I thought about things, and why am I releasing the books on 12/1, and not on my birthday, or the anniversary of Leo's death (12/12)...

Why not the anniversary of Leo's death?
Leo died 1 week after I turned 18, and I came up with the initial concept at the time he dies, so 40 years to the day would be VERY special. I thought very hard about it, and in the end I decided that the story itself is the honor, not the date celebrating his death. I also want to celebrate the life of man that raised me, not his passing, so in the end, no.

Why not my birthday?
I'll be honest I came VERY close to choosing my birthday. Happy Birthday to me - here's something I've worked on for almost 40 years, here you go! I almost did this, and If I'm honest, I'm kinda thinking about it, but I had initially put in 12/1 for the pre-order, and honestly was too lazy to change it, and also I wasn't sure if there were any pre-orders put in, so I decided not to.

Why keep it 12/1?
I mentioned laziness was a factor, but only a small factor. The reality is that this gives me both time enough to make last minute changes necessary (and I already found 2 in the hardbacks I need to fix) plus it gives The Gift it's own birthday - which it deserves. This time frame lets me advertise and have a Christmas / Hannukah / etc. - gift giving season - that's it - '"Gift" giving season' (see what I did there? LOL) to hopefully reach a wider audience.

Thanks again for your time!
- Mike