Hi everyone! I hope you all had a Happy Halloween.
As I’ve written about numerous times over the years, Halloween’s my favorite holiday. It has been since I was a kid… even though my parents came up with some questionable costumes for me in those early years (I’m convinced they wanted a girl).
I did some fun things to celebrate the season this year, which I’ll get to in a minute (along with some other updates), but I wanted to begin with some news regarding my novels.
I found out earlier this year that my longtime book publisher, BQB Publishing, will be closing its doors at the end of the year. The good news is that my award-winning Sean Coleman Thriller series will live on. I’ll explain how in a minute — along with some other good news for both you and the readers on your Christmas gift list!
First, about BQB…
I was bummed by the news of their closing, but wasn’t terribly surprised. The publishing industry is a tough one, and some personal health issues inside the company made it the right and reasonable time to bring things to an end.
I’m really going to miss the company. I discovered BQB shortly after I began my hunt for a book publisher way back in 2012. Frankly, I had no idea what I was doing at the time. I had just spent the last six years (on and off, in my spare time) writing the manuscript for From a Dead Sleep. During those six years, I had honestly never even thought about getting the story published. Writing it was purely a personal journey — a challenge fueled by a love for writing I hadn’t discovered until I was nearly 30 years old. My wife, after reading the finished manuscript, told me it was great, and encouraged me to try and get it published.
So, that’s what I did… without ever bothering to go through the hassle of an agent. Unfortunately, the more I learned about the publishing industry through my research (including the submission of unsolicited manuscripts), the more I was convinced that it could take up to a year before I even started receiving rejection letters from various publishers.
But to my very pleasant surprise, BQB — one of the first publishers I reached out to (they came recommended by a fellow political writer) — got back to me in less than a month’s time with an acceptance offer. It felt too good to true, but it wasn’t. They were the real deal, and I enjoyed success and recognition under their label and guidance that I had never envisioned (or honestly even sought after).
I loved working with BQB, not just as an author, but also as a contract worker. I was behind much of their online presence for over a decade — a job I accepted after my first book was published, and the company liked the online marketing I was doing for the novel. The publishing team, including Terri Leidich, her husband Glenn, and Julie Bromley, are like family to me (with Glenn playing the role of the crazy uncle). I wish the best for all of them, and I know we’ll remain in touch.
As for what the future holds, the eBook and audiobook versions of my novels (all five of them) will stay with the same respective distributors BQB used, which means they’ll be available through the same retailers they currently are. I’m still weighing my options (of which there are several) regarding the paperbacks. But I do know for certain that they’ll be reprinted with new/updated covers… which presents a money-saving opportunity to you — the good folks who subscribe to this newsletter.
You see, since the original paperback versions of my novels (under the BQB imprint) will no longer be distributed to book retailers, there’s a remaining inventory of brand-new printed copies. And since BQB was kind enough to send that inventory directly to me, I have them, and can sell them, through my website, at blowout prices to you!
But wait, there’s more: I can also sign and personalize those copies to you, or anyone else you’d like, which makes them a great gift idea for the fiction readers on your Christmas list. If there’s one thing I’ve learned as an author, it’s that people love the personal touch of a book signed (and in this case, personalized) by the author.
Most titles are more than half off the retail price, with a flat/combined shipping cost of just $4 (even if you buy several copies). Just mention who you’d like me to personalize the copies to in the “order notes” field at checkout time.
Remember: Though my books are all part of the same series, the stories are stand-alone, so any of the novels work as a good intro to the Sean Coleman Thrillers.
Oh, and no…. the Sean Coleman Thriller series will not be limited to just five books. There’s more to come from Sean, but that’s a topic for another day. 😉
What else is new, John?
I’m glad you asked. Quite a bit, in fact.
Let me start with professionally…
The Reagan Caucus Podcast is going strong, and I continue to be amazed by the quality of guests willing to come on for smart, insightful discussions… including sitting members of Congress and former presidential candidates.
In fact, we’re doing something special tomorrow night (election night!): Our first ever livestream. My cohost Thomas Howes and I (along with a special guest) will be unpacking the election outcomes in real time, and discussing what they mean for the country (and the balance of power in Washington).
Here are the details:
Also, the following day (Wednesday), I’ll be discussing the midterms some more with Bernard Goldberg on The No BS Zone. Make sure you check it out, along with my regular columns and Q&A sessions.
As for non-professionally (mostly, anyway)… I had a really fun October.
As with previous years, my wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary (a few days late) by enjoying the fall colors in Rocky Mountain National Park…
We returned to RMNP a couple weeks later, for a great hike up to Emerald Lake…
… and a lecture on serial killers at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park…
I threw my annual Halloween Horror Movie Fest party the weekend before Halloween. For those curious, we started things off with the very silly 1970s horror flick, “The Devil’s Rain,” which features a rather remarkable cast: William Shatner, Ernest Borgnine, Tom Skerritt, Eddie Albert, and — believe it or not — John Travolta (in his first film). The featured movie of the night, Hokum, is a criminally underrated horror film that came out earlier this year. It’s a lot of fun.
The next night, I made my family watch the new (and awesome) South Korean zombie film, Colony, with me. (The South Korean film industry has done an amazing job with this genre).
And last Friday night, my wife and I went with some friends on a Halloween railbike adventure in Erie, Colorado, which — as you can see (but mostly hear) in the below video — was a ton of fun:
I hope you all had a great October as well, and I’ll talk to you soon!
Where has Thomas Howes been lately?