Metropolicks Name That Movie Monday!
/"METROPOLICKS NAME THAT MOVIE MONDAY" #MNTMM starts December 15, 2014!
Metropolicks invites you to test your movie trivia. See if you can “name that movie.”
Every Monday we will be posting a photo from a movie that has something to do with a chapter of Metropolicks. Make a guess and come back on Tuesday to find out if you’re right.
VISIT and LIKE our Facebook page, FOLLOW us on Twitter to pay along, or PIN us on Pinterest to pay along.
We're going to be getting busy on social media!
On Wednesdays we'll be posting the "METROPOLICKS Weekly Wednesday Quote" #MWWQ, which will be a quote from the novel Metropolicks or an original quote from us, the co-authors of Metropolicks.
And on Fridays we'll be posting the "METROPOLICKS Fun Friday Quote" #MFFQ.
The METROPOLICKS Book Release Party
/No one has waited as long as we have for this moment, which was FOUR years in the making!
And now we want to CELEBRATE with you, especially those of you who have personally contributed to making Metropolicks happen.
We've booked Toshi's Living Room at the Flatiron Hotel, for the Metropolicks book release party on THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2015, 6-9pm.
It's THE perfect venue for a very special LIVE performance by Jami Jackson, the singer, songwriter of the songs "Let Love Live" and "Keep Walkin' On"- both were featured in the Metropolicks music videos.
What else can you expect to happen at the event?
Lots of photo ops with this gorgeous venue as a backdrop
The appearance of several of the models from the Metropolicks photo shoot.
And of course the "normal stuff" you'd expect at a book release party-- like the reading of an excerpt of the book, but you can bet that it will be done with a little twist.
UPDATE: We will be having three actresses doing a theatrical reading from one of the chapters of the book.
AND what would a book release party be without BOOKS?! Metropolicks is currently only available as an ebook, but we will be raffling off a VERY limited number of printed copies to some lucky winners at the event.
It's going to be a night to remember!
SAVE THE DATE:
METROPOLICKS Book Release Party
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2015, 6-9pm
Toshi's Living Room at the Flatiron Hotel
9 W. 26 St.
New York, NY 10010
UPDATE: Our Eventbrite page for the 1/8/15 Metropolicks Book Release Party is up!
We are asking that ALL guests register/present a ticket booked through Eventbrite. PLEASE RSVP for the event on Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/metropolicks-book-release-party-tickets-14918589904
UPDATE (January 6, 2015): FREE shots of Balls Vodka will be offered at the Metropolicks Book Release party! Come and "get some balls"... While supplies last. So come early!
Thanksgiving Week News
/Thanksgiving week was a big week for us!
On NOVEMBER 26, 2014, the day before Thanksgiving, we released the second Metropolicks music video, "Metropolicks Keep Walkin' On" featuring the song "Keep Walkin' On" sung by Jami Jackson and cameo appearances by each of the 15 models from the July 24th photo shoot. If you haven't already seen it, you can watch it here:
Jide Alao, Kara Xinhang Li, Davide Filippini, Meiko Gavia and David Rodriguez. Photo credit: Maggie Law
Then, on NOVEMBER 27, 2014, Thanksgiving day, our first television interview about Metropolicks, which was with CBS-TV show host Donna Drake for Live it Up! was released!
Shot on location at Maggie's Studio) at the July 24th photo shoot for the Metropolicks book cover and music videos, the segment features an interview with both of us, and footage from the "Metropolicks Let Love Live" music video. Also featured in the segment are the 15 models of the photo shoot: Jide Alao, Sarah Clark, Ryan Dawalt, Davide Filippini, Sheila G., Meiko Gavia, Jason He, Lynda Hinder, Kara Xinhang Li, Andrew Nicholas, Prakash Patil, David Rodriguez, Gabby Jiayin She, Tina Telalyan, Pai-sen Wang; photographer: Maggie Law, hair/makeup/wardrobe: Kristin Mirabelle and Alice Chin.
The METROPOLICKS ebook conversion
/The ebook conversion of Metropolicks turned out to be quite an arduous task as described by Felicia in this blog post.
