Newsletter #3, Bye-Bye Dorian, Hello Deadline!
Welcome to your post-summer, post-Dorian newsletter!
My August writing view
Our month in the north Georgia mountains was extended thanks to ol’ Dorian. We were fortunate that he turned north and missed our area. It gave me a few more days to hike, visit wineries and stare at the woods while pretending to write.
Although we were on “vacation,” it was a busy time. So, I have lots to report.
Sandblast has been copy edited, and it was a surprisingly painless process. I was pleased that the copy editor didn’t have any major complaints. He made a few good catches of small problems and smoothed out a couple of style issues. No biggie. Next step: proofreading.
Sandblast cover proof. A very quick read!
Even better, something arrived in the mail that I was not expecting: cover proofs. They’re the book without all those pesky words inside. They really make the whole thing seem real.
The actual, whole, entire book – with the words inside – has been priced at a mere $8.99, a dollar less than I anticipated. And most of the time Amazon has it discounted to $7.19. The ebook is also available, and discounted. Both will be delivered March 31.
And...my publisher, Kensington, has licensed the audiobook rights for Sandblast and the first sequel! Tantor Media, a major audiobook maker, will produce the audio versions with one of its stable of experienced actors. Audiobook sales are growing every year, so this is a great development. I already sent a pronunciation guide to them for the foreign names and phrases in Sandblast, which turns out to be a lot.
Speaking of sequels, I can now reveal that the first one will be called...drum roll...
Blowback.
In military and intelligence parlance, “blowback” is an unexpected negative consequence. That’s what my characters will face. I can’t tell you much more about Blowback without giving spoilers for what happens in Sandblast. But I can tell you it’s due January 15, well before Sandblast even hits the shelves. Blowback is on my screen now, at about 70% done in rough draft. Four more months may seem like a lot of time to finish it...but not to me!
Meanwhile, rehearsals start in a couple of weeks for my play, Murder at the Butcher’s, and tickets are already on sale at www.willowtheatre.org. If you’re going to be in South Florida the weekend before Thanksgiving, I’d love to see you at the show.
Murder at the Butcher’s is now a finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Awards, which will be presented at the Florida Writers Association conference in Orlando on October 20. I will be there for the white-knuckle moment.
Delray Newspaper, September, 2019.
With the play coming up relatively soon, we’ve started doing publicity, which resulted in some coverage in our local monthly, the Delray Newspaper. They did a very nice layout for their “Five Questions With...” feature. The image is what the print version looks like, and here’s a link to the online version: http://delraynewspaper.com/5-questions-with-delray-author-al-pessin-28713.
My first fan selfie.
Finally, I had my first fan selfie moment a few weeks ago at a restaurant in Georgia. A man overheard me talking about the book, and, unbeknownst to me, went online on his phone and bought it. He came over to me and showed me his receipt and asked for a selfie. So, thanks Bill, for my first, but hopefully not last, fan selfie moment!