Editing Book 2 of the Extra Innings Trilogy (Race of the Gemini) is underway. I have decided to go with my brother-in-law’s cousin Derek Mitchell. Derek is a writing tutor with his bachelor of arts from Kent State University. We had a great talk yesterday regarding his impression of Book 1 (The Diamond Thieves). Derek said he enjoyed getting to know the characters and said it was a fast read that kept him interested through all 160 pages. More to come as I take this journey with Derek deeper into the lives of Jimmy and Billy McGee.
I recently met a new friend. His name is Jimmy Watkins and he stationed with the Army over in South Korea during the “Korean Conflict” (aka Korean War) of 1950-1953. Jimmy shared with me some fascinating stories and literature from that place and time. Jimmy was generous enough to grant me permission to convey his personal experiences in Book 3 of my Extra Innings Trilogy as one of the main characters joins the USAF and is shipped off to Korea for the first third of the book. Thank you Jimmy for this brief window into your life’s exciting history.
What what you do if I wrote out of tune … would you pull my book off your shelf on me?
Recently, my caddy-cornered neighbor read the first installment in the Extra Innings Trilogy (“The Diamond Thieves”). My neighbor’s name is Allison and for 21 years she was the Librarian at the Temple Israel Library in Akron, Ohio. Allison has read over 1,000 books in her days and through recent conversations I’ve shared with her, I’ve gathered that she prides herself on being a fast reader. So when I asked her: “Did my book read fast?” I was delighted to hear a “Yes!” Together, we sat on her front porch and talked, at length, about her impressions of twin brothers Jimmy and Billy McGee, their friends, the book’s setting and its plot. Perhaps the most poignant feedback I received was that, although, the books’ main characters are young adults, Allison suggested that I market the book as an ADULT Fiction. She said “I would go all the way with marketing to an adult audience” considering the mature topics discussed throughout the story. This was great feedback and I agreed with her, especially considering the issues tackled in books 2 and 3. Thank you Allison for your time and experienced guidance. Both are greatly appreciated!
Lots of changes going on in my life … probably the most significant being that I’ve relocated to a new work assignment. The benefits are that it’s 40 minutes closer to home and houses a greater potential for career growth. I’ve been there 2 weeks now and things are going well. Now that I’ve had the chance to settle in, I can continue applying some of my energies towards getting Extra Innings published. I’ve found an editor for book 2 (Race of the Gemini) which I’m really excited about. He’s my brother-in-law’s nephew. Very intelligent guy and very much up in tune with what’s “hot” in today’s entertainment world. As I’ve mentioned before, I feel this trilogy would make kick-ass movies. We’ll see if he agrees (fingers crossed). Stay tuned and, in the meantime, I appreciate all my friends and family who’ve picked up an e-copy and provided their feedback. So far, the general consensus is that Book 1 (The Diamond Thieves) is a fast read, easy to follow, and everyone loves the characters and the plot.
For years I have preached to my sales teams a mantra that I truly believe is a needle-mover in the sale arena. It’s called “exceed expectations” in terms of exceeding the customer’s expectations. We can dive more into what this means later, but I wanted to share with my blog readers how great it feels to be on the receiving end of this idea. My partner Aaron, not only built this website you’re clicking through, but also set up my Paypal account for my book sales and the email that’s dispatched when there’s a sale! The email is how people receive my new book: Extra Innings: The Diamond Thieves. The email Aaron put together was far beyond what I ever imagined. It’s complete with “click here” instructions for downloading to different mediums (Kindle, Nook, iPad) PLUS a legal warning on copyright infringements. If it were up to me, I would have just sent a simple “Thank You for ordering” message with an attachment – lol. So I wanted to say THANK YOU Aaron for all the time, hard work, and attention spent on helping to facilitate such ease in the launching of my website and first book.