Tallahatchie 2nd Edition

Posted on February 5, 2019 by rickd

The Tallahatchie 2nd Edition is Now Available.

This is the new cover for the Tallahatchie 2nd Edition

Not only does the new Tallahatchie 2nd Edition have a new cover by designer Todd Hebertson (www.BookCoverArt.webs.com), it also has a newly redesigned interior with text edits included to better tell the story of Jack Hartman and his visit to the Mississippi Delta. Of course, I must give credit where it is due, so I want to pass on my special thanks to Dana Delamar (www.byyoursideselfpub.com) for the interior design, and to Danna Shirley and Carol Carlson for their help with editing and proofing.

Now available in both paperback and Kindle editions the Tallahatchie 2nd Edition can be purchased from the Amazon website at: (https://www.amazon.com/Tallahatchie-Southern-Fiction-Book-1-ebook/dp/B01I49BZAC).

And…for the first time, the Tallahatchie 2nd Edition, is also available in a hardcover edition. Contact me via the contact form on this site (www.rickdestefanis.com/contact) for more information.

Here are excerpts from a couple of reviews of Tallahatchie:

At its heart, good fiction (southern or any other kind) is about good characters, half of whom you want to smack or laugh at, and all the action, feel, or setting won’t make up for weak ones. The author…absolutely nails a time and a region and it is a very well written story. …it is simply a really good novel. Period!

–William F. Brown, Author

WOW! …DeStefanis has proven to be a consummate story-teller, (as he) paints an incredible picture of life in the poor, impoverished Mississippi (Delta), with water skis, and bass fishing, and truck stops, sweet tea, and trips to the river casinos, and deer hunting, and a crazy employee related to the sheriff, and Memphis Blues…The story-telling reminds me of some of the best non-lawyer fiction by Mississippi favorite John Grisham—like A Painted House.

–Robert Enzenauer

Check it out yourself. I think you will be delighted.

What’s Next?

Posted on January 28, 2019 by rickd

Another Western Novel or Another Novel in The Vietnam War Series?

In recent weeks I’ve heard from several readers asking “What’s next?” And the questions come from both the readers of my Vietnam War Series and readers of my newest novel, Rawlins, No Longer Young. The problem is I lack the talent to write two novels simultaneously. There are most certainly (God willing) two coming, one in each of the genres, but I beg your patience.

Rawlins, No Longer Young is available in Kindle, paperback and hardcover editions.

I am currently working on the second Rawlins book, Rawlins, Into Montana. It’s now up to four chapters and Rawlins has arrived in Virginia City, Montana. There’s more I could tell you about the story, but don’t want to ruin it for you, especially if you haven’t read the first one in the series. Optimistically, it may be out by late summer, after which I will begin on Book #5 in The Vietnam War series.
The next Vietnam Series book is already working in the back of my mind and will be a tip of the hat to several readers/friends who are former military officers. That is the most I will say about it right now.
In the meantime, I continue providing logistical assistance as assistant general manager to the madam queen in the form of “honey-dos.” And in an effort to help me remain in some vague semblance of passible physical condition, she’s joined me to the local YMCA. I also continue to do my own yardwork (to help with the physical conditioning) and of course, there are fish that must be caught. After those chores are attended to, I commit a great deal of the remaining time to writing. Therefore you will hopefully understand my inability to produce a book a month like some other authors.
I will be announcing a new cover for Tallahatchie in a few days. Stay tuned.

New Cover For Melody Hill

Posted on December 16, 2018 by rickd

A Snapshot of The Melody Hill Story

First and foremost, a request: If you have already read Melody Hill (or for that matter—any of my books) and haven’t yet written and posted your review on Amazon and Goodreads, I really wish you would consider doing it now. Your support and your review can make a difference.

Now, on to the latest blog post: Fantastic cover designer, Todd Hebertson (his contact info is included below), has designed a new cover for the Third Edition of Melody Hill, Book #1 in the Vietnam War Series. Also, a new, more descriptive and concise book summary has been written for the back cover and for booksellers’ such as Amazon and Ingram to use on their sites.

The new story summary is as follows:

When Army sniper Duff Coleridge is recruited into a CIA advisor’s Special Operations Group in Vietnam, he little realizes how much of his soul he will be required to sacrifice. Vietnam is a world away from Melody Hill, his home in the mountains of east Tennessee, and Duff quickly finds the clear moral lines of life back home are blurred in the glare of an enigmatic war. His CIA boss, who seems more rogue than company man, is dealing arms on the black market while delivering a seemingly arbitrary and ruthless justice to the local populace. When Duff meets and falls in love with a beautiful young South Vietnamese woman, Lynn Dai Bouchet, he is left to his own instincts to decide if her advances are based on true affection or are merely a means of exploitation. Is she a Vietcong spy, as his CIA boss claims, or is she someone like himself, trying to do her part while making the best of a bad situation? Duff soon realizes he must get out before it’s too late, but only then discovers he is already trapped in a lethal game of cat and mouse.

The next project will be to work with Todd to redesign the cover for my Southern Fiction novel, Tallahatchie. The story summary will be updated for that one as well, along with some interior text edits. This will be the second edition for Tallahatchie when it is completed.

Check out more of Todd’s work at BookCoverArt.webs.com and please send me your comments.