Away We Go

Jackie Gleason was an entertainment icon, whose success included movies and television. At one point he hosted a variety show and after the opening monologue, Gleason would strike a pose like the one above and call out the catch phrase "And Away We Go!"

That's the perfect expression for this time of year, when I'll become a weekend warrior, traveling to various festivals around the state, pitching my tent and selling my books.

With some locations, I'll be on my own. Others will find me sharing the space with another author. At some events, we may be the only writers in attendance. Some may have another booth or two of books. Either way is fine with me. I don't view this as competition. It's collaboration. There are many genres to choose from. Variety is essential to life. Friends have commented that it must be pretty easy, working one of these shows. "You just set up your booth, take a seat and wait for people to stop to buy one of your books. That sounds pretty easy to me." Seriously?

They have no idea how much energy and effort I put into making these events successful. Of course, there are the physical aspects, setting up the booth, arranging the tables, adjusting the display so it's appealing. But that's only the first part of the day. I tell these friends that for me, working one of these festivals is similar to being onstage for the length of the show, interacting with people as they walk by, engaging them in conversation to get them to stop by and take a look at my stories. Often it's a form of improv. I adjust my patter or comments to fit the moment. A colleague once told me that I think fast on my feet. Definitely a compliment and an extremely useful trait to have. You just never know when a simple comment can draw people in.

I've also stepped up my game this year, investing in sleek new book displays as pictured above. These are capable of having multiple copies of each title, raising them to eye level.

You can find a list of the various locations I'll be at on the Events Calendar page. Works In Progress

Thanks to my team of beta readers for their feedback, revisions have been completed for "Agonasti's Dilemma". Which brought me to the most challenging part. The synopsis. It's been a while since I wrote one of these, probably 2021 for "The Wayward Path". I have written several books since then, including "Chasing Favors", "Rules of Desperation" and "Part-Time Criminal".

The last two were titles I opted to self-publish. "Chasing Favors" is the fifth book in the Jamie Richmond series. When the story was completed and polished, I reached out to Melissa Keir at Inkspell Publishing to let her know. Melissa suggested I simply send her the manuscript. There was no need for a synopsis or query letter. The next day I received a contract. That speaks volumes about the relationship Melissa has with her authors.

So it was a struggle to get in the mindset to write not only a synopsis but also a query letter. This almost as difficult as writing the book! But after multiple revisions, I was able to put both together. Since this is more of a crime novel than a mystery, my intent was to test the waters with another traditional publishing house, perhaps a larger one that specializes in crime fiction. Research has identified several possibilities. The first query letter was submitted this week.

Time will tell.

Meanwhile, I've been able to do a little work on the fourth Jefferson Chene novel. At some point while working on this, a title will make itself known. My plan is to alternate between Chene and the young adult novella featuring Ian MacKinnon.