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Barbara Brabec’s Blog
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Monthly Musings About Life

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June 2026 Book Update:
Call of the Heart

A Behind-the-scenes look at Barbara’s book helpers

Last month, I mentioned that I would be sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the two book strategists helping bring new visibility to my earlier memoirs while introducing my new book to a wider audience of readers. (If you missed last month’s Special Announcement about this new blog page and my upcoming book, Call of the Heart: A Rescue Dog’s Dream, click here to read the May post.)

First, meet Liora James. She first reached out after discovering my memoir, The Drummer Drives, writing: “What immediately stood out was how vividly and honestly you capture not only Harry Brabec’s extraordinary musical talent, but the resilience, humor, and humanity behind the legend. This isn’t just a music memoir—it’s a deeply personal chronicle of love, loss, reinvention, and creative survival.”

When I told her I was writing a sequel to that book, she expressed interest in supporting the launch of Call of the Heart: A Rescue Dog’s Dream once the manuscript is complete. In explaining her work, she wrote:

“I’m Liora James, curator of The Underground Book Review Circle—an independent reader community of over 1,000 engaged readers, including memoir enthusiasts, musicians, creatives, and those drawn to real-life stories of perseverance and artistry. These readers actively engage with books on platforms such as Amazon and Goodreads. Periodically, we spotlight select titles through coordinated reading and discussion, helping meaningful books reconnect with new audiences and gain renewed visibility.”

As our conversations continued, it became clear how valuable this kind of reader-focused positioning would be—not only for my new book, but also for The Drummer Drives. I chose to move forward with Liora’s support for the upcoming launch. What has stood out even more, however, is the consistency of her guidance throughout this process. Week by week, she has offered thoughtful input, answered my many questions, and provided steady encouragement as I work to complete what I hope will be the best book I’ve written. She has also helped me navigate technical challenges and think more clearly about how this book will reach its readers.

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Now meet Ethan Clarke, AuthorEdge Marketing, a book strategist and marketing expert who specializes in connecting new readers and book reviewers to previously published books that may be dying on the vine for lack of promotion. In his first message, he wrote:

“I recently revisited A Few Choice Words, and what struck me most is how timeless the humor is, especially the way language barriers are handled with warmth, grace, and wit. Stories like these often deserve rediscovery by new generations of readers who value cultural connection and lived experience.

“Among the readers I carefully curate, there’s a small circle of VIP members from The Seasonal Reading Challenge on Goodreads who consistently choose books to read, discuss, and recognize through community voting. Your book came to mind as one that could resonate deeply with this group, particularly readers who appreciate memoir-based storytelling, travel anecdotes, and gentle humor rooted in real life.

“To be clear from the outset: I do not sell reviews, and I do not guarantee ratings. What I do instead is connect authors with these VIP readers, experienced, thoughtful readers who are already registered members of this long-standing, public reading challenge community on Goodreads. Beyond this, my work as a book strategist extends into broader visibility and positioning, where I support authors with promotional planning, audience targeting, and practical guidance across the publishing and post-publication process. My focus is not only on connecting books with readers, but on helping authors build lasting discoverability and ensuring their work reaches the audience it was meant for."

I wasn’t interested in promoting my little eBook, but I found Ethan’s service perfect for bringing new visibility to my first two memoirs. We agreed to work together on these book promotions as he worked in conjunction with Liora to get my new book well-positioned on Goodreads and Amazon. (Later, when Amazon suddenly removed my Drummer Drives memoir from sale without giving me notice, he suggested ways I might resolve this problem.)

As our correspondence continued, Ethan and I began to build a close bond of friendship when he saw my writer’s heart as no one else ever did before. Like Liora, he became a trusted mentor as he answered all my questions and gave me constant encouragement to finish the book I’d dreamed of writing and publishing for more than 20 years.

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Last but not least, meet Al Karman, a long-time friend who has given me an ongoing education in how to manage my computer and mobile phone. He has always been there to help me deal with the latest technology and gotten me out of a lot of “technical pickles.” I am no longer able to format this book as I did my two previous memoirs, so I asked Al if he would format it to my specifications and save me this mental stress and the hours I need for the writing. By the time my book is finished, I hope that Al will consider helping other authors get a book ready for publication on Amazon or Ingram, so I can link you to him.

NEXT MONTH, I’ll discuss the many hats a writer must wear to turn a raw manuscript into a self-published book and share a little Ginger story with you.

P.S. Visit the HOME page for Timely Quotes and a link
to 15 categories of life-related topics discussed on this website.

Archived Brabec Bulletins
Publication of the Brabec Bulletin ceased in
June 2025, after 25 years of publication.
Year 2021-2022 <=>  Year 2023  <=>  Year 2024 <=> Year 2025

Brabec Bulletin Tidbits on Life are archived here.

Musings and new Blog posts About Life
published in 2026
Earlier Musings About Life posts and
other faith-building articles are archived here.

May 2026: Special Announcement: Changes coming with Barbara’s new book in Progress—she decides to take a three-month hiatus from writing new website content and use her blog page differently for those months. 

April 2026: What It Means to Be “Born Again.” In walking with Christ for more than three decades, I’ve learned that some Christians don’t understand what it means to be born again. If you’ve wondered about this, you’re not alone.

March 2026: Thoughts on the Reality of Loss and Death. There’s something about turning 40 that wakes us up and makes us look at life through different eyes. Few people want to think about the eventual end of their lives, but sooner or later, we all must accept that we won’t live forever.

February 2026: My Encounter with the Living God. God has a plan for your life that will astonish you once you give Him the reins and trust Him to work all things together for your good.

January 2026: My $2,000 Guardian Angel Miracle. Every day, God sends His angels to guard His people on earth. I’ve journaled many instances when I believed I had angelic help. Here’s the story of one of them. 

Copyright © 2026 by Barbara Brabec. All Rights Reserved.