I'm damn near speechless at the wave of kind words and compliments that "Accidental Family" has received. The downloads, the scores, the feedback, and... to the delight of my wife, the family bean-counter... the book sales.
Thank you, all of you. The warm feedback is the best gift of all. I'll be 82 in July, and it's damned reassuring to find that I'm still able to tell a good story. When you get there (and may God grant that all of you do, most happily) you'll appreciate the joy of confirmation.
For those who ask about the sequel, Book Two: yes, most definitely. I had NOT planned on two books, but the story grew and grew and it was obvious that I'd have to split the tale.
The first half happens in and around Idaho.
The second half will happen mostly in Mexico.
As for when it will be ready to post/publish: I am working on it each and every week. Example: yesterday I cranked out 4K words; today, I did another 2K words. Writers will appreciate the effort that takes. The first draft will be followed with proofing, editing, revising as needed, and more proofing. Then, when all chapters are done, posting. With the dedicated help of my editor, Tenderloin, we'll git 'er done.
I'll be away this week to central Idaho for a family 'celebration of life' to remember Meg, my daughter who, after an eight-year fight, lost to cancer but set a world record for courage and a beautiful spirit. We don't lose loved ones; they just move to a better place and wait for the rest of us to come along in our own time.
Joy, love, and fulfillment to all who seek.
Gray
There's been an interruption of a few days in my posting schedule; we're back from four days of travels and new chapters are up for "Accidental Family."
Wife & I were former long-time residents of Idaho. She's a native, born & educated in the panhandle, within sight of the Canadian border clear-cut on the mountain side. I was a transplant many, many years ago.
We fled to greener maritime shores in WA state for a retirement dream, to sail and wander and enjoy the cool air of a pond-side retreat. After some years, the dream has become disillusioned reality. The geography is as charming as ever but Left Coast rule has become suffocating.
Dysfunctional county government unable to respond to proposed homesite improvements within six months and counting, and new WA State building codes that force new homes out of reach of a normal working family are the final nightmare.
We're fleeing. Wife & I found a new home in Idaho, in a deep valley region sheltered from wintry blasts, blessed with a warmer climate and greater freedom.
The island dream is over; we're selling it all and not coming back. I have no idea where future WA young people will be able to live in affordable housing, but it won't be in WA, OR, or CA. Unless they opt for single-wide manufactured HUD homes. (Just my.02 worth.)
The new code proponents claim that 'energy savings' will make the new codes affordable; sure: saving $100 or $200/month will make the $400K/$500K mortgage so much more affordable! I find that reasoning hard to accept.
And waiting a year for county permit approvals makes the development process go so much more efficiently and expeditiously. Yeah, right! Blame Covid, yet again.
Gray
Yeah, got'em. Typographical errors. Fortunately, very few (thanks to a capable editor) and three (sometimes four!) pass-throughs by the author. Once upon a time in a land far, far away this author owned, published, edited, reported, and swept floors in a small weekly newspaper.
We called 'em "glitches & gremlins," the bugs that infested a news story despite all efforts of the editor & the proofreader to find 'em and kill 'em. Usually it would involve the most embarrassing possible situation, like misspelling the Mayor's name, or even worse, his wife's name. But then, how often do you encounter the name "Giampedraglia?" (grin - that's a Basque name; we had lots of those in our rural area.)
So despite my best effort, and Jim7's effort, errors hide and defy being found. They're like cockroaches. Always have been; always will be. So when you see "Tina" in place of "Nita", or a missing quote mark, or any of the other scattered errors, just chuckle and know that its purely human to err; it's your opportunity to be "divine" and forgive.
Gray
Anyone who has purchased a copy prior to today (6 May at 9 pm PDT) I've uploaded a corrected version of the three formats (ePub, Kindle, and PDF). There was a doubling of Chapter 19; nothing was left out, but who needs to read the same chapter twice, right?
It was a very low blood-sugar day, that day, I guess.
If you've purchased the book, you can download the corrected version.
Thanks, Gray
Four years in the hatching/writing, this is an action/adventure story set in central Idaho's Salmon River country. Although a fictional story, the location is real. The Yankee Fork tributary of the main Salmon River has a long and colorful history as a placer gold mining area. Look up "Yankee Fork gold dredge" on Google and read about it.
The "preface" section of "Accidental Family" is a long 19th century account of the beginnings of the "Yankee Girl" mine, the fictional setting of Reese Adams and Jacob "Buck" Buckmaster's home base.
I hope you enjoy this story as much as I have in imagining and writing it.
Note that this story is Book One of the saga; when our heroes "go to war" in Mexico against the drug cartel, that will open Book Two.
Gray