Newsletter #16—April 16, 2024

What a Taxing Week it’s been!

Hello again, or welcome, if this is your first time stopping in (or being stopped in on, as it were…)—get comfortable, and let’s have a chat!

So, yesterday was “T Day”—and I don’t mean a Tea Dance, or Tea Cookies, or even a High Tea. (Unless you use CBD Gummies while preparing your returns, then all bets are off!) I could give you 1,040 reasons why no one in the entire United States enjoys April 15 [except maybe the head of the IRS]. If you’ve been snoozing for a few hundred years and just woke up, you might have missed the fact that yesterday was Tax Day. If that’s not bad enough, old “bright-as-a-burned-out-penlight” here scheduled himself a doctor’s followup appointment for today. Fun times.

If you’re just joining my regular emails, you’ve missed a good bit—the anthology, Rome: Centuries of Stories of the Eternal City, including a story by yours truly, was released by Red Penguin Books just before Christmas 2023. It’s available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com, and Bookshop.org in paperback or ebook format. [Note that my contribution is not romantic comedy or fiction; it’s my recollection of my visit to Rome in 1968, as truthful as possible.] You’ve hopefully read Benji’s Bayou Birthday Bash, the prequel to the novel (still in progress and getting closer to a big announcement, I promise); if you’d like more of Benji and Ravynn and New Orleans, there’s the short holiday story, Christmas Bonfires, available free in a regular ebook format or in a special edition with extra illustrations inside the ebook. The novel, Phoenix Rising Book 1: Band on the Run, will wind up as an 80,000 to 90,000 word romantic comedy. And there’s a cover being designed for it now! (No, Angel, it’s not going to be the album cover for Paul McCartney and Wings with new faces glued on!) Sheesh, where does she get these ideas? Anyway, between now and the book’s launch, you’re going to get “first dibs” at seeing the finished cover!

Oh, also… as a newsletter subscriber, you’ll be among the first to know when the book will be released, where it can be purchased, and… there will be excerpts. Yes, I’m going to share some of the fun in the novel with you, before its release (and you might see “extras” like deleted scenes as a newsletter-only bonus, fun stuff like that. All of those things will lead up to the release of the novel, and your chance to see the entire book.

The great FREE BOOKS promotion is still going on. All the books in the promotion are available to you for the cost of joining the author’s newsletter—which you can unsubscribe from at any time, just like here (of course, just like here, if you leave, imagine the goodies you’ll miss). It’s all in your hands, or fingers. Click the banner, or one of the book covers (I’ve got a few to let you see the goodies available), and it will open a new window for you with All. The. Free. Books!

Earth Day is April 22. I hope you treat our common home well—there is NO Planet B! April 26 is John James Audubon’s birthday, and National Bird Day. Did you know that birds are more closely related to dinosaurs than to any living creature? Still, please treat them kindly. All of nature deserves a chance to thrive.

The next newsletter will hit your inbox on May 7. So, enjoy celebrating the day that a ship full of Blue Plate sank to the bottom of the ocean, on May 5… Oh, Angel tells me that “Cinco de Mayo” has nothing to do with either a ship sinking or with mayonnaise. All these years, I’ve been going at it wrong. Well, have a tequila sunrise and a Mexican dinner, and enjoy the day—and for anyone of Mexican or Hispanic descent, I’m just playing with the words; it’s the worst play on words ever.

As I was saying before my brain did a U-turn down that rabbit hole, the next newsletter will hit your inbox on May 7, so I’ll be talking to you then. If you decide I’m not your cup of tea (or coffee, or tequila, or whatever), please just hit the “Unsubscribe” link below. I’ll miss chatting with you, but no hard feelings otherwise!

Newsletter #15—March 26, 2024

Fancy a Bit of Rock and Roll (history)?

Stuck inside these four walls…. Yeah, the winter pretty much makes it feel that way, huh? So here we are, a few days after “Spring has sprung.” And what’s happening? Well, the rain exploded with a mighty crash as we fell into the sun. Ummm, I don’t know, sounds a bit severe, doesn’t it? You don’t really mean you fell into the sun—that’s a bit too hot! I doubt you’d be here telling us about it, would you? The jailer man, and Sailor Sam, were searching everyone. Hmmm, was there a jailbreak somewhere that I missed? Something BIG happened?

