point Press), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in June & July 2011 on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About Hugh Aaron

Hugh Aaron, a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, received a Liberal Arts degree in the Humanities at The University of Chicago. For three years as a Seabee he served in the South Pacific during WWII. He was CEO of his own plastics manufacturing business for 20 years before selling it to write full time. Several of his short stories have been published in national magazines and 18 of his essays on business management have appeared in The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Business Not as Usual: How to Win Managing a Company through Hard and Easy Times. Currently he’s writing and producing plays.

His latest book is a short story collection, Stories From a Lifetime.

You can visit his website at www.stonespointbooks.com or his blog at www.businesswisdom.blogspot.com.

About Stories From a Lifetime

Stories from a Lifetime carries readers through a widely diverse series of life’s peaks and valleys with poignant, clear-eyed vision and understanding that is only gradually gained across the course of a lifetime through endurance and honest appraisal of the emotional rollercoaster that we all ride.

These stories form a welcome, and increasingly rare, honest, grounded, and beautifully written collection that will touch nerves while sympathizing with what it means to be human.

Hugh Aaron delicately reveals the world through the innocent eyes of a young boy, through those of a soldier far from home during wartime, and those of a struggling businessman and faltering husband. He is unafraid to reveal panic beneath a façade of success, the deep and hollow sadness that may exist in an outwardly happy marriage, the yearning we feel to make a break for freedom from the rat race, the unexpected emotional responses that shift lives far beyond the expected course of events.

Read the Excerpt!

AN UNUSUAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF GEORGE AMEN
George Amen awoke at his usual hour of 7:00 a.m.; had his usual breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee; smoked his usual first cigarette of the day; kissed his children and wife good-bye; scanned the state of his lawn as he backed his car out of the garage; and joined the usual morning traffic on his way to work. But George Amen never arrived at his office.
In accordance per his usual habit, he drove to the factory in which he had his office, and at 8:25 a.m. approached the driveway to the parking lot. At 8:26 a.m. he passed the driveway to the parking lot, then passed the entrance to the factory itself, and, without so much as a glance, continued into the countryside. This would not be—it suddenly became clear to George Amen—a usual day.
George Amen had not been aware of his intention either at 7:00 a.m. when he awoke or at 8:25 a.m., one minute before he normally would have turned into the parking lot. He was not in a trance; he was not ill. He knew what he was doing the instant he broke his routine. Although he was not aware why, he knew he had to continue driving into the countryside. He had no destination in mind; he simply had to head out on the open road.
At 10:30 a.m. he returned to his home. The children were at school. His wife had washed the breakfast dishes, made the beds, and had planned to spend the afternoon downtown with a neighbor; she was just preparing to sit down with a cup of coffee and a home decorating magazine when she saw George’s car enter the garage. She did not complete filling her cup, but instead put down the pot of hot coffee on the wooden kitchen table and rushed to the back door.
Accustomed to George’s routine of being away from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., she shouted to him in panic as he came up the walk.
“What’s wrong, George?”
George grinned and waved her back inside. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Are you ill?” she asked as she examined his expression, which seemed quite normal.
“No, I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong, absolutely nothing.”
“Then you haven’t been fired or…”
“Don’t be silly. They wouldn’t be that generous.”
George Amen paused for a moment. He stood motionless in the center of the kitchen. His eyes widened and his forehead wrinkled upward. He felt a sensation of surprise.
“So that’s it,” he said.
“What do you mean?” his wife asked.
“I’m not sure.”
George Amen thought nothing was wrong, yet he sensed that everything was wrong. He assured his wife that he felt well, that his spirits were high. Perhaps a little too high, he thought to himself. He was aware of an inexplicable elation.

Here’s what critics are saying about Stories From a Lifetime!

“Stories from a Lifetime fascinates on many levels: stories from the point of view of a child, from that of the people in a community brutalized by the Japanese in war, in the struggle of two lovers torn by guilt, in dealing with inexplicable death. That these stories were written at different stages in Aaron’s life lends a certain charm. Interesting to notice, too, are the variations in his writing style over time, which is particularly enthralling and will surely reel the reader in.”

