New book, new products, new publisher, new trademark, new website.

It's spring and things are new, so why not?

God makes all things new, so I’m going to trust that he was behind the slight chaos of the last two months trying to rejigger major parts of my online properties and products, that gritty backdrop to any announcement of something that’s new.

I feel like I should at least start with a joke because this is mostly an announcement post and you ought to have some fun while reading it. Unfortunately, my joke skills are terrible and in a panic, I revert to the Gen-X habit of deadpanning “your mom” when pressed for a joke or witty response.

Let’s move on.

1. I had to find a new website host.

For starters, there was a total new rebuild of the Lone Prairie website. New host, new look, new headaches, new learning curve. I find emails announcing a “brand new website” somewhat intolerable, knowing that while it’s exciting for the site owner, it’s less so for visitors.

Yet here I am announcing a new website.

My old website host informed folks that they promised to support their system through July 2025 which, as I’ve told many, is less a promise and more of a threat.

Really, I shouldn’t have been surprised because once it was bought up by Square, they seemed to cease development. A good hint that something was amiss was the fact that you could still link to your Google+ profile, a social media platform that ceased to exist years ago.

The new host is more costly, more full-featured, still being built and improved instead of abandoned, and probably a better option in the long run (except for the more costly part of the equation) but the learning curve on was pretty steep. Took me about two weeks to figure it all out and I’m still chasing down strange little things. But it has a lot more I can do with it (including break it in spectacular ways, as I’ve learned) so you might have fun poking around.

But let’s not bury the lede in tech jargon.

2. The second book in the mystery series is available.

Hot off the press is the second in The Mysteries of Whisper Bay series, The Runaway Island Mystery. I think it’s a pretty fun little story, and have heard good feedback from the “pre-readers” who helped me before it went to press.

The Mysteries of Whisper Bay series so far.

Thanks to a new publisher (which I’ll talk about in a minute) the series has been made more widely available, particularly in ebook form. Both the first book, The Crossword Puzzle Mystery, and the new second book, The Runaway Island Mystery, are easier than ever to find and buy. As always, you can get them on the Lone Prairie website, too.

The third book is in the works, and my friend is happily making some plot and story suggestions (which are pretty good, I might add). We’re trying to determine who our favorite character is. I’m leaning towards Jimmy, but my friend likes Noah, a new character in this second book. You’ll have to let me know what you think.

3. I had to find a new publisher because why not.

I had to find a new publisher because why not have that problem along with the website problem all at the same time for fun times and such?

Without going into laborious details, suffice it to say that the price difference between economy and standard paper offerings is significant. But as frustrating and time-consuming as it was to find a new publisher, recreate the first book knowing there would be a new ISBN and other issues to make it look like the second book, I’m glad I made the move. The new publisher is a much better fit, same product quality, and easier to manage.

4. There are new products on the new website including inappropriate postcards.

Obviously, there is the new mystery book, in either ebook or paperback format.

But wait, there’s more.

The new website gives me a lot more options for The Mystery Club, so I’ve been building that out more each day. There are free downloads for club members (others can get most of them, but not for free), and exclusive behind-the-scenes access to how the stories are written, what’s coming next, and so on. There are also case files, the casebook from the series, and whatever else I come up with. While I periodically have to work on client projects and other things, I’m a bit obsessed with The Mystery Club because it’s something I would’ve loved as a kid, so I’m always working on new stuff for it.

Because the new website has a better membership area, I’ve recreated the Patreon membership to now sit on my own web property instead of pointing people to Patreon. These paid memberships give you different perks and access, including to this Substack blog. Since they are now on my own site instead of Patreon, I have a bit more control and will also be more likely to update and add content than I did at Patreon.

In preparation for the 2024 Pride of Dakota December Holiday Showcase in Bismarck on December 6 - 7, I have been busily working on products to have available in my booth at the event. Right now, you can see the unauthorized North Dakota tourism postcards that are available and will also be available at the show. I say “unauthorized” because my sense of humor is not what moves the PR needle at a state tourism department and they would be deemed wildly inappropriate probably. As I create new products for the show, some will be added to the site now, and some after the show is over.

5. A new trademark (in theory).

It took almost a year, as the USPTO is backed up to high heaven, but I finally saw some movement on my trademark for The Mysteries of Whisper Bay.

In theory, barring any hijinks, it should be published in the Trademark Official Gazette tomorrow as a brand new trademark. This will be my second trademark, a confusing process marred by a early 2000’s-style government website with lots of text in different fonts and colors, and an avalanche of emails and snail mail letters from lawyers and helpful companies who scrape the new filings and want to make it easier but also take thousands of dollars.

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I guess that’s about it for announcements. You may resume your previously scheduled day. Nothing makes a day special like someone else’s announcements.