The Common Cup, Rogers Park, Chicago IL

So, I am sitting in my local coffee shop, taking a break from yesterday’s  excitement. Yesterday, I set the website to ‘Public’ and created a Facebook Page for “Gordon DeLand, Author“. I’m a mixture of nervous and sad. Nervous for what people might say, but trying not to be too sad, knowing there will be very little traffic to either one  for quite some time. Probably. But a beginning is just that—a beginning. And that means LOTS of room to grow!

In the mean time, the news!

• Small Town Romance is just about to go live on Amazon. The two of us would both favor a different cover, but the one we have now is … sufficient. I have reminded myself that because this is digital publishing, and the book belongs to us alone, we can change the cover whenever we want. For those who are local to it, the story is set in Norwich, New York and you might recognize a few of the places. Maybe a sequel set in South Otselic?

• This Old House is still in revision. Yeah. By last count, this is Revision #5. This one is labeled “Final Revision”. It hasn’t changed a lot, to be honest; didn’t need big changes that I could see for myself. But the language is smoother and the characters are introduced more completely. The first three chapters are up, the Final Revision version, while I finish revising the rest: I finished Chapter 16 yesterday, so about a third of the way through. Yippee! It’s fun to read it over again as I revise it, but also a little tedious. I wish it was done so I can begin the second book that continues the story with 1930’s Mob, a fortune in hidden gold and the return of the young villain—with a sidekick! Oh, and if you know what a Beta reader is and would be willing to take the job, let me know!

• And under the heading of ‘Shorts’… this is the area that keeps my mind limber: I have to write better to keep it good and short. So far they are mostly coffee shop observations from my time in a certain Starbucks in Dallas (you guys know who you are! Thanks for all your support!) I have a feeling this will change to the beach here at Rogers Park. The people are not as strange but they are just as interesting. And the stories are equally interesting.

That’s all for now. Time for me to get back to revising. The novels mentioned above are here. The Shorts are here. Leave me some feedback? Thanks, and have a well-read day!