Summertime!

Mt. Baker sunrise. Nature’s art!

More daylight and less dark gives me the illusion of more time. More time for hikes and sails, time for parties on the deck and bbq, time with less structure and more serendipity and coincidence. Is this your favorite season too?

Of necessity, I’ve become aware of my vulnerability in the publishing industry. Turns out, there are many cons out there who prey on debut and independent authors. It starts with a very flattering review of Shanghaied and ends with a price tag for their unique service or audience that will push my book into best-seller status. As a result, I’ve become a skeptic (if not a cynic). When one of these shows up in my inbox, my guess is that they’ve not read Shanghaied, but have asked AI to write the review. I’ve realized that when it comes to articles recommending “this week’s best books,” most of those recommendations aren’t spontaneous discoveries but are paid for.

What did I expect? It is an industry. People need to make a living, even the scammers around its edges.

What’s refreshing is to find some legitimate help: a studio and narrator aiming for a late October release of Shanghaied as an audiobook; a professional who can leverage that release into more print sales; and a publisher asking if I have another book in process. Stay tuned.