So, my publicist Rebecca talked me into doing a thing, and as so often happens… holy cow, was she right.
We’ve just dropped the ebook edition of Mailboat I to FREE on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo through March 24th, 2023.
Guys, we’ve barely told anyone about the promo yet, and by yesterday morning, Mailboat I was ranking in the top 100 in the Amazon store in both the Suspense and Thriller categories.
What is my life?!
So of course, now we’re running around telling everyone that Mailboat I is currently free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo, LOL.
Do you think we can make the top 10? Do you think we could even make #1 in the Thriller or Suspense categories??
I’ll admit, I’m super stoked to find out. And you can help! Here’s how:
Email the link to this post to all your friends who like to read. Of course, be a good friend and explain that you’re a big, huge fan of the series, and that’s why you’re spamming their email, LOL.
Even if you already own the paperback, go download the ebook for free before March 24th. This will push my book further up the charts, making it visible to even more new readers.
Post a pic of you with your copy of Mailboat I to Facebook, Instagram, etc., letting people know how much you love the series, and that it’s free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo through March 24th.
And if you love free ebooks in general, you should sign up for more at Fussy Librarian and Hello Books. You can tell these fun reader services which genres you love, and they’ll email you regularly with a selection of FREE ebooks you can download and read immediately. (I got a spot in both the Fussy Librarian and Hello Books lists for later this week, hence why Mailboat I is currently free!)
Right now, I’m some combination of nervous and excited. Thanks in advance for downloading Mailboat I and telling your friends, so we can climb the charts and put the Mailboat Suspense Series in front of new readers!
This post includes affiliate links. Thanks for supporting a small business!
This blog post is going live during Black History Month 2021. Last year saw a great deal of social unrest and the rekindling of the Black Lives Matter protests. By coincidence, the book I’m currently writing (Mailboat IV) features a person of color in a major role. (Not a black person, but a member of a minority group which also suffers discrimination, and so the parallels were hard for me to ignore.)
With all these events coming together, my thoughts turn to the problem of racial discrimination in my country. The unrest, demonstrations, and riots we saw in the past year struck me very hard. And so, I’ve gone on a mission to try to sort out my thoughts and feelings about racial discrimination.
I write positively about police in my novels. I have friends who work in law enforcement. And I also have friends who are people of color.
As protests around the country turned to riots, my stomach churned. I literally felt as if I were sitting in the corner of a room, watching my friends having a screaming match.
Understanding racism, and sorting out my own thoughts and feelings on the matter, may be a life-long pursuit. But I wanted to jot down my thoughts so far, and share them in hopes it’ll help someone else on their own journey.
Why Do People of Color Suffer So Much Police Violence?
After Michael Brown was shot and killed in 2014, it came to light that there was no national database tracking lethal shootings by police. The Washington Post went about to rectify that problem, and you can see their ongoing project here: Fatal Force.
You can see in their findings that, while more white people have died overall, people of color have died at a disproportionate rate.
“[Black Americans] account for less than 13 percent of the U.S. population, but are killed by police at more than twice the rate of White Americans.” ~ Fatal Force, by The Washington Post
I’ll admit, beyond looking at the numbers, I haven’t yet researched the question of why this is happening. It’s something I do plan to educate myself about.
But one likely root of racial tension is feelings of “other” and “them versus us,” both in terms of “they are against us” and “they are not one of us.”
And for that, I think I have at least one answer:
Curiosity.
Stay Curious
I have always been an intensely curious person–especially when it comes to people who are different from me. I grew up in an extremely homogenous environment, but instead of getting comfortable with sameness, I became curious about different-ness.
Your skin is a different color than mine. I want to learn more about you.
You speak with an accent. I want to know where you’re from and learn about your culture.
You wear a gun and a uniform and a bullet-proof vest. What on earth is that like?
You date someone of the same sex. I want to watch your relationship and see how it’s different from–and the same as–my relationship with my boyfriend.
You were assigned male at birth, but now you’ve come out as female. I want to watch your transition and see how you interact with life in a new way.
You grew up in a religion much different from mine. I want to understand what you believe and how it affects the way you live.
Your political views aren’t the same as mine. I want to try to understand where you’re coming from.
I have to say, curiosity this vast has been a great boon as an author. So long as I stay curious and humble and ask questions, I can create a vast array of characters.
And by staying curious, I get to meet all kinds of people–so that my fiction keeps benefiting the variety of my relationships. The more people I meet for research purposes, the more people I count as my friends, and thus the more diverse my circle of acquaintances.
Stop Talking; Start Listening
Like anyone, I sometimes see something different from what I’m used to and I want to reject it out of hand. It’s just too unfamiliar. Maybe I’ve even got notions already swimming around in my head about what this person is supposed to be like, because of some narrative I’ve heard from… somewhere.
This, of course, is called bias, and the experts claim we all have it, whether we realize it or not.
But then I breathe and remind myself that we’re all just people. I remind myself not to judge until I’ve walked a mile in someone else’s shoes. I remind myself to stay curious instead of shutting people out.
Whether I’m spending time with a cop or with a person of color or literally anyone else, I’ve found that accepting them just the way they are helps them open up and be themselves. I feel absolutely privileged when people who were strangers a moment ago start telling me their life stories. Start trusting me with thoughts they would only tell a close friend. I’ve had it happen again and again, with people of literally every description. I’ve seen people’s hearts, and that matters to me.
