The Greatest Compliment

I write books for boys.

That is the purpose behind this blog. In recent weeks, THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS has probably done more for my cause than anything else. It has caused people to realize that boys, and their interests, are simply different from girls. Not better, not worse, just different.

This has been the premise that started me down the road as an author of books for boys back in late 2001. My action-adventures and mysteries are designed to pull them in, hook them, and not let go until the story is finished.

Now, you might think that the greatest compliment I could imagine might come from a prestigious magazine, newspaper, or powerful organization. Those are nice, but there is one that goes even higher.

There is nothing like receiving a note or email from a young reader, especially a boy who didn’t like to read, telling me that one of my books was the first he’d ever read all the way through. Parents tell me this as well. I’ve even had wives say something like, “After my son got so excited over your book, my husband, unbeknownst to me, picked up the book, to see what all the fuss was about. He told me it was the first book he’d ever read all the way through too.”

I’ve found it interesting to see how some of my most important review and interview opportunities have come about. In several cases, the editor has had a son who wasn’t very excited about reading. That son became sort of the gatekeeper in deciding if there was any value to what I had written. It’s never happened where one of those boys held his nose and said the book, no matter which of my titles he chose, was no good. Quite the contrary, several have asked to see all 7 of the published books, after reading the first. And each of my books have completely different characters, setting, and plot.

Earlier this year, I signed with an agent. He is diligently searching for the best fit between my books and publishers who have come to see that there is a vast market for action-adventures and mysteries written especially for boys 8 and up.

July is a big month for my work.

A feature article has been written in a prominent homeschool magazine. The most enjoyable aspect of this was that two boys read all of my books and wrote their reviews. Great!

Another review is scheduled for a newspaper chain with papers in several states.

My agent will be meeting with a number of acquisition editors at one of the largest book trade shows in the country. With 28 finished manuscripts for boys, we’re hopeful to begin making some of those connections.

I was invited to supply fliers for the registration packets at the Boys and the Boy Crisis conference in Washington DC July 13 – 14.

If you’d like to read a just released interview: http://storiesforchildren.tripod.com/id139.html
This is a current press release on PRWeb that connects my adventures to THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/06/prweb532684.htm
Author web site: http://www.maxbooks.9k.com

Now, from an author who hated to read...comes books kids hate to put down.