Here’s what emerged from my little publishing endeavor during the year that’s coming to an end this week. In order of publication, they are:
Song of the Serial Kisser: A Make Phoenix Adventure (ISBN 9781737349983), by Warren Bluhm. A new edition of the 2013 novelette in traditional paperback size. Published Jan. 6, 2022, it taught me that literally no one wants to buy a 52-page paperback.
The Demi-Gods (ISBN 9781737349976), by James Stephens, #5 in the Roger Mifflin Collection series. Mr. Mifflin, the feisty proprietor of The Haunted Bookshop, said you should try this book “If you need ‘all manner of Irish,’ and a relapse into irresponsible freakishness.” From 1914, one of the most peculiar novels I read this year. It was fun.
The Story of My Heart (ISBN 9781737349990), by Richard Jefferies, Mifflin #6. Of this one, Roger said it should be yours “If your mind needs a whiff of strong air, blue and cleansing, from hilltops and primrose valleys.” This strange philosophical tome has been received with mixed reviews since 1883; read here a kerfuffle from the pages of a London newspaper in which letter writers defend Jefferies’ “pernicious” book. (The Mifflin books all have early reviews and other extras in the back, for your entertainment and enlightenment.)
Echoes of Freedom Past: Reopening, Reclaiming and Restoring Liberty (ISBN 9798986333106), by Warren Bluhm, is the first of two new books in 2022. This is a little book about what used to be, what is, and what could be if we wish to reclaim it. The encouraging bit is that this was the best seller among my 2022 books. The discouraging thing is that I’m still waiting to sell my third-dozenth copy. The bottom line is sometimes you have to put a book out there and wait patiently for it to find its audience.
It’s going to be all right (ISBN 9798986333113), by Warren Bluhm, is the second new book of the year and my second-best seller. Lesson learned: You guys want new books. I’ve taken a note to that effect for 2023. This book has a simple but powerful message: Never mind that the world is scary and raging; if you reach inside to a calm place, you’ll find the most basic of truths: It’s going to be all right. Oh, change is inevitable, and tomorrow will not look like yesterday, but it’s going to be all right.
Air Monster (ISBN 9798986333120), by Edwin Green, a 1932 “boy’s adventure” about the world’s mightiest dirigible. Since it has been available for less than 10 days, the jury is definitely still out on this one, a fun relic of the days of early aviation.
I wanted to publish more than six books in 2022, but the good news is that I published six books in 2022, including the 11th and 12th with my name on ’em as author. Check them out; maybe there’s something in there for you.
