1st Radio Interview - 97.3 WTIM

Had the wonderful opportunity today of conducting my first radio interview courtesy of 97.3 WTIM (Taylorville) Morning Show host Matt McLemore. Was a very interesting discussion and I am hoping to do some other locals spots here in the coming weeks.

Perfect Pawn - Published !!

This is a milestone day for me. My first novel, Perfect Pawn, has been published and is currently available through Amazon as an e-Book and is also part of the Kindle Lending Library. For those of you, like my wife Nancy, who have a kindle you can get your copy here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G5U6JH2

If you are like me and you need to feel an actual printed book in your hand, we are in the process of doing the final formatting and cover design for the paperback and hope to have it available within the next week or so.

This has been quite a journey for me. What started out as an “idea” a dozen years ago has manifested itself into an actual book. It is simultaneously amazing and humbling.

There are so many people I need to thank, but the first and foremost are God and my wife Nancy, because without both of them this would have never happened.

Some people are born to write, others learn to write, and still others are given the tools and then opportunity presents itself. A dear friend once said, in response to my writing abilities, “He could sell ice to an Eskimo.” The truth is I would not be sitting here writing this without the amazing opportunities first provided to me by three people: Richie M., Tony L., and Dennis M. They are the epitome of New York’s Finest and I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve with them and to have their influence in my life.

I hope you enjoy my contribution to the literary world and I am going to sign off and focus on getting book two out as quickly as possible.

For those of you on FACEBOOK, please stay in touch by liking us at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-Nelson/168310343376572

Creating characters

Let’s be honest, the reality is that there hasn’t been a book written over the last hundred years or so that has had an original plot at its core.

Take for example the mystery / suspense / crime genre. The crime of murder is as old as time, or at the very least close to the beginning. So in reality we are just copying Moses when he wrote that Cain slew Abel in Genesis. So for us writers we are doing nothing more than reinventing the wheel.

So what makes my book different from the slew of others circulating out there?

That’s a good a question, I’m glad I asked it.

Writers are nothing more than story tellers and at the heart of any story are the characters, the antagonists and the protagonists. Who they are, and what they have experienced, is what drives the story. At one time or another we have all read a book that we kind of drifted off with after few chapters because the characters simply sucked. For whatever reason, we just could not relate to them. I know as a reader I hate that. It might have the greatest potential as far as the plot goes and then misses the mark because the conversation if too rigid or the character is too “all that” so to speak. What is so special about walking through a hail of gunfire if you are bullet proof?

At the end, heroes are everyday folks who simply rise to the occasion.

One of my favorite quotes is from General George S. Patton who said “courage is fear holding on a minute longer.”

As I was developing my characters I realized that I needed to connect to them first. If I couldn’t, how could my audience. They needed to be real, to have flaws, to have had experienced pain, to have put aside their shortcomings and found the will to forge ahead. They simply held on for that one minute longer.

I don’t know about you, but when I read a book and I don’t find myself laughing, crying or gasping, there is a strong possibility that it is going to end up in the “donation” box before I get to the last chapter.

In writing Perfect Pawn that’s what I needed to achieve, not only for my potential readers but for myself. I wanted characters with whom I could connect with. Not only in what they may have gone through in life, but in how they dealt with it and interacted with one another.

In the end it is a delicate balance, but one I believe I achieved.

Cover Art, Formatting, and ISBN's, Oh My...........

And all Dorothy had to worry about was Lion's, Tiger's and Bear's.............. Sheesh !

Well, fortunately I'm making progress on my end in the push to get Perfect Pawn released.

There has been a revision to the cover artwork that I think will allow the book to standout better on the eBook thumbnails.

I also just completed the file formatting for the eBook which is in its final proof as I type.

Based upon the above, and hoping that the stars align, it looks like we should have the eBook out in the coming days.

Once that is finished we will begin work on the print version with an anticipated release prior to Thanksgiving.

Thanks again for your continued support.

Perfect Pawn - Update

Haven't posted here in a while but that doesn't mean that things have fallen by the wayside. In fact quite the opposite is true.

Since the Kickstarter Campaign ended unsuccessfully I have been busy doing the editing / formatting to get it ready for publication. It's a bit of a challenge because I "know" the book so I am having to go at a much slower pace. Still it is going along rather well.

Additionally, work on the, as yet untitled, sequel to Perfect Pawn is  moving ahead as is a third book. This particular novel started out as a character outline for the 2nd book that ultimately took on a life of its own. This book will be a standalone novel but the character will tie into the series.

Once Perfect Pawn goes to print I will be able to delve back into those other two and I will provide excerpts as I go along.

Until then, thanks for your continued support. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line via the contact page.

Kickstarter Campaign - Update

Well, the Kickstarter campaign didn't close the way we thought but it is only a minor set back. That being said, I would like to take a moment to publicly acknowledge those who did contribute (alphabetical order):

Andrew Beirne
Lori Delk
Liam Foley
Dani Forsey
Grumpy
John Guzzo
Mick Moliske
Seth Silver
Billy Thompson

Your kindness and generosity will not be forgotten.

Kickstarter Campaign - Thank You

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who supported me during the Kickstarter Campaign that I recently ran. While it was not a successful venture it did help me to decide the direction to go in with the book.

We are planning on doing one more round of editing and then I will work on the formatting myself. I will also be doing some additional work on the cover artwork and then I am going to self publish it. Once I have it up and running I will post links.

Once again, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to those who contributed to the campaign. Your support and generosity will not be forgotten.