So, book events are like, what did we learn this time? At the Tombstone Western Writers event we learned to make sure certain things in the new trailer still work. Like the refrigerator and the heater. Because wow, was the weather ever cold, rainy, and windy down there. Thursday and Friday were bitterly cold, mostly due to the wind. But Saturday… was better. Thursday/Friday, barely got to 50*. The nights were 35*. In order not to freeze to death, we turned on our stove burners, opened a window so we didn’t asphyxiate, and cuddled up. However, we managed and we had fun, so we win! We met a lot of other writers, which is always fun.
Our next event is the Verde Valley Comic Expo on March 23, 2024. You should show up if you like comic/cosplay events. This one is small, but inexpensive. The event is fun, and Cottonwood is pretty nice as little towns go. Sedona and Prescott aren’t too far away. Even though small, the event is a win-win in many ways.
The big news is (drumroll) our new book is out. The Dirty End of the Needle is a gritty, literary fiction book about a brother who takes advantage of his father’s love. He leaves home with his inheritance in hand, going to Las Vegas to make his fortune. All he ends up finding there are trouble and heartbreak. You will find this book on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible.
I take a lot of the photo art for my own books. I am by no means an artist who draws or paints, but I can use a camera. TJ and I add the photos to the covers on the Amazon publishing page, and voila! Personal art. Covers made exclusively for our books. That being said, TJ and I cruised our area for a likely suspect for The Dirty End of the Needle. A very nice man allowed us to take his photo for our cover. I paid him and listened to his sad story. Not every homeless person is a drug addict or alcoholic. Some people are only down on their luck. Job loss, illness, whatever, can take you to homelessness. The line is thinner than you may think. Please pray for, and direct people to social services in your area. In Arizona, we have St. Vincent de Paul’s and Phoenix Rescue Mission. These are only two among many others. They will help find the homeless person clothing, food, jobs, shelter. Just saying.
At this point, I have to say something about Audible. Using a voice actor to read your book is very expensive. You either pay a lot, do it yourself by buying some recording equipment, or now, using the Amazon AI audio voices. We chose the AI audio voices. Because of that, all our books are now on Audible! People often ask us at events if we are [on Audible], and up until now, we had to say no. Now we can say yes!
In closing, 1) please sign up to WordPress.com, if you want to leave me a note. You can tell them not to annoy you with email. On the other hand, you will get a notice about my blogs, and I won’t annoy you with email, either. 2) I would love to hear from you! 3) If you read any of TJ’s or my books, please leave a review on Amazon! Thank you!
Mirror Gate Chronicles 