Now live on Amazon!

I don't have the "Look Inside" feature up and running yet, and it might be a few days before I have the ebook file working--having formatting issues on that one--but the paperback is up and live on Amazon.  As with any POD books, the prices tend to be higher than what you'd pay for a bestseller paperback in, say, Walmart.  Just know that the writers of these books have no control over that.  You can keep the price somewhat reasonable, per CreateSpace, by going with their most common trim size which is 6 x 9, and that's the size I went for.  POD publishers set the minimum price--not the authors.  Just so you know.

Per the email I received, it may be weeks before the "Look Inside" feature is active.  It's done automatically.  I'm very anxious to see that up and running, as I think it's entirely necessary for a writer in my situation, or should I say "predicament."  Unknown writer, debut title, self-pubbed?  No way I'll sell even a single copy until prospective buyers are able to look inside and check out the storyline somewhat, and gauge the level of writing.  Even then, if I sell so much as ten copies, I'll just figure I've been sucked into an alternate universe.  I'm just so excited!

This title is Christian fiction.  I am a Christian children's writer, mostly of fantasy and mystery.  I don't trade morality for 'tension' or decency for 'character flaws' or the Christian worldview for 'keeping up with the times.'  I don't subscribe to the notion that Christian fiction--particularly that which is written for kids--has to be boring, schmaltzy, or out-of-touch.  It can be fun.  It can be hilarious.  It can be adventurous. 

I also don't get bogged down in 'tribalism.'  If you're looking for Christian fiction that chains itself to a particular denomination or doctrine, you'll be sorely disappointed.  Any book I write can be read by any Christian child, and this first story is no different.

My own denomination is another story.  I was raised Catholic, am now studying Orthodoxy, and feel quite to home in either church.  You will find links on this blog to websites and online radio stations for both denominations.  And I don't care what denomination you are, your heart's gotta be made of little frosty ice cubes to not enjoy a loaf of raisin Monk's bread!  Yum!  Seriously, we don't need any more in-fighting, back-biting, divisiveness, and negativity than we already have.  No tribalism.  Only a fool divides his own numbers.

And then there's John 13:35 to contend with.    

This is the first book in a series.  Mickey and the Gargoyle is about an eleven-year-old boy and his nine-year-old sister who go looking for a lost baseball and instead, end up finding a portal.  Kind of a modern version of Wizard of Oz where the tin man, scarecrow, and lion that help Mickey and Fidget find their way through the dark, creepy underworld are three gargoyles named Grigori, Constantine, and Otto.

Gargoyles are, so far, only portrayed as evil monsters--in books, movies, video games, and cartoons--and yet, historically, they were made for scaring evil away from churches.  But as Mickey said, "What kind of a monster guards a church?"  That's not a monster at all--that's a protector.

To me, that absolutely screamed "undiscovered hero in Christian children's fiction."   And given current trends toward dark and gothic themes, this series will appeal to those interests and still manage to satisfy that without glorifying or glamorizing the dark side of the world or the dark side of people.  It does not take kids down a dark path and then attempt to redeem itself at the very end after the damage is done.  

I have another series in the cradle stage that I hope to be an exciting, funny Christian parallel to Encyclopedia Brown or Joe Sherlock.  I hope it will also remedy some of the hostility and downright bullying that is approaching fever-pitch in this country and culture against fat people.  Not stout, heavy, 'big-boneded' or any other euphemism.  Fat. The word is fat, and I don't mind a bit because it's not the word that hurts.

Why is this issue important to me?  Because bullying is bullying, and I am the fat kid.