— Todd Rutherford, Book Reviewer

Stories From a Lifetime Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Monday, June 6

Book reviewed at Life in Review

“I very highly recommend this book. Short stories are nice because you get a lot of stopping points for those of us who are busy moms or just busy and on the go without a lot of reading time at once. I enjoyed the wide range of subjects of his stories. They were written over a lifetime and you can see that when you read them. Some of them are wise and thought provoking, and others reflect characters who are still very much seeking answers. All of the stories are well written and written with honesty and heart.”

Wednesday, June 8

Book spotlighted at Literal Exposure

Thursday, June 9

Interviewed at Literarily Speaking

“Each story, written at a different period of my life, was inspired by what issues were most on my mind at the time. In a sense, the totality of the collection is a disguised autobiography.”

Friday, June 10

Book reviewed at Bri Clark: The Belle of Boise

“A truly remarkable talent for a short shorty series.”

Monday, June 13

Interviewed at Beyond the Books

“Stick to writing only the truth, be honest, write first for yourself, expect both criticism and praise for your work regardless of how good or bad it is.”

Tuesday, June 14

Book reviewed at Ohio Girl Talks

“I found this book to be enlightening and a fun read for me. If you like short stories you need to check out this book.”

Wednesday, June 15

Guest blogging at Broken Teepee

“I found having a book published is the easiest part of bringing a book to print. Promotion is the most difficult, mostly because of the enormous amout of time required to make connections and convince others that you are offering something that would have appeal.”

Thursday, June 16

Book reviewed at Reviews From the Heart

“I remember writing stories from the time I was old enough to really appreciate it and even now it’s something that calls to me on days from time to time. I still have those in a folder from when I was smart enough to begin saving them and even now, I savor and treasure all of my kids stories. I hope to pass them along when they are old enough to appreciate that I saved them.”

Friday, June 17

Book reviewed at One Day at a Time

“This would make a great book for literary clubs to examine, there is much to be found within its pages to give a group something to dissect and discuss. Rainy day readers would also appreciate the stories found within, you can pick the book up and put it down without worrying about where you left off. As well, those of you who enjoy short story collections, this is an excellent book to read and I would recommend it highly!”

Monday, June 20

Book reviewed at Freelancing Parents

“All in all, this book is excellent, and I highly recommend you add it to your list of must read books!”

Thursday, June 23

Guest participant in Literarily Speaking’s June Book Panel

“The experience has been beneficial and not at all exhausting.”

Friday, June 24

Interviewed at As the Pages Turn

“I rarely know how a story will end, but I know how my characters behave.”

Monday, June 27

Interviewed at Blogcritics

“I would like to have written War and Peace because of its enormous scope and amazing writing the puts you there.”

Wednesday, June 29

Book reviewed at Wakela’s World

“These stories form a welcome, and increasingly rare, honest, grounded, and beautifully written collection that will touch nerves while sympathizing with what it means to be human.”

Tuesday, July 5

Book reviewed at Colloquium

“Each story has a message for the reader, a lesson to be learned from Aaron’s own life experiences and keen insight into human nature and foibles.”

Thursday, July 7

Book reviewed at Book Reviews by Molly

“These stories form a welcome, and increasingly rare, honest, grounded, and beautifully written collection that will touch nerves while sympathizing with what it means to be human.”

Interviewed LIVE at Barry Eva’s A Book and a Chat Radio Show

Friday, July 8

Interviewed at The Writer’s Life

“I hope that my readers will find in the collection Stories from a Lifetime several stories that they can relate to.”

Monday, July 11

Book reviewed at Inspired by Savannah

“If you are looking for a great summer read, I highly suggest picking up Hugh Aaron’s book, Stories From a Lifetime today. No matter what your age, you will truly appreciate the stories, and begin to think about the journey you have been on and what lies in.”

