A June Update

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. Jimmy, here... Jimmy!! You remember. My name is plastered all over this site… Oh, Good Lord! No wonder you don't remember... *clears spider webs, squashes three as countless more scurry, accidentally kicks over one dead rat* Sigh!

So I was going to title this post: Jimmy's Last Will and Testament, but I was sure the only one who would find it amusing was me. I was equally assured that I would offend some, and I don’t want to do that. There’s nothing wrong with me, and many others out there in the world do have health issues that I do not want to belittle.

The heart of the matter is that the day job has taken over my life and doing its level best to kill me slowly. Many of you have not heard anything out of me in many weeks. That is why. I am penning this post from work on a Saturday morning coffee break where I have a fairly large crew working on a “hot” project. I will finish the week at about 58 hours which isn’t much until you recall that the week began Tuesday. I did get most of Memorial Weekend off, but did have to come in for a few hours last Saturday, too. Nearly all of May has been 11 to 13 hour days.

I did have a good turn-out for The Swedish Festival last month where I sold many copies of my books. My first book is actually set in my town and takes place just before the festival. I enjoyed sharing that with people who stopped at my table. Their eyes got big with surprise, and many bought a book because of it. Here's a few photos. That's my pal Lisa. These events also provide opportunities for internet friends to "meet" which is what we did.

Other than that, however, there hasn’t been much to share. No treadmill. No writing. No laptop. I promised I wouldn’t spent time ranting about my day job here this year, but since it’s actually gotten worse rather than better, I figured I’d better let you know I’m okay – just swamped.

Earlier this month I did have an opportunity to meet a frequent visitor to this site over the years, the multi-talented author and dear friend Diana Murdock. I was thrilled that my wife and I were able to find time on a trip we were on to stop and spend it with her. We exchanged autographed copies of our books which was awesome. I read her novel Again a few years ago and loved it. I hope it won’t be the last time we meet. Next time Vegas, right Diana? Anyone else want to join us? You think I’m kidding… ;)

So, what am I going to do this summer? Well, I hope things will calm down at work. I was all set to dust off the manuscript for my fourth novel today, but here I sit. In any event, I need to begin that second draft immediately. It is book three in my vampire series and I am introducing a new character who I’m naming after my 90+ year old grandmother. She lives in town and is doing great. She has been one of my biggest supporters and a real inspiration for us all - believe me. She lives alone, but can still take care of herself. My mother checks up on her daily and drives her to wherever she needs to go, but other than that she’s very much self-sufficient. I call her and stop by periodically for coffee every few weekends or so as I can. I am dedicating this book to her as well, so as you might well guess, I don’t want to take too long getting it into her hands.

So, if you still do not hear from me, that’s where I’ll be.

I hope all of you are finding time to do what you want to do. I wish you a great summer, and every success with everything you do. If nothing else, I’ll check in again in July.

I’d better get back to work. As I said it's a "hot" project…

We’ll talk soon.

A Future Without Twitter?

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How are you all doing? Are we in the Christmas spirit yet? I hope so. I am getting there, but some things have risen up to do their best to dampen them…

Things have gotten tough at the dreaded day job. Due to many factors, we had a lousy busy season and have been forced to work weekends. I got out of working a weekend ago and the subsequent Monday due to the fact that we already had plans to accompany our high school freshman and his choir to Disneyland and the Candlelight celebration. It was a very cool time, but now I’m on the clock for weekend work and worked this past Saturday. I typically take two weeks off during the holidays – you may recall my having been sick for them last year. In any event, even that is in jeopardy, and I may have to work during this time as well.

Not only are we really busy, but now I find myself really tired. It didn’t take long at all for the busy workload to wipe away that three-day weekend I just had. Christmas makes us all busy. I’m trying to get some writing in, but my three hour window is shaky now because some days I am far too tired to concentrate. Lately, I’ve hardly blogged at all. Many have continued to visit in spite of the fact that I have rarely reciprocated, which I adore you for, and hope to improve upon.

Then this past Wednesday morning during a work coffee-break I attempted to do my #WriterWednesday shout-outs on Twitter, only to discover that the Follow Friday App had been permanently shut down. This left me with no real way of doing that work – which is more of a labor of love for me, to be honest. I just don’t have the time to check Facebook or Twitter feeds, so doing my #WW and #FF work from my trusty iPhone was my only dedicated method of continuing that interaction. I was left more than a bit disappointed by the fact that I only heard from a handful of friends last week when I usually hear from so many more.

Out of sight is out of mind, so I suppose what really bothered me was the very real possibility that I might be quickly forgotten in a community where we literally “know” hundreds and thousands of people. One might have thought that less Twitter interaction might actually be better, giving me more time to write, read or blog, but I don’t see it that way. To me, it’s a big loss.

