Donald F. Averill, Ph.D., retired from teaching Chemistry at Eastern New Mexico University in 2002. After reading and teaching from scientific textbooks and journals for about forty years, Dr. Averill decided, after retiring, to put his imagination to work writing fiction, both short stories and novels, but just as a hobby. But some of his readers encouraged him to publish, so he began to get more serious, and after eight books, he is still learning.

He has favorite stories but doesn’t know which the best is. Perhaps his best is yet to come. A sight, a dream, or something he hears will sometimes be enough to give birth to a story. When stuck with a bout of writer’s block, walking, or working on home renovations will lift the fog and cause him to rush to the computer to continue his tale, or occasionally start something new. Growing up in a small community, attending large universities, and living in the Northwest, Midwest, and Southwest have provided many experiences which contribute to his storytelling. Dr. Averill’s stories contain adventure, mystery, a little romance, and most importantly, a happy ending.

Other novels by the author include “The Lighthouse Library”, “The Lighthouse Fire”, “The Kuiper Belt Deception”, “The Antarctic Deception”, and the award-winning — “An Iceberg’s Gift”. He lives in a fixer-upper in Troutdale, Oregon.

A note to readers and writers.

I began writing as a hobby but after some of my friends encouraged me to self-publish, I decided to give it a try. My stories are about everyday people that overcome reasonably difficult hurdles in life without using superpowers. I am now working on book number thirteen.

In the beginning I should have done more research about publishers, but I jumped in with little regard for cost, but looked for discounts. After publishing seven books at nearly a thousand dollars each, I tried a couple of other companies but with little success, the prices set were just too high to be competitive. I had to find a publisher that produced a quality product with a rapid turnaround time and didn’t break my bank. I am now working with a publisher that satisfies my needs.

I get calls nearly every day from marketing companies that want my business, but I am very choosy and have declined their offers. There are no guaranties a book will sell. One of the representatives told me a book doesn’t have to be any good, I just needed to use the proper marketing tools to sell copies. Of course, these tools cost money, but I have started using some of my own resources. However, doing my own marketing has taken much of my time away from writing and I have more ideas for future books.

I haven’t made any deals with agents yet, but I have been encouraged by slowly increasing royalties. It will take sales in the thousands to recoup my investments, but I have to remind myself that I am doing this as a hobby; I don’t need to make money from selling books. Hopefully, my books provide some enjoyable entertainment. If you are new to the publishing world, be aware of the sharks in the water and rat holes on land where money can disappear with no results. Good luck with your entry into the self-publishing world and remember to establish a budget, unless you are independently wealthy.