Bucket List 2013: 3 New Books in 1 Year!

2012 was a great year for me.

Financially, it wasn’t that rewarding…. ugh!

But in every other aspect, it might have been the best year yet!

A huge part of that came on February 29th, 2012… when my first book for Children, Pete the Popcorn, was released on Amazon.com.

Pete the Popcorn!

On this day, my very first book hit 3 #1 slots on Amazon: #1 in Hot New Releases, #1 in Children’s Literature and #1 in Movers and Shakers! And this was just the beginning… since that date, co-author Joe Kelley and I have been to countless schools for readings, a bunch of libraries for author appearances, a slew of gourmet popcorn shops for promotional visits… and we’ve read Pete the Popcorn in about 25 states, about 50 cities, 3 countries… and more!

Later in the year, we released our second book, Clipper the Comet, which paid tribute to our home states of Ohio and Michigan… and the auto industry which so many families rely on in our area. We also used this book to create a summer reading initiative for children in the Westland, Michigan and Blissfield, Michigan areas— giving away over 5,000 Children’s Books!

Clipper the Comet

Since then, we’ve been hard at work creating new stories— and touring schools across the country, which could be the focus of an entire book in itself.

So, what’s on my bucket list for 2013 in regards to my writing business?

I’m preparing 3 NEW BOOKS FOR 2013!

One of these is fairly common knowledge: Casey and Callie Cupcake. Some lucky folks were already afforded the opportunity to pre-order this book and receive their child’s name in the acknowledgement pages… but the release date for this book has been pushed back a little bit, as we work with a cupcake shop to secure a promotional partnership. We have to do the promotional release process in a proper manner, or there is no point in even doing the book!

But “let me be clear,” as Obama would say— Casey and Callie Cupcake will hit the book shelf sometime in the first quarter of 2013!

What about the other two books that I  would like to release in 2013 to complete my Bucket List?

Surprises!!!

Will they both be Children’s Books? Surprise!!!

Another Pete the Popcorn book, as children have been demanding? Surprise!!!

A book for adults??? Surprise!!!

I’m going to get this Bucket List item accomplished, you can be sure of that… but I’m a little scared, too. What will I do in 2014? 4 books in one year? How do I top it? Or, are three books in one year too many? How can I possibly promote them all correctly?

However, I really have no choice… my mind has been working overtime lately and my typing fingers just can’t keep up. So I have to get these ideas out now… or lose them forever.

So, there it is, the second item on my 2013 Bucket List: release 3 new books!

Talk to you tomorrow!

Nick

 

 

Thanks for visiting this blog! As you see, it is not supported by advertising. If you would like to personally support this blog and its authors, please visit Amazon to purchase our Children’s Book, Pete the Popcorn! If you don’t have a child in your life, donate a copy to your local school or library! Also, we LOVE it when people LIKE us on Facebook. To learn more about our books, please visit www.PeteThePopcorn.com 

Napa, Napa… Made me Nap. A.

Whoa, boy… did I have a fun time today…

Keep in mind that this blog is “About the Authors”… so we do talk about our daily lives. During our Encouragement Across America tour, we’re absolutely planning on documenting our travels— during school days and also during days off.

I do apologize in advance for those offended. But today, we went on a mini-tour of wine country in California.

A few sips of wine later, I have to thank our friend Margaret Shirley. She used to be a concierge at one of the wineries in this beautiful area, and today she pointed us in every right direction. We’re supposed to meet up with Margaret and her family later this week in her new home of Paso Robles, California. So I hope we can talk her into appearing in a video. Stay tuned.

For now… here is today’s video update:

Happy Sunday, everyone… this is going to be a fun and very different week with the video updates, because we finally have a few days off. But we will still keep you in the loop.

Nick

 

Thanks for visiting this blog! As you see, it is not supported by advertising. If you would like to personally support this blog and its authors, please visit Amazon to purchase our Children’s Book, Pete the Popcorn! If you don’t have a child in your life, donate a copy to your local school or library! Also, we LOVE it when people LIKE us on Facebook. To learn more about our books, please visit www.PeteThePopcorn.com 

“And what a lovely name: Reno!”

If you can finish that scene from the movie Sister Act, I’m sending you a postcard from our tour!

I’m serious. Leave the next line in the comments section below. And then email your address to petethepopcorn@gmail.com. I’ll mail you a postcard.

Reno. I didn’t know a darn thing about this city, aside from the fact that Sister Mary Clarence spent her days here as a lounge singer. Oh, what the heck, why not a quick video?

It’s one of my favorite movies. And several scenes take place in Reno. Forgive me.

Anyway, Reno has inexpensive hotel rooms. So guess where we stayed after driving from Pocatello? Yup!

We ran past the slot machines. Slept. And then took in the obligatory casino-town buffet for breakfast. All in all, it was awesome.

The point of this tour is to read to kids and teach them to encourage each other. This, we have done every single day. But we also want to see this beautiful country. And Reno is a place that is now on my RETURN TO list. I definitely want to come back!

After a needed sleep in Reno, it was off to Carson City for an afternoon reading of Pete the Popcorn. The kids at Fritsch Elementary were awesome and the Principal had to be one of our favorites! She was involved in the assembly, told us great things about her students and led us in the right direction of things to talk about with the kids. It is clear why the children behaved so well, with the excellent direction they receive from their teachers and Principal.

Here is the video from our day in Carson City:

As you can see, we also drove by Lake Tahoe. It was simply stunning. Add another on the list of places to return.

Writing this, I’m sitting in a Hampton Inn in Sacramento, California. Compared to some of the other drives of this trip, today’s was a piece of cake.

This weekend, we are off. And we’re also taking a little break early next week for some fun and exciting stuff.

But I’m most excited about visiting Napa Valley this weekend. It’ll be a quick, introductory trip just like the rest of this tour. But I’m busily scratching things off my bucket list that I didn’t even know were on my bucket list— and that’s a good thing.

Later,

Nick

 

Thanks for visiting this blog! As you see, it is not supported by advertising. If you would like to personally support this blog and its authors, please visit Amazon to purchase our Children’s Book, Pete the Popcorn! If you don’t have a child in your life, donate a copy to your local school or library! Also, we LOVE it when people LIKE us on Facebook. To learn more about our books, please visit www.PeteThePopcorn.com