AMERICAN MUTANT Review and Origin

I have a five star review for my self-published novel AMERICAN MUTANT. The best price for it where the novel is available in all formats is here at AuthorHouse.

My first two novels, ROC and THE VOID, were early attempts at the paranormal which was a pretty much unknown genre in the middle to late seventies and early eighties. They were typed up on an old Royal electric typewriter, and tedious copies had to be printed with return postage for all materials when sent out for querying. It cost enough to attempt this in the old days that when my son and daughter came along at the same time I purchased my auto repair shop, my writing had to go underground. When the nineties came along and vanity press became more affordable, I self-published five novels using my auto shop customers to finance the costs. I never said a word to them about writing, but I kept the books displayed in my office, and later in my comic book hobby shop. They received good reviews and the same people who bought those still buy my newer offerings since they all have Kindles now. When I’d recoup my publishing costs from one, I’d publish another, always trying the querying route first. It was much more tedious to be on the frontier of self-publishing back then, and nearly impossible to break through to real publishing.

AMERICAN MUTANT was my third paranormal novel. It went on sale back in May of 2002. Back in those days, I would be hesitant to open the galley sent by my vanity press representative for each book because every change or error had to be paid for. It was a great experience in the realization that editing is a writer’s responsibility – first, last, and always. I may not have been the dialogue tag and POV policeman I am now, but when I sent those four novels to the vanity press after my first foray, they were edited to the point I only needed to change a handful of words. As with most authors, I reread my novels to make sure I’m not repeating stuff. They hold up very well even with my experience battling through two published books’ full set of professional editing rounds.

AMERICAN MUTANT’s reviewer, Author RJ Parker, enjoyed everything about it I’d hoped for when I sent him AMERICAN MUTANT, SOTELLO, CASSERINE, and PEACE as a no strings attached gift because he liked MONSTER and COLD BLOODED enough to review them. Authors depend on reviews, and as my writing friends know, they’re tough to get. It’s nice to find a reader who grasps everything you were trying to do as an author. He's reading PEACE now.

RJ Parker is a true crime writer who has published a set of novels about serial killers. You can find them here on Amazon. After starting in December, Mr. Parker hit the 10,000 book milestone in sales earlier this month. He has already been interviewed on live TV from Canada, where he resides, after the Ohio school shootings, due to his writing of SCHOOL SHOOTINGS -Virginia Tech, Columbine and others which he gave away and donated to the Ohio fund. My wife, Saint Joyce and I both read his novel WOMEN WHO KILL. It may not have been as polished as novels are expected to be; but it was enthralling, and I don’t read non-fiction at all. Promotion is a talent I admire and respect because I am horrible at it. Having RJ as a friend has allowed me to follow someone’s success who really knows how to do it. I love to watch a professional work. That he likes my novels is an added bonus.  :)