New version of JUST FOLLOW ME

After three years, the rights to JUST FOLLOW ME reverted back to me. To keep it in print, I created a new, sleeker version (trim size is now 5x8). There will also be a new Kindle version very soon. I took this opportunity to update the cover (added blurbs, updated author bio and photo, new font, and better spine), new interior design, as well as adding an essay about the writing of the novel. More information coming soon, including information about a Goodreads giveaway! The print version is now available here: Just Follow Me

New author page

I created a new author page for myself on Wordpress. Please check it out!

A blurb from one of my fave authors

“JUST FOLLOW ME is the most moving novel I've read in a long, long time. The characters are heartbreakingly real and every word Donald Capone writes rings true. At times suspenseful, at other times touching, this is a book that will sweep you into its enormous heart."
—TED HELLER, author of POCKET KINGS and WEST OF BABYLON

Just Follow Me—Now On Sale!

Just Follow Me

My novel, Just Follow Me, will be published by Pen-L Publishing, on December 12, 2014! For updates please go to Facebook.com/JustFollowMeBook.

Johnny Drake, Time Traveler on Kindle Scout

I need your support! Amazon has a new way to get published by them. It’s called Kindle Scout. Only writers who had entered their Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest were invited to submit their finished novels to Kindle Scout. Writers submit their book and then readers get to read excerpts and nominate up to three books that they want to see published by Amazon. If published the author gets an advance and 50% of sales. So, I need you to nominate my book.

My book goes live on Monday Oct. 27th and will stay up for a month, till Nov. 26. The site is not live yet, so I won’t know exactly how it looks or works until it is. This will be the link to my book starting Monday, Oct. 27. (won’t work now):

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2G2TM6057RAKV

Thank you!

Letters Home is a 2013 USA Best Book Awards Finalist!

USA BOOK NEWS ANNOUNCES WINNERS AND FINALISTS OF THE 2013 USA BEST BOOK AWARDS

History: Military

Winner America's Greatest Blunder: The Fateful Decision to Enter World War One by Burton Yale Pines RSD Press 978-0-9891487-2

Finalist Bean Camp to Briar Patch: Life in the POW Camps of Korea and Vietnam by John N. Powers Cronin Publishing 978-0-615-42731-7

Finalist Letters Home: A Soldier's Correspondence During WWII by James S. Capone Rebel Press 978-1482540956

Finalist Load Kick Fire: Fighting with the 756th Tank Battalion, B Company, on the front lines during WWII by Gene Palumbo CreateSpace 978-1469907567

Letters Home Free to Amazon Prime members

If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow Letters Home for free.

Dear Prudence

It's been a few years since the Beatles Rock Band was released, but I've just recently seen the videos. They did a fantastic job with these; here is "Dear Prudence," one of the best ones. Here is another good one:

West of Babylon by Ted Heller, reviewed

It’s hard to watch our rock stars get old, because that means that we, too, are older. We’d like to remember Paul as the cute Beatle, Mick before all the wrinkles, and Gregg with his original liver. At least we can take comfort in the fact that they’re all still out there rocking, living the rock n’ roll lifestyle, earning millions. But what about the middle-of-the-road guys, the ones who didn’t sustain that level of success? Whatever became of them? Well, they’re still there, you just have to look. WEST OF BABYLON, Ted Heller’s fourth novel, takes a look at one of these types of bands, the fictitious Long Island-based The Furious Overfalls.

The Furious Overfalls consist of founder and singer/guitarist Danny, skirt-chasing lead guitarist Jules, the OCD-afflicted bassist Howie, and clueless drummer Joey. The four musicians are now playing small clubs for little money, selling CDs by hand for ten bucks, and doubling up in crappy hotel rooms. The glory days of road crews, fancy hotels, and air travel are now just a memory. And health insurance, what’s that? When drummer Joey gets sick, the band faces a crossroads they’ve been avoiding for a while: continue as a band or finally pack it in. But first they embark on one final national tour. Can they bring Joey back alive, as Danny promises Joey’s wife? And even if they do, what then? This is the only life they’ve even known.

The novel covers the arc of the band from their beginning up to the present day. The reader is plopped into their world, where we meet the myriad supporting cast of groupies, hangers-on, and producers, and where we experience the high and the lows of an aging group of musicians on the road for over 30 years. And don’t forget the music—which I could practically hear, it was described so well. Additionally, the dynamics between the four (very different) personalities is handled deftly, and what each member is thinking about life as they push toward sixty. One scene that will stick with me for a long time is when Jules is walking alone around Manhattan the night before Thanksgiving, desperate to find someone to hang out with. But he can't connect with anyone from the old days—because those days are long gone; the people are long gone. This is a turning point for Jules, as he begins to see that the guys in the band need each other more than they’d realized.

Heller is one on my favorite authors, and he continues to surprise me with how well he tackles varied subjects. His first novel, SLAB RAT (Scribner, 2001) satirized the world of magazine publishing; his second, FUNNYMEN (Scribner 2003) took on the world of Catskills comedy; and POCKET KINGS (Algonquin Books, 2012) addressed the current state of book publishing (along with online addiction). With BABYLON he takes on the music industry. It is not a comedy/satire like his other novels (though it does have its comedic moments); what it is, is a poignant look at friendship, family responsibilities, and growing old. And, of course, rock n’ roll (if you couldn’t tell from the Clash-flavored cover).

