A Writer's Week #47: The Kindness of Strangers

Well, it's been yet another busy week here at The Deliverers Publishing Headquarters. So many things have been going on, where to start? I attended another show this week--Ladies Day Out in Danbury, CT. It was a great success for all involved. My wife and children helped me out by gift wrapping copies of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel. We had a great time and it was fun hanging out with the other vendors. 

The biggest thrill of the day, however, did not result from the sale of any books. I've mentioned before that I am donating 50 cents of each online purchase and $1.00 of each in person purchase of The Deliverers until the end of the year to the Salvation Army. At the show we were gift wrapping books and asking for a donation to the Salvation Army. A woman walked up to our table, and started writing out a check. Then, she dropped it into our tip jar. When we got home and opened the jar, we found she'd written a check for $50 to the Salvation Army. So, than you so much Janice Lelsey Moore for your generous donation! All in all, I've collected $94.50 for the Salvation Army. Please help support the cause by buying The Deliverers for the children in your lives. It's a great book that they will love.

All right, enough with the sales pitch. The Deliverers 2: Order of the Crystal Lion is shaping up. I've spent the last week making some tweaks. It's mostly ready. There are still a couple things I found that I need to fix. I've sent advance copies of the manuscript out to a few children and adults for a test read. I hope they like it. 

I also was able to reach an agreement with Mother Goose Toys in Litchfield, CT to stock copies of The Deliverers. Thank you Susan, Stephanie and I had a great time visiting with you. So, now there are three spots in Connecticut where you can pick up a copy of the book: Mother Goose Toys in Litchfield; The Barn Gallery in New Fairfield; and Byrd's Books in Bethel. I think I'm going to concentrate on increasing the number of stores stocking my books in the coming year. It's an aspect that I've neglected up to now.

Artist Daniel Vogel sent me a mock up of the cover for The Deliverers 2: Order of the Crystal Lion yesterday. It's looking really good. We had to work out the background and the overall color. I think we figured it out, I just have to see how it actually looks before I'm sure. I hope to be able to unveil the cover sometime before Christmas. Exciting stuff!

The audio book version of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel is nearing completion. My hope is that it will be available in the middle of December. It really sounds terrific. I used my Kindle Fire to play a bunch of videos at the show including the book trailer, my YouTube interviews, and two sample chapters from the audio book. I received a lot of great feedback on the audio chapters. I'll let you know the minute it's available.

I also got a lot of work done on the plot outline for The Deliverers 3. I had hoped to begin writing, but there are still some plot points that I nneed to get settled before I begin. It won't be too much longer, though--either next week or the week after. I'll let you know how things are going next week.