The Falls: Brotherly Love

The Falls: Brotherly Love, the 15th volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is just out at the Kindle Store for $2.99! A body is found in Lake Pumpkinseed that starts a chain of events that reaches all the way out to Albuquerque, New Mexico! While CR Shanks, Newt and Remy drive out to the great southwest, Cash, Yamato, Horace and several of the Burman kids get involved with a wealthy entrepreneur that just bought the old Armstrong farm. Jeremy and Sylvia Jean get hired as student staff at the Folger Library on the University of Maine campus and help solve a troubling mystery as well. So, grab a cup of Earl Grey, put your feet up and return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Brotherly-Love-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B00LCAKCCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403901237&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Brotherly+Love

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Brotherly-Love-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B00LCAKCCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403902021&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Brotherly+Love

Summer Nightmare Proof #1...

     It's easier, second time around. Believe me...it is. Referring to publishing a paperback of CreateSpace of course. What did you think I meant??? Just finished editing the first proof for The Falls: Summer Nightmare. Now my long suffering but wonderful wife Carolyn is working on it. The proof came through with the first 25 pages out, not adhered to the spine. Since it's just a proof, I wasn't too concerned, but I sent a message to the support group at CreateSpace. They promptly replied stating that they were sorry and would send me another proof if I wanted it. I told them no, that I didn't really want another proof, since I would editing the document in the CreateSpace publishing format within the next few days, and ordering a second proof. I told them I just wanted to inform them that it happened. They assured me that it doesn't happen often and that they have a 100% replacement policy. Since I had purchased a number of proofs and books for The Falls: In the Dead of Winter earlier that were all fine, that was enough, and I let it go.

     I really like the cover for Summer Nightmare. I know, I sound a bit conceited. But I was happy with everything, color, picture and everything else. I'd love to know what you think.

     Now, I'm still working on the 16th volume in The Falls series entitled, The Falls: Boneyard. I'm also nearly finished editing the 15th volume of The Falls small town series entitles The Falls: Brotherly Love. It will be available in the Kindle Store within a few days. It's the first of the books where a good deal of the action occurs outside of Vermont. Hint: Albuquerque plays a prominent role! Hope you all get a chance to read it soon!

     Still haven't been able to use the stand up desk yet. still waiting for our contractors to get to the flooring upstairs. They are wonderful and we understand why they're in such high demand. Looking forward to having the option of sitting or standing as I write. Does anyone else out there have one? Maybe I'll ask online and see.

     Until the next update, may the dragons watch over you all...

Update Time...and a Summer sale!

     I've got two things to pass on. First, The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, first volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is now available at Barnes & Noble and at other book stores. That took me by surprise! I was informed it would be 6-8 weeks after publishing on CreateSpace. A very pleasant surprise, I have to admit. I sat and stared at it for a few moments, simply drinking in the visual. Yes, it meant a lot to me.

     Second, volumes #8 and #9 of The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: May Flowers and The Falls: Election, will be on sale this weekend, Saturday, June 21st and Sunday, June 22nd. They will each be 67% off, and cost only $.99 this weekend. (The sale actually runs from 8 AM Saturday to 8AM Monday.)

     Here's hoping that you have a wonderful, relaxing and enjoyable summer weekend! May the dragons watch over you...

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Flowers-small-town-mystery-ebook/dp/B00AQNC5M2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403289368&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+May+Flowers

http://www.amazon.com/The-Falls-Election-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B00BK5KVA8/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=02AT0BWZ68NDV946Z6PB

The Stand Up Desk...

     Well, almost a week ahead of schedule, my Stand Up Desk came (it's from the Stand Up Desk Store through Amazon.com online) in two boxes UPS. Five feet long, two surfaces, one 16" wide the other 12" wide. I spent most of the afternoon putting it together in the garage. Florida garages, in the summer, even open to allow any breeze that comes along, are what might be described as humid and warm. (Okay, they're sweltering and hot.)

     I must admit that the process went well although as usual when 'some assembly is required' the  tools they include for you to use are less than ideal. I substituted the little wrench about halfway through but the allen wrench was fine. The plans had no words, but were pretty easy to understand. I left out one very minor piece (it was hard to see on the plans), but the mechanism seems fine without it.

