In 1995, after six years of writing, (mostly evenings and weekends) seeking feedback for the manuscript, I placed a rough draft of what was then called "THE MAGIC ONE" on the web. Most people believed then that no one would read large text files over the Internet. Well, contrary to popular opinion people did read! Hundreds logged on to read possibly the first novel on the Internet. They not only read -- they responded. The very first e-mail said, "I could not put it down." One reader even sent me a check for $100 with a note that said. "This is my tithe for inspiring me." I can tell you that I was blown away; I never expected such tremendous feedback.

Excited about the possibilities of having a "best seller" on my hands, I pulled it off the web, packaged the e-mail responses with my manuscript. It was time to find an agent. Well, I bought a book on literary agents and decided to start at the beginning and keep sending until I found one. Then I had a sudden jolt of inspiration, "I'll bet everyone starts at the beginning, I'll just open it to the middle and point." Well, as coincidence would have it, I landed on an agent that lived only a few miles from my home. "I wonder if this is some sort of sign." When I took the package down to the post office to mail it, the postman looked at the package and remarked, "Hey, I know this guy. He's my neighbor." I knew I was on the right track.

That agent called the following Monday saying, "I've waited all my life for something like this." For another year, he and I (along with an editor) re-worked and fine tuned the content. Then for six months more, I worked with a proofreader, who volunteered her service after reading the web version. Finally the manuscript was ready for the publishing world. My agent sent it to ten major publishers that he felt would be most interested in publishing the book. One by one the publishers responded. Words like "mesmerizing" "entranced" and "truly inspirational" came back. Unfortunately, they were accompanied with phrases like: "the market isn't ready", "unknown authors are too difficult to market", and "the market is overcrowded."

Finally the sad day arrived when my agent said to me, "Ace, I'm truly sorry. This book deserves to be published." Then he added these fateful words, "If you can find a way, you should publish it yourself. Follow the example of James Redfied who wrote The Celestine Prophecy. Maybe after you've sold a few thousand copies they'll listen."

Sometimes it seems unbelievable. However, magic can and does happen. The Magic Life is no illusion. It's real! We've just topped 4100 books sold. We've even made it into the Amazon.com's Hot 100 Books a couple of times. Profit is now a reality. It took a lot of hard work. And because of that work, you can believe me when I tell you, it's a great book. But don't take my word for it read what others tell me: