Shepherd.com: the new kid on the book block

Did you know there’s a new kid on the block set up to rival Goodreads? Well, neither did I until the owner of Shepherd.com, Ben Fox, contacted me by email via Kit Domino’s World. At first, I ignored the message, thinking it was another scam or yet another site asking me if I would put a link on mine to theirs and they would pay me. Yeah, right. Like I’m going to fall for that ruse.

A few days later I re-read the email and checked out the website; it sounded all above board. I have not been enamoured with Goodreads since Amazon took it over, so someone setting up an alternative book site for recommendations and listing without the hassle of writing reviews seemed a brilliant idea. I delved deeper.

Ben, was offering to feature my novel White Stones for free on the site. I am still uncertain how he found me or my book, but that is beside the point. The email explained why he was doing this, what I needed to do and was complete with email addresses and links. Although cautious, I took the plunge and accepted the offer.

All I needed to do was recommend five other books in the same genre/topic/theme as mine, and give reasons in 4 or 5 lines each why I liked or recommended these, say a little about my book which could not be a copy of the book’s blurb, and give a short bio about me. In return, Shepherd.com will show and promote mine through the website and marketing channels at no charge.

Recommending five books in the same genre as White Stones was no easy feat for me because my novel is part fiction/part theory/part fact and doesn’t fall into a singular category. But I got there. Here are my book recommendations:

There is no charge for this service. There is a regular newletter and every contact I have had with the Shepherd team and Ben himself has been completely professional. So, my dear friends, be it fact or fiction you write and/or read, Shepherd.com is worth checking out, the site explains everything far better than I could. Every opportunity to promote our work should be explored and pursued and within this site you may well come across authors or books that are new to you.

Shepherd.com deserves to go far and Ben should be congratulated for coming up with this ever-growing and thriving site. Why should Amazon and Goodreads have it all their own way, especially considering how they have been messing authors about of late.

You can find Shepherd.com on Facebook too.

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