“DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal” is My All-Time Bestseller

This is absolutely no surprise to anyone: DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal: A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best is my all-time bestseller. It has a built-in audience (original generation Star Trek fans, new and old) and it has been publicized in Trek and sci fi magazines and in news articles–the most recent newspaper article being in USA Today last year…

 

USA TODAY: http://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/2016/02/25/star-treks-deforest-kelley-real-mccoy/80753966/

1701 NEWS: http://1701news.com/node/998/deforest-kelleys-personal-life-spotlighted-memoir.html

THE FRINGE RADIO SHOW Jan 16, 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBg_1l4iQWE

STAR TREK.COM http://www.startrek.com/article/exclusive-interview-author-kristine-m-smith-remembers-deforest-kelley

SLICE OF SCI FI: http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2006/11/01/the-real-deforest-kelley/

TREK MOVIE: http://trekmovie.com/2008/06/11/remembering-deforest-kelley/

 

Cowboys and Indians Magazine NOV-DEC 2016 Issue

 

So… the bottom line is finding media outlets that want to talk about your book and interview you about what’s in it. It also helps when the subject in an internationally-loved, iconic human being–and when he continues to deserve the public accolades he has received since his passing. (I only wish he were here to see and hear and read how beloved he remains, since when he was asked by Dan Madsen how he would like to be remembered, he mused, “Well, my first thought is ‘I wonder if I will be remembered’. There’s nothing deader than a dead actor!”

 

This is the only time I ever remember De being 100% wrong! I hope he was being clever and humble and that he didn’t really believe what he said. But knowing De, he probably wasn’t expecting much hullabaloo over his life, acting career or passing.

 

He never did. He just expected payment for work well done.  He got a lot more than that: fans who went into their lines of work as a result of his inspiration: acting, doctoring, nursing, science, medicine.  I hope they all emulate the man himself as they go about their duties. if they do, the lives they touch will doubly blessed!

 

He’s well up there in the pantheon of actors whose careers remain legendary decades after their passing: James Dean, John Wayne, Bette Davis, Elvis Presley, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart.  I’m absolutely sure he never expected that! He certainly wasn’t thinking of these folks when he said, “There’s nothing deader than a dead actor.” Although there was that pivotal line in CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER when both Kirk and McCoy queried, “Who?” when Edith Keeler mentioned Clark Gable…

 

As for the other books I’ve penned…

 

They’re equally good. Really! I’m not pulling your leg, here!

 

In fact, several people have said they’re better. My response to that is, “I hope so. If I’m not getting better, the more I write, something is very, very wrong!”

 

Practice improves every skill. Having become a professional copy and content writer since the first edition of DeForest Kelley was published back in 2001 has honed my skill set to near-perfection.

 

Having to sell my ability to write riveting words has made a measurable difference–although I don’t see an awful lot that I’d change about the De book even from this vantage point. Having good editors–Terry Rioux in 2001 and Lisa Twining Taylor in 2016, was a big deal and the reason why I continue to feel that the book is as great as I was capable of getting it at that stage in my budding author career. I guess one is a writer until they write an actual book, at which time they become an author. Is that how it works? I’ve been a published writer since January, 1969. Thank you for that, too, DeForest Kelley! 

 

One person said Womb Man is the best book I’ve ever written.

 

Another said my best book is Let No Day Dawn that the Animals Cannot Share.

 

Yet another said, “No, it’s Settle for Best“.

 

Chris Link continues to extol the virtues of Serval Son.

 

Become Shamelessly, Fearlessly YOU: How to Stop Hiding in Plain Sight hasn’t had enough eyeballs on it yet to get a real feel for how it’s affecting readers, but my little sister (a non-reader, usually, because of her inability to read without severe eye strain and getting a headache) told me it’s very well-written. And the single review at Amazon, a one-liner written by a friend, underscores its value.

 

I  even have some wonderful serial readers, folks who have all of my books and want more, as quickly as I can turn them out! Now, that’s heart-warming!  I’m among Sue Hutchings’ favorite authors, she told friends and family on her Facebook page. I walked on the ceiling for days  when I read that! (And I do it again every time I think of it.)

 

So I’ll just keep typing away, hoping I get discovered by the wider world of readers before I die!  (A lot of writers, artists and other Creatives didn’t get discovered and celebrated until after they were dead,so it wouldn’t be the first time!  Still, it would be really nice to be alive to hear how my books affect readers. Ya know?!!!)

 

This is a good place to thank my faithful readers for helping spread the word about my wares. Without you, I’d be worse off than I am, by far!

 

If you know any high profile podcasters, radio or TV folks, or bloggers who ply their trade in any of the topics I write about, please introduce me to them and/or them to me. They’re looking for new. aludable discoveries and interviews and I’m looking for exposure that I don’t have to pay for. (Advertising rarely works these days. Word of mouth has a better conversion rate, by far!) It’ll be a marriage made in heaven, for sure! 

 

Are there any HARO (Help a Reporter Out) folks reading this? Any podcast interviewers? Any TV or radio folks?  I think we can support each other!!! Please reach out to me!