If I say it’s been a heck of a month, well, I’m not really saying anything any of you couldn’t say. I had a haircut a month ago. Seems like a luxury now. Who knows when I’ll be able to have another one? I think it’s the impossibility of the ordinary that weighs on so many of us during our coronavirus stay-at-home—whether “ordinary” refers to necessities like going to work and being able to pay bills or less crucial but still important things like visiting family or just the mundane activities that, it turns out, help keep us sane, like getting a haircut.
In the midst of all this, of course, I launched Sandblast. Plans for a party at my local independent bookstore, Murder on the Beach (with wine and cake!) had to be cancelled, along with my plans to appear at bookstores elsewhere. It was all consolidated into a half-hour online launch, which was well-attended in spite of the crazy timing and a server crash that knocked a lot of people off just as we were getting started. It’s now available for replay on the alpessin.com homepage and the Al Pessin Author page on Facebook.
I’ve gotten great feedback on Sandblast, and please join the chorus by writing an Amazon review. Just click the Review button toward the bottom of the book’s Amazon page, which links from the photo above.
In The Palm Beach ArtsPaper, Sharon Geltner wrote, “Goodbye, Homeland. Hello, Sandblast. Showtime’s hit series Homeland ends in May. But covert ops fans can now turn to Sandblast, the first book in an action, adventure and suspense trilogy by Al Pessin. The book moves fast and the complex plot makes sense. Sandblast reads like the real deal.”
On Game of Books Blog podcast, host Christie Bunting said, “I read it in two days. I couldn’t put this down.” Her blog partner Cathi Twitero said, “(Bridget is) a strong, kick-ass female lead. I really did picture this in my mind as a Netflix series or a movie.”
From your mouth, Cathi...
I was also on several podcasts, and there were articles about my online launch in the South Florida Sun Sentinel and on BocaMag.com. All the links are on the Reviews and Interviews pages of alpessin.com.
So, how are the sales? That’s what everyone asks. The answer is...drum roll...I don’t know. I should see the first sales figures in a couple of weeks, but those will be both preliminary and partial. From what I read, broadly speaking the pandemic and the closure of all the bookstores is expected to hurt book sales. No surprise there. On the other hand, online retailers are still delivering and people have plenty of time to read, so there may be at least some countervailing impact. Also, Sandblast is available as an ebook and as an audiobook, both of which can be downloaded instantly.
I can also tell you that before the launch, Sandblast was about 1.5 millionth in sales on Amazon. After the launch it soared to about 19,000th, so that’s some sort of progress. And I hope for additional blips as more of our publicity efforts appear in print and online.
Meanwhile, I’m gearing up for a final run through the manuscript of the sequel, Blowback, which is scheduled for release about a year from now. And I’ve started Book Three. Watch for the cover reveal of Blowback and the title reveal for Book Three, coming soon.
Most important...Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for your support!!!
Please let me know your thoughts on Sandblast, and I hope I’ll be able to see many of you in person, perhaps at your local bookstore, before too long.