The Elusive Purple Gang Audio Now Available

Rich Miller

At last, the audio of my latest true crime book The Elusive Purple Gang: Detroit's Kosher Nostra is available from Amazon, Audible.com, and iTunes. I wanted a professional voice artist, recording on professional recording equipment. My publisher Wheatmark Inc. recommended Rich Miller and arranged for him to make a demo recording of my first chapter. I liked it.

I met with Rich in Tucson, Arizona, and discovered he has an acting background ranging from Shakespeare to modern theater like Damn Yankees and August: Osage County. He has worked in theatrical sound design and done voice over work in television commercials.

Now, Rich operates his own recording studio and acts out stories in front of a microphone. He is the creator and host of a podcast named The Audiobook Speakeasy aimed at narrators, offering them content from audio coaches, sound engineers, casting directors, and contract specialists. 

I chose Rich to narrate The Elusive Purple Gang because I wanted someone who could read my book in a conversational tone to make the storytelling more engaging for the listener. Rich's subtle voice characterizations make listening a pleasure.

Elusive Purple Gang Audio Link 

Rich Voice Productions 

Tucson Festival of Books - March 11th and 12th

Join me and other Wheatmark Publishing authors on the University of Arizona mall March 11th and 12th in booth 137. I will be featured from 2:30 until 3:30 PM on Saturday, but my books will be available all weekend. This is the third largest book festival in the nation. Only one week away.

Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked--2017 Book Talk Schedule

Photo by Nick Abadilla Photography

2016 was a busy year for me. Bringing Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked (TIY) to publication dominated the first half of the year. On August 1st, Wheatmark Publishing, Inc. brought out a quality paperback edition of TIY and a digital ebook edition. I direct-marketed the book as well as offering it online at Amazon, B&N, and ebook formats--notably Kindle, Nook, and KOBO. My year ended with selling the option for the digital-audio rights to Tantor Media, a publisher that distributes audiobooks in English-speaking countries worldwide.

For being an independently published book, I'm more than pleased with the reception TIY has received. Reader response has been overwhelmingly positive. One of my original goals was to get this shadowy story out to the public with the facts as they are known. That I have done.

2017 is shaping up to be another busy year. Most of my book talks last year were in Southeastern Michigan around the Detroit area. Only now am I beginning to work the San Diego County market. Being able to drive to an appearance, give the talk, and return home cuts my overhead expenses considerably.

My talk at the San Carlos Public Library last Friday, January 27th, went quite well, and I have scheduled a number of others. I hope to add several more venues as I go along. Here is my schedule thus far:

1. Friday, February 3rd -  the LIFE @ San Elijo program at San Elijo Campus of MiraCosta College, 3333 Manchester Ave, Cardiff CA 92007. Building 200 is the most westerly on the campus. Parking permits aren't required on Friday afternoons, but please do not park in a spot marked “Staff.” 1:00 pm until 2:30 pm, Encinitas, Calfornia.
2. Monday, February 6th - San Diego Educator Association (Ret.) featured speaker at their quarterly meeting luncheon at 11:30 am. San Diego, California.
3. Saturday, March 11th - Tucson Festival of Books on the campus of University of Arizona at 2:00 pm. Meet and greet book signing at Wheatmark Publishing booth. Tucson, Arizona.
4. Saturday, April 22nd - La Jolla Public Library, San Diego, California, from 2:00 pm until 3:00 pm.
5. Thursday, May 11th - Ypsilanti District Library, Ypsilanti, Michigan, from 6:30 pm until 7:30 or 8:00 pm. This year's presentation will be different than last year's talk.
6. Saturday, May 13th - Ann Arbor Barnes & Noble book signing, Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm.
7. Sunday, July 16th - Book Club of Detroit's First Annual Detroit Festival of Books at the Eastern Market from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.

I've been very happy with the overall reception of TIY. Direct sales of autographed copies from my author website have been good, and my Amazon sales are strong. TIY reached #4 on Amazon's Biography/Memoir/Regional/Midwest category, despite splitting the market with the online retailing giant. Kindle and other ebook versions have been selling well also.

Since the presidental elections, the holidays, the inauguration, and the shifting of the setting sun, sales have moderated, but with the lengthening days, my outlook for 2017 is optimistic.

