Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Seventeenth Island

I'm hoisting the Jolly Roger, and in the words of that great Ant man, "It's your money that we want, and your money we shall have." Even if it's just 99 cents for the Kindle edition.

We're looking at a late-April simultaneous release of the next two JSH Book Club installments - The Bartender, featuring illustrations by J.T. Dockery, and a pirate novel entitled The Seventeenth Island. Meanwhile, the science fiction epic Solar Station A, originally scheduled for this slot, has been moved to a summer release. Solar Station A will likely be the first of the book club offerings to be presented in a hardcover print edition independent of any online-based platform like Amazon's.

The Seventeenth Island takes place almost entirely aboard a sailing vessel of French pirates out to loot the buried treasure of their evil arch-enemy, a sadistic Italian buccaneer named Vincenzo. While the crew are out to get rich on the possible spoils, the Captain's motivations are really about revenge and righting what he sees as extreme ethical wrongs committed by Vincenzo, even by pirate standards.

Soon the dissonance between the goals of the Captain and the crew begin to form a growing wedge between them, as a series of disastrous incidents convinces the superstitious men that a curse has been placed on their voyage. Maurice, the ship's quartermaster, desperately tries to maintain the balance between the Captain's sentimental zeal and the crew's mutinous dissatisfaction before they find themselves literally and figuratively sunk.

The influence of my recent visit to St. Augustine, that great ancient city of pirate activity, also colors both novels. The mysterious state of Florida also rears its head in another work in progress, a horror novel about a boxer in the 1940s.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

JSH Book Tour

Just as we did with the previous list of promotional appearances for the first JSH Book Club installment The Devil and Daniel Boone, this blog post will be continually updated with future appearances for the rest of 2013.

I don't do anything the normal way, it seems: my philosophy about book-signings is as unconventional as my philosophy about writing. Tour dates vary from simply making an appearance at a venue at a table, signing autographs and handing out coupons for the Kindle edition of the book (plus surprise gifts) to actual readings and speaking engagements. Most appearances are of the former type, and occur in the afternoon - but are unscheduled and essentially on a "the event starts whenever I show up" basis.

Eventually, down the road when the book club has numerous products under its belt (The Bartender, Solar Station A and The Seventeenth Island will all be available by midsummer) there will be more formal signings in more formal venues. But for now, I'm having fun hawking my wares at casinos, golf courses, and shopping malls.

Sometimes impromptu appearances are added on the way back from any given event. These dates will be added to the list retroactively for archivism's sake. Need more specific info? E-mail me or keep an eye on my Twitter.

March 14: Evansville, IN.

March 15: Carbondale, IL.

March 16-30: Jacksonville/Anastasia Island/St. Augustine, FL.

April 18-23: Broadway at the Beach, Myrtle Beach, SC.

May 7: Owensboro, KY.

May 17: Lafayette, IN.

June 13: City Market, Indianapolis, IN.

July 10: Campbellsville, KY.

July 16: Barnes & Noble, Myrtle Beach, SC.

August 9: Jacksonville, FL.

August 10: Colonial Quarter, St. Augustine, FL.

August 14: Tallahassee, FL.

September 12: Clearwater, FL.

October 8: Tampa, FL.

October 15: Clearwater, FL.

October 28: Tallahassee, FL.

October 29: Orlando, FL.

November 1: Port Charlotte, FL.

November 6: St. Petersburg, FL.

November 7: Savannah, GA.

November 20: Tampa, FL.

December 9: St. Petersburg, FL.