A Big Boom

I spent most of yesterday updating the subscriber list for my author’s newsletter, adding about 100 new subscribers, and then mailing the newsletter out to them. I also deleted three e-mail addresses that bounced when I sent it out a couple of days ago.

Then I spent some time talking to a couple of author friends online about book reviews and promoting books. One of them is new to the business and was devastated by a nasty one star review. I told him that it happens, and all you can do is move on. I have had plenty of one star reviews myself, but fortunately, there are many more four and five star reviews to make up for them. The one thing all experienced authors know is never to reply and get into a pissing match with a reviewer. It’s a waste of time and accomplishes nothing. Use your time for more productive activities.

Speaking of books, my Tinder Street historical saga follows two families connected by marriage from just before World War I to (eventually) the Vietnam era. Much of the book is centered around the Old South End in Toledo, Ohio, where I lived when I was in high school. The other day a reader sent me a picture of a new iron arch erected over Broadway honoring the historic neighborhood.

Many of the places I talk about in the series are real, including Immaculate Conception Church, which is on the right in the picture of the arch. My pal and proofreader Judy Rinehimer was in Toledo recently and sent me this picture of the church, a major social and religious center of the neighborhood.

Sometime mid-afternoon, a loud sonic boom shook the house. At first, we thought something had hit it. As it turned out, it was a spacecraft from a resupply mission to the International Space Station splashing down off the coast. News reports said people across the state heard it and even as far away as Georgia.

We ended the evening with a couple of hours of watching TV before it was time to write the blog and call it a day.

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.

Today is your last chance to enter our Free 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!

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 this evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

Thought For The Day – If I had a dollar for every time somebody didn’t find me attractive, they would eventually find me attractive.