Kirkus Indie Review of Zug Island: A Detroit Riot Novel

 

ZUG ISLAND    

A Detroit Riot Novel

 

By Gregory A. Fournier

Pub Date: June 15th, 2011
ISBN: 978-1604945850
Publisher: Wheatmark

In Fournier’s thoughtful debut novel, a young man comes of age in the tense atmosphere of a city teetering on the edge of chaos.
Jake Malone, a white college kid in suburban Detroit in 1967, gets kicked out of school and decides to earn a little money to get a car of his own. He ends up at Zug Island, a steelworking plant that’s a world away from his suburban home. When he first sees the place, it reminds Jake of Dante’s Inferno, but he doesn’t know yet how literal that perception will become. After a tense fight at the plant, he’s befriended by Theo Semple, an African-American man who came to Detroit for better wages but left a family and a tragic history back in the South. In their spare time, Jake and Theo hit the town seeking adventures. As the story unfolds, what they find is eye-opening for Jake—from prostitution and police brutality on the streets of Detroit to the casual racism found in the all-white suburbs. The racial tension builds, until one day it explodes in riots that turn Detroit into an inferno. Told from Jake’s perspective, the short novel—part journey through hell, part social document, part adventure story—depicts his struggles with race and class pressure. Fournier reveals what life was like not only on Zug Island, but also on the streets of Detroit, in its white suburbs and in white and black churches. Readers may wish the author had spent more time in some of the scenes, particularly the riots, which are described from a distance. The Vietnam War is mentioned, but its impact is left unexplored. Also, at times, Fournier steps back from the story to fill in general history that is illuminating, even though it breaks the narrative flow. On the whole, however, the novel is tightly written with a dramatic plot, well-rounded characters and clear insights into social history.
An engaging, dynamic story that grapples intelligently with themes of race, class and morality.

Available at Amazon.com and in the Kindle e-book format.   

http://www.amazon.com/Zug-Island-Detroit-Riot-Novel/dp/1604945850 

Free Radio Booking Service for Authors

My publisher for Zug Island - Wheatmark.com - recommended a free internet radio booking service named radioguestlist.com which has worked quite well for me . Once registered with them, they send out daily listings of radio talk shows looking for interesting guests. A writer can simply look down the listings and choose a show that specializes in his/her area of expertise. I've contacted four stations, three with positive results and another I'm waiting to hear from.

On Monday night, I was interviewed on a Harlem radio show - Beefstewradio.com - which I have run as a link below. I also have bookings on "Sayinitplain.com" in February and on the "Hollis Chapman Show" in May. My website and blog helped me seal these deals, so I recommend that you have an engaging electronic platform. It is your 24/7 billboard and calling card.

Independent authors can use this service to get media exposure and advertise their books and future writing projects. Local advertising isn't cheap - this media service gives you national and international exposure for free! Give it a try.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beefstewradio/2012/01/24/interview-with-author-gregory-a-fournier

Confessions of a Yearling Writer

The first year of publishing and promoting my debut novel - Zug Island - has been an interesting learning experience. Lesson number one was that writing the book was only the beginning.

Preparing it for publication was the second layer of development. This involved an editor's trained eyes for deep editing, continuity, and format development. Decisions about the cut size of the pages, front and back cover designs, font style and size, and the price point needed to be made.

Once the copyright had been obtained and my novel was issued an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), my publisher, Wheatmark.com, had it listed in the Ingram trade catalog and on Amazon. I also had a Kindle format produced.

My publicist, Paula Margulies, informed me that now I needed to develop an electronic platform in support of the book. This involved creating and purchasing a domain name, building a website for the novel, choosing a web-host with webmaster services to update the site, setting up facebook and twitter accounts to begin social networking, and creating a blog to establish myself as a brand.

The part of all this that I was the most reluctant about was the blog. I feared the time involved in writing it wouldn't be worth the effort. I was right - it takes time; I was wrong - it is worth the effort! In addition, it helps me establish a writing habit.

In the seven months Fornology has been running, I've written 59 posts that have received over 3,000 hits - many of them global. From a commercial publishing standpoint, that may be modest, but as an independent author starting from ground zero, I'm very pleased.

I've been able to promote my first novel - Zug Island - and solicit information for my next project - The Water Tower. I've been able to "chunk out" ideas in some of my posts which I will adapt for later use, and I've been able to create verbal snap shots of some of my experiences promoting my work.

Maybe the best thing I've discovered about blogging is that it is helping establish me as a credible writer by providing a showcase for my writing that is easily accessible to the public, the media, and booking agents. Blogging is opening doors for me that I didn't know existed.

Talk Radio - Why Not?

Looking through a newsletter from my publisher, Wheatmark.com, I discovered a free radio booking resource called Radio Guest List. Once you sign-in with them, they send out a daily listing of radio outlets requesting guests to interview for a wide range of topics.

Depending on the program's target audience, they are looking for authors, musicians, lifestyle commentators, financial planners, and "experts" in many areas. This website simply lists stations that need on-air talent. Once you find a request for a quest spot that is in your area of expertise, you contact their booking agent. That's it!

If they are interested, they will email you back to make arrangements. Within a week, I have been booked for two interviews to discuss my novel - Zug Island - one is for a show called Beef Stew, and the other is for a program named Sayin It Plain.

Other than readers, what new authors desperately need are publicity and exposure. This website provides both for free. Take advantage of it. Good luck!

www.radioguestlist.com