"Dancing Prince" is Published Today

Dancing Prince, the fifth and final novel in my Dancing Priest series, is published today on Amazon.

A mother's last words, a father's final message, and a strange painting: Michael Kent-Hughes faces personal tragedy, one that leads to long-lasting damage to the relationship with his youngest child, Prince Thomas. As the young boy grows to adulthood and the estrangement from his father continues, he finds his own way in life. But in the boy's hands and heart will lie the future of the kingdom. Dancing Prince is the moving conclusion of the Dancing Priest series.

The book includes a novella, Island, that is related to the main text but can be read as a standalone work.

Paperback

Kindle

Holding in my hand

It's the proof copy of Dancing King, soon to join its Dancing Priest and A Light Shining siblings. If it all goes according to schedule, the print version will be available in about two weeks, with the ebook version about the same time or shortly before.

Did I mention that I feel like "Dancing Author" right now?

“A Light Shining” Publishes Today; “Dancing Priest” Free on Kindle

Today is the official publication date for A Light Shining, the sequel to my first novel, Dancing Priest. It’s now available in e-book format on Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, and other online sellers shortly. The paperback edition will be available in about a week.

The new novel includes most of the same characters from Dancing Priest, with a few new ones added, including a character born doing the editing and rewriting process this past summer. Giving credit where credit is due, the editor – Adam Blumer – suggested that a character be added (for a specific reason, which you have to read the book to understand). I worked this character for weeks stretching into months, and finally it clicked and the story was essentially recast and reborn as a result.

It’s a character who has no name, and he’s introduced on the very first page.

The story: Michael and Sarah are newly married, joining their names as Kent-Hughes, and back in San Francisco from their honeymoon in Hawaii. Michael continues to work as assistant pastor at St. Anselm’s Church, and he and Sarah are raising Jim, the young boy Michael became the guardian for in Dancing Priest. Within a few short weeks, they have a new addition to their family. They return to Europe on vacation, seeking the family of Michael’s birth mother.

Then comes the Violence. And everything changes.

Over the next few weeks, we’re planning interviews with Michael and Sarah, background on the writing of the story, some giveaways of the novel, a free pdf of the wedding story (cut from Dancing Priest and not included in A Light Shining), and some various other activities.

Today, to help celebrate the publication of A Light Shining, we (that’s the publisher and me) are making Dancing Priest a free download on Amazon Kindle.

I’m still somewhat surprised that all of this has happened. Dancing Priest in 2011, A Light Shining now, a novella in the spring, and a contract for another kind of book altogether signed and planned for the fall or winter of 2013 (more on that later).

And I’ve already been asked – will Michael and Sarah’s story continue?

The answer is – it’s possible. We’re going to see how these two novels are received, and then we’ll decide.

But there is a lot more to the story.

Related:

Laura Boggess reviews A Light Shining at The Wellspring.

A Day Full of News

Today started with seeing an interview of me talking about writing posted the The High Calling: “A Man of Many Good Words.” Maureen Doallas did the interview, and she is one of the best, if not the best, interviewers I’ve come across.

Maureen continued with the interview at Tweetspeak Poetry: Writing the Priest, Part 1.

Then I received an email from the site host that http://www.dancingpriest.com/, my author’s site, had gone live. Thank you, Claire Burge, for designing the site and making it happen.

And then the doorbell rang. It was the man from UPS. In his arms was a box from the publisher.

It was full of dancing priests.

It’s been a day of dancing priests.

Dancing authors, too.

It's Now in Print

Dancing Priest is now available in the paperback print edition from both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. To celebrate the event, my publisher is sponsoring a giveaway of an autographed copy. Post a review at either bookseller between now and Jan. 1 and a winner will be selected at random. (Those who have already posted reviews are already eligible for the drawing.)

I have to say, it feels strange to be the person autographing a book for a giveaway. I’ll probably get over it.

Two copies of the paperback are already winging their ways to a certain mother and mother-in-law in Louisiana. My mother seems rather awed by having an author in the family. I had not said anything about the book to anyone in my family, so the news took her by surprise when I told her two weeks ago.

When we talked this past Sunday, she was full of questions. How did it happen? Where did the idea come from? How long had I worked on it? And was it okay for her to brag to her friends?

My mother-in-law is a great reader. I think she’s known for some time about the book; my wife has talked about it (and talked about how much time I’ve spent on it). At one point my wife wanted to print a copy of the manuscript-in-process for her to read, but I wasn’t ready for anyone to read it at that point.

My wife has also been waiting for the paperback. She read the manuscript some two or three years ago, but it has changed since then. I offered to let her read my Kindle or iPad version, but she wanted the paperback.

The copies going to my mother and mother-in-law are scheduled to arrive Monday. While both are elderly, they will not be my oldest readers.

That designation (currently) goes to a woman named Grace Miller, whom I have never met but who posted a short review of the Kindle version at Amazon. Here’s what she said: "I've read a lot of good, and not so good, and this was part of the best. The death had to be, but was not dwelt on to the point of being revolting. Jimmy is someone I've known. Sarah I liked. Michael is someone I would like to meet. My Nook and e books are a lifesaver."

She is 92 years old.

"Dancing Priest" is Available on Kindle

We thought it would happen Thursday, but the Kindle version of my novel Dancing Priest is now live on Amazon.

The Nook version should be available soon at Barnes & Noble. And a few days after that for iBook.

I am sitting here very quietly. Very quietly.

I am trying to be cool.

I am not succeeding.

Thanks to Doug Spurling at Spurling Silver for bringing the news to my attention.

I am staying calm.

I am so NOT staying calm.