Friday Updates...On Saturday

I can't even start a trend that lasts a week. If you take a look, you'll notice my blog posts are pretty sporadic. Last week, I thought I might at least post once a week...on Friday. Even called it "Friday Updates" as if this was going to be the new routine. Well, it's Saturday. Yesterday, just didn't work. But thankfully, good stuff is happening, even if I'm sharing it a day late.

Dr. Gary Smalley

My Book With Gary Smalley

I finished Week 1 of my new book with Gary Smalley on schedule. Wrote the first 4 chapters. I'll be writing the actual book, drawing from materials from Gary's books on family and relationships, then sending him 2 or 3 chapters at a time for review. He'll make comments and suggestions, then send them back to me. By and by, a few months from now, and Book 1 will be finished.

I've already written a synopsis of the storyline, which I'll follow as I write. But I love this stage of things, as the characters start to come alive on the page. Eventually, they will take over and I'll just be the scribe, recording the things they do and say (that's how it starts to feel anyway).

My Guidepost Novel Arrived

A few days ago, a box of books arrived on my doorstep. They contained my author copies for my 6th novel, called Autumn Light. I wrote it last spring for Guideposts for their new series "Miracles of Marble Cove." My novel is Book 5 in the series. Even though this is the 6th book I've written, it's only my 5th book in print (all my other novels have been written for Revell; they have a longer "pipeline" from the time a book is written than when it appears on the shelves).

Well, saying "on the shelves" isn't quite accurate for Autumn Light. Initially, Guideposts doesn't make these books available in retail stores. But you can get them online at their website by Clicking Here. They are $13.95 each and will be sent to your home for a 30-day  preview. If you like the first book, you send in the money and every 4-6 weeks, the next book in the series will come. I think it's an excellent value, especially when you consider the books are hardbacks.

Here's what it says about the series on the back of each book: "Come to a place known for flip-flops, lobster pots and porch swings. It's a place to relax, a place to feel at home. Take a walk along the rocky coastline, and gaze out at the boats bringing in their daily catch. Meet four different yet unforgettable friends who are mysteriously drawn together by events too amazing to be coincidence. Follow their miraculous adventures as they face life's challenges, hold each other up in faith, and experience God's amazing grace."

And you have to admit...these books come with such great covers. Don't you just want to walk right into that store on the corner (click on the pic to see a bigger version)?

Book Clubs!

Me (on the right) at a Book Club last Sept

I LOVE visiting book clubs. It's fair to say, way more than doing book signings in stores (unless the store managers are very enthusiastic about your visit...to me, they make all the difference). But when you visit a book club, the members have already bought and read your book and are looking forward to meeting with you to discuss it (at least, so far they have...hope it stays that way).

If the Book Clubs aren't too far away, I'll drive there. But I also "visit" with clubs by speaker-phone. I'll be meeting this way with 2 Book Clubs the first week of December to discuss my newest book, Remembering Christmas. One in Perry, FL and one in Niceville, FL. I've also been invited to visit a book club in my town in January (the Daytona Beach area). They will be reading my first novel, The Unfinished Gift, in December (it's also a story set at Christmastime).

And here's something exciting, I'll be visiting a wonderful online website totally devoted to Book Clubs all week long, the first week of December. If you haven't been there yet, you need to check it out. It's called The Book Club Network (TCBN). Click Here to visit. We'll also be discussing my book, Remembering Christmas, and giving away free copies.

If you have a Book Club you'd like me to visit, you can email me at www.danwalshbooks.com by clicking on the Contact Me button.

The Deepest Waters - Only $2.99!

Finally, I want to mention, you can get my novel The Deepest Waters, released last Spring, for only $2.99 on Kindle for the whole month of November. It received some great magazine reviews and has an average of 4.5 Stars on Amazon after 44 customer reviews. Click here if you'd like find out a little more about it.

Even if you don't own a Kindle, you can download an app from Amazon to read the book electronically on your laptop, Ipad or phone. If you have read it and liked it, please tell your friends. I don't mind selling it a this low price (will give them a low-risk chance to see if they enjoy my books).

Right now, it's ranking #462 in Amazon's Kindle Store overall (out of over 1,000,000 Kindle books), and #23 in Historical Romance. Check it out!