Vogts publishes first novel

Did you read that headline? Are you wondering if it’s a fake?

Well, it’s not.

I am very proud to announce I have published my first novel!

This is an incredibly exciting time for me, and I can’t wait to hold the finished product in my hand.

Yes, that means it isn’t for sale yet, but I will be receiving a proof copy of the novel this week. When it does go on sale, it should be available for purchase on places like Amazon.com and any bookstore in the country will be able to purchase it and sell it as well.

The suggested retail price will be $16.50. It is a soft cover book.

Of course, that isn’t really the important part . . . yet.

The main tidbit of information to talk about right now is the book itself.

First and foremost, the title.

My book is called “Murder at St. Alfanus” (it has been mentioned before here) and it is a murder mystery set in Hooks, Texas. The story follows the lives and works of college journalists trying to get to the bottom of a murder that happened on campus.

Here is how the blurb on the back of the book describes it:

Tyler Fox, from Goessel, Kansas, is a sophomore at St. Alfanus, a private Catholic college near Hooks in Bowie County, Texas. Tyler is an up-and-coming golfer who will hopefully lead the St. Alfanus team to a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship.

One day as he is practicing prior to the start of fall semester, the editor of the St. Alfanus Clarion, Charlie Harrison, shows up to do a story about Tyler’s golfing prowess. Charlie convinces Tyler, who is an English major, to come work for The Clarion. Days before the fall semester is to begin, Tyler takes an evening jog through the golf course. He comes across the 14th green, where a man is wailing as he holds a bloody woman in his arms.

Before Tyler knows it, he, Charlie and the rest of the Clarion’s small newspaper staff are caught up in a murder investigation. The woman who was murdered, Alison Alcott, was the daughter of the college president.

Four college journalists spend the entire semester trying to dig up information about the murder, mainly because the local sheriff’s department isn’t making much progress. The sheriff is concerned about the upcoming election, and simply wants to pin the murder on someone, such as Alison’s boyfriend, Robert Ray Turner, the man holding Alison’s dead body on the 14th green. Will the students discover “whodunit?”

I am very proud of this novel, and I’ve learned a lot from the process.

For example, I now know of things I’d like to do differently for the next one, and there will be a next one. I’m already working on it. Also, I’ve learned publishing isn’t a quick process. I actually sent in the manuscript for consideration one year ago. Now I’m finally almost ready for it to be available for sale to the public.

I wouldn’t have gotten it published if it weren’t for all the support from my family and friends. Specifically, I want to thank my roommates, Jerod Horchem and Travis Schafer, for prodding me along and helping me proof the manuscript several times.

Also, my mother, Karen Vogts, deserves thanks for instilling in me the love of reading. She also proofed it once.

And I can’t leave out my brother, Troy Vogts, and my father, Steve Vogts, for my love of golf. Since I was very young, I remember playing golf with those two, and now I enjoy going out whenever I can.

Again, this is huge deal to me, and as soon as I know when and where it can be purchased, I will post it here at The Voice. Also, when my author website goes live, I will put a link up.

I hope, if you decide to purchase my novel, you enjoy it and even look forward to my follow-up book, and I thank everyone in advance for helping me realize my dream of becoming a published novelist. This is something I have dreamed of since I was in the fourth grade. I have longed to see my name on a book sitting on the shelf of a bookstore. I am beside myself with joy.

I am thankful I found Strategic Book Publishing, which is my publisher. If I hadn’t found them when I did, this manuscript might have never become more than just a dream.

Please stay tuned for more information about this as it becomes available.

Until then, though, here is a picture of the entire cover:

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