So now I need Reason: (13-15) Vince (13-15) Collin (13-15) Randy (13-15) and Boone (19-23). Also a female probation officer (22-45). Once I have these main actors, I may add a few actors to the play.

We will start rehearsals mid-August, and hopefully be ready to perform the 3-4 scenes by October. This show must go on!

Don’t apply if you don’t have at least 2 nights per week to dedicate to this project. We have fun, but we do take this seriously, so no slackers please.

Anyone interested, please call me at 464-0164.

So, while Wild Hearts Rescue is off to a good start, so too is Gun and Cannonball with its first book ready to go to press by the end of this week.  Our first book is a collection of short stories written by a retired Florida cop. The Hike will soon be available on the Gun and Cannonball Productions site.

Gun and Cannonball was created by Kody and a computer whiz kid named Liam. It’s purpose is to help other kid-writers (or adults) become published authors. Granted this site is only for those serious enough to actually start a book and finish it.  The service we provide is not free. It takes time to revise, type-set and then print and bind your book. You may have a 50 page book or over 200 pages, so costs for each particular project will vary. 

For instance, we now have our first client, a writer from Florida, who has written a book of short stories. He is sending us his manuscript, so the next step is to type-set his book to give us a total page count. Once we have that, we then check with our printer to see what it will cost for the number of books our client ordered. Then we determine how much editing we have to put into this book, and come up with a total price. If our client is willing to make that investment, the show is on. 

So, if you have a book that needs to see the light of day, check out our site or email us to inquire about what services we offer. For you writers wanting to submit something to us, send your manuscript to: GC Productions, 6139 Kearney Ave. Lincoln, NE. 68507. Any questions, please email me at: authorfrye@gmail.com

Afterwards, my friend, Professor Nicole Barret, invited us out to meet with her friend, Loren, who is in charge of a dog rescue shelter in Council Bluffs. This guy was cool! He spoke directly to Kody about costs involved in starting a shelter, and ended his fine speech with some good advice.

Loren said rather than start up a rescue shelter first, we should build our reputation. The best way to do that he told us was to find homes for 4-5 dogs and therefore show folks we are serious about helping dogs.

As it so happens, my friend has 5-6 Pitbull puppies who need homes really soon, so on the way home we talked about finding homes for them. I have placed a plea for this cause on Facebook, and anyone who is interested in helping, please contact me either there or through my email.

As I said on Facebook, we are going  to be picky about who intends to adopt these pups, as we don’t ever want any of our dogs going to a bad situation, namely the fighting ring.

Of the 2600 hits we received, we had 19 orders for the book from 9 different states. Later, we learned that if you typed in Kody James Connick on Google, it literally filled up 4 pages! We also found that the original news story from Erin Andersen of the Journal and Star went as far as South Africa, Japan, and India. So quite an impressive accomplishment for a 14-year-old kid to stir up that much interest with his one book.

We have sat at nearly a dozen book signings and managed to sell 200 copies of Wild Hearts, but we have determined that unless they are publicized, book signings can be a real dud. Lately, we have driven to places like Beatrice and Omaha only to bow out of a Farmer’s Market because we didn’t think there would be that much traffic.

Havelock sidewalk sale begins this Saturday, so we will be setting up in front of Tammy’s store, The Vickeridge. We hope to see you there!

Kody’s story has been listed on over 40 different sites on the Internet, and while we still receive nasty comments from folks who are bitterly opposed to his book, we’ve also received support from Rescue Workers and Animal Control Officers, who’ve actually read the entire Wild Hearts book. These readers, like myself, cannot understand where these angry people are coming from when they knock Kody’s book.

The story has gone as far as Japan and South Africa, and we have several reporters wanting to interview Kody for a story on their sites. We have had orders come in from 9 different states, and those who have taken the time to read the book are finding it a great read. So I am convinced Kody’s voice is being heard loud and clear, and his vision to help the Pitbulls of the world is being fulfilled.

I normally write books for at-risk kids. My first book, Scratchin’ on the Eight Ball, the story of a narc who was murdered back in 1976, is the most Lost, Stolen, Missing book in the Lincoln Public school system. So I know I have a voice that kids are listening to. So, too, does Kody. He and I both are in this for the sake of the dogs, and we are not the greedy fools some folks out there believe us to be.

I have read every blog and approved of even the most negative ones on my site to give all of you a voice on this matter. Hopefully, even the darkest comments bring awareness to the plight of Pitbulls around the world. I do not hold it against you if you do not like the book. That is totally up to you on whether you wish to ban, burn, or protest its publication. If you channeled your energies as Kody has done, you, too could make a difference in helping make people aware of this terrible blood-sport known as “dog-fighting.”

