"Stone and Silt" -- big news for April

This morning, I learned that the largest ebook mailing list in the US -- BookBub -- will feature "Stone and Silt" in its Middle Grade category on April 6th.

This is a big deal for me and I'm excited about the opportunity to put the book in front of more potential readers. I like the thought of putting "a little big of British Columbia" into the homes of people from all over.

In that same week, the book will be publicized on about ten other mailing lists and ebook recommendation sites.

This would not have been remotely possible without the Amazon reviews for the book... so THANK YOU to all 34 of you who have left reviews for the book! 

And my publisher will have the book on a 99-cent sale (Kindle US edition) Apr 6-8. Perfect timing!

Book-reading and author discussion: November 15th, Yale B.C.

Next week, I have the privilege of speaking in Yale, B.C. -- where most of "Stone and Silt" is based. It's a tiny town in the Fraser Canyon, with an excellent historical site.

Yale has gold rush-era buildings, an old cemetery, and a Fraser River waterfront that echos with memories of raucous days past.

When you head to Yale from the north on the Trans-Canada Highway, you pass through seven tunnels and many bridges, many of which trace the path of the earliest stagecoaches on the Cariboo Wagon Road.

The reading and discussion will be at St. John's the Divine Historic Church, which is an old church built in the 1860s -- and which coincidentally plays a part in the mystery of Stone and Silt.

Then there'll be a book-signing at the nearby historical Creighton House Museum. All proceeds from the books will go to the Yale and District Historical Society.

It all happens at 2pm on Saturday, November 15th. Thank you, Yale!

Free review copies of "Stone and Silt" -- 25 available

Readers and book reviewers: If you would like a copy of "Stone and Silt" to review, the Choosy Bookworm site is offering a free copy of the ebook to the first 25 people to respond. Here's the link! And thank you in advance for posting your review on the book's Amazon page.

http://choosybookworm.com/product/stone-and-silt/

1-day sale: get "Stone and Silt" for 99 cents!

For the first time since its release, my B.C. historical mystery "Stone and Silt" is going on sale! For one day only, the ebook is available for 99 cents. (link)

After today, the price will go up by a dollar a day, until the book is back at its regular price of $4.99.

So... if you like mysteries...

or historical fiction...

or have a connection to British Columbia...

don't miss this chance to save a few dollars and get your copy for $0.99.

I believe this special price is only available for Amazon.com shoppers... although it might also be available on Amazon.ca (Canada) and Amazon.co.uk (UK).

Amazon.com link: http://amazon.com/dp/B00EKNTGSA

Amazon Canada: http://amazon.ca/dp/B00EKNTGSA

Amazon UK: http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B00EKNTGSA

Thank you to readers and reviewers of Stone and Silt!

I thought I would take a moment and say "thank you" to those of you who have picked up a copy of Stone and Silt. I do appreciate it very much! Writing a book is a long, solitary process and it's so gratifying to hear from people who are giving it a read now that it's published.

Some news: my publisher is considering a significant promotion for Stone and Silt, that will put it on one of the largest book mailing lists in the U.S. We'll be able to do so once it has a few more reviews on Amazon.com.

The good news is, it has eight reviews now, and a nice average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars. Just a few more reviews and we'll be able to launch the promotion.

So I especially want to thank any of you who leave a short review on Amazon.com! Just a few words is all it takes. The link to do so is here:
https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?ie=UTF8&asin=B00EKNTGSA&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=133140011

Whether you leave a review or not... thank you for checking out Stone and Silt!

"Stone and Silt" now part of Amazon's MatchBook program

Have you heard about this? Amazon has a new program, called "MatchBook," where you can get greatly-reduced prices on ebooks for Amazon books you've purchased previously in print editions.

Not every book is eligible for this... but Stone and Silt is, thanks to my always-on-the-ball publisher.

What it means is this: if you purchased a print edition of the book from Amazon, you can get the Kindle version for a mere 99 cents. That's a four-dollar savings or, as I like to think about it, two tall Americanos at Starbucks.

You can easily see which of your past Amazon book purchases are eligible through this Amazon page.

I believe MatchBook is only available in the U.S. at this time. Hopefully it'll be expanded to other countries, like Canada and the U.K., very soon.

Checkpoint!

For those of you who are writers (and everybody is a writer)... here's the latest on my author-journey.

Two weeks have passed since my book, Stone and Silt, was released. This is all a new experience for me, and now's a good time to checkpoint how it's all going.

First, the book did well on its opening day, proving once again that it pays to have a broad network of family and friends. The book peaked at #8 in Amazon's Hot New Releases for Young Adult Lit/Fic. That was a "Quick, somebody fan me!" moment. Thank you all!

And it was a delight to see the comments and goodheartedness from near and far, including some old friends I hadn't heard from in a long while.

I feel that the acceptance of the book has put a little bit of British Columbia into bedside tables and living rooms across the US and Canada. That makes me very happy.

The book has six Amazon reviews so far, and a 4.8-star rating. I'm very grateful for readers who take the time to leave a short review. Thank you! You can see all six reviews here. And, if you're so inclined, you can add your own review with any feedback on the book.


The latest two blog tour events took place yesterday. One was a 5-star review from a top book review site, "Books and Pals." The reviewer remarked: "The murder mystery plot was exciting, dangerous, and stressful to read. There were many twists and turns on the way to the resolution. Nikaia, Klima, and Yee Sim were very resourceful and clever. But, my favorite parts were the everyday background details and the interactions between Nikaia’s family and friends. ... The telling of Nikaia’s mountain quest, the Anybody Boat, Charlie Ray’s trap line experience, Annie Adams’ basket weaving, and other stories brought realism to the book by teaching meaningful lessons to characters, and providing insight into the culture of the First Nations people and pioneer life during the gold rush." She had other thoughts and comments which you can read here.

I was asked to guest-post yesterday for Katrina at PageFlipperz, a book review site that has featured hundreds of books since 2010. Here's an excerpt from the post: "It was a time unlike any other. The streets were suddenly energized with miners, riverboat captains, merchants, prostitutes, and government men. In weeks, Yale became known as the largest settlement north of San Francisco and west of Chicago. By 1858, the little town on the banks of the Fraser had become, for many, the most exciting place in the world to be." You can read the rest here.

Coming up, the book has several more blog tour stops, with reviews and guest posts in the works.

Oh, and something exciting took place that has never happened to me before. A book idea, for a contemporary mystery, came to me almost fully-formed while I was riding the bus to Seattle. I filled a small writing pad with plot notes, scene ideas, and character sketches. I think it's going to be viable as a full-length mystery/thriller. At any rate, it will be a fun project to sink my teeth into. I'm energized.

Thank you for riding along with me in this journey.