Besides going through the actual ebook conversion, the other challenge we've faced is the almost nonexistent customer service or help offered to publishers/authors of ebooks. Metropolicks was put up for sale on four major ebook platforms. On three out of four of these platforms, the only way to get help was to go to the respective ebook platform's "Contact Us" page and to write a internal electronic message. Clearly, the customer service on these ebook plaftorms is focused on the consumer side, i.e. helping customers to decide what type of a tablets, products or books to purchase. There were also several resources and ways for customers to resolve their issues/concerns. But for producers of content, like publishers or authors, the same level of support was sorely lacking. The customer service offered on these 2 sides of the business were like night and day.
So with minimal feedback and support from most ebook platforms, it might be a bit of a rocky start the first week or two after our publication date. In these next two weeks we will be dilligently checking for layout and formatting issues in the ebook. And so we welcome all of our readers to give us feedback on this. Please feel free to do so by clicking here and filling out the form on the Metropolicks website. We'd be extremely grateful for any feedback or comments so that we can make any necessary corrections, edits or adjustments to the layout of Metropolicks.
We've already gotten some very enthusiastic responses from readers who immediately started reading Metropolicks the moment it was released at 12:01 AM on Sunday, November 23rd. Thank you we are feeling the love!
It's Publication Day!
/FINALLY, the day has come, November 23, 2014! ALL is being revealed- in more ways than one...
If you think this photo is hot, just wait until you read the book!
In this photo: Jide Alao, Kara Xinhang Li, Davide Filippini, Meiko Gavia, David Rodriguez.
Photo credit: Maggie Law Graphic design: Emily Chen
Today we had a celebratory champagne toast, and now we are looking ahead at the next phase of Metropolicks. A second music video is set to be released soon, and our long awaited book release party is also on the horizon.
We are so excited that the book has finally been published and thankful to our early fans- who were so eager to read Metropolicks that they stayed up last night reading it!
Metropolicks is now available on:
Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1tYdaOm
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/metropolicks
Apple iBookstore: Search for "Metropolicks book"
T minus one day. ALL will be revealed soon!
/TOMORROW, November 23, 2014 is the official publication date of Metropolicks! We are counting down the hours until then. There's less than 24 hours left to pre-order Metropolicks at $5.99.
Writing this book has been a four-year long process. It's been quite a journey to "birth" this book. The title of the book alone has gone through three changes. But the work did not stop when we finished writing the novel. There's been so much work behind the scenes to produce every aspect of this book from the design of the front and back cover, the interior layout, and ebook conversion. If it took us four years to "birth" this book, what has come after has been like a "slow labor"- especially the ebook conversion.
You can bet that we will be celebrating this milestone in our own unique way, as we countdown the hours tonight to the final release.
Next on our "TO DO LIST" will be planning and preparing for the Metropolicks book release party! We just booked a venue for it, and it's perfect!
Metropolicks is available for pre-order on:
Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1tYdaOm
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/metropolicks
Apple iBookstore: Search for "Metropolicks book"
On November 23, 2014 the regular list price of $8.99 will apply.
ONE WEEK left to pre-order METROPOLICKS
/In less than a week the public will be able to read Metropolicks in its entirety! There's still time to get a copy at the pre-order price of $5.99. The regular list price of $8.99 will apply on November 23, 2014.
In the meantime you can download a FREE sample of Metropolicks by clicking here.
Photo credit: Maggie Law Graphic design: Emily Chen
In the photo above: Sarah Clark, Jason He, Tina Telalyan, Pai-Sen Wang, Lynda Hinder, Prakash Patil, Davide Loop Filippini, Gabby Jiayin She, Ryan Dawalt.
ONLY TWO WEEKS left to pre-order METROPOLICKS
/There are only TWO WEEKS left to pre-order Metropolicks at $5.99! Soon you'll be able to you get your hands on your very own copy! The regular list price of $8.99 will apply November 23, 2014.
If you want to get a taste of Metropolicks, you can download a FREE sample of the book by clicking here.
