Independent Book Stores Are Cultural Hotspots

 On Saturday, as part of my new book launch, I made some visits to bookstores and other retailers on the north side of Tahoe, all of which sell lots of my books. I'm always impressed with how hard retailers work to promote books like mine! 

I started in Reno at Sundance Books, where I gave a talk to a nice crowd and read from my new book, TAHOE MOON. 

From there I went to Grassroots Books, also in Reno.

I drove up and over Mt. Rose summit and stopped by The Potlatch gift shop in Incline Village.

I went around the North Shore to Tahoe City and visited Geared for Games. They also have a store called Mind Play in the Olympic Village at what used to be called Squaw Valley and is now called Palisades.

Heading north from Tahoe City took me to Truckee with Word After Word books. (I'm giving a talk there on Tuesday at 6:30 PM)

These stores make my books look good! Please stop by and show your support for independent book stores and gift stores.

Next week I'll visit stores on the South Shore and in Carson Valley.

Tahoe Tribune Story About Tahoe Moon

 Last week, I was contacted by a freelance writer named Sara Jackson. She wanted to interview me for an article on my new book, TAHOE MOON. Her article just came out in the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Sara Jackson asked interesting questions and avoided all the clichéd questions like, "Where do you get your ideas?" 

The resulting article was very well-written. Because I'm a writer, I often notice when journalists do a good job. Sara's sentences were professional, as was the way she constructed the article. When I realized she could do a good job writing fiction, I asked her if she has ever thought of writing novels.

"Yes," she said and explained that fiction was something on her horizon. She thought she might start a novel soon.

Of course, novels take a long time to figure out, never mind writing. But I can tell she's got the chops and the desire. I'll be waiting...

Here's the link to the Tahoe Daily Tribune article:

https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/local-author-who-pens-fictional-tahoe-mysteries-set-to-release-20th-book-in-series/

What Do You Get With The Dark Skies In The Mountains?!

 While Tahoe does not have the darkest skies, they are much darker than most places. And if your neighbors don't leave lights on at night, you can see a spectacular night sky. Many times we have seen amazing sights from our deck.

Recently, we had friends visiting, and we all noticed a dramatic light traveling through the evening sky.

We guessed it was the International Space Station. We'd seen the ISS several times in the past. Each time it was really bright. 

Our friend pulled out her iPhone, on which she has the SkyViewLite app, which is free. She pointed her phone at the sky, and it immediately identified the ISS. (It also identifies all other major objects in the sky.)

Why is the ISS so bright? Because it is huge. With its solar panels, it is bigger than a football field. The perfect viewing time is soon after sunset or before sunrise, when our area and sky are dark but the ISS is still in sunlight because it is 250 miles above us. The sunlit space station is the second brightest object in the night sky after the moon.

What does the station look like from Earth?

It appears to my eyes as a brilliant white dot, quite large and with a hint of its rectangular shape. With binoculars, it appears more rectangular.

Like all other satellites in low-Earth orbit, the ISS traverses the sky in a few minutes. It is traveling, after all, at 17,000 miles per hour, or roughly ten times the speed of a very fast bullet! It goes all the way around the Earth every 90 minutes.

It's easy to see by using one of the websites that tell when and where to look for the ISS. NASA has a good one:

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

You can search on the closest city to you. When a blue tear drop shows on the map near your location, click on it. Look for the words "View Sighting Opportunities," and click on that. You'll get a list of times the ISS is visible in your area.

Pay attention to the maximum height angle the ISS will be. If it's only 20 degrees above the horizon, you may not see it because of nearby trees and buildings. But if it's going to be 60 or more degrees, you'll have a great view.

The space station has a continuous crew of 7 astronauts, and they live in various tube-shaped, pressured compartments vaguely reminiscent of an airliner. The total amount of indoor space is about the same as a 747, about 6000 square feet.

You may wonder, why do astronauts in orbit experience weightlessness? Because, like the station itself, they are actually in a kind of permanent free fall. But instead of falling down to Earth, they are going so fast they fall "past" the Earth.

I find it a thrill to look up and see the ISS, racing around the Earth with its 7 passengers.

What is this astronaut thinking? Imagine enjoying this view with your morning coffee!

TAHOE MOON Signing Schedule

TAHOE MOON will be out August 1st. I believe it will be available every place the books have been in the recent past. So wherever you got TAHOE JADE, for example, you will probably be able to get TAHOE MOON. (Of course, it's always a good idea to call first before you drive a long way.

Stores that will have the books include:

Sundance Books in Reno

Shelby's Books in Minden

Artifacts in South Lake Tahoe

The Red Hut Cafes in both South Lake Tahoe and Carson City.

Word After Word Books in Truckee

The Potlatch in Incline Village

Geared for Games in Tahoe City

Grassroots Books in Reno

The Book Seller in Grass Valley

The History Museum in South Lake Tahoe

Camp Richardson General Store in South Lake Tahoe

My initial signing schedule is beginning to take shape.

