May 2026 Book Report
Doppia Press Updates
Spring is springing here in BC. It’s my biggest work season, as usual. But it’s the earth I appreciate so much at this time of year. The trees and gardens are bursting forth with greenery and flowers. Morning birdsong accompanies Poppy and I on our (no longer pre-dawn) walks, and birds are plentiful on our afternoon walks along the Columbia River.
The Mallards have paired up. Geese squawk in large numbers (though honestly, some are here year-round). The Killdeers sputter, and the fluffy-headed Common Mergansers shoot off from the shore as we approach. And my favorites, the Buffleheads, dive and dip and ride the currents of Norns Creek where it meets up with the river. Above all of this, bald eagles fly (except for the one who sat watching us from the shoreline last week – so big!) and turkey vultures lurk. Always my favorite season.
The Pass
I’m finding my way with this newest novel. The Scribblers have provided valuable feedback on early chapters, and I’ve sent the first six chapters to one of my very practical beta readers who I’ve asked to help me identify pain points for sensitive readers. The novel starts off with a bang that might scare off some, and the last thing I want is for readers to quit before it’s even begun.
Much of the novel takes place in the wilderness, so I’ve got to ensure that non-wilderness types can fully understand the setting and its challenges. For example, a mountain creek is not a trickling stream of water but a churning maelstrom impassable without a bridge or other crossing. An avalanche chute is not a rocky path cleared of trees but a nearly impenetrable tangle of boulders and brush. A wilderness campsite has no amenities but is simply any ground level enough for a tent, hopefully with trees nearby for a food cache.
I’ve been building my description of the trail in this novel on the Earl Grey Pass, a 65-km wilderness route I hiked ten years ago to celebrate a milestone birthday. The photo below shows two of us traversing an avalanche chute, lined with upturned roots that grab poles and tangled brush that slap faces.
I’ve spent a lot of time trekking through wilderness areas, and I forget how incomprehensible it is to people who have not. In the same way as writing grants for rural communities when most funding is geared for urban areas, my challenge is to convey the challenges accurately and convincingly. The photo below shows Hamill Creek, full of snowmelt in the Purcell Mountains and a far cry from the tiny Mission Creek that I grew up crossing to get to school in suburban California. Anyone who’s never seen a raging mountain creek or a backcountry cable car will need to be convinced of the challenges involved in crossing.
Shadows on the Heart
I missed celebrating my one-year publication milestone in March due to work stress and deadlines. I should have done something to celebrate, but life is life, and my marketing and engagement has dropped off a cliff in recent months.
Sales have slowed – only 140 total sales – but people are still discovering the story of Lita and Jade and Evie, and readers are enjoying this tale of lives disrupted and rebuilt. I’ve had several positive reviews posted by readers on Amazon, which will help to counter the 1-star rating that one unnamed reviewer left (REALLY?!).
Tail of Humanity
Abruptly cutting off Amazon ads has both saved money and caused a drop in sales. I liked seeing the ad sales results, sometimes up to 2 books per day, but I never got the algorithm right and ended up subsidizing those sales. Even the most successful ads cost 124% of total sales. Not a winning strategy, though I’ve sold 1,202 books on Amazon since publication.
Tail has a more defined audience base – dog lovers – than Shadows, which has helped its appeal. As the reader below notes, who doesn’t love a dog’s story told from the dog’s perspective?
Reading Corner
Goodnight, Sunshine, by Mark Cameron
I love reading local authors, and anything in BC counts as local. Goodnight Sunshine, by Mark Cameron, starts when the protagonist, Oliver Bruce, is distracted while driving, and gets crunched between a dump truck and a bus. Though uninjured, the accident prompts a midlife crisis.
Oliver’s accident is a symptom of malaise in his marriage, doubts about his business, and the age-old question, “what the hell am I doing with my life?” As Oliver struggles to find meaning or satisfaction in any of it, he discovers a mysterious letter hinting at an innovative and radical new energy source, a discovery that moves him into action. This action builds slowly as he connects various parts of the puzzle, the final pieces of which are to be found in the Amazon rainforest.
The events in the book take him from his home in Washington’s Pacific Northwest across the US and Ecuador. The pace moves along at a solid clip, and what seems to be a man’s contemplative mid-life crisis becomes a fast-moving thriller when it turns out Oliver’s not the only person looking for clues about this new invention.
Goodnight Sunshine is a solid read with a vivid and diverse setting. Oliver’s character is well-portrayed, and his struggles are relatable for anyone who’s found themselves questioning how they ended up in their life. It’s engaging and entertaining.