     I tried the crank assembly to raise and lower it several times and it works smoothly and quickly. The crank even comes off easily so that it's not visible unless you want to raise or lower the desk. The two level surfaces will work quite well and I am looking forward to using it. I will wait however, because we are getting flooring installed on the upstairs floor and the stairway. No sense carrying it up and then down and then back up again.

     It looks quite sleek and the large castors with locks on them enable me to move it around whenever I want. It's very stable and holds a couple of hundred pounds. So, to this point, I am very pleased. The proof will come when I start writing. It will be nice to be able to switch back and forth between sitting and standing while I work at the desk. Standing is much better for you, considering the calories expended when you stand and the easing of your back muscles and straightening out your spine that occurs when standing. But I'm sure I will want to sit at times as well. So this is the best of both worlds. So, we shall see. The great experiment continues.

     May the dragons watch over you (whether you are sitting or standing)...

Volume Two...and the Stand Up Desk...

     Well, The Falls: Summer Nightmare, volume II in The Falls small town mystery series, is entered into CreateSpace, and the first proof has been ordered. I finished up the cover, decided on marketing rights and pricing yesterday and sent for the proof after basic site approval this morning. The price of the book will be around $16, $4 dollars less than the first. That figures. It's about a hundred and thirty-five pages smaller with the same distribution/marketing pattern. I wish I could sell them for less, but that's the lowest I'm allowed to sell it for, due to the costs that CreateSpace incurs in publishing them.

     I'm also in the process of packaging up, addressing and then mailing the copies of my first book, The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, to family and a friend or two. That gives me no end of pleasure, although it is a bit scary as well. I think a writer always worries that people aren't going to like their work. Occupational hazard, I believe. It's one thing to have a complete stranger not like what you write, quite another to have a family member or good friend feel the same way.

     I made a purchase. It's in transit. It's a sit/stand desk. I can sit at it like a regular desk, and when I want to, I can crank it up another foot or so and use it as a stand up desk, typing at my iMac while I stand. The more I read about the benefits of standing while writing, the more I wonder why this hasn't been the ''next big thing' a long time ago. Well now, there are all sorts of websites selling them. There are all sizes and kinds of stand up desks out there. Some are fixed at a certain height, others go up and down electrically by the push of a button, mine utilizes a small crank that then tucks out of the way. Any writers out there might want to check it out. Most of them are fairly expensive ($600-2000) but mine I bought on Amazon.com for about $400 and shipping (another $42). It has two levels, is five feet long and the shelves are 16" and 12* in depth (28"deep in total). It's on it's way UPS. I'll let you know how the experiment turns out. (But remember, I'm a stubborn Scotsman and will make it work no matter what problems arise!)

     So, now it's on to the second volume. I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, may your days be filled with small pleasures, may the writing Gods smile down upon you and may the dragons watch over you all...

The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, on Amazon...

     Well, my first paperback is now on Amazon. The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, first volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is now on Amazon.com as a paperback. In a few weeks it will be available through bookstores, including Barnes & Noble, and lots of other venues.

     I have to admit that it has me a bit speechless. The first time I saw it I just stared at it for a little while, all sorts of thoughts running through my head. There is a great deal of satisfaction the first time you accomplish something you have been working hard to achieve. A bit of pride and confirmation as well. It rather humbles one.

     Of course, I wish the price (hovering around $20) was a lot less, but the CreateSpace support staff assured me that between the length of the book (602 pages) and the fact that I chose to have it available on all the platforms they offered for sales, that price was the lowest they could produce the book for and offer it for sale in so many markets. I can get the book for around $8, so I will be sending some copies out to family and friends, along with a heartfelt letter explaining how I had reached that place in my writing.

     I should get my iMac back today from Best Buy and from a trip to the Apple repair center (which I seem to like calling the Apple Farm for want of a better name). Then I can get back to writing (the 16th Falls mystery is one-third through) and getting book two, The Falls: Summer Nightmare, ready for publishing on CreateSpace. I also need to justify the covers of the Kindle version and the paperback version of The Falls: In the Dead of Winter. I'll go with the paperback cover.

     You know, at times I really wish I had an agent, a publisher, a publicist, a team of people to create covers, edit and keep me appraised of what I should be doing to best publish and market my books. Then, at other times, I feel proud that I'm accomplishing what I am on my own, as a true independent author/publisher. I'm sure all writers go through that, don't they? 

