First Big Review

I know no one reads these other than me but someday someone just might show up. Anyhow, the first independent review has come in on Luck of the Draw and the book got 5 out of 5 stars. Barnes & Noble has posted the review on their site. I will post the link below. So, for any of you ghosts out there who might want to take a look, jump down and take a peek. Thanks. ANT

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Luck-of-the-Draw/Anthony-J-Cardieri/e/9780312565022/?itm=1&usri=cardieri

Sorry, I have been lazy. I received the galleys for Luck of the Draw on Aug 28th. Galleys are review copies that are sent out to, you guessed it, reviewers. My agent asked for one copy since she will be having producers and scouts coming through her office the next couple of weeks and wants to check for interest. I also sent a copy out to a friend of mine in Hollywood who knows people at Paramount Pictures. He said he would try to get it in front of the right pair of eyes. The book itself is still on schedule and it is a little less than three months away. My agent said the sequel is ready to go and she will be making the approach to St Martin's Press shortly to guage interest. That's all for now. I am sure I am the only one reading these so why bother going too long? ANT

First Pass Pages

Yeah, yeah, I know. I have been lazy. I got the first pass pages July 16th and spent a few days going over them. First pass pages are the typset pages the way they will look when in the book. They looked real good. There were some corrections I found that had to be made so I sent them back and they will all be taken care of. Then I will get them back for a final look before they go off to be printed and bound and made into a book. December 8th is just over 4 months away. The book, Luck of the Draw, is now available for pre-order EVERYWHERE. Go to any online bookstore and type in the title or my name. Then grab one! Every copy sold helps. I also have started my own webpage. Please go check it out. The address is www.anthonycardieri.com. Thanks for stopping in. ANT

Long time, no type.

Yes, it has been a while. I finally heard from my agent a few days ago and she likes what I have done with the sequel to Luck of the Draw. She gave me a few "brushstrokes" as she called them to consider with regard to revisions. Her insight is very keen and I have already begun working on the suggestions. As for Luck, it is still on schedule for December 8th, so if you haven't gone to Amazon.com and pre-ordered one, you'd better go soon and grab one before the price goes up. It's only a matter of time. OK, thanks for stopping in. Later, ANT

Not Much Going On

Still waiting for word on the Luck of the Draw sequel. These things go so slowly it gets frustrating. Luck of the Draw is doing OK in pre-order. Many of my friends are really coming through for me by grabbing a copy or getting the word out. It's gonna be a long six months to wait for the release. ANT

Thank you

Just wanted to give a quick thanks to all who have pre-ordered a copy of Luck of the Draw. The more I can sell, the better print run I will get on the book, the more stores it will be carried in. The sequel is now in my agent's hands and hopefully I will be hearing back from her soon. If it is up to par, then it will be offered to St Martins for publishing. That is also why the pre-orders are important. They will be looking at my track record for sales when they think about publishing me again. Hopefully it all works out. So, if you haven't yet, take a jump over to Amazon.com and type in my name. Pick up a copy of Luck of the Draw. Later, ANT

Ready For Ordering!

Luck of the Draw is now officially out there for ordering, actually, PRE-ordering at Amazon.com. It has been scheduled for a December 8th release. You can go to Amazon and check it out if you like. Here is the link- http://www.amazon.com/Luck-Draw-Anthony-J-Cardieri/dp/031256502X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241739175&sr=8-3. I know it's long. If you can't click on it, just got there and type my name in. And, by all means, feel free to order a copy if you'd like. I can use all the help I can get now. Print run is everything. Thanks, ANT

Finally got a title

Amen. With a little help in the way of suggestions, I have finally settled on a title for the sequel. I will not release it yet in case I change my mind. But I think it will stick. Anyhow, the sequel is almost finished, then I can start revisions and such. Luck of the Draw is still on course for a December release. Another couple of months and it will be time to set the wheels of publicity in motion. Ok, that's all for now. Later, ANT

What a mess!

