Stan R. Mitchell's Blog, page 47

Nick Woods, Book 4 is done! Now in editing and polishing phase.

Hey guys!

Hope everyone is doing well! I wanted to let everyone know that I finally finished the fourth Nick Woods book! (Working title: Nigerian Fire.)

I can’t tell you how difficult this one has been to write, and I think it was mostly due to internal anxiety I was placing on myself. The Nick Woods series has been selling so well that I’ve felt pressure to both finish the next one quickly (before everyone loses interest) and not write a dud, which would kill the series and certainly jeopardize my full-time writing career. (The Nick Woods series is probably 85 percent of my revenue.)

As my close friends know, I’ve been far more at ease writing the Detective Danny Acuff books the past eight months. They require far less research and I’m not scrambling trying to find a suitable foreign country to study, from which Nick Woods and his merry band of shooters can go hunting.

Nonetheless, I’ve finally managed to finish the fourth book in the Nick Woods series. I’m pretty pumped about it and feel like it’s one of the fastest moving books in the series to date.

For now though, it’s editing and polishing time, followed by some more editing and polishing. This is the part I struggle to enjoy, same as most writers I know. Once you’ve climbed the mountain and finished one, you just want it to be over so you can start another book.

But it’s the editing and polishing that takes a decent story and turns it into something that’s captivating, so Danah and I plan to really make this one sing. (In Book 3, we faced a production deadline because of our audio deal. Thankfully, we don’t have a pending deadline with this book, so the stress won’t be as high.)

At any rate, I’m rambling now, and droning on about small details that I’m certain you don’t care about. I’m also pretty sure most of you would rather me get back to editing so I can get it to you sooner.

Fair enough. : )

Thanks so much everyone for being such huge friends, fans, and supporters! Keep spreading the word about Nick Woods and I’ll work as hard as I can to get the fourth book in your hands quickly!

Here’s the book order for any of you that might have missed some of them, or to jog your memory as you’re spreading the word:

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

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Stan R. Mitchell, author and prior Marine, is best known for his Nick Woods Marine Sniper series, which has remained in the Top 100 on Amazon for more than three years. The series has also been picked up by Audible.com for a multi-book audio deal. Additional works include a Western thriller, detective series, and World War II story.

The happy secret to better work

Hey guys!

Hope everyone is doing well!

I wanted to share this pretty incredible video I came across, called “The happy secret to better work.”

Let’s just say it makes a few brilliant points, and I certainly took some notes from it.

Hope it helps propel you forward in your life, as well!

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

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Stan R. Mitchell, author and prior Marine, is best known for his Nick Woods Marine Sniper series, which has remained in the Top 100 on Amazon for more than three years. The series has also been picked up by Audible.com for a multi-book audio deal. Additional works include a Western thriller, detective series, and World War II story.

The latest news on the Nick Woods series

Hey guys!

Hope everyone is doing well! Wanted to give you a quick update on the Nick Woods series. I’m nearly finished writing the next book, which would be the fourth in the series.

Nick and the members of Shield, Safeguard, and Shelter (S3) deploy to Nigeria to tangle with Boko Haram in the fourth installment of the series. (For those who don’t know about Boko Haram, the group “has killed 20,000 and displaced 2.3 million,” according to Wikipedia. You may know them best for all the young girls they’ve kidnapped, which even garnered the attention of our First Lady.)

The working title is “Nigerian Fire,” which should tie in fairly nicely with the titles “Afghan Storm” and “Mexican Heat.” Having said that, we’re still brainstorming, so if you have something better, please share it!!

And for goodness’ sake, if you haven’t started the Nick Woods series, you seriously need to start here: “Sold Out.” Like, today.

Matter of fact, if you have any doubts about whether you’ll enjoy the story, you can click the image of the book cover at left and go to a really cool embedded preview of the book, where you can read an extended sample and adjust font size to make it easier to read.

As of the last time I checked, “Sold Out” has earned more than 320 reviews and spent most of its life in the Top 100 on Amazon, alongside the likes of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor. I know I’m biased, but I really think you’ll enjoy it and the rest of the series, if you’re a new subscriber and haven’t tried it.

