• Challenge,  Fun Stuff,  publishing

    Paperback Writer…

    I Loved the Beatles Song “Paperback Writer”… When I came into publishing almost fifty years ago, what dominated as far as fiction distribution was the mass market paperback. In 1977 I opened a bookstore called “The Paperback Exchange” and did really well, changing the name to “Twice Sold Tales” after I bought a comic store and the towns only album store and moved them all in together. It was a fun place. As a writer, all I ever wanted to be was a paperback writer. And then as the world changed in the early part of this century, trade paperbacks started taking the place of mass market paperbacks and now…

  • Challenge,  Kickstarter Campaign

    Kickstarter Update and New!

    All Starter Kit Rewards Going Out… Tomorrow (Wednesday). If you do not have everything by Thursday and you have checked your spam filter (a lot of links in some of these rewards), then contact WMG or me and I will put you in contact with WMG Publishing to help you out. That was a fun small campaign and I really appreciate the support on it. But now, coming up on Thursday, a bigger and longer campaign with the brand new Cold Poker Gang novel CASE CARD. Kickstarter will fire up at noon on Thursday. And with it is a brand new Cold Poker Gang Collection called ACTION. ACTION collection will…

  • Challenge,  Free Fiction of the Week,  Fun Stuff

    Cold Poker Gang Book Free Right Now

    Kill Game… First Book In the Series It is free right now just about everywhere, because it will be on a Bookbub on Saturday. So you can grab it any time. Cold Poker Gang is a series of puzzle mysteries where retired Las Vegas detectives join the Cold Poker Gang task force to solve cold cases. Strangely enough, there is a cold case task force here in Vegas, two guys, that I didn’t know about when I started this series a decade ago. Not sure they existed back then. I love these books and hope to write more in the series this coming year. Below is a nifty book video…

  • Challenge,  Fun Stuff

    Home and Exhausted

    Assignments and Email Tomorrow… Long two-day drive from the Oregon Coast to Las Vegas. I had forgotten just how long, actually. But great to be home. Last twenty hours of Cold Poker Gang Kickstarter. And we are nearing the next stretch goal which adds another free book for everyone plus a choice of Pop-Up Writing Class worth $150. So sure hope we can make that. It would be very cool. And thank you, everyone, for the support of my series. Means a great deal. And one blast to the past. One of my most famous short stories, a story I have made over $20,000 on and counting is called “In…

  • Challenge,  publishing

    Back in Boise

    Headed Home to Vegas… Tomorrow, Wednesday… So I will be responding to assignments on Thursday in the workshops, but all of Week #3 workshops have been launched, a real feat from this iPad. (Grin) And wow, with almost two days left as I write this in the Cold Poker Gang Kickstarter (links in posts below), we are gaining on the 4th stretch goal! That one has another one of my off-brand series books to read and a choice of a Pop-Up worth $150. So I sure hope we can get to that. Thanks for passing the word. Long day today. Spent three hours in the warehouse this morning with Allyson…

  • Challenge,  On Writing,  publishing

    Cold Poker Gang Kickstarter Almost To First Stretch Goal

    Only $310 Away… I want to thank everyone for the support so far. Been fantastic. And we still have 12 days to go. With the stretch goals above this first one, writers will get a choice of a $50 lecture and then the next stretch goal a choice of a $150 Classic Workshop. Above that is a Pop-Up choice worth $150 and above that it will really be amazing. Readers for each stretch goal get books to read. A couple I wrote you might never heard of, actually. Can’t believe we are so close to the first stretch goal. That is so cool. Thank you!! So here is the link…

  • Challenge,  News,  publishing

    Cold Poker Gang Kickstarter Hit Goal!!!

    In Just 24 Hours!! Wow. That is so cool. Thank you, everyone! Going to finally get the entire series into hardback and all supporters will get an early copy to read of BOTTOM PAIR, the new novel. That will be available to early readers from the campaign later this fall and published for everyone later in the winter. Remember, there is a nifty new workshop only available through this campaign called How to Write Mystery Series. A number of people have asked if it will be different from what Kris taught in her in-person (and Study Along) mystery workshop. And different from the now classic Writing Mysteries Workshop and the…

  • Fun Stuff,  publishing,  Recommended Reading

    Cold Poker Gang Kickstarter Launched

    Fun New Campaign… JUST LAUNCHED!!! We’re trying to get The Cold Poker Gang books into hardback. And I have a new novel in the series called BOTTOM PAIR coming out later this year. So if you want to get an early read of BOTTOM PAIR, you can do so through this Kickstarter Campaign. Plus limited edition signed hardback set of all eleven of The Cold Poker Gang novels. Plus a limited edition signed hardback of BOTTOM PAIR. And a very, very limited set of Cold Poker Gang chips, with the special decks of cards in a metal case. On top of all that, there is a special workshop that you…

  • Challenge,  Fun Stuff

    Cool Deck of Cards

    Been Wanting to Do This For A Long Time… Finally, just tonight, after designing and ordering a nifty set of Cold Poker Gang chips in a nifty case last night, tonight I put together a Cold Poker Gang deck of cards. All eleven book covers randomly placed on 54 cards. Next week we are firing up a Cold Poker Gang Kickstarter campaign to help us get all eleven books into hardback and also to give fans of the series an early look at BOTTOM PAIR, the eleventh novel in the mystery series.  Plus we will have limited signed editions and a few limited poker chip sets and these decks of…

  • Challenge,  Recommended Reading

    New Novel Out

    Heads Up: A Cold Poker Gang Mystery… That’s right, I almost never announce one of my books here, but a lot of people have asked me when the next Cold Poker Gang novel will be out, so it published yesterday. There, I announced one of my own books. Don’t expect me to do that much this next year. I am gaining speed again so will publish too many things to do that. However, I will have a writing web site that will be different and I will announce that around the first of the year. There you can track what I am publishing. So anyhow, here is the sales copy…