My oldest daughter's first weeks in Arkansas have been exciting--including a "live shooter on campus" incident that turned out to be a hoax. I think my wife and I worried more than my daughter did. But she's making friends and getting her work done, and I couldn't be more proud. My other two daughters started school as well--my youngest is in high school! Crazy. I know I keep saying this, but it's gone by so fast! We are back into the help-me-with-homework evenings, Friday-night football...
13 days ago • 3 min read
My oldest daughter left for college! Arkansas... an 8-9 hour drive on a good day. My wife and I have definitely fought strange battles with suddenly watery eyes since dropping her off... some kind of strange allergy attack no doubt. From the verdant growth in Arkansas. We miss you tons, Sienitas! Dorm drop-off Click here to be removed from family content. A Dragon's Egg and a Full-Circle Moment Okay, I have to share this—because it's one of the coolest things that’s happened to me as an...
30 days ago • 3 min read
We took our final family trip before my oldest goes off to college. I'm guessing family trips get successively harder after this year, and, frankly, I'm not ready for this stage of life to end. I know it's cliche, but it sure went by faster than I thought it would. Do you remember how slowly the days seemed to creep by when you were a child? How exciting a birthday was? It's really crazy how quickly the years whip by as you get older, and that birthday feeling swaps to, "Really? Another one?...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
We brought my mother-in-law over and kept her out late to watch our little home fireworks show to celebrate the 4th of July, or, as my new British colleagues called it, Treason Day. I have to admit, it's fun being in a meeting and having someone say, "We haven't done that in donkey's ears," and, "Oh! That's what foxed me! Jolly good!" But Treason Day made me laugh out loud. Click here to be removed from family content. Book 4 is well underway now. I took a different approach this time and...
2 months ago • 3 min read
We met with extended family to spend a day at Sea World. Hot day with cool (literally) rides. Most of the fam at Sea World Me and my oldest daughter cooling off on a ride Click here to be removed from family content. Oddly enough, the twice-a-month cadence for newsletters won out over once-a-month, by one vote. So twice a month is borderline. Maybe I'll skip a newsletter once in a while. And more people liked seeing the indie book options than didn't, so I'll keep them, but I set up ways to...
2 months ago • 2 min read
I traveled to Cambridge, England for work since my last email. I didn't get much time to explore on my own, but walked a great deal while I was there, and took photos as I went. Yes, I'm sure I looked like a tourist, but I'm comfortable with that. "Bodies in the Bookshop" appeared to be a bookstore that sold only murder mysteries (sadly, it was closed). I learned, among other things, that the title, Secrets of Deara, absolutely needs to be said with a Scottish accent. Technically, I learned...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Went with my wife and oldest daughter to college orientation in Arkansas. What a beautiful place! I'm not exactly the most sporty guy in the world (my school didn't offer quidditch), so I never really learned my own school's fight song, and now I have to learn another? But it was fun, and it's great to see my daughter so excited. (I mean, sure, she's excited that she's leaving us, so grain of salt and all that.) Another interesting bit—I’m leave for England the day this is going out. For...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Life is incredibly busy, but, generally speaking, it's also a lot of fun. With three teenage daughters, and now four cars, we've always got something in the shop, always have kids darting in and out of the house, always have exasperating moments of schedule conflicts. But those kids darting about are fun and funny, and the schedule conflicts are because everyone has their interesting stuffs. So yeah, bedlam, but I'm sure I'll miss it. And my wife and I still manage to sneak away for date...
4 months ago • 4 min read
I showed my daughter and her friends how to use a miter saw and drill and set them loose for their school project. There’s still thirty fingers amongst them, so I’m declaring it a victory, whether they get an A or not I sent out the ARC ebook versions of Secrets. The paperback will take more time. Right now, only 11 people are signed up. That's the lowest I've ever had, which perhaps I should take as a sign. But this book is my favorite so far, and I think it is pretty solid with the rounds...
5 months ago • 1 min read
I haven’t divulged my marketing failures in a while, so I thought I’d provide an update. I mentioned before that I’ve stopped using Brian Cohen‘s strategies. I’m convinced they’re complete hogwash. Throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. I started using Matthew J. Holmes’s strategies. I began with Facebook ads, and more recently started doing Amazon ads. The strategies make a lot more sense, although I’ve still been unable to succeed with them. With Facebook, I moved from...
5 months ago • 1 min read