Band on the Run

For those of you who are close followers of rock music, the lines in that first paragraph should have gotten you thinking about a 1973 song and album from Paul McCartney and Wings entitled Band on the Run. The lyrics of the song, the artist performing the song, and the images of the song led me to title my first novel Phoenix Rising Book 1: Band on the Run.

I’m hoping to have a cover reveal for you before too much longer (ooh, the suspense! The anticipation!) - after years of talking about it, this project is getting SO CLOSE to being a “done deal”….

Now, for a bit of fun—if you’d like! (You can skip the next two paragraphs if you feel so inclined.)

Welcome to the long and winding road! Something tells me that those of you willing to follow the fool on the hill might need a little help. Me, I’ll follow the sun and buy a ticket to ride on the magical mystery tour. It’s the one after 909. I bought it yesterday from a woman named Michelle. She’s a woman who will wait for no one, I want to tell you! I’m so tired, I’m only sleeping, boys. Girl, let me tell you the word while my guitar gently weeps. Now and then, all you need is love, eight days a week, from me to you, sexy Sadie.

Okay…. For those of you thinking I’ve finally gone ‘round the bend completely, that hodge-podge is a whole lotta rock & roll history going on! If you look carefully—and if you’re a follower of a certain group of musicians from Liverpool, England—you’ll find twenty-five song titles covering over sixty years. Need hints? The group in question is The Beatles. All the song titles are from readily-available recordings, though a lot of them may be older than you, dear reader! (I could’ve made it easy and only used the titles of their top hits, but where’s the fun in that?) You want more hints? Okay, there are five 5-word titles (including “The Fool on the Hill”); three 4-word titles; eight 3-word tiles (including “Magical Mystery Tour”); two 2-word titles (one is “The Word”); and seven 1-word titles (including “Girl” and “Boys”).

Moving on to more exciting things! I’m staying busy these days—after four exciting (and hectic) days attending the Women in Publishing Summit, I have been spending my days and nights editing the novel. What? You thought “Women in Publishing” meant only Women attended? I must admit, I was one of just a handful of guys in the online crowd, but the premise of the conference is about Women presenters, women-led businesses. I can totally understand and support that! Besides which, the conference is always such a blast! Yeah, this was my second year. I had joked at the 2023 conference that I felt like an “honorary” woman, and a few of the attendees and presenters welcomed me back as an “honorary” woman again. Side note: The closing session on the final day? Wow! ALL these women—attendees and presenters alike—know how to “par-tay!”

The biggest result of the conference is that I have figured out a lot of my future plans. My immediate goal is getting the novel down to “fighting” weight, 80,000 to 90,000 words, then formatted into ebook and paperback versions—and, possibly, hard cover as well, if there’s an interest. (I found a publisher, yippee!) I will ALSO be updating the prequel and the Christmas story, so all my books in the “Phoenix Rising” world will have a unified feel and look….. and all of my books will be “branded” with the logo of Gambit’s Angel Publications, my publishing imprint.

As I have mentioned, the rough first draft is finished. Originally it clocked in at over 147,000 words—in other words, almost enough for two full books. Now, I’m editing that draft to cut it down to a decent-sized book. For those of you who are wondering, ALL the words are being kept—some may “pop up” in later books, and it’s always possible that somewhere down the way there will be an “Uncut” version for those of you who want “All. The. Words.”

If you’ve been reading these periodic blasts from me for any length of time, you know that I have shared books I’ve read as sort of recommendations for you. In the next few months, I am going to be sharing, with other authors, my prequel—so you’ll see a promotion in April for FREE gay (M-M) romance books, including my very own Benji’s Bayou Birthday Bash. It’s a way to add more subscribers to the mailing lists of these authors, so you’ll get the same deal with them you got with me—a book of theirs for your email, so they can write you letters. I promise I won’t consider it cheating if you join another mailing list! I’m also looking to join a promotion for Pride Month, June….

