Amarillo in August
Jonathan Miller
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2004 Cool Titles
ISBN: 0967392055

An Author's Life on the Road.

Author Jonathan Miller is on a mission. His life is falling apart & his only option to put food on the table involves hitting the road to hawk his novel. Join Jon on his wacky road trip as he meets “Harry Potter”, a really out-there cab driver, a girl with a voice of an angel, & many others who “assisted” him on his travels.

Sr. Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

A perfect antidote for any wannabe author who is now in doldrums. That's the perfect way to describe this book by lawyer turned writer Jonathan Miller.

It is hard to write a book, & harder to write fiction -- you've got to have a creative edge -- even harder to get it published & hardest of all to get it sold. Take it from me -- I know it, for I have felt it, (rather am still feeling the pain). So when attorney Jonathan Miller began writing a novel, little did he think that his whole life would turn around.

After ten long years of hard work & toil finally Rattlesnake Lawyer was published. And Miller was a proud man. But the hard work did not end there- for he now had the more arduous task of selling his book –- & the experiences he had, the lows & the highs, the morale boosters & morale crackers -- all are told in vivid detail with a humorous touch in Amarillo In August.

The author is candid about his book & also does not make tall claims about Rattlesnake Lawyer -- at the outset itself he admits that he had a hard time selling the work; & this down-to-earth honesty is praiseworthy.

Amarillo In August is significant in another way. It really proves that seldom are bestsellers made -- they are all creations of the media. Thousands & thousands of books, much better than the Grishams, Pattersons & Clancys are written by many an author; but due to paucity of funds or contacts they are never published- & if published, due to poor marketing, are relegated to the back shelves. Jonathan Miller proves that just by creative use of one's own funds, hard work & determination you can make your book sell -- & become a true bestseller in the true spirit of the term.

I found Amarillo In August a morale booster, & in spirit reminiscent of the Irving Wallace classic The Writing Of One Novel -- based on the Wallace's experiences in writing the novel The Prize.

A good read, highly recommended for wannabe authors.

More from Jonathan Miller: Crater County
(10/09/05)

Narayan
2005©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org