So, my friends, does anyone have any suggestions? Is there another App that can help me do the same thing? I’m not interested in mass following and unfollowing people which seems to me to be what these bigger and better mousetraps are for now. How do you Twitter-loving folks keep up and reach out? I just want to be able to interact with my friends, even if it is only at 140 characters.

We’ll talk soon… I hope.

Amazon Giveaway - The Aftermath

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How's your week? That's not really a fair question, I realize, since it might be just starting, depending upon when you see this post. Perhaps I should try a different tactic. May you have a great week, followed up by a fantastic weekend. You see, I'm still on vacation from the day job, so it should be fairly easy for me to enjoy my week. I'm Sorry. I'm not trying to rub it in or anything. :)


This has been one of those stay-cations, rather than a vacation. We did take one day trip to Monterey, California. My dad had never been to the world famous Aquarium, so the four of us picked him up and took him with us. We had a nice day, getting away from the triple digits and cooling off on the Central Coast. We might do something else before I go back to work next week, but for the most part I'm simply glad to have had some extended time off.

Now, with regard to my free event this past weekend, I'm torn. On the one hand, I am unsure just how many copies I thought I might be able to give away, but having read how others had done with their events - giving a couple of thousand copies away - I guess I hoped to do the same. I realize these things are hit and miss, but I would be lying to you now if I simply hid those feelings and pretended to be giddy. As of late Sunday night, I had given approximately 700 copies of Dance on Fire away. At my peak I reached #363 after having began the event at #93,554 in the free rankings. In specific categories, I reached #14 in Suspense, #22 in Thriller, and #17 in Horror.

Am I being silly or unrealistic with regard to quantity of copies given away? Feel free to tell me. I really want to feel great about what happened.

On the other hand, there is much to be positive and extremely thankful about. In the first two years of being published, I think I may have moved somewhere between two and three hundred copies of my book. It was on every site except Amazon. It had good reviews, but didn't really go far. I mean no offense to those sites. I will be back there soon. My point is, I had never been in the large pond before and was looking toward making as big a splash there as I possibly could. I guess I did make a fairly big splash when you think about it. One of my bestie's, the author Linda Cassidy Lewis (The Brevity of Roses), promised me that I was about to reveal myself to a much bigger audience than had seen my work before. And we did. We were between 2x and 3x as many readers in two days than I had done in two years. I guess I shouldn't hang my head, huh?

And lastly, the thankful part. If it weren't for you guys, I never would have come this far, either in copies given away or even getting that book on Amazon in the first place. So many of you never ceased to offer a hand in assistance, whether that was formatting, editing, etc. You have been there to pat me on the back, massage my shoulders, offer high-five's or pull me back up to my feet when I began to fall. You spent your weekend offering RT's on Twitter; posting and sharing my giveaway on Facebook; cheering me on with FB, Twitter and Google-plus comments; helping me keep my mind off the numbers while I sat in front of my lap top all weekend long; and all sorts of other things. You buddies, pals, mates, chums, secret crushes (had to throw that in there, but will never confess just who *grins*) and friends are really a marvelous community of writers and readers. No matter the final numbers, this has been a splash, and I couldn't have done it without you.


So, what's next? I loved The West Wing television show and President Bartlett always asked that.


Well, now that the event is over, I will turn my attention to the sequel, Dance on Fire: Flash Point. We're still finishing up the cover and I'm waiting for another beta reader or two to get back to me with their takes on how I've done. I will be contacting a professional editor and scheduling that work. I want to get the sequel up on Amazon before the year is over. During this time I will work on producing the softcover version of Dance on Fire, working with Amazon for that as well.


As always, if you have any advice for me, I would love to hear it.


Thanks again for everything, you guys. We've come a long way together.


We'll talk soon.  

At Long Last...Amazon (Free Event)

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. Hey, it's mid-week! What am I doing posting again? Well, I'll tell you. It's been a long strange trip...




Many of you have been with me since January 2010. I thank you and everyone else who has climbed aboard since then for your visits, encouragement and, in a great many cases, friendships like I have never known. We may not have grown up, attended school or worked together; however, you and I share something that family, friends and co-workers have never been able to understand. We have a love for telling stories and a storehouse full of stories to tell.


As most of you are aware I lost my small publisher recently, as she closed up shop quite unexpectedly. I had that pity-party for a day and then converted that wasted energy into action. I contacted a few of you about joining your small presses or publishing homes, but in the end decided to go it alone. Please forgive me if I wasted your time. I didn't think I had the time or knowledge to go it alone, but so many offered support and so much of themselves that I realized that it was only fear that was holding me back.


