Rules for Readers

I’ve made the drive from Idaho to Seattle for the holiday weekend and am exhausted but happy to see the family and friends. Lots of catching up to do as I haven’t been here since October.

I love seeing the 'Welcome to Washington' sign at the top of Ryegrass Pass.

Catching up was the order of the day at camp on Friday as several friends I haven’t seen since last fall came in for their first weekend of the summer and we had a fantastic spread of smoked ribs, potato salad, Caesar salad, and grilled pineapple. Lots of stories of the winter and general rowdiness.

One of my favorite views near Worley, Idaho. It changes as the season progresses.

And that brings me to my rules for readers. Why? Two instances in the past two weeks struck me as teaching moments. In the first, I gave a woman who has been a great fan a copy of City Limits to read and review. She said, “I’m only going to be here for four days. I hope you don’t want this by then.” I explained that the advance review copy was hers to keep and as long as she got a review in by the 23rd of June we were good. Two days later, she came to me and said, “I finished it! I couldn’t put it down. I need to read it again.”

The second was a man who bought one of my Devon Layne titles and was very excited to have me sign it. Two days later he came to me and apologized for not having started the book yet because he was reading something else. That’s good. But it sparked something inside.

I write for your enjoyment and pleasure. Certainly, my ego gets stroked when I am complimented, like anyone. But my ego really only gets stroked if you enjoy what I’ve written. Different authors have different needs and goals. These apply to books I’ve written and I won’t force any other author to agree with them.

Hay is nearly ready to be cut in the Palouse. First cutting is already down in Central Washington. Spring wheat is casting a slight green glow from the raw field in the background.

Rule Number One: Read for your own enjoyment and pleasure, not out of obligation to the author. It does nothing for you or for me if you struggle through a book you hate and say, “At least that’s done.”

Rule Number Two: If a book is not contributing to your enjoyment and pleasure, stop reading it! My books are not here to cause you difficulty. A reader of another book spoke to me a couple of weeks ago and said, “I only read two chapters. I just can’t get into this.” We discussed some of the problems she had with the book and it was a good conversation. She ended by saying, “My husband loved it though.” If you have bought a book of mine that you don’t enjoy, tell me and I’ll buy it back. It is not a scourge to punish you.

Columbia River Gorge near Vantage, WA.

Rule Number Three: Buy direct. You can get the book cheaper online. You can get the book and support a local bookstore, but the author never earns as much as when you see him sitting at a table with a stack of books and shell out cash to have him sign one for you. When you buy a $15 paperback from an online retailer, the author receives $1.25-3.50 on average. The author has already paid for the printing ($4.50-6.00) and the bookseller will receive a 40-60% discount ($6.00-9.00) for selling the book. If you buy direct from the author, he receives $9.00-10.50 to contribute to his cost of sitting at that table smiling for eight hours.

Rule Number Four: Don’t expect an author to mail you a book for free! He’s already paid shipping once. It came out of the profit margin.

Non-Rule: Supporting your local brick and mortar bookstore. I, too, love to wander around stores with shelves and shelves of books, touching the spines, smelling the pages. They are a local business. But you are unlikely to find support for local independent authors at most stores unless the author writes strictly for ego and doesn’t need money. First, most local bookstores won’t deal with print-on-demand books. It is not a quality issue, but simply that the books are not returnable. So, the author must set up an individual account with the bookstore so his book can be carried on consignment.

My local bookstore gave me the paperwork and the rules. I have to fill out an application for consignment. If the store approves, I pay a $20 processing fee to get my title into their system. Then they want 3-5 books to put on the shelves for as much as six months to see if they sell. If not, I have two weeks to pick up the remaining copies. On every sale, the bookseller retains 40%. Now let’s look at the real numbers. If the store accepts five copies, I have paid $4.00 per copy to get it on the shelves. I pay $6.00 for printing and shipping. The store gets $6.00 for selling the book. My best-case scenario is that if the store sells all five copies, I only lose $1.00 per book. I believe the money is supposed to flow the opposite direction—toward the author.

Wild Horses Monument near Vantage, WA.

Rule Number Five: If you like a book, tell others. If you don’t, keep your mouth shut. Authors thrive on reviews of their work. Put it on your blog. Post it on Amazon. Review it in Goodreads. Tell about it on Facebook and Twitter. Post a picture of it on Instagram and rave about it on Snapchat. The only thing that sells a book you like is people knowing about it. The chance of an accidental discovery on Amazon are a million to one.

Rule Number Six: Get your book club to read it as a selection. Not only do you get to share a book you enjoyed, the discussions can be stimulating and it gives you something to talk about over coffee. I spoke with a reader of one of my mysteries who shared it in a book club. She said, “We discussed the last two chapters for over an hour. We finally agreed that she had to die.”