That’s it from here! Can’t wait to get you the next book before too long. (And, no, I’m not saying when! lol. Have played that game once before, and I don’t intend to again!)

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

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Stan R. Mitchell, author and prior Marine, is best known for his Nick Woods Marine Sniper series, which has remained in the Top 100 on Amazon for more than three years. The series has also been picked up by Audible.com for a multi-book audio deal. Additional works include a Western thriller, detective series, and World War II story.

Honoring two veterans on Memorial Day; add your special name, too.

Hey guys,

Since it’s Memorial Day, I wanted to honor two special people who gave their lives in service of our country.

The first one was a big reason I ended up joining the Marine Corps.

Bobby Fisher, who retired as a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps, was a man I looked up to as a young boy. He was probably the only Marine I really knew before joining, and I recognized and respected how different he was. He was a quiet man, who always stood tall and pulled his share of the load, while never boasting or talking big.

Gunnery Sergeant Fisher served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm and while he survived the combat, he’d struggle with and eventually succumb to a blood disease related to Gulf War Syndrome. (Some may quibble and say he didn’t die in service or combat, but this man left Grainger County a strong man and upon his return, soon found himself struggling with an undiagnosed disease, losing weight and strength and unable to work or do anything physical. He’d die at the young age of 47, and believe me when I say his last years were miserable. I don’t care what anyone says, this man was killed by the war no differently than someone who took a bullet over there.)

The second man I’d like to honor is Lance Corporal Andre Foster, who I served with in Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. Lance Corporal Foster died in a dangerous stream crossing we were doing as part of our training at the Jungle Warfare Training Center in Okinawa.

Lance Corporal Foster died on April 10, 1999, while Alpha Co., 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment conducted highly dangerous jungle training in Okinawa. Foster drowned while crossing a roaring stream in full combat gear.

I’ll post a tribute one of his close friends wrote about him below. But just like with Gunnery Sergeant Fisher, I can say I knew Lance Corporal Foster and he was a great man.

Finally, I wanted to end by saying that one of the reasons I felt compelled to write this post is that a quick Google search barely turned up anything online for either of them. (In fact, I happened to search them both after thinking of them on this special day, which is what led to this last-minute, Memorial Day blogpost.) As such, I wanted to write this small tribute to them so that anyone who searches their name in the future will easily find information about their service and sacrifices.

Furthermore, it’s worth noting that though there’s not much written about either of them, both died within the past couple of decades, when the internet was fully alive and should have captured more. But there are thousands and thousands who died in previous wars, whose names probably aren’t recognized or easy to find online.

Therefore, I wanted to offer everyone the opportunity to honor people they knew who died in service to our country. Thanks to the support of so many, this site has 400,000-plus views and is ranked well with Google and all the other search engines. Thus, if you know someone who’s sacrifice may have been forgotten, or perhaps their information is online but difficult to find, you can post a comment with their name and branch, as well as rank if you know it. Also, feel free to talk about them some.

It’s not much, but this will help preserve their great sacrifices online, in a way that will benefit future relatives and friends.

I know that Gunnery Sergeant Fisher and Lance Corporal Foster are without question no different than the other nearly two million who have died defending our country, all of whom deserve our gratitude and respect. (Note: Please be respectful in the comments. Any inappropriate comments or political statements will be deleted, and you can be rest assured that I will continue to monitor this page for years to come as a small way of keeping a living memorial up for my two great friends, as well as any others honored in the comments below.)

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

Some motivation and insight from Mack Machowicz, a Navy SEAL legend

Hey guys!

Hope everyone is doing well! In today’s video, I share some tips from Mack Machowicz, a Navy SEAL legend who wrote the book, “Unleash the Warrior Within.”

Hope you enjoy the video, learn a couple things, and get inspired enough to buy the book.

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Get a free eBook!

