Good evening friends!

Greetings from my humble abode here in the west side of Tucson. My faithful puppy Kalani is sitting right next to me, as she usually does when I write you. It has been a rough few weeks of some tough jobs I've had to complete in order to get the money to finance the publishing part of this journey. I'm totally exhausted, but it has been worth the effort!

 Yesterday I met with Janette at Alphagraphics, and cut her a check  for the first part of the printing process. The first proof copy will be ready in 10 days or so, for me to correct any errors or make any changes. Then once I'm done with the editing,  I'll hand it back over to them for the product of the order, hopefully in time for the release date of the 15th of December. Janette said it will be a tight deadline, and maybe the signing event might have to be set back a week. I'll know in a couple weeks. I walked back to my car, pinching myself, realizing it was really underway!

In the meantime, I spent last week contacting some of the 25 plus people I worked for on the first part of the journey,  letting them know the news about the books release. Unfortunately, I couldn't make contact with many of them,  and I don't have any idea how to reach them at this point. Hopefully some of them follow me on this site still, and read this post! 

 I also have been putting together the itinerary for the book signing event. Kay, the lady from Bookman's, who will be hosting us, said a reading of excerpts from the book is usually done, and I have a couple of special people in mind. My sister Angela will be emceeing the event, although she doesn't know it yet! I read a little about book signing events online, and most of the articles were really negative. In most cases it said book signing gigs were a big waste of time and money, unless your name is Grishom, Crichton.or Hemmingway! I certainly am not even close to tying those guys shoes, but I think I could draw more than the average 10 or 12 people they say usually show up for first time, no name wannabes like me.  With your help and support,  we can be the exception I believe. This unique adventure has bucked a lot of trends, why not this event!

I look forward to continue giving you updates as they develop friends, and I hope you are as excited as I am! I can't even sleep at night anymore! Good night for now, and once again, and from the bottom of my heart....thank you for your support and loyalty.

Humbly, juanjohn 

Hello friends,  and happy Tuesday to you wherever you call home.  I myself am doing great, and Kalani as well. I'm actually writing you from my smart phone because my internet here at home is down for some unknown reason. So forgive me for more than the usual errors, my eye sight is not very good on a tiny screen. I promised you updates, so here's the latest!

 I've been working on a remodel for the past four weeks, and now I'm ready to wrap it up the next day or so. It's been a long and difficult gig, but it was well paid, unlike many of the jobs I did on my tour! So now I finally have the money to pay Alphagraphics to begin the printing of my Gigs part one. The proof copy should be ready for my final review in two weeks, then once I give the final green light and fork over another chunk of cash, the printer will churn out 500 copies with 30 colored pictures!

 They will also upload the book on Kindle as a E-book for those of you online readers! The Kindle version will also include the color pics, and should be available before the paperback editions are released. It looks like the first week of December is the best time frame as of today. 

 I also spent this past week setting up a tentative book signing event at a local bookstore here in Tucson. For any of you good people who follow me here in town, the Bookman's on Grant has graciously agreed to host my signing day! We're still working out the details, but we're shooting for Saturday the 15th of December. I'm so excited!..and scared at the same time. 

 On top of that, in my attempt to draw more people to my story, I once again reached out to the media for some more magic, and they happliy responded! I have my third newspaper interview on the 20th of November, with the story of my publication running a week later.

 Next I messaged the local NBC affiliate Kvoa and we tenatively set up my third television interview on the 7th,or 8th of December. These entities who have shown interest in my story right from the start, are the main reason why I enjoy such a great following on this site!

 I am still working other sources locally and will continue to use the social media links to reach as many people as I can. Nows the time to capitalize and ride the wave, so to speak. It's been a long time coming, and you good folks have stuck with me through it all.  And for that I warmly thank you! We're almost there!

Juanjohn!

Hello friends,

and happy Monday to you. I hope all is well with you and yours. I myself am doing just great and I have plenty to share with you, so I'll get started! 

 After months of waiting for the manuscipt to be readied for publication, and many more months of trying to decide on a publisher, I have finally made a decision. The Gigs part one will be printed locally here in Tucson, and aviliable on Amazon Kindle sometime late next month or early December. I met with them last week to finilize the printing and E-book formats and cost. I submitted my manuscipt, along with the 30 pictures I want included in the first book. The work Maryann and her husband John did with my writings was excellent, and not too much editing had to be done! It will be over 360 pages and almost 95k words.

 I had quite a few out of state publishers hounding me for months, but I wanted to produce my book as close to home as possible. For one, I knew a local company would have far more interest in a story from a home grown writer, and the support in my home town has been amazing from the beginning. Secondly, and more importantly, when it came down to the financial part of the decision, I certainly am getting a better deal here at home, than from those over priced blood suckers who just want to takes peoples money, with very little in return. Yes, I have to do a little more hustling and marketing myself, going this route, but as the lady said last week, I've already shown my ability to sell me story. First by coming up with the idea, creating a website and national following, then reaching out to the media and public in general. She believes I won't have too much trouble selling myself again once the books are aviliable! I'm glad she that kind of confidance in me.

 They will also supply me with a list of local and regional book stores that I can contact to market my writings. They will set me up with a booth at the local book here in town in the spring, one of the largest in the country! In the plans already is a book signing event at a local book store once both the E-book and printed copies are ready. That has been one of my most desired dreams since I started writing back in 2013, and now it looks like it's really going to happen for me. I already contacted the Arizona Daily Star and the local NBC affiliate to do a follow up story prior to the books release, in order to create a bigger buzz locally.

 My brother's girlfriend, who works for the city library system, has also set me up with an oppurtunity to place my book in a few of the city's branches, along with a display on the front counters. The city librarys also like to feature home grown talent and give them a platform to show their work. I have so many other leads to share with you concerning the project, but I'll share them with you as the weeks go by and they develope.

 My website has been simple, as the name sake explains, but the response from you and many others over the past two and a half years has been spectacular! Those of you who have followed me and continued to show interest these long months and years hold a special place in my heart. I also appreciate those who are newer, and have supported me even after the adventure was completed. The road has been long, and I truly appreciate your loyal following, and encouragement throughout! We are almost there guys and gals!!

Juanjohn