(1/20/25)

Maybeth’s “down upon the Suwannee River…”

Thanks to the enduring support of the librarians of the Suwannee River system, Meet Maybeth: A Confederate Girl can now be checked out in Lee, Live Oak, and Madison, Florida.

In other news, I’m already on chapter two of the sequel to my fantasy novel. It’s going to take quite a while to finish, but plot lines and ideas are coming together nicely.

(12/24/24)

…and Happy New Year! (2025 couldn’t get any worse, right? The wretched world remains on fire.)

Things are proceeding apace here at Two Goats Press. Meet Maybeth is now on Hoopla, an eBook service I absolutely love. It lets you check out books electronically from hundreds of participating libraries! If you’re socked-in somewhere snuggled up from the cold, please check out my book.

My friends in Southwest Georgia have also recently added me in Decatur, Miller, and Seminole Counties.

I’m still hopeful I’ll show up in a few more places yet. I sent out quite a few promotional copies this time.

Two other pieces of news I have to report:

The planning stage has begun on my fourth book. I’m gonna write a sequel to my fantasy story. What I’ve got planned is epic with lots of surprises, but don’t expect even a sniff of it for at least a year and a half.

Also, you may remember when I mentioned someone messing with my book. Well, that outfit persisted in spite of my warnings, so they’ll soon be getting the horns. (More on this bit later. And I’m no Kris Kringle, but I do now have representation. Those punks should beware.)

Though it may not be where you are, the weather here in Florida has been wonderful lately. Lesly and I recently attended an evening celebration in Monticello, and with the almost full moon it couldn’t have been any more perfect.

Pray for Peace.

D.W.

Oh! P.S. Check out Dragons Down. It’s a new 2024 mega adventure board game. We just cracked it open and it’s been a blast. I used to own its inspiration (Magic Realm) back in the day.

(4/7/23)

Good Friday Salutations!

The Friends of the Taylor County Public Library have invited me back to talk about my new book! I’ll be there for an hour long program beginning at 5:30pm on September 25, 2023. If you live here in the Big Bend or South Georgia, please make plans to attend.

The address is 403 N. Washington St. Perry, FL 32347

Web link: http://3riverslibrary.com/

As before, I very much appreciate the invitation and look forward to seeing everyone down that way again!

I’ll post an outline of the program when we get a little closer to the date. And do please feel free in the meantime to suggest other items you’d like to see included on the agenda (i.e. I won’t be just sitting and reading from my book for an hour ^.~). You can make these suggestions here, or via James Gross there at the library.

P.S. Speaking of libraries, A Southern Fried Fantasy Adventure Story has been adopted by two more—Mervyn H. Sterne up at my Alma Mater UAB in Birmingham, and over in Port St. Joe at the Corinne Costin Gibson Memorial Library. Thank you librarians for your support! That’s seventeen institutions now for those out there counting!

(3/15/23)

It’s release day! Run—don’t walk—to your favorite bookstore, and if they don’t have my book, they can definitely order it!

Searching online for a thematic picture, I found just the thing—a fox eating a strawberry (credit for same presumably included in the watermark). Isn’t it cute?

Last week, we finally got out of town, and I used the opportunity to distribute some promotional copies of my book. We went to the Strawberry Festival down in Plant City. If you haven’t been, you really should go!

Some of the libraries I visited have already added my book to their collection which, when totaled with the ones from before, now number thirteen (my lucky number)! Thank you very much to the following wonderful libraries for supporting this independent author:

Bay County Public Library (Panama City)   https://www.nwrls.com/bay-county-public-library/

Wilderness Coast Public Libraries (Two: Franklin County Public Library in Carrabelle and Wakulla County Public Library in Crawfordville)   https://catalog.wildernesscoast.org/

The Suwannee River Regional Library System (Four Libraries:  Greenville, Lee, Live Oak, and Madison)   https://srrlib.org/client/en_US/default

Three Rivers Library System (Three Libraries: Dixie County Public Library, Gilchrist County Public Library, and Lafayette County Public Library)   http://3riverslibrary.com/

Luther Callaway Public Library (Chiefland)   https://levy.agverso.com/home?cid=levy&lid=levy

Zephyrhills Public Library  https://www.pascolibraries.org/about/locations-and-hours/zephyrhills-public-library/

Temple Terrace Public Library   https://hcplc.bibliocommons.com/

As a reminder, I will be exploring Amazon’s Kindle promotion opportunities, but give me time. Earlier, I was told I’d have to wait until after release. I’ll keep you posted.