I'll be giving talks and signing the new book at these places:

July 30th, 11:00 AM Sundance Books in Reno - Talk and Sign

August 2nd, 6:30 PM Word After Word Books in Truckee - Talk and Sign

August 5th, 6:00 PM Shelby's Books in Minden - Talk and Sign

August 6th 8:30 AM The Red Hut Cafe in Carson City - Signing only

August 7th 8:30 AM The Red Hut Cafe in South Lake Tahoe (the one on Ski Run Blvd) - Signing only

August 16, 5:00 PM South Lake Tahoe Library - Talk and Sign

September 9 & 10 Mountain View Art & Wine Festival, Mountain View, CA

September 24 & 25 Candy Dance Festival, Genoa, NV

November 11, 12, 13 Harvest Festival, San Mateo, CA

November 18, 19, 20 Harvest Festival, Sacramento, CA

I look forward to seeing you at these talks!

Any additional events will be posted on the "Events Page" of my website.

Thanks very much for your continued interest and support!

Classic Western Beauty

In a couple of weeks, there will be vast meadows with millions of wildflowers. On July 4th weekend, we're a bit early. But hiking along the Carson River in Hope Valley is still as pretty as it gets.

Here's a few pics:

That's the east side Steven's Peak. Red Lake Peak is to its left.

We could see lots of minnows in the river. 

Probably large trout, too, as evidenced by multiple fly fishermen.

 

What A Sight On The Summer Solstice

From several places in South Lake Tahoe, you can look south and see Round Top mountain, which is near Hope Valley, Caples Lake and Kirkwood. I was there on June 21st.

At 10,400 feet, there was still too much snow to easily climb without micro spikes.

Caples Lake is 7800 feet. The wind coming across it was cold!

I love the way no matter what time of the year, you can always hike to snow in Tahoe.

Summer? Or Winter?

 We are just two days from the Summer Solstice. Much of the country is baking in heat.

As I write this Saturday evening, Tahoe is supposed to freeze tonight. There's a 40% chance of precip, and the snow level will drop to 6900 feet, which is our house.

Gotta love summer, right?

Not That You Would/Wood

The Tahoe powers that be have made the rule a little earlier than in past years. No burning of charcoal or wood inside or out is allowed until fire season is over next winter. There's simply too much at stake.

Not Charcoal, regardless of where or how.

Not Wood, regardless of where or how.

Flotation Vests Saved Lives (Again)

Kayaking is such fun.

But even on a sunny day, a flotation vest can save your life.

Last week at Sand Harbor, on Tahoe's East Shore, two kayakers were doing just fine when the wind came up.

Both kayaks capsized. Both kayakers swam to some big rocks that were poking out of the water. Both kayakers were wearing flotation vests (life jackets).

Because Tahoe is so cold, especially in the spring, both kayakers began to suffer from hypothermia. (Which is when you get so cold, your muscles stop working, and you drown.)

Someone saw them struggling and called 911.

The Washoe Sheriff's Office has a patrol boat at Incline Village not far away. They came and rescued the freezing paddlers.

They lived. Why? Because they were wearing flotation vests.

Moral of the story? Stay near shore when you go out on a tippy craft like a paddleboard, a kayak, or a canoe. And ALWAYS wear a flotation vest.

Snow For Tahoe Memorial Day

As I write this on Saturday afternoon, the weather forecast calls for 30% chance of snow tonight, with the snow level dropping to 6900 feet. Which is to say our house. 

I can't count how many times it's snowed in Tahoe on Memorial Day weekend. One year I exhibited at an outdoor festival. It was so cold we dressed in our ski clothes, and we got 5 inches of snow on our tent canopies on Memorial Day.

Locals often think winter goes until June 15. Although we've had snow in July and August, it melts fast when it falls after the middle of June.

One year we skied at Alpine Meadows on June 5th. The night before we got six inches of snow. So we skied fresh powder and the air was filled with little purple butterflies.

Not many places on the planet where you can have that experience.

Drought? The Water Is Flowing In Tahoe!

 Yes, California has a very bad drought. But we've got water in Tahoe. Come up the mountain and see!

Eagle Falls at Emerald Bay

From the north side of Emerald Bay, this is looking south toward Mt. Tallac.

This is the other side of Mt. Tallac, looking from Angora Ridge,

 northwest across Fallen Leaf Lake. 

Down on the shore to the left is Stanford Camp. 

Just out of the picture to the left is Glen Alpine Falls, 

roaring just as much as Eagle Falls.

From Angora Ridge looking north across Fallen Leaf Lake to Lake Tahoe beyond. The distant point on the left, which looks skinny but is not, (the end of the point is just barely visible) is Sugar Pine Point State Park on the West Shore. The far distant land is the North Shore, 30 miles away.

How To Make Your First Novel A Success?

