Today I have the wonderful Geri Dunlap Clouston sitting
round my pool. 'Geri thanks for digging yourself out of the deep snow we all
hear you are suffering. Please settle down in the sun because I am dying to
learn all about IndieBRAG and why you founded this amazing group.'
I know you as the President of IndieBRAG, what is IndieBRAG?
B.R.A.G.
stands for Book Readers Appreciation Group, indie of course tells you we read
self-published books. Our reading team
now is approaching 200 in 12 countries (we are always looking for more!) A unanimous decision by a group reading a
specific book earns a book a B.R.A.G.Medallion and we then try to shine a light
on this worthy book.
You
are the founder, what inspired you to create IndieBRAG?
Who
are involved in the Group?
Our
reading group is made up of ordinary people with a passion for reading―not
editors, publishers, or literary experts. These are readers who love a good
story and enjoy a well-written book, one that will not disappoint them.
Can
you tell us about your BRAG Awards
Our
process involves an initial screening of all nominated books to ensure that
they meet certain minimum standards of quality and content. If a book passes
this screen, it is then sent out to readers who have indicated an interest in
that particular genre. The readers evaluate the book based on a number of relevant
criteria and the final factor they use to judge it is whether they would
recommend to their best friend. If the
group unanimously says “yes”, we honour it with our B.R.A.G.Medallion. Our readers
do not have any contact with the author, or know who else is reading the book.
We feel this is important so that they can make a decision without any influence
from the author, other readers, or us at indieBRAG. We do not make public the titles of books
that are rejected or the names of their authors. We also keep the names of our
readers confidential to protect them from the “trolls” that often attack
reviewers.
How
do you get your messages out?
Wow,
that is a big job! We attend as many SP book
events as we can and we do a great deal of social media work. When a book receives our Medallion, we
consider that author part of our indieBRAG “family" and we hope they will help
promote indieBRAG. We believe that by
telling the world about indieBRAG and the B.R.A.G.Medallion, all our honourees
benefit.
Who
can be considered for a BRAG Award?
We
consider self-published books that are commercially available. Our focus is on fiction but we will
selectively consider non-fiction as well. We do not accept picture books
(except children’s books), poetry or technical books. I cannot emphasize enough
to potential nominees that the number one reason a book is eliminated is poor
editing. Authors must make sure their
book is the very best it can be before nominating the book–they will rarely get
a second chance for a good first impression!
Where
do you see IndieBRAG in 18 months time?
We
are very proud of the fact that the B.R.A.G. Medallion is rapidly becoming
recognized in the world of self-publishing as a seal of excellence. Over the
next 18 months we expect to continue to build on that track record. As a
result, we are being asked to speak at book events and have several lined up
for 2014.
We
are certain that anyone looking for a good book can feel confident that one
with the B.R.A.G. Medallion will be well worth their time and money. And we sincerely
believe that our Medallion books are every bit as good as those that were traditionally
published. These books can all be found at: www.bragmedallion.com
Now for some quick fire questions so we can get to know
you a little more….
Favourite
colour?
Right
now I would say green- but it seems I pick blue whenever decorating!
Sun
bathing or snow boarding?
That’s
an easy one for me- I am a winter person, which is a good thing since it has
snowed every day since Christmas.
Although I don’t snowboard, I love downhill skiing. In fact, I married my ski instructor 43 years
ago!
Sports
car of 4 wheel truck?
I
don’t have a truck but I do have a 4 wheel drive SUV. We live in the country and also have a
Malamute – a very big dog, so a sports car just wouldn’t do (even though my husband
loves Corvettes.)
If
you won the lottery, what would be the 3rd thing you would buy?
The
3rd thing, hmmmmm...1st & 2nd are easy but
3rd? Well, probably a share
in my son’s independent film production company. I am a movie fan and would love to be a
bigger part of his world!
Do
you prefer take away or homecooking?
I
love to cook! However, most nights it would be take away-
What
memory do you have from your twenties?
I
have such great memories of those days.
I graduated from nursing school, which I loved. After that, I went off to Europe with 2
friends and spent most of a year travelling and living in a small motor
home. It was a much different and safer
time and it had a very profound effect on the person I am today.
Thanks Geri, for sharing this information I am sure
authors and readers will appreciate the true value of the coveted BRAG Medallion
Award.
Links for Geri and IndieBRAG
2 comments:
Ha-ha! Another great interview. Clever and fun lady. Good questions - enjoyed the answers xxx
Hi Madalyn, thanks for meeting Geri, an amazing lady who is shining a bright light for all Indie Authors. x
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