After almost three years since it was published, people are still buying “Tropical Knights.” The fact that the Obama administration is cuddling up to Castro, without receiving anything in return, has not dampened the enthusiasm for TK which is all about Cuba. (My first thought was – all the antique car buffs in America are going to be hustling off to Cuba to buy those 1960 wrecks the Cubans are still driving. This may be the biggest boon to Cuba since Russia dropped their financial support of that communist state).
Not too surprising is that even the 5 star reviewers sometimes lament the ending of “Tropical Knights” possibly because it relates more to how real life works instead of the usual fiction. But if that is not satisfying to them, there are two sequels that should ease their minds. The irony is: I never meant to write but ONE book. “Tropical Knights” had been sent to dozens of publishers, even by agents, and it was routinely turned down by the closed-society of print publishers. It was not until ePublishing came along that it found a place on Amazon and since that time has sold hundreds of copies, with readers in several countries. And, since it was so well received, that prompted me to continue the franchise with two more volumes, “Tropical Daze” and “Tropical Rage.”
Will there be another adventure with Jack Stevens and Amy Larkin? I wouldn’t be surprised. But, in the meantime I am working on the rewrite of a larger and more “mainstream” novel which will (hopefully) be published by the first of June for summer reading. It is the most ambitious project I have undertaken and it deals more with personalities than with “adventures.” Also, I don’t think anyone will complain about the ending of this one. Rewriting, as any author will tell you, is slow and tedious and not nearly as rewarding as getting the story down the first time. But only by continual “tuning” will a book be worth a reader’s time. I hope to make this one my best effort yet. Wish me luck, please!
johnbeckmanbooks 