Wow. The Jacklighter is on shelves now, and its launch-week reception has been overwhelming, in the best way possible. 🥹
From signing well over 50 copies at the Barnes & Noble in Vestal, NY, to three local bookstore events where I met readers with deeply personal connections to the Martin Dillon case … it’s been an incredible first week. More than I ever dreamed of.
Before diving into the story behind each tour stop, here’s a transparent look at my first-week sales, pre-orders, and distribution numbers.
Launch Week: By the Numbers
To give you an idea of what launching The Jacklighter wide across digital, direct retail, and wholesale trade channels actually looks like, here is a snapshot of its first seven days in the market:
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- 500+ Total Copies Distributed: Across Ingram wholesale trade orders, Amazon direct sales, wide digital platforms (Kobo, Google Play, Draft2Digital—eBooks to B&N and libraries via OverDrive), in-person signings, and promotional reader campaigns, The Jacklighter logged over 500 copies in market footprint during launch week.
- 215 Wholesale Trade Print Copies Shipped: Bookstore buyers, regional distributors, and library suppliers ordered 170 paperback and 45 hardcover (dust-jacket edition) copies through IngramSpark to stock shelves nationwide.
- 2 #1 Amazon Bestseller Badges: The eBook edition claimed the #1 Bestseller spot in Forensic Science Law and Forensic Science, while reaching #5 in Forensics Biographies & Memoirs.
- Top-Page General True Crime Rank: The book maintained a position on Page 1 of Amazon’s broad, highly competitive general True Crime category with an overall Kindle Store rank in the Top 12,500.
- 50+ Signed Copies at Vestal B&N: I completely sold out of the store’s initial inventory and tapped my backup supply directly from the car during my Halloween weekend event.
How These Numbers Stack Up: Industry Context
For fellow authors and readers curious about the mechanics of modern publishing, launch metrics can be tricky to parse. In an era where millions of books are published annually (about 650,000 from traditional publishers and 3.5 million from self-published authors), traditional industry benchmarks offer a window into what these numbers actually mean.
According to wide publishing data, the average self-published book sells around 250 copies over its entire lifetime, with standard launch-week sales typically hovering between 5 and 25 copies. For midlist books published through traditional houses, initial launch-week movement often targets 100 to 250 paid print units.
Reaching 500+ total copies distributed in seven days—while reaching an overall Kindle Store rank inside the Top 12,500 and holding two #1 Bestseller badges in specialized forensics categories—places The Jacklighter in the top tier of independent non-fiction releases.
More than the metrics themselves, what makes this launch week so meaningful is the cross-channel synergy behind it. The wholesale hardcover orders through IngramSpark, sustained digital rankings, and a sold-out local bookstore signing all worked in tandem to build momentum. For anyone who thinks it can’t be done, this relatively unknown indie author just proved otherwise.
Now, for how the week unfolded at my in-person events …
Book Signing Events Close to Home
Barnes & Noble—Jenkintown, Bookshop on Main—Ambler, Thrillerdelphia—Manayunk, Philadelphia
There’s nothing like seeing your book on a bookstore shelf, and the Barnes & Noble in Jenkintown, PA was the first to deliver that thrill. The brand-new store held a Saturday, Oct. 24th signing as a pre-launch event, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.
This was followed by a frightfully cozy multi-author event at a new bookstore in my hometown of Ambler, PA, The Bookshop on Main. The store held its first Fright Night three days before Halloween—a sold-out, ticketed event—featuring three local authors writing in the horror and thriller genres, plus me. Our outstanding author-moderator Lee Kelly led a fascinating panel discussion, and the room was fully engaged. Time flew, games were played, treats were devoured, and bookshop owners Lindsay and Brian told me to consider The Bookshop on Main—walking distance from my house—as my author and bookish home base.
Signings followed the panel discussion, and only a few copies of The Jacklighter remained … with one very special attendee who bought several: the sister-in-law of one of the police detectives in the book drove from Allentown to see me and scoop up signed copies. I was delighted to meet Pam Watson, sister-in-law to Chief County Detective Frank Bayer, who tried to get the Martin Dillon hunting-death case reopened in the 1980s. “Frank drove me out to Gunsmoke to show me where it happened,” Pam told me, giving me chills to know this woman visited the same murder scene in the woods that I had decades ago.
Philly’s Manayunk neighborhood was my last local stop of the week, where I enjoyed the quirky horror vibe of Thrillerdelphia, a fairly new bookstore to the city’s lower northwest side. True crime fans showed up for signed copies of The Jacklighter and more fun photos.
A Sell-Out Halloween Signing in the Endless Mountains—Where The Jacklighter Takes Place
Nothing prepared me for the gracious and astounding reception I received at the Barnes & Noble in Vestal, NY, on Halloween afternoon. The store—only 24 miles north of Montrose, PA, where The Jacklighter takes place—was the first to book my appearance back in the summer. Store copies sold out quickly, but I brought boxes of books in my car, and no one left empty-handed. Not only did I sell 50 copies of The Jacklighter, but I signed plenty of other copies that people purchased elsewhere and brought in for signatures.
One of the first locals I greeted at my table was an important character in the book: Elaine Mann Petrzala, the young stenographer in the room when Dr. Stephen Scher gave his first statement to a detective in 1976. “You don’t know me,” she said when she introduced herself, adding, “but thank you for writing this book.” She got a little teary, and I did too, and we shared more than a few hugs at the signing event. Elaine’s story was complex because she was privy to information important to the murder case as it developed decades later, and she wasn’t treated with the respect she deserved.
Along with Elaine (pictured above in the bottom row, middle), I met many other Montrose area folks with connections to the book, including: a classmate of Marty Dillon’s who had me sign a book for all his classmates to share; the girlfriend of the case’s first forensics expert; and a 1980 Montrose High School graduate who received the Marty Dillon Lions Club scholarship—and had my mother-in-law as a 5th grade teacher!
Those who read the book before attending the signing had very kind things to say about The Jacklighter, including how anticipated it was for locals in particular. It’s been both gratifying and a relief to hear from people close to the Martin Dillon case call the book a terrific read that fully captures the 50-year true crime saga.
I will always cherish that Vestal Barnes & Noble book signing and the people I met there. That’s who I wrote the book for, and they made me feel at home 🥹
