Newsletter #104 — Let’s Date!
April 15, 2025
Newsletter #104 — Let's Date!
Booky Call — I tell you, publishing a book leads you down many a weird road. A road such as a dating app designed to sell books. Or, more accurately, an app to sell books, disguised as a Swipe-Left, Swipe-Right dating app.
That app is Booky Call, which just happens to be the last of the several ways in which I've tried to advertise Exit Velocity. Not last in importance, necessarily, just last in line for me to attempt. And that's because I thought that I, who have never used a dating app in my life, would have to write the copy. Something I was not looking forward to.
But no: I did not have to write the copy. Somebody at Booky Call (AI, perhaps), read my book and wrote the copy so that it meets their criteria of what could be successful.
I'm impressed with how much information is there. You can access it all at this link. Note that this access works only with mobile devices, not with desktop computers. (You didn't really think you could arrange a date from a so-last-century desktop . . . did you?)
Finalist — I am thrilled to hear that Exit Velocity is one of the four finalists in the Midland Authors 2025 Adult Fiction Award. So exciting!
Congratulations to my fellow finalists, as follows:
Adult Fiction 2025 Finalists
- Barbara Gregorich, Exit Velocity (BookBaby)
- Miles Harvey, The Registry of Forgotten Objects (Mad Creek Books)
- Amy Lee Lillard, Exile in Guyville (BOA Editions)
- Kevin Prufer, Sleepaway (Acre)
It's because of the finalist news that this newsletter is coming to you five days early: on the 10th instead of the 15th. The next newsletter will come out May 1.
The Time-Jinx Twins — Here's my review of The Time-Jinx Twins, a new middle-grades book by friend Carol Saller. I had such a good time reading this book, and I loved the twist at the end.
Exit Velocity, Chapter 1 — My most recent video is a reading of Chapter 1 of Exit Velocity, preceded by a discussion of several literary devices authors use (usually) in the first chapter to start creating the story.
Titles vs Subtitles — My previous blog, on Serendipity/Ubiquity, was very popular. Some readers urged me to go to Pequod's for that pizza. Others felt that because pizza parlors are ubiquitous, the universe was definitely telling me to get a pizza. My next blog, scheduled for April 15, is neither serendipitous nor ubiquitous. But still worth reading, I hope. On the 15th, check out Titles vs Subtitles: Making the Right Choice.