Megan’s Smile

What a naughty boy I’ve been, waiting so long between posts. I’ve ignored my blog for ages, but life has been so busy. My third book, Megan’s Smile, is now available. I should have posted more updates in between books.

I’ve been busy with family, cars, writing, editing, and a host of other things. I traded my Ferrari in this year and bought a 30th Anniversary Trans Am. I’ve ramped up my fledgling editing career. I’ve dealt with my daughter being burned out of her apartment. I could go on and on. They’re not excuses – they’re life.

So, where do I go from here? I want to continue editing. I’ve found that I love that every bit as much as writing. I love working with other authors and teaching them how to make their writing better. Aside from that, I need to figure out what I will publish next. I have a book that needs to be totally rewritten and re-edited, and I have a book that is 80% complete. I’m not sure which direction I’ll take yet.

The saga continues…

Mr. Jo’ has Arrived

My second book, Mr. Jo’, has been published. Though not quite the journey it took to bring Miracle at Winterville to print, this nonetheless became more of an odyssey than I expected. COVID, of course, slowed *everything* down. And then it simply took me longer than expected to get through the process.

I actually wrote both Miracle at Winterville and Mr. Jo’ many years ago. They sat in a dusty little corner of my life while I tended to other things. I tore out complete sections of Mr. Jo’ and replaced them with new sections, complete with a new secondary character, Lily. The title changed – I originally called it Jōb. And, I re-edited the entire manuscript because my writing style had matured since I originally penned the story.

I’ve scheduled my first book signing as of this writing, and I’m excited to see the reaction to this new story. Feedback from my first book has been wonderful. I hope readers are just as thrilled with this second offering, and I hope they keep coming back for more.

At the Gate

I can’t believe I haven’t written a post in so many months. In many ways it’s because not so much noteworthy has happened. In other ways it’s because I’ve been taking care of business behind the scenes to move forward.

As of this writing, I have my second book out for what I hope is a final review by another editor. Did I say another editor? Yes. Since my last post I’ve started editing professionally!

In any case, I’m looking at (hopefully) publishing my second book within the next two months. I’ve gone back and forth with the title, but unless it gets picked up by one of the big publishing houses with a title change, I’m going with Mr. Jo’.

I had a booming Christmas, with over 100 books sold during December. I also took control of my ebook and have started advertising it on Amazon. The audio book project has been temporarily dropped, even though all the recording is finished.

On The Move Again

After four months of lock-down, I’m finally getting back into the book-signing game. I’ll be at Tall Tale Books in Atlanta. It will be interesting to see what foot traffic is like – and this will help me determine if it’s time to send my second book to the publisher or not. Since my sales are 99% through book-signings, times have been dry!

I’ve used this time to write half of a new novel, and to work on an audio book of Miracle at Winterville. I’m looking forward to the economy and society getting back into full swing again.

Facebook Jail!

I just had two interesting experiences with Miracle at Winterville that doubly conspired against me. The first is that a friend ordered a copy of the book from Amazon and received a botched printing – the first three pages of my book contained the first three pages of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. Others have ordered from Amazon and received a correct copy, so this appears to be a one-off mistake. But what a mistake! Fortunately, it was a friend who received the book and not some stranger that might misunderstand and think I had done this on purpose.

I reported the error to my publisher, who will pass on the word to Amazon. I also posted a picture of the error on Facebook. Big mistake! After a few days Facebook put me in “jail.” I’m not allowed to post or comment for 30 days because they said my post violated “community standards.” I have no recourse even though I disagreed with the decision. Both my personal and author accounts are locked for a month.

You just have to love technology and social media.

A New Title, and Other Things

The door to public gatherings is slowly creaking back open here in Georgia. I have a book signing tentatively scheduled for this month – my first one in a long while. I’m not sure what the turnout will be like with Coronavirus still on most people’s minds.

I’ve started shopping my second book around with agents. If I see some interest there, then I may go down the traditional publishing route. If nothing happens by the time our economy is opened fully back up, then I plan to self-publish again. Summer will likely have passed before I know which direction I’ll take.

I’ve recorded ten chapters of Miracle at Winterville in audiobook format. This is a slow process – much like writing a book – and there will be editing and polishing once the recording is complete. Hopefully, I’ll be ready to put the audiobook out on the market before the end of the year.

I’ve written about a third of a new book called Second-Hand Princess. This is the story of a teenager who is adopted, and it is the first book I’ve ever written in first-person perspective. I’m keeping the details of this book shrouded in mystery for now, but I think this has a chance at becoming a fantastic story.

Downturn and a Twist – or Two

Just when I’d beaten out a fairly steady path to book sales, the Coronavirus hit and slowly but surely shut down all unnecessary events. No gatherings of 10 or more. Keep 6 feet away from everyone. Not very conducive to book signings.

I’ve been quite busy, however. I managed to finish editing my next book, tentatively titled Mr. Jo’. I’m exploring publishing options, and may not go the self-publishing route this time around. I’ve also started professional fiction editing, and that chews up some time here and there. And, finally, I’ve purchased a professional microphone and started playing around with it in preparation for creating an audio book for Miracle at Winterville. Whew! That’s enough to keep from getting bored.

But for me, enough is never enough. I’ve started working on another book. Hopefully I’ll have some details on that soon.

Sales & Marketing

So much has transpired in the last couple of months! I’ve distributed almost 300 books through sales and promotions, which isn’t a lot by the standards of the big publishing houses, but I think it’s huge for someone starting from “zero” and doing their own sales and marketing.

And, speaking of sales and marketing, most of my sales have come from book signings. My name isn’t “out there” enough to pick up many online sales or walk-in sales at book stores. So, my focus is on getting in as many book signings as I can. I created a new page on this web site to present my calendar of upcoming events. Check it out!

I’ve also started building an email list, both for marketing purposes, and to reach my audience for when my next book comes out (yes, a new book is in the works). I’m still searching for new and better ways to get my name in front of potential customers.

One of the interesting things I did was to appear on a Christian radio talk show with my wife. We talked about marriage and relationships, and a little bit about my book. The Real Level Up talk show is on Facebook and on Mixx106 radio every Sunday from 3 PM to 6 PM. Check them out for various topics of interest. You can catch my appearance – along with many others – in their archive.

Published!

I’m a little late in updating the blog. Miracle at Winterville was published a few weeks ago. I’ve already distributed the first 100 books, and I’m working on the 2nd set of 100.

I had a book signing at my home, and at a friend’s home. I’ve also had a book signing at Heavenly Dove Bookstore in Cumming, GA (part of Country Folks Superstore). I have other signings filling up the calendar for December.

So far, I consider the launch a success. Feedback has been all positive. Now, the hard part is to get the word out to the world that there is a new book on the market that is well worth the time to read.

Cover Art

I’m well into the publishing process. I received the cover art for my book, and I’m quite pleased with it. The cover art for Miracle at Winterville is now displayed on this site. The next step is inner formatting of the book text.

The marketing campaign for Miracle at Winterville is ramping up. My wife is heading up the effort, and we are taking “pre-orders” from anyone interested.

The book process never stops. I’m already working on two more novels. Stay tuned for more details.