Rick’s Blog

Cover Design/Update Book #2, Rawlins, Into Montana

Presenting the Cover for Rawlins, Into Montana

One of the mantras of novel marketing gurus is that all your book covers should be similar in style to those of others in your genre, but they should also be quickly recognizable by your readers as uniquely yours. Well, sorry ’bout that, folks!! I never have liked running with the crowd, and with a name like ‘DeStefanis’, I believe ‘author recognition’ isn’t necessarily an issue….just sayin’. So, about Rawlins, Into Montana:

My friend, and cover designer, Todd Hebertson (BookCoverArt.webs.com) and I go for two things: covers that standout and covers that are unique. His new cover design for Rawlins, Into Montana fits both of these requirements. The woman standing in the door of the cabin with a model 1866 Winchester, along with the Absaroka Mountains and the big Montana Sky in the background presents a magnificent image, and the approaching warriors should pique any reader’s curiosity. I am always astounded by Todd’s work and would truly like to hear your comments as well.

The manuscript for Rawlins, Into Montana is now in the hands of Beta-Readers. Once I receive their feedback, I will edit it one more time before sending a final copy to the editor for the finishing touches. The book should be published in Kindle, paperback and hardcover editions sometime in June. I will let you know when that happens.

For now, the story summary can be read on this site at https://rickdestefanis.com/rawlins-into-montana/. AND, if you have already read Book #1, Rawlins, No Longer Young and haven’t posted your review on Amazon, I truly wish you would. It’s easy. Go to https://amzn.to/2UWhbqK. The book currently has only fourteen reviews. Amazon’s marketing algorithms will not even recognize a book until it has at least twenty-five reviews and they really don’t do much till the number of reviews reaches one-hundred.

April 13, 2019
Kindle Edition of Tallahatchie .99 Cents NOW 4 DAYS ONLY

Special Notification for My Friends Only

This is the new cover for the Tallahatchie 2nd Edition

The Kindle Edition of my southern novel Tallahatchie is on sale for the almost giveaway price of $ .99 cents NOW for four days only, MARCH 14 through the 17th. I promise you will laugh, and maybe even cry a little while reading this story which takes a look into the modern world of rural southerners in the Mississippi Delta.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the progeny of Faulkner’s or O’conners, or perhaps Callwell’s characters? This book may answer that question for you. Read it. It’s available on Amazon.

And if you like it, go back and write a review. Tell others why they might like it as well.

March 14, 2019
They Are Listening

Pay Attention to the RED FLAGS

Okay. Way back in the day, before it was cool or trendy or whatever, I was trained by the military for long-range recon. One of the things they taught us was to pay attention to our instincts—those subconscious red flags that occasionally wave well back in the depths of our minds. You know what I mean, I’m sure—the ones we often overlook, those little hints of darkness from which the timid quickly look away.

Now, I’m not a big conspiracy nut. I do believe we landed on the moon, and I do believe Nancy and Bernie are simply idiots and not controlled by George Soros, but there are some things nowadays we need to seriously question.

Here’s an example: It’s a Tuesday—2/19/19 to be exact—and I call an old buddy. He’s a crop-duster pilot. I mean he owns a fleet of planes—yes, and a whole lot more, but I won’t go into his somewhat classified resume. Anyway, it’s his birthday, so I give him a call. We shuck and jive a while and I repeatedly wish him “Happy Birthday” and tell him he’s pushing the envelope on becoming an official “senior citizen.”
After a few minutes, I hang up. As the God who looks over us all is my witness, three to four minutes later my cell phone starts buzzing and doing whatever cell phones do when you’re supposed to answer them. I do, but it’s not a call. It’s a text message:

+1 (818) 592-2144
Hi Rick, Birthday’s are a great
Time to review your Medicare
Coverage and options. Call your
Agent now at 818-592-2143 or
text STOP to unsubscribe.

Call it a coincidence only if you wish to steadfastly ignore the red flags, but don’t tell me the bastards aren’t listening. This is not the first “coincidence” of this nature I’ve experienced. And yes, I will testify ON THE RECORD.

And if I frightened any thumb-sucking snowflakes with this post, both Melody Hill and The Gomorrah Principle would be good reads for you. They are both novels based on real events that involved a lot of good but naïve men during the Vietnam War. Not paranoid? That’s okay. The world is full of sheep.

The Award-Winning Novel by Rick DeStefanis

February 25, 2019