Aw shucks, I'd blush if I knew how.

Misty Baker (a frequent visitor who reviews Ebooks and blogs on all things Kindle at: http://www.kindleobsessed.com/) gave Mahko’s Knife” a great review. If I may be so self-promoting as to quote her:


“ The character development in this novel was stunning, leaving no man behind (even the most minute of characters had development paragraphs so you could understand their motive.) The majority of this novel is a chase (there are a few flashbacks stuck in for dramatic effect) but even with the immense amount of detail, (for example, explaining how the hero was planning each physical step he would take,) the flow never stalled. John O'Dowd delivered an action packed fight to stay alive from cover to cover, and as an added bonus left the reader to their own assumption in the final chapter. (This is usually annoying, but this time it was brilliantly fitting)
If you are an adrenaline junkie and enjoy the thrill of a well thought out chase then this is most definitely worth the cash.
There was an arrogant 2nd in command who had trouble walking, a girl who hated beans, boxing ring mishaps, miscalculated sleep cycles, and one hell of a torture scene that has now left me afraid of thermometers (even if I'm not a guy.)
This one is a good, relatively cheap read... get it, live it, love it...pass it on.”

Still there

Mahko's knife has remained in the top 100 in Men's Adventure on Amazon and has moved into the top 100 for Hard Boiled fiction. I'm not sure what that means but as long as I am listed with John Sandford it works for me.

Beating Don Quixote

I love it, Mahko’s Knife is #54 in the Men’s Adventure category. I am ranked ahead of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burrough, and the Spanish edition of Don Quixote. My ego is not sufficiently large to put myself in the same category as any of those classic authors but it is fun to say for the next hour until I crash to earth and “Pride and Prejudice” sells 20 copies to a group of school kids.

Doing battle with Jane Austen!

Based on customer reviews “Mahko’s Knife” remains in the top 2 percent (2%) of Men’s Adventure books on Amazon. Out of 7,000 books in the category that ain’t bad.

While I would like a few more (correction, a lot more) sales, I would also like a few more reviews. If you’ve read it on Amazon or Smashwords please take a minute and write a short review. It helps me to know what you think. 

Authors (it seems so strange to type that but I guess I am now a professional author)...anyway, authors love and dread reviews. They put part of themselves down on the page, swing at that pitch, give birth to that baby (mix a few metaphors) and wait to see how it will turn out.

Amazon has a strange, literate and eclectic group of readers. They also have a strange rating system. In the Men's’ Adventure section they have listed: Tom Clancy (no surprise), Clive Cussler, the Doc Savage series, Ian Fleming (I can’t believe there are men and boys out there who still have not read “Dr. No”), and James Jones’ classic “From Here To Eternity”

None of those are particularly surprising and I am thrilled and humbled to even be on the same list.

Surprising are some of the other books included in Men’s Adventure: “De Profundis” by Oscar Wilde. D.H. lawrence’s “The Lost Girl,” and my favorite strange books on the list, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and (wait for it....drum roll....) PRIDE & PREJUDICE by Jane Austen !

Dragging me back in...

My publisher insisted that open up a blog and a Face Book page. He said that it would be good advertising and a good way to communicate with readers and answer questions. He said, "Have fun with it but stay away from religion and politics."
Yeah, like that's gonna happen.
I have people on Face Book telling me that Conservatism is bible based and this nation was founded as a christian nation.
While I doubt the conservatism statement it does explain a lot of things.
As for the "christian nation" argument, it is so wrong on so many levels that it is almost not worth addressing.
I should just walk away. Can I just let it go and leave it alone? NOT A CHANCE!

New List Rank

Dennis Batchelder has listed "Mahko's Knife" as #14 on Amazon's "New Thrillers by Authors Eager to be Read." I'd like to thank Dennis three times. First because he listed me. Second, because I am indeed eager to be read and last, because I have no idea who he is. For all of us out there trying to get our Ebooks noticed it is nice to be picked up and it is especially nice to be noticed by a stranger. Someone once said that home is the place where they have to take you in. After publishing an Ebook you can always count on family and friends to buy and review (if only to see if you've made a fool out of yourself). Dennis did not have to take me in, but he did. I hope others will take his word for it and at least download a sample and give it a try. Amazon's Kindle Books and Mahko's Knife