The Pride of Park Avenue Now Available as E-book on Amazon's Kindle

Press Release

Toriano Porter’s The Pride of Park Avenue Now Available as E-book on Amazon’s Kindle

Author embraces new reader technology after being in denial about its worth

St. Louis, MO (January 2, 2011)--Welcome to a world where old school reading habits meets new-school technology. After a reader suggested to Toriano Porter that the author make his first published book, The Pride of Park Avenue, available as an e-book, Porter took the advice in stride. The first-time scribe tucked the information in his memory bank before he realized a prime opportunity to attract new readers.

Porter is a throw-back; he is a reader who prefers a newspaper in his face, a work of literature in his hands, a phone conversation as opposed to a text or email. The thought of reading a book in digital format was a foreign concept to him.

Fortunately for book enthusiasts, Porter listened to his readers’ advice and adapted 21st century literature by taking advantage of the technology available to authors. He has released a digital copy of The Pride of Park Avenue http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Park-Avenue-ebook/dp/B004HIM7SO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2 on Amazon’s Kindle e-book reading device. The move is the first in a series of steps to make The Pride of Park Avenue readily available in digital format.

“I had a young lady ask me a few days after she read my book if I had the book in e-book format,” Porter said of his decision to expand to the digital market. “I told her I thought that was a wonderful idea. I hadn’t even entertained the thought of printing my book as an e-book, but with the way readers’ appetites are changing for how they want their books, I had to make it happen.”

The e-book edition of The Pride of Park Avenue http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Park-Avenue-ebook/dp/B004HIM7SO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2  is available with the proper software on PCs and Macs, as well as iPads, and on iPhone, Android and Blackberry smart phones that carry the Kindle application.

“With all of the technology out there with the different e-book reader devices and the smart phones, readers are becoming more particular on how and when they want their books,” Porter said. “Of course, most readers still want the paperback or hardback edition, but a growing segment of readers are also open to e-books. It’s a growing trend that’s not going anywhere anytime soon. “

The Pride of Park Avenue, a collection of emotionally charged personal essays, character-driven short stories and tragedy-filled poetry, is also available in paperback at  www.prideofparkavenue.com, www.authorhouse.com  (http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000233616) and www.amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Park-Avenue-Toriano-Porter/dp/1438913478/ref=tmm_pap_title_0).

About the Book

Combining cool, reflective narrative, free-flowing prose and authentic character dialogue, The Pride of Park Avenue is a collection of emotionally charged personal essays about life, loss and pain, character-driven flash fiction passages of love and betrayal, action-helmed coming-of-age short stories centered on the pursuit of the American Dream, painstaking, tragedy-filled poetry and insanely written gonzo blog entries that form one of the more daring works of the last quarter century.

About the Author

From the depths of Park Avenue in South Saint Louis, Missouri emerges one of the quintessential literary voices of the 21st century. The Pride of Park Avenue is Toriano L. Porter's first published book. He is a former All-Conference football player at both Eureka High School in Eureka, Missouri and Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg and a former minor league football All-American for the St. Louis Bulldogs. The assistant sports editor at the Examiner newspaper in Independence, Missouri, his work has appeared in publications such as the St. Louis American, St. Louis Evening Whirl, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Riverfront Times, The Kansas City Pitch, inBox Magazine, Playback STL Magazine, Central News Magazine, ENVY Magazine in Kansas City, www.stlhiphop.com and the Houston Press.

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Reader Feedback for The Pride of Park Avenue

What readers are saying about The Pride of Park Avenue

"I just finished your book; thanks for opening up your world (and your heart) to everyone who reads this amazing book. I found The Pride of Park Avenue intriguing, inspirational, and well written."

"(The Pride of Park Avenue) is captivating! I can't put it down! I'm absorbed by it."

"Thank you for telling your story (in The Pride of Park Avenue). I am enjoying every page, every account. Sure I hurt as I read of the tragedies, but I am able to celebrate also as I know how lives will be touched and changed forever by your testament."

The Pride of Park Avenue is "intense, tragic, sometimes joy filled, sorrow, success, loyalty, death, birth, family and destruction, sets, blocks, crews, gangs - some wish it was fiction like a well thought out movie, but the truth of it is scarier."

"I would definitely recommend The Pride of Park Avenue to people from all walks of life. You are an intriguing author. It took a while for me to read it but once I started I couldn't put it down."

"The Pride of Park Avenue is intense, tragic, filled with misery, but you refused to succumb to your environment. This book seems like it could be fiction, all while exposing the truth of growing up in what many call, 'urban America.'"

"Wow! I really enjoyed reading your book The Pride of Park Avenue. I couldn't put it down. I kept wanting to see what was next. I passed it on to my daughter and my niece. I really think that everybody should read it. It's something in there that everybody can relate too. It just touched my heart in so many ways."

Here's the before: "I've finally started reading The Pride of Park Avenue. I'm not sure what I expected, but what ever it was, you are already exceeding those expectations. I'll keep you posted on my thoughts."
Here's the after: "I think The Pride of Park Avenue is great, but you didn't need me to tell you that. I love that you keep the memory of your loved ones alive."

