Summer is fast approaching, thankfully. Here in New Hampshire, Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of the season, but truly things don't get rolling until mid June. Once schools get out, then it's time for summer camps, lake side fun, and more relaxing for many families. As for me, I will be doing my fair bit of travel with stops in Maine, Maryland, New Brunswick (fingers crossed), Nova Scotia (hopefully), and Poland. After two summers of laying low, I decided it's time to shake things up a bit. 

I'll do my best to update my travels. The first leg will be an old school bus and train journey to Maryland. I could fly but to be frank I have a love-hate relationship with Southwest. As the dominant airline in my area, one must fly them or else. For whatever reason my last two flights on them have been delayed. I also detest the herd line up with the free for all for getting seats. It aggravates me enough to not fly this trip.

Usually I make the pilgrimage south by car, but with gas prices and traffic, it's not saving me tons.
I do enjoy the open roads and yet traveling by train seems like a fun alternative. The last time I took a train longer than an hour was in Russia, twenty something years ago. This will be a nine hour journey. Regardless of how it goes, I expect some good people to watch and some food for my creative mind. I can see it now my next book will be The Man on the Train. 

That's the latest from my end. I will share that I'm reading a fascinating book on survivors of polygamy. Not sure if the book will manifest into new ideas, but God's Brothel is worth a look. 

My final draft of Rusty Star is back from my copy editor. I'm reviewing the edits and comments, hopeful to be done on my end in the next few weeks. This will be a first compared to previous releases in that I'm waiting until I'm done with the final read prior to getting the cover done. Typically, I have a cover or two created way before this point in the production process.

Truth be told, I think the book cover creation is my favorite part. There's something about seeing that catchy picture and the title in a large font that says, "Here I am, read me." I don't know it just makes me happy and I realize that it's almost time to shift to another project. This time is a slight shift because I want to see things from a different perspective.

I want the story itself to be good to go and formatted completely. It can be frustrating when the cover is complete, but one is still waiting for the edits to come back. While it might be a week, it could be another month. In old school publishing that was how things were done, but as an Indy, you don't have to do things in that order. I know some authors who create a cover before even writing a single word. Granted, I think that's jumping the gun and downright misleading, simply because some use the cover to sell advance copies for a book they haven't and will never complete. 

Thankfully, that's not the case here. We got an 89K word novel almost ready for press. Stay tuned, it won't be much longer.

I can't tell you the number of times over the last nine years I have had a blog up only to take it down. There have been countless versions from video updates to themed articles to simply random musings on life. In the end, I tend to remove the blog when I feel like it no longer serves, or I simply grow tired of updating the thing.

Truth be told, I know that my website is ground zero for book updates. As much as I yearn to stay away from writing weekly or monthly blogs, how else are you going to know when a new book is on the horizon? Unless you have already joined my mailing list, the chances of you being in the "know" is limited. 

With this in my frontal cortex, we are trying a new approach to the website. To begin there are multiple sections now that give you a book cover tease on my diverse and growing catalogue. I know some like the separate genre categories, but frankly I think with a focus on the more current books or series is enough with the older pieces thrown into one page. 

I also have a FAQ section that covers some common questions you might have for an Indy like myself. Finally, we have reintroduced the blog, which could turn into something of regularity or sparse updates at best. 

Knowing I have a new book that will be released in late May or early June, we can assume more contact for the time being. A cover will appear in the coming weeks and a summary as well. In the meantime, check out The Marcus Files. Those three books should keep your interest, especially if you are a fan of science fiction and brooding characters. 

-JFK

I'm reminded daily of my loss, seventeen years and counting. My twin and I shared a unique bond. Even now, I can feel his presence and the zest he had for life. Running with Vince was inspired by his passion for living life to the fullest and the legacy we leave behind for others. It's hard to believe this book came out in 2011 and yet even now this story of two brothers on a final road trip together continues to serve those who lost a loved one. 

There are three books currently in the series. I have to admit the second book in the series has my favorite cover. I love the spaceship especially as it brings me back to my youth with Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5, and other science fiction books, tv, and movie series.  Writing this book, I liked the fact that we were finally off planet and among the stars. Being alone in space, certainly puts one's life in perpsective don't you think?

Four books with at least one spin off, Luza was my fan fiction to Narnia and a big thank you to my students, nieces, and nephews. With talking animals, teenage angst, bullies, and hunters among other challenges; Keira not only has to overcome more obstacles than most, but she also finds that she has an entire kingdom to consider.