Tag: bookstagram

And I’m done…

Guess who finished writing book 2? That’s right! This girl!

It was a bit of a rough road, but I’m finally here! Now, I just need to go in and polish it before sending it to my beta. From there, it’ll move on to my editor, proofreader, then last, to formatting. As you can see, there’s still quite a bit to go, but the part that takes the most time to do is now complete.

I’m definitely celebrating this weekend. Gonna get a piña colada or something. With some nachos.

On Friday, I’ll also be fully vaccinated–so it’ll be a dual celebration of sorts!

I don’t know about you guys, but it feels like an exciting time. The world is slowly getting back to normal. People are starting to venture out now after going through a year of the pandemic. I’ll be in New York next month on vacation, too.

So really, it seems like a good time.

April Update

So, not much to report his month other than I’ve spent quite a bit of time writing and trying to finish up book 2. I’m nearing the conclusion where all the fun happens. So that’s good news, I think. Hopefully I can get it wrapped up very soon. I have my fingers crossed that the day job doesn’t get in the way. Or personal life. When real life gets in the way it’s really difficult to stay creatively engaged. My plan is to manage it with sheer determination and commitment. Time to get it done. No excuses.

Once I do, I’ll reach out to my editor about setting up a date and time to do the hard stuff.

Editing is the worse. It’s difficult. You have to kill your darlings and all that. Be merciless. And truthfully, I’m probably the opposite of merciless. But it’s a necessary skill one has to learn to be successful. So, I’ll do it. I’m positive the work will be better for it. I think I’ll be better for it, too.

I think that’s it for this month. Have a happy, safe Easter.

January Update

Hey everyone! How’s your new year going? Started off a little rocky, didn’t it? What, with all the crap that happened at the capital. Geez! Can’t we get a little bit of a break from all the crazy? Can’t we have some level-headedness, please? But, I guess that’s too much to hope for at the moment. Especially with those individuals that are deep into the conservative echo chambers that are spreading the wildest of conspiracy theories.

To say things have been on a not so even track is an understatement, but I guess it’s to be expected. The shape of things–it’s just in a bad, bad way–and I suppose it’s going to take awhile for our country as a whole to heal. Patience, I suppose, is needed. Lots and lots of patience. And perhaps some alcohol. Or maybe some chocolate? Sweets can get me through the worst of times. They’ll get me through these troubling times as well.

Onto a more positive topic–writing! I think I’m starting to adjust and am finding a work/life balance. It’s still a bit incongruous with a lot more my attention focused on the day job than I would prefer, but its a start. I’m moving steadily, maybe not at as quickly as I would like, but its still moving forward which is progress!

I’m not going to commit to a day, because I hate to see it blow past me and have to apologize for not meeting it. It sucked that I couldn’t keep to the 2020 deadline. But what can I do other than my best to keep on. I will say that I’m still excited about what I’m writing. Still feeling the joy and happiness of creativity and accomplishment when I’ve done something I’m incredibly happy with. Writing, is still one of the best feelings in the world, and so, I’m going to keep at it.

Even if it is a slow, slow ride.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a good holiday. I know I did. As I mentioned in my previous post–I had two weeks off at the end of the year, and I used it wisely by relaxing, writing, spending time with family, and just pretty much recharging the batteries. All in all, I had a great vacation, and although I’m not as well-rested as I’d hoped, I do feel like getting away from the day job for a little while was exactly what I needed.

First, the writing–I’m at fifty thousand words which puts me about halfway through book 2. I also have a working title, which I will share later when I’ve wrapped up the novel. Since I had some feedback that book 1 was a little slow in the the beginning–I’ve really focused on getting the plot going a lot earlier for book 2. I’ll obviously send the draft off to a few betas when I’m done to get feedback so by the time you readers get your hands on it, the story will be nice and polished.

Writing goals for the year–well, I hope to get book 2 done. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bit of a slow writer and I’m so not a ten-thousand words a day person. I actually don’t count the words. I count pages. I’m actually happy if I can get a page a day during the week. With my work schedule and all the other things that come with life it can be tough, but I’ll try to get more time in to write during the weekend. At least an hour or two before bed. That’s actually the best time for me to write. I just zone out with the TV on and before I know it I’ve got ten pages.

What else did I do at the end of December–well, I saw Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker of course! Who hasn’t watched it yet? Well, you should. It was entertaining. And if you don’t think too much about how they completely did away with the “Is Rey going to be a Grey Jedi?” and just closed your eyes and imagine a white room with no windows and then watch it–then I think you’ll enjoy it too.

And don’t compare it to the original trilogy either, cause then you’ll be disappointed. And it’s way too early in the year for that.

My first event…

Slinging books!!

This weekend was my first event. Nerdtacular, although exhausting, was a great experience. I sold some copies of my paperback and met other vendors and artists and received first hand experience on what works when it comes to selling my book to people who’ve never heard of me before–which lets be honest, is pretty much everyone. But the best thing about people not knowing who you are or what you’re about is there are no expectations. So you can just put yourself out there with no second guessing. Overall, it was defiantly an interesting experience that I will do again next year.

One of the most enjoyable aspects was talking to all the people who had a genuine interest in my book. It made me realize how supportive people can be, especially when it comes to local, self-published authors. I definitely picked a great event as the participants were definitely my demographic for the book. People that stumbled onto my table had a genuine love for fantasy, and loved talking about fantasy stories. I’m hopeful that I gained some readers that will want to follow the series.

There was even one heartwarming moment when a woman who had bought my book asked me to write something on the dedication page. For those of you that don’t know–I dedicated Dark Sun Rising to my grandmothers, who both passed away before the book was published. Apparently, the woman had recently lost her grandmother last month, and when she opened her new book and read the dedication page, it really touched her. I was really touched as well.

So, what I really want to relate is that my weekend was successful, and definitely memorable. I had a lot of fun. So much so, that I look forward to my next event, which is scheduled for 2/15 at Twig Book Shop at the Pearl. Ya’ll should definitely come see me then if you haven’t made it to see me yet. We can talk books. My books–your books–whatever ya’ll want.

It’s a marathon…

It’s the second week since Dark Sun Rising has been released and as I originally thought–it’s going to be a marathon and not a sprint.

And personally–I’m okay with that. I know I have a long way to go. So first thing on my agenda (and what has always been number one on my list) is growing my readership. That will take some time and patience, which I have plenty of since I didn’t get into this business to make loads of cash. I mean it would be nice… but it’s not likely.

Nope, not at all.

The reason why I got into this whole thing was because I love writing. It brings me joy–it was so much fun writing Dark Sun Rising. And, it looks like there might be a few folks out who really enjoyed reading the book, too, and are looking forward to more from Mel, Victor, and Gabe.

Which brings me to number two on my list… finishing the next book of the Continuous War series. I’m forty-five thousand words in, and not even halfway through. So, I’ve got quite a bit more writing to do. Then after, I’ll need a little time to let the story rest before starting the editing process. And I think by now you know how much I like that part.

So those are my immediate plans. I mean, other than slinging the paperback copy of Dark Sun Rising everywhere I go. It can be found here and here for those of you interested. Don’t be shy, check it out.

It just might be your thing.

Dark Sun Rising available for pre-order!

Hello Everyone!

So good news. The Dark Sun Rising eBook is now available for pre-order. Get it for $0.99 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iBooks. The paperback is also available for pre-order through Barnes & Noble.

I thought you guys may want a sample, so I’ve uploaded the first chapter as well under the My Books section. Check it out!

Also, if there are any book bloggers interested, please message me and I will send you a free ebook copy for your review.

Happy reading!

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