My short and sweet memoir will warm your heart and revive memories of your own childhood, wherever you grew up. Parts of it were originally serialized on Substack.
I am looking forward to reading Florida Boy as I too grew up on Coquina Key drive in the 60's. (The last house on the island to on the north end). The excerpts I have read brought me back to a very familiar time and space!
Hi Tom ... that's amazing. I was at 4098 Coquina Key Drive. My friend Rick Humphrey lived down at the southern dead end. Thanks for the comment! It really is just a tiny little book compared to what I've written before, but I hope it brings a little joy, if only temporary.
I read the parts you have on here. What years did you live on the island. I lived on Coquina Key Drive from 65 until 69. The life and days you have written about is the life and days I lived. One of the memories I have is when the small plane landed on the sandbar behind our house. We took ourjonboat out and brought the pilot in. Life was good then!
Hi again Richard! I had seven beta readers, so I chose not to use ARCs. The holdup now is waiting for Ingram Sparks to finish its distribution process. Amazon has its faults, but they are faster than anyone else in terms of making a book available to the public.
I would love to get some tutoring from you on this process - the methodology, time-line, critical-path ... so many things I know of by their terms but not from experiencing their reality ... not yet, but soon I hope. Best wishes for success with your book. Cheers, Mark ... p.s. ... a friend of mine who I introduced to a local program/process/mentor had a great launch and her book is doing well, so I realize it's '1 part talent' and '10 everything else' ... check out https://www.amazon.ca/Letters-Singapore-Kelly-Kaur/dp/1988754399
Hi Mark. I would be happy to do some tutoring, though I would imagine there are others on Substack more qualified than I am. I'm not into AI at all, but one thing I've grown to like to use is Plottr story-planning software. It's excellent for a lot of things, but for me it helps with the outlining of the first draft, keeping track of a timeline, and keeping track of your characters' tendencies. I generally spend a lot of time developing my theme/themes, then come up with a pretty solid outline that is mostly plot-driven, and then write a rather sloppy first draft. Then I begin to incorporate literary tools (foreshadowing, symbolism, metaphors, parallel structuring, into subsequent revisions. There are certain things -- especially foreshadowing -- that are difficult to effectively work into the first draft.
I often wished I could afford be a paid subscriber to every Substack I enjoy reading. But soon realized that I am able to afford buying books published by favorite Substack authors —and share them with others by placing their books in our very busy, active, local library—.
So far, It will be yours, Jeanne’s, Janisse’s and Ray Zimmerman’s …(I keep signed copies - and order unsigned for the library). It works out ok for me, stretches my meager dollars and shares Substacker’s creative work with our hinterland folks.
We have an awesome library here. And excellent schools that use it.
After Gannett bought our local newspaper, one of our librarians and a high school student/aspiring journalist started a newspaper specifically more dedicated to our region. They’re two years in and still going…
Looking forward to seeing how you finished “Adventures…” beyond the serialized version. Cheers
Thanks Dan! Since it's so short (only about 140 pages), I'm going to sell the paperback for only $9.99, which is pretty affordable. It's the kind of book that can be read in one to two sittings. I had seven beta readers, and they all liked that part of it.
Thanks David! The book contains some bonus material. It's not meant to change the world, only to add a little levity. I'm curious to see if there's a place for something short, simple, and fun.
Hi Mark! Thanks for the comment. Florida Boy is different than anything I've ever written in terms of the process you described. As you know, I serialized it on Substack, so 80 percent of the content was already available before I fashioned it into a book. It then became simply a matter of organizing each chapter/essay in a way that made some sense and avoided confusion. Florida Boy isn't unique in this, but it's really just a series of dream-sequence essays, each of which complements the other essays in a way that builds tension, depth and emotional attachment. My novels are much longer and far more complicated, of course, requiring outlines, timelines, plot lines, character summaries, and a very large focus on themes, which were the main driver of whatever literary tools I chose to use. .... By the way, I did take a look at your friend's book. Looks great ... congrats to her!
Hello Jim.
I am looking forward to reading Florida Boy as I too grew up on Coquina Key drive in the 60's. (The last house on the island to on the north end). The excerpts I have read brought me back to a very familiar time and space!
