Thursdays at Hastings

Today was my day with my fellow writers and friends at Hastings Books and Music. What a fun group! Every Thursday morning nearly a dozen of us gather, order coffee and such, then sit and discuss movies, books, life in general and quite often sex talk sneaks in, all PG rated of course. One of the things we discussed today is that while we are all eligible for senior citizen discounts, there was not one mention of a doctor appointment or medications we are taking. We all commented on the fact that many of our conversations with friends and relatives seem centered around our deterioration. Not so with this dynamic bunch of creative folks. So Stimulating!

We did have our sad moment though when we all had to say farewell to Ann. Her primary home is in Colorado, but she spends the winters here in Havasu. This very talented writer publishs under the name A.E. Connors and is the author of Anzac, a novel about the relocation of English children to such far away places as Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It's available at Amazon.com . I suggest you check out this often warm, sometimes sad fictionalization of an actual chain of events.

My sales of Hannah are keeping me so jazzed. Right now I have 249 ebook sales and 2 print books. Yahoo! I can only hope this sales buzz lasts a few more days.

Got an interesting bit of observation from a fellow writer today. We were talking about a rather famous author and how he is so good at character development and yet some of his books seems to fall below his talent level. My fellow writer, Jim, made the comment that he felt I was on the verge of a 'break through' in my writing. I'm not sure exactly what he meant, but I felt complimented.

Had a woman show up today who heard about our writer's group and decided to drop in for a visit. Laurie fit right in and seemed to enjoy the stimulating conversation. I didn't get a chance to talk with her before she left, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of her.

Guess that's it for tonight. I'll close with this bit of wisdom about aging - "To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old." Oliver Wendell Holmes

Posted April 25, 2013

Success is Motivating

I know in the overall assessment of things, the fact that over 7,000 readers now have 'Hannah' to read is a pittance to what well known authors have achieved. But, the numbers are motivating me to do more in the way of submissions and moving the story line in my current novel forward. As of a few minutes ago, 'Hannah's' sales numbers are now 201! Yahoo!!!

Got more feed back on Leon Uris today from a friend who is reading 'Redemption'. She is having trouble getting hooked as far as plot and/or characters. She is not fond of the usage of colloquial Irish dialog because it sometimes makes her miss the meaning. I hope it gets better for her. I know I liked Uris' 'Trinity' better, but I still loved 'Redemption'

Had lunch today with a fellow writer who specializes in poetry. His poems are often dark and based on experiences during a career in law enforcement. He's a highly intelligent man, so he tends to want to 'educate' with his books. I think it's good that overall their are writers for every reader need. I focus on those who want to be entertained - those who want to voyeur into how others react when put in the positions I often set my characters into.

So teach or entertain? Both have merit, but after the horror that occurred during the Boston marathon, I'm looking for entertainment. Something to take me to another place. The horror will always be there, but to have a few minutes/hours of fiction often makes the other easier to deal with.

So, my quote of the day deals with escapism. "listen: there's a hell of a good universe next door: let's go." e.e. cummings

April 23, 2013

'Hannah' sales still climbing

As of this evening, 180 ebooks of 'Hannah' have been downloaded. It feels so good to know that over 7000 people are reading 'Hannah'. I can only hope they enjoy it and that it leads them to read my other books.

Wrote another chapter of my space novel. The year is 1992 so the science of the times is familiar to me, but the training for the space program is requiring a lot of research. I'm learning so much about the Johnson Space Center and what the astronauts had to go thorough. Still, my favorite part of writing is when I'm working with the characters. To me, that's really what story telling is all about.

Was given some free tickets to see country singer Travis Tritt this coming Friday. I've seen him before and he puts on a great show. I'll be spending the night in Laughlin and the yearly Motorcycle Rally will be full swing. Should be exciting.

We will be reading Leon Uris for our next book club meeting at our local Book Exchange. Got some really good feedback from one member of the group and a so-so comment from another. As for me, he's my hero and he's what strove me to be a character based writer.

Oh, my granddaughter turned fifteen and a half today and she is now the proud owner of a driver's permit. The girl now has 'wheels'! She's growing up too fast. Because her paternal grandfather raced cars at one time, she feels driving is in her blood. She's a dynamic girl and she's going to be a good driver. Congrats, Hailey!

As for my quip of the day, my dream of having my books read and enjoyed by many, many people is what I'm living this past week or so. So, I quite agree with Henry David Thoroeau - "I have learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

Over 7,000 folks have my book!!!!

Such an exciting week! We put Hannah up on CreateSpace a couple weeks ago. We gave it away free for a few days and 6,904 folks downloaded the book. Yahoo!!! Since the free period ended another 165 books have been purchased and I've received 2 five star reviews. I repeat, YAHOO!!!

Still no word from my agent on After the War, Before the Peace and Mama played for the King. But, there's always tomorrow.

Been having some book signings and have met some interesting folks, but only sold a few books. Nothing like what's happening at Amazon with Hannah.

Started a new book club at The Book Exchange, our local used book store. We discuss an author rather than a particular book. Last month it was John Grisham and next month it is my hero, Leon Uris.

My quote for the day comes from the movie Home Run. I just saw it last Friday and I highly recommend it. A little boy at bat for his Little League team get this advice from his coach. By following it, he hit a home run. The quote: "Nothing great happens when you hold back." Cory Brand, character in the movie Home Run.