Please also remember that I’m not some big operation. If you like either of my books, you need to tell somebody! Thank you! ^.~

(2/1/23)

Happy Groundhog Day Eve!

Since I’ve been remiss, I figured I would finally do a big blog update concerning my impending release. Some of this information is way overdue, but there have been a lot of things going on behind the scenes.

For starters, there was almost yet another delay… Yikes! But we managed to get things sorted. As far as I am now aware, everything is go for March 15^th.

As a reminder, my novel will be released in two formats: trade paperback and eBook. And while the trade paperback will be distributed by various outfits such as Baker & Taylor worldwide, the eBook has been captured by Amazon through an exclusive arrangement to last at least the first three months. I chose this, this time, to see if it will allow me more promotional opportunities. If it doesn’t, I will open it back up later to the various other eBook distributors.

People who like Apple Books or whatever shouldn’t worry. You guys are still good to go, since I think you can still download the Kindle App and read the eBook on your special device in that way (i.e. As I understand it, it’s really only a matter of the shop you’ll be buying it from).

Click HERE to go to my publisher’s storefront page for an exclusive look at the back and even inside!

Q: Why trade paperback instead of hardcover this time?

A: Well, if you happen to watch a lot of daytime TV, like certain authors who work from home, then you’ll know this has to do with the ever important “Three Ps”: Price, Price, and Price! This book is a big boy, and an indie hardcover this size would cost a fortune. By going paper I was able to keep the maximum price below the $20 threshold.

Q: You mentioned promotions…

A: Yeah, stay tuned and keep your eyes on my Amazon page while I figure out how all this works. Notice also that my eBook is cheaper this time compared to last. It’s a huge bargain already in my opinion at the base price of $4.99. Remember this isn’t just the beginning of some lightweight series; it is a large self-contained story that took me years to write. Heck, as I dream it, it could serve as the basis of an entire full animated season!

Q: You said you were going to tell us more about the cover…

A: Here’s where I get to sing the praises of the designers at my publisher, BookBaby. That is a bespoke cover, folks! And to make matters even more astounding, the team at BookBaby was apparently able to do it with only art assets and graphic design—meaning that it’s not an original painting but instead a delightful, beautiful Frankenstein. By the way, I did at one point try to hire an artist, but was unsuccessful. When I told BookBaby about the dream cover that got away they just replied, “Let us see what we can do!” How about that!

Q: OK, so about that scene…

A: That’s “Pia,” the fox and fifth member of the party, curled by the fire in Eloise’s chateau, along with Birk’s sword, and Ivy’s backpack visible nearby. If you’re worried about Galan not being represented, don’t be, he’s on the back! That’s his half-eaten biscuit from a separate (humorous) scene featured on the back cover.

Q: What’s so “Southern” about chateaus, goblins, elves, and evil sorcerers?

A: Nothing, unless the author was raised in the Deep South, and happened to have set his fantasy upon very familiar terrain. I wanted a story about characters and not some invented geography.

Q: So, where do we go from here?

A: I’ll be approaching libraries shortly armed with promotional copies, especially those who were kind enough to support me in the past. Obviously, I’d love for you to buy my book, but I didn’t write it to get rich; that’s why libraries play such an integral part in my “marketing” plan. I want readers! And what better way to get them than by way of their local library. Libraries are such wonderful places. Be sure to ask for my book at yours! Speaking of, earlier this week, I sent my copies to the Library of Congress. I should, therefore, be all set—got my Library of Congress Control Number and everything (it’s 2023900639).

That’s all for now, but I’ll continue to keep you posted going forward. And, when the book comes out next month, don’t be shy–if you like it, TELL YOUR FRIENDS! I don’t have much money for advertising, or extra time for that matter. It’s all on you, for I’m busy, writing alone in the dark.

P.S. I’ll be making another separate post today to feature early reviews. That’s right, I got some, and they’re really good! I like their pointed comments.

A Southern Fried Fantasy Adventure Story is GO!

(12/17/22)

Unfortunately, my second novel has required a re-proof, and the additional work on quality will delay its release date. I had originally hoped to have the book out this year, but now it’s looking more like March or so…

I do have a little bit of good news to report—about another library that has adopted A Witch’s Burden. If you live down in Dundee, Florida, please be sure and check me out!

I hope to have more concrete information about my second project soon. It’s so close to finished, but it has to be just right.