5-Star Review on Amazon

Bloated Goat received a new 5-star review on Amazon recently.


Grannyreader writes, "I read this with my Granddaughter and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a bit mischevious and absurd, but funny and it was lovely to hear my Granddaughter laugh so much. Fun stuff. I recommend it to everyone for a cheeky giggle."


Hmm...I wonder if Grannyreader is related to Granny Hammy?

Isaac Asimov Autobiography

I.Asimov: A Memoir is a touching, intimate look into one of the greatest scientific and creative minds ever to grace this fair planet. Written shortly before Isaac passed away (and edited by his faithful wife Janet), the various stories took me through a roller coaster of emotions. Never at a loss for words, the book totals more than 500 pages (and none of it is boring). He just has a way with words that makes it so easy to follow his thoughts, dialogue, and feelings on far too many topics to mention here. The memoir is technically his third autobiography with the the first two coming two decades earlier. It is only fitting for the most prolific and relevant author of the 20th century to have three autobiographies. This book is absolutely a must read for any science fiction or Asimov fan. It is full of wonderfully funny, thoughtful, and poignant observations over the 72 years of his interesting life. My only regret is not having read it earlier, and of course, not being able to meet him in person. Alas, he passed away when I was only 12 years old. Rest well, Isaac Asimov...you deserve it.

New Cover Art for Bloated Goat

I'm very excited about these new changes to Bloated Goat.

1. Brand new cover art.

2. Newly updated text now totaling over 20,000 words.

3. Even funnier than before.

More Bloated Goat Reviews

Bloated Goat received two great reviews recently. The first one is from Amazon, and the second is from Barnes and Noble Book Clubs.

1. "I've been reading The Bloated Goat on the subway to and from work for the past few days. It got to be really embarrassing because I would be sitting there cackling like a crazy train lady amid the silent, serious strap-hangers. I am going to read it again, just to relish some of my favorite ridiculous moments. Mr. Peterson's silly turn of phrase is effortless, and seems to emit from a genuinely funny person, not just someone trying to be funny for posterity. I was impressed with the diverse cast of characters; sometimes a lot of characters can be hard to follow, but they were all so distinct and original, linked together with a common thread of madness and hilarity. I loved every one of them. After a stressful night at work, I always looked forward to reading a few more pages of this story about friends, feathers and flatulence."

2. "Just finished this book. Not so sure it is suitable for kids per se -- maybe pre-teens and up -- because of the hilarious, convoluted story line. This was a fun book to read. I especially enjoyed the heroic, yet loopy, Maxine. Maybe her friends can invest in a pair of eyeglasses. Crazy Ned was a riot, too. Thanks for the laughs, Manley. Well done."

Bloated Goat Sales - 7 Months

Well, here are my current sales numbers for Bloated Goat after roughly 7 months. This includes Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords. I'm very happy to have passed 350 sales, but as you can see, my sales have really dropped off from the holiday rush of December/January. I think I have a few negatives going for me:

1. Until a week ago, I only had one book for sale. The second being a short story collaboration called Twelve Worlds. This limits my exposure, and makes it easy for Bloated Goat to fall off the rankings.
2. Bloated Goat is a children's book, which I have found doesn't sell as well as other fiction in the e-book world.
3. My book cover isn't professionally done. It was created by my wonderful daughter and I love it. It justs seems raw and cute and perfect for the story. But, I'm sure some readers would look at that and pass it over.

The Father of Robots

I've been on a big Isaac Asimov kick lately. I had read all of Asimov's Foundation (Foundation Novels) series about ten years ago and remember thoroughly enjoying them. As I was looking at my bookshelf a few days ago, I happened upon my stash of Asimov Robot books which I hadn't read yet. So, flash forward a few days and I've already finished Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and I'm halfway through The Complete Robot. It is so amazing to see how well these science fiction stories (that he created over 50 years ago) still hold up.

So, to carry on the tradition of entertaining stories, you can enjoy new science fiction and fantasy in Twelve Worlds. With all author proceeds going to charity, I'm sure Asimov would have approved.

Bloated Goat on IndieSpotlight

Bloated Goat is featured on The Indie Spotlight this week. I also contributed a small author interview to read, too.

Twelve Worlds Anthology Available Now

I have a fantasy short story called Incubators appearing in an e-book called Twelve Worlds (science fiction and fantasy anthology). It is available on Kindle for $2.99 and coming soon to other formats. Author royalties will be donated to the Reading is Fundamental charity. There are more than a dozen stories totaling over 80,000 words.

Non-Fiction YA Book - Scams!

My daughter brought home a non-fiction young adult book from the library a few days ago called Scams! (True Stories from the Edge). It had an interesting War of the Worlds cover image, so I thought I'd give it a little look-see. Well, within a few minutes I was enthralled, and a  few hours later, I was done reading it. The book is full of exciting and unique true stories about the world's greatest scam artists - deceivers who pull off the most fantastic plots and the mass of people that fall for it. I really like stories of this nature, and the author, Andres Schroeder, has produced a well-written and entertaining book. There are several more books in the series, and I can't wait to check them out.

Blog Redesign and Info

Well, I'm celebrating my 31st birthday with a new blog design. I hope you like the new banner graphic and color scheme. I think it is much better than the stark white and baby blue of yesteryear.

I'm in the middle of writing a few different stories right now, so I hope to have something published by this summer. Both are middle grade books and feature crazy characters - which is starting to become my M.O.

Also, I have a fantasy short story called Incubators coming out in the Twelve Worlds Anthology e-book sometime this month.  All proceeds going to charity. I'll have more details closer to launch.

Deja Vu: Nice Review for Bloated Goat

Bloated Goat is featured on Grace's MotherLode. She liked Bloated Goat and gave it 4 Stars in her review.

You can read it here: http://gracekrispy.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-bloated-goat-by-manley-peterson.html