Photo credit: Maggie Law Graphic design: Emily Chen
In the photo above: Sarah Clark, Jason He, Tina Telalyan, Lynda Hinder, Pai-Sen Wang, Gabby Jiayin She, Prakash Patil (Mr. India Galaxy Prakash Patil), Davide Loop Filippini (Davide Filippini official), and Ryan Dawalt.
You can pre-order your own copy of Metropolicks at $5.99 from:
Search for "Metropolicks book"
FREE downloadable sample of METROPOLICKS
/On Friday, we launched a campaign on our Facebook page offering a FREE downloadable sample of Metropolicks. So if you've already LIKED us, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and download your FREE sample of Metropolicks now. If you haven't LIKEd us yet, we hope that we just gave you a reason to.
You can also download a FREE sample of Metropolicks on this website by:
1) clicking on the image of the book cover below OR
2) clicking the blue "Join Our Email List" button located at the top of each page of this site.
ONE MONTH left to pre-order METROPOLICKS!
/A month has already passed since we announced that Metropolicks would be available for pre-order. If you've already pre-ordered the book, there's only one month to go before you'll get the book in your hands. We can't wait to hear what you think when you read it!
If you haven't purchased a copy for yourself yet there's still time to get one for yourself at the pre-order price of $5.99. The regular list price of $8.99 will apply November 23, 2014.
And if you're still undecided, you can download a FREE sample of Metropolicks by clicking here.
Metropolicks book cover models: Davide Filippini, Tina Telalyan, Gabby Jiayin She, Ryan DaWalt
Photo credit: Maggie Law Graphic design: Emily Chen
Metropolicks is now available on:
Search for "Metropolicks book"
Frankfurt Book Fair 2014
/
Earlier this month we attended the Frankfurt Book Fair (October 8-12). It is the largest trade fair for books and publishing in the world. The Messe Frankfurt Convention Center is also where the world's leading trade fair for the automobile industry is held. With eight building complexes, each one almost the size of New York's Jacob Javits Center, it was like the Javits Center on steroids! Much of the convention center had the look and feel of an airport terminal. There were even moving walkways in between the building complexes and also a shuttle that ran around outside of the convention center to transport people in between each of the eight halls.
It was hard to know the entirety of what was happening at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Imagine trying to keep up with all of the events simultaneously happening in eight halls!
Victor Scott Rodriguez
Felicia Lin
On the day we arrived, October 7th, which is technically a day before the book fair exhibits are open, there were some panels and talks. During each session there was a live artist on hand creating an illustrated representation of the topics covered.
Here's an illustration from a discussion about the evolution of ebooks and ereaders.
We wondered what we might be missing out on, so we asked people we met at the fair about the real networking scene, in other words, where did the after hours networking happen? That's how we discovered that the lobby of the very hotel where we were staying at was a late night gathering spot for people attending the Frankfurt Book Fair! On a nightly basis, at 11:00 pm, publishing professions in town for the book fair descended upon our hotel. Like clockwork, soon the lobby was teeming with people networking and drinking. How serendipitous that was! When it comes to "being in the know," the best thing to do it seems, is to take the old fashioned approach, and to just talk to people. In case you're wondering, the hotel we stayed at was Le Meridien Parkhotel Frankfurt.
The most memorable part of being at a book fair like this is meeting and hearing successful authors talk about how they made it. One of these was Ananth, the author of Play With Me, a bestselling novel in India. Ananth is a publishing executive at Penguin Books turned bestselling author.
Felicia Lin and Ananth, author of PLAY WITH ME, a best selling book in India.
We also met Orna Ross, Founder and Director of The Alliance for Independent Authors. What a pleasure it was to meet her in person. Felicia was impressed that Orna remembered her from a Twitter exchange that they had had a few years ago.
Both of us have read Choosing A self-publishing Service 2014 and Opening Up to Indie Authors, which are publications of The Alliance for Independent Authors. We'd highly recommend these publications for indie authors. They are a great resource and must read!
Orna shared this photo that we took together and mentioned Metropolicks on The Alliance for Independent Authors Self-Publishing Advice Blog.
