Wm. Stage's Blog

NOVEL TAKES HONORS IN CONTEST

A Friend Of King Neptune by Wm. Stage




This novel took first in the 2023 Indie Author Project regional contest, category: Adult Fiction. It was featured in the prestigious Library Journal December 2023 issue Best Books. The author celebrated with an hour-long bike ride in the cornfields of Monroe County Illinois.



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What Goes Around

Not sure what to call this: idiotic? tragic? karmic? So my novel St Francis Of Dogtown came out in February, just in time for signings and readings to be derailed by Covid. But I did get through 2 events before things were postponed indefinitely. So be it. Since I am an Indie author and contract with the shops and stores to sell my book, I approached all the bookshops and newsstands in the St Louis metro area. All but one agreed to carry it, probably the best known bookstore, the darling of local bookstores. I asked why, was told: "Come on, Wm., you know we don't carry your work. It doesn't sell." Okay. But the novel HAS DONE WELL, beyond my expectations, gotten great reviews locally, nationally and across the pond. The first run had sold out by June and sales are now in the second printing. Yet, this bookstore, which does not support local authors--at least thislocal author--is asking for contributions to keep afloat. No, I am not gloating, just scratching my head in wonder.

Sales in the Plague Year

So my novel St. Francis Of Dogtown St. Francis Of Dogtown came out Feb 2020 and I had 6 readings / signings lined up. I was able to do 2 of them before the shoe dropped in March and most everything closed including the bookstores and libraries. Ouch! Okay, sure, those public appearances will still happen - someday - but by then I had multiple good reviews, radio interviews, definite buzz. A certain momentum had built up and I was not going to be stopped in my tracks. I advertised the title. Orders came in through Amazon and Baker & Taylor, which caters to libraries, and that was encouraging. But what about St. Louisans who wanted to read the latest yarn from one off their best known novelists? I put on my thinking cap and began to approach non-bookstores that remain open during this dismal time. So the novel is now available locally at Vincent's Market in Soulard; World News in Clayton; Dogtown Liquors; Dogtown Framing; Washington Avenue Post, downtown; and D & R Pawnshop in Maplewood! It's working to some degree, both Vincent's and Dogtown Liquors have re-stocked after only a week or so. The old saw applies here: Where's there's a will, there's a way. Cheers, Wm.

Signing / Reading - St. Louis

Wm. Stage will be reading from and signing copies of his new work, St. Francis Of Dogtown at John D. McGurk's Irish Pub & Garden,1200 Russell at 12th in Soulard, on Thursday March 26, 2020 from 5:30 to 8:00. Drop by for a pint and a dose of literature. A droll crime novel set in St. Louis and neighboring Jefferson County, the noted author Ken Bruen, of Galway, has said of St. Francis "... wonderfully frtesh, smart, artfully constructed, and one hell of a read."






St. Francis Of Dogtownigning

Book Signing - St. Louis

I will be reading from and signing copies of my new work, ST FRANCIS OF DOGTOWN, at The Royale Food & Spirits 3132 S. Kingshighway St. Louis on Wednesday March 11 from 6 to 7:30. Drop by for a pint and a dose of literature. A droll crime novel set in St. Louis and neighboring Jefferson County, the noted crime fiction writer Ken Bruen has said of St. Francis " ... wonderfully fresh, smart, artfully constructed, and one hell of a read."

