"The Fairy's Ruby Cage" Interior Design

The Fairy's Ruby Cage is nearly complete. Just one thing remains: the interior design and typsetting.

Katherine Lloyd has taken on this task (she also designed the interior for Swords of the Six) and I wanted to share her website with you: http://www.thedeskonline.com/

The Creation Museum: awesome!

Petersburg, Kentucky is home to a museum that my wife and I have been dying to check out. Ken Ham's ministry Answers In Genesis has a marvelous selection of exhibits full of scientific facts to counter the ugly lie of Darwinism. This afternoon we drove down there with our friend Kelsie Nagele (it is only 40 minutes from where we're staying). The picture above is of my favorite spot in the museum: the bookstore! It had the best selection of Creation Science books I have seen in one spot. I'm proud to say (yes, and I didn't feel guilty putting down that much) I spent $110 on books. I am always looking for professionally appealing science books, especially from a Christian world-view. One of the highlights of the tour (in our eyes) was the Ark exhibit. Check out these photos I took of the models they created. I love the way my second photo turned out.

If you have not seen this place I order you to check it out next time you pass through northern Kentucky!

New Adventures in the Works!

It seems that as I finish one project another is eagerly waiting for me. I've sent the necessary files for the cover and interior of The Fairy's Ruby Cage to the printer. The proof arrives, holidays permitting, within the week. As soon as I approve the proof there is approximately 30 days to wait for the title to appear on Amazon.com

Check out the artwork above: your glimpse into this 60-page book; Short but packed with a powerful story that will wrench at your heart. Artist Jared Sloger has done a FABULOUS job visualizing Kif's struggle with the dark wizard.

If this novella sells well, and I predict it will (especially retailing for a mere $9.99) I will be putting up a notification on the Flaming Pen Press website that I am opening to submissions of science fiction and fantasy stories between 10,000 and 20,000-words-long. My vision is a set of these novellas, perhaps twenty or so different stories by various fresh authors.

Now, as I wait for the proof of The Fairy's Ruby Cage to arrive, I am going to try to really hammer out my next novel in The Sword of the Dragon series... book 2 Offspring. It is already over 100,000-words in length but I'd like to hit between 115,000 and 120,000-words. And there is plenty of content to do so. Finally I am ready to get into the meat of my favorite tale and to follow the adventures of my favorite heroine: Oganna. Finally I get to show my readers the desert of Resgeria and Burloi and the battle for Ar'lenon. My readers will not be disappointed! If you liked SoTS you'll love this sequel.

On top of all this, Jacob Parker's Kestrel's Midnight Song is about to hit its first development stages. In February artwork will commence and editing will come in for hard punches. This is a novel that I truly believe can and will be well received by the Christian fantasy readers. Otherwise I would not have accepted it for publication by Flaming Pen Press.

"Avatar" -a movie review

If I were to rate this movie out of ten possible stars, I'd give it 9 out of 10. The visual effects were stunning and the story, though not overly deep, felt like it fit the movie quite well. The acting was great and the art was phenomenal. Original ideas, creatures, panoramic scapes, believable characters... I lost myself in the world of Pandora.

* * * * *

I would love to see a sequel, however the end wrapped things up very nicely so I think there would be a danger in sequels revisiting/rehashing the old themes.

But don't bring children to watch this. It has a good deal of language, a sex scene, and natives with little to no clothing.

"The Fairy's Ruby Cage"

Front cover... I'd love to hear your comments as I designed it myself in Photoshop. This book's release is coming very soon!

"The Fairy's Ruby Cage" update

Looking forward to purchasing The Fairy's Ruby Cage upon its release this coming Spring?

The target audience for this novella is 15 yrs and older. It is a darker tale and fits best in the secular market. It is a strongly written book, and by strong I mean that P.M.M. Green wrote this amazingly.

