The Kid Goes Live

     Last spring, I'd alerted many people on my mailing list about a promotional offer I was planning: Buy a paperback copy of Tatterdemalion and you'll get a free copy of the Scott Carson short story I was beginning. Disappointingly, I only got three takers on that offer.
     Then, after hitting a wall for a couple of months about how to end "The Kid", I finally knuckled down and finished it last week. Then I got another idea: Since it's a good 15,000 words-long, why not turn it into a small paperback and Kindle single (go the Kindle page and read a couple of sample pages)?
     Ergo, after the usual publishing delays, the Createspace version went live a few days ago and the Kindle version launched late last night. But that doesn't mean the promotion has to come to an end.
     Yes, for those of you who haven't bought the paperback version, I'm still willing to give away copies of "The Kid" in either format. If you want the paperback (I've ordered five new proof copies that are identical to the finished one now for sale), tell me and I'll snailmail one to you at my expense. Or, if you have a Kindle and prefer that, I can send a complimentary copy if you give me your email address.
     The paperback goes for $3.95, a higher price than I'd like, but since we're talking paper, ink and other overhead printing expenses, there's nothing I can do about that (I've priced it as low as Createspace will let me, meaning my royalties will be pennies). The same goes for the Kindle version, although I was able to price that down to the minimum .99¢.
     "The Kid" is Scott Carson's first adventure that takes place in 1873, when he's six and a half years-old. Among several other things, it details Carson's friendship with Will, a slightly older child who goes on to become one of the most famous (or infamous) Americans of all time. He's also introduced to Jacob Riis, the historical figure who became a liberal muckraker during the late 19th-early 20th century. Riis, while a minor but ultimately important character in Tatterdemalion but a very important one in Carson's life, is vividly brought back to life as are Carson's parents and Captain Thomas Byrnes, the notoriously corrupt Chief of Detectives in the NYPD.
     It's an extremely rare short story for me since I almost never write them but out of the ones I've tried in my life, this is the only one that's turned out very well. 
     So, if you're interested in both books, leave a comment or shoot me an email at Crawman2@yahoo.com.