Tomorrow marks exactly 18 months since my first book was released. It also marks the end of the Holding On series. Flawed Reality releases at midnight TONIGHT!
As with every release, I’m nervous. I’ll be hiding in my office tomorrow with the internet off, beta reading for a friend. I won’t check Facebook. I won’t hop onto GoodReads or Amazon and continually hit refresh to see if new reviews pop up. Release days are the scariest for me.
So much has happened in the last eighteen months that I am thankful for. I’ve made many new friends, found my footing in the Indie community and found a bit of confidence in myself and my writing. It’s a tough road, a long road, but I am grateful for every moment and I look forward to so much more in the future.
It seems like it was yesterday when Holding On was released. I watched its rank on Amazon sit in the hundred-thousands and not move. I released A Secret Life and it did the same thing. I didn’t let it get me down. I kept writing and pushing forward. I finished Weakness, the third in the Holding On series, and Take A Gamble. I started Secrets & Lies and hit a road block.
I was burnt out. I had been writing non-stop for over a year. Editing books back to back. Sales were still minimal. I was happy if I sold a book two days in a row. I was getting down on myself and it was starting to show in my work.
I took a break and, even though I contemplated not attending, forced myself to go to a big signing in Nashville that I had already paid for. It was the best decision I could have made. UtopYA is an amazing experience, one that will stick with me for years to come. I’ll be attending again this year in only a few weeks.
I came home rejuvenated and ready to wrap up Secrets & Lies. I wrote the second half of the book in about 4 days.
I took a break after I hit publish on S&L and focused on promoting my work. Things picked up a little and so did my spirit. I started planning a book con here in my hometown and that kept me occupied. I wasn’t writing but I was still involved with books and the community and that’s exactly what I needed.
I spent some time working on a project called Saving Bliss. The entire time I was writing I was getting messages from readers wanting to know when Brad’s story was going to be released. Brad’s story wasn’t written. I hadn’t planned to write his story. I never even thought about it.
When the 1 year anniversary of Holding On’s release came around I decided that I was going to make it free. It’s been free for the last six month and ranked in the top 100 Free books in the UK and US for the first two months it was free. Over 40K people have downloaded it and it’s still ranked in the top 1,000 Free Books in the UK.
I also decided that I was going to give Brad the ending he deserved. I started Flawed Reality in January, took a break to write Dark Bishop with my bestie, and wrapped it up at the end of February.
So…
What does 18 divided by 8 equal? 2.25
Not the answer you were looking for? How about 1 book every 2.25 months. I’ve released 8 books in the last 18 months as of tomorrow morning. I have two in the works right now – #Next & #SavingBliss – both of which I hope to release by the end of this summer.
What was this post really about?
This is a HUGE Thank You to ALL of you. I write for you. I write because you want me to. I write because you love my characters. I write because I love my characters. So, Thank You for taking a chance on me. Thank You for being a part of this amazing journey that I’m on.
THANK YOU!
PS – you may want to watch for a giveaway. You know how much I like to send out signed paperbacks.