Check out the artwork (by Jared Sloger) for the cover (almost completed):

Videos from Dixie Heights school visit

Here are a couple videos you need to check out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5bS7ZLwgwE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLwaOOe8cH4
Check out this long, detailed post about the school event by Nathan. He truly covered most everthing! http://whisperedroars.blogspot.com/2009/12/author-scott-appleton-visits.html

Dixie Heights Visit

We went to Dixie Heights High School in Kentucky today. I had a lot of fun speaking to two Creative Writing classes and later addressing about a hundred students in the auditorium. My favorite part of this visit was finally meeting one of my blog followers Nathan Petrie (pictured with me). Nathan has a heart for the Lord, both my wife and I saw it, and someday I wager we'll all see his novels on our bookshelves!

"America in the Web of Sin"

"America in the Web of Sin"
a poem by Scott Appleton
--------------------------
A million times I have fallen
Into sin's ocean depths I have plunged.
I have strayed from the Savior
Though my sins he'd expunged.

The web of sin
Has drawn America in.

Surrounded by defeat
I once despaired of the Life I'd been given.
Every time I strayed
My Savior reminded me I was forgiven.

The web of sin
Has drawn America in.

When I rose from that ocean
A warrior honed by God's grace
I looked around
And knew the favor of God's face.

Yet the web of sin
Had drawn America in

Christmas: as it approaches

Hard to believe it; I looked at today's date and time has flown. I've been so busy that I feel I've hardly caught a breath; a lot of driving and putting my pen to the signature page of Swords of the Six. But the book is making an impact on this area and I'm going to return to Indiana to hit some schools I don't have time for this month. My plan is to go to Missouri for a week in early January and then return here to follow up with signings and hit more schools. Then, sometime in February I'll be in Atlanta GA. In between that I want to stop in Tennessee.

...Goodnight, dear readers! Merry Christmas!

My wife has prepared a late-night soup and it smells good (as usual). So I have some food to eat, perhaps we'll watch a I Dream of Jeanie episode, and then some sleep. Tomorrow I plan to veg... and organize/prepare for the remaining December events. I need to start booking January events, too.

Over 2,000-copies of "Swords of the Six" have Sold!

Yesterday and today I spoke to nearly 800 students at Sunman-Dearborn Intermediate School in southern Indiana. The response was awesome! My wife handled the sales while I signed books, posters, and cards. We sold close to 100 books and tomorrow are returning at 2 o'clock to sign more!

This event pushed the total count of Swords of the Six sales to 2,050... that's in about 7-months (since the release in March of this year). Yep, now moving on to the three-thousand-book milestone.

I remember when the book first printed and the first 1500-copies arrived... it looked like a mountain of books to sell. It is very rewarding to realize I've sold so many more copies than that. Next year I'll focus on schools. Stores don't sell nearly as well as schools and, also, I am reaching my target audience directly.

The few weeks around Christmas are difficult to get events. I'll be focusing on writing my second novel instead of events. But I do need events for January. If you live in the St. Louis, Missouri area then be sure to let me know. I need to target some schools for January 7th-19th.

The Lord has been teaching me some things as we travel. Both my wife and I long to lead a simpler life...and I intend to follow through on that goal. We are so comfortable in America, we need to get back to the basics and really live. I feel alive when I write and, yet, there are so many things to distract me that I recognize I often do not reach my true potential. ...Anyways, there are some thoughts from this writer to his readers!

On to Southern Indiana

We left northern Indiana and the good company of the Richardson family (had a great time with them) and yesterday hit two more Waldenbooks stores. Over two hundred of these outlets are being closed by/on January 1st. The first store I SOLD OUT (pictured below). They had 15-books and I even sold a couple additional copies. Then we had a bit of a drive to the next store. En route a train got in our way, thus making me late to the next event. But the next store was the slowest mall I have ever seen. The manager and staff were great, but I was only able to sell 5 books.

Now I am in southern Indiana mentally preparing for all the events I've booked for the next two weeks. I'm confident of meeting with success. If you think of me, please pray I will have the energy and alertness to charge into the next two weeks and sell well. Also, I'm going to be looking for more bookings, especially schools and some bookstores. On top of that I need to start booking events in Missouri for January.

