Newsletter #96 — Mule Book To Be Illustrated
December 15, 2024
Newsletter #96 — Mule Book To Be Illustrated
Mule (But Not Mulish) Decision — I've made the decision to publish my mule book (Some Will Make It Through: Ballad of the Horse and Mule) in January, 2026. Most likely the week of January 12. This will allow me to continue marketing Exit Velocity through August of 2025, and then switch to getting the mule book ready for publication.
I like the month of January because Jack and Larry was published in January 2012, and it has done well. In addition, Jack and Larry is "for ages 10-100," and so is the mule book. I'm hoping coincidence sprinkles some stardust on the mule book.
And I made an even bigger decision than the publication date: I decided that the book should be illustrated. Illustrated in a particular style, by someone who loves the outdoors and loves mules. I thought immediately of long-time friend Steve Johnson. We own several of Steve's paintings, and really love his illustrations, which he posts on Facebook and elsewhere. I asked Steve if he would consider illustrating the mule book after he read the manuscript. He was interested, and we're on!
Above is a preliminary sketch from the beginning of the story. Steve says it has yet to be put on good paper and inked, but already I love the mule's attitude.
New Video — Thanks to a free teleprompter app, I now find it easier to record videos. Well, maybe not so much easier as quicker. Before the teleprompter I had to memorize my scripts, and that took quite a while. And if I goofed (as I almost always did, at least once) I had to record again. I remember recording the video for Research Notes Volume 1 — nineteen takes!! There was something I kept messing up . . . but I don't remember what it was. Now, thanks to the teleprompter, I simply read my script as I'm recording.
There's a skill to this, and I'm working on mastering that skill. I have to learn to look as if I'm speaking, not reading. Eye movement is key. During my first test run, it was quite obvious that I was reading. So I googled how to avoid that. The trick is to put the script as high up on the screen as possible, and to practice reading through the words. That is, stare right through the words that are floating across the screen, letting them enter your mind subconsciously. This is, actually, easier than it sounds.
Here's Minor Characters Appear When Needed, my first video using a teleprompter. I realize there's room for improvement — but I did not want to read this script nineteen times.
CONvergence 2025— Those attending the CONvergence 2025 science fiction conference in Minneapolis (July 3-6) have been asked to give suggestions on possible panel discussion topics. I listed two of the panel topics I liked best from Windycon, and came up with a few others based on science fiction award categories and also on topics discussed in the Facebook Science Fiction Book Club I participate in. I hope some of these suggestions are accepted, and I hope I'm a panelist on some of my suggested topics.
Nonfiction Sampler — Of the samplers I've created, Nonfiction Sampler is the largest: 118 pages. It contains chapters from seven different books — Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball; Research Notes for Women at Play, Volumes 1, 2, and 3; Jack and Larry; Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel; and Charlie Chan's Poppa. At 99 cents, this is an incredible bargain.
If you'd like to read some of my nonfiction, you can buy the sampler here. And as I suggested in a previous newsletter, you can also buy it for a friend, especially a nonfiction-loving friend who might be looking for something to read. At 99 cents, the sampler comes out to less than a penny a page.
Social Justice Fiction Sampler — In my December 15 blog I talk about creating and using a new sampler.