A few months ago, I began publishing a series of blog posts about questions and considerations for readers of Billy Maddox Takes His Shot, my novel about a Border Patrol agent in southern Arizona.
Among those posts were “The Crippling Effect of Memory”, “The Inevitability of Loss”, “The Healing Power of Friendship” and “The Heavy Price of Bitterness”. I haven’t yet followed up on those posts with some grander vision, but I think now’s the time to change that. If you read those posts–scroll through the Categories section in the right column of this blog and click on “Billy Maddox Takes His Shot” for all the posts to pop up–you’ll note they all refer to characters, relationships and other concepts from the book.
These posts also provide food for thought among readers who may want to discuss these issues in a book group. So within the next month, I’m going to do three things:
I will re-release a readers’ guide for Billy Maddox Takes His Shot that I originally put together last year but then didn’t do much with. The newer version of the guide will include a series of questions about the novel (and, occasionally, refer to blog posts relevant to those questions) that readers can discuss in context of a book group.
- I will offer a free copy of Billy Maddox Takes His Shot to any reader who runs (or belongs to) a book club for the purpose of letting them read and review the book and decide if they wish to recommend it to their readers’ group.
- I will also make myself available to the book group when they meet, should you wish me to participate or simply be available to respond to questions about the novel. (Yes, I can do that remotely, too).
I have always been drawn to literary and contemporary fiction since, as a former English professor in training, I always enjoyed discussing stories and the meaning inherent in them. So I find that mind-provoking stories–the basis for a lot of stimulating readers’ group conversations!–can be a great experience.
So within the next month, expect a re-released readers’ guide for Billy Maddox Takes His Shot. I will also offer up some blog posts I’ve developed to give you an idea about what ideas I wanted to convey when I wrote the story.
If you find it interesting, just let me know you’d like a free copy of the novel so you can decide if you want to recommend it to your book club. And if you do set up a group discussion to discuss Billy Maddox Takes His Shot, drop me a line. I would be happy to participate.
Interested in getting a free copy of Billy Maddox Takes His Shot once the new readers’ guide is available so you can read and consider offering it to your book group? Fill out the contact form in the right column of this page or shoot me an email by clicking here. and I’ll reach out with a copy of the novel and the guide (once the latter is available).
Leave a Reply