Success in Indiana (northern)

Well, today was our last in northern Indiana. Tomorrow we're heading south. I have a lot of signings upcoming!

A store up here (a Borders) had canceled its signing event with me, so I ended up at another Borders (Mishawaka, IN) and what a fantastic event I had! I sold 62-books!
I'm feeling energetic and eager. This trip has so far been as productive and profitable as I'd hoped. I am just shy of 2,000-books sold... I'll let you know when that number is passed. My next stop has wireless highspeed, which means I'll be able to readily access the internet and post with photos again.

Indiana: we've arrived!

It took approx. 12-hours to drive out here from New Jersey, but I'm in Indiana now. Tomorrow I'll be meeting with area homeschoolers in Mentone and signing at a Borders location. My wife and I staggered our trip with a concert in Pennsylvania (Shane & Shane, and Bethany Dillon) which we greatly enjoyed). I'll post some pictures of our trip as soon as I have wireless again. At the moment I'm using our host family's computer.

I now have a couple different schools who'll be hosting me during my stay in southern Indiana. I'll be at a middle school in Sunman-Dearborn IN, and at a high school in northern Kentucky! God's blessing with open doors... I have a feeling we'll be on the road for a long while.

Goodbye New Jersey!

What a busy weekend. We Sold Out another store and sold 21-books on Staten Island. There were several other stores but (even though we sold books at every event) sales were quite slower.

Now I'm ready for December. Tomorrow I have some free time. I'm hoping to get some writing done. Beside that I have a couple calls to make.
Wednesday we head for Pennsylvania on our way to northern Indiana.

The Book Tour Begins!

The Crystal Mall in Waterford CT was busy yesterday. Even though there seemed to be less traffic than previous years (for a Black Friday) my signing at the Borders Express went phenomenally well. They had about 78-books on hand and we SOLD OUT ...yep! every last copy found a home!

That signing lasted an unprecedented 8-hours and, needless to say, when Kelley and I got in the car and headed for New Jersey, I was rather tired. But we arrived safely and today were prepared to head southward for another signing. Unfortunately there was a mixup and the store has none of my books in stock. So I made a call to the Borders Express in Staten Island (where we had great success last time and they'd asked me to come back asap) and they were more than willing to accomodate me today! Praise God!

Now here is a look for all of you interested in seeing my trip setup. I've got a brand new trailer loaded with books hooked up to a '92 oldsmobil... But it works! Actually the ride was very nice.

A Truly Short Post!

This is going to be a truly short post:

Tomorrow my wife and I are spending the holiday with our families and on Friday I have one walloping huge book signing starting at 6 0'clock in the morning!

Signings in RI & MA

It has been another full weekend. Friday my signing at T.F. Green Airport (picture below) my books Sold Out! And then I had a moderately successful signing in a nearby mall. Yesterday I was supposed to sign in Danbury CT but the books hadn't arrived...and it was a 2-hour drive one-way. So I treated my wife to Olive Garden and then we drove home.

Today I signed at a Waldenbooks in Marlborough MA (pictured above) and Sold Out once again!

"Offspring" progress update

Today I finally passed the 100,000-word Mark in my second novel! Offspring is looking like a much lengthier work than Swords of the Six.

New Jersey results: SELL-OUT EVENTS

My wife and I are staying with our friends (the Bieble family) here in central New Jersey. They have generously offered to house us for this weekend and the weekend after Thanksgiving (when I'll be returning for more booksignings).

Today we first hit the Woodbridge Mall where I signed the ten copies Borders Express had stocked. It took a little over an hour for this Sell Out event and I eagerly drove to my next signing... hoping for similar success.
We arrived at the Staten Island Mall in New York. They had 20-books and we SOLD them OUT in about an hour-and-a-half. They then bought another 20-copies (that I had with me) and I sold 10 more!

This trip has been very productive and encouraging. Especially with the way the economy has gone I praise God for His blessings on this endeavor.

