Hi, everyone. Welcome to 2025 – and please know that those words bring with them every good wish for the best and happiest NewYear for you and all those who bring warmth and joy to your life.
2024 was a pretty good year for us – probably far better than we deserved. We are looking forward to some travel, good times, and good memories with friends and family. (All of which will be made even better by days that begin with a good cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll.) And, of course, we hope to put some words on paper that perhaps a few people around the globe will be foolish enough to spend some time with.
As noted in earlier newsletters, if all goes well, Taking Command, a military history (Cold War to the present day), is scheduled for publication in June. I think that will probably be the last full length novel that I will attempt while I can still find my way to the computer and (most days) remember how to turn it on. At some point there may be that anthology that we have mentioned before and that some friends and book stores have been gracious enough to ask about. That work would consist at least in part of short stories and verses that have been published elsewhere over the years. We’ll see what happens.
In the meantime, we are continuing to work with book stores and gift shops to help smooth the path for The YouTube Candidate, the fiction novel released in Great Britain and the U.S. by Vanguard Press (Pegasus Publishers Ltd) last fall. Early on, some Barnes & Noble outlets advised that they hesitated to stock the book in their stores (although they were pleased to order it on behalf of readers) because they understood (mistakenly it turns out) that the British publisher had a “no return” policy on purchases. After correspondence back and forth, Pegasus clarified that the “book is available for return if ordered through our international distributor Ingram.” Pegasus has requested that Ingram interface with the Barnes & Noble organization and advise them of that policy – or reiterate it to them. That information seems to be filtering down to some stores. There are two Barnes & Noble outlets in Lincoln. One, at the town’s biggest shopping center, had already stocked the book at two locations in their store one of which had quickly sold out. The other store ordered copies from Ingram when I showed them the information from Pegasus. So … altogether those results made it an extra cup of coffee and cinnamon roll morning. (Fortunately, there was a place close by.) I hope that pattern will continue as the information reaches buyers at individual stores.
The timing of the book – making its presence visible in stores – is especially important. The principle theme of the story parallels on-going events of the present day. The recently completed political campaign and its aftermath began a period of especially intense interest in the subject matter that will continue over the next several weeks with the inauguration of a new president followed by selection of cabinet members, initiatives by the new Congress, anniversary of the January 6 assault on the nation’s capitol, etc. So, acquainting potential readers with it in the near future may have special impact.
If I do additional book length work in the future, I probably will not use a British company. I did so this time based on the company’s promise (which they fulfilled) that the book would be released within a year – and would thus be available during the course of the presidential election campaign. Most U.S. based companies anticipated a much longer production cycle. For the most part, the staff at Pegasus was enjoyable to work with, although the ping pong back and forth with repeated revisions to replace ‘British English’ spelling and usage with ‘American English’ turned out to be a bit of a hassle. I cautioned the company at the outset that the text should be presented as shown in the manuscript because the novel was aimed strictly at American audiences. But, for some reason, the initial printed drafts contained enormous amounts of ‘British English’ – ‘Colourado’, ‘honour’, standardise’ versus ‘standardize’, ‘half six’ as opposed to ‘six thirty’, etc., etc. It took several reviews to get rid of most of those. Many were rather humorous but eventually it all got to be more than a little frustrating.
The next – and hopefully final – step in the marketing process will be to explore the possibility of placing the book on the national ‘Good Reads’ list.
The events in New Orleans on January 1st make describing issues associated with a small work of fiction seem very inconsequential in comparison. I hope I have not imposed too much on your time by doing that. One purpose was simply intended to be a reminder that restoring normality – maintaining and preserving the patterns of our day to day lives – is enormously important. Indeed, it is perhaps one of the surest guarantees that the bad guys will not succeed. On a December night in Italy many years ago, Nita and I and our two small daughters found ourselves in the midst of a terrorist episode that lasted for many days. It is not a fate that I would wish on anyone. With enormous precautions, assisted by Italian and American security personnel – bless them all – we found that the best way to persevere was to get on with our lives and, despite the hassles and inconveniences, to continue doing the things that meant the most to us. There is a time for all of us to mourn. But, ultimately, the bad guys will not win: we are a people with brighter and more inspiring dreams than they have.
Well, enough of the dark news. It is time for a moment to turn our thoughts to other things – to nonsense, for example. That is, to TRULY AWFUL PUNS.
Three conspiracy theorists walk into a bar … you can’t tell me that’s just a coincidence.
(Golden Oldie) Two antenna got married. The ceremony was just average, but the reception was excellent.
(Golden Oldie) Why did Little Miss Muffett have a GPS on her tuffet? She kept losing her whey.
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Welcome again to all new readers to the website newsletter and – again -- special thanks to all who have offered such gracious comments regarding The YouTube Candidate and have taken the time tell others about it on social media.
