Book Promotions.

Back in the days when I sold my stories and novels to publishers of various sizes, my major responsibility for promotions was something akin to press assists and not much else. I'd send out some review copies, do Q&A with reporters, chat up the books to journalists and magazine editors, and do author appearances in bookstores and libraries. But that was pretty much the extent of my involvement.

The way I saw it back then (and justifiably so), it was up to the publishers to promote and advertise the stories, scripts, and novels I had spent so much time creating. As I like to paraphrase, "I'm a writer, not a salesman, dammit!"

These days, of course, I have to promote and advertise. All on my own dime. And I have to do a lot of experimentation, because by and large other authors who know how to do this will not share such information in a market that is already packed beyond capacity and highly competitive. (Writers some years back ceased to consider fellow writers as colleagues and see them now as competitors.) So a huge learning curve has ensued.

I have had to learn where to advertise and how to do it. I won't belabor the finer points but even when you find a good spot to advertise you have to tweak the parameters of what is advertised and how to utilize various codes to ensure maximized results. It's not easy and even though I've figured out how to get positive results, I'm still not skilled at it. But what I have learned over the past few months is where to put my ad dollars and how to pull an ad when it's not generating more income than the cost of the ad campaigns. Fortunately, the two methods I now use most often do give me that option. I can edit, or pause, or completely halt an ad campaign if I'm not making more than it's worth.

Disappointingly to me, most of my sales--in fact about 90%--come in the form of ebooks. I never have become accustomed to reading ebooks, but I reckon it's because I'm too conservative to have ever given my reading habits over to that format. I do read more ebooks than I once did, but I prefer to buy print books. I will be purchasing more of my books in print format to sell at convention and library appearances in future and hope to see those gain a larger portion of my overall sales.

At any rate, the books I've been pushing most of late are titles that I've gotten back into print since retrieving the rights from a former publisher. All three have been rewritten, re-edited, and graced with new cover art and contain my preferred texts. So grab one or all of them if you want to spend some quality time living in another world for a few hours. All books are now also available in audio book versions.

WORKING CLASS HERO: The Autobiography of a Superhuman.

THE COALITION Zombie Trilogy. The three original titles all contained under one cover as a single volume. In audio book, ebook, and paperback!

DEADLOCKED. My first zombie novel back in print in my preferred text with many added and restored sequences. Three formats: audio, ebook, paperback.

THE COALITION ZOMBIE Trilogy. Ebook, paperback, audibook!

Some time back one of my previous publishers commissioned a zombie trilogy. So I penned my Coalition series and set it in my then-hometown of Charlotte, NC which was also at that time a major banking center (not so much anymore, even with the overbearing presence of Wells Fargo).

  When the publishing rights were returned to me I assembled all of the books to be published under a single cover. I rewrote some sections, re-edited the entire manuscript, and restored plot developments and passages that had been excised by the former publisher. So, for the first time we have the author's preferred text of the entire Coalition Zombie Trilogy present as a single book (at one low price!).

THE COALITION ZOMBIE TRILOGY from Last Hemlock Press, available online as an ebook, or from your bookseller of choice as a paperback. In addition, the audiobook is now also available for purchase.

 

THE COALITION Zombie Trilogy by James Robert Smith.

Elk and Mountain Panoramas

It had been over ten years since I had hiked to Charlie's Bunion in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Having hiked all around that Park, the Bunion remains one of my favorite places there, and still at the top of what I consider the finest views there.

Andy wanted to go to the Smokies to try to see some elk. Our original intention was to stay at a hotel in Maggie Valley which would give us easy access to Cataloochee which provides the surest opportunity to spot lots of elk. However, after I'd made the hotel reservations I discovered that Cataloochee is still closed off due to various factors which include road construction just outside the Park. There's another route in to Cataloochee, but for their own reasons the Park Service has also blocked off that route. I can't imagine why, unless they just enjoy not having pesky tourists around.

So, we altered our plans. Instead of a hike to see old growth trees in Cataloochee, we opted for the hike to the Bunion, and a stop at Oconaluftee to try to spot some elk since it's supposed to also be a reliable place to see them.