Sayles School in Baltic CT

Today I spoke at Sayles School in Baltic CT. Below is my wife setting up for the event.The school librarian arranged for 4th, 5th, & 6th grades to come in for an hour, and grades 7 & 8 for another hour. I think we had around 150 kids. It was the largest group I've addressed and a few times I found myself clawing for what to say next; it was a bit overwhelming (but in a very positive way). The first group wanted all their bookmarks signed and most of the kids formed another line and asked Kelley to sign too! She loved it and the kids did, too.

This weekend is going to be very busy; I'll be in Rhode Island for a signing and then heading down to New Jersey and New York. And I'm looking forward to it!

A Short Post!

Last night I had a third signing at this store in Farmington CT. I was pleasantly surprised to sell another 10 copies. The holidays are coming, business is picking up!

Today I was supposed to have another signing. Unfortunately the store did not receive the books in time and we had to reschedule. But I'm looking forward to getting some writing done in these next few days. And next week I'm speaking at a school.

"Swords of the Six" on Kindle!

Kindle Edition Swords of the Six now available on amazon!

I can't count how many people have come up to me at events and asked "Is this book on Kindle?" Some were handicapped and some just prefered the digital screen for its portability.

For all these fans and those waiting to read this title when they could get it on this modern contrivance: here it is.

P.S. I still prefer the pleasurable tactile sensation of paper pages. Nothing compares to holding the physical book in my hands!

Back Home

I'm settling down in my appartment for a night of relaxation before a crazy week (we're moving out of our appartment and this coming Saturday is the last day we can be in residency). So this week is devoted to moving; no signings. But November is right around the corner and I am booked for a boat-load of events.

The New York trip was successful. In Buffalo my wife and I sold 18 books in 2-hours, to the delight of the store manager. The next day we stopped in Horseheads for another scheduled signing. Unfortunately the manager had mixed up the dates and they did not yet have my book in stock. I had 8-copies in the car, so Kelley and I brought those in and sold them all. ...You'll notice I've been saying 'we' instead of 'I' and that is because my wife is becoming more efficient making sales. I walk away from time-to-time and she keeps things rolling with the customers. It's handy having someone in my corner who's equally enthusiastic about the story.

Well, I have a busy week ahead of me. My wife and I are going to watch the new episode of Stargate Universe!

Niagara Falls

Yesterday my wife and I drove up to Niagara Falls in New York. I've never seen the Falls and Kelley hadn't been there since she was 7. Friday night it rained so we stayed in a motel... what a motel: it stank, the mirror was dirty, the door was *ugh* pink, the wallpaper was peeling, the toilet was too small, and the furnishings were mostly broken. Kelley got half-way through microwaving the popcorn when I told her to stop it because the thing started smelling dangerous.

So today we woke up at 7AM and drove five minutes to Niagara Falls. God parted the clouds for most of our time there. It was a beautiful sight. A rainbow spanned the entire river in front of the falls. The mist fell like rain on the observation area. It was a great photographing opportunity!

Afterward we ate at Denny's. Pretty good food.

Then we left for Borders Express. In two hours we sold 18-books! It was a great spot to sell; right next to the food court. ...Tonight we are enjoying a suite room at the hotel... Tomorrow I have another signing. This one in Horseheads NY.

Jared Sloger: artwork for "The Fairy's Ruby Cage"

I'd like to introduce Jared Sloger, a talented Christian artist. He was recommended to me by author Eric Reinhold (Eric's second fantasy novel).

Jared Sloger is a freelance illustrator and concept artist. He currently lives in Nebraska and graduated from Metropolitan Community College with a degree in professional studies geared towards graphic arts. He is self taught in his art and works in various traditional and digital mediums. He specializes in science fiction, fantasy, wildlife and creature art. When he isn’t working on projects, he makes frequent trips to the zoo, photographing, and, sketching the animals.

Jared has been commissioned by Flaming Pen Press to illustrate THE FAIRY'S RUBY CAGE (the upcoming fantasy novella to be released in Spring 2010). He just sent me the preliminary pieces . . . and I decided to share some of them with you . . . just to whet your appetites!

