So this is the year of big gamble for me. I asked Random House to scrap my conventional traveling book tour in favor of a book launch mostly driven by my blog and social media pages. I guess I love the challenge of it, but at night I hear voices reminding me that it better work. The official pub date for the book is tomorrow and my first focus has been pre-orders. The blog has pushed the book into a second printing, which is a good start, and I set a goal of 500 pre-orders of the book to Battenkill Books, my local bookstore (buy local, save independence and creativity, Plaid Friday, stave off the corporate onslaught and all of that good stuff). We are close, over 400 and counting.

Connie Brooks and I have entered into a holy war of sorts together, we want to show what writes and bookstores can do working together, we want to show that the whole world doesn’t have to be devoured in the corporate maw, buying local is an ideology. In the new world of publishing, incentives matter and are expected. I am giving away a book a day until Christmas on my Facebook page and people who pre-order the book from Connie will be eligible to win one of 100 bags of free dog food, courtesy of Fromm Family Food, the food my dogs eat, one of three signed and matted photos of Minnie and the hens and some books.

There are many phases to my book tour, I want the first one to work, which means I have about 17 hours to get the pre-orders up to 500. I feel confident about it, we are moving there. You can pre-order the book online, call the store at 518 677-2515 or visit their website, they take Paypal and ship anywhere in the world. Maria and I are going to the bookstore this afternoon to sign and personalize books that have pre-ordered so Connie can ship them out to you quickly.

I’m pretty much on my own with this book tour, out in the proverbial limb, where I kind of like to be. No fancy hotels this time, no media escorts, cross-country flights, no long lines in bookstores. I’m running on Bedlam Farm/blog power, and I am grateful for the chance.

I am seeing this book as a perfect holiday/Plaid Friday/Christmas gift, the story ends on Christmas eve, “Second Chance Dog: A Love Story” is a pretty joyous and wild tale. It is about second chances, love and never quitting on a dog. A good holiday present for people who love dogs and who love love.

I am accepting of new technology, I love my Kindle Paperwhite, but I also see no reason why bookstores can’t thrive and prosper – Battenkill Books is doing well. Buying local is a value system, in my town of Cambridge, N.Y, it is almost a religion, I see what it really means to lose small businesses, bastions of community and individuality. So if you so inclined, I’d love some help in delivering 500 pre-orders to Connie and her quite wonderful bookstore. You will not regret it. And you might also win some dog food, books or photos. Isn’t the new world of writing wild?

Tomorrow, publication date, we’ll get to Phase 2.