     I leave with you only a few words of advice. Do what's right for you. Write what you want to write. Be true to yourself. Work hard and persevere. May the dragons watch over us all...


http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Dead-Winter-small-mystery/dp/1497365384/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402406896&sr=1-3&keywords=the+falls+in+the+dead+of+winter

Summer Sale!

     Summer Sale! The 6th and 7th books in The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: Fourth of July and The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, are each on sale at the Kindle store for $.99 this weekend, Saturday, June 7th and Sunday, June 8th! Sale ends 9:00 AM Monday morning!

     Come back to The Falls and join with Sheriff Cash Green, Deputies Ericka Yamato and Horace Scofield, along with Doc Stone and Meg Monroe searching for clues and finding out 'who dunit'! It's my humble and grateful way of saying thank you to my loyal readers and friends! 67% reduction on the price for this weekend only! Have a great start to summer!
 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Falls-Cupids-Arrow-mystery-ebook/dp/B009252DAE/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1GJBW494CTEV1TYMJVKE 

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Fourth-July-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B008TRXVMK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1402148655&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Fourth+of+July


I pushed the button...

     Well, I've gone and done it. I'm standing on the grass, looking down at the hole I've just climbed out of at this moment and filled in with fresh earth. Yesterday, I took a deep breath, and clicked on the "publish" icon at CreateSpace. I was immeciately greeted with a "Congratulations!" message and then asked if I wanted to purchase any copies. Surprisingly, the author's copies are the same price as the proofs, $8.07. So I promptly ordered three.

     I have ten proofs I ordered earlier to send to family members and friends. I thought the author copies would be slightly more, but it doesn't matter. There's little difference between a proof and an author's copy. I sat down day before yesterday and wrote a long one page letter to the family members and friends that I will be sending with the copy I'll be giving them. I found it to be rather difficult. I really haven't said much to my children or grandchildren about my books or my writing career. I guess, honestly, that I never said much to them about being a teacher and principal either. I think that comes from being a rather private person and not wanting to inflict my feelings, thoughts or ideas into or intrude into other people's lives. I always talked about their lives, or joked around or just gave them hugs and played with them.

     Hmmm, it sounds rather funny (unusual not ha-ha) when I put that thought down on paper. Anyway, I wanted them to know how much writing meant to me and that I truly appreciated how much them being in my life had meant to the fulfillment of my writing dreams. I tried to tell them about reinventing myself: becoming more knowledgeable in writing technology, computers, software, joining Twitter, having my own blog, LinkedIn, a Facebook author's page, and advertising on over 40 different FB sites. I gave them the addresses to all of the sites I maintain and told them I'd love to have each of them check the sites out.

     Tomorrow or the next day, I'll package the proofs in the US mails convenient paperback boxes, my wife ordered for me, sign the proofs, add a letter and ship them all out. You know, as parents we just try to deal with our kids and life and do what we feel is best, attempting to keep them safe and happy and try and let them know how much we love them. As you get older, and your kids are the ones who are busy with their families and business lives, it seems like a real role reversal. For the first time, I'm looking for some support, some approval from my kids and grandkids for something I'm doing rather than the other way around. Kinda' scary and a bit exciting at the same time.

     So, my computer is still not back from the Apple Farm and I'm going crazy because I don't want to write oin my old HP and then have to take that and adapt PC older Word to iMac newer Word. That seems to creat formatting issues and after the experience I had fitting my first manuscript into the template for CreateSpace, I'm not taking the chance. Converting to Kindle would be no problem. Our new AC unit will be installed tomorrow. Another process to go through, although our AC guys are first rate.

     I have to admit, I'm excited to see the new paperback The Falls: In the Dead of Winter advertised on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. and I'll be watching. But as soon as the iMac comes back, I'll be entering the second book in the series, The Falls: Summer Nightmare, which I already had placed in the template for CreateSpace on my desktop, into CS and then working on the cover. I've already drawn that as well.

     Until the next time, I leave you one piece of advice: no matter where you are on the writing food chain, whether it be established, well known author, or unpublished neophyte working on your first manuscript...or wherever inbetween, BELIEVE and WORK HARD. That's all there is for a writer. A writer must write. A writer works through the problems, the doubt, the frustration and even through the joy and delight that surrounds our craft.

    The hole is filled in, long live the hole. May the dragons watch over you all...