And for the many of you who have been touched so far by what you’ve read, I thank you for writing in to show your support. I think it is awesome that so many of you immediately got the point of what Kody is trying to say. Judging the book without reading the rest of the story, is truly an injustice. So I commend you for “getting” just a snippet, and giving your support for the rest of the book, which is a great story written by a kid who has a mission to help the Pitbulls of the world.

Some have accused me of being greedy. They even went so far as to quote me on our self-publishing services we are trying to offer to kids like Kody. What gives? I have been a published author since 1982, and two of my books were published by reputable publishers, an educational publisher here in Lincoln and Haworth Press in New York. Both books have sold well with over 20,000 copies in print, but that does not a rich author make.

Do you know the difference between an author and a large pizza? A large pizza can feed a family of four! Sad, but oh so true. So, yes we would like to help other kids get their own writings in print, but it does cost to do so. I therefore made it quite clear to one would-be young author that if she was serious she would need to make an investment in the venture. Good Lord, if someone sees anything wrong with that, I would think they need to get back into the real world and take off the rose-colored glasses.

Kody and I thank all of you for writing in, and we look forward to hearing from the many of you who have ordered Wild Hearts. Be they good or bad reviews, we will read them all. Thank you “all” for your concerns, opinions, and remarks. You and your point of view have put a different spin on this whole dog-fighting scene, be you a “dog-man” or a “breeder” or a “lover of dogs.” All of your opinions count, and I am one who appreciates them, even those some of you have threatened to “wreck” my site. Throw your stones if you wish, but before you cast, think about whether or not this Wild Hearts book might put a new face on the blood-sport of dog fighting.

Tom Frye

The folks at Russ’s Market have been very supportive and we do appreciate their willingness to work with local authors like they do. It makes it much easier to present our books to the public this way.

On June 3rd, we will be at the Farmer’s Market at the Nebraska Crossing, and on June 17th we hit the Homestead Days in Beatrice, so with this busy schedule our books are getting a chance at some distribution. I thought with the new website, I would see sales soar, but alas, I have only had 6 sales on the site in the last six months. So therefore, I have to be more aggessive when it comes to Markets and other avenues where I can get exposure.

While I do appreciate the hits I keep receiving on my site, from those loyal enough to read about what I am doing, I need more sales to keep putting out my books.

Kody and I have started a new website, Gun and Cannonball Productions, to help other kids and adults who want to self-publish their own books. So far, we have had about 12 hits per day from those pursuing this avenue of seeing their books in print. So go check it out at www.gunandcannonballproductions.co.cc

We estimate, if we want to help someone publish their own works, we must charge $10 per page for our services, which will result 50 copies of their own book. All rights stay with the authors and they can sell them wherever there is a market. Once the  initial Master Copy of their book is printed, they will own this, as well, and at their own expense, they can continue to print their own books.

The alternative route is they can submit to a publisher, then either get a prompt rejection or wait for 2-3 years before their book is published. Or they can self-publish. If anyone thinks our $10 per page fee is too much, then go to several online publishers and check out what you will pay to end up with just 10 books and little in the way of marketing your end results. Ex-Libris or iuniverse.com or Author’s Choice, do a great job, but they do not leave you with many books for all the money you pay them.

Today he had a great experience in school.  He has been a particular challenge to one certain teacher who requested that he stay after school this evening for being tardy to class. When he told her he had an interview with a reporter, she didn’t believe him. So when he explained the interview was about his new book, she made the comment, “I didn’t think you were smart enough to write a book, let alone read one!”

So Kody produced one of his books and when she read the first page, she teared up and was totally floored by his accomplishment. Later, during the interview with Dennis Buckley, editor of the Neighborhood Extra,  Kody did a great job of answering the questions posed by Dennis. The story is due out May 15.

Tomorrow, the folks at Indigo Books have been gracious enough to provide us a space to sell copies of Kody’s new book, Wild Hearts. So if you are down at the Farmer’s Market in the morning, please stop in. I will be selling my new book, The Woods of Bloody Mary, as well.

The story remains consistent, it is just that the chapter numbering is screwed up. So for those of you who have already purchased your book, hold onto it now. This is what is known as a “Collector’s Edition.” I once had a printer mess up four of my pages in 300 copies of 8-Ball, and when I informed would-be buyers of the fact, these are the copies that they wanted!

This next print run of 100 will be corrected, and it’s on with the show. We will be selling books at the Farmer’s Markets in Omaha, Beatrice, and Havelock soon, so I hope to see some of you there.

I have 8 books that are in print at this time, and Kody has Wild Hearts, so with 9 books to sell we can’t quit our day jobs just yet. But we’re working on that goal.