The Card lands its 50th Review!

It may not seem like much to some, but for me, this was another achievement in the book that just keeps on giving. The Card  received its 50th review, a 5 star review by Helen Gentile. Thank you, Helen, whoever your are!

Not to be outdone, a day later, BAM, #51 hit. It has amazed me that The Card, hitting #1 in three different categories on Amazon, continues to provide enjoyment for years. You never know going into this the shelf life of your novel. It's now been three years and it's still going strong. 

The sequel, The Scorecard, is still in editing mode. While we had hoped to get it out by now, we realize now that it will be toward the middle to end of the summer. Hang tight. Life happens. However, we want to make sure its ready to go before we publish.

Character Arc and Stories That Stay With You

Great characters can make or break a novel. That is why authors work hard to develop these players. Big time authors get a lot of mileage out of one good character. Rowling certainly did that with Harry Potter, Nelson DeMille created John Corey and has had long string of bestselling books. One of my favorites is Doc Ford in the Randy Wayne White series set in Sanibel Island, Florida.  

Back in April, JD Mader posted an article in Indies Unlimited on character development and descriptions. He did a great job of breaking down character development of both physical and psychological traits. Today, I want to take his post a step further and discuss character arc. Character arc is essential to story success.

So what is character arc?

New Five Start Review of The Card

Exciting news, just the other day, a new five start review showed up on Amazon and Goodreads. The reader and apparently fan of The Card, had this to say ...

The Card in the King County Library!

Thanks to David Whiteley, four copies of The Card are now available at the King County Library! Check out this picture from Whiteley.

The Card now a #1 Kindle Bestseller

A huge thank you to everyone that has helped make this possible. Today we reached number one in our category for the PAID Kindle top 100, beating out some well known authors including Mike Lupica and Tim Green. We even hit #5 in the overall teen fiction category, right behind a little known book called Eclipse (Twilight Saga).

If you want to see it for yourself, you can check it out here. I don't know how long it will last, Amazon's rankings are very fluid. Of course, if you haven't picked up a copy of  THE CARD yet, you can always get one today!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Thank you for your support throughout the year.



You have made this a special time in my life with the launch of my debut novel, The Card. It's been a roller coaster ride since April when the paper edition was launched. Shortly thereafter, the Kindle edition hit the online bookstores.

By July, The Card moved up to #15 on the Kindle bestseller list in its category. I have been amazed at the success we've had up to this point. July also marked the launch of the Nook, Sony, and iStore editions of the Van Stone novel.

As the year closes, I look forward to completing the next installment in the ongoing series in 2012. Thank you again for all your support, encouragement and great reviews.

Guest Interview at Book Blather Blog

A big thank you to Marilee Brothers for my guest interview on the Book Blather Blog. Marilee's blog is a place where people  come together to share comments, opinions and reviews about the books they are reading. 

How did I get involved? 

Well, you can read it straight from her perspective ... "As a writer of young adult fiction, I try to keep an eye on the market. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the majority of YA authors are women writing books about and for girls. When I met Jim Devitt on LinkedIn, I knew I wanted him to do a guest blog. Not only is Jim a man writing young adult fiction, his baseball theme and protagonist, Van Stone in The Card are a winning combination for young male readers who have been largely overlooked in the marketplace."

Check out the full interview and her other comments here.

If you would like to support a fellow author from the Pacific Northwest, you can check out her Young Adult novels on her site.

BookDads.com Review is in...and it's a Hit!

Please check out BookDads for the latest review of The Card. There's a spoiler alert in the review because of the emotional nature of some of the events. Here is an exert of the review by Chris Singer:

...The Card is a fast-paced, entertaining action-adventure story both fathers and sons can read and enjoy together...

... All in all, a terrific first effort by Jim Devitt. The Card is the first of what looks like a series of Van Stone novels. I’m really looking forward to seeing where the author is going to take this series. I’m especially interested in seeing if there is further development around some of the themes discussed above. I think many other readers will be looking forward to this as well...

Book Dads mission is to highlight books which show fatherhood in a positive light. Some of the content they hope to bring to you includes:

* Book reviews

* Author spotlights and interviews

* Advice and resources for dads to help promote reading to their children

* Parenting resources for dads

Tacoma Rainiers Opening Day Event

We're getting ramped up for another Bookmark event. We'll be out at the Tacoma Rainiers Home Opener tomorrow night handing out bookmarks for THE CARD. The 2010 Pacific Coast League Champions will open the newly renovated Cheney Stadium at 7:05 and we'll be out front sharing the Van Stone novel with the crowd. Hope to see you there! Stop by and say, hi.

Bookmark event at the Seattle Mariners Opener

We had a great day out at Safeco handing out bookmarks for The Card. Thanks to Jill, Meli, Christy and Gavin for all the help. We've already seen the impact as The Card has gone from a 96,000 ranking in Amazon (out of over 5 million books) to a new ranking of 22,177 as of 5 pm tonight, not even 24 hours after the event. Thanks to everyone who is supporting The Card! Click the links on the sidebar to get your copy of The Card on either Amazon (Kindle or hardcopy) or Smashwords (Nook, iStore, and other ebook versions.)

Mariners Home Opener

Look for us in front of Safeco Field for the home opener, tomorrow afternoon.


We'll be handing out bookmarks for The Card!

Author of the Week

This week, I'm being featured in the Author of the Week promotion at Full Moon Bites, check out the blog, Holly has done a great job. She will be posting a review of THE CARD sometime this week.

Thanks for all your support Holly!