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Author Spotlight --- Thora Gabriel
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When Thora Gabriel sits down to write, her desire is to make something magical happen. While the magic in her book, Chessie Bligh and the Scroll of Andelthor revolves around flying horses, spells, fantasy rooms and elf wizards, the magic Gabriel hopes to create is based more in reality. “If I can get kids to read,” said Gabriel, “I’ve accomplished what I’ve set out to do.
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After struggling with gatekeepers for over 5 years in the mainstream publishing business, Gabriel set out to launch Chessie Bligh in 2006 with the help of iUniverse. Happy with that decision because of iUniverse’s vast marketing, distribution and ebusiness possibilities, Gabriel has never looked back. Her book has won the Mom's Choice Award Fantasy, Midwest Book Review Fantasy, and it has earned Reader's Choice and Editor's Choice recognition from iUniverse.
“I have a strong marketing background. I was fortunate to have a neighbor who has a book display franchise, and was able to create awareness for my book inserting them directly into over 600 Orange County, Calif., schools. I was able to give away books to the people that really matter: teachers, librarians, reading teachers, principals, and yes, the office workers, school nurses and janitors,” said Gabriel. “Those people are around kids every day and become a virtual sales force after reading the book.”
“I also market heavily using the Web. There are a variety of sites to help you promote, and if you have a book trailer, the possibilities are endless.” The Chessie Bligh book trailer, appearing on YouTube, has been so popular a white paper was presented to Google showcasing it.”
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Throughout the book publishing and marketing process, iUniverse has been there for Gabriel every step of the way. “They recently helped me offer my book as an Amazon Chessie Bligh Kindle Edition! Not only is this a greener way of getting your book read, but it sets you apart as a forward thinking author,” Gabriel said.
Gabriel attended last year’s BEA and ALA Conventions in Los Angeles, helping her break new ground for her book. “The libraries are a major source of distribution. I met a lot of wonderful librarians from across the country. Both events were a huge success. I even got to feature my book at BEA’s author signing event.” In addition, Gabriel belongs to the Independent Book Publisher's Association and Independent Writer's of Southern California. Both organizations have featured her at various writing events and conferences.
Gabriel, who also works in the investment industry, resides in Yorba Linda, Calif., with her husband, two sons and Shih Tzu. She is currently at work on the second installment of the Chessie Bligh series, Return to Antelantiesse. This book will feature dogs that not only walk upright, but they also talk! She hopes to have this second book in her series finished by December.
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