The Writer’s Predicament

I haven’t been blogging because I’ve been writing. I have a new Dillard book in the works and I’m trying to get it finished by July 1. No promises. It’s going well, but no promises.

I’m re-writing a book that I wrote a couple of years ago called “Russo’s Gold.” It was a decent effort, but the circumstances under which I wrote that book were, to put it mildly, difficult. I had been told by my agents that the Dillard series was dead and that I needed to write a stand alone novel under a pseudonym so the publishing industry wouldn’t know it was me writing the book since my publisher had dumped me and once one of the big publishers dump you, you’re dumped by the other five. I was about to lose my house. My kids were in college and needed money and I didn’t have any to give them. My wife was sick. It sucked.

Things are far different now. The Dillard series is going nuts, so I’m rewriting “Russo’s Gold” as a Dillard book. It’s an extensive rewrite because Dillard obviously wasn’t in “Russo’s Gold.” He’ll be the main character in the rewrite. It’s a fun book about a young lady who finds a fortune in gold hidden in a cave. The problem for her is that the gold was hidden there by a bootlegger who worked for a big-city gangster back in the Great Depression era. When she finds it, she has to figure out a way to keep it. Things get extremely complicated.

I removed my last blog, the one I wrote about my agents firing me without telling me. After reading it a few times, I thought it was a bit over the top, a little too snide and a little to angry. Those guys initially believed in me and my work and represented me, so I guess I owe them some kudos for that. But when the business started changing and digital books and indie publishing came on the scene, they weren’t ready to deal with it and they didn’t adjust. Neither did anyone else in the traditional publishing business. They wanted things to stay the way they were, and I can understand that. I got caught up in the mess and it hurt me and it hurt my family. But I’ve moved beyond it. I’ve moved way beyond it.

I’m now selling more than 30,000 books a month. Wait, that was last month. The way things are looking, I’ll sell about 40,000-45,000 this month. All five of the Dillard novels are among the top 10 bestselling legal thrillers in the Kindle store. Amazon does this author rank thing now, and I’m number 20 in thrillers authors as of a few minutes ago. I’m up there with Patterson and King and Baldacci and Connelly, guys I’ve idolized in the past and still do. I’m actually ahead of Grisham. Can you believe that? Less than a year ago I was living in my mother-in-law’s basement.

My wife, Kristy, is still fighting like a champ. Because the breast cancer metastasized to her bones, her blood counts – things like hemoglobin and white blood cells and platelets – became dangerously low. When she was going through radiation back in March I thought we were going to lose her, but she made it through and her blood counts are steadily improving. She just finished her annual dance recital (she did two of them on the same day) and they were fantastic. She continues to inspire me and I love her more than I can begin to say. I love her so much that I’m seriously considering buying her a convertible sports car and giving her Jeep to my son. I promise she won’t mind.

Summer is here, the sun is out, and we get to watch it set over the lake every evening. The books are going great, Kristy’s off for a couple of months, and both of our kids live nearby. It’s time to relax, at least for a while, and to appreciate the good things life can bring.

I hope your summer is going to be as good as mine. Thank you for the kind emails you’ve sent and for all the support you’ve given me.

I wish you peace.