Today’s blog will be fairly short. It’s plain old bragging, and a little bit of some other stuff.<\/p>\n
The bragging first.<\/p>\n
This past Monday, I was honored to represent the various veteran’s organizations as the emcee at the Memorial Day remembrance for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis. It dawned on me that I’d been doing this for over a decade now, probably a lot longer. I’ve only missed one year, and that’s because my surgeon threatened to hobble me if I got up on the podium four days after knee surgery. I like public speaking, and I’m not at all nervous in front of crowds. I am okay with any size audience, so if you’re a producer for a network talking-head show, invite me: I promise no stuttering or flop sweat.<\/p>\n
I digress. After the ceremony I was at the back of the tent handing out flags to people to mark the graves of their veteran that we had missed during the decoration work a few days before. A very nice woman came up and told me that she was reading Assault on Saint Agnes <\/em><\/a> and enjoying it quite a bit. <\/p>\n I live in my own head, and it never dawned on me that I’d ever meet anyone who was reading the book that hadn’t purchased it from me at a signing event. Found out that she had read a review in a newspaper (first one I am aware of) and grabbed a copy to read. She said she told her husband that “He’s the “guy on the back of my book” and then I read your name in the program for the ceremony.”<\/p>\n I was recognized. And not for doing something bad. That was really cool. I’ve been spotted from television commercials and print advertising I’ve done over the years, but this is the first “you’re the guy on my book” sighting.<\/p>\n Very cool. I’m tickled and pleased.<\/p>\n Please follow me on Twitter<\/a>, and “Like” the Facebook author page<\/a>. Don’t forget to subscribe (the box is on the right side of the page) to be eligible for free e-books and other benefits! Oh yeah – grab a copy of Assault on Saint Agnes <\/em><\/a>if you’re of a mind.<\/span><\/p>\n Now the other stuff.<\/p>\n The garden is growing slowly. Seems like we’re still in March, not June. The up side of that is that weeding is minimal. The down side is that I’m not going to get many melons out of the patch, and darned few habaneros, if the weather doesn’t warm up quickly. That would make my salsa and hot sauce production a bit dicey.<\/p>\n The audio book work on the DiMercurio series proceeds apace. The second book I’m doing will be ready by the end of June. I’m really enjoying the work.<\/p>\n The sequel is moving along as well. Evolving, getting better all the time.<\/p>\n The first batch of jam is now on the shelves. Strawberry and rhubarb. It’s really good.<\/p>\n The ghost writing project is also moving forward. I’m very optimistic about where that is heading. Fascinating subject to write about.<\/p>\n Lastly, I’m going to be teaching a few writing courses over the next few months. None are open to the public as of yet, but that’s under negotiation at the moment. I am tickled to think I can give back some of the time and effort other authors have given to me in my journey.<\/p>\n That’s it. See you next week. <\/p>\n Assault on Saint Agnes <\/em>is available here. Just click this link<\/a>! <\/span><\/p>\n When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com<\/a>, www.barnesandnoble.com<\/a>, and www.goodreads.com<\/a>. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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