"TORIANO - THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS BOOK...ANTONIO (TONY) WADLINGTON WAS A HIGH SCHOOL BOYFRIEND OF MINE...I HAD A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, HIS MOM & STEP-DAD & V/S FOR MY FAMILY. BECAUSE OF YOUR INSPIRATION TO INCLUDE HIM IN THE PRIDE OF PARK AVENUE, IT'S CLEAR TO ME THAT YOU KNEW TONY AS WELL AS I DID & SEEMS THAT YOU APPRECIATED HIM FOR HIS SENSE OF HUMOR & LOVE OF ALL SPORTS, & THAT YOU SAW HIM AS THE CARING & GENTLE TONY AS I DID...YOUR BOOK IS AN ANSWER OF PRAYERS OF MINE TO JUST HAVE ONE PIECE OF HIM TO CHERISH OUTSIDE OF MY MEMORIES...TONY WILL FOREVER LIVE IN MY HEART...YOUR BOOK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED...GOD BLESS YOU."

"Much like a war correspondent, Porter escorts the reader into a world otherwise forbidden and largely unknown by Middle Class Americans. His use of authentic street language, vivid characterization and compelling plots is reminiscent of James Baldwin and Langston Hughes. Porter’s work (The Pride of Park Avenue) is indeed remarkable ¬– a credible update on today’s Street Corner USA – and a welcome contribution to 21st century American literature." - Rhiannon Ross, American writer and journalist

"The Pride of Park Avenue is really, really good but at the same time disturbing. My life has been blessed compared to what you've been through and you're a miracle in yourself for having lived through all of this and come out the other side not only all in one piece but, well, an amazing person because of it and in spite of it."

"I love this book (The Pride of Park Avenue). I read it like 3 times and sometimes it brings me to tears!! But good ones."

"The Pride of Park Avenue, a complex, yet remarkable tribute to a community and the individuals that compose it." - R.M. Kinder, author, An Absolute Gentleman

"Porter paints the grittiness of the streets and defines what the community needs to sustain itself. His wording was eloquent that I curtsied with my head as I totally related with (The Pride of Park Avenue)." - inBox Mag. and DVD

"The images of street life that are contained in this book transported me to those streets. The Pride of Park Avenue is the first of its kind in the Urban/Street Lit society" - inBox Mag. and DVD

"Porter is very clear, concise and creative at pulling the reader into every scene he crafts. (The Pride of Park Avenue) actually has a storyline and a well-presented flow that won't disappoint." - inBox Mag. and DVD

"(The Pride of Park Avenue) is a book I wish I would have read before any other urban books came out because it would have been hard to follow." - inBox Mag. and DVD

"I give (The Pride of Park Avenue) four stars for the plot, character development, and the author's supreme ability to keep me interested." - Londa B., inBox Magazine and DVD

"'General Isaiah' (a story contained in The Pride of Park Avenue) is a brilliant passage and in itself worth the price of admission! Good book, great writing!"

Why is Rory L. Watkins the featured writer in The Pride of Park Avenue??

If I had a dollar for every time someone ask of me why is Rory L. Watkins a featured writer in my book The Pride of Park Avenue, well, you know the rest. Rory was my very best friend and he inspired me to get my act together and become whatever it was God intended for me to be. Without Rory, there is no Pride of Park Avenue!!!


...reprinted from the St. Louis Post Dispatch February 25, 2008....
St. Louis city police have identified the victims of the latest two homicides...

In a homicide from Friday, police say, Rory Watkins was shot several times in the head as he sat in a car in the 4100 block of West Lee Avenue.

Police say Watkins was sitting in a car when he was shot about 10:45 a.m. Friday.

Witnesses told police they heard three gunshots and saw a man run away.—Copyright 2008 St. Louis Post-Dispatch

SHED SO MANY TEARS, PART III
from the book, The Pride of Park Avenue by Toriano Porter featuring Rory L. Watkins

My Homie. My partner. My best friend. My brother is gone.

When I got the word that my best friend of nearly 23 years was gunned down in cold blood in the streets of St. Louis, I was devastated. It was and always will be the saddest day of my life.

I mean, damn, me and my dude had so much we wanted to do with this writing. He had all these wonderful tales he wanted to share and I wanted to help him share them.

I’m dedicated to that mission. Every time I sit down to write, I’m dedicating it to the realest brother I have ever known, Rory L. Watkins, forever and always known as O.G. Nose from Laclede Town’s Lawton Block.

A father of three, a friend of many and one of a kind, I met my dude the fi rst day of our 6th grade year and we have been partners in crime, brothers at arms and kindred spirits since. We will survive.

Nose, your memory lives on. I could not, for the life of me, muster the strength or the courage to write your eulogy, bro. The pain is still fresh. You are gone and it hurts too bad.

Know that I love you, I miss you and I pray everyday for your spirit to protect me and guide me as it did when you were here. You are truly one of my guardian angels.

The Pride of Park Avenue now available on Kindle

Welcome to the world of technology!

The Pride of Park Avenue is now available digitally as an e-book on Amazon's Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Park-Avenue-ebook/dp/B004HIM7SO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1293774792&sr=1-1

It took me a minute to get on board, but thanks to a faithful reader, I was and am convinced e-books are here to stay.

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION

A discussion of The Pride of Park Avenue over coffee and funnel cake coming Dec. 4 at Funnel Cake Creations in Kansas City. For more info call 314-565-8901

Pride of Park Avenue gets some pub

The Envoy, the student newspaper at William Chrisman High, documented my visit to the school on Monday. (http://envoy.indep.k12.mo.us/readArticle.php?aId=292)

Conversation and Cocktails at the SOHO Lofts in Kansas City

Conversation and Cocktails is a Sunday evening conversation with journalist and author Toriano Porter at the elegant SOHO Loft Apartments in downtown Kansas City from 6 to 8 p.m Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. Toriano will read from, discuss and sign copies of his first book, The Pride of Park Avenue.