Publication Update

Hi Folks,
     Over the long weekend, I promised a production update, so here it is!

The Time of the Backroads. This morning, slightly after 6.a.m., I completed the “finesse review” of Book VI. I want to thank my beta readers—Dave, Angie, and Lee—for their patient feedback and “stick-to-it-ness” as we began this project back in April. This editing pass netted a reduction of over 5K words (while adding content!), and this near-final version is about 92.7K words. I'll do another pass, and suspect when it heads to my fabulous copy editor, Joyce Mochrie, this weekend, it will be under 92K (~275 pages in paperback) .
     So much more work to do yet—especially the cover! More to follow.

Audiobook of The Last Coon Hunter, Fifth Anniversary Edition. The entire draft of the audiobook is complete, with each chapter uploaded individually for my review. I’m working with voice actor Wayne Thompson, who is simply amazing, whenever there are any technical glitches to fix. (So far, these fixes have been few and far between, e.g., pronunciation of local names in our area. I’ve finished up through Chapter 10 (of 21, plus Epilogue). I’ll try to knock out listening to 1-2 chapters a day—and once all changes are made, there will be one final pass before final approval. Producing an audiobook is new to me, so I don’t have a clear vector on when the audiobook will become final or available on distribution. I will say this—this process of creating an audio version of a book has been a fascinating and gratifying experience!
And now—a special treat pictured below. My amazing mother, who can sew just about anything, made the fabric rendition of (the real) Seth. Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time Seth has been put “in cloth.” Another dear friend, Flora, put Seth in needlepoint, and won a blue ribbon at the county fair!

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