Smith’s Grocery Goodness

Just saw the paperback of SERVANT OF A DARK GOD in a Smith’s grocery in Kaysville, Utah. What this tells me is that SERVANT sold well enough when it was in the Smith’s stores in hardback for them to bring it back a second time. I’m guessing it’s in all the stores in the state. I want to thank all of you who bought it in hardback at the time from Smith’s.

Now, some of you may be wondering–why is Brown getting so excited about his book being in a grocery store? Here’s why.

Barnes & Noble is one of my favorite places in the world. But there are only 10 stores in all of Utah. There are 50 Smith’s stores in Utah. There are probably 30-40 Fresh Markets in the same area.  There are 10 Maceys. When a book gets picked up by a grocery store, that ususally means it’s going to sell a LOT more copies. Why? Because more people can see that the thing exists. Furthermore, those displays put the cover face out. A huge draw for buyers that like to browse. So this is great news. And SERVANT might even be in some stores outside of Utah since Smiths’ and Fresh Market are national chains. If you see a copy in your local grocery store, please let me know.  

And here’s to the day when these books show up in Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and Costco as well. 

Curse of a Dark God Status

A lot of people have been asking about the release date for CURSE. The short answer is that we don’t have a date yet. I will be writing a long entry about it next Monday or Tuesday. Just know that I’m working my keister off to deliver more great entertainment to you.

Suspense Series Status

I’m working on the post on structure. It’s about half way done. I hope to publish it over the Thanksgiving weekend.

You JB blog readers

I get a few thousand folks coming to this site each month. Most leave very little trace. But there’s nothing like meeting someone new who mentions they found a blog useful or entertaining. I had a great time at the Dragons & Fairy Tales book signing and at the dinner afterwards with the other authors. One gal who came by mentioned she enjoyed the recent post on cauliflower, even though she hasn’t read SERVANT yet. That made the whole evening. Of all the posts . . . Anyway, I’m so glad to hear from my readers. Even if it’s the veggie lovers

Okay, so SERVANT is still in Smith’s. Get them before they’re gone. If you were thinking of purchasing, now’s the time (and let’s hope the trial run is a success and they take it national in their stores). They have it cheaper than anywhere else in the Utah area. I think it’s $17 or $19. That’s a great price for a new hardback.  I know it’s in these stores.

• Heber, UT
• Jackson Hole, WY
• Park City, UT
• Provo, UT (by the library)
• Orem, UT (State and Center)
• Sandy, UT (benches, Bengal Blvd.)
• West Jordan, UT
• I’m sure there are other Smith stores that I’ve missed. You can check your local store to see. Let me know here if you spot it.  

SERVANT has been spotted in the Orem, Pleasant Grove, Salt Lake City, and West Jordan Smith’s stores. It appears we’re still running, folks. Fingers crossed. Please post a comment if you see it in your local Smith’s.

As for CURSE OF A DARK GOD, I’m moving along. I’m such a slow writer. But I had to yank about 50-70k words from draft 2. Just yank them right out and start over. I’ll give a full report when I’m done, but I’m very excited about this new version. Sugar is becoming a fell-maiden. Talen is becoming more heroic. And I’m just having a great time.

I’ve just learned that Kroger Food has decided to carry Servant of a Dark God on a trial basis in its Utah Smith’s grocery stores. If it sells well, they will take it nation wide.

Folks, this is a BIG opportunity for SERVANT. To put this in perspective, Barnes & Noble, the biggest book retailer in the nation, currently operates 775 retail bookstores. For first time novelists in my genre, they usually stock 2-6 copies of a hard back book. (BTW, if after eight weeks the book has sold decently, they will model the book for the store which means when they sell out, they order some more.  Other books that aren’t modeled are not reordered or are sent back to the publisher.) Kroger, on the other hand, operates 2,500 + grocery stores with book sections in them. That’s more than three times the size of B&N! That gives so many more readers the chance to preview the book. Heck, to even know it exists.

If you know someone in Utah who was thinking of buying SERVANT, let them know now’s a good time to get it at Smith’s. My fingers are crossed.

Also, if you spot the books while shopping at your local Smith’s, please let me know. I’d like to know how widely they’ve been distributed.