John Close
John Close was referred to us by multi-book M&B author Joe Verdegan, a fellow member of the auto racing journalism community. John was already a published author, but this time was looking for a publisher that would be a more collaborative partner. It turned out to be a match made in heaven, as John’s biography of Rich Bickle raced out of the gates to become one of M&B’s best sellers.
John Close has been involved in racing as a writer, publicist, team member, and author for more than forty years. His association with Rich Bickle provided him with first-hand access to many of the events detailed in this book.
Rich Bickle’s rock star lifestyle of fast cars and legendary partying ranks among the more colorful journeys in auto racing history. An imposing figure for a racecar driver at six-foot-five, Bickle’s larger-than-life persona and burning desire to succeed took him beyond the Wisconsin short tracks he mastered early in his career to include the bright lights of Daytona, Indianapolis, and other stops on the NASCAR circuit.
Bickle, with the assistance of author John Close, describes the relationships, good and bad luck, and garage politics that often play a larger role in determining fame and fortune than talent alone. The brutally honest narrative pulls no punches in giving race fans an inside look at a career that both benefited from and was hindered by dealings with some of racing’s biggest stars.
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“As an author of four other books, I have had plenty of experience working with publishers and editors. Without a doubt, the best of those – hands down – have been M&B Global Solutions Inc. and Mike Dauplaise.
M&B not only provided the platform and services to get my latest work, Barnyard to Brickyard: The Rich Bickle Story, printed and published, but also delivered services well over and above our original business agreement.
Included in those value-added services was the networking of publishing Barnyard to Brickyard in Kindle/e-book and audio book formats. Not only did those two components provide potential additional sales and revenue streams, but also gave me the personal thrill of seeing and hearing my work delivered in new, current technologies not provided by my previous publishing associations.
Meanwhile, Mike has spent countless hours massaging the content of Barnyard to Brickyard. His editorial and layout skills have elevated the work to levels I could have never possibly imagined.
Mike’s involvement didn’t end there, however, as he has been an extremely willing and active partner in the promotion of Barnyard to Brickyard networking everything from a unique book launch event to scheduling media opportunities on our behalf.
The success of most projects these days is usually measured by the financial rewards it returns. While I can’t predict how successful Barnyard to Brickyard will be monetarily, I can say without reservation that this project is already an unqualified success to me personally thanks to the efforts of M&B Global Solutions and Mike Dauplaise.
As an author, it doesn’t get any better than that.”