The Written Word and the Sound of My Voice
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The month of September, thus far, has been full of favorable prospects and some nail biting. A book give-away contest was concluded on Goodreads.com. The New Book Review posted a review of the book on their website. I also had an interview with Karl Monger, CEO of Gallant Few, on blog radio. Not in the Wind, Earthquake, Fire is a self-published work, so every facet that highlights the book further improves its exposure. This is a story with so many aspects: military, spiritual, philosophical, historical, veterans’ issues, etc. I feel it is a good solid book that many will find enlightening, entertaining, and challenging to the heart…if readers know about it. Independent authors have more difficulty placing their books on shelves in book stores primarily due to the expectation that you will buy back what does not sale. The books are printed on demand which means demand must be created prior to it being printed, not printed first to create the demand as is done with traditional printing houses. Therefore, when I get opportunities as these to showcase the book, I have reason to rejoice.
Goodreads is an excellent site for readers to research and share their love of book with others. A month long drawing was held and was finished on September 16th. A total of 339 readers entered the drawing for a copy of the book. Three lucky winners have had their personally signed copies sent to them. I hope they enjoy reading it and share it with others. In the near future there will be a Q&A session on Goodreads about Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire where I will be answering questions and comments about the book. Look for it soon.
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning How to Do It Frugally series of books for writers. It was named to Online Universities’’ 101 Best Blogs for Readers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who’d like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they’ve read. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. A review for Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire was posted on September 12th.
Gallant Few is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization that provides coaching, mentoring and training to transitioning veterans with a focus on the Special Operations veteran. Gallant Few also consults with corporations seeking to better understand and leverage the unique skills and abilities that veterans bring to their organizations. This is one of the charities that I contribute to from the profits of the royalties of this book. Every Wednesday at 3:00 CST they host a like radio talk show on blogtalkradio.com. Karl Monger, the host, is a former Army Ranger and a determined advocate for our nation’s veterans. I had the wonderful opportunity to be a guest on the show on September 12th. I was nervous though, especially knowing how my accent sounds over the phone. I could not get through on the number I was given since it was full of callers, so that only increased my panic. I did finally get through on an alternate number I heard and chimed in on the show just in time for the interview. You can still check out the show in its archives on that date. Here is that segment: Gallant Few Talk Radio September 12, 2012.
There are other events and opportunities that I am looking forward to in the future. There will soon be articles about the book in the Watertown Times near Fort Drum, NY, the Barbour County Democrat (Barbour County, WV), and the Inter-Mountain (Central WV). Within about a month I will be doing an interview on the radio station 91.3 at Alderson-Broaddus College and give a lecture on publishing. I also hope to secure a book signing and lecture at Loyola University in Chicago soon as well. On November 10th I plan to do a book signing and lecture at my local library as part of a Veteran’s Day event they are holding. It sounds full, but I wish for more opportunities, especially with charities that support veterans.
For those who have already acquired Not in the Wind, Earthquake, or Fire I hope you truly appreciate a story that was bought and paid for by so many. I hope you see the reality of life for our combat soldiers and see the hope we can have in God even in horrible circumstances. Be sure to tell others about it. Share your copy, share it on your social networking sites, and share your reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. If you really enjoy the book, it is the best compliment you can give me.
