Howdy All!
Here is an update on Moccasin Tracks (Book Four) and Footsteps (Book Five) of the Threads West, An American Saga series. If you are into frustrated amusement, or grinning through gritted teeth, check the release dates up on the various dot coms. Barnes and Noble has Moccasin Tracks releasing July 31st. Amazon still has the novel making it’s debut on June 12th. That’s two days from now. And there are other dates on other sites out there also.
BN has it right, give or take a few weeks. Unfortunately, Amazon and other dot coms, though furnished the correct information more than a month ago, have it wrong yet again. Somewhere out there some rumor has begun that none of the future books will be coming out on Kindle. Big sigh. Slight grin. Wrong. ALL books have been and will be on Kindle, Nook, iPad, and a host of other digital platforms! No exceptions!
Here is the skinny–and we will be blowing the threads west locomotive whistle weeks before any release–if paying the least bit of attention, none of our great readers will miss the hum in the rails!
Yep–the anticipated date for Book Four was indeed the end of May. Unfortunately life sometimes interferes with the best laid plans of mice, men, authors and publishers. Part of the extension of the release date lays on my shoulders, quite honestly. I have lost the last four weeks dealing with a tsunami of water out here on the ranch, and when there is a water wreck happening, there is no putting off dealing with it, or the damage will be ten times worse and the clean up three times longer. In the worst situations, water will rush out of control everywhere, except onto the fields resulting in retardation of the hay or alfalfa crop–and every day lost is a day that can never be recovered in an area that only has an eighty nine day growing season.
Perhaps more importantly, however, the distribution of Uncompahgre was not handled properly. Folks who reserved their books on the Threads West site got their books within days of the March release thanks to the tremendous efforts of the Publishers. On the other side of the coin, Amazon shipped a number of books early, and then ran out of books leaving long time preorders unfilled. Many other readers literally waited several months for stores, and even dot coms to get enough copies to reach equilibrium–where stock up equaled demand (the point at which they were not continually sold out). I will not dive into the weeds and bore you with details. We care about our readers and invested huge amounts of unforeseen time in trying to let folks know where there were books, which outfit was not yet sold out, and getting books into reader’s hands. Suffice it to say, the distribution problems were/are flatly unacceptable to me as the author and to the publishers (who did a superb job stepping up into the vacuum of distribution, shipping countless unanticipated books out to grateful series fans and coordinating with numerous bookstores who were screaming for shelf copies!!) The singular outfit in our team wheel responsible for the distribution hiccup is getting cleaned up for Moccasin Tracks, so when books release, readers can get them with only typical unavoidable delays in the book industry (a week or so for sold out #1 bestselling, in demand books)–not months, or some folks early, and other folks late.
We will be achieving our promised three books per year minimum release schedule this year, both digital and print. First time ever we have brought out more than one book of the series in a twelve month period! I apologize for having to move the date of Book Four back, and hope you understand the reasons. I think all you readers are GREAT :-), and am truly honored to pen this huge historical tale for you. Thanks so much for following the characters that live in the pages of this epic saga of America set in the West.
Hope your spring is going better than great!!
Reid
Reid.
You know I am not going anywhere. I am true to your written word, I am addicted to the picturesque words of the journey. I will be or try to be patient and not nag or gripe about the delay.
Sincerely your devoted fan, Roberta
You can’t fight mother nature and you itonly do one thing at a time-if your readers don’t understand that’s their problem, not yours. I’ve not one to nag for I have too much going on too, also I’m working on getting a new stove and its putting things behind for me using a friends oven to bake and I can’t stand it for I have to go there and all even though they don’t care one way or the other. Hope things are getting back to normal for you! Have a good week!
If you get way tied up in the ranching bus. Send a note our way I’m a rancher that also has a excavation and trucking company. For a little food and fuel we would be happy to help.. Also it could never hurt to help you keep on schedule I have enjoyed your books..
