Todd’s Holiday Gift Suggestions
Now that the election is over and we are on the threshold of utopia, let us turn our attention to buying great gifts for loved ones (including yourself) for the upcoming holidays.
A year ago I published THE DOG WHO WANTED A PERSON and copies were not widely available until after the holiday season. Now copies abound online and you can order copies from your favorite actual bookstore in time for any and all gift-giving celebrations. THE DOG WHO WANTED A PERSON, beautifully illustrated by Mendocino wunderkind Miruna Constantin, is a hilarious and thought-provoking parable for adults and smart kids. The book is formatted with spacious big print and is just what your coffee table, nightstand, or bathroom reading shelf has been pining for. The charming audio book version makes a great gift, too, and is available from Audible, Amazon, and Apple.
Speaking of dogs (and cats), GOOD WITH DOGS AND CATS: the adventures of Healing Weintraub, and the sequel POOCHES AND KIDDIES: the further adventures of Healing Weintraub are must-gets for lovers of dogs and cats and detective yarns. Set in the town of Mercy on the far north coast of California (a town reminiscent of Mendocino), one Amazon reviewer wrote of the books: When I describe the Healing books for my friends I tell them they’re like a combination of James Herriot and Alexander McCall Smith with a dash of Sherlock Holmes.
A reviewer on Audible wrote: Both the story and the narrator were captivating. I experienced such deep, profound and peaceful joy with each chapter.
THE FARM AT THE EAST COVE HOTEL is a stand-alone novel full of remarkable people coping with life and the exigencies of fate. Romantic and full of surprises, this is the fourth volume in the Mercy saga. And the audio version is delightful.
Speaking of audio books, I now have NINE books available from Audible and Amazon, and SIX of those books are also available from Apple. No need to join anything to purchase downloads for you and your book-listening loved ones and friends.
One of those audio books is my novel of stories UNDER THE TABLE BOOKS. Set in a most unusual bookstore, actual copies of the book are hard to find now. I hope to one day bring this wonderful saga out in paperback. In the meantime, the audio book is available from Audible/Amazon and seems more prescient with every passing year since it was published in 2010 and won the National Indie Award for Fiction AND The Bay Area Independent Publishers Award for Fiction.
Another of my award-winning books is BUDDHA IN A TEACUP. Out-of-print for the last few years, the paperback is now available again from several online sellers and you can order copies from your favorite bookstores. These forty-two short stories spring from my meditations on aspects of Buddhist dharma, and many of the tales are both funny and moving. The audio version is a meditative hoot!
MUSIC! I have hundreds of wonderful piano solos, piano/cello duets with Marcia, and songs and instrumentals downloadable, streamable, and giftable on myriad music streaming platforms. I have been asked which platform pays us the largest fraction of a penny for a stream of one of our tunes, and the winner is Tidal, followed by Apple, should that matter to you.
Other books of mine available online or orderable from your favorite actual bookstore are Little Movies, Oasis Tales of the Conjuror, and Why You Are Here (more stories set in Mercy). E-books of most of my books are available, too, including Night Train, Forgotten Impulses, and Ruby & Spear.
We hope you’ll share these good tidings with your pals.
Happy Holidays and viva democracy!
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The Way Things Go from Todd’s album Lounge Act In Heaven