MEET THE AUTHOR 2nd & Charles

I’m happy to be returning to 2nd and Charles on December 2nd at 9004 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA. from 1 to 3 PM to talk about The Hole in the Bone. The book sold out but they have restocked in time for Black Friday sales and the holiday season. 2nd and Charles is carrying my other novel, Land of Three houses, and short story collection, Saint Elmo’s Light. Stop by the author’s table in the front of the store to pick up signed copies on Saturday, December 2nd.

Happy Holidays!

Revelations in Unredacted FTC Filing Against Amazon Are Notable

Jim Milliot’s November 6 article in Publisher’s Weekly, “Taking a Closer Look at the FTC Lawsuit Against Amazon,” reports the Federal Trade Commission’s November 2nd case, quote unquote “takes aim at a number of practices that have impacted different parts of the publishing industry in one form or another, and a number of revelations in the unredacted 172-page filing are notable.”

The suit accuses Amazon of using “a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power,” which allows the company to “stop rivals and sellers from lowering prices, degrade quality for shoppers, overcharge sellers, stifle innovation, and prevent rivals from fairly competing against Amazon.”

If you are an author the pricing of your works sold on Amazon may have been impacted by its monopolistic practices as mine have been. The up and down purchase prices without your say or input can severely limit profit to the author. Some of this in the fine print of the agreement you signed in order to distribute your work, but if you don’t sign, then you can’t distribute. There are times when Amazon lowers my book prices so much that there is no profit margin on my author copies at book signings. Amazon’s algorithms are designed to hurt independent booksellers and result in price wars that further the damage to independent sellers and writers alike.

This link takes you to Taking a Closer Look at the FTC Lawsuit Against Amazon

Remembering Woody Guthrie Anthology

Moonstone Arts Center has released a poetry anthology inspired by one of America’s greatest folksingers, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, better known as “Woody Guthrie.” Woody was born in Oklahoma and lived through the Dust Bowl and Great Depression period of United States history, hobo-ing and writing and performing songs that inspired Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash, and his son, Arlo, to mention only a few. It’s hard to forget songs like This Land is Your Land, House of the Rising Sun, Hard Travelin’ and hundreds more.

The anthology looks at Woody’s life from many perspectives and takes us a little closer to understanding what it means to be an American, whether you are a newcomer to this land or have a heritage of several generations. Many of the issues that Woody wrote about during his time are still here today, and we are reminded, this land is for us all, and there is still more work to be done.

Purchase Remembering Woody Guthrie – Moonstone Arts Center

BOOKSHOP

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