Crossroad Press sent me the PDF of "Deadfall Ridge" to check over.

They're going to offer a paperback version for sale in advance on Amazon and also submit it to Bookbub, which shows some faith on their part.

Really, the book is pretty good. I was a little surprised. This is my first all-out thriller, nothing SF or Fantasy or Horror about it.

Especially reading it in book form. What's interesting is that it was the last draft that came together. I mean, almost by definition the "last" draft is what people see, if done right. But for me, it's always interesting to see how draft one has 80% of what's needed, draft two has 80% of what's needed, but only overlap by 60% and draft three takes the best of both versions and gets 90% of the way, and then some last minute revisions get's it all the way.

Which means most of the advance readers and even editors don't really see the complete version.

This book especially came in strong at the end, and I think it's because I gave it time. Combining the best of the three drafts created the best book.

I guess I've been far enough away from it that I can now read it like a book, and it comes across very well.

It's strange. Every time I almost lose heart, I'm reminded that I'm not all that bad.