We have just started a question and answer discussion group on a web site called goodreads.com. The title of the group is Q&A with R. D. Frazier and we currently have two topics in the discussion:

• Process of writing and other related musings
• Character studies and sub-plots

You are invited to read the entries on the discussions or take part inthem yourselves. If you wish to make comments you will have a simple registration process, but if you are an avid reader you may enjoy the community of readers and authors here.

Enjoy!

Only one week after approving the proof copy from the printer, our listing for Dear Walt on Amazon.com appeared today. Information on the web site had indicated that it would take 15 days for that to happen, so we were very surprised and pleased.

Our “to-do” list now includes learning how to maximize our Amazon listing to supplement our other marketing efforts.

You can see the Dear Walt page on Amazon.com HERE!

WOW! It’s finally here, and “excitement” doesn’t even begin to describe the mood around here. After weeks of anticipation, the first copy of “Dear Walt” has finally arrived … and just in time for a fantastic celebration of Ron’s birthday. For his wife, who has always believed Ron’s extraordinary ‘gifts’ should be shared with others, “Dear Walt” is a long-awaited milestone.

From the first glimpse of the riveting mountain scene on the cover, through 287 pages of Andy’s compelling story – plus a sneak preview of Ron’s next book-in-progress “Welcome to Ricochet,” – readers will find themselves caught up in Andy’s life as he searches for an elusive peace. Many will, no doubt, identify with Andy’s often troubled journey … for they, too, have sought a similar harmony in their own lives.

Ultimately, one will find “Dear Walt” brings together an intriguing cast of characters whose lives are all touched by Andy’s retreat from “a place he could no longer live” to his eventual reconciliation within his own spirit.

We took another small, but important step in the publishing process today by requesting our “proof” copy from CreateSpace. After a small, irritating hitch in the order process via the online CreateSpace dashboard we were finally successful in requesting the proof. We had to use the online-only (no phone support) customer support feature to alert them that their process was not working properly. this resulted in a delay of about two days. We are now waiting to see if the projected delivery date of next Tuesday, July 22, 2008 is correct.

Still, it was exciting to finally get the process underway to get our first novel for sale online. After we receive the “proof” we will have the opportunity to either approve the book for release, or make any corrections or adjustments in the uploaded files and request yet another proof. We’re praying that we can give a thumbs-up on the proof on the first attempt.

Today we began the final phase of actual publication of Dear Walt.

We elected to go with CreateSpace, an amazon.com online print-on-demand, self-publishing company because there is very little cost involved in actually getting salable books online almost immediately.

In our case we were able to leverage our previous graphic design, layout, writing, editing, and web design experience into real dollar savings over other print-on-demand publishing companies which offer varying cost packages which include combinations of these services.

So, today we uploaded Dear Walt into the CreateSpace sytem and are awaiting review of the uploaded files. After their review to make sure the files are to their specifications, we’ll be able to order a proof copy before the book actually goes “online” for sale in two locations, the CreateSpace E-Store and Amazon.com.

The E-Store page is still in its preliminary stages today, but you are welcome to look at it. I believe the thumbnail image of the book cover will be added after the book is finally available for purchase. Right now there is only a placeholder for it. To view the E-Store page click here.

There were many steps involved in getting to this point, and a few more before the book acctually appears for sale on the web. We will chronicle these steps in future posts and give you more step-by-step instruction on how we got to this point later, when we have the chance. Stay tuned!

We have recently expanded our online marketing efforts by establishing accounts at stumbleupon.com and del.icio.us web sites.

Since we are new to this arena, we’ll need to learn how to use them to connect with other folks online and hopefully draw them to this web site.

You’ll see links to both of them on the right side of the page in the sidebar. The stumbleupon.com entry is actually a “feed” from our first choices in our stumbleupon account. If any of you out there have used one or both of these services and have suggestions to make on how to use them effectively we invite you to drop us a line via the comment form on this page.

The del.icio.us link actually gives visitors an easy way to add this web site to their online bookmarks there. Give it a try and tell us how it works out for you if you like!

Thanks, RDF

Loved the book!!!! It’s a hard one to put down … you’ve got a winner here.

The President of your fan club, GES

From the moment we are introduced to 14-year-old Andy King’s silent tears and defiant question about prayer – “What good is it?” we are indisputably drawn into his life, often recognizing some of our own faltering steps that have bogged down our lives from time to time. Pursuing Andy’s somewhat turbulent, emotional journey into manhood reveals to us just how precarious our own lives can be when we reject the One who can provide solace – instead relying on our own self-absorption.

To fully appreciate “Dear Walt,” it is imperative that you immerse yourself in the lives of every individual who comes in contact with Andy as he pursues peace. The painstaking story of his troubled response to God’s invitation parallels the story of mankind throughout all time.

Editor, WordSpresso.com

August 1, 2008 ???????

We are now in the process of completing final review and editing of the manuscript as well as development of collateral material such as the author’s biography and back cover promotional copy. After the final revisions and additions we expect to go to press sometime in mid to late July, 2008. Of course there will still be a proofing process before the actual retail release.

August 1 is now our target date for retail release. If you would like to be one of the first to obtain a copy please let us know ahead of time by using the comment form on most pages on this web site and we’ll notify you via email when “Dear Walt” actually goes on sale. At that time you will be able to purchase a copy online at our “e-Store.” A link to the Dear Walt page at the e-Store will be provided in your notification email.

Stay tuned to this web site for updates as they are posted.

This little book subtitled “A Conversation Between Spiritual Friends” was on my mind the entire eighteen months I was writing “Dear Walt.” In fact, it provided the basic framework for the correspondence between Andy and Walt, because that is what was really happening in their long-distance conversation over those thirty years. The balance of the book rests entirely on this “spiritual conversation.”

Several years ago I was enrolled in a class which required that we read The Wisdom of Each Other in addition to the regular class attendance, study and homework. This is a fascinating little book of a little over a hundred pages comprised entirely of letters from Eugene Peterson to Gunnar Thorkildsson, a not entirely fictional correspondent. Gunnar is actually a composite of the people with whom Peterson has corresponded during his career as a pastor, and the letters are a composite of the responses Peterson has made to them over the years.

The letters cover a wide spectrum of situations a pastor might be asked to address within his congregation or while responding to a friend in a letter. Each letter brings new insights to every day Christian life and the common influences of American life.

Since each letter is a short, insightful message on a single subject it is easy to read this book in pieces as we grab a minute here and there in our busy schedules.

And don’t miss the foreword and introduction, they are worth the price of the book simply for the perspective they bring.