Again, this email was sent from my new email address: news@jackheathwriter.com. Please add it to your safe senders list! |
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Oh man, I had such big plans for this email.
It's not like I didn't have time to plan it. This book has been in the works for years. I was going to read a chapter from it and upload it to Youtube, so everyone could get a feel for the story and the style. I was going to write an in-depth piece dissecting each of Jaxxon's ridiculous policies to determine whether any would work in real life, and why or why not. I was going to write about the challenges of making a comedy about politics that isn't political, and the broader topic of how knowing an author's personal views, far from enhancing your appreciation of their story, tends to make it feel artificial and propagandous.
But because of lockdown I've been working half-days and teaching my kids the other half, and my dog is sick and needs more care than usual, and I'm still locked out of Facebook, so I can't contact most of my friends, relatives and readers, and my attempts to solve that problem have been stealing yet more precious writing time. And I have three books with deadlines hurtling towards me. So I didn't have time to do any of that. Sorry. (I say all this well-aware that many people are in much worse positions right now. Of course, that has always been true—there's always a disaster somewhere—but that's a discussion for another day.)
What I did have time to do was read Kid President Totally Rules! to my children, and I'm relieved to report that it got the whole family laughing—unlike Stunt Kid Seriously Stacks It! which was a hit with the kids but not the adults. Which is fine, because it's a kids book. But it's enormously satisfying to have written something that my peers can giggle over, not just the littlies.
So, here's the email: Kid President Totally Rules! comes out today. If you're in Australia and your local bookshop is open in any capacity, I'd encourage you to support them. But if not, it's available online. (You can get it shipped anywhere in the world, but there's no ebook or audio yet. Stay tuned.)
I don't even have time to remind you what the book's about—OK, it's about a kid who becomes president, but you could have guessed that from the title. Fortunately, there's plenty of information on jackheathwriter.com.
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In other news, Kill Your Brother has been out for four weeks, and it's still number 1 in it's category on Audible! I've been blown away by the response to this book. I was worried that my readers wouldn't embrace a crime novel without Timothy "Hangman" Blake in it, but they seem to have taken a leap of faith. Check out the latest reviews:
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Anyway, there are two big announcements about Kill Your Brother coming soon. One is definite, the other is more of a maybe. Either way, you can follow the new Facebook page (I set it up with a burner account) if you want to keep track of developments.
And if you haven't read the book yet, it's still free on Audible Plus! Links for various countries at jackheathwriter.com/kill-your-brother.
OK, I really have to go now. I have writing to do. 10 Minutes of Danger! 300 Minutes of Mystery! Villain Girl Makes Major Mayhem! Headcase (Hangman 4)! Thanks for reading. Have a free short story that I wrote in 7-minutes during a writing workshop last week. (Book week! Man, I didn't even get time to tell you about that.) No editing. Enjoy:
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'Where's the bathroom?' Carol asked.
'Down the corridor.' The headmaster pointed. 'On the right.'
Carol had been putting her bag down on her bed - her single bed - her SQUEAKY single bed - but now she froze. 'Are you telling me that I have to share a bathroom with the other staff?' she demanded.
'And the students,' the headmaster said cheerfully. 'Make sure you bring your own toilet paper, and wear flip flops.'
'I'm the most brilliant scientist of my generation,' Carol snapped. 'I won the Fields medal AND the Nobel for physics in the same year. I don't do "flip flops".'
'You really should - there's a nasty toe fungus going around.' The headmaster checked his huge gold watch. 'Anyway, I must be off. Chemistry is about to start, and the classroom is right below us. In five minutes, this place will stink to high heaven. You might want to keep that window closed.'
'The place ALREADY stinks!' Carol spluttured. But the headmaster was already gone.
Carol ripped open her bag. 'Shared bathrooms. Fungus. Children,' she muttered, as she took out a pair of pliers, a capacitor, and a jar of ultrasonic cleaning fluid. 'We will see about THAT.'
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P.S. If you enjoyed this email, send it to a friend! It can be hard for authors to get the word out about their books, but every little bit counts. :)
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