It’s been a busy week around here. Yesterday – I can’t remember any further back than yesterday, except for when I was three years old, and that’s not relevant to this story – I drove to Ocala for a photo shoot. I also met with Mickey Summers, who is working on the cover art for “Lonesome Cove”. We discussed a few changes to the layout, and he has some ideas about deepening the color and adding a few highlights to enhance the mood of the picture. He should have it done near the end of this month. We also discussed the manuscript. Mickey’s my initial editor while I’m still in manuscript, and he has saved me tons of money and hours of work over the years, so I listen very closely to what he has to say. Every one of my novels is as good as it is due to his input.
I’m just lucky that way.
Nancy Tucker-Garcia is an old family friend and Ocala girl presently living in Kansas. Yes, a few people do live in Kansas (but we all know where they come for their vacations, don’t we). She is a professional photographer and runs a design and layout company (www.ngphotoanddesign.com). She contacted me last week and said she would be visiting friends for a week and she would do a photo shoot with me if I could make it to Ocala. Well, I’m nobody’s fool, so I said yes. My sister and I drove down and spent most of Wednesday with her. We walked around downtown Ocala and Nancy had me posing here, there and in several other places while she worked her magic Nikon with some whacking great lens on.
When I got up this morning and logged on, she already had a few photos posted on FB, so I snagged them and added them to the Media section on my web site. Now, I’m almost as old as dirt, barely housebroken and I don’t even own an iron. Nobody ever accused me of being a clothes horse, either. But Nancy is so good she makes me look good, and that takes more than a hint of skill. Here’s one of the two she posted on FB:
I should have the rest of the photos she took after the first of the year, and I’ll select a few head shots for promo packs and so on.
It’s supposed to rain in Green Cove Springs, Florida, tomorrow. Say, what? That’s only important if you live in Green Cove Springs, right? Why bother everyone else with that bit of trivia? Well, I’m going to be at the Military Museum of North Florida early in the morning, setting up my marquee tent and putting my books on display for the Arts & Crafts Fair. And the Military Museum of North Florida just happens to be about a mile east of Green Cove Springs, right along the St. John’s River.
But it’s only supposed to rain during the morning. The mid-day and afternoon temps should climb all the way up to 64 degrees. Imagine that for a brief moment. Florida, winter (well, almost winter) and temperatures a balmy 64 degrees! Now, that’s worth writing home about.
Kindle has set up a very attractive plan for authors who either do publish or are thinking about publishing for the platform. Since My novels are already Kindle-ized, nobody had to twist my arm to get me to sign up. You might check the Kindle Owners Lending Library page (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref%3dtouch_off_wel_em_koll?&docId=1000739811) for details on this offer. I mean, borrowing books is a whole lot cheaper than buying them right? And besides, you’ve been thinking about buying one anyway…
Speaking of Kindles, I’ve been publishing for the platform for a few years, now, and realized I had no idea how my novels look on the device. Publishing involves no cost to the author, and it is pretty much a do-it-yourself affair (but be sure you have all of your little duckies in a row or you just mike an incredible mess of things). I’ve spent the last few months arguing myself silly over actually plunking down good money to buy a Kindle so I could check the quality of the formatting for myself.
The Kindle publisher uses a ridiculously small Preview screen once the software has your files formatted for the device – it’s so small there should be a law against it – and the only real way of checking your page layout and formatting is by seeing the novel on a Kindle.
So, I bought a Kindle Touch, and I am so far very pleased with it. And no, I haven’t bought a copy of one of my novels for it, yet. But I did buy “Firestorm”, by Taylor Anderson. If you have any interest in ‘alternate worlds’ novels, his are right at the top of the list, in my book.
So, if you’re going to be in Green Cove Springs this Saturday, drop by the Military Museum on SR 16 and say hello. Take 17 south through Green Cove and turn left onto 16. The museum is on Bunker ave. about a mile down on your right. And bring a raincoat – you might need it.
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