As things turned out, we had great weather for the hike, and we managed to spot elk at Oconaluftee. We had a final tally of five elk, but the opportunity for good photos were not as good as I'd hoped. Still, since I grew up in a South where there were no elk remaining at all, seeing even one is a treat.

Mount Kephart, which must be climbed to reach Charlie's Bunion from Newfound Gap.

The trail that goes around the Bunion is not for those who are afraid of heights.

The aptly named Sawteeth. If the Bunion is too crowded (as it was this day) you can head over to the Sawteeth which are just as spectacular, and usually without any people.

I took this from the top of the main summit of Charlie's Bunion. You can see people down below on the sub-peak.

They're not kidding.

The first elk we saw on Monday.

The last elk (a doe) that we saw as we were heading out of the Park.

Yum! Grass!

This doe was pretty big. In the early days of the reintroduction they all had radio collars. Now I see more elk with no collars. I've been told the herd is now in excess of 200 animals.

Ebook is Live!

Well, the ebook version of the updated version of WORKING CLASS HERO is live. You can pick that one up, now. Or you can wait a day or two and buy the paperback copy which should be ready for order within a day or two.

Here are a couple of bits of promotional material coming up for a multi-author campaign that will begin on June 15 and run for a few weeks.

James Robert Smith was surrounded by comics as a kid. His dad owned several bookstores that sold used and rare books. So, from the 1960s onward he had access to his father's warehouse of comics filled with over 250,000 back issue Silver Age and Golden Age comic books.

Influenced by the works of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko and their creation, the Marvel Universe, WORKING CLASS HERO: The Autobiography of a Superhuman is the novel that Smith has been itching to write for decades.

Smith’s latest novels are THE EMISSARY and WORKING CLASS HERO. His short story collection A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS appeared from Hippocampus Press in 2015. Among his other novels have been DEADLOCKED, THE COALITION, THE NEW ECOLOGY OF DEATH, FOUR FROM MANGROVE, and others. He has written comic scripts for publishers as diverse as Marvel Comics, Kitchen Sink, New Comics, Basement Comics, and others. His short fiction (well over 80 sales the last time he bothered to count) has appeared in dozens of markets from Fear Magazine, Weird Tales, Deathrealm, and others; to various anthologies in both hardback and paperback. He optioned his first novel, THE FLOCK, to Warner Brothers.

Mr. Smith recently retired from his day job as a laborer for the United States Postal Service and he lives with his wife in North Carolina. When he’s not at home writing he can generally be found hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or camping in various mountain areas in either the eastern Appalachians or the western Rocky Mountains. He’s an accomplished amateur photographer with landscapes and wildlife as his primary subjects.

His next novel will be BILLY B VERSUS THE TROUBLE BOYS, his second novel in the Working Class Hero series.

 

When people exhibit superhuman abilities after being afflicted with a new condition called Adult Onset Hyper-Development Disorder (AOHD), Uncle Sam steps in to take control of them. You either become a Fed, or an enemy of the state. Upon contracting the disorder, Mike Evans finds himself given the code name of Billy B, and tagged with the label of a Level Seven superhuman. They don't get much tougher or more powerful in the world of "Odds", as the public begins to refer to them.

With such power, Mike is given leadership of a team of other Odds and they are based in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina to act as defenders of their part of the east coast against all threats super-powered. He and his teammates Gila, Shylock Holmes, Amber Ember, and Constrictor do well at their jobs until exactly twelve people claiming to be the gods of Olympus appear. Can they handle this dozen come back to claim Earth after 2,000 years? Or have they met their match?

Find out in WORKING CLASS HERO: The Autobiography of a Superhuman. First in a series!

Upcoming Re-release of My Novel WORKING CLASS HERO: The Autobiography of a Superhuman.

A few years ago I released my novel WORKING CLASS HERO through one of my former publishers. When I got the rights back to many of my earlier books it was near the top of my list to re-publish under the Last Hemlock book imprint.

