Jim Potter, Author

Grandma Sophia Lucas was a strong beacon of hope to her grandchildren during their formative years.

Now, there are big women who wear little towels and little women who wear big towels. She was the latter.

Even though I haven’t found any newspaper accounts of Broderick’s arrest in 1897, I have found a newspaper report of a Michael Broderick’s arrest six years earlier, when he was 18.

Since Labette County, Kansas, borders Oklahoma, a horse or cattle thief understood his chances of making a clean getaway were in his favor due to the political boundaries.

Today he’d be called a con-man, but in the early 20th century he was referred to as a yegg or yegg-man. The early-day definition was that of a hobo burglar or safe-breaker.

Back in the day, there was a stigma attached to those arrested as chicken thieves. They were seen as the worst kind of crook.

Rissler never knew when someone would recognize him from the detailed physical description printed and mailed on hundreds of postcards to sheriffs and chiefs of police around the country, but he hoped his "red face" wouldn't give him away.

For a few reasons, this is one of my favorite REWARD or WANTED postcards from my collection.

Here’s another REWARD or WANTED postcard from my collection. This one’s from 1909 announcing that James F. Young, 23, is wanted by Saline County, KS, Sheriff L. P. Heck for burglary and grand larceny.

Here’s another REWARD or WANTED postcard from my collection. This one’s from 1909 announcing that James F. Young, 23, is wanted by Saline County, KS, Sheriff L. P. Heck for burglary and grand larceny.

I’ll never be hired to write professional book reviews. I only review books I enjoy. My mantra is this: If I can’t say anything nice, I won’t say anything at all.

I really appreciate people—customers—who buy my book. They stand out. They are different than the people I’ve paid to assist me in my publishing process. I’m not paying them; they’re paying me!

Art Hughes, a friend of mine, recommended I use videos to help promote my children's book, K-9 Kudzu: Observations of a Working Dog Who Loves to Play. He also suggested using OpenShot Video Editor to create the videos. So, I wrote a song titled The Ballad of K-9 Kudzu. Here it is:

We rejoiced and celebrated, understanding that our book was no longer a private document. It was published, meaning it was available to the public for purchase, and we soon started distributing copies in person and packaging them to send via mail to customers.

When it comes to technology, I might as well be Amish. I’ve never used an ATM machine, owned a debit card, or scanned a QR code. Like the Amish, I’m not against technology, I’m just slow to adapt to it.

Finally! We’ve approved Proof #2 of K-9 Kudzu: Observations of a Working Dog Who Loves to Play. Now, the children’s book is in line for printing at POD Print. We’re hoping to have copies in hand within two weeks.

Bookends, an independent bookstore owned by Gwen and Wes Bartlett, has invited me to do a book signing the evening of July 20th from 6-8 p.m. This is during Hutchinson’s Third Thursday celebration that has a July theme of “Arts and Eats.”

When "K-9 Kudzu: Observations of a Working Dog Who Loves to Play" is published, I’m going to do an experiment with direct sales. I’m not going to share my print files with Amazon.com or Ingram Spark. Instead, I’m going to do my own thing.

Today’s the day to reveal the cover of K-9 Kudzu: Observations of a Working Dog Who Loves to Play.

We’re getting closer to a published book. It’s an exciting and anxious time with restless nights, but we can see light at the end of the tunnel and I’m positive it’s not another train.

It would be fun to have the dogs—not the humans—speak about their experiences at the training classes. I can imagine the dogs discussing the difficulty of scent work or judging their treats on a scale from one to ten.

When I write a book, I’m an eternal optimist. I think my new publication will be discovered by the world and will lead to sales through the roof. As a fictional author with an active imagination, can you blame me?

I call myself a cave dweller. My computer cave room is where I, alone, write blogs and books. But, at some point, I do collaborate. While writing my books, I read my new chapters to Alex—my wife—and she regularly encourages me and improves my work. Currently, I’m collaborating with Gina Laiso, Integrita Productions, as she creates colorful illustrations for my first children’s book.

My old-fashioned, tactile routine of assembling mockups, without a hint of illustrations, never prepared me for the exciting visual world of colorful art and design required to build a children’s book.

While publishing a book, it’s normal for authors to have time to begin writing their next one.

Last week I learned of an Amish Mennonite cemetery ten miles from our front door. I asked myself: “How could I not know about this?”

Now that my children’s book is in the hands of illustrator Gina Laiso, Integrita Productions, I’m refocusing for a few days by doing some historical research in preparation for my sequel to Deputy Jennings Meets the Amish. Please join me on an Amish horse-and-buggy ride.

