Championships, New Beginnings and New Release

It's Super Bowl Sunday! One of my favorite days of the year. It's more than just football... it's the day of the Austrian Open Championship... it's the day we actually want to watch commercials... it's the day we are dazzled by the halftime show (except the Black Eyed Peas a few years ago)... This just in - Djokovic wins the Australian Open in four sets. And yet, there is some bad news... once the game is over tonight I go into sport withdraw. It will be two weeks until catchers and pitchers report to Spring Training and TWO MONTHS before the baseball season starts. Since I happen to be a Cubs fan there is no better time of the year than April when we have not yet been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs - that usually happens sometime in May! But there is a silver lining; I plan on using my Sunday's that I would usually spend watching football getting some writing done to get a "head start" on this summer's new project.

Speaking of the writing front, I did finish my short story, "Eyes of Payne," which will be available in March. Yesterday I sent off my new author bio and back cover copy of the story. It will be available exclusively on Amazon and only in digital form. But, stay tuned, I will be literally giving it away shortly after release. And remember... ALL of you can get the kindle app (Click Here for Mac/Click Here for Android). There will be more to report on the release soon. A cover is being made, and revisions are being considered. The best advice I can give aspiring writers is keep writing. It's a whole new world out there for authors. Yes, with self publishing not having the stigma it once had it is easier to get your writing out there, but that also means the market is saturated with tons of choices for the reader. How do you get noticed? I'm still trying to figure that out and will let you know what worked for me if and when something works! What I do know is the more opportunities a reader has to discover your work the better. My hope is to sell some shorter pieces so readers will give me a shot. I plan to release a couple of short stories ("Eyes of Payne" in March and a horror story I am working on to be released in the summer) to reach a larger audience. I find that I am more than willing to give a newbie ten or twenty thousand words, but not as willing on larger stories until they I know more about the writer's style. I just don't have the time which is true for most of us. So my plan is to give reader's variety in hopes of giving my writing more exposure. Now, I don't want those of you who feel the need to hold the book in your hand to worry; my plan also includes a release by the end of the year of yet another novel... I will keep you posted as the story better develops.

All that being said I'm planning on spending the rest of the day on my couch filling my head with useless analyzing about a three hour game that hopefully will have footballs inflate properly. I mean, with the world on fire, ISIS on the move, Yemen falling apart, people's healthcare going up, the scary proposition that Romney might still run, the possible rise of the South, and the latest discovery that the Taliban is not a terrorist organization, what's really important is the possibility that a team might have deflated a few footballs to give their quarterback an advantage. I equate this act with stealing signs in baseball. I'm still wondering why ALL the footballs weren't deflated. That being said, even after suffering through the tuck rule, I will be rooting for New England today.

I hope all of you enjoy the big game today, or at  least the commercials!

God Bless!