Discover Richard I. Levine's Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea today. I talked with the author about his process of writing his newest book.
Before you started writing your book, what kind of research did you do to prepare yourself to write it?
The short answer is none. I didn’t do any prep work. When the idea for Like Driftwood On The Salish Sea came to me it was as if I was struck with a lightning bolt. I drew upon life experience and then, as a particular situation called for greater knowledge and understanding, I would begin to search the internet and/or in the case of this story, I took several trips up to San Juan Island to see and experience things firsthand.
Did you pursue publishers or did you opt to self-pub? I opted to self-publish this time around.
If self-published, did you hire someone to format the ebook version for you or did you do it yourself? Can you tell us what that was like? I formatted both the ebook and the paperback. I was lucky to have come across a couple of tutorials online that made the process quite easy. With that said however, somehow the version that I formatted in MS Word, ended up looking slightly different after it had been uploaded to Amazon’s KDP. I’m still trying to connect with anyone at KDP for a little customer service that can help correct this. I tried searching the community pages on that site for someone who has had a similar experience and that has not been fruitful.
If self-published, how did you determine the price? Price was determined after looking at other book offerings of similar size, word-count, genre etc.
Did you purposefully choose a distinct month to release your book? Why? No. As soon as I finished making final corrections, edits, and then formatted the manuscript, I sent it off to KDP for publication. It turns out that it was just in time for summer, and who doesn’t like to read a new book while on vacation?
How did you choose your cover? I honestly didn’t want to be too cerebral about it. I searched through a ton of free images that are available online until one that embodied the raw emotions of this story jumped off the screen. Once I saw it, I didn’t second guess the decision to use the photo.
Did you write your book, then revise or revise as you went?
Just like with the other books I’ve written, as the process unfolds and takes shape I’ll revise as I go along and then fine tune it during the editing process.
Did you come up with special swag for your book and how are you using it to help get the word out about your book? No
What’s your opinion on giving your book away to sell other copies of your book? I personally don’t see any value in it. Other authors might disagree, but for me, unless there’s an honest exchange between vendor and consumer—or in this case between artist and consumer--then the artist and the art (painting, sculpture, or book) isn’t appreciated to the same extent as if the consumer had to physically invest something of value in exchange for the time, effort, energy, and creativity that went into the finished product.
What are some of the most important things you believe an author should do before their book is released? Definitely promote through every avenue available. Try to get as many pre-release orders as possible by sending out a “press release” email to everyone in your contacts list. Line up as many reviews as you can. There are plenty of book-review contests out there, enter as many legit contests as you possibly can. Just be careful with who you decide to work with. You’ll be amazed at how many promotion “experts” start coming out of the woodwork.
What are some of the most important things you believe an author should do after their book is released?
It would be nice if initial promotional efforts created a self-perpetuating momentum, but outside of already having a major publishing house in your corner or having the reputation of a popular best-selling author, ongoing promotional activity is a must. If you have the funds, think about running ads on popular social media platforms. Look into any remaining brick and mortar bookstores for doing signings or readings. Work with a book marketer who has a proven track record.
What kind of pre-promotion did you do before the book came out? I continuously posted on social media (on my own pages as well as the myriad of pages dedicated to books promotion), I also worked with a book promoter who helped to line up reviewers who would purchase the ebook version once it went live. This not only boosted sales and ranking numbers straight out of the gate, but it also resulted in early reviews which also helps to boost sales.
Do you have a long term plan with your book? Staying with what works, ditching what doesn’t, and continue looking for other ways to get my book into people’s hands.
What would you like to say to your readers and fans about your book? It’s simple. A Starbucks latte is going to cost you $4-$5. It’s warm, comforting, and it might even get your heart racing for a little while, but that’s it. It’s over unless you want to plunk down another $5. But a $2.99 investment for this ebook will also give you comfort, warm your heart, and even pull at your heartstrings. It’ll hit you right in the feels if you know what I mean. More importantly, this one will stay with you forever. Go to the Amazon page for Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea and read the reviews and you’ll see what I mean. Here's one that was posted on X: “Poignant, powerful, and tender. Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea is more than a romance, it’s a masterclass in emotional storytelling. Mitch and Jess will stay with you long after the final page.” ~Tae Keller on X
Title:
Driftwood on the Salish Sea
Author:
Richard Levine
Publisher:
KDP
Publication Date: June 1, 2025
Pages:
396
Genre:
Romance
When
they met in the fourth grade, it was love at first sight for Mitchell Brody and
Jessica Ramirez. He was the freckle-faced kid who stood up for her honor when
he silenced the class bully who’d been teasing her because of her accent. She
was the new kid whose family moved to San Juan Island, Washington, from San
Juan, Puerto Rico, and whom Mitch had thought was the most beautiful girl in
the world.
She was his salvation
from a strict upbringing. He was her knight in shining armor who had always
looked out for her. Through the many years of porch-swinging, cotton-candied
summer nights, autumn harvest festivals, and hand-in-hand walks planning for the
ideal life together, they were inseparable...until 9/11, when the real world
interrupted their Rockwell-esque small town life, and Mitch had joined the
Marine Corps.
This is not just the
story of a wounded warrior finally coming home to search for the love, and the
world he abandoned twenty years before. It is also the story of a man who is
seeking forgiveness and a way to ease the pain caused by every bad decision he’d
ever made. It’s the story of a woman who, with strength and determination, rose
up from the ashes of a shattered dream; but who never gave up hope that her one
true love would return to her. As she once told an old friend: “Even before we
met all those years ago, we were destined to be together in this life, and we
will be together again, because even today we’re connected in a way that’s very
special, and he needs to know about it before one of us leaves this earth.”