With all that neatly wrapped up, I think the Editor-in-Chief has approved this edition for your reading, so I’ll let you know the next “regularly scheduled” newsletter will be April 16…. but since the group promo for FREE books runs from April 1 through 30, I’ll send you a special newsletter on April 2 to remind you of ALL the FREE books….

Oh, yeah, almost forgot—Happy Spring, and Happy birthday to the Editor-in-Chief, Angel, who will turn 2 years old on April 1. Now, as always, if you decide this newsletter isn’t your thing, hit the “Unsubscribe” link below, and you’ll be gone, but never forgotten (and no hard feelings). Of course, that means you’ll miss what’s coming next issue!! But, no bribes. Thanks for being part of my writing journey!

Newsletter #14—March 5, 2024

Beware the Ides of March!

The Band is really on the run! (At last….) I’ll tell ya more shortly. But first…..

Wow, where did January and February go? I mean, it feels like only yesterday we were toasting in 2024, and now we’ve torn two whole months off the calendar (if you have one of those wall thingys, that is), or erased a bunch (if you’re using dry-erase calendars), or…. Well, you get the idea. Time has flown.

So here we are in the first full week of March, staring down the last vestiges of Winter (thank heavens for that!) and seeing the first—or in some cases, the thirtieth—signs of Spring popping out. My allergies aren’t amused, but bring on the warmer temperatures, for sure! I’ll deal with the sneezing and wheezing (if you guys will pardon me), just let me escape the freezing! (At least I’ve still got my cheesy poetic twists, huh?)

Speaking of cheesy, I just want to remind you (cheesy tie-in with the subject line and all) that the anthology is still available at Red Penguin Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and Walmart.com. It’s published by Red Penguin Books, and I’m still just blown away to be a part of the collection of short stories, pictures, and poetry in the anthology—even if it’s not my usual genre of writing. My short story is a true memoir (well, as true as you can get, remembering something from 50 or more years ago), not gay fiction, so just a warning – but I’d be honored if you decided to add it to your e-book or paperback collection because of me.

Now for something novel! Yes, news about the novel! As I write this, I am beginning the process of turning “all the words” into a novel-sized story that will be fit for publication and reading, eventually. No, Virginia, this will NOT be “War and Peace: The Remix.” It’s going to clock in at a decent length for an entertaining romantic comedy. That means no more than 90,000 words! (Please don’t ask me how many pages that will be, because font sizes, page sizes, etc., etc., etc.) I can promise you this: It’s going to have a Happily Ever After. And maybe some hints at future stories, in case anyone’s interested. And things you hopefully read and enjoyed in the prequel and the Christmas story might just be tied in, somehow….

Oh, yeah. Forgot to mention, the current working title is (drumroll, maestro, if you please….) Phoenix Rising Book 1: Band on the Run. Yeah, as much as I liked “The (Un)Official Carica-Tour” as a possible title, it was too wordy, too far from all that’s happening in the book, just not the best fit. While the title could still change, this title ties in so much and so well with the story that I think it just might stick. We’ll see – I am fairly certain this baby will be “birthed” sometime before December 31, 2024.

The plan (in my mind, at least) is to get the editing process done by the end of June at the latest. Then I’ll need some beta readers—critical eyes—to make sure there are no “holes” in the story. Once that’s done, it’s on to ARC land—Advance Reader Copies, publication, and widespread availability—in short, that will be when I go more than a little crazier than I normally am. Fun times!

Just so you’re aware, if you want to be an Advance Reader, you’ll get a FREE advanced copy (as in, mostly the "final" version, but it COULD change slightly) of the book, with the agreement that you’ll read it and post an HONEST review in selected sites (like Amazon, Goodreads, and others). Typically you’ll have about a week to read the book and post the reviews, so consider all that before you sign on as an ARC reader! And if you’ve never given a book review before, it’s not too difficult. You don’t have to analyze the main characters (unless you want to), just comment on what you enjoyed—or didn’t enjoy—about the book; what “pulled you in” or “pushed you away.”

Now, I just need to get busy on the edits, and start working on covers and the blurb and everything else that will need to be ready soon. June is NOT that far off!

