(No, the book is not being published yet, but more progress on that front.)
With the help of my stepson, Jason Sawyer, and his lovely wife, Lisa, my website has now been linked to Facebook. Apparently, I have to put posts on Facebook more frequently to keep people interested. I will try. It is all a learning process.
They also got me to upload Audacity to record and help with my future with podcasts. I’m thinking about May 1 for my inaugural shot at it. At present, I am lining up a group of people to speak with that should provide interesting listening.
The presentation to the Douglas Fire Department went fairly well. I want to thank Chief Vinson for hosting and Firefighter Jeremiah Pratt for asking me to speak and for setting up the audio/visual equipment. A special thanks goes to those in the audience because most had been up since about 2:30 AM handling a 3 alarm fire in town. As tired as they were, they still sat through my 2 hour story. Hopefully, I entertained each of them in some way that made their night worthwhile.
Another busy week working on this entire project. I spoke to some old friends, well-known, rather famous (or infamous) fire scientists/fire investigators including John DeHaan of California and Dave Icove of Tennessee, co-authors of Forensic Fire Scene Reconstruction and authors of various editions of Kirk’s Fire Investigation. Both gave valuable insight re: self-publishing and John referred me to Ed Nordskog, an arson/explosion/profiler detective with the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department and author of several books including true crime arson-related books. I emailed Ed and he graciously called me back. What a great guy! He spent nearly an hour and a half detailing the ins and outs of publishing, expounding on the pluses of self-publishing. He detailed the numerous small particulars from his experiences and provided hint after hint on how I can successfully get my book published. I highly recommend checking out his website, www.arsonprofiler.com, he has lots of information on his site and his books are explained.
I am going to approach the MA International Association of Arson Investigators to get him out here to speak. He would be a dynamic speaker. And he suggested that I make a speaking engagement out on the west coast once my book is out. He’s got a deal!
Now, for my announcement. Although I don’t expect to make a lot of money from book sales, I do plan to donate 50% of all profits from the sales of the book to fire victims involving injuries and fatalities, including firefighters, and toward improvements in fire investigation. The details need to be worked out, but I want the book to be part of my legacy and I wish to do some good with it. Thank you for your support now and in the future.
Stay safe, talk to you all soon, best regards,
Wayne
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