Reflections on the Past Months

It’s now been over four months since I launched Trojan Horse. My attitude at the time was “What have I got to lose?” after deciding to commit myself to writing full-time and seeking out an agent to take the traditional publishing route. Since then a lot has happened for me. Trojan Horse made it to #1 in Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue and to the top 15 in Kindle books. I released The Gravy Train, a 50 thousand-word novella, which is now #14 in Suspense Thrillers, and a week ago I released Bull Street, another thriller set on Wall Street during the financial crisis. Bull Street is now #29 in Suspense Thrillers. So I now have three books in the top 40 in the overall Thriller category on Kindle. I’ve had an offer of representation from a top-notch New York literary agent and, separately, have been offered a publishing deal. I’m at work on my next thriller, the first chapter of which is excerpted at the end of Bull Street. I consider it’s been a successful few months.

As a result, I’m reflecting on my situation. I’m grateful to be in this position, one I never could have scripted back in mid-January when I released Trojan Horse. And that means I’m grateful to those who’ve read my books. Those of you I’ve heard from have been incredibly supportive and generous with your comments and reviews.

I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface in my education on the epublishing world, but I do know that it’s here to stay and will undoubtedly dominate the publishing world reasonably soon, in years, not decades. It’s made it possible for me to have three books out in less time than I would have needed to find a publisher–and then start the 12 to 18 month process of getting one book out. The advent of the Kindel, Nook, Smashwords and Kobo platforms allows an efficient mechanism for authors to get their work in front of readers quickly.

I don’t know where all this takes me but I have a pretty good idea: I’m working as hard as I ever have in my life, and as an investment banker I worked hard; it’s a punishing career. But now I have a constituency out there–readers–that I don’t want to let down, so I feel like I need to deliver more you’ll enjoy reading. I’m excited about Bull Street; it’s my favorite of the books I’ve written so far. It’s been a great few months and I’m looking forward to what comes next.