# KBBoTD: Norton's Ghost, a story about learning to treasure the little things



## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

From the blurb: "His world thrown into doubt with the death of his father, Kyle Dearmond takes to hitchhiking, where he finds meaning, friends, and a new direction despite the chaos of the wandering road.

His father's passing and subsequent will shed new light on the death of his mother years before. But the will raises more questions than it answers and no one seems to know the whole story."

There's more about the book on the amazon page (2.99) and a book trailer that I made (available on my author page but in better resolution on youtube):






threeundertwo was also kind enough to let me talk about my book a bit on  her blog (has anyone heard how the recovery is going?)

Thanks for looking.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Hi there, "R" , and congratulations on your book!

I see you've been here for a bit but here's our usual post just so you've got all the relevant info at your fingertips.

We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature. Don't forget to bookmark this thread (using your browser's bookmark/favorite function) so you can update it. Although self-promotion is limited to the Book Bazaar, most of our authors have found the best way to promote their books is to be as active throughout KindleBoards as time allows. This is your target audience--book lovers with Kindles!

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Book Bazaar Moderators

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Please add to your existing book thread when you have news about your book rather than start a new one, it helps the members who are trying to follow you. You may have a separate thread for each of your books. We recommend you bookmark your post so that you can find it in the future.  You may respond to all posts, but if there have been no member posts, we ask that you wait a week before "bumping" the thread by posting back-to-back posts of your own. And we ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link. Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead. All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum. From time to time our site rules may change; be sure to check Forum Decorum (http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,36.0.html) for the current guidelines and rules. _


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Hi Ann,

Thanks for the welcome note and info. 

~Ron


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Today's featured author at the Indie Spotlight is

Sunday: R. Canepa - Norton's Ghost

http://www.theindiespotlight.com

Come up and read and leave a comment.

Edward C. Patterson
& Gregory B. Banks


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## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

Sounds like an interesting read. Best of luck!

Sandy


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Ed and Sandy: thanks!


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

That was a great trailer, R.  Your music was perfect...


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

daveconifer said:


> That was a great trailer, R. Your music was perfect...


Thank you very much  I had a lot of fun making that.


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

The Kindle edition of the book now has a new cover:










If only print were so easy to update.


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Amazon has _Norton's Ghost_ on sale for 89 cents.


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

David over at the Kindle Authors blog posted an interview with me yesterday. I talk about Norton's Ghost, homelessness, writing in general, my trailer, and more:

http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2010/09/kindle-author-interview-r-canepa.html


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Hello,

I wanted to give a fair heads-up to anyone interested that I've put in a price increase for Norton's Ghost to take advantage of the higher royalties offered (the book was first released before this option was available).

It hasn't gone through yet, but will soon, so if you were thinking about picking it up, now's the time to get it cheap before the price goes up.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

I'm pleased to announced that Norton's Ghost is our next KB Book of the Day!


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

I've had people ask me if the story of Norton's Ghost is autobiographical.  I like to think that this means I got something right in the telling of it.

Beyond the usual "there's a little bit of the writer in every part of the story," it's completely fiction.  I've never hitchhiked through California, have never experienced homelessness, am thankful to still have my father, and though I did leave school a few times, it wasn't so that I could go gallivanting around.

At times, I wish it had been.

In a way, the telling of Kyle Dearmond's story in Norton's Ghost was a way of doing what I myself couldn't:  cut loose.  Stop doing things just because it's supposed to be a good idea to do them.

It's often said that authors themselves don't know the ending to their book until it spills out onto the page.  Oh, sure, sometimes we have an idea how we would LIKE it to end, but seldom do our inspirations and characters march lockstep with our idea of what the story should be.

Kyle Dearmond set out to get away from what was expected of him and to find his own way.  I myself felt the pull of the expected as I wrote the story.  "You're dumb for doing that," I told him.  "That's nuts.  Go back to school, get a job, buy a house."

In all:  "Be like one of us."

He refused.  In part, he was running from the things he couldn't or wouldn't deal with, but I can't say I blame him for that.  And so I wrote, all the while wondering myself whether he would come out okay in the end.  As the author, my job was to tell the story--not to help the character along to a happy ending.

Today is the day after Thanksgiving.  Most of us are probably still full from yesterday (oh, but those leftover potatoes in the fridge still call to us, yes they do) and we've spent time with family and food and reflected on what we're thankful for.  We sometimes forget these things during the rest of the year, when the roller coaster of life sends us thundering down the slope or rocks us around a hairpin turn.

But in the end, when the time comes, we remember.

For Kyle Dearmond, Norton's Ghost is a crucible, a stripping away of expectations and an attempt to step off the roller coaster for a while so he can figure out what really matters--and to have the memories and experiences to properly treasure it.

Little does he know that he steps out of one roller coaster and onto another.

Such is the way of stories.


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

I didn't have a chance to post this when it came through last month, but Clayton Bye over at The Deepening gave _Norton's Ghost_ a 4-star rating:

http://reviews.thedeepening.com/2010/11/10/nortons-ghost-by-r-canepa/


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

I'm pleased to welcome Norton's Ghost as our KB Book of the Day!


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Thanks, Harvey.

It's a overcast and rainy morning here in Florida.  Just settling in to drink my morning coffee.  I'll be around and checking most of the morning if anyone would like a chat.


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