Mystery author, Joe C. Ellis, presents his The Outer Banks Murder Series, which includes MURDER AT WHALEHEAD, MURDER AT HATTERAS, MURDER ON THE OUTER BANKS, MURDER AT OCRACOKE, and THE TREASURE OF PORTSMOUTH ISLAND. The prequel to the series is THE HEALING PLACE.
The original song/web commercial videos for my books at YouTube seem to be working. Several copies have sold at Amazon.com in the last few days. I've posted a different kind a video at YouTube a couple days ago. Whenever I speak at book signings or libraries, I usually tell the story about the Chair. This real life experience became the inspiration for an important scene in my first novel, The Healing Place. In the fall of 1973 during my senior year of high school, two of my good friends and I ran out to the Scotch Ridge Presbyterian Church at midnight to test the curse that was supposedly on the monument know as the Chair--if you sit on it at midnight, you'll die within 24 hours. It's probably more funny than it is scary, but the audiences at the book clubs and signings seem to enjoy it. Listen to it and let me know what you think.
Today I got word from a reviewer of historical novels that The First Shall Be Last has arrived, and she is looking forward to reading it and reviewing it. This is a long process, and the review won't be published for three to six months. That's okay with me because the book is not scheduled to come out until September 15, 2008. About twelve reviewers will receive copies of The First Shall Be Last. If three or four end up reviewing it, I will be happy. Usually only about 15% of the books reviewers receive are actually reviewed. But one review can make a huge difference in sales to bookstores and libraries.
On Monday evening I had the pleasure of speaking to the good people who belong to the Bethesda Book Club. My brother, Jim, who lives in Bethesda, served my wife, daughter, and me a feast of steak, baked potatoes, and home-cooked veggies before we headed off to the library in downtown Bethesda. The club members had read both books--Murder at Whalehead and The Healing Place. My sister-in-law, Linda, warned me that they were pretty tough when it came to questioning authors. However, they were kind to me and asked many insightful and pertinent questions. All in all it was an enjoyable evening.
I noticed recently that the Cuyahoga Library near Cleveland ordered quite a few copies of both novels. Sometimes when county libraries order a lot of copies, they plan on selecting the books for their book clubs. Maybe I'll be getting a call from the Cuyahoga people in the near future. Time will tell.
I'm enjoying posting original song videos on YouTube and plugging my novel website at the end of each video. The above one, Do You Believe, has gotten the most hits, probably because it was a Valentine love song. I don't know if anyone will visit my website and check into the books because of these videos. It's one of those wait and see things.
The First Shall Be Last, the third novel of the Whalehead series, has gone into the hands of my two line editors, both English teachers. Rebekah, who is also my daughter, recently finished the novel and found a few mistakes. However, she said it's the best book I've written yet. That was encouraging. Once Gretchen, my other line editor finishes, I'll make the corrections in preparation for the first edition.
The Bethesda (Ohio) Book Club recently contacted me to speak at their March meeting about the first two novels in the series, The Healing Placeand Murder at Whalehead. I'll be speaking to them on the evening of March 10. More details about that one later.
I'm still waiting to hear back from Outer Banks Press about the possibility of them becoming my publisher. Right now I'm self publishing through my own company, Upper Ohio Valley Books, but a few weeks back I received an email from OBX Press expressing interest. It's another one of those wait and see things.
Marketing my books is challenging. Sometimes I experiment with possibilities. I decided to create a music video of an original song I wrote a few years back and post it on YouTube. The song is called "Say Goodnight." It's about what happens eventually to a lot of couples--start out as friends but with time fall in love. At the end of the video is my website address: http://www.joecellis.com. The idea is to direct viewers to my website and info about the books.
Good news: I recently got my first check from my NC distributor, Outer Banks Press. The President, Ms. L. Lauby, is excited about the upcoming season, potential book sales, book reviews in her regional magazines, and the possibility of Outer Banks Press becoming the publisher of Murder at Whalehead. She also wants to consider becoming the distributor of The Healing Place. I'm guessing that if The Healing Place sells decently, Outer Banks Press may consider publishing it also.
Other news: This past week I made a trial copy of The First Shall Be Last (the sequel to Murder at Whalehead) at Lulu.com. It's a great site to make one or two copies of a book to pass around to your line editors and others who could help sharpen the manuscript before the actual publication. I ordered two copies at about $10 a copy. Gretchen, an English teacher where I teach, is going to do a line edit for me, and my daughter, Rebekah, will also read it over and try to catch mistakes. Both have helped with my other two novels and did a great job. I'm going to send a copy to Ms. Lauby at Outer Banks Press to see if she would be interested in distributing this newest novel.
Writers have got to keep open to all possibilities. You never know when a door might open that could improve sales or give a boost to the next level of success.
Chapter Four of The First Shall Be Last is now posted. Hope you're enjoying the early stages of the novel.
I received my first check from my NC distributor yesterday. She is excited about the upcoming season on the Outer Banks and hopes for great book sales. I will be preparing for the second printing of Murder at Whalehead in the near future or perhaps working out a publishing deal with a North Carolina publisher. In the meantime, I'm hoping to work hard on The First Shall Be Last so the book will be ready for publication by late May.
Here's the link to check out the first four chapters: Click Here
Let me know what you think. Email me or post a comment:
joecellis@comcast.net
Talk to you later,
Joe C. Ellis CLICK HERE to view video trailer for Murder at Whalehead Link to front cover: CLICK HERE (Click on cover to enlarge) Link to back cover: CLICK HERE (Click on cover to enlarge) Link to first eleven chapters:CLICK HERE Visit my website at http://www.joecellis.com/
Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the death of my father, James Edward Ellis. I based my latest novel, The First Shall Be Last, on his World War II memoirs. In honor of the anniversary of his death, I am posting his memoirs online. About ten years ago when my dad was in his mid seventies, I asked him to sit down with me and record everything he could remember about the war. It took over six hours of recording, but eventually we got it all down. When I transposed his oral history into written words, I tried to remain true to his speech patterns and vocabulary. The result was an amazing bit of storytelling from my father. I think you will find his memoirs both educational and entertaining. He had a way with drawing a listener into his story and maintaining their attention. Dad was a Marine Scout and fought in four major battles in the Pacific Theater. He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in battle on Okinawa.
If you like World War II history, I think you will enjoy his memoirs. Heres the link:
Joe C. Ellis CLICK HERE to view video trailer for Murder at Whalehead Link to front cover: CLICK HERE (Click on cover to enlarge) Link to back cover: CLICK HERE (Click on cover to enlarge) Link to first eleven chapters:CLICK HERE Visit my website at http://www.joecellis.com/