Felicia Lin, Orna Ross, Victor Scott Rodriguez
Orna was on a panel with Kit Berry, the entrepreneurial author of the Stonewylde book series. Kit has quite a following and has created a line of merchandise related to her book series. She first self-published and then later landed a book deal with a publisher, so she was able to share her experiences and perspectives on self-publishing and and being published traditionally through a publisher.
Felicia Lin, Victor Scott Rodriguez, Kit Berry
Also on the panel was Dmitry Glukhovsky, bestselling Russian author of Metro 2034. Dmitry published his first novel Metro 2033 on his website, offering it entirely for free. In 2010, a video game based on Metro 2033 has was released. The book has also been optioned for a movie by MGM Studios.
Felicia Lin, Dmitry Glukhovsky, Victor Scott Rodriguez
And finally, we discovered that the finale of the German Cosplay Championship takes place annually at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Below is an album of some of the photos we took of the cosplay characters we saw that day. You can click on the photo below to go through all the photos. Enjoy!
UPDATE: In late October we learned that we were quoted in a Frankfurt Book Fair press release about StoryDrive 2014. We were definitely impressed by the speakers at StoryDrive, and it's not always easy to impress the two of us New Yorkers! But seriously, Frankfurt was incredible and an experience unlike any other book fair that we've attended previously. You can read the complete press release by clicking here.
Check out all of our social media channels
/All of our social media channels have now been updated with this profile photo:
Photo credit: Maggie Law Graphic design: Michelle Shinagawa
Check us out at:
YouTube: YouTube.com/user/metropolicks
Facebook.com/Metropolicks
Twitter: @Metropolicks
Pinterest.com/Metropolicks
Instagram:
UPDATE: On October 12, 2014 we updated our profile photo on our Linked page: linkedin.com/company/metropolicks
September 20: On Location At Barber Bart's For Our LiVE it UP Interview
/LiVE it UP! hosted by Donna Drake was shooting at WILLiFEST and we were asked to be interviewed along with Jami Jackson, the singer and songwriter of "Let Love Live" (the song featured in the "Metropolicks Let Love Live" music video).
Photo credit: Maggie Law (Felicia Lin, Jami Jackson, Victor Scott Rodriguez)
Our photographer Maggie was on hand to take some photos of us on the set.
(Jami Jackson, Maggie Law)
Photo credit: Maggie Law (Jami Jackson)
Jami and her parents had come up from North Carolina for the interview. Her fiance was also there for moral support.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
The location of the interview was at Barber Bart in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Yes, we were in an actual barbershop! Before the interview we met the very dapper Barber Bart, the owner of Barber Bart.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
We gave Bart and Jami special sneak peak of Metropolicks on Felicia's iPad mini. No one to date has seen the entire contents of Metropolicks. Everyone will have to wait until the pre-order period ends on November 23 to see and read it in its entirely. But for now, you can download three chapters for FREE from iTunes and the iBookstore just search for "Metropolicks book" there.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
Barber Bart was not your average barbershop- notice the pool table smack dab in the middle of the room!
Photo credit: Maggie Law
Look closely and you'll see the hairdryers and barber chairs in the background.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
Here's a photo of one of the lighter moments with Robin, the director of the shoot before the interview.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
First we had to get "miked" for the interview. They actually had to run the microphone wire under our shirts.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
The camera crew was had a great sense of humor and really put us at ease. They actually made it fun to "get miked."
Photo credit: Maggie Law
Here's Robin prepping us before it was time for "Action!"
Photo credit: Maggie Law
Photo credit: Maggie Law
And... we're on!
Photo credit: Maggie Law
Photo credit: Maggie Law
It is always a bit nerve-wracking to have to speak with a camera rolling, but we all got through it fine.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
At ease after the interview.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
Next Jami's parents Caesar and Sandra were interviewed by Howard Henley, guest host of LiVE it UP!
Photo credit: Maggie Law
They talked about how music has always been an important part of Jami's life, but that education always comes first. Jami is getting her PhD in statistics now. Howard did a really great job on the segment with Jami's parents.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
Afterward we enjoyed a few moments with Jami's parents.
