I have finally seen my book in print. You can check it out at my website as I am reviewing and making the final edits in the initial proof. In fact I actually finished those up and e-mailed the (hopefully) totally edited proof back for publication. I believe they make the changes and send me back on final review copy after which we should be in print and ready to be purchased within 2-4 weeks. I cannot express how exciting, and nerve-wracking it is to be this close to completion.
This is the culmination of three years worth of work and I am very happy with the way Blood on His Hands has turned out. I want to throw out a few kudos to people that have helped me along the way. if you read this you know who you are and without you I would never have gotten to where I am today, in a fictional sense anyway,
My wife, Louisa, for giving up precious time with me while I pounded away with two fingers on the keyboard at odd hours and swore at my Dell for behaving so badly.
Timur Tau who gave me a few moments in the busy gun shop to show me how a Remington 1100 actually works.
David 'AWOL' Miller the author of one of the finest Appalachian Trail books I have read, AWOL on The Trail. He has become a fine friend and confidant in the world of writing, and kindly allowed me to e-mail and call him with questions. He also is one of the fine folks that I have been able to ask to read an advanced reader copy (ARC) of Blood on His Hands and write a review.
Steve Minton, a fine mind and writing talent that inspired and encouraged me and also agreed to be a contributor by reading an ARC.
Bill Sartor; a Tucson based private investigator who without whose help I would never have completed the adventure seven years ago that led to Blood on His Hands being written. Bill, you know what you did. Thank you my friend.
My son, Brian, who gave me the "insider" tips on the oil rig scenes and who the physical description of the protagonist is based upon.
Carolyn Harvey, the best friend in the world, whose help in keeping me alive at the darkest days of my life I can never repay.
Karen Langesan and Mike McDonald for a peek at life in New Zealand so that I could write my villain in a authentic fashion.
Kay Mathena who heads up the Chamber of Commerce in Helen, GA where the body was found close to Unicoi Gap on the Appalachian Trail.
Joe Gold another Tucson author, now based in san Francisco, who allowed me to hang out and pick his literal brain, and who also is one of my ARC readers.
Katie Frazee, who filled me in on "maggot maturation" and other forensic tips.
Jana Bauer whose invaluable help in the editing process is deeply appreciated (I made the rookie error of thinking I could self-edit. Jana found well over 200 grammatical errors that I missed. Next time I will hire a professional editor and not try to scrimp on the cost). A valuable lesson learned, luckily, not too late.
Last but not least, a young lady that if anyone knows where she is please have her contact me, Tyga Hunter, who was there with sage advice out on the AT where we shared time at the hostel at Neels Gap.
I need to also mention the artistic talents of Matthias Plunkett, who is responsible for the design work on the cover of the book, James Harris my web designer and Karl Koffman whose work you can see below in the form of the YouTube video promo he put together to promote Blood on His Hands.
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