Hi Everyone.  I hope you had a terrific Thanksgiving and were able to enjoy time with family and friends.

Book Launch in Detroit

I’m happy to report that the launch of Sax Club: Thorn Birds of Detroit Confront Mafia, my first book in the new series, was a lot of fun.  Lin and I had a great experience in Detroit and met some wonderful people.  I’ll share a few stories about the big kick-off in Detroit later.  Before I do that I want to thank you for your support as I’ve moved into a new chapter in my life; writing fiction has become an exciting venture made possible only through the help of so many of my friends.  Thanks to all of you.

Sax Club is my fourth book; it is historical fiction featuring the mafia in Detroit in the late 1970s.  The “thorn birds” are the local citizens who fought to save their city.  I lived in Detroit and taught high school in the inner-city during that era.  I hope you enjoy reading Sax Club; it‘s now available on Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, and iTunes.  If you’d like an autographed copy please drop a line to Author@LesCochran.com

Book Reviews

As you know, I had to develop new skills in making the transition from writing academic documents to creating fictional novels.  Now I am learning how to market my books—it’s a full-time job.  Thank goodness Lin is willing to carry a lot of the load.  I need your help too.  If you like Sax Club, I hope you’ll write a short review and submit it to the online site where you purchase the book. Reviews are critical for independent authors (known as indie authors).

Now Back to Detroit

All book-signing events were held at restaurants that are incorporated into the Sax Club story.  These restaurants existed in the 70s and are still vital today.  The first kick-off event was held at Roman Village Cucina Italiana in Dearborn, MI:  http://antoniosrestaurants.com  It was founded by Mr. Antonio Rugiero, an immigrant from Italy, who purchased a pizza place in 1964.  He met his wife (also from Italy) and they worked together to create a wonderful full-service restaurant; today there are four restaurants. In 2008 Mr. Rugiero passed away, but his wife (known as Mama Rita) and their four sons are busy at work every day.  His son Patrick was very enthusiastic about hosting the book kick-off.  We had the opportunity to meet many of his wonderful friends and best of all his mother Mama Rita!

Our host also engaged sketch artist Darrell Swift to create caricatures of attendees.  It added an interesting flair and fun to the event.  Of course, Lin and I both had Darrell sketch us; take a look.  Please note that he labeled Lin “Boss Lady” since she is the one doing all the marketing for my books.  I’m happy just creating the stories and doing book-signings.

I’ll share more stories about the kick-off events in Detroit in future posts. Please feel free to share this blog with friends from Detroit and any avid readers you may know.  If you are in Detroit, be sure to stop at one of the restaurants. Everything I ate was scrumptious. Even though I hadn’t tested the food before I included the restaurants in my book – – I have to pat myself on the back.  I couldn’t have made better choices.  Information about the other restaurants hosting events for the Sax Club launch will be shared in future blog posts.

Cheers to Detroit and Readers Everywhere!