Photo credit: Maggie Law
The interview will be on LiVE it UP! on UHETV. Stay tuned for details on when it will air.
Special thanks to: Maggie Law, our photographer who was there to photograph everything for us that day, Donna Drake and Howard Henley, the hosts of the LiVE it UP! show and Robin C. Adams, the director of the shoot.
And, just in case you still haven't watched the Metropolicks Let Love Live music video featuring Jami Jackson's song Let Love Live, you can watch it here:
Unveiling the cover of METROPOLICKS
/We had hoped to be able to include all 15 of the models who were at our July 24th photo shoot, but ultimately, only 10 of the models were included in the photos we choose to use for the cover of Metropolicks. The cover of Metropolicks is meant to conceptually represent the diverse, multi-ethnic, make up of New York City. Hopefully we accomplished that here.
Special thanks to Maggie Law, our photographer and Emily Chen for your graphic design skills and designing the book cover.
Photo credits: Maggie Law Cover design: Emily Chen
Download a FREE sample
ONLY on iTunes and the Apple iBookstore
Just search for "Metropolicks book"
August 27th: Sneak peek of the first METROPOLICKS promo video
/
Before it even goes public, we've decided give you a sneak peek of the video shot during the photo shoot we had on July 24th. The video, shot and directed by Robin C. Adams is part "behind the scenes" of the photo shoot, and part music video.
If you're in New York City on August 27th, this will be your one chance to see the video before it is released online, which won't be until the book is available for sale this fall.
The video is going to be screened at the LUX Connections/WILLiFEST Celebration Event on the 27th. Through LUX Connections and WILLiFEST we are able to offer 100 FREE tickets to this exciting event. You can RSVP for the event at our Eventbite page here: http://metropolicks-sneak-peek-video.eventbrite.com
Several of the models featured in the video will be at the screening!
Here are the event details:
Date & Time: Wednesday, August 27, 7-9pm
Venue: IchiUmi Lounge
Address: 6 East 32nd Street (bet. Madison & 5th Ave.), New York, NY 10016
Subway: B/D/F/N/M/Q/R to 34th St. - Herald Sq.
LUX Connections and WILLiFEST will be celebrating the FIFTH anniversary of WILLiFEST (The Williamsburg International Film Festival, which was co-founded by the director of our video Robin C. Adams). *THREE pairs of VIP tickets to WILLiFEST 2014 will be raffled off at the event!
*SPECIAL THANKS to Mr. Robin C. Adams for your wonderful storytelling ability and for working with us to create the vision we had for the video.
July 24th Photo Shoot
/On July 24th we had a very productive six-hour plus photo shoot with 15 gorgeous, multi-ethnic female and male models. Special thanks to our photographer Maggie Law who worked tirelessly throughout the entire shoot and to our hair and Kristen Mirabelle and Sara Vinick who did the hair and makeup for all 15 models.
A "behind the scenes video" was also shot that day and we had our first television interview with Donna Drake of Live it Up! about Metropolicks!
Photo credit: Maggie Law
Here are just a few of the photos of the shoot captured by Felicia's iPhone that day.
These photos certainly can't compare with the ones our photographer Maggie actually shot. We can't wait to get working on the photos with our graphics designer.
Toward the end of the shoot, one of the models "lost" his shirt. Too bad we didn't get a shot of that, but our photographer did of course. Guess we'll have to see what we can do with those shots...
We're LIVE!
/Welcome to the official website for the romantic comedy novel Metropolicks!
As we get ready to start promotions for the book, the first bit of exciting news is that we will be having a photo shoot on Thursday, July 24th. We have lined up a bunch of gorgeous, multi-ethnic male and female models to participate in the shoot. At the same time, a "behind the scenes video" will be shot and produced. We'd like to think of it as our version of the "Behind the scenes Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoot" video. So get ready for some eye candy in the coming months!
Metropolicks will be available in ebook format.
Mark your calendars: Preorders for Metropolicks will start September 2014!
We have lots more in store and to share with you as we introduce you to the characters of Metropolicks and many of the people who have helped or been a part of making this book happen.
Get ready for the ride!