As with any major project, the original plan and the finished work can vastly differ. Things evolve. I planned a primer picture book titled B is for Badge: The ABCs of Law Enforcement. Instead, I’m eagerly awaiting the publishing of an illustrated, upper grade-school book, K-9 Kudzu: Observations of a Working Dog Who Loves to Play.

As an indie author, I take financial risks on purpose. But I’m always trying to avoid scams.

I remember in my youth, hitchhiking from Illinois to Central America. The unknown didn’t scare me. It was an adventure. I only knew a little Spanish (Por favor, dónde es la baño?), but I dived into a foreign culture.

When a friend invited me to be a speaker at an upcoming AMBUCS (American Business Clubs) meeting, he suggested I talk about my law enforcement career. I preferred to talk about my writing. We agreed that I’d discuss my transition ...

Hello Gina. It's time for me to admit to you that I need a change of schedule on publishing Kudzus' Guide to Law Enforcement. I apologize to you for asking you to fit my book ...

Last week I was calmly promoting and selling my Amish novella, Deputy Jennings Meets the Amish. I was marketing and editing my book-in-progress, K-9 Kudzu’s Guide to Law Enforcement. All was fine, normal, until I had a restless night.

My weekly blog is like a journal. I’m sharing in real time what I’m working on with the expectation that it will be of benefit to authors who are anticipating publishing. Some authors aren’t sure what to do prior to their final draft.

Here’s a quick review about this series of weekly blog posts on publishing my color-illustrated children’s book in six months. It’s a progress report. From my first post in January 2023, I’ve shared my goal: publish K-9 Kudzu’s Guide to Law Enforcement ...

There’s editing while writing a personal draft copy of your book, and there’s editing after you’ve shared your early literary work with others.

This is my update, a progress report, the nuts and bolts of the draft copy of my children’s book. Another blog may cover the importance of an author taking time between edits, giving the manuscript time to breath, and the writer an opportunity for rest ...

Your book is copyrighted, your title is not. Did you know that upon writing your book, it’s copyrighted, but its title is never protected? Other authors can use it again and again. I enjoy brainstorming titles for my books.

We live in the country. We have a pond—sometimes with water—but my life as an author isn’t even close to Henry David Thoreau’s at Walden Pond. I’m not on a writer’s retreat with minimal interruptions; I’m on the internet and have a phone.

Preparing to publish my book requires a lot of multi-tasking and networking. It’s a process and I can’t do it alone. I’ll bet you’ve heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” In publishing—whether traditional or indie—it takes a network to birth a book.

It’s a new year, and I’m excited to be on a path to my first children’s book. I expect it to be printed in June 2023. Before I share about the present activities, let me tell you about the past. The idea for writing this children’s book began fifteen years ago.

September 1, 2022 Sheriff Campbell, I’m sending you two photo files. Both are of Charles Collins who was the first sheriff of Reno County, KS. One is a scan from the original photo. The second is a restored image due to some photo damage.

Author Bill Bush, prolific writer, interviewed me in August for his website. He posted it on September 1, 2022. The post was so well-received, I asked Bill if I could add it to my website. He agreed.

A friend, let’s call him Michael, contacted me with some questions he had about publishing his soon-to-be book. His book designer suggested he contact me. I was surprised to hear from him.

Published authors will tell you that writing their book was the beginning, not the end of the journey. That’s certainly true for me. I still have a lot to learn about book marketing. I was so naive in 2007 when I published my first book.

End of Part 3: While we were located on Oppenheim, I was part of a little  incident which I will relate to you. Part 4: It so happened that we had a new medical officer join our company on that day. His name was Captain Tom Dann from St. Petersburg, Florida.

We went across France south of Paris. We went through Fountainebleau, Rheims, and Verdun. Paris was saved from bombing by the Air Corps more than any other city that I know of. Paris was given special treatment by the Americans.

The Division had been activated on October 24, 1939, at Fort McClennan, Alabama. It consisted of the 2nd, 10th, and 11th Infantry Regiments, four Field Artillery battalions, 7th Combat Engineer Battalion, 5th Medical Battalion, 5th Signal Battalion ...

By Harold L. Potter (1998); Presented to the Sojourners group, near Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Editing and audio recording by Jim Potter.

My military experience started on August 25, 1938, when I joined the Medical Detachment of the 130th Field Artillery Regiment ...

Chapter 1: Deputy Jennings Meets Rosanna Yoder

“How can this be happening to me?” thought Rosanna. Earlier, Adam, her husband, had remarked, “We sure had a gully washer overnight!” “How are my flowers?” she had asked, concerned about filling business orders ...