Tuesday, July 12

Guest blogging at The Book Bin

“Promotion is the most difficult, mostly because of the enormous amount of time required to make connections and convince others that you are offering something that would have appeal.”

Wednesday, July 13

Book reviewed at Community Bookstop

“Hugh Aaron did a great job writing these short stories. A treasure for anyone to have.”

Thursday, July 14

Book reviewed at Avomnia

“Revealing oneself through guile and veiled words, to be set free from the immutable fetters of the soul and let those notions breathe in characters which speak for you is a tender yet frightful task. Mr. Aaron, through his stories, takes us on a winding journey through heartbreak and discovery, from hollow to full. A glimpse at his stories offers pause for each of us to take time to recall yarns of our own.”

Friday, July 15

Guest participant at Literarily Speaking July Book Panel

“Over the years as the giant bookstore chains established themselves in communities around the country the local bookstores suffered partly because they didn’t have the inventory, the variety, and partly because they couldn’t compete on price.”

Monday, July 18

Book reviewed at The Book Faerie Reviews

“There is truly a story for everyone in all kinds of situations within this book and once you’ve read them, you’ll eventually find yourself sharing it with another. I for one, will be sharing this lovely collection of stories with those at the office.”

Tuesday, July 19

Book reviewed at The Book Faerie Reviews

Wednesday, July 20

Interviewed at Book Marketing Buzz

“The publisher paid for all costs of promotion but did not advertise the book.”

Monday, July 25

Book reviewed at Celtic Lady’s Reviews

“Written with honesty, wit and candor, this collection of stories will appeal to a wide audience.”

Tuesday, July 26

Interviewed at Pump Up Your Book

“My childhood was happy despite our poverty during the Great Depression. I felt very free and motivated in everything I tried to do.”

Thursday, July 28

Interviewed at Review From Here

Interviewed at Broowaha

Friday, July 29

Book reviewed at Back Seat Writer

Interviewed at American Chronicle

Interviewed at Divine Caroline

Hugh Aaron’s STORIES FROM A LIFETIME VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘10 will officially begin on June 6 and end on July 29 ’11. Please contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@yahoo.com if you are interested in hosting and/or reviewing his book or click here to use the form. Thank you!

If you would like to book your own virtual book tour with us, click here to find out how!

Award-Winning Book Publicity Company Since 2007

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR, BLOG TOUR & BOOK PUBLICITY ENDORSEMENTS: NICE THINGS PEOPLE SAY ABOUT PUMP UP YOUR BOOK

NEW! "Thank you Dorothy for a lovely tour! Thanks so much for the graphics and wonderful trailer!!"Avery Sterling, PRECIOUS BURDENS

"I just wanted to thank you for everything. You ARE the queen. Your are so personable and professional. Your graphics soared beyond. They are beautiful. It was a pleasure to work with you."Jude Hopkins, BABE IN THE WOODS

"THANK YOU for all of these graphics!!! That was a valuable added perk of working with you on the VBT! Thank you for all the work you put into those, and into the organization and follow-ups on the tour itself. It's been a pleasure working with you, Dorothy!"Allyson Rice, The Key to Circus-Mom Highway

"Oh, awesome!! Thank you so much! You ran such a lovely tour. Those images are great, I look forward to using them and will miss seeing the regular postings on Twitter ;-).
I really appreciate your steadfast and ongoing support. It means a lot!!"Palmer Pickering, MOON DEEDS

"Just wanted to send you a quick note to say thank you again for the amazing blog tour and to tell you that we will be adding the tour to Mark's author website in the next few days. We will of course be recommending your company to other authors we know. And when Mark's next book is out, we will use your services again." Kirsten Grenside on behalf of Mark Grenside, FALL OUT

"Thank you for all the great, creative, work you have done on behalf of my book. You are
a special lady, as a kind hearted woman and a professional."
Maria Andrade, DEFIANCE AND REDEMPTION

