Tag Archives: Whidbey

Eldritch Black and Weirdbey Island

Eldritch Black
This fellow …

Exactly ten days ago, as you will recall from my recent blog post, I met at a local coffee shop with one Mr. Eldritch Black.  A rather curious gentlemen and fellow author here on Whidbey Island, Mr. Black writes creepy books for the purpose of scaring youngsters.  We’ve asked him not to do this terrible thing, however the children seem to enjoy these tomes of his, so I guess it’s all for the better. Weirdbey Island

Since becoming an author myself just over a year ago with “Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies, I’ve had the blessing (and sometimes curse) of connecting with numerous other authors.  Quite a few have kindly shared their works, most often in the form of e-books — some with audiobooks.  Over the past year I have received so many of each I can’t keep up with them.  Mr. Black generously foisted some of his upon me — two from his Weirdbey Island series along with The Book of Kindly Deaths.

Pirates of Penn CoveA few months ago I had the opportunity to listen to the first of the Weirdbey Island books — The Pirates of Penn Cove.  Despite Mr. Black’s purpose of scaring children, I being an adult found I rather enjoyed the story.  His story of Island newcomer, Dylan, was unsettling at every turn — and the locations were written much as they are in real life right here on Whidbey!  For his generosity, and whatever possibly twisted reasoning behind it, I wanted to return Mr. Black’s courtesy with my online review.

The Day of the JackalopeToday I started Weirdbey Island book #2 — The Day of the Jackalope — and it’s already off to a bizarre and unnerving start.  Dylan is with his friends leading their own investigations into the mysterious going-ons on Whidbey Island.  These books have been a delight for the sheer sake that they remind me of the creepy books I read as a kid.  It is a nostalgia-blast that takes me back to the first two books of the Bunnicula series.

As time permits I will listen to the audiobook copy of The Book of Kindly Deaths … not that I really want to, I just want to make sure the children out there are safe. Weirdbey Island

This has been an attempt to write in similar style to the story-telling you will find in these first few Weirdbey Island books.  Frankly, they’re a lot of fun, and I hope you and the children in your life will enjoy them as much as I have.  Both of the Weirdbey Island books above are delightfully narrated by J. Scott Bennett.
~ Best, Don

Eldritch Black ~ Links

Homepage – Amazon – Goodreads
Twitter – Facebook – Instagram

J. Scott Bennett ~ Links

Audible worksGoodreads – Twitter – Facebook

Great Tips From a Fellow Author

coffeeEarly this week I met with a fellow Whidbey Island author at a local coffee shop — a curious individual we will call Eldritch Black.  We wrote, we caught up, laughed, and — unsurprisingly enough — did what two like-minded people do, we talked shop.  Eldritch has about a dozen kids-book titles under his belt long with others under a sobriquet, his nom de plume … or in simple terms a pen name.  He shared with me from his wealth of knowledge and gave me more than a few invaluable tips!  Two of these have occupied my mind NON-STOP … really, I should be charging them rent.

I’m considering starting an e-mail newsletter including a recipe-of-the-month. TIPS

MailerLiteEldritch gave me the suggestion of starting an email newsletter and using MailerLite to handle the list.  Their features and prices look good.  I’m still weighing my options and what I might do with this.  What I know is that when I start I want to begin with a plan.  Sure, this may get modified as I go but I won’t be winging-it.  If you are interested now in joining my future mailing list, please drop me a line and say “Please add me to your mailing list!” TIPS

Recipe of the Month

Also suggested among Eldritch’s ideas was that I start doing a recipe-a-month — DUH — that’s big!  I’ve had this idea but it was put into a different perspective when it was suggested in an e-mail list.  It’s also where I want to have a plan-in-place — figuring out which recipes to present in advance.  I’d also love to get recipes from my readers to feature along with giving kitchen tips.  All of this could also lead to its own book!  (Here are a few free recipes in the mean time.)

Draft2DigitalLastly, Eldritch showed me Draft2Digital.  I was told interesting things about what this company offers — after learning more, I may publish my e-book with Draft2Digital, too! TIPS
(PSST — I’ve also started looking into a company that can manufacture my book with colour photos!)

