A huge thank you to the first of our sponsors for the upcoming film "Lone Oak".

Sweet Thang Cookies in Hobe Sound, FL The absolute BEST cookies you've ever had. Fresh Cookie Bakery & Fast Shipping Service – Sweet Thang Cookies

Wayne Filowitz and WRPB STudios in Port St. Lucie, FL For all of your video, audio, podcast and other studio needs, Wayne and his crew are top notch professionals. WRPBiTV contact page (wrpbitvsfl.wixsite.com)    

Sol Holcomb aka Sol The Handyologist on the Treasure Coast in FL (772) 240-1495 A real handyman. No job too small.

SOME VERY EXCITING NEWS!!!

Lone Oak has been converted into a screenplay! That's right! We are in the first steps of making Lone Oak into a movie!

February 16th we begin shooting the the sizzle reel/trailer in Tucson, AZ. Producer, Mark Headley, is securing the talent and the set and we will be traveling to Tucson to be on the set for this exhilarating step. Anyone who wants to be a part of this can contact me at phil@authorphilhardy.com or by texting me at (810) 908-7561.

More highlights coming soon!

"Lone Oak" trailer selected for the International Christian Film and Music Festival!

This is the first festival we have entered and are very excited to be selected to participate. We are hoping to make it to the next step as we move forward toward making "Lone Oak" into a feature film.

A huge thank you to David at Sweet Thang Cookies and Bakery in Hobe Sound, Florida for hosting the first of many book signings scheduled for this summer. Love those cookies!

And love my beautiful bride!

We have four more book signings scheduled at this time with a fifth possible. There are two on March 16th. One at Biggby Coffee on Linden Rd. in Flint from 1-3 PM. Another at Biggby Coffee on Hill Rd. in Grand Blanc from 5-7 PM. April 1st we will be at The Good Beans Cafe located at 328 N. Grand Traverse in Flint, MI from 5-7 PM. And April 16th from 1-4 PM we will be at McFarlen Library on Perry Rd. in Grand Blanc. Don't miss out on a great cup of coffee, at the coffee shops, and the chance to get your own signed copy of Lone Oak at all of the locations. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Thank you Ken, Kriss, Meghan and Eileen for the invitations.

Thank you to Biggby Coffee in Waterford for the chance to meet your customers on the 19th of September. Your staff was wonderful to work with and very helpful. We had a great time at our most recent book signing event.

 Monday, June 8th from Noon-1:30 and from 4:30-6:00 PM we will be at Family Christian Store on Miller Road in Flint. Just in time for Father's Day. What dad wouldn't enjoy his own personalized copy of an action packed western?

Saturday, July 11th we are scheduled to be at Fenton's Open Book located at 105 W. Shiawasee during the Fenton Art Walk. Come visit down town Fenton, enjoy the art on display, and pick up your personalized copy of Lone Oak. What a great way to spend the day!

  Lone Oak is now available to order direct from the publisher. You can get your own copy now before the book stores even have them on the shelf. It is available in both paperback and digital format. You don't have to wait any longer to find out how the story ends, or how it begins. Here is your link to western adventure.  https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781622951482   Enjoy!!

My recent move to Florida has opened up a new location for you to purchase Lone Oak but it has also given me the opportunity to meet more people and talk about writing.

 Vengeance is Mine is in the editing phase of production with cover design starting. I look forward to seeing the design options that my publisher comes up with. Lone Oak's cover design was fantastic.

A couple notes to all of you who aspire to write:

1) Paint a picture using words and then pretend you are reading it for the first time. Can you picture the scene in your mind from the words alone?

2) Don't be offended if someone doesn't like your work. Listen to them and learn from their critiques. They are your readers, not you. But always remember, it is your story.

3) Make your heroes human. By that, I don't mean your heroes have to be human beings but make them real. Let them have failures and flaws. Your reader is more likely to relate to them and to desire to know more about them. A hero that does not struggle is not real to your reader.

4) Proof read your work but do not be your own proof reader. We, as authors, read our work like we think we wrote it. It makes sense to us and we WILL miss mistakes that are glaring to others. Have more than one person proof read your manuscript and pay attention. I was told Lone Oak was more enjoyable than Vengeance is Mine because the dialogue in my second book was not as proper as it was in the first book so it distracted from the story, even though the story was excellent. (My proofreaders words not mine.) I will be making corrections. Don't make your readers labor through your words. Let them enjoy the storyline.

There was a question posted in one of the writing groups I am a member of asking what inspired us to write. I had to think about it for a few minutes but then told the story of the beginning of "Lone Oak". This was my response.
"I used to write very descriptive letters to my family when I was in the service to try to share what I was seeing and feeling. But what started me writing books was boredom. Seriously, I could not find a book to read one night at work, I worked 3rd shift and was allowed to read, so I decided to write a story rather than read one. I wrote the first chapter of "Lone Oak". Two of my co-workers asked if they could read it and when I finally relented they loved it. They encouraged me to finish the story. Now, several years later, that first book is in print with a contract for two more already signed. I guess "Lone Oak" was a pretty decent story after all.  Now, let us hope that "Vengeance is Mine" and "Six-gun Sermon" are both as good."

 Back to work on Sixgun Sermon today. I have taken too much of a hiatus in my writing and need to get back to work. I just started reading through the manuscript and look forward to seeing Sixgun Sermon and Vengeance is Mine in print. I think you will find both stories enjoyable. We'll keep you posted.

We had a wonderful time at the Grand Blanc McFarlen Library on April 18th. We got to talk to dozens of wonderful people including other authors and a few aspiring authors. If you were unable to make it don't miss our next event coming soon.

I recently visited a website which analyizes your writing style. It was said that I write like Mark Twain. I never considered that possibility. It is very flattering to have my story telling compared to that of one of America's most beloved authors. What a thrill for any author to have that kind of comparison made. Of course, some day I hope to have a new author thrilled to have their writing style compared to my own.

After all these years of writing, editing, proof-reading, and re-editing it is so very exciting to finally have an official release date. I will keep you all posted. Keep coming back! And don't forget to order your copy of Lone Oak by clicking on the link above.

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