A. K. Frailey June 2026

Busy Summertime!

A. K. Frailey June 2026. Busy Summertime! In addition to life’s usual routine, our sprawling garden of strawberry plants, tomatoes, peppers, snowpeas, green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, and pumpkins is growing fast! I also managed to plant a couple of nut trees and replace a dead peach tree. Gardening is not for the faint of heart! A little sun and rain encourage the weeds to use their invasive powers. I have to work hard to give the vegetables a fighting chance.

Publishing my backlog of work has been a huge goal this year. By the Grace of all that is good and merciful, I was able to publish my third collection of encouraging life posts in My Road Goes Ever On: Rise Again in January. In March, I published Wise Home, an illustrated children’s book, with drawings by Laura and Rebekah Frailey. Truly, a collaborative effort. Heart-to-Heart Art without an ounce of AI. In May, I published my third short story collection, Spice of Life: And Other Stories. This book, along with the others, earned 5-star reviews on Reader’s Favorites. Finally, the second book in the OldTown series, OldTown Brothers Born, was just published on July 1st.

A. K. Frailey June 2026

Wise Home Front Cover

My editors and book designers are probably sighing with relief that I don’t have any more major publications this year. One reader informed me that she loves my work but wishes that I would slow down so she could catch up! I sincerely sympathise. But these books were developed over many years while I made futile attempts to interest literary agents and get published in literary magazines. Once I admitted that professional representation was not my path, I followed a more direct course that has been far more fruitful.

I have also been writing letters to schools, libraries, and bookstores and occasionally receiving kind responses. In an email exchange with one bookstore owner, I was informed that I needed to be published by a traditional publisher before she could consider my work. That made me sad. There are so many great indie books finally getting recognized that it seems a shame to cut out the creative endeavors of daring authors passionate enough to follow their own course. A few librarians have insisted that I need reviews by Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. I do have reviews from them, but at a high price. Their reviews can cost anywhere from $399 to $699 per book! That certainly seems to favor the wealthy rather than the well-written.

It startles me when professionals who want to make great books available to the public actually throw up nearly insurmountable roadblocks to safeguard against unworthy books. Agents and traditional publishers do not necessarily equal “good” books, any more than mainstream media necessarily offers healthy television shows and movies. Just because there is a lot of money and power behind a production does not mean it will be good for our hearts, minds, and souls.

Another major goal of 2026 has been to get my books into as many hands as possible. I experimented with distributing some of my eBooks through PublishDrive, and that seemed to work, at least for a while. I did make some money! Nothing grand, but more than I had earned from those books in recent years. But my PublishDrive dashboard did not accurately record downloads and sales, and I wasn’t making money from any areas outside Amazon. In other words, I was paying a subscription fee but not gaining a new marketplace. So, all my books are back on Amazon KDP as eBooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks. All the hardcovers are distributed through Ingram Spark, where deep discounts are available to bookstores and libraries, and through a shareable author link. Anyone who wants a discount link to my books, just let me know!

I have been successfully working with Written Word Media to offer free promotions throughout the year. I did a few giveaways through Goodreads as well. So far, I have had approximately 19,025 free downloads and more sales than ever before. Definitely meeting a worthy goal!

Summer heat and humidity can make simple chores harder, but it is also a great time to find a shady spot, sip a delicious drink, and relax with a good book. Summer may be busy, but it can grow the spirit as well as gardens.