It has been very cold here in Central Florida. Cold enough that we had to cover our citrus trees for the last three nights because temperatures got down below freezing. It’s so cold that iguanas have literally been falling out of the trees. That’s no joke. They go into some kind of a cold stupor and just drop, waking up when it’s warm enough. Enough already! If I wanted to put up with this nonsense, I would live up north someplace. Fortunately, it’s supposed to start warming up today, and the daytime temperatures will gradually increase until we’re near 80 by the end of the week.
Thank you to everybody who left blog comments, sent me e-mails and text messages, and left comments on Facebook in response to yesterday’s blog, Sometimes You Have To Say No. I have no regrets about my decision to pass on the film deal. While most readers understood and agreed with my decision, somebody asked if it wasn’t foolish of me to turn down a lucrative offer like that just because the guy I was dealing with was a jerk. It wasn’t just about that, although that was part of it. But the other issues were the time commitment they demanded and the fact that I would be tied to them for the next two or three years, giving them the first right of refusal before I could publish another book. That just doesn’t work for me. As the saying goes, I do not play well with others.
Speaking of books, I have a lot going on in that department. The print version of Big Lake Ranger has now been formatted, and I will be going through it today to check for any last-minute changes that need to be done before I upload it to Amazon. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should be available in the next day or two. I also have another project almost ready to go that I will be telling you about very soon.
And along with all of that, yesterday I started writing The Hard Years, the fourth book in the Tinder Street family saga. I got a couple of chapters done and feel good about what I’m seeing so far. After taking several weeks off while I was promoting Big Lake Ranger, which came out right after Christmas, and then having our daughter and granddaughter visit from Arizona, it feels good to be writing again. I have a real affinity for the Tinder Street series because much of it is set in Toledo, Ohio’s Old South End, where I lived when I was going to high school. It kind of feels like I’m going home every time I write one of those books.
And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.
Congratulations Karen Irwin, winner of our drawing for an audiobook of Watching Over Me: A Psychological Thriller, the first book in the heart-racing Crime After Crime series by M K Farrar and M.A. Comley. Trust me, this British crime writing duo know how to keep readers on the edge of their seats from the first page to the last! We had 34 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon! Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.
Thought For The Day – You know when you buy a bag of salad and the veggies turn all brown and you get that gross slimy water in the bag? Donuts never do that. Just say’n.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
I saw what was done with a couple of series from another author and I think you were right to refuse to participate. In my opinion, too much is lost when trying to please the “masses” rather than telling the story as written. You made the right decision in my opinion. Thank you for sticking to your guns.