Only once you truly understand people, on both sides of a given conflict, can you identify the problems that may exist. Only once you truly understand those problems can you fix them. Until then, it’s only a shouting match.
Be quiet. Listen. Understand. Stay curious. You’ll probably find you have far more in common with “different” people than you thought. I keep returning to the words of a very dear friend of mine, an African-American woman. We were discussing racism, and her comment was simply this: “At the end of the day, people are pretty much the same.”
Recommended Reading
As I write this, I’m reading a book called 13 Days in Ferguson. The author is Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol. He is also an African-American. During the Ferguson riots of 2014, the governor of Missouri put Captain Johnson in charge of returning peace to the city.
As I read his memoir, I find that Captain Johnson models exactly what I’m talking about when I say to stay curious. When people were yelling in the streets, he was reaching out to as many of them as he could. He showed them he was listening. And they responded. All they wanted was for someone to hear them out.
If you’re looking for a riveting read that straddles both sides of the line–the experience of a black man, and the experience of a cop–this is a fantastic book. You can shop for it here on Amazon.
Over to You
The comments are open to discussion, but I want to remind you to be kind. (Inappropriate comments will be deleted!) This is a space for coming together as brothers and sisters. To practice that curiosity and openness I was talking about.
As another suggestion, go ahead and leave a prayer, a positive intention, or words of kindness. Let’s spread a little love and inspiration.
Mailboat IV, Releasing August 1, 2021, features a person of color as a key character. I had such a great time getting to know someone from that community in order to write this character as best I could.
I understand that #ShopSmall is important to y’all! Guess what–me, too! So I decided to throw together a list of some of my favorite small businesses. I know these establishments personally, so you know they come with my stamp of approval.
All of these businesses can ship within the United States or otherwise get their product or service into your hands, wherever you are! Oh, except the one at the end that involves kittens… and puppies… You’ll see.
From my hometown of Mandan, North Dakota, Nancy serves up some amazing jams, jellies, pickles, and other canned goods! Message her via Facebook to see what she has in stock. She will ship to your door!
Another shop form my hometown! Sue carries all kinds of hand-crafted items, antiques, and edibles, and yes, my books! Brows her listings at her shop or get in touch with her via Facebook.
If the guys behind Ten Seven Acres in North Dakota aren’t living the dream, I don’t know who is. Alpacas, horses, ducks–I lose track of all the animals they keep. If you’re the crafty sort, check out their all-natural alpaca yarns. Don’t know a knitting needle from a crochet hook? That’s okay! They also carry socks, hats, and rugs already-made!
This girl be so artsy! I mean, literally–if you meet her in person, she’s like a walking art piece. If you like creative, edgy stuff, check out her work. Her art is displayed in local Minnesota galleries all the time.
If your taste runs more traditional, then visit my friend Carrie Lewis from Kansas. Specializing in portraits of horses (be they celebrated race horses or your horse!) she paints with a level of detail that absolutely stuns. Check out her artwork for sale or see if she’s currently taking commissions.
Fear not, bookworms! I haven’t forgotten that we’re all readers here. These authors from Indiana will keep you guessing what will happen next. If you need a new read to keep you breathless, check out Don and Stephanie Prichard’s (completed!) Christian suspense trilogy. A romantic cruise goes mass murder-levels of wrong, and Marine Corps reservist Jake Chalmers ends up washed ashore on a desert isle. One of the co-authors, Don, was himself a Marine, and his knowledge of survival skills definitely shows. And Steph? She’s the best not-my-actual-grandma a girl could have.
Christian fiction not your style? Fear not: My circle of writerly friends covers all territory–sometimes literally. From Egypt to Siberia to Montana, where has Adrian Ashwah not lived? And if you want a riveting (yes, riveting) literary novel that takes an excruciatingly honest look at all major religions, then check out his book. You will be fascinated by both the dystopian world–strange and familiar at the same time–and the brave heroine, a girl named Audria.
Does a pet shelter count as a small business? Why not. I thought I’d include it anyway, just because CDHS is so important to me. Guys, I live in Montana now, but I still donate to my shelter back home in Mandan, North Dakota. Their motto is “Doing Great Things for Pets and People,” and I can testify that it’s true. They gave me my first dog (my beloved Molly, RIP), one of my first volunteering experiences, and one of my first jobs. They also helped rescue my life out of the dumpster the way they rescue any stray creature they run across. So if you’re in North Dakota and looking for a cat or dog–or if you’re just looking for a worthy cause to donate to–CDHS is worth your time.
Umm… I guess I may as well include me? If you couldn’t tell by the inordinate number of North Dakota businesses in this roundup, I’m originally from the that place with all the wind and snow. Nowdays, I live in Montana, which I’m finding far more amenable to human habitation–which means life here is far less exciting. I’m the author of the Mailboat Suspense Series, a story about a girl in foster care who only wants a home of her own. Instead, she finds a body at the end of a pier…
And that’s it! I hope you enjoyed this collection of some of my favorite small businesses. And I hope you find one you’d like to support! I have to say, it really warms my heart to look over my eclectic collection of friends and all the amazing things they do. I hope you’ll fall in love with them, too!