Recently I got the chance to work with a promotions cooperative with other writers and decided to take advantage of that opportunity to get WORKING CLASS HERO back into print. So about June 15th the book should be a part of the promotions bundle and, later, available in the three big formats: ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

What happens when you wake up one day to discover that you are now endowed with superhuman abilities, giving you power far beyond that of mortal men?

I'll tell you what happens.

Uncle Sam happens. Super folk work for the Feds. Or else.

Join the baddest of of badasses, Billy B, as he and the other superheroes of Charlotte, North Carolina join together to do good deeds and protect one and all from the depredations of villains both human and superhuman.

Book 2, BILLY B VERSUS THE TROUBLE BOYS should follow no later than mid-August 2020. Look for it online, or wherever fine books are sold.

Wandering Today.

I spent the day wandering around the Mount Mitchell/Linville Gorge today. More later.

Selfie at Setrock Creek Falls at the Black Mountain Campground at the base of Mount Mitchell.

Selfie at Linville Gorge. The last time I was at this area (Pinchin Trail) was in 2009. Away from the cliff face, the forests have recovered quite a lot since the 2007 fires that burned all the way down to the mineral soil.

Scene at Mount Mitchell State Park. There was quite a bit of snow above 6,000 feet there.

The rugged Linville Gorge. Notice the recent landslide on the right side.

Here's an old digital photo I took from way back. November 30, 2008. I shot it with my first digital camera. I think it was 4 megapixel Canon. I recall it had a pretty good installed lens and was built like a tank. It was heavy, made of metal. I dropped that little camera off of boulders half a dozen times. It got some dents but kept taking photos. If you dropped a modern Canon ten feet off of a boulder onto another boulder it would shatter. Not that one. It eventually gave up the ghost, or else I'd still be using it for casual shots.

This one was taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Rocky Knob in Virginia. We had gotten onto the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way home from the Peaks of Otter and a sudden ice storm had struck the high ridges. If we hadn't had four-wheel drive we'd have been stuck, but good. As it was I paused to take some photographs and then edged my way down to lower elevations and the heck off of the Parkway to safety.

 

 

Rocky Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia.

 

Snow Memories.

When I was a kid in the deep South of the USA, the most wonderful thing that I would see were the infrequent snowfalls we'd get. So beautiful and fun to play in. But the most depressing thing was to watch it taper until the storm was over, melting until it was all just a memory.

Currently it's snowing. Just light snow showers. But we only get to see this kind of thing but rarely. It did snow briefly last week, no accumulation. And it's snowing now but the last I heard we're not supposed to get any accumulation. Winter is fading fast and will be over soon. I'd be surprised if we get any snowstorm that leaves any accumulation this season, but I suppose it could happen.

If I didn't have my part-time job tomorrow I'd head up to the mountains where the high country is supposed to get several inches of snow. One more reason, I think, to get rid of the part-time job. I've cut it back to two days a week. Maybe zero would be best. Life is, after all, quite short.

Blackwater Falls in a snowstorm.

Deer in Cades Cove, February of 2014.

Two deer in the snow at Blackwater Falls State Park, WV.

Me, on the Alum Cave Bluffs Trail near the summit of Mount LeConte in March 0f 2005.

Same trail, no people.

Neglected!

Alas, I've been neglecting the old blog of late. It was not intentional. 

For a few years it was my intention to post here as often as I could as a way to spur me to work on my fiction writing every day. It worked in that way for a few years when I needed it as a crutch for that kind of thing. Then, after I left the Postal Service I got out of the habit of posting on the blog very much and went to other online access points to keep in touch with other people.

For the past couple of years, especially, I tended to steer clear of my blogging activities. When I was working the low-level management job I was often too busy or too stressed to come to the old desktop and create an announcement or essay to post here. Over the past couple of decades I had seen blogs that I once frequented vanish completely as the creators of them went mainly to Facebook to stay in touch with other creators or their fans. Facebook seems to have taken quite a toll on blogging.

At any rate, here I am.