Burt
Awfully nice of you Burt! Laughing–careful what ya ask for! 🙂 Where are you folks located? And big tickle that you all like the books! Thats a big smile over this way!
Reid
Awfully nice of you Burt! Laughing–careful what ya ask for! 🙂 Where are you folks located? And big tickle that you all like the books! That I a big smile over this way!
I’m in northern Utah and in the Evanston wy area sorry it took me 3 months to look at this again. I never offer without being serious!! 😉 way ready for your next book.. That’s why I was on your web site looking at time frames.. I will be in Riverdale Utah Saturday sep 27 we will swing by BN and say howdy..
Burt
It must be one hell of a flood lol I stopped by BN on Sat the 26th of Sep I must of had my days mixed up.. I hope all is well
Burt
I ordered the third book through BN in October 2013. I kept checking with them. “Oh, we have one book coming in and it’s yours.” I’d check again. “Yes, it’s on order.” Then the day the book was due out, they cancelled my order. I never asked them to cancel. Since they cancelled, I ordered through Amazon and had the book in a matter of about 3 days. Keep writing and we faithful readers will keep reading.
I do so enjoy your series and look forward to each book. When is the 4th book coming to your readers? I have reserved it here on your site. I have what I think is a good idea. It would be great to have a map with showing the trail they have taken from New York to their destination. I feel it would be a cool thing. Just a thought 🙂
Keep smiling,
Kay
Howdy Kay. Big smile that you are a Threads West series fan!! Take a gander at my response to the timing of the Book Four release to Jane, below–and sorry for not responding to the two of you sooner–it is hay season on the ranch, and signing at the Wyoming State Fair. Your idea on the map is a suggestion of many–and just might be that you will be grinning when you open book four or five (have to keep up the suspense :-)) Glad to hear you have reserved the book directly through the publishers–absolutely the least expensive, surest way to have it in your hands immediately upon release–keep your ears to the track!
Reid
Reading Book Three right now on my Kindle. Had the first two in print. When can I get BOOK FOUR on my Kindle? I enjoy this series very much, but found I had forgotten some of the charachters and details between TWO and THREE, so I’m looking forward to staying in a better “flow” with subsequent series books. Thanks.
Absolutely delighted you are enjoying the series–and the characters that live in the pages, Jane! 🙂 The kindle is planned to release with the print book, and the publishers and I are working , and have been for the past several months on a brand new distribution set up–given the horrific “distribution of Book 3, late deliveries to stores, partial orders, etc, and seeming inability to restock after sellouts–which were common–even though plenty of books were in the warehouses. Does no good to release if there is a third party burr under the saddle and the many folks chomping at the bit can’t get the book! And that is something we are going to work hard to resolve before book 4 is “out the door”. Keep tuned here and FB and we will be giving you the updates as they roll in! She is a comin’ but in the book biz, nothing is simple–one day I may have to write a book on it all 🙂
Reid
Reid,
I purchased the 1st 3 books from you at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo this summer. I’m a retired history and geography teacher, and my passion is The Old West. Michener has been my favorite author, but you can only read CENNTENIAL so many times. My husband and I travel in our retirement, so this summer it was Colorado. PLEASE include a map in your books. I have to sit with my atlas while I read your books. I LOVE your series , have shared them with a friend, and have already ordered book 4.
Thanks for doing such a wonderful job of accurately bringing The Old West alive.
Dianne Cullum
Diane–your comment made my evening 🙂 Delighted you are a Threads West fan, and particularly tickled that with your history and geography background, you appear impressed with the accuracy of this epic saga–the story of us. And yep–the map is a great suggestion–and I might add, you just may be pleasantly surprised with book 4 in that regard, and more so with Book 5! Thanks much for spreading the Threads West word–when the publishers get this switch over in distributors squared away shortly, get ready for lots more reading coming your way–and surprises–guaranteeeeed 🙂
When is Moccasin Tracks scheduled for release? The release date is long overdue !!!