Like
Driftwood on the Salish Sea is available at Amazon.
Book Excerpt:
Jess gently and methodically caressed the fly
rod and sent her hand-tied lure through the air with confidence and grace. Back
and forth it sailed with effortless rhythm, as if it were a weightless feather
being carried on a breeze. It was as if she had been a world-renowned conductor
leading a philharmonic as the gentle sounds of woodwinds and strings flowed
through her ear buds, no different than the crystal-clear water of the river as
it flowed over a path that for time immemorial had been orchestrated by all
that had come before it. Over the years she had mastered the art, not so much
for the sport of teasing a steelhead or a rainbow trout onto the end of her
line, but rather from the repetition of returning to the same little spot on
the Clearwater, her favorite refuge. This was the very place where Mitch had
introduced her to the melodic seduction of his most private collection of
music. It was a playlist he had long guarded, a playlist that betrayed the
commanding presence of his large muscular frame, his athletic prowess, and the
simple way he had always looked at life.
Having first brought Jess to this place a
month after the September 11th attacks, Mitch had arranged the weekend getaway
after he had been presented with a no- win dare from his father to be as
patriotic as Alex. When she’d learned of his enlistment, it had caught her off-
guard. When he’d said basic training was twenty-four hundred miles away at
Parris Island, she’d been speechless. But when he’d told her he was leaving in
less than ten days, she’d struggled to catch her breath. As far as she had been
concerned, South Carolina might as well have been another planet somewhere far
beyond the stars that blanketed the black velvet nights of this pristine
wilderness.
She had been overcome with emotion during that
trip to the Clearwater River in Idaho. The crispness of the morning mountain
air, mixed with the sounds of the crackling campfire and the rushing water just
a few feet from their tent, had been a confluence of ingredients no master chef
could have ever conceived. Jess had enjoyed every second of the experience
until the sting of the news he was leaving was more numbing than the water
itself. And while they both lost interest in the river’s offerings, the hours spent
on the drive home were filled with tears, promises of fidelity, never-ending
love, and a long life together tending to the small farm of their dreams. It
was a dream they had carefully crafted during long secluded walks when even the
innocent world of San Juan Island disappeared, and time seemed as if it would
stop long enough for all the pieces to float seamlessly into place. Again, she
drew back and set the custom-tied fly to flight and followed its arc before it
kissed the water’s surface. In her mind, the only thing that ever landed more
softly or with equal intent was the brush of Mitch’s lips across the back of
her neck on those long summer evenings when counting fireflies had sparked
dreams of the perfect life together.
Over the years, the river had become the
special place where Jess could escape the pressures of the successful life she
had carefully carved. Just being there enabled her to decompress, and to relive
the weekend where she had surrendered to her long-suppressed desires, seducing
the love of her life while simultaneously absolving him of any responsibility
for having complied, albeit with little resistance. During their high school
years there had been plenty of times he had taken her just short of that point
of no return. And while his conscience would inevitably get the better of him,
she had always hoped he would have forgotten that he was a gentleman. What she
hadn’t realized at the time, was that their dreams and those promises would
never come to fruition. What she could never let go of, however, was her need
to make the yearly return to this place to resurrect that moment, as if
continuing to do so would somehow or in some way ease her pain by keeping the
possibility of that unfulfilled fantasy alive.
As she cast her line
once more, she looked past the riverbank toward her tent, hoping as always that
she could be transported back to the time when Mitch emerges from the warmth of
their sleeping bag to watch how prolific she had become at his favorite recreational
pastime. And just as she fell a little deeper into the warmth of his smile and
his embrace, just as she placed her head against the memory of his chest and
felt his heart beating strong and fast, she was abruptly pulled back to reality
when her rod jerked with equal intensity, nearly being pulled from her hands
just as the line snapped.
– Excerpted from Driftwood on the
Salish Sea by Richard Levine, KDP, 2025. Reprinted with permission.
About
the Author
Richard I Levine is a native New Yorker raised in the shadows of
Yankee Stadium. After dabbling in several occupations and a one-year
coast-to-coast wanderlust trip, This one-time auxiliary police officer,
volunteer fireman, bartender, and store manager returned to school to become a
chiropractor.
A twenty-five-year cancer survivor, he’s a strong advocate for the
natural healing arts. In 2006 he wrote, produced, and was on-air personality of
The Dr. Rich Levine Show on Seattle’s KKNW 1150AM and after a twenty-five-year
chiropractic practice in Bellevue, Washington, he closed up shop at the end of
2016 and moved to Oahu to pursue a dream of acting and being on Hawaii 5-O.
While briefly working as a ghostwriter/community liaison for a
Honolulu City Councilmember, a Hawaii State Senator, and volunteering as an
advisory board member of USVETS Barbers Point, he appeared as a background
actor in over twenty-seven 5-Os, Magnum P.I.s, NCIS-Hawaii, and several
Hallmark movies. In 2020, he had a co-star role in the third season episode of
Magnum PI called “Easy Money.”
While he no longer lives in Hawaii, he says he will always cherish and
be grateful for those seven years and all the wonderful people he’s met. His
5th novel, To Catch the Setting Sun, was inspired by his time in Hawaii.
Like Driftwood on the Salish Sea is Levine’s first foray into the
romance genre.
Website
& Social Media:
Website ➜ http://www.docrichlevine.com
X ➜ https://www.twitter.com/Your_In8_Power
Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/RichardLevineAuthor/
Instagram ➜
https://www.instagram.com/rilevinedc
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