Since November of 2019 I have been busy getting my back-list of novels into print. That has been foremost in my creative efforts. Plus I decided to self-publish my latest novel which has been somewhat of a chore. I have never been---to put it mildly---a fan of self-publishing. In fact, I did everything to steer clear of it since Amazon made it oh-so easy for anyone and everyone to go that route. But...I find myself walking that road.

Getting my next back-list novel out has been foremost in my efforts. That one is WORKING CLASS HERO: The Autobiography of a Super-Hero. I renegotiated the audiobook contract with Beacon Audiobooks, so that has been taken care of. But I haven't landed cover art that satisfies me for getting the novel back into print. Add to this the fact that a traditional publisher has expressed some interest in the project and I find myself in something of a holding pattern. If the situation is right, I may send that book to a new publisher and not do it myself. Handling everything---cover art, editing, layouts, formatting, publishing, advertising, promotions---is frankly a pain in the ass. I'd rather just be a writer. I have never been a salesman and frankly that job does not interest me the way it does some people.

In between working on the books, I have been taking advantage of being retired to go hiking and to take trips with Carole to go camping and sightseeing here and there.

So. Life in retirement is proving to be a lot of fun, but also almost as busy as my life as a working stiff punching clocks five days a week.

I'm sitting in my office now trying to decide which of my back-list novels to release next. Should I go forward with WORKING CLASS HERO? Get THE CRAG back to the light of day? Will WITHERING make the cut first? Or maybe THE NEW ECOLOGY OF DEATH? Or something else?

It's a conundrum. In the meantime, here are pretty pictures of places I've been and things I've seen in the past few weeks.

Oh, yeah! Before I forget! Buy my new audiobook of FOUR FROM MANGROVE! Narrated by the extremely talented Bruce Berlow! High fantasy as good as it gets!

FOUR FROM MANGROVE.

Amicalola Falls.

The shoe tree outside of Wasali-Yi Inn where Appalachian Trail backpackers toss their worn-out boots.

Yours truly with a huge poplar tree at Amicalola Falls.

Lower portion of Helton Creek Falls.

View from the top of Blood Mountain.

The Blood Mountain Shelter.

Upper Helton Creek Falls.

Carole at our campsite at Vogel State Park.

We two at Helton Creek Falls.

I had the summit all to myself at Blood Mountain! Unheard of!

Lottery contraption. They used these when they stole the Cherokee Nation lands from the indigenous people and gave it all away to white folk.

The real deal. Not a fake.

Gold coins minted at the old Dahlonega Mint (closed at the start of the War Between the States).

Rambling Around in Solitude.

Most of the past week I have spent just doing whatever I felt like doing. Today I went on a hike in Pisgah National Forest. Specifically I went to ramble around various places in or near the Wilson Creek National Wild and Scenic River.

I've enjoyed this place for decades, but if you go in the summer on a weekend you will be surrounded by many hundreds of other people---in the thousands on some days. But today was a Monday, and the weather was a bit cold. I never saw another person all day long on the trails. Not one other human. I wasn't bothered by a voice, and I didn't even hear the rumble of a car or truck engine. Even the skies were clear of that normally annoying scrape of passenger jets rubbing against the skies. The only sounds with me were the winds, some bird songs, and often the roar of creeks and waterfalls bloated with recent heavy rains.

It was nice.

Standing beside Harper Creek.

Harper Creek, the sun creeping into the gorge.

Harper Creek Falls. Mud and slick rock prevented me from climbing down into the gorge to get some better photos of this powerful waterfall.

At the boulder field between the creek and a great campsite.

I've wanted to camp here for decades. I'll do it this year.

I'll bet this stretch of trail is amazing when the rhododendron are in bloom.

On breezy Darkside Cliffs enjoying the view of Grandfather Mountain.

Grandfather Mountain/Tanawha with the Linn Cove Viaduct far below it. When many people see photos of this peak (highest in the Blue Ridge Mountains), they think it is a photo of a western peak.

Looking at (I think) the Harper Creek drainage from Darkside Cliffs.

The Tanawha massif as seen from Darkside Cliffs.