How to make your first novel a success?

Wait.

What?

Yes, wait before you publish that first novel. Wait until you've written two or three other novels. Or more

Seriously?

Yes. The practice will improve your writing in uncountable, unforeseen ways. In huge ways. And, perhaps more importantly, you will get vast numbers of good ideas for improving that first novel, which is a very good thing to do before you put your novel in front of readers who will judge it pro or con and make nearly permanent decisions about whether to ever read you again.

(Writers, I know that this may seem like a harsh post. And if you're not a writer, don't even read this. It's tedious and it's aimed at writers who don't follow the example of composers and dancers and painters and athletes and a thousand professionals, which is to practice, practice, practice BEFORE you audition in front of the world.)

Many writers have said this. Sit on that first novel. Write a few more. Make the thousand adjustments that will occur to you as you write books two, three, four, and five. Trust me, this is not an exaggeration. You will want to make a thousand adjustments. When you get to work on book five, or ten, that is the time to publish your first book. Or, if you listen to Hugh Howey's advice, write twenty books, then publish.

Let's just say you've finished your medical residency and performed your first complicated surgery. Would you want the entire world to watch a video of that first surgery? (Publishing makes your book available to the entire world.)

Maybe you've been learning to be a figure skater. You're going to try your first triple-twisting jump. Would you want the entire world to watch it? Or would you like to practice a bit more first?

You've been playing Beethoven's sonatas on the piano. When you finally decide to perform one, would you do it in front of your spouse and a few friends and family, or would you like to go out on stage at Carnegie Hall and play your first performance for the world, including all of your mistakes, your awkward phrasings, the unsure aspects of your performance?

You've finally painted your first set of 12 large oil paintings. You're a real live painter, living the dream. You find a company that gives you a chance to display your show on the front steps of a virtual version of the Metropolitan Museum in New York. You know that many sophisticated viewers will see it. Including art critics and reviewers. They will comment to their audience and their friends. Would you do it?

You probably know the answer to these questions. 

I know as well, because not a single successful author I know - knowing what they now know - would publish their first book right after they wrote it. Most of them waited until they had more books under their belt, because they knew that would go a very long way toward making their books successful. The ones who didn't wait? They rushed to write many books in a short period of time, hoping to make up for the too-early release of their first one.

So why would you publish your first book when statistical and anecdotal evidence suggests that you will be embarrassed by the result and by the book's reception and sales?

I think I know why. You're excited. You've written a book. It's a big deal. You can't wait to show the world.

But what's the harm in waiting? None.

In contrast, what's the harm in diving in after the first book? I can't count the ways. Mistakes and misrepresentations that could, and maybe will, embarrass you forever. A potential writing career tarnished, maybe spoiled.

Am I a giant downer for saying this? Of course.

But in the last few months, I've had several more inquiries from writers who published their first book, and they want advice on how to make it sell, because it isn't selling. If they had waited and gotten more practice, they would have likely learned what makes a book sell. Unfortunately, the world is already watching the video of them doing their first triple-twisting jump, and that world has decided not to pay 99 cents to watch more.

Am I an expert who has the one true vision? No. I'm just an ordinary guy who earns a living writing novels, a guy who feels bad for the people who dove into the deep end because they felt comfortable in the bathtub but didn't know if they could swim. Then they write me and other writers and ask for help. You launched your rocket before you knew if it could fly, and it never made it to outer space. (There's a great example of mixed metaphors, something more writing practice will teach you to delete before publication!)

It's so easy to avoid these problems. Get more practice before you launch. Do some test flights. Many test flights. Have a half dozen manuscripts on the shelf, ready to go. A bonus is that all evidence shows that launching multiple books in a short period of time greatly contributes to sales success. And you can't launch multiple books in a short period if they're not already written.

I know you think you'll be the exception. But even the one-book wonders who appear to find success with a single book are mostly a fictional concept. The publisher said, "We'll give you a new pseudonym, present you as a new author, and no one will know you already wrote twelve romance novels."

I also know that you don't want to wait until after you've written five books because, well, it takes SOOOO long to write five books.

Well, I've got some news on that front. If you're going to be successful, you're going to write far more than five books, anyway. Why not do several of them before you launch?

Look at your favorite authors. How many books have they written? Ah, there's a revealing inquiry. Nearly all of your favorite authors have written dozens of books. How can you expect to move down the road toward being someone's favorite author with just one book? Your favorite restaurant doesn't only have one entree on the menu, either.

It's likely that the single best answer to the question about how to be a successful author is to write a bunch of books. So do a portion of them before your launch. You will be amazed at the result.

Some of you are asking if I did that. Yes. My first published book was my fifth book. Am I great? No. How did I find some traction if I'm not great? I wrote five books before I published. I came out with the second book in my series one month after the first. (I wish I had done three or four in short succession.)

Cased closed. Successful writers write multiple books. Do several of them before you publish the first one.