June 19th, 2013 → 11:14 am @ daped
“Tuna Breath: A 275-Pound Teenager’s Coming of Age Story” by Doug Pedersen is now available for sale!
Buy it from Balboa Press, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble – or order it from your local bookstore (Author, Doug Pedersen – ISBN # 978-1-4525-7579-7)
Synopsis: (more…)
June 15th, 2013 → 11:25 am @ daped
Greetings friends!
All the writing is done and my manuscript is being formally edited by a talented Balboa Press editor. So while I wait to receive my revisions, I thought I would share the quotes I open each chapter with. Some are my original words, others are the words of people I admire, and a few are quotes that I stumbled across over the 3 years of working on Tuna Breath. Enjoy!
Many thanks,
Doug P.
TUNA BREATH chapter header quotes: (more…)
June 15th, 2013 → 11:20 am @ daped
Greetings friends!
Here’s the updated opening to the book’s marquis chapter: Tuna Breath. I originally didn’t reveal my obsession with, or the identity of, the weight scale until the end of the chapter. But I re-wrote it with more transparency after a good friend pointed out how some future readers may misinterpret the message. Apparently, you can be too clever! Anyway, here’s the excerpt. Enjoy!
Doug P.
June 15th, 2013 → 11:05 am @ daped
Greetings friends!
Here is an excerpt of chapter 2: Don’t Be an Oxymoron. This chapter outlines how I got superfat as a kid and what it was like for me as an obese teenager. I really struggled with wanting to share this embarrassing side of myself when I first started writing. However, a good friend that helped me get my writing into gear back in 2010 encouraged me to tell this side of my story. The intent is open to the reader so that they can connect with me emotionally.
I’m proud to say that I’m not timid about sharing this truth about my childhood anymore. I wrote these original words more than two years ago and, although growing up as an obese child made me feel pitiful, dumb and “oxymoronic,” I am proud of where I come from. More importantly, I hope that my truth helps other people “pull themselves up” in some way. Enjoy!
Many thanks,
Doug P. (more…)
June 14th, 2013 → 9:47 am @ daped
Greetings friends!
My friends at Balboa Press sent me a “Congratulations Email” today. Tuna Breath’s cover and interior proofs have been approved by the production staff and the files have been sent to the printer for preparation (say that 3x fast!) That means that the book “will go LIVE” (be available for sale) within about 10 business days. Wow, here we grow!
Anyway, they asked me how it feels to be a “published author” and I must say that it feels the same as being an unknown writer! (more…)
June 11th, 2013 → 10:00 am @ daped
Greetings friends!
I received the “interior proof” for Tuna Breath — that’s the draft version of what the inside pages of the book will look like. I absolutely love it. The people at Balboa Press are doing an amazing job, too! The design work is done; the copyright is secured; and the ISBN number has been assigned. Most exciting of all is that after just a few minor adjustments, Tuna Breath will be ready to print … LIVE and in COLOR! I’m still planning for a print / release date at the end of the month (June 2013). Here’s a sneak peek at the inside. (more…)
June 6th, 2013 → 5:34 pm @ daped
Greetings friends!
HELP ME pick a book cover!
Tuna Breath is nearly ready for print and I need your help picking a book cover. These pics are the 3 options. If you would, please be bold in your comments and your vote. I’d value knowing what you like, don’t like, or what changes/combinations you think work.
Thanks in advance for your opinion!
…. oh, P.S. ANYONE that comments or “likes” one will be entered in a drawing to win a FREE, SIGNED COPY sent to their house once it’s printed…which should be within about 30 days from now!!! I’ve vowed to give away 30 copies — compliments of me 
Many thanks,
Doug P.
April 29th, 2013 → 10:23 am @ daped
Greetings friends!
I had the pleasure of attending a great writing conference over the weekend. It was in Denver, Colorado at the Brown Palace and hosted by Hay House, the big publisher of self help books. The subject was “Writing From Your Soul” and it featured Wayne Dyer (prolific Hay House author) and Reid Tracy (Hay House CEO). (more…)
February 25th, 2013 → 10:30 am @ daped
(from my journal: 2/25/2013)
Haven’t written in my journal in ages. Looking back through it today was very interesting. My thoughts over the last few years of writing have drifted from focusing on TUNA BREATH to wondering how well it will do in the market. Now we’re here, more than 2 years later, and I’m refocused again on what I’m doing and why I’m doing it: to help people. I am completely detached from the outcome. Here’s what needs to happen now:
1. Finish the manuscript
2. Submit it to Balboa Press
3. Let the chips fall where they may
Nurys is in the pre-op with Dr. Haney now. I wonder how she is?
January 11th, 2013 → 10:43 am @ daped
Greetings friends!
I’ve always believed that Tuna Breath has a wide appeal and therefore a wide audience base. However, everything that I’ve learned about publishing a book suggests that writers start with the reader in mind … so, writing with a narrow focus to a specific audience is recommended.
This has been tougher for me as a beginning writer (especially with the BIG vision I have for Tuna Breath and the next stage of where and how I want to take my message to help people). But I’m prepared to start somewhere so I re-wrote the Introduction to the memoir today while keeping “an audience” in mind. The first audience I imagine will be mom’s who currently have children like I was: with serious weight problems. This is the group I will “talk to” first … and then let Tuna Breath find its place from there. So, this is the Introduction that will go to print. I hope you enjoy it!
Many thanks,
Doug P. (more…)
