Mimi Johnson’s Gathering String ranks No. 1 in free political fiction on Amazon right now, 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, a promotional free day. The novel also ranks No. 7 among free contemporary fiction offerings and No. 23 among all free books on Amazon. The price goes back up to $5.99 tomorrow.

Gathering String is beating considerable competition in all 3 categories: 21 offerings altogether in political fiction and more than 100 in both contemporary and all books (the rankings just show the top 100).

If you have read Gathering String, especially if you’ve taken advantage of a free day, the author/publisher would appreciate a review or at least a like.

In addition, Gathering String is the selection for an Iowa book club:

@stevebuttry @mimijohnson Carla Offenburger’s book club in Greene County IA ordered “Gathering String” today to read for upcoming session.

— Chuck Offenburger (@chuckoburger) May 19, 2012

And another happy reader tweets:

@stevebuttry @mimijohnson I just finished Ch. 10, loving the book.

— Brian Smith (@smithbm12) May 19, 2012

Tim McGuire describes Mimi Johnson’s novel, Gathering String, as “a delightful read” in his blog, McGuire on Media.

“The book engaged me, intrigued me and rewarded me,” wrote McGuire, Frank Russell Chair for the business of journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.

The blog post was about self-publishing, reacting to author Jon Talton’s decision not to appear in a panel discussion with a writer who was self-published. McGuire, a friend of Talton, criticized the author’s dismissal of self-published writers, citing Mimi Johnson as a author he was glad had self-published. McGuire describes her as a “world-champion tweeter,” one of the few people his wife, Jean, follows on Twitter.

McGuire’s observations about Johnson and her writing:

When I first met Mimi she said she was a writer. I will admit I viewed her as a bit of a dilettante because she couldn’t point to anything she had written.

 

A few months ago that changed with the debut of Gathering String, a book published by the self-publishing arm of Amazon. In my mind that made Mimi a real, live writer.

 

I found Gathering String a delightful read. It’s part political intrigue, part paean to an emerging journalism world and part mystery-thriller. It has a little whiff of romance novel to it and sometimes I feared melodrama was just around the corner. Yet, the book engaged me, intrigued me and rewarded me. It had enough surprises to keep me in the game.

 

After some discussion of Talton’s criticism of self-publishing, McGuire added:

I am incredibly happy Mimi Johnson got her words in print. It would have been shameful if her work got blocked by an overworked, arbitrary and capricious decision-maker in a publishing house. 

To clarify, Gathering String is not actually in print. It was published as an ebook (though a print edition is a possibility).

Joining McGuire in recent praise for Gathering String is Amazon reviewer Kjohnson:

Gathering String was a great way to kick-off to my summer reading. From the prologue I was hooked … I love the way the author writes about each of the characters. She made me believe in them. Be they sympathetic, likable, or detestable, they kept me coming back for more.

 

Gathering String is a story with a lot of energy and pace – think news deadlines, has a great cast of characters, and is a mystery that will keep you hanging until the very end.

Iowa writer Carla Offenburger wrote the first of two 5-star Goodreads reviews of Mimi Johnson’s Gathering String:

Loved this book! Every page was worth it. I miss the characters and hope I get to see them again in a future sequel.

Chris Hubbs, an Iowa engineer, wrote in the second review:

Johnson has an ear for dialogue and an eye for authentic detail.

Hubbs also reviewed Gathering String on Amazon:

She writes characters that you feel like you know, and puts them in a story that will keep you turning pages until you reach the end.

Hubbs tweeted his enthusiasm for the book:

@mimijohnson Just finished Gathering String. Enjoyed every word. Thanks so much for a great story.

— Chris Hubbs (@cjhubbs) May 5, 2012

High praise for Mimi Johnson’s Gathering String in this tweet:

You know you’ve read a good book when you mourn reaching the end of it. @Mimijohnson‘s Gathering String did that. Bravo on her debut novel.

— Some call me Mia (@Mia_Ria) May 3, 2012

Another review for Gathering String posted on Amazon by Iowa native “DocRoc7”:

There are many Iowa locations and descriptions that endeared this story to me, such as the Tall Corn Inn, Jay’s Drug Store, the Iowa Governor who is running for President, Swede Erickson (Mimi is from Essex a small town with a large Swedish heritage), Farragut Admirals girls basketball team and so many other little insights that most won’t recognize. With each new chapter I anticipated another mention of familiar spots that had be cleverly woven into the story, not unlike “easter eggs” that are often found in video games. It’s paced well with flashbacks, foreshadowing, romance and intrigue. … Now the challenge is to re-read the novel again through the eyes of a non-Iowan and focus more on the characters and less on the settings. As a first novel “Gathering String” shows a depth of creativity with promise of greater things to come.