It isn't Amazon but ...

See this logo? What does it look like to you?

Here's what it looked like to me: Amazon Its Very Self.

A few days ago, you may recall, I wrote that Amazon had finally reached out to li'l ol' me. That I'd gotten an email from one Daphne Adams saying she'd read about my novel and thought it deserved a wider audience.

She didn't specifically say she was Amazon ... and I didn't ask. I just assumed.

"When you assume," my son Sam likes to say, "you make an ASS out of U and ME."

The red flags began flying at once.

Thriller author Jeffrey James Higgins was first to call the warning. Jeffrey, who also owns noted literary hangout Elaine's Restaurant in Alexandria VA (where I had a book launch party), cried "Scam!"

The second-floor library at Elaine's Restaurant, Alexandria VA. My book is there somewhere.

Companies like this prey on hungry authors like us, Jeffrey warned. I started feeling a bit stupid.

Next day I went to my doctor for a pre-op physical. (I'm getting a shoulder replacement next month.) "Scam!" my doctor intoned.

Her husband, an author too, gets similar come-ons, she went on. "Have you gotten the one where they promise to get you into the movies?"

No, I responded glumly, I haven't. Not yet.

Working on the new assumption that I was being scammed, I began exchanging emails with Daphne Adams.

I put it to her directly: Are you Amazon? We are an Amazon "strategic affiliate," she responded. Whazzat? "'Strategic affiliate' refers to someone who actively seeks out authors, specifically those published on Amazon, to showcase their potential," she said.

A third-party marketing vendor, in other words.

If I'd bothered to examine Amazon Kindle Network's website, I'd have quickly figured this out. Even though I didn't spot a specific disclaimer -- 'We are not Amazon' -- it was pretty clear what they are and what they do.

They come up clean in an internet search. Something called ScamAdviser scores them 96 out of 100 and publishes satisfied reviews from several clients. Better Business Bureau lists no complaints. Neither do GoodFirms.com, TrustPilot.com nor Clutch.co.

Still ... that logo, that name. Amazon Kindle Network. Do you think it could be ever so slightly deceptive?

I'm moving on, sadder but wiser. The key to Amazon success, as I've written before, is reviews.

The Amazon page for To Do Justice lists 47 reviews averaging 4.7 stars. I need 50 to trigger the algorithm that gets Amazon busy publicizing my novel. I'm really close.

You guys are the reason why. Many -- perhaps most -- of reviews already posted are from you. But I need a few more.

If you've read To Do Justice ... but haven't yet posted a review ... puh-leez do so now. Here's the link.

Frank S Joseph Author

P.S. You can download To Do Justice from Amazon for just $2.99, but here's a better deal: FREE.

I bought 10 Amazon downloads for marketing purposes and three are left. It's first come first served, but if you want to try for one of those freebies -- and pledge to post a review -- shoot me an email.

P.P.S. This is Blog Tour Week. I appeared today at Westveil Publishing and things went nicely. Check it out.

I have seven more stops through Friday. If you missed today, it's not too late. Here's the schedule:

Tuesday Nov. 12: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews

Tuesday Nov. 12: Long and Short Reviews

Wednesday Nov. 13: Kenyan Poet

Wednesday Nov. 13: Fabulous and Brunette

Thursday Nov. 14: Sandra’s Book Club

Friday Nov. 15: Boys’ Mom Reads!

Friday Nov. 15: The Avid Reader