I am proud to announce that “Finding Virginia” is now for sale at CreateSpace. It has been the culmination of a year’s worth of writing and editing (and 46 years of living). Please shamelessly encourage your friends, family, and neighbors to purchase this book. Give it as a present to your spouse (really, they will enjoy it), your kids, other jeep lovers, car lovers, or whomever you know. It is also useful for filling spaces in bookshelves.
What’s the book about?
It’s about jeeps, love, the history of the jeep, love lost, the San Juan Islands, my dad’s health fight, how to get kicked out of college, how to grow up in a jeep club, how not to sail, how to get stuck in the woods, cooking, my thoughts on a variety of subjects, and the reasons why I started eWillys.
Who’s the target audience?
Readers of eWillys are first and foremost the target. People who like adventure and travel should enjoy it too. Women especially enjoy the ‘love’ story aspect. People who are frustrated with the economy will, I believe, relate to my frustrations with it too.
The book can be ordered through CreateSpace and, later, through Amazon, though Amazon pays me less. The price is $18.39. If you want a signed copy, I will need to order some books, sign them and then mail them to you. You can email me for more info — d@ewillys.com and put “signed copy” in the subject line. These will cost a little more due to the cost of me shipping to you. I will take a check or paypal as payment.
I am willing to both sign books and attend signings. I can even bring Biscuit if necessary, depending on the weather and distance.
Well, i put in my order! I am surprised I am the first to post a comment. Congrats David! BTW, I intend to get a personal message in my copy.
I predict “Finding Virginia: Adventures Along the Rocky Trail of Life” will be more successful than was the popular book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, which was published in 1974.
Save a signed copy for me,
**Steve E.**
Steve, that’s funny, I was thinking of “Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance” too. That one took a while to get through!
Congratulations!
Thanks … I wrote it with ZAMM in mind. I couldn’t think of a clever enough title to play off it though. Besides, you won’t find Phaedrus in it. There is soul-searching, road trips, mis-adventures, history, cooking and jeeping. I even sleep under my jeep at one point. And while I don’t ponder the metaphysics of quality, I do share my frustration about how difficult it can be to find unadulterated food at a normal grocery store. Also, I do dissect why my engine stopped working, pointing out what it takes to make an engine run.
ZAMM sold 5 million copies world-wide. My goal is 100,000, but i would be happy to out sell Mr. Pirsig 🙂
David, I always thought the Phaedrus part was little odd anyway…I dug it for the teaching of proper maintenance…of all things!
Congrats Dave!
I am sending you a paypal for $100 to cover the cost of 1 signed/shipped book + the remainder in support of eWillys.com
Your site led to the purchase of 3 of my 6 Willys Jeeps…. the other ones were found under the internet radar, just by word of mouth. Thanks for all the time you put into this, I believe you save the rest of us countless hours of searching. I am here daily!
Best of luck with the book
Bill
I’ll be purchasing one shortly and then dropping by with a pen Dave!
Here’s the first review. It is from Ann’s neighbor who knows nothing about jeeps or me. Ann announced it to her friends on Facebook (and mentioned hunting down those who didn’t buy it … lol).
Dana wrote, “OMG. I bought it on my nook!! It’s so great! I’m half way thru. What a great story teller!!!”
Nothing like a satisfied customer 🙂
– Dave
You better get that facebook fan page up now!
It’s on my list … I have a bunch of PR to do 🙂 … btw, I talk about the WWJC and it’s importance on my life and give a little history of the PNW4WDA.
Well….mine is slated to arrive around Feb. 6 they tell me…I think they had to print off a copy…lol.
Bob, that is funny. Great minds think alike….
You wouldn’t also happen to like everything “Willys” would you???
Dave, would it be easier on you if I bought a book, then had you sign it later? Say…at the August NW FC Get Together?
And Hey, how could someone buy the book, have it delivered, then read half of it by now? Who is she, Evelyn Wood?
