A Package in the Mail

Yesterday two boxes arrived from Amazon. They were my 25 copies of the paperback edition of Open Wounds. I can’t tell you how good it feels to see my book in print, with a new cover, a beautiful font, perfect size and heft, and a new beautiful black and white picture of a competitive epee fencer next to the title page. Stephen Khinoy, my new editor/publisher at SwordPlay Books, did a wonderful job of bringing my book physically to life, again. Steve was a competitive fencer himself and knows fencing inside and out. His catalog of books is about fencing one of my two favorite sports ever (the other is Rugby!). Check out the picture of the epee fencer after the inside title page (picture below). He also did the work on the cover himself. Steve, we need to have a celebratory beer/wine after the holidays! Word of advice to new writers. There are still small presses out there with editors/publishers who care about books and publishing. They are rare and their space in the publishing world is getting smaller and smaller. But they are still there. Find one who loves your book and let them bring it to life.