Strand Magazine

I love it when the backlist gets new attention.

I just came across this recent article in Strand Magazine. What a treat to see my second novel, Walk Through Darkness, at the top of this list! Granted, it's not a mystery per se, but it occurs to me that the plot is fueled by a sense of mystery as to what's driving one of the main characters. It's about a secret that's not fully revealed until near the end. Interesting. Nice also to be on a list with the likes of James Lee Burke, Ron Rash, Paulette Jiles and Stewart O'Nan, among others. This will suffice nicely as today's pick-me-up.

100+ Amazon Reviews, a Look at the Numbers...

I had this idea a while back that it would be incredible when I reached 100 reader reviews on Amazon.com. I don't mean 100 reviews for a particular book (although that's going to be cool, too). I just mean when the total number of reviews for my four books added up to a century. I know, those reviews can be joy. They can be pain. They can be gushing missives from friends or hatchet jobs by enemies... But no matter what, as an author, it's hard not to keep an eye on them...

Well, I wasn't paying attention when the number turned, but it has! Actually, I only noticed when I was at 106 reviews. 106! Do you realize that there was once a time I had exactly 0 Amazon reader reviews? Crazy.

Okay, but how's the math look? Have things gone well? Positives above the negatives? Let's take a look...

For Acacia, it looks like this: (34 total)
20 Five Star
10 Four Star
0 Three Star
3 Two Star
1 One Star

For Pride of Carthage, it looks like this: (40 total)
18 Five Star
9 Four Star
5 Three Star
5 Two Star
3 One Star

For Walk Through Darkness, it looks like this: (14 total)
10 Five Star
4 Four Star
0 Three Star
0 Two Star
0 One Star

For Gabriel's Story, it looks like this: (18 total)
16 Five Star
1 Four Star
0 Three Star
1 Two Star
0 One Star

Adding those all up by Star rating: (106 total)

64 Five Star
24 Four Star
5 Three Star
9 Two Star
4 One Star

So that's the way the numbers fall. I'm happy with that. The stinker reviews are always disappointing, but they're also a sign that the books are getting read by a wider range of people - and by more people, which is important. I'm not saying I'd encourage you to go and write me a one starred "I don't like this book cause it sucks!" review, but there's a place for them...

Wait... What am I doing? It didn't really take me that long to put this post together, but still it's been 26 minutes of my life that I won't have back again to write meaningful fiction! Why didn't you stop me? My apologies. Man, Resistance can be devious. It can even get me doing math. Enough!

I'm going to write now...

Man, things take forever...

A note on how long things can take... Way back in May I posted the news that Torn Sky Entertainment had optioned Walk Through Darkness. You might expect that the contracts were signed ages ago and my big fat check (joking, joking... seriously) had been cashed and spent, and that by now there would be a screenplay hanging out poolside at various actors homes, etc... You'd think I was writing here because I had NEWS! Right?...

Well, no. Not. Actually, I just signed the paperwork yesterday. Yep, just signed it. Put it in the mail and now I'll wait some more. These things are excruciatingly slow. I'm sure the guys at Torn Sky are on it, but still - patience is more than a virtue for a writer. It's an absolute necessity!

I actually "almost kinda" have another piece of news, but I've "almost kinda" had it for a few months now and I still can't say what it is! Maybe, maybe in a few months more I'll be able to shout about it... Believe me, when I can announce it you'll be the first to know!

Movie Hopes for Walk Through Darkness

Okay, still a long shot, but at least I can announce that somebody will be going to work in Hollywood to try and make Walk Through Darkness into film. Torn Sky Entertainment has optioned it. They're a new company, but the folks there have some solid plans on how to push the movie forward.

Casting ideas are welcome, by the way. They tossed around some heavyweight names, enough to get my head spinning, but those same names must get tossed around by pretty much everyone who's talking about making a good movie, so... I'll try to stop the head spinning and focus, focus! (On writing, that is...)

In Praise of the Mother...

My step-father just sent me the link to this article. It's from a small Annapolis paper, and it's somewhat a tribute to my late mother, who did a lot research into African-American history in Annapolis. It made her a mini-celebrity in the historical scene there, and it directly inspired my second novel, Walk Through Darkness. She died back in 2001. I miss her a great deal, but it's nice to be reminded by articles like this that others miss her as well, for a variety of reasons.

It's been a week, so...

I should post something. I've been a little bogged down with teaching this week, and we've had a small (not so small, really) tragedy regarding a well-loved cat. This latter has been hard on the kids. So I've been distracted.

Umm... The only almost news-worthy thing is that I've entered into talks with a film production company that's interested in the rights to Walk Through Darkness. I won't say much more about it until things have gone further - if they do. But I'm thrilled at the prospect of getting WTD in production. I think it would suit film, in a more intimate way than something like Pride of Carthage. And with Gabriel's Story still in the works... Well, maybe the stars will align at some point and one of these things will be on a big (or small) screen near you soon. I'll be sure to let you know more when/if anything is finalized.