Prediction: Vengeance is Now Will Become an Amazon Best-Seller

I love this photograph. I took it at Pebble Beach a couple of weeks ago. I love the beach, and you can never go wrong with a view of the ocean -- that is, in my oh-so-humble opinion.

So, we're in the middle of planning a major promotional tour for the forthcoming 3L Publishing book Vengeance is Now by Scott D. Roberts. Last night, I finally finished the final proof of the book! It took a lot of long nights plugging away at the proof. I have to stick to billable work by day -- and this book was one of 3L Publishing's few acquisitions we do each year. I get asked how I distinguish between titles I will acquire versus titles I recommend use the hybrid publishing services.

I will explain how I make that determination. First, I typically receive a title that is somehow just extraordinary. A Feast at the Beach came to me from my old friend William Widmaier. I knew William was talented from having worked with him on screenplays. Even though the early version of the book had some flaws with chapter 1 that didn't think fit the tone of the book, I kept reading anyway, because I knew William had the talent chops. I typically can tell by chapter 1 and even the first five pages whether a book will "fail to launch," but loyalty and friendship prevailed so I kept reading. What I found so charmed and delighted me, I knew it would find its audience. So, I seized the day and made the investment.

In the case of Vengeance is Now, Scott D. Roberts and I have a personal friendship and professional association. I've read his screenplays. He helped me with the script for California Girl Chronicles. While he once eschewed the desire to write a novel in front of my writer's group, I thought better of his "protests". Roberts is someone that I think of as a male version of my talents. I write screenplays, too. And, of course, not to diminish my own skills, but I think Roberts talents are extraordinary. He is delightfully funny, too. So one day, it hit me that he should write a novel. I so believed in his talents that I was willing to take it a step further and acquire the work. He bounced around initial ideas, and then he developed the story that would become Vengeance is Now. I enjoyed the story development right from the beginning. When you edit authors' books, you get to crawl right up into their minds, which is an amazing ride into creativity and genius. Since we were friends, I found the experience to be very fascinating. The resulting work is incredibly constructed, well written, funny at often inappropriate times, erotic, mysterious, gruesome, and powerful. It is the BEST book in the 3L Publishing catalog. It has been an incredible and rewarding experience to help Roberts craft this book into the end product.

Vengeance is Now goes on pre-sale March 15th on the 3L website (www.3LPublishing.com) and forthcoming Vengeance is Now website. Mark my words, this will be an Amazon best-seller.