I’m pleased to have suspense fiction author,
Steve O’Brien, as my guest today. He’s written several books, including the
award winning Elijah’s Coin.
I’ve been around Thoroughbreds growing up and
have had family who has worked with racehorses. My brothers will tell you these
are phenomenal horses, intelligent and full of heart and fire, and highly
competitive. They want to win. I love animals in general and horses in
particular. I have three. When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. A
hint, don’t start reading this just before bedtime unless you don’t care about
sleep. :-) It touches the emotions and I have to tell you, I wanted to hurt these villains, oh so bad.
I finally was able to hunt Steve down, lol! I
invited him to visit Over Coffee. I love his topic and with a teen myself, I
had to laugh as I read his article. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Special moments accompany the lives of authors. Undoubtedly,
the first is holding the finished product in your hands. Heck, it could even be
an ARC copy, but there is a distinct feeling of satisfaction and completion at
that moment.
Another special moment is receiving that first review. Somebody read it, liked it, and wanted to tell others about it.
Another special moment is receiving that first review. Somebody read it, liked it, and wanted to tell others about it.
I experienced a few other unique author moments, with unexpected twists however.
Recently, I was browsing through a nearby Barnes and Noble store. My wife tells me I spend way too much time in bookstores. I can’t help it. I’m a serial browser. As I cruised past the “new fiction” section, an image caught my eye.
My book!!!! In the new fiction section!!!
A rush of emotion overtook me. I wanted to scream out “hey, everybody! My book is here in the new fiction section!”
With great restraint I was able to avoid making a scene. But I felt compelled to pull out my i-phone and snap a picture of my book and its placement. (I did have to ask a customer to move slightly to the left, so I could get the pic. She, of course, figured I had recently escaped from an asylum for the criminally insane, and quickly moved over a section or two).
Months and months of work, edits and re-edits, nights pounding on the keyboard, my book was finally getting equal billing with mega authors like James Patterson and Jodi Picoult. I was breathless. (Okay, they will still outsell me a billion to one, but there I was).
I did not have to walk from the store, as my feet were nowhere near touching the ground.
When I got home, I was nearly bursting with excitement. I was just waiting to pounce on that stock question “anything interesting happen today?” But I couldn’t wait. I whipped out my I-phone and showed my wife. As she was viewing it our sixteen year old daughter walked into the kitchen. I handed her my phone and casually said, “do you recognize anything in this photo?”
She grabbed the phone with both hands and in an instant was awe struck. “Oh, my gosh.” I could feel my chest puffing out slightly and a smile crept across my face. “Oh, my gosh,” she gasped. So cool that she will be able to tell all her friends, I thought.
She looked at me and exclaimed, “Snooki’s book is out!”
Snooki’s book is out?
In a nanosecond, my zeppelin sized ego, came crashing down
in flames. I had to point and say “No, honey, don’t you see? Two rows above
(gulp) Snooki’s book, is my book?”
“Oh, yeah. Cool.” She handed back my phone and walked out of the kitchen.
Okay, maybe I deserved that. My raging sense of significance needed to be checked. No one can dampen that self absorbed emotion faster than one’s own teenager.
At least I could take comfort that she didn’t reply “whatever.”
“Oh, yeah. Cool.” She handed back my phone and walked out of the kitchen.
Okay, maybe I deserved that. My raging sense of significance needed to be checked. No one can dampen that self absorbed emotion faster than one’s own teenager.
At least I could take comfort that she didn’t reply “whatever.”
Now, to be fair to my daughter, she has been a huge advocate
of my writing. (I guess the Snooki book sighting was just too much for her to
pass up). My all time favorite text message was not even sent to me. It was
sent to my daughter.
Last summer we were relaxing at home and her phone buzzed.
It was a text from one of her classmates.
The message read. “Dude, your dad’s book is number three on
I-Books.”
Greater words were never written. (Truth be told, the book
was number three in the Children and Teens category, but hey number three is
still number three).
Never in my wildest dreams did I expect my favorite text
message to start with the word “dude.” But it does.
So, for today’s Over Coffee blog, tell me about your special moment,
either as a writer or in any occupation. Then tell me about a time your ego was
cut down to size. It’s okay, we’re all friends.-#-#-
Bullet Work Cover Blurb
When facing our darkest fear, one question remains.Are we willing to bet everything?
Behind the glamorous exterior of horseracing lies the gritty reality of the backside. Within this fiercely competitive world of owners, trainers, vets, and jockeys something has gone terribly wrong. As opening day approaches, one racehorse is poisoned, another has her leg crushed by a lead pipe and a third mysteriously disappears. Shock and horror grip the racing community.
Then it all makes sense. Greed.
The extortion demands are revealed. Stables are forced to pay protection money to ensure the safety of their horses. Despite all security efforts, the brutal killings continue. For Dan Morgan it becomes personal when his precocious two-year-old filly is targeted. Dan befriends AJ Kaine, a lonely, “horse whispering” young man. AJ is a hotwalker, the lowest of jobs in the backside food chain. But AJ has a secret–perhaps a secret that can corner a killer. With AJ’s help, Dan must crack the extortion scheme or risk becoming the next victim. Excerpt
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