"Everyone did an excellent job. The blog pages were beautiful, and the trailer was so clever and funny. Thanks for sending these lovely "souvenirs" from my tour. I will be able to use all of these posts on Twitter. I enjoyed this so much and look forward to my next tour!"
Irene Woodbury, HONEYMOON ROULETTE

" I am delighted with the results of my recent tour with Pump Up Your Book. Dorothy is meticulous and professional, presents beautifully laid out pages, maintains constant contact with the client, and gives more than expected value for money. In a nutshell: you get what you pay for and more on top! I will certainly be using Dorothy’s services for my other Regency romance books.”
Arabella Sheraton, THE LORD BLACKWOOD REGENCY ROMANCE SERIES

"Thank you so much for The Shadow of Atlantis tour. I've really enjoyed all the posts and seeing my book being promoted. I will definitely come back to you with another of my titles!"
Wendy Leighton-Porter, THE SHADOW OF ATLANTIS

"Thank you so much for the great job on the book tour! Pump Up Your Book was a driving force in the launch of THE PILATE SCROLL!"
M.B. Lewis, THE PILATE SCROLL

"Thank you ever so much - it was a fun tour. I will continue singing your praises to my fellow authors. And grateful for the images, I will put them to continued use."
Kathleen Shaputis, HIS KILT DROPPED HERE

"I appreciate you and your hard work. Thank you for creating these awesome images for my book and allowing me to use them. I am very thankful to have them!"
Joni Ankerson, TO KILL OR BE KILLED

"Thank you for an Amazing Virtual Book Tour for Son of a Soldier! I really appreciate all the work you put into it!"
Aiken Brown, SON OF A SOLDIER

"Thanks so much for getting ANNA INCOGNITO out there and reviewed and shared with so many people. It was great to see it on so many twitter feeds!"
Laura Preble, ANNA INCOGNITO

"Thank you so much for such a fantastic tour! You did an amazing job getting it together so quickly, and I couldn’t have been happier!"
Lena Gregory, GRAVE CONSEQUENCES

"Thank you so much Dorothy! I appreciate your hard work. Love the graphics!"
Jennifer Chase, FLOWERS ON HER GRAVE

"This has been one of the best things I’ve done as an author. Not only am I getting the word out about my books but I’m learning about my own work and my readers along the way. I love it!"
Elysia Strife, A PROMISE IN ASH

"Today my blog tour ended, with another great review which made me end the tour with a big smile! What a fun way to end this incredible 4-week tour. I will surely miss it. I want to thank you for arranging it so well and for being there for me whenever I needed. Thank you!!!"

Miri Leshem-Pelly, SCRIBBLE & AUTHOR

"I think you did an excellent job last time, thank you!"
Shami Stovall, KNIGHTMARE ARCANIST

"Just wanted to thank you for the book tour. :) You did a great job. :)"
Suzanne M. Hurley, THE TEDDY BEAR EYE CLUB

"I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful virtual tour in August for Brimstone and Water. I was very happy with the amount of attention given to the book and to me. I am mentioning it to friends on line that haven't gone to the site yet to be sure and take a look. Thanks for all your work."
Sharon House, BRIMSTONE AND WATER

"Thank you for running my book promotion for BlackJack. I am so pleased with the reviews that came in and appreciated all you did. My sales have improved from being around 800,000 down to the 200,000 on Amazon and hopefully dropping still. I will definitely be contacting you for a promotion again."
Christine Donovan, BLACKJACK

"You’ve been a joy to work with, and I’d do another tour with you in a heartbeat. Overall, it was an excellent experience and a good value. I’ll be sure to look you up when it’s time to release my next book."
Michael Allan Scott, GREY DAZE

"Just wanted to thank you for putting together a great tour for You Won't Remember This. I think the author was pleasantly surprised and overall very pleased."
Bacon Press Books