Putting your advice and encouragement to good use, I (reluctantly) stepped away from the blogs and social networks, and entered the proverbial writer's cave where I began line editing my debut novel, Dance on Fire. For those who have read it already, I thank you. I found those errors and took the polish to every sentence and have, I think, made that baby shine. I apologize for not having done that the first time. I thought I had. *sigh* I'm still learning, and endeavor to do a much better job with every subsequent release.


The novel had been on every site except Amazon. When the publisher closed it came down everywhere. Now its back, better than ever, and firmly ensconced on Amazon's KDP Select Program. The link at the top right hand of my blog is working again and will take you right to it.




If you're new here and are unfamiliar with my book, it is a PG-13 read about two vampires who know one another and are not exactly pleased about that. They meet in modern day Central California in my real-life hometown of Kingsburg, leaving quite the body count. It is a crossover, combining the best of "edge of your seat" horror and suspense with Christian themes. I did my best to toe that middle ground and hope you find it to be a wonderfully fresh combination.




Those of you who know me on the social networks may have already seen an invitation to this weekend's free event. If not, allow me to invite you now. This weekend, August 4th and 5th, I am launching my arrival on Amazon with a free event. Let me also thank you in advance for picking up your copy, replacing your old version with this new one and for sharing this news wherever you can. You guys are great that way, so I thank you well in advance.


What's next? I have heard back from some betas on Dance on Fire: Flash Point. I will quickly turn my attention there. We have been working on the cover. Once I line edit that bad boy, I will be having it professionally edited for release before the end of the year. It seems I have been promising this for a very long time. I plan to rectify this very soon.


Once again, many thanks for your friendship, encouragement and support.


We'll talk soon.

Another Way to Catch Olympic Spirit

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. Thanks so much for stopping by. Many of you are aware that I am on vacation for two weeks and were a great encouragement to me as I neared that finish line last week. I thank you for that. This time off is coming at the right time as I continue to put in the work of getting myself back on my feet after losing that publisher. I will have pretty big news here in another day or two as I fill you in on the most recent details. In the meantime, I have provided this site to my pal, J.C. I hope you'll take a moment to help all of us celebrate the release of her debut novel.



Olympics-mania is at fever pitch! What better way is there to get into the Olympic spirit than a book set around the London Games? J.C. Martin releases her debut novel, crime thriller Oracle, today! To celebrate, she's holding a month-long Oracle Olympics Blog Tour, with tons of games and prizes, including a possible grand prize of an iPad3 (for more details, visit J.C.'s blog)! And it all kicks off with today's Opening Ceremony! Read on to find out how you could win a signed paperback copy of Oracle right off the bat! So what is Oracle about, anyway? Here's the blurb: Oracle With London gearing up to host the Olympics, the city doesn't need a serial killer stalking the streets, but they've got one anyway. Leaving a trail of brutal and bizarre murders, the police force is no closer to finding the latest psychopath than Detective Inspector Kurt Lancer is in finding a solution for his daughter's disability. Thrust into the pressure cooker of a high profile case, the struggling single parent is wound tight as he tries to balance care of his own family with the safety of a growing population of potential victims. One of whom could be his own daughter. Fingers point in every direction as the public relations nightmare grows, and Lancer's only answer comes in the form of a single oak leaf left at each crime scene. Purchase Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble Intrigued? Here's your chance to win a signed copy of the book! All you have to do is visit all the blogs in the Parade of Nations in order (for a complete list of blogs, visit Olympics HQ here), including this one! Each blog will have a secret letter. Collect them all to decipher the secret message. Then go back to J.C.'s blog and enter your answer in the Rafflecopter for your chance to win! Answer some additional bonus questions to multiply your chances of winning! The contest will remain open till midnight EST on Friday 3rd August. The winner will be announced on J.C.'s blog! So here is my secret letter: R
Click on over Angela Brown's site for the next letter! Good luck!


We'll talk soon.

Tweep Nation Podcast

Hello, Tweep Nation. How is everyone? I’m doing fine, thank you very much. Things are still a bit crazy as I continue to pick up the pieces of my publishing life, but they should begin to settle down very soon…

I’m sorry. What? Yes, I did say, Tweep Nation. Why am I suddenly deviating from my normal greeting, you ask? Why, that’s because I was just a guest of the hit podcast, Tweep Nation. Last Friday, I flew to Dallas, Texas and visited the Tweep Nation North American Studios… Ok, I’m kidding. It wasn’t like I could fly to Sidney, Australia and visit Headquarters! *sigh* Okay, you’ve got me on this one. I actually just plugged into Skype, but I’m really on the program, you guys. Trust me on that part at least!

Australia's greatest export to the world, the multi-talented Dionne Lister.