I was truly sad to see the novel end, as I had gotten attached to the characters. The only thing missing from this rock n’ roll novel is an actual soundtrack. I guess I’ll have to wait for the movie.

Letters Home

Twitter

Hey everyone, you can also follow me on Twitter.

Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail, reviewed

Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail: A Novel by T.J. Forrester

The lead character in Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail is Taz Chavis, recovering coke head and ex-con, who, while still in jail, is drawn to the idea of thru-hiking the nearly 2,200 mile length of the AT. Not only will it help him shake his drug habit--and the temptation of drugs that city life will offer--but it will cleanse his soul, allow him change into the man he wants to be. At least, that is the idea.

Once out of jail (and after tying up some loose ends), he hits the trail, out of shape but determined to change his life. Taz tells us, "For a moment I feel like an outsider, like I'm trespassing on hallowed ground, but hiking the AT is my dream and I'm not about to leave it anytime soon."

He befriends two other hikers who are trying to escape their own troubles: Richard, an alcoholic Blackfoot Indian who wants to avoid a lifetime working in his family business; and Simone, a woman with a "dark secret" who--even though she believes people can't change who they are--gives it one last shot to prove that she is wrong (or right) about this notion (and herself).

There are several chapters that involve side characters, people not hiking the Appalachian Trail, but who live close enough that they too feel its effect, its pull, its temptation to walk off into the woods and leave your troubles behind. But do you really leave them behind, or do they come with you, packed in your backpack with your water and GORP? This is the question that Taz and Richard and Simone will soon have answered.

T.J. Forrester's writing is clean, crisp, and cuts right through to the (sometimes black) heart of his characters. Take the journey with them--just stay away from the edge!

Cut Me Some Slack

Here is the new song "Cut Me Some Slack" from Paul McCartney and the guys from Nirvana—Dave Grohl (drums), Krist Novoselic (Bass), Pat Smear (Guitar), as performed at the 121212 Sandy benefit concert. Paul sings and plays some sick lead guitar. The studio version of the song is now on sale on ITunes, and is part of the soundtrack for Sound City – Real to Reel: Music from and Inspired by Sound City, a film by Grohl.

December 8th

Incredibly, it's been 32 years since John Lennon was killed.

Here is a clip I had never seen before today. Stevie Wonder finds out about Lennon's death backstage and has to give his audience the news before he plays.

Recreating the Mr. Kite Poster

Lennon's Poster from Make Productions on Vimeo.

Susan DiPlacido is back!

Here are two new releases to steam up your e-reader screen. The ebook version of Susan DiPlacido's novel Mutual Holdings is finally available! The paperback was originally published by Magic Carpet Books in 2005. And a new erotic short story, Honeymoon In Sin City, is also now available. I always enjoy DiPlacido's writing, which is fun, fast-paced, and super sexy.

GUTGAA Week 2: Pitch Polish!

Week 2 of GUTGAA (Gearing Up To Get An Agent) focuses on "the pitch" for the novel, the query letter you have to write to contact an agent, and entice him or her to rep your book. This round is a "polish" round, to help each author revise and improve their query as much as possible. It's anonymous, but my pitch is one of the 100 queries included. See if you can figure out which pitch is mine!

Deana Barnhart: Pitch Polish Week!

Week 1 of GUTGAA

Welcome to Week 1 of GUTGAA! Monday, Sept 3rd-Friday, Sept 7th is Meet and Greet time, a chance to visit other writers' blogs and get to know them. Check out Deana's blog to see a list of all participating authors. Here are my answers to the questions:

Questions for the Meet and Greet

Where do you write?
At my computer at my desk in my bedroom, my cat (Rockford) sitting on the windowsill next to me.

Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?
iPod dock speaker/charger thing made by Philips. I love it.

Favorite time to write?
Morning.

Drink of choice while writing?
Coffee, fresh ground and perked with half & half and Sweet n’ Low.

When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?
Music, always. Preferably loud rock n’ roll.

What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?
A very old furnace in the basement of my old house. (It’ll make sense when you hear the plot of my novel, I promise.) This is the middle grade novel for which I need an agent.

What's your most valuable writing tip?
Write like no one’s ever going to read it. Don’t hold back.

Follow me on Twitter: @DonaldCapone

GUTGAA 2012

I'll be participating in this years GUTGAA (Gearing Up To Get An Agent) Blogfest/Pitch Contest hosted by Deana Barnhart. There will be six weeks of festivities, starting with Week 1 on Sept. 3. Deana's definition of GUTGAA:

What is GUTGAA?
GUTGAA stands for Gearing Up to Get an Agent. It is a blogfest I started last year in the hopes that those of us striving to reach "agented" status could come together, polish those pitches and have fun at the same time. It ended with agent Kathleen Rushall judging a pitch contest. Quite a few of us who joined in the fun did get an agent (including me) and as I've said over the last few weeks I want to take my victory and pay it forward.