Luke Epplin grew up in Litchfield, Illinois, a small town near St. Louis. After college graduation, with nothing to lose, he packed two suitcases and bought a plane ticket to New York City. While crashing at a YMCA, he somehow convinced Random House to hire him and has worked continuously in book publishing since then. He has written articles for The Atlantic, the New Yorker, Slate, the Washington Post, and many other outlets.
Moses and the Doctor tells the rousing story of two trailblazing superstars—Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Moses Malone. A social history as well as an underdog story, Moses and the Doctor chronicles the hopes and heartbreaks of two basketball legends who revolutionized what was possible on the ground and in the air and fueled one of the most thrilling and momentous championship seasons ever.
When asked what contributed to the book landing on the USA Today bestseller list, Epplin said: “Three main factors: First, my debut book, Our Team, wasn’t a bestseller, but it did go through multiple printings and had a number of readers waiting to see where I’d go next. Second, the cover of Moses and the Doctor is stunning. … Third, the book was the lead review in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal’s book section, with two large photos accompanying it. We saw a notable uptick in interest after that review ran.”
During the five years between Epplin’s first and second books, he maintained his relationship with readers through social media. “I’ve heard the belief that social media doesn’t sell books, and that’s simply not my experience. I’ve met more readers and have been able to spread the word about my books more widely on places like Bluesky [620 followers], X [8.2K followers], and Instagram [390 followers]. Those are the folks who likely pre-ordered.”
To other authors, Epplin advises, “Have a vision for your cover and explain it to your publisher in detail. Target not only readers but specific places—in my case, Philadelphia, where I aggressively reached out to influencers and media folks. And, most importantly, write a fun and engaging book!”
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including her new release, a young adult dystopian novel titled Departures (August 10, 2021). When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the Fantasy+Girl Podcast. Learn more at her website.
