Monday, April 28, 2008

Are you Zooming Thru Life?

I'm a little late in sharing this news, but I thought I'd go ahead and also announce that my first nonfiction book, "Zooming Thru Life: Creative Tips To Bring Sanity To Your On-The-Go Lifestyle," has also been picked up by Blademaster Press. It's nice to have a publishing home that is interested in the different kinds of things I write.

The book will come out in only one print format, trade paperback, as well as an e-book format (Amazon Kindle and/or PDF, not sure if both). The tentative release is set for sometime in August, 2009.

I'm very excited for this book to finally see print. I've spent a good number of years perfecting it and one of the things that I've realized is that, because it draws so deeply from my life experiences, it's never really done. Because of this reality, and in hopes of helping to promote the book, I've started a series of "Zooming Thru Life" articles (I've already written eleven of them and outlined ten more). The plan is to begin pitching them as a column to local weekly newspapers and magazines. If the response is good, I hope to expand the market nationally.

I've already got several sequels to the book in mind. One would be a traditional sequel to the first but incorporating more family-friendly tips (most of the first book was written when I was single). I've already started listing them. I've also started outlining a Disneyland-based entry that will compile my tips and experience navigating through Walt Disney's original magic kingdom in Anaheim, California (I do not profess to be an expert at all on the East Coast Disney parks). I think that one will have a built-in audience if I can make them aware of it. A third will feature "Zooming Thru Your Move" which is mostly written and will incorporate all of the knowledge about moving that Lori and I have gleaned over the past decade and a half. It will probably not be as long as the other books so I may include a lot of the articles from the column to flesh it out. I've also got one in the very early stages that would focus solely on marriage from a male (my) perspective that is tentatively titled, "Zooming Thru Wife." So I'm viewing the whole "Zooming" and "On-the go Lifestyle" thing as a brand for, at least the first phase, of my nonfiction writing. Naturally, for these sequels to see print, the first book will have to do relatively well when it is released next year.

So please, when "Zooming Thru Life" comes out, pick up a copy for yourself and a few more as gifts.

Check this blog for book signing opportunities as well as for more information regarding the future of the "Zooming Thru Life" column.

"Chance for the Future" Release Update

Although there was a slight publishing delay for "Chance for the Future," it is still scheduled for release this year.

It should be available in a new hard cover edition on or around September 9, 2008.

The Amazon Kindle version is slated for availability on August 1, 2008 (whether or not it will also be available as a PDF-style eBook is not yet clear to me).

The mass-market paperback edition is set for a November 4, 2008 release.

All editions, I believe, will include the brand new Chance short story, "Power to the People."

I'm very much looking forward to having this novel available in a format and price-point that I think is fair and affordable.

Release dates for the other two existing Fairlight novels, "Hope for Tomorrow" and "Faith in the Past," were not affected by the delay and should not differ from my previous post.