If you don’t have a book club, share a piece of the story that you find stimulating with friends and then talk about the issues raised. I received a message from a reader of one of my Devon Layne adult romances that said, “I had to share that last chapter with my friends. We read it, talked about it, and then went to the grocery store to buy food for the local food shelf. Thank you.”

Rule Number Seven: Join the community. Few authors earn a livable wage from selling their books. But many now have a community devoted to keeping the author writing. This might be through Kickstarter or GoFundMe campaigns or through Patreon where readers can become patrons and join engage directly with the author. Usually, patrons get additional benefits like free eBooks, unpublished stories, glimpses into the writing life and first looks, and even signed new releases in advance of the general public. Three people providing a dollar a month to the author are providing a nice chat over a cup of coffee once a month. And since this author is fueled by coffee, that keeps the words flowing. Join my Patreon community at http://www.patreon.com/nathaneverett and discover the rewards of patronage!

To see a sample of each of my books and a few short stories, hop over to my website, http://www.nathaneverett.com. See what the excitement is all about!

A Lot Like Work

Preparing for the release of a new book is fun, exciting, and a heck of a lot of work! Like deciding where to hold the release party. Sending out advance review copies. Doing one last proofreading. Creating a professional website. Preparing a blog tour. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s my baby, it would be a lot like work.

So, we’re still on-track for a June 23 release of City Limits, but the location for the party is still unknown. Since a release party in Seattle would mean driving across the State, I’m also looking for venues in Ellensburg, Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and possibly Yakima, Walla Walla, Pullman, and Moscow. There are alternative loops I could make that would take me south to Tacoma, Olympia, Vancouver, and Portland. So many details!

And then there is the blog-tour. Do you blog about books and authors? I’m available. I’ll include a free electronic copy of the book, banners and images, and written or audio content. Let me know.

As I’ve been working on creating a professional website at http://www.nathaneverett.com, I’ve discovered a few holes in my distribution. For example, I removed For Money or Mayhem from printing at Lightning Source to go to CreateSpace early in 2016. But then I took off on an around-the-world adventure and forgot that I didn’t release the book. So, I spent part of the past week, re-proofreading and cross-checking the layout of that Dag Hamar mystery and it has now been sent off for a print proof. It should be on the market by the end of May.

I’m uncovering other holes in my opus. I thought all my books were available on Nook as well as Kindle. Not so. This week, part of my task will be to release all my books on Nook. I got caught up in Amazons “Select” program a few years ago and that requires that they be the only place that is allowed to distribute. That’s supposed to get you higher rankings and better visibility, none of which ever materialized. I’d rather have broader distribution.

Contrasting views from the window of my trailer, showing the different moods of Sun Meadow. A foggy morning and a sunny morning. Always an encouragement to live life to the fullest.

I had hoped to get through an entire week without seeing yet another U.S. tragedy. Yet we get a shooting at a high school in Texas with still more dead teens. And then I see the same tired responses from pseudo-conservatives and neo-liberals alike. Gun control laws—none of which would have prevented this latest massacre—and ‘it’s my right’, which is becoming a boring whine by people who have no other reason to own powerful weapons.

There are those who philosophically bemoan the lack of discipline, economic pressures, loss of Christian values, and violent video games, but none have a positive option to offer. America never matured past the Wild West stage in its development. We still believe that might makes right and the fastest draw wins.

It is likely that there will be another American revolution in the coming decade. The balance of power has gone so far overboard with an administration that things of corporate profit (and personal gain) before making any decision and a class of the rich who become ever more remote from the reality of the masses. Perhaps it is my cynicism emerging that makes me see a dystopian future in which the nation after a bloody revolution is no better than the one before. Like Democrats and Republicans switching power positions in government, a revolution will result in a power change that is simply the tyranny of a different subgroup.

Hezekiah 2:12: Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for he shall not be disappointed.

Making Another Big Step

First off, happy Mother’s Day to all of you. Without mothers, we wouldn’t be here. And without a particular mother, I wouldn’t know the joy of having a wonderful daughter. Just thinking that much of the joy of my life is summarized in those few sentences.

Taken on Mother's Day 2006

I’ve got two big things happening this weekend. I’ve created a new website at http://www.nathaneverett.com to support the release of my new book, City Limits, and to get some more stories out. You’ll not only find links to all my books and opening chapter samples, but also a few short stories that you can read for free.

In case you are worried, this site is safe for all ages and all manner of conservative nature. My strictly adult site, http://www.devonlayne.com is separate and does not overlap.

It’s very exciting to have a site up for my mainstream fiction. Please let me know what you think!

I’ve also opened a new Patreon page so that people who have been so kind to me in the past can continue to support my writing and travel. There are some pretty cool rewards for patronage as little as a dollar a month. Take a look at https://www.patreon.com/nathaneverett. As soon as this post is up, I’ll be making my first public post from Patreon. Again, I appreciate your response and suggestions for this site.

* * *

Well, that’s the big newsy things, I guess. Most of my creative time so far this year has been devoted to getting City Limits finished, rewritten, edited, and published. The release date is June 23.

I am currently searching for a location to hold my release party in the Eastside Seattle area. Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland? Would you like to host/sponsor the release? Please send me a note and let me know. This is the biggest release I’ve had since The Gutenberg Rubric and I’m anxious to meet friends and supporters. If you have a suggestion, please let me know. This is mainstream fiction and not genre fiction. Here’s the skinny:

Gee Evars wandered into Rosebud Falls on Independence Day just in time to rescue a toddler from the rushing torrent of the Rose River. And to lose his memory. In an attempt to make Rosebud Falls his home, Gee becomes a local hero and inadvertently leads a revolt that changes the balance of power in the town. But will he ever know who he really is?

I now have Advance Release Copies that I am sending out to reviewers in both paperback and eBook. These are also proof copies, so I’m in the process of reading it once again and have spotted half a dozen typos that are being corrected before the final release. That also means that advance reviews may be included in the book before it is set for release. You’ll be able to pre-order on Amazon the first of June. The first review response came in yesterday from a woman who finished the whole book (326 pages) in just two days. “I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait for the sequel!”

Sequel? Well, yes. The last four pages of the book are an excerpt from the first chapter of Wild Woods, that I’m currently outlining and plotting.

* * *

As to more mundane things since my last post, I crossed the Continental Divide six times on my way to Idaho. Those weren’t the only mountain passes my truck climbed up and over, but they were the ones I stopped to photograph.

Yes, I know there are only five in the picture, but there was no official signage at MacDonald Pass on U.S. 12 west of Helena, Montana. I was disappointed. Not disappointed enough to refuse to go on!

I finally got home on Tuesday this week.

There’s this spot on US 95 just south of the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort. It happens every year. I come up over the hill and see the Palouse stretched out before me and my heart speeds up a little and I think, “Home.”

I even remembered the gate code! It wasn’t long before I was backing my trailer into my space with my little patio having not suffered through the winter. There was a little high grass, but as soon as it dried out a little, got that cut with the help of my friend Chris.

By evening, I had a drink in my hand and was sitting out beside the fire.

It was mid-70s, so I had no difficulty adapting to my renewed lifestyle. Of course, we had a couple days of rain right after that and I left my truck windows down, so I had to get things dried out. It was really spectacular, though, to get up early in the morning and look out my window at the fog. It turns the whole camp into a mystical, enchanted forest.

All told, the first five days in camp have meant time to relax, renew friendships, and get a lot of writing done (in addition to getting the website up and operating).

I’ll be going into town to mail off some review copies and get the few remaining supplies that I need to last me until Memorial Day weekend when I head back to the Seattle area for the holiday. See the daughter and handle a few business details, then back to camp until the book release on the 23rd of June.

Even though we don’t take pictures of people here in the camp, I’ll have a few interesting snaps as I head out to do some exploring and reacquainting. Until then, safe travels!

There is only one true religion

It is practiced by a small tribe in the darkest jungles, untouched by the outside world. They have lived in isolation since the beginning of time. It is only their devotion, sacrifice, and continued prayers that keep the god Ichypoo from destroying the world. Be thankful!

In the small town of Lima, Montana, population 250, there is apparently a need for eight Tesla charging stations!

I write fiction.

I am not anti-religious, as I’ve said before, but it seems the pre-release serialization of City Limits has inspired some comments that pit various religions against each other.

H: “Rats, I'm a big fan, but I detest anti-religious screeds, and mind control stories.”

X: “There is a difference between Christians and "christians" the second group being the ones who use the book to justify their crappy mind set bigotry and lip service.”

C1: “The author needs to create conflict in his story in order to make it interesting for his readers. The evil church is a great way to achieve this. The only suggestion that I would make would be for the story to have 2 churches with the other run by real Christians and serving to counter balance the other evil church.”

C2: “Islam is supposedly one of the great religions. However, it is at the core evil. Muhammad created it as an evil dedicated to world conquest and the imposition of a Sharia based tyranny to rule.”

X: “STOP SMOKING INFO WARS BRAND CRACK”

T: “So Christians haven't burned people at the stake, tortured and killed people, enslaved entire countries? C2, you're an idiot.”

They all miss the point dramatically. Not even sure where the comment about Islam came from! I don’t write about religions. I write about people. There are good people and there are bad people. There are good people who believe in a Christian god, a Jewish god, a Muslim god, a Shinto god, a Buddhist god… There are bad people who believe in a Christian god, a Jewish god, a Muslim god, a Shinto god, a Buddhist god…

And in my opinion, the one thing that is missed most often in our black and white world is that good people do bad things and bad people do good things. If nothing else, it makes for good plot twists. It would be so much easier if we could point and say that person is good and never does anything bad. Or vice versa. But even Hitler had a great love for Eva Braun. It didn’t make him a good person.

The Continental Divide is nothing compared to the Religious Divide.

Religion is probably like that, too. I can think of no religion that is entirely good or evil. What a person believes does not tell me what is true. It only tells me what kind of person he or she is. If you believe in a vengeful god, it shows me you are a vengeful person. If you believe in an anti-gay god, it tells me you are an anti-gay person. If you believe in a white nationalist god, it tells me you are a white nationalist. If you believe in a loving, forgiving god, it tells me you are a loving, forgiving person. Or at least that you want to be. Remember, no one is all one thing or another.

None of these reveals truth.

I’m reminded of a meme I saw on Facebook recently. It said, “Does drugs. Smokes. Has unprotected sex. Won’t drink diet sodas because artificial sweetener will kill you.”

We all have our artificial sweetener.

* * *

So, I am just a few days from my summer home in Northern Idaho at Sun Meadow. (http://www.sunmeadow.org) I’m pretty exhausted. Battling the cold and wind for the past two months really took it out of me for some reason. Park City, Utah certainly showed both sides of beauty in the same day on Monday.

Same day. Snowing like crazy in the morning and 60 and sunny in the afternoon.

I moved on from Park City to Crystal Hot Springs RV Park in Honeyville, UT. It was a drive of only 98 miles according to the GPS, but I managed to extend it to about 170. Part of that was because on two previous trips through Utah, I’ve been within thirty miles of Promontory, where the Golden Spike was driven to unite the Transcontinental Railway, and never managed to stop. So, this time I drove the thirty miles off the interstate to see it.

Central Pacific "Jupiter" (left) and Union Pacific "No. 119" (right).

I’ve been interested in this site for some time. The Devon Layne series of Erotic Paranormal Romance Western Adventures is set primarily in Laramie, WY and the small town of Centennial, thirty miles west. The time travel portion of Blackfeather focuses on the era of the completion of the Transcontinental Railway in 1869. It was fun to see the site and tour the museum, even though the actual golden spike is on exhibit at Stanford University. Donated by some guy named Stanford, who was president of the railway, so it was his spike, I guess.

When I called to make a reservation at Crystal Hot Springs, there seemed to be some concern about what site they could assign me and how long I could stay. I had a bit of difficulty finding the place because just at the time my GPS said to follow I-15 north, its battery died and I was without guidance. That took me an additional half hour of wandering around before I finally saw the place.

Crystal Hot Springs. 70 sites, no waiting.

There was no one there.

I tried the trailer of the camp host, but no answer. I found my site (#30) and hooked up. Didn’t see a soul through my stay when I left the next morning.

I was pretty wowed by the beauty of Northern Utah as I headed up I-15. Lush, green, and inviting. I suppose that to get that, you have to put up with five months of winter and five months of draught, but I got here just at the right time. On Friday, I moved from Idaho Falls to Basin, Montana, between Butte and Helena. I crossed the continental divide three times and ended up on the east side. The first two times were nice gentle slopes and the truck and trailer hardly ever went below fifth gear and fifty miles per hour. That third crossing north of Butte, however, was a long slow drive in second gear at 35 mph. That means that I have one more crossing to go when I leave on Monday.

But what a beautiful place I have for the weekend!

View from the picture window in my trailer.

My site is quite large at the Merry Widow Mine RV Park. As I look out my window, I see the Boulder River rushing past. It is conducive to writing as I can type while my eyes are fixed on the rapids fifty feet away.

Boulder River, Basin, Montana.

The long drive of 240 miles gave me a lot of time to think about my characters. I’ve been very focused on getting City Limits out to reviewers and pre-readers. If you want to review an advance copy, let me know. I have it in Mobi, ePub, and PDF. Paperback review copies will be available in limited supply next week.

I am now looking for a place to hold a release party on Saturday, June 23 in the Seattle/Bellevue/Kirkland/Redmond area. If you would like to help arrange the official release, please let me know! Lots to be done. If you’d like to host the party, better yet!