Make sure to check out his website: http://www.jaredsloger.com/

Counter-Announcement!

Ok, my dear readers.... I mean... my long-suffering readers.... WordPress is nice, but too complicated for me at this time. I have tried to organize my new blog attractively, but there is way too much going on at this time to learn their system and keep up with all the updates I want to feed my followers, readers, and browsers. As a result (for a while at least) I am going to keep using this Blog.

So I am going to continue using The Flaming Pen. Stay with me people! (-: Eventually I'll use ChristianFantasy blog on WordPress...but I'll let you know when.

Update:

This weekend was very profitable. I sold a total of 34-books. One of the stores had 63-copies of Swords of the Six and is confident they will sell all of those during the holidays. It is encouraging to see my book carried en mass!

Important Announcement: New Blog!

This will be my last post on this blog. From now on my blog will be hosted on the WordPress server instead. I'm uncomfortable with the direction Google's policies seem to be heading, and I'm ready for a fresh look to my blog.

Visit: http://www.christianfantasy.wordpress.com/ for all the latest info on The Sword of the Dragon series and all booksigning updates, etc.

I will keep this blog open. It will take a little while for me to get accustomed to WordPress. But the change will be for the better! (-:

FPP to Publish "Kestrel's Midnight Song"

I am very excited to announce the signing of contract by Flaming Pen Press with debut author Jacob Parker for his first novel: Kestrel's Midnight Song is a Christian fantasy novel written for Young Adults by Jacob Parker.

If you like a story that is driven by mystery, you'll love this! I received Jacob's manuscript some months back and was pulled in by the story of the shepherd boy innocently sent on a mission he does not understand.

In the coming year I will be making more announcements concerning this book. Unlike "The Fairy's Ruby Cage" this will be a full-length novel. I believe it has the potential to make a big impact on the market. Keep an eye on Jacob's blog for upcoming announcments such as artwork.

Update & little R&R

Friday I had the great pleasure of speaking to a fellowship of Christians in Gales Ferry, CT. This was a perfect opportunity to talk about my writing to people who had an interest before coming to the event. I want to thank Susan Miller for generously giving of her time to arrange the event and drawing people in.

Today I visited Waldenbooks in Trumbull, CT. The store is large as far as Waldenbooks locations go and it is located in a busy mall. They had 25 copies of my novel in stock when I arrived and I hand-sold 18 of those! If I had stayed longer I could have sold them out, but I preferred to leave some on the shelves. Besides, several people are definitely going to return for copies. This was a very successful event and very encouraging!

Tomorrow is a day of rest and relaxation for my wife and I. These weeks have been hectic for both of us. She has been doing several cleaning jobs which augment my income and is a wonderful hard worker. God has blessed me with so much. I am really looking forward to see what he has planned for my future.

Flaming Pen Press to Publish "The Fairy's Ruby Cage"

News:

My publishing company Flaming Pen Press is proud to announce the signing of a contract with author P.M.M. Green for his fantasy novella (currently titled) The Fairy's Ruby Cage. Contract was received this week and artist Amber Hill is going to be creating the cover art next week. We are looking at a release date of Spring 2010.

For all you fantasy lovers out there, this is going to be a great book! And it'll be under $10/copy.

On TV!

Here (at last) is the interview I did for Charter.
The full-length version is half-an-hour long...
but this is my first time working with video clips
so this will do for now.

Enjoy!

Slow Weekend

Yep, I'm in this picture if you look closely! I'm signing behind the lady on the right. This weekend was very slow. I still sold books at all three events, but overall it felt a bit disappointing. First off the Mohegan Sun event was pitiful. I sold a single book. I did, however, meet a couple teachers and they are going to get the book into Norwich Free Academy. On Saturday I returned to N. Attleborough and the weather was gorgeous and only a few people came by, so I sold a handful of copies. And in Vermont I sold 4... but I think I left a good impact on that store and I know at least 1 more copy sold after I left.

