Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Book Updates - The Discovery is Releasing!

IT'S HERE!!
It's Wednesday as I write this, mid-week in the last week of March. My 6th novel and newest release, The Discovery, is scheduled to release on April 1st. But it's already out in all the online stores like Amazon, B&N and Christianbook.com. The Kindle, Nook and other Ebook versions should release on time, April 1st (but that's not far away...just this Sunday).

Click here to go to my website if you'd like a shortcut to order it online. Beneath the book cover on my homepage are 3 buttons to order from whichever online store you prefer.

Some Great Early Reviews

There are already 7 Customer reviews up on Amazon as of today, 6 of them give it 5 Stars. Here are a couple of clips:

"This is a story within a story so masterfully developed by Dan Walsh that it is almost impossible to describe...When done I realized the story was so satisfying it should be read slowly and every word, line, allowed to melt in the mind. I'll reread it that way, as soon as I can get it out of my wife's grip."

--Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN)

"A suspense novel...by Dan Walsh? I couldn't get my mind around it. So unlike his writing, until ... I read more. Until I was captivated, enthralled, with the story of an impossible love, a doomed life. A life pre-determined by the circumstances of war; a life that held value, but where no value could be found. Walsh has such a unique gift of writing that he draws the reader into not only the story, but the era...I don't remember ever reading a complete novel within a novel, but Walsh integrates the two masterfully. When Michael discovers his famous novelist grandfather's hidden manuscript, we aren't just told about the effect it has on him, nor are we given only snippets of it. We read it with him, the complete novel. What a treat to read two books, one inserted in the other, with two separate heroes, Michael and Ben...The Discovery is two stories twined together, yet separate. It's a keep you on the edge of your seat novel(s). Another keeper for your Walsh collection."

--Bonnie Engstrom, (Scotsdale, AZ)

"The Discovery is such a profound novel and so incredibly moving that I finished it in less than 24 hours. Michael Warner's grandfather has died and left him his house in Charleston and made him an instant millionaire, but no one knows anything about the grandfather's early life. Absolutely nothing. He was an incredibly famous writer but never had his picture taken for a book jacket, never published a photo with an interview. Nothing. When Michael takes possession of the house, he finds an old yellowed paged manuscript written by his grandfather, which he presumes was a novel his grandfather had written but never published. Michael begins to read and then things get very interesting. I will not reveal more so as not to spoil this book for those who haven't read it, but the book was worth every cent I paid for it. It was incredibly moving and if someone doesn't make a Hallmark movie of it, it's is a crying shame!"

-- Susan Snodgrass (SC)

 What's Up Next for The Discovery?

Magnolia Plantation
Discover The Discovery's Settings - Charleston Pics - Two weeks ago, my wife Cindi and I took a getaway to 2 of the historic cities featured in the book, Charleston and Savannah. We toured all the places Michael and Ben visit in the story and took pictures. You can see them on my Author Page on Facebook, by clicking here. If you haven't already "Liked" the page, just click on Like to get past the Welcome box. Then click on "Photos." You'll see the album with The Discovery pics right near the front.


Local Book signings in the Daytona Beach Area - There are 2 Booksignings planned near my hometown. But neither one are in local Bookstores. In both, I will do an old fashioned Book Reading, as well as some Q&A with the audience. The first will be in Port Orange at the Java Jungle, a local coffeehouse with a nice meeting room on the side. It will be on April 10th at 7pm. The 2nd is at the end of the month, Saturday, April 28th, at the Halifax Historical Museum in the downtown area on Beach Street. This one should be especially fun. The staff down there helped me a lot with the research for the book, and much of the story actually takes place nearby, in the 1940's.

Two Major Blogs Featuring The Discovery - In the first week of April, I will be visiting 2 highly traveled blogs on the internet. The first blog is called Seekerville on Thursday, April 5th. It's got hundreds of members and thousands of people visit it each month, many of them Christian writers seeking to write fiction more effectively (I recommend this blog to every one who asks me for advice about writing). I've written an article for writers and will be meeting with them throughout the day to talk about this and my new book. The 2nd blog is with a friend and a real sweet lady from Texas, Lena Nelson Dooley. Lena's written dozens of books. She'll be interviewing me on her blog, A Christian Writer's World, and giving away a free book. I'll be visiting Lena's blog on April 8th.

Major Blog Tour throughout the US and Canada - In the 2nd week of April, from the 9th through the 15th, The Discovery will be on its "Blog Tour." Approximately 70 bloggers in the US and Canada are reading the book now, and during that week will each feature a review of the book on their blog. It's always a blast to visit these bloggers and see what they have to say (so far, most of them have been very kind).

Interviews about The Discovery with National Publications - Not sure of the exact dates yet, but RT Book Reviews magazine and USA Today plan to feature interviews with me about The Discovery in April. I'll post the details about these interviews when I have them on Facebook and Twitter. I'm also doing an interview for Christianbook.com.

Dutch Publisher Picks Up Right to the Book - We've been informed that Uitgeverij de Banier bv, a publisher in the Netherlands has signed a contract to publish a Dutch version of The Discovery. This version should be out in a year or so, after being translated from English.

Update on My New Series with Gary Smalley

Dr. Gary Smalley
At the end of this week, I will send in the manuscript for The Dance, the first novel in the 4-book series I'm co-authoring with Dr. Gary Smalley. We've been working on this since October. After my editor at Revell reviews it, we'll do the final rewrites. I'll also be turning into her this week the synopsis for Book Two (title not picked out yet). I've already begun the research, and plan to start writing this book by mid-April.

The Dance should be on the shelves about this time next year.We've also chosen a title and theme for the 4 books -- the Restoration Series. The first book opens as Jim and Marilyn Anderson's 27-year marriage appears on the verge of collapse. But we believe God is all about healing hearts and restoring broken lives. The series will follow the Anderson family, as they face a number of real-life obstacles and hurdles, the kind of challenges many of us deal with every day.

In mid-June, Gary and I will fly up to Grand Rapids, MI to meet with the sales and marketing staff at Revell to discuss strategies for promoting The Dance and the new Restoration series (as well as get some pictures of the two of us together!).


More updates to come, as details get firmed up!







2 comments:

  1. OK Dan, I should have "The Discovery" and three other Walsh books in my hands by Saturday. Be sure to bring your signing pen to the meeting in April :-)
    Pat

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  2. I will Pat. Thanks for getting them. Just be aware, if you got The Unfinished Gift and The Homecoming, read The Unfinished Gift first (The Homecoming is a sequel).

    How's it looking for April? Got a place and time yet for the meeting?

    Dan

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