I have finished going over the copyedited manuscript and, wow, I have never seen so many green marks in my life! That poor person who had to copyedit for me must need a vacation after this. Anyhow, I agreed woith most of the marks, changed a few I didn't like. But the book is back on its way to St Martins and into the production editor. It's time to print it, bind it, and make it an official published novel. Amen! ANT

Copyedit Complete

The copyediting process is finally done and St Martins will be FedExing it out to me on Monday. Be here on Tuesday. I then have only 15 days to look it over and get it back to them. I actually will be sending it off for a pitstop to my agent, Nancy, who wants to look it over also. She will then messenger it over to St Martins. I will post what it looks like after I read it over. Also, I have just passed the 46,000 word plateau on the sequel to Luck of the Draw. It is going smoothly so far and I figure on adding another 30,000-40,000 words to the novel before I am through. Hopefully it will be as well received as it's predecessor. Now, IF I COULD JUST THINK OF A TITLE!!!!!!!!!

Contracts signed

Finally got the contracts from Nancy today. Pretty straightforward stuff. They are signed and sealed and will be in tomorrow's mail. The sequel to Luck is going well so far. Took into account the changes Nancy suggested and have implemented a few. The book is really starting to tighten up. Now, if I could only come up with a title. Any suggestions?

Good news

Just heard from Nancy Coffey herself and she said that she would LOVE to represent me and my writing. She said she thought Luck of the Draw was fantastic and what I have written so far on the sequel is excellent. Her words were very encouraging. The contracts are on their way and then we can begin what I hope will be a very long working relationship. It's also a BIG plus to know that Nancy also does movie rights. LOTW has very strong movie appeal. This all just might lead to something really, really big. ANT

Agent Interest

I heard from Nancy Coffey of N.C. Literary & Media Representation the other day. She wants to read the manuscript for Luck of the Draw and it's untitled sequel. I mailed them off Thursday and they got there yesterday. I will hear back from her in a few days if she wants to represent. She would be a good pick up for me as she does film rights as well as books. Plus she is an editor with excellent credentials as well as a top-notch agent. Her answer, yay or nay will be here when I get it. Later, ANT

Power Meeting

Hi. I had a brief yet informative meeting with Lisa Healy, a senior production editor at Simon & Schuster yesterday. She was giving me some advice on picking up an agent and some words of encouragement for the upcoming book. She is a very good and high-level contact to have and she requested that I update her from time to time. I will now see if anything we discussed will come to fruition. I have set my sights on one particular agent and wrote out a letter today. Hopefully I will have an answer in a week or so. Fingers crossed. If not, I have a couple of other names to submit to. I'll blog it when it happens.

Cover Art

Hello Marti & whoever else checks in. This is the cover that the St. Martin's Press art dept came up with for my book. I actually like it. From knowing the content of the book, I think it definitely reflects what's inside. Let me know what you think. Thanks, ANT

Luck of the Draw

Hello to all. My name is Anthony J Cardieri and I was hoping that you'd like to take a ride with me on the road to publication of my novel Luck of the Draw. It comes out through St. Martin's Press in December of this year, 2009. My road so far has been quite an interesting one, one that is filled with fantastic breaks and the kind of dumb luck not usually found with authors of majorly-published novels. Let me tell you a little about Luck of the Draw. It is a crafty murder-mystery/crime novel that should please all kinds of readers. It takes place solely in the city of New York, where I was born, raised, and still call home. I was careful to write the book in such a way that it would appeal to the everyday reader as well as the most astute reader. I don't waste the reader's time with nonsensical filler that would add pages to the book. I tell the story with much prose yet keep it suspensful enough that the reader will stay enticed until the end. After all, you're going to want to know who did it, right? Well, try to guess. I don't think you'll figure it out before I tell you. You won't figure out how the killer is choosing his victims either. But when I do let you know, you'll be like, "Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I can see that happening." The story is straight up, right in your face stuff. There is nothing outlandish that would detract from the story. I hate when other authors waste my time with nonsense that would NEVER happen in the real world just to end a story on his own terms. It is way unsatisfying to have that happen. I won't do that to you. When it comes out, grab a copy. And email me as you go along. I will be happy to have regular conversations or answer any questions for anyone who has them. I am not one of those world-famous authors who believes he is above a relationship with his readers. I am an everyday guy who APPRECIATES talking to his readers. So, how about it? Feel like taking a ride? My addy is anthonyjcardieri@aol.com. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Hope to hear from you. Anthony J Cardieri