"Dorothy, thanks so much for another great VBT!!! The Twitter-Party was a new feature this time that I particularly enjoyed. I will continue to recommend PUYB to my writer-friends, because you are simply the best!!!"
T.M. Wallace, WINTERGARDEN

"Thank you for a great blog tour for my “Depression and Your Child.”
I’m in the middle of my third book and will definitely call on you again when it’s time to market it."
Deborah Serani, DEPRESSION AND YOUR CHILD

"Your hard work and professionalism hasn't gone unnoticed. When I release my next novel(s), I will definitely use your service. I have already recommended you to several authors."
Ashley Fontainne, GROWL

"Thanks for a very good experience with Pump Up Your Book. Fighter Pilot's Daughter has sold out of the first printing (still available as POD on Rowman & Littlefield's site, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.). My editor at R & L says there's a very good chance the book will come out in paperback in the summer. He asked me "Did you hire a publicist or something?" I told him about you, and he was impressed."
Mary Lawlor, FIGHTER PILOT'S DAUGHTER

"You are amazing Dorothy and I love what you do to get the spirit of our books out to the world. Thank you!"
Lee Papa, TEMPLE OF ALL KNOWING

"I can't believe the response this book is getting! I am so very thrilled that she liked it!!! You are THE BEST, Dorothy, for hooking up this amazing tour with all these stunning reviews! This was the book I was going to keep under my bed forever and ever and now WOW. I can't believe this is happening. It's like a dream come true!"
Madeline Wynn, DAUGHTER OF THE FALLEN

"Just wanted to say I'm appreciating your tweets so much. This is really helping my book sales, and I'm telling writer friends about you."
Mary Lawlor, FIGHTER PILOT'S DAUGHTER

"Thank you SO much!!!! I had a blast on the tour and appreciate all the time the bloggers and reviewers spent promoting Ash to Steele:)"
Karen-Anne Stewart, ASH TO STEELE

"When it comes to looking for a virtual book tour coordinator, Dorothy Thompson of Pump Up Your Book Tours is simply the best. I have tried several virtual book tour coordinators and have even set up a book tour on my own, but none of them were as successful as my tours with Pump Up Your Book Tour, which has the combination of expertise and experience needed to get the author the results they need. On this latest tour, TWELVE TO MURDER made it up to number three on Amazon! Thank you, Dorothy!"
Lauren Carr, Best-Selling Mystery Author of Mac Faraday, and Lovers in Crime, Mysteries

"Thank you again for all of your help and support for my recent book tour. You were so supportive and responsive, and I enjoyed working with you. It was a great tour and I really enjoyed it, especially when my book hit the top 100 in the two subcategories! That was awesome! Thanks for "pumping up my book!""
Monique Roy, ACROSS GREAT DIVIDES

"Thank you for another amazing tour, Dorothy!! I loved the sites I had an opportunity to visit and the people I met along the way. I even made a few new friends and found wonderful supporters that I'll never forget - I promise! The exposure you gave my book was absolutely unbelievable, and I can't think of a better way to welcome and expose an author's new creation to the literary world. Happy New Year to all your readers and may your success continue to grow. "
Kaylin McFarren, BURIED THREADS

"Thank you for a great virtual book tour. I thought it went really well and it was great to have a wave of PR that flowed through the two month period of my book release. I'm working on my next book - and will definitely reach out to you when it comes time to market! You were a delight to work with and really made me feel looked after. As I've mentioned before, I just don't know how you do it all."
--Deborah Serani, DEPRESSION AND YOUR CHILD

"I just wanted to let you know how wonderful I felt my book blast went for Be Careful What You Wish For in the month of August. So many emails and contacts that I would never have gotten. The publicity was just phenomenal!"
--R.K. Avery, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

"Just wanted to touch base with you and extend a huge thank you for the wonderful and successful book blast you arranged for Love Vindicated for me. I was very happy with your services and will be passing your name and brand along to some writer friends with a stellar recommendation. Again thanks and I look forward to working with you again in the future."
--Lila Munro, LOVE VINDICATED