2024 was a pretty good year for us – probably far better than we deserved. We are looking forward to some travel, good times, and good memories with friends and family. (All of which will be made even better by days that begin with a good cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll.) And, of course, we hope to put some words on paper that perhaps a few people around the globe will be foolish enough to spend some time with.
As noted in earlier newsletters, if all goes well, Taking Command, a military history (Cold War to the present day), is scheduled for publication in June. I think that will probably be the last full length novel that I will attempt while I can still find my way to the computer and (most days) remember how to turn it on. At some point there may be that anthology that we have mentioned before and that some friends and book stores have been gracious enough to ask about. That work would consist at least in part of short stories and verses that have been published elsewhere over the years. We’ll see what happens.
In the meantime, we are continuing to work with book stores and gift shops to help smooth the path for The YouTube Candidate, the fiction novel released in Great Britain and the U.S. by Vanguard Press (Pegasus Publishers Ltd) last fall. Early on, some Barnes & Noble outlets advised that they hesitated to stock the book in their stores (although they were pleased to order it on behalf of readers) because they understood (mistakenly it turns out) that the British publisher had a “no return” policy on purchases. After correspondence back and forth, Pegasus clarified that the “book is available for return if ordered through our international distributor Ingram.” Pegasus has requested that Ingram interface with the Barnes & Noble organization and advise them of that policy – or reiterate it to them. That information seems to be filtering down to some stores. There are two Barnes & Noble outlets in Lincoln. One, at the town’s biggest shopping center, had already stocked the book at two locations in their store one of which had quickly sold out. The other store ordered copies from Ingram when I showed them the information from Pegasus. So … altogether those results made it an extra cup of coffee and cinnamon roll morning. (Fortunately, there was a place close by.) I hope that pattern will continue as the information reaches buyers at individual stores.
The timing of the book – making its presence visible in stores – is especially important. The principle theme of the story parallels on-going events of the present day. The recently completed political campaign and its aftermath began a period of especially intense interest in the subject matter that will continue over the next several weeks with the inauguration of a new president followed by selection of cabinet members, initiatives by the new Congress, anniversary of the January 6 assault on the nation’s capitol, etc. So, acquainting potential readers with it in the near future may have special impact.
If I do additional book length work in the future, I probably will not use a British company. I did so this time based on the company’s promise (which they fulfilled) that the book would be released within a year – and would thus be available during the course of the presidential election campaign. Most U.S. based companies anticipated a much longer production cycle. For the most part, the staff at Pegasus was enjoyable to work with, although the ping pong back and forth with repeated revisions to replace ‘British English’ spelling and usage with ‘American English’ turned out to be a bit of a hassle. I cautioned the company at the outset that the text should be presented as shown in the manuscript because the novel was aimed strictly at American audiences. But, for some reason, the initial printed drafts contained enormous amounts of ‘British English’ – ‘Colourado’, ‘honour’, standardise’ versus ‘standardize’, ‘half six’ as opposed to ‘six thirty’, etc., etc. It took several reviews to get rid of most of those. Many were rather humorous but eventually it all got to be more than a little frustrating.
The next – and hopefully final – step in the marketing process will be to explore the possibility of placing the book on the national ‘Good Reads’ list.
The events in New Orleans on January 1st make describing issues associated with a small work of fiction seem very inconsequential in comparison. I hope I have not imposed too much on your time by doing that. One purpose was simply intended to be a reminder that restoring normality – maintaining and preserving the patterns of our day to day lives – is enormously important. Indeed, it is perhaps one of the surest guarantees that the bad guys will not succeed. On a December night in Italy many years ago, Nita and I and our two small daughters found ourselves in the midst of a terrorist episode that lasted for many days. It is not a fate that I would wish on anyone. With enormous precautions, assisted by Italian and American security personnel – bless them all – we found that the best way to persevere was to get on with our lives and, despite the hassles and inconveniences, to continue doing the things that meant the most to us. There is a time for all of us to mourn. But, ultimately, the bad guys will not win: we are a people with brighter and more inspiring dreams than they have.
Well, enough of the dark news. It is time for a moment to turn our thoughts to other things – to nonsense, for example. That is, to TRULY AWFUL PUNS.
Three conspiracy theorists walk into a bar … you can’t tell me that’s just a coincidence.
(Golden Oldie) Two antenna got married. The ceremony was just average, but the reception was excellent.
(Golden Oldie) Why did Little Miss Muffett have a GPS on her tuffet? She kept losing her whey.
/////
Welcome again to all new readers to the website newsletter and – again -- special thanks to all who have offered such gracious comments regarding The YouTube Candidate and have taken the time tell others about it on social media.
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