Archive for the ‘Joe’ Category

Writers on Demand: Linda Radwan

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

By Linda Radwan

Almost one year ago I was in my favorite bookstore, as usual, in the Hague. Suddenly, at the counter I spotted a card revealing the following information: ‘Can you imagine a machine that prints, binds and trims titles from a large and ever-growing database of books while you wait? One that even prints your own book?’ I was interested in that last part. This Espresso Book Machine could help me publish my book and I certainly had a book to publish.

I had been searching for a publisher for my book The Beastslayer for a while but I had not found the perfect match… until that day. I quickly sent an e-mail and almost immediately received a reaction from EBM operator Joe Neesan. He told me I could stop by any time and see the Espresso Book Machine.

One year later, after countless covers (well… four, to be specific), several content changes and hundreds of email exchanges with Joe, it all brought me to what you see today.

Writing a book is work, but to truly create it, that’s a lot of blood and sweat. It’s the first step into actually showing the world what you’ve created, to let everyone in your own fantasy world. I changed the content so many times, I changed the lay-out, the cover, all of it because I wanted to be 100% happy with it. Luckily Joe’s perfectionism and patience were there to support my goal. This why I recommend the Espresso Book Machine and Joe’s services to everyone who is seriously considering publishing their work (oh no, Joe, you are going to be even more busy from now on!).

I started writing when I was 11 years old. I have been writing stories, books, you name it but it took years to actually make this first step. I love it! Remember, you must do it all by yourself, read your work a hundred times, make your cover from scratch and deliver the lay-out exactly the way you want it. But in the end you can truly say the book is yours! Believe in yourself, see it come to life before your eyes and well, for the book part, let Joe and the Magic Espresso Book Machine do the rest. Good luck!

ABC’s Favorite Reads of 2012, part VI

Sunday, December 23rd, 2012

Ready for a new entry in ABC’s Favorite Reads of 2012 series? There will be new titles, old titles, magazines, Dutch books, games, fiction, non fiction, anything and everything we read and liked in 2012. We are as diverse as our individual choices and that is what makes ABC unique!

Part VI features Tiemen, Joe and Our-Maarten-of-the-No-Lists. Tiemen is Amsterdam’s Science Fiction & Fantasy buyer.  Joe is the original ABC The Hague crew, and now works mainly with the Espresso Book Machine there.  Maarten, as regular Blog readers will know, is not fond of lists, but always shares them anyway.  :-)   Also, he is the buyer of the Business, History (except for North America and Europe), Intelligence, Political Science, Social Science, True Crime, Controversial Knowledge, and Magic & Occult sections in Amsterdam.

We would love to hear about your favorite reads of 2012, too. Please mail blog@abc.nl with your choices and a picture of yourself (optional). We will post your list at the beginning of the new year and send you an ABC Gift Certificate (so don’t forget to include your home address with your list!).

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Writers on Demand: Katcon winners

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

ABC attended Katcon at Katwijk aan Zee earlier this year and was one of the sponsors for the short story competition. The top five winners were awarded a € 25 ABC Gift Certificate which could be used to publish and print their short story on our Espresso Book Machines. Four of the five winners decided to combine their efforts into one book – Quatrofantasto.

The winners, Stephen Vroom, Corina Onderstijn, Richard Schothans and Marieke Frankema, designed and edited the book and the ABC printed a copy for each of them. They were also able to order copies for friends and family.

ABC was extremely happy with the result and will also be a proud sponsor of Fantastels 2012.

- Joe


ABC’s Favorite Reads of 2011, Part C

Friday, December 16th, 2011

And yet another installment of our Favorite Reads of the Year! Part A is right here, and Part B is here.

These favorites come from Renate, Joe, and Martijn.  Renate is ABC Amsterdam’s Fiction and Poetry buyer, and likes to read while she works.  Joe is another pillar of ABC The Hague, having started the store way back when vinyl was the way to listen to music; he is now one of ABC The Hague’s EBM Operators.  Martijn is ABC The Hague’s newly minted Senior Member, as well as the buyer for the Sports, Humor, and Art/Photography section.

We would love to hear about what YOUR favorite reads of 2011 were, too! They don’t have to be books published in 2011, just read in 2011. Please send your top 5 to blog@abc.nl, and be sure to include your mailing address so we can send you an ABC gift voucher as a thank you. We’ll be publishing your Top 5s at the beginning of 2012, so you have a month to hand them in. Thank you to those who have already mailed them in!

And now, without further ado… the lists!

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What We’re Reading: Den Haag

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Well, what some of the ABC Den Haag crew are reading, in any case:

Ester: Redeye by Clyde Edgerton

Tom: View with a Grain of Sand by Wislawa Szymborska (although he’s undoubtedly reading it in its original Polish)

Nyjolene: Geisha of Gion: The True Story of Japan’s Foremost Geisha by Mineko Iwasaki, translated by Rande Brown

RonZ: Son of Perdition by Wendy Alec

Joe: Naamah’s Blessing by Jacqueline Carey (he also mentioned that his favorite book of the year so far was One Day by David Nicholls)

Sophie: A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin + Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew, One Project at a Time by Deborah Moebes (yes, I’m reading this as much as I’m working through its projects)

Simone: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides (an Advanced Reader’s Copy, lucky woman)