"Thank you so much for all your hard work in putting together the virtual book tour for The Sixth Power. I appreciate it so much."
--Carol Nicolas, THE SIXTH POWER

"Thank you SO MUCH for such a great blog tour!"
--Sandra D. Bricker, ALWAYS THE BAKER, FINALLY THE BRIDE

"Wow - you are absolutely fantastic. Can't believe how lucky I was to find you :)"
--Jo Sparkes, THE BIRR ELIXIR

"I just wanted to let you know that tonight Steven Manchester's Twelve Months became The Story Plant's first #1 Kindle bestseller. This couldn't have happened without you. Barb's cover is an absolute showstopper, Sue's copyediting boosted the overall work, Jackie's proofreading kept all of us honest, and Tracee Gleichner's blog tour started what has become an avalanche of great reviews."
-- Lou Aronica, STORY PLANT

"Blog tours have been the most effective promotion I’ve done. Dorothy Thompson and her company Pump Up Your Book are the greatest. I’ve spent money with other promotion companies that advertised packages then didn’t deliver the service they advertised, inflated their audience and reach and point blank falsely represented themselves. Dorothy has been a Godsend, and by far, her services are the best promotional endeavors I’ve invested in thus far."
-- Alicia Singleton, DARK SIDE OF VALOR

"I didn't realize that there is a place on amazon that you can see your stats for foreign sales; mine are really good and I believe it is your tweeting service. I think I might have found the key to successful self-publishing when I found Pump Up Your Books."
-- Suzanne Jenkins, PAM OF BABYLON SERIES

"Dorothy Thompson helped promote my book, Gringos in Paradise: Our Honduras Odyssey. Taking part in it was so much easier (and less expensive) than the travel schedule I was hving to keep doing on my own. She set up everything, coached me through my part, and I found my book and I promoted it all over the Internet. It definitely increased my book sales."
-- Malana Ashlie, GRINGOS IN PARADISE

"Dorothy was not only a lot of fun to work with but she helped me get the word out about my book. I would recommend her to both debut and experienced authors."
---Deborah Woehr, PROSPERITY: A GHOST STORY

“Dorothy is a firecracker promoter. She is skilled at finding the most visible placements in promoting your book with unmatched enthusiasm.She is creatively talented and a wonderful person to have on your team.”
--Kathy Holmes Eckardt, REAL WOMEN WEAR RED

“I invested in a three month virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Books promotions for my noir thriller, Moonlight Falls. Not only did the marketing campaign work wonders for spreading the word about the new novel, in the very last month, on the very last day of the tour, Moonlight Falls became an Amazon Kindle bestseller!”
–Vincent Zandri, MOONLIGHT FALLS and THE REMAINS

“I’m so pleased every day when I look at Google Alerts and see our titles all around the blogosphere, so thanks for that!”
–-World Ahead Media

“This has been a wonderful experience. Dorothy Thompson and her whole team are very committed to each author, take each author’s tour very seriously, and work towards maximum exposure in the right places. This is the best book promotion expenditure I’ve made in terms of return on investment. I highly recommend Pump Up Your Book Promotion.”
--Phyllis Zimbler Miller, MRS: LIEUTENANT

"I used Pump Up Your Book promotions a few months ago for my novel, Nephilim. My publisher is a great person, but when it comes to promotions, she encourages authors to do that on their own. Enter Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book. I had 8 reviews of the book and was featured as a guest author every day of the week at various websites during the month that I used her company. Amazing! She secured everything for me which was really nice and I didn't have to do anything but write a few blogs or answer interview questions. I would use Pump Up Your Book again in a heart beat!"
--Mary Ann Loesch, NEPHILIM

Visit here to find out what others have to say!

Follow Us!

Click on image to see who’s touring in March!

Book Mockup Graphics for $49!

Click on image to find out more!

PUYB Book Trailer of the Week

Raising the Dead by Jayne Lisbeth

Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach