In life, it’s not always easy to tell if you’re on a gravel gold or a street paved with it. So it is with writing and publishing books. Sometimes it feels like pulling out my own hair. Other times I think at least I haven’t bought a garage full of books. Meanwhile, driving around the country was a total blast. It was an irresponsible escape to find fresh air and sunshine. The book is almost done except for dealing with the crooks who publish things. The latest scam is print-on-demand

My first book event will be on April 15th in Indianapolis at the Hamilton County Library, Fishers, Indiana.

Indy friends, please come to the event at the Hamilton County East Public Library 11:45 to 3:45. You don’t have to buy a book, just stand in line at my table and help make my book look like a hot seller. If you really want to help, you can cycle through the line a few times. No shame. Shout, “Autograph!!” Pretend to make calls on your cell phone to friends, telling them to hurry right over to the library.

The second book event will be in Falls Church VA on April 29th. It is also in a library. Mary Riley Styles at the corner of Park and Virginia. The parking lot is behind the library. Look forward to seeing some of my DC friends!

The good news is that the book is finally almost done. The bad news is that it ballooned up to 540 pages during the re-design. I did not add words. The designer just made it look professional by adding white space and increasing the line spacing. But it turns out that I would have to sell a 540 page book with over 100 color pictures for at least $55, a price too high for a paperback by a first-time author. In the end, it turned out that I would have to split the book in two. Sigh. I am committed to making the e-book affordable to all, as I do not have to cover the cost of expensive color ink printing and the use of heavy paper stock for color images.

The author is tired of waiting for the book to finally be ready. It has been a long time. He has visited 43 of 48 states with no book. He often does not know what state he is in, or what day or time zone it is. But you cannot rush perfection.

The author let go of his lease and put his possessions in storage when he started his national book tour in a mini-campervan. Far from feeling homeless, the author soon realized that he was “home free” meaning that he did not have to worry about who would take care of his home. He is now searching for a “home base” rather than a new home.

The designer predicts the book will be ready to release by mid-March. It has taken far longer than expected but the images are great and he has included original artwork. The book will be over 500 pages however and could cost $40-$50. I may have to split it in half to make it sell.

We are grounded in Las Cruces NM for a day by a late winter storm and high winds. Not a bad place to be stuck. The book is moving forward for release in mid-March, though it may be a whopping 500 pages when the design work is done.

Rivers like the Mississippi criss-cross the 48 lower states. As an author, I have many rivers to cross, literally and figuratively: writing, editing, re-writing, proofreading, and final layout and design. This is all prior to releasing the book. They say that’s when the hard work of selling the book will begin. I dread that phase of the operation. Help, please!

We’re getting closer to the finished product! The book is with the designer, and we work on a chapter a day or so. I can’t wait to put it on Ingram Spark and alert all the local independent bookstores about it. So close!

Can’t you see? Traveling is about seeing. Really looking, really noticing, really seeing. I work hard to make sure I see things that I might normally overlook. Solitude is great for enhancing the senses of sight and sound.

We are on the road again, traveling through the southern half of the US for the next few months to visit independent bookstores and tell them about the book.

I was supposed to stay put until the book is ready for re-release, but you can’t keep a good man down, and you can’t keep me down either. Mr. Bones and I are hitting the road in the campervan Saturday and heading south for the winter. See you on the way?

The writer is closing in on the final interior layout and design of the book. And he continues to do it his way. He’s gone too far to hand it to a publisher now. They would turn his book into their book. No way!

It’s nearly time for me and my book to jump off the cliff. The book will be ready to release in late Jan or early Feb. Will the parachute open? Will the book take off and fly? Or will it crash and burn? You say Impossible? Impossible things happen every day.

The author has finished the book, achieving the impossible dream. Now, he must figure out how to sell the book, which is even impossibler. Sigh….