The Last Policeman Trilogy by Ben H. Winters
When I travel, I often read thrillers or mysteries. It’s an easy way to occupy my mind when I’m stuck in a seat on plane. I read this series, The Last Policeman Trilogy, by Ben H. Winters, during my travels in California in April.
The series starts six months away from an impending 5-km-wide meteor strike on earth that will destroy life as it’s known. Scientists and governments have confirmed not only where it will strike but that the rest of the world will be decimated by the impact and the fallout. With this doomsday prognosis, many people have either committed suicide or quit their jobs and families to go on bucket list quests.
Nothing is as normal. But Detective Hank Palace, the series’ protagonist, who has recently been promoted to his dream job of detective, won’t stop working. In the first book, he investigates a death that by all other accounts is a suicide. Something about it, however, doesn’t sit right, and Palace’s neurodiverse brain isn’t the type to let it sit. While his colleagues struggle with the end of the world, Palace searches for answers to one man’s death.
The series surprises and keeps the reader guessing. Surrounded by a disintegrating world order and conspiracy theories involving his own sister, Palace tries to keep focused on the mysteries at hand rather than mull over the end of the world. The series moves quickly and offers a vision of how the world’s population would react when facing imminent destruction. The character of Palace as a neurodiverse cop who focuses on things that others miss is well done. Each book provides a new mystery, with the final book taking place very close to impact. I enjoyed each and found the series a unique take on the end-of-the-world theme.
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
Boy, a young woman who in 1953 leaves her abusive home in New York to start a new life in Massachusetts, remains an enigma for much of this novel. Captivating but confusing, frustrating but appealing, Boy marries a handsome widower with a beautiful daughter, Snow, who’s fair-skinned and light-haired like Boy herself. Despite Boy’s struggles – no one can experience abuse as she did without devastating impacts – the family blends together well until Boy has a child of her own, the birth of which throws the entire family, including her husband’s parents and sisters, into disarray.
I initially found myself frustrated with the pace of the book. Boy is an unusual and compelling character, but I wasn’t sure where the book was going and kept reading due to the absolute strength of the writing more than the plot. I wasn’t sure I’d finish.
And then, at exactly 42% of the way through the novel (as an ebook), the complications resulting from birth of Bird, Boy’s own daughter, sucked me in for the rest of the novel. I couldn’t put it down. I questioned Boy’s actions and found them hard to agree, but I understood why she did what she did and how she reached those decisions.
The novel is well-written, surprising and provides much food for thought about gender, race and family secrets. I’d never read anything by Helen Oyeyemi, a British author, but “Boy, Snow, Bird” will not be my last.
Writing Resources
Busy with work and travel, I haven’t taken on many writing activities other than my Scribblers and my designated creative writing time each morning. I have been exploring the idea of a memoir and spent some of my time in California talking with family and perusing old photos and newspaper clippings. I’m not super organized with any of it yet, however, and my ideas are zooming around rather than landing anywhere.
Along those lines, I’ve been attending a “Revise Your Memoir” series by Lisa Cooper Ellison, a series hosted by Jane Friedman, a well-known and respected publishing professional with a focus on business reporting and author education. While it may seem counter-intuitive to attend workshops built around a finished product when I’ve not yet started, it’s helping me identify a memoir’s critical elements – theme and narrative arc, so far. I’ve also signed up for a memoir intensive mid-May that’s offered through the Federation of BC Writers.
Indie Marketing
Yes, I mentioned that my marketing has gone off a cliff. Last week, however, I returned to Book Funnel, which offers author swaps and group promos without a cost to authors. Author swaps are usually organized around a theme or genre, so the swaps will ideally reach an audience similar to mine. Swaps don’t necessarily result in sales, but they get books in front of readers. And I’m always looking for new readers.
Cruising the Stacks
As always, I look to SubStack for short, entertaining reads. I’ve curated my feed so that it’s positive. No sensational news from south of the border, no serious soul-shaking articles, just writers being writers, using their voices to entertain and engage. Two new ones that I’ve appreciated recently share a similar theme.
Humorist Chris Stanton struggles with electricians working from a “Let’s Make a Deal” playbook reminiscent of my experience buying a new car.
And Michael Estrin, who left Situation Normal last December to do normal things, has realized there’s no future in normal. He’s back with the wacky and making me laugh again.
That’s all for May, folks. I’ve got a milestone birthday at the end of the month, entering a new decade. My family and friends are joining me to celebrate at a local Provincial park where I’ve reserved a group site, because, of course, I love camping.
Enjoy spring, and I’ll be back next week.
Thanks for sharing your update. Congrats on the progress of your next novel and happy early birthday wishes!