Before I do anything else today, I want to wish my son Travis a happy 43rd birthday. Hey guy, when did you get so damned old? Travis and I have a special bond, partly because I was a single father, and the two of us kind of learned how that should go as we went along. And also, because in spite of his tattoos and beard that make him look vicious, he’s got a heart of gold and is one of the most gentle souls you will ever meet. He’s an amazing photographer, and his latest thing is origami. I am taken aback by the art he can create just by folding a simple piece of paper. In case I haven’t told you lately, Travis, I love you very much, and I’m very proud of you. You’re a hell of a man!
As if that wasn’t enough reason to celebrate the day, my new book, Big Lake Massacre, came out yesterday afternoon. This is my 40th book and the 18th book in the Big Lake series. I had a couple of problems formatting it and had to go back and redo it two or three times before I got it right. But when I finally got it done and uploaded it to Amazon, it was live in less than an hour. I was pleased with that because some authors I know are waiting two and three days before their books go live. The cover is from Elizabeth Mackey, who does all my book covers, and she is amazing. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you tell your friends about it, too.
Most of the last few days have been spent getting everything ready for the new book release. As soon as the book was live yesterday afternoon, I sent out my author’s newsletter to the subscribers, along with a link. I also announced the winner of our drawing for a Kindle paperweight e-book reader. Congratulations Betty McSherry, I sent you an email letting you know how to go about claiming your prize.
Now that I have that all the way out of the way, I’ll be back to work on my new family saga. I’m really having a lot of fun with it. I love doing research, and I have spent a ton of money on books and regional magazines and things to help with this project and it’s paying off. I went to high school in Toledo, Ohio, where the book is set, and I thought I knew a little bit about the history of the city. I had no idea how much I didn’t know until I started this project!
Speaking of books and prizes, we are still having a hassle with audible.com about our weekly drawings. Sometimes people have no problem redeeming their free codes when it’s an audiobook, and other times, they have to jump through hoops, with myself and the author helping them before they can claim their prize. I really like doing the drawings, and I don’t want to stop, but it’s getting very frustrating on our end. Hopefully, we can get it worked out so we don’t have to do this with each contest. For those of you who have won and had to wait to claim your prize, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your patience.
It’s Thursday, so it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of Crazy Days In Big Lake. This is the fourth book in the series and one of the leftover books with the original cover, but the story is the same. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing, please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening.
Thought For The Day – I never thought I’d be the kind of guy to wake up early in the morning to go to the gym and exercise. I was right.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!