Publication Day of New Novel and Some Recent Reads

The fifth book in my John Ross Boomer Lit series, Reunion of  Familiar Strangers, hits the online bookstores today.

The e-version of the novel has been available on preorder from Amazon since Aug. 27. It should now be in both e-book and print if everything goes as planned from Wings ePress. And with the book being printed and distributed by Lightning Source, a division of Ingram, it is available to bookstores, libraries, and other places that sell and purchase books.

  

In this novel, John and Sally attend his 50th high school class reunion. It's an event that has been mentioned in the four previous books. He doesn't want to go but reluctantly agrees to because his daughter Chloe has paid all expenses as a gift to him.

John runs across an array of old classmates, creating a sense of mixed emotions in him. Some he wishes he had stayed in contact through the years, several he remembers by name only, and a few he didn't care to ever see again. I hope it's an enjoyable read, one that brings back many good memories and possibly a few bad remembrances as you recall your reunions.

And now a couple recent reads:

Noel Prince seeks answers to an array of problems in this coming-of-age novel, the second book in Chris Boucher's "Pivot" series for young adults. The story centers on his later father's actions while serving in Afghanistan and how it affects the family. Noel's tenacity drops him in the middle of an event that proves enlightening in his search for the truth. Basketball plays a role in this story about family.

Three 66-year-old men get together for a mini-reunion on Cape Code. They are longtime friends but have traveled different paths through the years. The one thing they have in common is a woman who disappeared from their lives. Richard Russo provides adequate backstory in this novel about how lives intersect over the course of time. Russo is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Empire Falls. 

Until the next time . . .

Progress Report on Manuscript and Recent Reads

 I've completed the first rewrite of the fifth book in the John Ross Boomer Lit series. I'll sit on it for a couple days, then get back in earnest to have it ready for my editor by the end of the month.

So far this is what I've accomplished:

• The first draft was written during National Novel Writing Month in November.
• Read the manuscript in January, making minimal changes (spelling, grammar, etc.) to see how flows. I also wanted to see if I like the story; if I didn't, then the readers probably wouldn't either. (FYI, I like it.)
• I returned to the manuscript for a rewrite in February, increasing the word count by about 3k words. I also deleted a few scenes and dialogue as well.

What I've done this time is print the manuscript. I'll go over it with red ink (much like the editing many of us experienced in high school and college), and make needed fixes while giving it a read from a different perspective. Believe it or not, I see and read things differently on paper than on the computer screen (much like a book and e-book). 

Then I'll go back to the saved manuscript on my computer and make the red-line edits and perhaps make a few minor changes that catch my eyes. Most authors will tell you that editing is a neverending task.

If all goes well, after all the changes, I'll give it another quick readthrough and send it on to my trusted editor at Wings ePress.  By the way, the manuscript is scheduled to transform into a book on Nov. 1 so stayed tuned for further announcements such as the title and cover reveal.

---

A few book recommendations:

Chris Boucher's Pivot Move is a young adult novel that deals with basketball, peer pressure, bullying, and divorce. Boyd Kindle is a raw but talented basketball player who is dealing with several issues in his life. He has alopecia, a condition that causes the body to shed hair, which he tries to cover up by wearing a hoodie.  He's a confused and angry 14-year-old. Boucher writes in the first person to give readers a feel for the boy's angst but also provides empathy and humor.

Michael Jennings' Like a Wary Blessing is a collection of short stories that delve into the effects of war on individuals. Jennings, a Vietnam vet and former newspaper reporter, writes with precision and depth as he examines how soldiers and citizens attempt to cope with the ugly side of combat from different perspectives.  Some individuals succeed and others don't in these insightful stories that cover topics such as race relations, suicide, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. 

Until the next time . . .