Ah well, you gain some and you lose some. This weekend should be good and October is round the corner. Christmas shopping will soon begin.

Please pray that I will get all that I need to accomplish this week done. I have a loaded platter.

Thoughts on Relationships

While digging through all the documents in my old laptop and transferring them to my new laptop (and I mean a whole load of documents) I came across a paper I'd written before becoming romantically involved with my future wife. I thought I'd share it:

- Romance of the Era -

I despise the modern flavor of romance. Where is the sincerity? What happened to honor?

I admit to falling now and again for the current view of relationships, but that does not mean that I don’t think it is wrong. I long to return to some of the old ways, where a girl is sincere and not looking for Hollywood’s perfect man. Sure, I want her to be beautiful and fun, but what happened to meek, honorable, moral, a submissive desire? These are commendable traits and worthy of the wait.

Sadly, these days it is hard to find a girl that is different and genuine. I want a lady, not an action hero! I want a loving wife, not miss popular.

Now, I know what you are probably thinking: this guy’s strange. Well, just wait a moment and I’ll verify that for you. I have often been told by friends and co-workers that I would fit better in the 1950’s; I beg to differ: shove me back in time to somewhere in the 1800’s (preferably the 1880’s into the 1890’s).

Ah, the idea of it! Build me a time machine, wind it up, stick me inside, and send me back to that era. The post-American Civil War era bred a very different generation than we are and I think it was better. Back then young women were treated as valuable artwork, not mass produced china dolls!

Nowadays both sexes experiment with each other, both physically and emotionally without commitment. I’ve heard girls talk of trying different attitudes and approaches with different guys; they regard relationships as what? Expendable? I think so. Guys are no less to blame.
I hear expressions like this frequently: “We had an argument and broke up.” “He used to treat me as a gentlemen, but now . . ..” Folks, I get tired of hearing these things because there is one consistent problem with all of the breakups: it is all about themselves. They speak of Me, Myself, and I.

GIVE AWAY -winner

The winner of the Eric Reinhold free books drawing (as generated by an online random generator) is Araken! Congratulations Araken!

To claim your prize: email me your name and address at spappleton @ gmail . com

Weekend Results

It has been three very busy days in this author's life! I signed in Swansea MA, Farmington CT, and Milford CT. Below I am standing with a new fan in the Farmington Borders Express. I love meeting new people.
Sales results were over 40-books sold this weekend. Below is a picture I took of my setup in the Milford Borders store. It was a high-traffic store and I intend to return. It's in a very large mall.

Tomorrow I am going to get to work on novel two, again. I have a huge pile of work ahead of me. On top of orchestrating everything for my novels (including the upcoming tour starting in Indiana). One author is sending in his contract to Flaming Pen Press and I'll be bringing together the necessary people to produce this 50-page novella. You'll love The Ruby Cage of Fairy Rae. And negotiations for a full-length novel by another author are underway... if things continue going the way they have, this will add another thing to my plate. But I'll be happy to do it. The author is Jacob Parker and he has a real drive and gift in writing. If you haven't, I suggest you visit his site here.

GIVEAWAY sponsored by Author Eric Reinhold!

Don't miss this opportunity to Win FREE copies of Eric Reinhold's books! There will be one happy winner! To enter:

Step 1) Simply become a follower of my blog
Step 2) Comment on this blog Post
Step 3) To have your name entered twice in the hat: Post about this giveaway on your blog!
Introducing: Eric Reinhold

Eric and I met recently online and have really hit it off. I've known of him for some time now. Last year he was part of the 8-author group that traveled the west coast signing books and talking about their writing. His fantasy books are beautifully designed and (since I often judge books by their covers) his have intrigued me.

Eric J. Reinhold is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. The former office in the Navy Supply Corps writes extensively for a variety of national financial publications in his position as a Certified Financial Planner® and President of Academy Wealth Management. His passion for writing a youth fantasy series was fueled by nightly impromptu storytelling to his children and actively serving in the middle and high school programs at First Baptist Sweetwater Church in Longwood, Florida. Eric and his wife Kim, have three children.

