Wednesday, December 20, 2023

New Thriller Coming From Down & Out Books

A Special Operations “fixer” for Homeland Security, U.S. Marine General Ray Hauser, teams up with Air Force Special Agent Sunny Hicks to recover a stolen GAU-8, the Gatling-gun like nose cannon of the military’s most destructive gunship, the A-10 Warthog. The weapon fires three thousand rounds a minute, each round’s explosive power equal to a stick of dynamite. Attached to a flatbed trailer, parked near Los Angeles traffic at rush hour, three thousand people could die within police response time. Ray has another, more personal incentive to find those who stole the horrific weapon. His wife, Alissa, went missing years ago investigating a similar theft inside the same Arizona desert. If he can solve the GAU-8 case, there’s a chance he can discover what happened to his presumably dead wife, even catch her killers. But that stolen Gatling-gun-like cannon also holds special attraction for Jessie Maris, unhappy wife of the weapon’s chief thief, Nolan Maris, a career criminal who plans to sell the GAU-8 for half a million. Jessie has been abused all her life, especially by the judge in a Family Court case many years ago. When her husband Nolan keeps her in the dark about his plans, then physically beats her, Jessie goes on a rampage that leads her and the GAU-8 to an old abuser and a crowd of innocents. Can Hicks and Hauser stop her? U.S. Special Operations never dealt with a battered, over-the-edge woman like Jessie before.

Friday, December 1, 2023

Big Advances For Books That Don't Sell

OutKick A new report details that some editors and publishers are getting sucked into giving out huge advances to left wing authors for books that don't sell. Check out Disney stock if you don't believe that old saying about going woke and going broke. The Free Press reported on a few of the publishing industry's most massive mistakes in recent years, and how company's often rush to buy progressive books that almost immediately flop. And why. And as an author of two books myself, it's abundantly clear that these decisions are being made to prop up a predetermined political ideology instead of making sound financial choices. One of the most prominent examples of failed left wing books is "Pageboy," a memoir from actor Elliot Page about transitioning from Ellen Page. Page received a $3 million advance, but sold just 68,000 copies, despite massive promotion, media puff pieces and a celebrity figure with a substantial following. Another example is "Dear Miss Metropolitan," a book about three "black and biracial" girls, which garnered a $250,000+ advance, only to sell 3,163 copies since it was released over two years ago. Claudia Cravens' book, "Lucky Red," received a $500,000 advance and sold just 3,500 copies despite being a "queer feminist Western." Why are there bidding wars over unsuccessful woke books? Because of institutional racism and progressive political obsession within the book publishing community.