How Did That Happen?

Life’s funny, isn’t it? Right when you think you got it figured out something comes along to throw a curveball into all your plans. I think I’m beyond that rush at the moment, but you know another wave is approaching. We’re getting closer to the release of my first book of the year (of 6!): The Lazarus Men. This one is a cautionary tale.

I bounced it around for a while, trying different avenues for publication. I had it self-published for a while when I was still goofing with the idea. Then, out of the blue, I was accepted by a small publisher- a 5 book contract at that!! Holy cow. Life was great. After seeing the list of what the publisher would do, in contract, for my book I was elated. This was going to be my big ticket.

Then the wheels fell off. I sent it back to her after editing and crickets. The publisher disappeared. Other authors signed with her panicked and then grew angry. The publisher, while I believe she had good intentions, turned into a snake. She pretended to be sick, using that as an excuse not to do anything. Further investigations showed her staff were stock images and none of it was real. While I was fortunate to not have lost anything but time, others were losing money.

This is unacceptable. After mounting pressure from the authors the publisher eventually relinquished our rights back to us- offering to sell us our cover art and ‘not pay for the editing services’. Huh? Authors aren’t supposed to pay for that anyway. To this day, no one has seen a dime from her. The story has made the news and there in blood in the water. Hopefully she gets what she deserves and is forced to pay, because this is a crime.

The moral of the story is do your homework and don’t trust to anything until it happens. Written promises are nice, but the world is filled with monsters in human guise.

It’s been a long and bumpy road with the Lazarus Men. But it finally ends on 1 April when it is released to the wild in ebook, paperback, and hardcover. The audio book is being created as I type this. You can preorder today for a nice low price before it goes up to the 4.99$ regular price. Feel sporty and grab book 2 while you’re at it. I won’t get mad.