Parking along the Prairie Line Trail

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According to Peter Callaghan, there are some ideas about parking cars along the possible new Prairie Line Trail. I don’t want to be that guy, but do we really need surface parking in downtown Tacoma so much that we want a portion of a pedestrian and bike trail for it? This is one of the most dense parts of downtown Tacoma, and yet within two blocks of the trail, there is plenty of parking. Check out this satellite image that I turned into an animated gif. Yes, some of these are privately owned garages and lots. But still: That’s an Read more…

All Electric

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Just over a month ago, Mary and I sold our two cars and went down to a single car: a Nissan Leaf–an all electric car with a 100 mile range. On the one hand, this might seem kind of crazy. 100 miles isn’t very far, after all, and if you turn on the A/C or the heat, the expected range isn’t even 100 miles. But after a month of driving, we’re really happy with the choice. A lot of people have asked questions about what it’s like, so I thought I’d devote a blog post to it.

A Taste of Mexico

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After a fabulous vacation to Bucerias, Mexico, in February, Mary and I have been all about Mexican meals. I’ve been refining a margarita recipe, we have shrimp fajitas at least once a week it seems like, and this morning I gave huevos rancheros a shot. They turned out to have pretty common ingredients (eggs, tomatoes, chiles, tortilla, cilantro) and I didn’t need to go out for anything. I have to say, they turned out incredibly well: Here’s the recipe I used.

The Three Book Multipack

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If you haven’t read one of my mysteries, have I got a deal for you. Here’s all three books in the Beautyman series put together as a single Kindle edition. It’s $6.99, which is a savings of four bucks if you bought them all individually. That’s The Saints Go Dying, The Marinara Murders, and The Con Before Christmas, back to back to back. Three books to read. No extra downloads. Save some money. Such a deal! On Kindle, Nook , and Kobo.

Martin Van Buren … #8

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One of the things that happens when you read biographies of all the presidents is that you read about vaguely boring Presidents like Martin Van Buren. (For a less boring taken on Van Buren, here’s Seinfeld and “the Van Buren Boys.”) But he did some interesting things, usually not while President though, as his administration was crippled by the Panic of 1837, the worst economic crisis until the Great Depression, at a time when no one had invented the tools for a government to address them. He was very much the founder of the modern political party system. He was Read more…

The Little Book of Likes, now available!

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I’m happy to say that The Little Book of Likes is now available on all major book sites: Kindle Paperback Nook Kobo The Little Book of Likes is dedicated to helping small (and very small) nonprofits build an audience of readers–and potential donors and volunteers–on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. This short guide leads Executive Directors and nonprofit marketing managers through the ins and outs of a simple social media strategy that is effective and sustainable. With real-world practical advice, it recognizes that nonprofit managers usually have better things to be doing than updating Facebook. Like The Little Read more…

Ask An Author: Are Audiobooks Worth It?

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For the last four months, I’ve had my non-profit fundraising guide for sale as an audiobook on Audible and iTunes. The decision to put it there was a bit of an experiment, and I’m happy to report that it’s gone quite well. Sales Report After four months of sales, I’ve paid for the upfront production costs of the book, which is–quite honestly–much faster than I expected. It’s been a high percentage of sales too. Since I do love making charts and graphs, here’s the last four months of sales of the book, by format. As you can see, the paperback Read more…

The most-read books of the last 100 years

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This is an interesting project: Gabe Habash is reading the most popular books of every year, from 1913 to 2013. Here’s his reading list. Surprising how few of these books I’ve read, let alone heard of. What was popular in 1924 doesn’t mean that anyone will read it today (likewise, it’s hard to imagine in 80 years that anyone will have heard of 50 Shades of Grey–the most read book of 2012–let alone have read it). But it’s an intriguing way to access history and culture. Some things I noticed: I’ve read 8 of the 94 books (it’s not 100 Read more…

What next for “Free” books in KDP Select?

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Last year, I had one of my biggest weeks of sales ever for The Marinara Murders by making it free. The book was enrolled in Amazon’s KDP Select, which meant that in exchange for 90 days of exclusivity with Amazon, I got some marketing benefits–the biggest of which, was the ability to make the book free for 5 days. I tested this with modest success, until last March when the website EReaderNewsToday.com listed my book as a free one. I went from a few hundred free downloads to 11,000. Sales of The Saints Go Dying boomed, and then in the Read more…