Keep your eyes here — updates as they come!

~ Don

Eldritch Black ~ Links

Eldritch Black
Eldritch did not wear the top hat when we met for coffee — which is good … that’d have been distracting.

HomepageAmazonGoodreads
TwitterFacebook – Instagram

Kid’s Book Titles

The Pirates of Penn Cove (Weirdbey Island Book 1)

The Day of the Jackalope (Weirdbey Island Book 2)

Krampus and The Thief of Christmas: A Christmas Novel

The Night of the Christmas Letter Getters

One Dark Hallow’s Eve: A Lost Tale from The Book of Kindly Deaths

The Book of Kindly Deaths

The Ghosts of The Tattered Crow

The Clockwork Magician

The Festival of Bad Tidings: A tale of magic and unrequited love

The Mysterious Case of Spring-Heeled Jack

Three Curses for Trixie Moon

October 2019 Podcast Topics

Want to know a secret? … PODCAST

Okay, we’ve been keeping this kind of quiet, but here it is … PODCAST

Tom Trimbath and I have started a PODCAST!

It’s TRUE — Tom and I have started a PODCAST.  Take 1-part portable recording gear and add 2 guys energetic about writing,  and mix with a look at all-things-writing as it pertains to Whidbey … and you get “Writing On Whidbey Island“* — or WOWI!
(*Present web location, subject to change)

Our show is new — presently we have about half-a-dozen recordings, each around 40 minutes long.  Three of these have been interviews with Whidbey Island authors.  Our show is not a hard Q&A, it’s a conversation about the topic we pick — a guest talking about their book, a bookstore owner discussing their approach to the book business, online marketing, you name it!  This month Tom and I have 2 recordings tentatively scheduled — here’s what’s coming up! PODCAST

October 12th — Maribeth Crandell’s Latest Book

Maribeth CrandellThe 14Sep2019 copy of the Whidbey News-Times presented an article on Maribeth Crandell and her second book “Hiking Close to Home“.  In her latest book, Maribeth presents all the hikes here on Whidbey Island.  Her approach has included not only features of the hikes, which ones are wheelchair accessible, and also which ones you get reach using the local bus service — which is free by the way!  That Saturday she was presenting her book at the Coupeville library — she and her book sounded interesting so I attended!  Maribeth was passionate about her topic and full of character — and at the end of the presentation I invited her on WOWI.  She will be holding another release party a few weeks following in Anacortes — if you’re local, don’t miss it! PODCAST

October 28th — 1st Year Publishing Lessons Learned

Make Your Own Darn Good CookiesOur guest for our October 28th recording will be ….. ME!  A week ago Tom pointed out that my first book “Make Your Own Darn Good Cookies” was published one year ago on Amazon. Since then I’ve presented my book, published the Amazon and Smashwords e-book versions, started my next book projects, and learned more than a few things I didn’t know before.  Tom suggested that we discuss the experiences, lessons, and tips of a writer (me) the first year into being a self-published author.  *Stammer*Stammer* … uh … now that I think about it, YEAH, there are things that I can share.  I’m looking forward to talking with Tom about it and sharing with our listeners! PODCAST

Now, a few more things about WOWI

Tom and I live on opposite ends of Whidbey Island.  For our WOWI podcast this is a blessing and a curse.  The ‘curse‘ is that it is inconvenient to get together, so our recordings don’t take place on a regular schedule. The ‘blessing‘ is that we have to coordinate our schedules when we are going to be at the same end of the island.  This helps us to meet with myriad authors, writers groups, bookstore owners, ETC here on Whidbey Island.  We’ve worked this into the character of the show — recording in different places, featuring some of the audioscape of our beloved island in the background.  So far we have recorded outdoors, and the weather is beginning to turn on us.  We will soon be looking for indoor locations that will host us.  If you are a business this may work to your favour because we always say where we are recording from — for the use of a warm room, a little bit of electricity, and perhaps a few other comforts, we will GLADLY plug your Whidbey Island business! PODCAST