Where in the World Is Mateo?

Mateo studies a world map from his home in the mountains of Nicaragua—perhaps wondering just how far his story has traveled.

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
— Ecclesiastes 11:1 KJV

A couple of weeks ago, I asked a question here in this blog.

Now that I had written four books, would anyone read them?

The answer, I'm happy to say, was yes.

I had proof.

There were some nice Amazon reviews. There were also reviews from platforms that professionally review books submitted to them. And when another author reviews your book, it feels like an honor—especially when that author really likes the book and gives it a high rating.

I even discovered one of my books placed rather nicely among prominent Christian fiction novels by some fairly well-known authors.

So then the question became:

How can people find my books?

It probably sounds a little vain, but what better way to find out than by doing a Google search?

So that's what I did.

Searching for an Author

First, I searched for my author name:

Steve R. Hartwig.

A Google search for Steve R. Hartwig reveals an author website, social media pages, Independent Author Network, Goodreads, and more.

Of course, I found my Facebook pages, along with Instagram and Threads. But I was especially happy to see that my author website—the site I have worked so hard to create, update, and keep fresh with new content and blogs—had also found its way onto Google.

I found my author profile on Goodreads. The Independent Author Network appeared with listings of my books across its platforms, including some I don't personally use, such as X and Bluesky.

I kept scrolling.

And scrolling.

I couldn't believe that I was halfway through Page 2 of Google before my name finally began to fade away.

I thought that was pretty encouraging.

But then another thought occurred to me.

What would happen if I searched for one of my books?

Then I Searched for Mateo

Since Mateo and the Secrets of the Eternal Word is my latest publication, I decided to start there.

That's when the biggest surprise came.

Google's overview of Mateo and the Secrets of the Eternal Word recognizes Mateo, Verbum Aeternum, Father Tomás, Doña Rosa, and the story's biblical adventure.

Right at the top of the page, Google presented a full overview of the book. As I continued down the results, I began seeing some of the platforms that had reviewed Mateo.

That was nice, but those weren't really surprises. I already knew about them.

Then I had to stop and look again.

Searching for Mateo reveals the book appearing far beyond the places where I originally published and promoted it.

Mateo was listed with Bookshop.org.

Then ThriftBooks.

Then Walmart.

Walmart?

I hadn't put Mateo there.

So, naturally, I kept looking.

On the next page, I began finding Amazon listings from different countries around the world. Then came booksellers in Italy. Another in Denmark. There were names I had never heard of and places where I certainly had never submitted my book.

Some listings didn't even have the cover yet.

But they had Mateo.

The little boy from the mountains of Nicaragua was apparently traveling quite nicely without me.

What About Ride the Fire?

For good measure, I decided to search for Ride the Fire too.

I had noticed before that searching that title alone on Amazon brings up several books with the same name. So this time I refined the search:

Ride the Fire by Steve R. Hartwig.

The results were much the same.

There it was, appearing in places well beyond my website, Amazon author page, and social media posts.

Another one of my books had made its way out into the world.

And Then Mateo Had One More Surprise

I thought I had finished my little investigation.

Apparently Mateo hadn't.

While looking around Amazon, I discovered something I had completely missed.

Amazon has a Hot New Releases list for Teen & Young Adult Christian Friendship Fiction.

Both editions of Mateo appeared on Amazon's Hot New Releases list—English at #6 and Spanish at #13.

And sitting there at #6 was Mateo and the Secrets of the Eternal Word.

I had to look twice.

Then I discovered the Spanish edition, Mateo y los Secretos de la Palabra Eterna, on the same list at #13.

Now, Amazon rankings change constantly. A Hot New Release ranking today can be different tomorrow, and I certainly don't mistake a retailer listing or a ranking for thousands of books being sold.

But that wasn't really the point.

The point was much simpler.

Mateo was there.

After Many Days

So my little vanity check proved something to me.

My books can be found.

Not just in a few of my own social media posts. Not just on my website. Not just in the places where I personally put them.

They are showing up in searches, on bookselling sites, and in countries around the world.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the question every new author eventually asks:

Would anyone read it?

Someone did.

And now I've discovered something else.

Once you release a story into the world, you don't always know where it will go.

Maybe that's one reason the words from Ecclesiastes that I used last week seem even more meaningful to me now:

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

I cast four stories onto the water.

Every now and then, apparently, Google lets me peek over the edge and see where a few of them have floated.

And as for Mateo?

I'm beginning to wonder where he'll turn up next. 😊