Something Amazing Happened Today

I met a fan I didn't know I had. The chances of two RVer's crossing paths again, anytime soon, are slim to none.

How cool is that?

We met last year at an RV Park in Oklahoma. I couldn't believe it when I saw her and her husband arrive in the familiar Class-A this morning. She remembered my name. Told me she bought both of the books I had for sale back when we first met. She said she loves my writing. Wanted to know if I had written anything else. I thanked her for asking and then told her I've written several stories, novels and shorts, which are available on most eReaders. She said she knows best-selling author Max Allan Collins. He lives in her neighborhood. What an awesome morale booster it was for her to praise my work with the same respect and enthusiasm.

I'm still smiling. Working on my story-in-progress. Eagerly counting down the days until the 90-day free trial offer for my short story, GAR, is over.

Cheers

What's Happening

Thought I'd take this opportunity to share the outcome of my experiment with the book I enrolled in Amazon's KDP Select program.
Free downloads: 118
Borrows: 0
Royalties: 0
Reviews: 0
Other Sales Resulting From Experiment: 0
Current Sales Rank For Enrolled Book: #704,367
Take it for what it's worth and nothing more.

Among other things lined up for 2012, I plan to have a ghost story collection ready by Halloween, have several children's books available for Christmas, and shop around my first script. Currently, I'm working on the third book in the Bad Mojo series, enjoying spring-like weather in the South, and trying not to get discouraged.

Coming Soon

The Bad Mojo series continues with SERIAL QUILLER 3: Savannah, Georgia, a psychological thriller short story.

With a little help from BJ Donovan, Alma Lejeune exacts revenge on the descendants of the people who had willingly participated in the unjust conviction and public hanging of a young Irish woman in 1735.

Free Event Ending

My paranormal romance short story will no longer be free of charge after Valentine's Day.

STAY WITH ME – A senseless act of murder unites two lonelyhearts.

Following the untimely death of his parents, Daniel, a teenage outcast, reluctantly moves into his uncle's home in the country where he's left feeling even more friendless and isolated. He discovers a lonely girl is haunting the old mansion when he sees her standing at the outside entrance to the cellar. Her name is Lizze, she tells him, and this is where she stood the night she was murdered in 1897 on her seventeenth birthday. Daniel's great grandfather shot her because he had reason to believe his wife was about to find out he'd been having an affair with her servant. Lizze's body was hidden in the cellar and then forgotten. Daniel and Lizze become fast friends. By year's end they are deeply in love. When he turns eighteen, his uncle orders him to go out and seek his own fortune. Torn between two worlds, a foiled robbery attempt changes Daniel's life forever.

My Amazon KDP Select Experiment

As more and more success stories about writers who had gotten thousands and even tens of thousands of downloads of a book they'd enrolled in Amazon's KDP Select program started popping up on writers forums and blogs my competitive spirit kicked into high gear. I love to win. Even more, I love the chase.

I submitted one of my books. The clock started ticking on January 25.

On the night of the 29th I viewed the results of my 5-day experiment. The total number of downloads wasn't what I had... expected? Honestly, I believe the only reason I didn't have better results is because I am still an unknown writer. Possibly, my expectations were set too high? Perhaps I should've submitted a novel instead of a short story? Maybe I should've just waited.

I know it sounds like it, but no, I am not bitter about the outcome. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I'll chalk it up to a lesson learned, and leave it at that.

On the plus side, because of this program a few more people know my name. Thank you, to everyone in the US and the UK who downloaded my book. I am very, very grateful.

It's a beautiful day. I think I'll go for a walk on the beach and concentrate on the things I can control such as my new work-in-progress.

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The Plot Thickens