Hi Tom ... that's amazing. I was at 4098 Coquina Key Drive. My friend Rick Humphrey lived down at the southern dead end. Thanks for the comment! It really is just a tiny little book compared to what I've written before, but I hope it brings a little joy, if only temporary.
I read the parts you have on here. What years did you live on the island. I lived on Coquina Key Drive from 65 until 69. The life and days you have written about is the life and days I lived. One of the memories I have is when the small plane landed on the sandbar behind our house. We took ourjonboat out and brought the pilot in. Life was good then!
We were at 3396 Coquina Key Drive.
Congrats Jim and hope you sell a million. Are you using ARCs?
Hi again Richard! I had seven beta readers, so I chose not to use ARCs. The holdup now is waiting for Ingram Sparks to finish its distribution process. Amazon has its faults, but they are faster than anyone else in terms of making a book available to the public.
Thank you!
I would love to get some tutoring from you on this process - the methodology, time-line, critical-path ... so many things I know of by their terms but not from experiencing their reality ... not yet, but soon I hope. Best wishes for success with your book. Cheers, Mark ... p.s. ... a friend of mine who I introduced to a local program/process/mentor had a great launch and her book is doing well, so I realize it's '1 part talent' and '10 everything else' ... check out https://www.amazon.ca/Letters-Singapore-Kelly-Kaur/dp/1988754399
Hi Mark. I would be happy to do some tutoring, though I would imagine there are others on Substack more qualified than I am. I'm not into AI at all, but one thing I've grown to like to use is Plottr story-planning software. It's excellent for a lot of things, but for me it helps with the outlining of the first draft, keeping track of a timeline, and keeping track of your characters' tendencies. I generally spend a lot of time developing my theme/themes, then come up with a pretty solid outline that is mostly plot-driven, and then write a rather sloppy first draft. Then I begin to incorporate literary tools (foreshadowing, symbolism, metaphors, parallel structuring, into subsequent revisions. There are certain things -- especially foreshadowing -- that are difficult to effectively work into the first draft.
Congratulations! I very much enjoyed reading the serialized version.
I'll gladly order one for our town's Library. It will be well received (and read) there.
Thanks Mark! It would be awesome if it found a place in any library.
I often wished I could afford be a paid subscriber to every Substack I enjoy reading. But soon realized that I am able to afford buying books published by favorite Substack authors —and share them with others by placing their books in our very busy, active, local library—.
So far, It will be yours, Jeanne’s, Janisse’s and Ray Zimmerman’s …(I keep signed copies - and order unsigned for the library). It works out ok for me, stretches my meager dollars and shares Substacker’s creative work with our hinterland folks.
We have an awesome library here. And excellent schools that use it.
After Gannett bought our local newspaper, one of our librarians and a high school student/aspiring journalist started a newspaper specifically more dedicated to our region. They’re two years in and still going…
Looking forward to seeing how you finished “Adventures…” beyond the serialized version. Cheers
Congrats Jim!!
Good luck, Jim! I'm in.
Congratulations Jim. Looking forward to getting my hands on a copy 👏👍🏼
Thanks Dan! Since it's so short (only about 140 pages), I'm going to sell the paperback for only $9.99, which is pretty affordable. It's the kind of book that can be read in one to two sittings. I had seven beta readers, and they all liked that part of it.
It seems to be on Amazon UK already so ordering my copy now 😃👍🏼
Bravo!
It was enjoyable as a series of short reads and should be as a book as well.
Thanks David! The book contains some bonus material. It's not meant to change the world, only to add a little levity. I'm curious to see if there's a place for something short, simple, and fun.
Thanks Laura!!!
Hi Mark! Thanks for the comment. Florida Boy is different than anything I've ever written in terms of the process you described. As you know, I serialized it on Substack, so 80 percent of the content was already available before I fashioned it into a book. It then became simply a matter of organizing each chapter/essay in a way that made some sense and avoided confusion. Florida Boy isn't unique in this, but it's really just a series of dream-sequence essays, each of which complements the other essays in a way that builds tension, depth and emotional attachment. My novels are much longer and far more complicated, of course, requiring outlines, timelines, plot lines, character summaries, and a very large focus on themes, which were the main driver of whatever literary tools I chose to use. .... By the way, I did take a look at your friend's book. Looks great ... congrats to her!
Thanks Mark! That's excellent of you to say! 💙
Thanks Heidi!
Thanks James!
Thanks!!!