Oh, yeah—I almost forgot two very important details! First, as always, if you decide this isn’t your cup of tea, just hit the unsubscribe link below, okay? (Please don’t send me to Spam—it causes Google and other email providers to think I’m sending out junk, which I try not to do!) Second, there will be another newsletter this month, on March 26…. which means I need to wish y’all a Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and welcome Spring (March 20 or 21, officially). See you in three weeks!

Newsletter #13—February 13, 2024

Laissez les bontemps Rouler!

Hey y’all, it’s Mardi Gras! Yep, Fat Tuesday – the day in New Orleans when all the good Catholic boys, girls, men, and women feast and fatten up for the fasting of Lent, which starts tomorrow, Ash Wednesday.

Oh, yeah – y’all were expectin’ James, weren’t ya? He’s away on some shindig, so I decided to take over. Case ya hadn’t guessed, it’s me, Benji, though I’ll also answer to “Cajun firecracker” and Ravynn gets to call me a few other things, but that’s between him and me for now!

So, anyway, how y’all like that snazzy header for this newsletter? I got James to set it up for me before he left on his trip – he’s the writer and techie guy. Wil could do it, prob’ly, but he’s got a new keyboard he’s tinkerin’ with, tells me it even will figure out the melody and beat on its own. Sounds like he won’t need any of the rest of us, ‘cause it’ll even create a human voice and sing a song. He calls it “A Eye” or something. Sounds like voodoo or black magic to me!

I hope y’all won’t be too disappointed with gettin’ this from me and not from James. He prob’ly could tell ya a lot about how the writing is going, or what’s goin’ on – all I can tell is that he went to visit some friends for a Mardi Gras party before the day, and is traveling home today. Since he’s partied already, me an’ Ravynn, Sean and Clay, and a few friends are gonna watch the last parades in New Orleans online as we eat a King Cake or two. And Rave promised me cafe au lait and beignets after! So ‘scuse me if I cut this short. James will be back with you on March 5 with the next newsletter… but if ya don’t wanna hang around any more, just hit the unsubscribe link below, okay? (I hope ya hang around, the novel is getting close, shay!) Ooh, beignet time…. Catch ya later!!

Newsletter #12—January 23, 2024

Well, THAT was pretty quick!

In this edition:

▫ More information about the ROME anthology
▫ Update on the novel’s progress
▫ Future ideas and plans for the rest of the year
▫ Question!

Before we jump into the meat of this newsletter, can we just agree that SOMEONE put this year on super-fast-forward? Come on, it was like two days ago we were talking about Christmas 2023, now here we are almost done with January 2024! Sheesh! I know the old saying is “Time flies when you’re having fun,” but my goodness, we haven’t even had the final words on the final version of the first draft of the novel yet, so it’s not like we’re just going bonkers here! **Taking a deep breath here!** Okay, that helped. Now, back to our regular news and stuff!

You should have received a special newsletter from me about the anthology. It has been published! Yay! (Cue the champagne, confetti, beignets, and so on) If you haven’t gotten a copy yet, it’s available at Amazon in both ebook and paperback; Barnes & Noble in both ebook and paperback; and in paperback format at Bookshop.org or Walmart.com (click the appropriate links to be taken to an external page). Just so you know, if you purchase a copy, I might make a few cents off your purchase.

The novel is so close to a full, final first draft—i.e., ready to be whittled down to book size for submission for publishing—that I’m like a proud papa in the delivery room, ready to start stuffing cigars into everyone’s hands or mouths…. Okay, maybe not quite that delirious, yet, but close. My fantastic book coach—Heather Davis (have I ever told you she’s my book coach? If not, my bad!)—has helped me take a story that tried (and failed miserably) at being a contemporary romance, and from that we’ve carved out a romantic comedy that’s long on story and interactions (and food), and hopefully full of characters you’ll love (or love to hate in a few cases) as much as I do. It’s got comedy ranging from light humor to (hopefully) laughing-out-loud for real. I’m really proud of the words I’ve written on this epic journey and I can’t wait for you to have a chance to read them! [Keep watching—I’m hoping to be asking for “advance readers” before too long!]

The editor-in-chief, Angel, has been busy. She’s trying to rearrange my bedroom with only moderate success—so far all she has managed is to claw my left index finger through the quilt, blanket, and top sheet the other night… fortunate