New Novel Debuts

At long last, my latest work, St. Francis Of Dogtown, a crime novel set in St. Louis and neighboring Jefferson County, will be out in early February, 2020. On my GoodReads author page find a link to a recent and decent review from fellow crime fiction author Kate Vane, writing for Crime Fiction Lover. I will be lining up signings / readings over the next half-year. The first will be at World News, a great newsstand located at 4 S. Central 63105, in Clayton, the seat of St. Louis County. I will be there from 11 am to 1:30 pm Wednesday, February 19. Lunchtime, drop in and say hi.
St. Francis Of Dogtown is my 13th book and third novel.

upcoming readings / signings

Dear Fellow Readers, Three items of note: Litchfield: A Strange & Twisted saga of Murder in the Midwest 20th Anniversary Edition is now available in paperback via Amazon. Written like a novel, this is as good a true crime work as you'll ever read. Also, I have two signings coming up: Dunaway Books in St. Louis on Thursday Nov 8, 2018 from 5:30 pm to 7 pm. And Prairie Archives Bookstore in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday Nov 10, 2018 from 11:30 to 1:30 pm. In both places I will read from my 2017 novel, NO BIG THING, as well as LITCHFIELD. Dunaway is located at Grand and Arsenal in South St. Louis. Prairie Archives is located at 522 E. Adams Springfield, IL.
Hope to see you, and happy reading. Wm.

Litchfield - 20th Anniversay Ed.

This has been a good year for publishing. My 12th book, NO BIG THING, came out in paperback, and now my 3rd book, 1998's LITCHFIELD: A STRANGE AND TWISTED SAGA OF MURDER IN THE MIDWEST, has been dusted off and placed on Kindle format. Litchfield is a riveting true crime work written like a novel. I wrote it over a 2-year period while I was a columnist with The Riverfront Times here in St. Louis. I knew the accused and we have many mutual friends / acquaintances. As a newspaperman I saw that this story needed to go beyond a couple 500-word columns. I attended the trial, 75 miles away, in Hillsboro, IL, in the fall of 1995. I got to know the people involved, I covered it for the paper. In deciding to tell the entire story IN COLD BLOOD was my inspiration and guide. Like Capote's great work, LITCHFIELD is a psychological study of a brutal crime and its aftermath. The paperback came out in 1998 and was sold out by 2004. It has not been available for the last 14 years. In the last 3 months I have read this book probably 12 times and made a multitude of improvements -- after all, I'm a better writer now, 20 years later. Please read the synopsis on my author page. Litchfield: A Strange and Twisted Saga of Murder in the Midwest, 20th Anniversary Edition

NO BIG THING

My novel, No Big Thing, getting off to a fairly good start with 3 reviews thus far and a fourth one coming in the June issue of Missouri Life magazine. There is a signing this coming Saturday May 12, 2018 at Half Price Books at McKnight and Delmar in St. Louis from 1 to 3 pm. Please stop by if you're in the area, say hi.

I do like HPB because they have such an eclectic selection. For example, I had just read a crime novel by Ken Bruen, who likes to promote other writers in his own books and he mentioned Victor Gischler - not exactly a NYT Best-selling author, but if Bruen likes him ... I noted the name and the very next day I'm in HPB and there on the shelf, a copy of The Deputy by Victor Gischler. Bought it, devoured, and wanted more. That would not have happened at Barnes & Noble. I hope I can provide a link to my book or at least the cover. Here goes ...No Big Thing

No Big Thing

Hi everyone. Good news. My new novel, No Big Thing, has advanced to the Quarterfinals of the BookLife Prize for Fiction. The first round of judges gave it a 9.75 rating out of 10, and said "This vividly-imagined historical novel is a compelling, eye-opening, and important read." The novel , fairly short in length [70,000 words] follows a fictitious rural Missouri family in their quest to join the State's Adopt-A-Highway program, the problem being they are applying in the name of the KKK. The story has a colorful cast of supporting characters - a rough-and-tumble meth dealer, a budding social anthropologist, an idealistic lawyer, a Baptist minister, and a sexy Deadhead. No Big Thing is a funny and thoughtful take on the obvious and not-so-obvious forms of discrimination. It's based on actual events that took place in and around St. Louis in the 1990s and involved litigation that went all the way to the US Supreme Court.
The BookLife Prize is $5000 and if I win - big IF - I will be able to buy that pencil I've been saving for. BTW, it is available only on Kindle now [$2.99], but will be a paperback by late February 2018.