In the books, 12-year-old Ryann is set on a fantasy adventure by a command from the angel Gabriel "to search out and put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devil's schemes." The angel leaves a glowing ring with Ryann to help on his quest. Unable to keep quiet about the angel's visit, Ryann enlists his friends Terrell and Liddy in his search for pieces of God's armor. -taken from a review

To learn more about Eric and his books visit the links provide below.

• Website: http://www.ryannwatters.com/
• Blog: http://ryannwatters.blogspot.com/

Sounds like a fun series to me! If this weren't my own blog I would enter myself in the contest!

This Contest will End

September 21st 2009 at 12 noon EST

sots BOOK GIVEAWAY! -Eric Reinhold

I know everyone loves getting stuff for FREE... A while back I gave away copies of my book on a couple blogs. Well, here's another chance for you. Another Fantasy author is giving away a copy of Swords of the Six All you have to do is go to his blog and become a Follower. Click here to go to: Eric Reinhold's Blog

1,200 Books Sold!

First off the BIG NEWS: Swords of the Six passed 1,200-copies sold today! The Fair was a big help and I am looking to do more of this same kind of event next year.

Also, I am contracting the first author beside myself to be published by my company Flaming Pen Press. I will give more details later. Suffice it to say I am starting a line of Fantasy/Sci-Fi booklets to be sold at Fairs and other such events to complement Flaming Pen Press book releases. The first author is P.M.M. Green and the story is called The Ruby Cage of Fairy Rae.

Woodstock Fair Event-day 4

Final Day

Today was the fourth and final day of the Woodstock CT FAIR. I must say I am very pleased with how well this event turned out. We sold another 50+ books today! I've come away with an offer for another television interview and a leap forward in sales that is most encouraging.

Woodstock Fair Event-day 3

Hello again on the end of another very long day. But blessed with success; I sold over 70 books again! Also, I met a very interesting man who is in charge of a large Fantasy/Sci-Fi convention held yearly in Hartford CT. He invited me to participate in next year's convention, possibly as a speaker. They had 6500 people this year... so it sounds like a great opportunity.Pictured here is another new fan who I hope enjoys the novel as much as another reader from a stand near mine (he's already on page 15 and loving it!) I also received terrific feedback from a couple readers who picked up my book at previous signings and one from the high school where I did a 2-hour presentation. People say they love Swords of the Six and are eager to read the second novel.

Tomorrow will be the 4th and Final day of the Woodstock Fair. I'm hoping to sell a lot of books by the time it closes at 8 o'clock. If God is in it, I will! But I thank Him for giving me so much success thus far. It's amazing how great I feel now that I've left the night job and am doing this full-time. I can't wait to write a couple more short stories for magazines... I have missed that and my novel writing!

Woodstock Fair Event-day 2

A busy, busy day! Over 70 books sold! As a result there are no photos, but trust me I was slammed with customers. Also, I received great feedback from a couple readers who've finished reading Swords of the Six and praised it.

Whew! These 15-hour days are difficult; tomorrow I need to be fresh for new readers... So I am going to sleep...

Woodstock Fair Event-day 1

(Pictured above) After getting up at 6:30am my wife took this picture of me at our display in the Woodstock Fair in CT. The morning was slow... very slow. But by 10pm (booth closing time) we'd sold over 40 books. This being the first day of the event, it already beat any previous event. ...Saturday morning *yawn* we'll be up early again for one of the fair's busiest days. I am praying God will grant us a larger number of sales.

in Hanover MA

Hanover MA has the most interesting Borders Express store I have seen to date: it is a stand-alone building instead of in a mall. I stayed from 12 - 4:20 because sales were going slow. Apparently Ted Kennedy's funeral was right down the street and there was an enormous turnout. Despite that, I sold 17 books! We will be doing a follow-up event at this store. I met a couple Christian guys who showed great enthusiasm for my novel. It is always great to meet fellow believers. Anywere in the world I can find a brother or a sister in Christ.