Jack Chaucer's Blog - Posts Tagged "mountain-climbing"

First, I just want to thank everyone for their interest and support. This novel is my own little attempt to turn something horrific that happened on December 14, 2012, into something positive. The massacre left all of us feeling helpless. As a novelist, I turned to writing about this issue directly because what happened that day should NEVER be forgotten and we all need to do SOMETHING about it to prevent the next Newtown.

Based on early reviews from readers young and old, inside the USA and out, “Streaks of Blue” already has inspired a teen in Georgia (Russia) to reconnect with former friends, a mom in upstate New York to squeeze her young son much tighter and a teen in India to go mountain climbing. There are currently 10 reviews up on Amazon and about 16 on my Goodreads page if you want to get the full perspective. Not every review is 5 stars, but even the 3-star reviewers are impressed with main character Nicole Janicek. They all agree she is a rare gem of a female lead in the YA genre for her bravery and compassion along a difficult journey.

Again, I will be donating half of the proceeds from this book to the Newtown Memorial Fund. Below are numerous purchase links for the book, which is now available virtually everywhere online and at Amazon for the paperback version:

Amazon/Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Streaks-Blue-An...

Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strea...

Apple:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/strea...

Kobo:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/book...

Smashwords:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...



Thanks!

Jack

Here’s an update on Amazon sales since “Streaks of Blue” was published on 9-27.
Seven paperbacks have sold on Amazon so far. That is my best month since I started publishing on Amazon in May with “Queens are Wild.” My royalty is $3.22 on every paperback for net proceeds of $22.54. That means I pledge $11.27 so far to the Newtown Memorial Fund.

There is a greater lag time on e-book sales, but so far two people have told me they bought the book on Kindle and two more on Apple iTunes. I’ll pass along those figures when Smashwords relays them to me.

As an indie author/publisher, every sale is a well-earned victory. Thank you to those who have bought “Streaks of Blue” and I plan to donate half of whatever proceeds the book has reaped on the first anniversary of the Newtown shooting, 12-14-13. For more info, visit www.newtownmemorialfund.org

Below are numerous purchase links for the book, which is now available virtually everywhere online and at Amazon for the paperback version:

Amazon/Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Streaks-Blue-An...

Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strea...

Apple:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/strea...

Kobo:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/book...

Smashwords:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...


Thanks!

Jack

I've written 17 chapters so far and I think there will be at least 40 this time around, so it will be longer than "Streaks of Blue." There are multiple points of view, though Nicole gets the first 13 chapters all to herself in Part 1. Part 2 has featured four different male characters' points of view: Adam Upton, Roger Janicek (Nicole's dad) and two new characters, William Osborne and Steve Pearson. Then it will switch back to Nikki again for a while.
It's been interesting to fill in some of the blanks from the first book while at the same time sending Nikki on a whole new story arc. I still have many miles to go on it, but my goal at this point is to publish it by spring 2016.

Find a chapter title listing so far at http://queensarewild.wordpress.com/

I’ve written 25 chapters so far for the sequel to “Streaks of Blue.” Progress has been slow but steady, with more than 54,000 words already written and a likely target of 70,000-75,000 for this book, considerably longer than the first one. The arc for the second book will extend into a third book, tentatively titled, “Nikki Roulette: Red or Black?” There is also a chance this series will go beyond three books.
My goal for “Nikki Blue: Source of Trouble” is to publish it in the spring of 2016, though I may have ARCs of it ready for NetGalley before that.
Here is a chapter title listing so far:
1. Rainbows and Unicorns, Part 1
2. Enterprise Story
3. Weirdos Make the World Go Round
4. Hot Tip
5. Silver Sands
6. Busted in Bridgeport
7. 25 Grand
8. Money Trail
9. Coffee in the Lobby
10. The Other Kind of Auditing
11. Rainbows and Unicorns, Part 2
12. Your Enemy’s Enemy
13. As Long As We’re Both Being Honest
14. Climbing the Lion
15. Captain Rookie
16. Howl at the Moon
17. Nikki Blue
18. Earth Wing
19. Mars Wing
20. “I Crashed My Car Into The Bridge … I Love It”
21. Cruise Missiles
22. Adam Bomb
23. Nikki Beach
24. Loveless Fascination
25. Channel 77