Get a free electronic copy of my book, “Soldier On,” when you sign up today for our mailing list. And do not expect to be spammed or drowned with regular emails. The list will ONLY be used to notify you of when we release a new book, as well as for rare, HUGE updates. Get your free copy of “Soldier On” by signing up for the list here!

Who are you imitating in your life?

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Get a free eBook!!!

Get a free electronic copy of my book, “Soldier On,” when you sign up today for our mailing list. And do not expect to be spammed or drowned with regular emails. The list will ONLY be used to notify you of when we release a new book, as well as for rare, HUGE updates. Get your free copy of “Soldier On” by signing up for the list here!

Two of my books are free today on Amazon

Hey guys!

Just wanted to let you know that for today (and today only) both “Sold Out” and the first full novel of the Detective Danny Acuff series are available on Amazon for free. (At least the Kindle versions are.)

I’m pretty sure most of you getting this email have already read “Sold Out,” but I don’t think everyone on my email list has tried out the Detective Danny Acuff series yet.  So, if you’re a fan of detective shows on TV or in books you’ve read, I think you’ll really dig this new series.

And it’s free, so what do you have to lose?! lol

Here’s the book description to it:

Detective Danny Acuff’s marriage is on life support. And, he’s been forced to take a boring job as a small-town detective in a dumpy, sleepy, little town — it’s his final, desperate attempt to save his marriage.

Danny figures his life can’t get much worse. Danny couldn’t be more wrong.

Turns out this small town in Akin, Tennessee, isn’t so sleepy after all. Danny is about to get two tough cases thrown on him, and catch the scent of a much larger — and more dangerous — criminal conspiracy that hasn’t been solved in years.

Already, one detective has died attempting to clean up this town. Will Danny be the next?

Oh, and here’s some extra credit for my awesome supporters! If you’ve enjoyed “Sold Out,” then will you consider sharing this page on your facebook and introducing Nick Woods to some of your friends? No pressure, obviously, but thanks a million to those who do! It’s much appreciated!

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Get a free eBook!!!

Get a free electronic copy of my book, “Soldier On,” when you sign up today for our mailing list. And do not expect to be spammed or drowned with regular emails. The list will ONLY be used to notify you of when we release a new book, as well as for rare, HUGE updates. Get your free copy of “Soldier On” bysigning up for the list here!

You can be pitiful or you can be powerful, but you can’t be both.

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Get a free eBook!!!

Get a free electronic copy of my book, “Soldier On,” when you sign up today for our mailing list. And do not expect to be spammed or drowned with regular emails. The list will ONLY be used to notify you of when we release a new book, as well as for rare, HUGE updates. Get your free copy of “Soldier On” bysigning up for the list here!

Dream

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Get a free eBook!!!

Get a free electronic copy of my book, “Soldier On,” when you sign up today for our mailing list. And do not expect to be spammed or drowned with regular emails. The list will ONLY be used to notify you of when we release a new book, as well as for rare, HUGE updates. Get your free copy of “Soldier On” by signing up for the list here!

My six-year anniversary message

When I met Danah Akin Mitchell eight years ago, she had to have seen a half-crazy man embarked on an insane, impossible dream to create a major newspaper, despite what the balance sheets were showing.

And she somehow overlooked the crappy $415 apartment I was renting, or the fact I didn’t have health insurance or even any furniture in my living room other than a camping chair and upturned box for a sidetable. My TV was a hand me down from my friend Hannah, who used to work for me at The Oak Ridge Observer.

I was basically bankrupt at the time with a TON of company and personal debt, but Danah somehow overlooked all those embarrassing situations.

And for some crazy reason, she agreed to marry me, proudly accepting a small diamond ring that most girls would have turned their nose down at. I promised her then I’d make it up to her someday, and she’s somehow continued to believe in me, as well as encourage me, as I’ve moved on to yet another mountain, this one even higher and steeper.

She foolishly claims she’s the one who got lucky, but I know I’m the one who latched onto an angel and used every salesman trick in the book to convince her to spend the rest of her life with me. Now I just need to sell enough books to buy her a home in Disney. : )