When you get some time and can plug into iTunes, take a listen to the podcast. I join hosts Dionne Lister and Amber Norrgard as we discuss all sorts of important topics, and some of it even about writing and books. *grins*

My newest coffee-drinking buddy: the awesome author, Amber "Rockin Red" Norrgard.

On the show, you will hear me begin to discuss what I've been up to. I haven't been sharing a lot of that with you good people yet, playing it close to the vest, as they say. The reason behind that is I didn't know myself what avenues I would be taking. Now I do. You will hear me reveal what I'm doing at the moment, what I'm working on, what my plans are and when my book will begin to be available once again. Not only that, but the status of book two and book three. I hope you will come by and give us a listen. Perhaps you will decide to become a full-time member of Tweep Nation. I know I am.

This has been a wasted year, I'm afraid. Not much of that was my fault, but it is a lot of cubic feet of water under the proverbial bridge, so all I can do is carry on. I've been picking up those pieces and we've got many irons in the fire. You can trust me on that point, too. Take a moment, if you can, and give Tweep Nation a listen. It will be an hour out of your life, but hopefully a good hour. I usually listen while I catch up on the blogs I've neglected to visit. I'm typing this on Sunday morning, so that's what I'll be doing later. Here, you can find the Facebook page, Dionne's blog where she mentions the show, and the iTunes preview link.  

I should be getting more specific with details very soon. I realize that I have been making promises like those all year, but during that time I was waiting on others. Now it's only me. I can assure you that Dance on Fire will be up on Amazon.com in early August once I finish going through it one final time, making minor changes. Once that happens, my attention will return to Dance on Fire: Flash Point. It has been sitting on a virtual shelf for nearly two years. The cover is nearly done and I have begun hearing from betas and have spoken to professional editors.

I hope you Fire Enthusiasts have a great week. I mentioned Skype. I don't do it often. In fact, I just started using it, really. However, if you'd like to look me up there, you can find me rather easily, I think. My Skype name is: jamesgarciajr

We’ll talk soon.

And Then Suddenly...Without a Publisher

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. *sigh*

I guess I spoke too soon, huh? Last week we had all sorts of excitement about the future of my writing, things were suddenly moving right along again after being stagnant, it appeared that I would finally get that second book published...and now it's gone. This past Saturday afternoon I received an e-mail that my publishing house was closing, effective immediately. Now, I have all sorts of feelings about this, but I choose to look at the bright side... I just haven't found it yet.

Okay, that's not exactly true.

Some of you might be saying that this is a great opportunity for me to go out on my own. It is, but I am unsure whether I have the time to do that. You might recall the 11 hour day job. I know I can't forget it. It gets me up at 3 am. *grins sarcastically* What I mean is, I might have to shut down everything that I am currently doing in order to learn how to format, acquire artwork and contact all of the outlets in order to get set up with them as my own boss. If it is easy, I need all of you wonderful people to calm me down and point the way for me because it just seems so much easier with my schedule to find a publisher to do that for me.

My first thought was to hide this drama from you for a while as I attempted to figure things out in the coming weeks. Why did I change my mind and share it with you? The first answer is for catharsis. It feels good to write these thoughts down and to get over all of the frustration. Another reason is for some love from my peers. I can use all of the encouragement you've got right now as I pick up the pieces. You all have been nothing if not supportive, so I thank you in advance. A final reason is to share what is happening to me. It helps others to know what can happen, am I right? I did crawl into a bottle of White Zin Saturday night, but I'm okay now.

I'll be alright. I might back off blogging for a while as I research publishers, begin querying again or attempt to go it alone. I will refocus my energies on moving forward. What I will not be doing is quitting. I am a writer. I have one book published, the sequel ready for whoever might be the next editor and a stand alone third novel that I have been editing. This is only a bump in the road and I will emerge better for all of it. I'm sure of that. Absolutely sure of it! I just happen to stand at a fork in the road and need to choose my next path.

How are you guys doing on the path that you have chosen? I really don't ever want this forum to only be about me. I want to hear about you. How are things with you? As you bring encouragement to me, how can I encourage you right back?

Oh, before I forget; thanks for all of you who wished my wife and I well this past Friday on our wedding anniversary. It's been 22 years now. Actually, it's been 24 years because we got married on our 2 year anniversary of dating. I argued with a future sister in law, telling her that I was getting married on a Friday. Nobody gets married on a Friday, she told me. Do it Saturday. I am not getting married on my 2 years and 1 day anniversary, I told her. And I didn't. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. *rubs hands together* I guess I have some work to do...

We'll talk soon.


P.S.: If you read Dance on Fire, feel like you have a great handle on the material and would like to be considered as a beta reader for its sequel, please let me know. While I decide what to do next, it occurs to me that I can now instantly send out Flash Point to anyone who might like to help perfect it. Let me know.