It’s my birthday. I want another dog.
I won’t be getting one.
To make up for my unfulfilled birthday wish, I’m giving one or two (or maybe three) of you something you might want. A signed, personalized copy of the mob novel set in 1973, Father of Mine.
If you want to be considered, send an email to florio@profootballtalk.com with this subject line “Father of Mine June 8, 2024 giveaway.” Include your mailing address and preferred inscription.
The book is inspired by real-life activities of the outfit that ran the town where I grew up. Four years ago today, I had a dream that planted the seed for the story. The next day, I started writing it. After it was finished two months later, I started the sequel. Along the way, Playmakers happened. As did the Christmas tale, On Our Way Home.
Several others are still in the drafting/editing/now-that-it’s-ready-what-the-hell-should-I-do-with-this? phase. A Father of Mine sequel will likely land right around Labor Day. Two others (a cautionary tale of pro football and gambling and a re-imagination of a 1979 mass prison break) are ready to go. Two others (a Western and a murder mystery 17 years after the crime was supposedly solved) aren’t far from final, final. There’s one more that likely needs plenty of revising and tweaking, and a new one that I’m about 20,000 words into writing.
Writing books balances the non-stop stream of copy-paste-snarky-comment blurbs. Since launching PFT in 2001, I’ve probably generated more than 20 million words this way. That repetition, repetition, repetition has made it a lot easier to flip the switch on long-form fiction and crank out 1,000 to 1,500 words per hour.
It’s fun to write (and re-write . . . and re-write) books. It’s rewarding to know people read and enjoy them. All I ever ask of anyone who picks up one of the stories is to give it a try. If it doesn’t hold your interest, that’s on me.
Both Father of Mine and On Our Way Home will hold your interest. Both are available in ebook form for the ridiculously low price of $3.99. The Father of Mine print edition is $14.99, and On Our Way Home is $9.99. (You can also get Playmakers for $15.33.)
If you order the hard copies this weekend, you likely will have them by Father’s Day.
Am I doing this today so that you’ll maybe decide to give me a small birthday token by buying a copy of Father of Mine or On Our Way Home? Yes I am.
I’d still rather have another dog.