**Steve E.**
Mitch .. they print them to order. That’s the downside of doing my own publishing.
My hope is to do a bulk order so I can do some order fulfillment of my own. I’m still working through the financial gymnastics of that.
Steve … if you want, I’ll be happy to sign a copy and send it over to you. Even better, I’ve read the book (more times than I care to count). I think I can summarize it pretty good by now .. lol
I figured that was the case Dave. Works for me to have the hard copy.
Hi Steve, she bought it for one of those new fangled e books. She did not have to have it mailed to her except through cyber space. It all happens in just a few moments. Quite nifty.
Mom
That’s impressive. The next thing you know, for an extra buck, the computer will read it to you. (lol)
I think I’ll read it the old fashioned way.
**Steve E.**
I will most likely be getting two copies. I like having books on the e-reader because it is lighter weight for travel (175 flights/year) but I also like to have a hard copy of the really important books. 🙂
The Goddess and I need two real books (we both have the books on our Kindles) and if possible could you autograph each one please? Let me know how many cubic dollars you’ll need to accomplish this task. Thanks again!
Got notice that mine shipped! They’re pretty quick there at Createspace.
Just ordered my copy from Createspace…..Are they better to deal with than Cafe Press? Thinking about doing a book some day and curious about the choices out there.
Hope you get a following like the ZAMM book. Read that one a long time ago and loved it.
If I ever run into you at a show I’ll get an autograph. It’ll be worth millions some day I hope.
Bill: Cafe Press appears to focus on branding items. I didn’t see a link to create and publish books. Createspace is a one-stop solution, with no investment necessary, to create the inside and outside of a book. They provide different template sizes and then cover sizes based on the template chosen. In fact, it’s an inexpensive way to create drafts of books, too. I should have used it much earlier in my writing process. Once published, they also can provide ordering and fulfillment processes. Finally, they are owned by Amazon, so it can be made to be orderable through Amazon, though the margins aren’t as good.
I was impressed with the ease of Createspace’s process.
– Dave
I just discovered that if anyone downloaded the Nook version of the book before Jan 29th, 2012, you probably got version 1.09, which was a proof version that didn’t many updates from chapters 10 through 24. However, you should be able to go back to B&N and download the final version, which is Version 1.21. If you have questions or trouble, let me know.
– Dave
I read 50 pages in the first sitting. Didn’t get to read last night because I was visiting with my dad, but will be back at it tonight. I don’t think it will take me long to read this one. I’ve enjoyed it thus far.
I was informed today that the book made it to my mailbox in Texas in three days….I can’t wait to get home and read it!!
My copy arrived today. Can’t wait to read it.
Dan
If you haven’t ordered this book yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??????
Dave, you hit a home run. It is Not Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance….Your book is much more readable than that was, especially if you are into jeeps. Way better than the tractor restoration guy’s books. This is a book that you CAN give your wife to read….and she will enjoy it.
So..when is the movie coming out?
I remember once a wise man said jeeps bring out the good in people..or jeep people are already good people. He should have also added, “jeep people write great books. “
Bill .. thanks for the review! I really tried to weave the competing real-life story lines together in a way that was compelling for men and women. It is my life, so it made sense to me, but that doesn’t mean it is interesting to anyone else. So, It is gratifying to receive the feedback that my shot to center-field just might have worked!
– Dave
Just ordered my copy! cant wait to get it.
Thanks Adam. I hope you enjoy it!
OK I ordered a copy, hopefully it will arrive before the end of the month (May) so I can take it on vacation and get some sand between the pages while reading it (and watching Jeeps get stuck in the sand). If it’s as interesting as this website I’ll be really happy !
Buz,
If it isn’t there by May 10th, let me know. I’ll make sure you’ll have one before vacation arrives.
Thanks!
– Dave
Dave, got the book in three days, that’s fast – apparently they are shipped out of Charleston, SC which is just down the road from here. Nice to see that it’s printed here in the USA.