Digging In To Solid Ground

Photo: Hawaii, courtesy of
Kathy Montgomery

A month has passed since the release of my debut novel, Solid Ground. I've had some incredible conversations with friends, both old and new, about the book, the writing process, and my journey to getting published. Some of my thoughts about such things were captured in a series of posts I wrote in the weeks before the book's release.

I've collected and re-published links to those articles below, just in case you missed one, didn't have time to read them, or simply didn't give a shit - but now you do.

Thanks for taking time to dig into Solid Ground. 
(I mean, really, I slaved over the manuscript off and on for over a decade, so clicking a link or two is the least that you can do.)

An Excerpt from Solid Ground
This, as you probably guessed from the title, is an excerpt from the book.

Note: In each of the articles below, there is an "Excerpt" and "Synopsis" section at the start of the post. Feel free to scroll past those sections to get to the juicy stuff.

Author Interview
In this post, I share details about my writing process, the sucky part of naming characters, writers I'd love to interview if I had my own talk show, a sneak peek at my second novel, and more.

Music, Mood, and Words
A short post on how I feel that art begets art, as well as links to some of the music I listened to as I wrote Solid Ground.

Getting Here
Growing up, making a living, chasing a dream - how I became a published writer in just 50 short years!

Write Where You Are
An extrovert's uncomfortable sabbatical.... my month alone and unplugged in a cabin in the redwoods of Northern California.

Harlan: The Character Who Just Showed Up
I'm not someone who believes characters magically appear in an author's imagination, but this one did. Those of you who have already read the book will especially enjoy this post.

Thanks for reading!


Jeff's novel, Solid Ground, can be purchased in print and ebook from Amazon, B&N, Books-A-Million, and other places where fine fiction is sold.

Solid Ground: Pre-Order Links and Other Fun Stuff

UPDATE (April 20): The print book is here! You can now order a print copy of Solid Ground from Amazon for $14.99. The print version will also be available for order from B&N and other online retailers tomorrow!


On Monday, April 24th, you’ll finally be able to see what I’ve been doing since I left the bookselling business and fully immersed myself in the book writing business. In choosing a plot and theme for Solid Ground, I took the advice of Toni Morrison and others, who essentially say, write the book you want to read. I like to read books about how human beings struggle, how imperfect we are, how much we get in our own way and screw up our own lives, but within all that, despite all that, how we also find moments, even years, of enlightenment, happiness, and love. So, that's what I endeavored to write. I hope you find my efforts to be a worthwhile investment of your reading time. Honestly, I did my best not to write a shitty book.

Ordering
Digital versions of Solid Ground can be pre-ordered now for $6.99 in most of the places you can buy ebooks, including: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, etc. You'll get the ebook on April 24th.

Print copies will be available for order for $14.99 on Thursday, April 20th  at Amazon and from B&N and other sites on Friday, April 21st. If you order by Thursday, you’ll likely have it in your hand when it releases Monday, and possibly even a day or two earlier.

Signed Copies
I was amazed (and genuinely thrilled) that more than a hundred people responded when I asked who’d be interested in getting a signed copy of the book. If you weren’t just being kind, look for details soon on how to get your signed copy. And if you were just being kind, thanks for that too.
(But buy a copy anyway. Seriously. Buy it. Even if you don’t read it. Buy it. It's big, use it as a doorstop. And if your doors don't need stopping, stash it in the attic, you know, like a keepsake.)

Giving It Away (the book, not the ending)
One last note, I have three digital Advanced Reading Copies I’m GIVING AWAY next week BEFORE the RELEASE DAY. Stay tuned!

Thanks everyone!