Thanks a million

Sometime this morning, an unknown reader made my day. Responding no doubt to the Book Bub and Fussy Librarian promotions running today, he or she downloaded an American Journey book on Amazon.com. In doing so, they completed my one millionth sale.

I am honored and humbled to say the least. When I published my first novel, The Mine, more than fourteen years ago, I did not expect to sell more than one hundred copies. Like other authors going the independent route, I quickly learned that selling a book to strangers in a competitive marketplace is much more difficult than writing one.

But I also learned that hard work pays off. I discovered that anything is possible with perseverance, imagination, and assistance from bloggers, beta readers, and others who believe in the power of a story.

I don't plan to go for two million sales. I would need a public relations firm, a dedicated sales team, eight to ten more books, and the energy of a younger man to even come close. Even so, I will keep writing and marketing books. I am already ten chapters into The Time Spring, my latest work in progress and my first stand-alone novel in more than a decade. I will do what I can to get it out by the end of the year.

In the meantime, I will take moments like this to appreciate the thousands of readers and listeners who have purchased or borrowed my books since 2012. Because of you, I reached a bucket-list milestone that once seemed impossible. For that, I am profoundly thankful.

Review: Masters of the Air

When preparing a novel, I like to read books and watch programs that give me a glimpse of the people, places, and times I'm writing about. I find the easiest way to understand another world is to escape to that world, if only for a few hours. This past week, I did it again.

For nine episodes, I watched Masters of the Air, an Apple TV Plus production that the BBC calls "a big old-fashioned war drama, glossed up with dazzling special effects and stocked with some of today's hottest young actors." I immersed myself in a different age.

For those who have not seen the series, Masters is part drama, part history, and part spectacle. It is exactly what one would expect from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who produced the series along with Gary Goetzman of Playtone fame. It is a gritty offering that takes chances and pushes boundaries, as I suggested in a review of historical works in May 2024. It is what television should strive to be.

Though the series features countless characters, it focuses on Maj. Gale "Buck" Cleven, Maj. John "Bucky" Egan, and Lt. Harry Crosby, three American airmen who are capably portrayed by Austin Butler, Callum Turner, and Anthony Boyle, respectively. The men are part of the Eighth Air Force's Bloody Hundredth, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit stationed in England during World War II.

Based on the book by Donald L. Miller, Masters is the 2024 companion piece to Band of Brothers (2001) and The Pacific (2010), two sweeping series I also enjoyed. Along with the earlier works, it offers viewers a gripping, if not always accurate, portrayal of history's worst conflict.

Though I liked the big picture, I liked the little stories, too, such as Crosby's dalliance with Sandra Westgate, a saucy British spy played by Bel Powley, and the heroics of the Tuskegee Airmen, who lend a big hand to the Allied effort in Episode 8. Each of the subplots added texture and substance to a massive entertainment undertaking.

Like Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Masters of the Air documents the trials of actual people, whose real-life resumes are compelling by themselves. It also gives viewers a thrilling, often sobering glimpse of the daily lives of genuine American heroes. For those reasons and more, I would recommend the series to anyone. Rating: 5/5.