August 2024
Tornadoes, trailers, and 1 Month away from the release of Sinner's Pass! Pre-orders! An Interview! 😱
Tornadoes in Tallahassee
For those of you who are not on the East Coast or detached from news in Florida, Tallahassee was hit by three major tornadoes on May 10, 2024. My family and I are safe, but our home took heavy damage. Cleanup efforts are still underway, and I can honestly say they will continue to be for the rest of the year. As my short stories are written in advance, I do not have a short story that is ready for this month, my apologies for this—but I think we all understand why.
Our morning had started normal. I was up early, and about to start work, my wife was seconds away from stepping outside with our daughter. There was some rain, but nothing unusual for Tallahassee. Our phones went off for the Tornado Alerts, but it wasn’t enough. Before we could clear the alerts, booms went off all around us. My wife couldn’t even get to our saferoom before it was over. It was that quick. Then it was just rain for the next six hours.
I waited until the weather died a bit and then had to think of a way to get us out if there is an emergency. Our neighborhood is a dirt road for a quarter mile before it meets an asphalt road. Fortunately, I am friends with a local hero. Billy Cowart heard what was going on then drove from Monticello to us. With only a chainsaw and front-loader, Billy began cutting a path to me. Once we were linked up, Billy and I cut our way down the road so that I or any emergency vehicles could get in. Billy loaned me his front-loader, and for the next three days I drove, cut, and hacked my neighbors free from their trees. With each passing hour, more neighbors emerged and joined us. By May 14th, all of our neighbors could at least get out of their homes and onto the road. It was at this point we started to see city and county personnel on the roads making their way to us. We learned later that the decompression from the tornado was so extreme that it attempted to pull the windows off our house. The window seals in every room of our house have major cracks on the sills and frames from the pressure!
My house would go 7 days without power, and 14 days without internet. We kept the essentials (freezer, fridge, a fan and charging station) going with a generator (special thanks to Daniel Barfield for getting us a larger generator via Billy). Overall, we were extremely fortunate. First, we were unhurt, and my wife and daughter were still in the house. Second, despite the damage, it was not nearly as bad as it could have been, some of our neighbors completely lost their homes. Third, most of our neighbors were out and helping each other the moment they were free of their own properties.
I have been through a lot of storms; in fact, I was in Panama City when the infamous Hurricane Michael struck. For Tallahassee, this was the most destructive storm for Florida’s capital. Both Florida State University (FSU) and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) received extensive damage. The art district, Railroad Square, was also heavily damaged.
Support Me!
Don’t forget you can also support my caffeine habit! It helps me write you the stories and novels you love. If you want something more tangible, you can also use the service to request I use your name in a short story or even one of my novels! I will also share signed copies of my books there for those unable to see me in person.
Exercise Log!
Late in June I released my own exercise log. Those who are close to me will tell you I take personal fitness very seriously. I was tired of buying other people’s journals for $15-$20 every twenty weeks. Figuring being an author I have all the tools I need, so I released my own journal.
If you want your own simple and cheap exercise log, it’s currently on Amazon!
A Sneaky Quick One? Pre-Orders!
Listen, this is just between us, ok? Sinner’s Pass is technically up for pre-order. In fact, it has been since late June. So why am I not announcing this to the world? Am I just dropping the ball? Did the tornado knock something loose upstairs? No, sorry to disappoint, but it was intentional to the degree of… it doesn’t matter.
The pre-order is only for the ebook (Kindle) and hardback of Sinner’s Pass. If that’s exactly what you want, here’s your notice to go get it! I learned a lot from A Fold to Extinction. The first lesson was, many who supported me and pre-ordered were expecting a paperback. This is an easy misunderstanding as Amazon does not allow pre-orders of paperback copies. The second lesson was people didn’t get the download until midnight US EST. This wouldn’t be an issue, but many people had a copy without realizing it because it had been pre-ordered months prior.
How did the hardback get included and not the paperback? Well, that was my tool choice. I am using a different publisher for the hardback, (also will be the only one in retail stores). Since the paperback is by Amazon, I can’t set paperbacks to pre-order. Just a functionality of how their service works.
So why have a pre-order at all? Well, this is where we have to draw the line in getting a book recognized outside of my usual sphere. There are key times when certain services are able to help, things like social media influencers, advertising, and, on the technical side, configuring webpages. All this to say - I needed to get it on pre-order to properly advertise my novel before the due date.
Sinner’s Pass will have three different versions. A paperback, a hardback, and ebook (Kindle). The content is all the same obviously, with the hardback serving the de facto “special edition.” The hardback will be the only version released to retail stores. That being said, if you really want a hardback, there will be several ways to get a copy. Paperbacks will be released a week earlier to offset this. This will allow those who pre-order, or order a paperback, to receive their product the same day as the ebook release.
I will also have a method of ordering a signed copy of my novels put onto my Coffee page for those unable to attend any book signings.
Sinner’s Pass: Deer Trailer
Hunted: 200 Years before Sinner’s Pass
My Alpha and Beta readers already know this, but the history of both the setting and the characters of Sinner’s Pass stretch back decades. It was one of the most enjoyable parts of writing the story. I considered writing a prologue for the novel but decided it would be more fun to make this a short story. It ties into a key moment for one of our young characters in the novel (tell me if you recognize it when you read the book). As we are one month away from the release of Sinner’s Pass, I wanted to reshare that short story.
Enjoy!
HUNTED ⇚ Click me!
Alone Together: Update!
I have finally done my rewrite and had Alphas read a few pain points for me. I have officially sent Alone Together off to an editor! This is a big step forward for us as it will be the first in a series. I can’t wait for you all to read the surprises, horrors, and journeys packed within its pages.
Please reach out to me if you wish to be an Alpha or Beta reader for this book.
If interested in becoming an Alpha or Beta reader, please send all inquiries to: S.S.Fitzgerald.Writing@gmail.com
