So many great things have been happening in the past few
weeks I hardly know where to begin!
Let’s start at the shortest update about the longest string
of words I’ve put together in a long, long time. NaNoWriMo. I won!
At 50,169 words I validated my “novel” on November 22, 2017.
It felt great getting this win for multiple reasons.
First, I found the beginnings of the next Shaw McLeary
Mystery, Missing Miles.
Second, I had a CRAZY BUSY month and still managed to pull
out a win (more on that in a minute…).
And, finally, this is the first time I’ve won in seven
years. Holy crap that’s far too long! I’ve taken part in the challenge 4 times
over those 7 years (2012, ’14, ’15, ’16) but this is my first real win since
2010.
Which leads me into other intertwined updates of course…
One of the main things I did over the past couple months,
aside from NaNo, was some marketing and promotion for my recently released book
30 Chapters in 30 Days: Write a 50,000 word novel without feeling blocked.
First, I shared some of my personal and professional advice
with the readers of the NaNo blog in my article: NaNo Prep: How to Write Believable Characters (and Push Your Word Count!).
With that article looming out there, plus a book telling
people how to make it through the challenge of NaNoWriMo I kinda figured I
should get through it this year as well. I mean, practice what you preach,
right?
Right!
In the spirit of that, I also took part in another internet
radio interview. As mentioned in the title, my interview giving even more
detail and info on 30 Chapters went
live on The Author’s Show TODAY!
I’m going to do my best to create a link to the interview so
you all can come back and listen anytime you like but the first broadcast of
the show is a brief 24 hours and then, poof, it’s gone off their website.
Listen to my Author’s Show interview here until November 30, 2017, just click on my name in the gray box.
What a crazy experience that interview turned out to be
behind the scenes. And you know I’m all about the brutal honesty over here,
especially about myself, so here’s the tea.
I nearly fucked up this entire thing.
Okay, that could be a bit over-dramatic but not much. The day
I was supposed to talk there were timing issues (in AZ we don’t do DST but at
the time of scheduling neither of us realized the clocks would flip). All of
that was my fault for lack of preparation. Ugh. What I will blame on myself,
but still hold a grudge against technology for, were my issues with Skype.
When I thought I was calling Don, my interviewer, I tried
about ten times and Skype kept kicking me off/out and forcing me to log back
in. I rebooted multiple times but my laptop is a dinosaur and takes FORever to
do anything.
I was already 30 minutes “late” and panicked because I had a
chiropractor appointment right after our interview. One more reboot and Skype
seemed to finally want to work. But it was already too late. I had to jam.
I called from my cell and left Don a rambling, probably incoherent
message about how sorry I was. As I pulled up to my chiro, I picked up the
message he left while I was driving.
The one that said I was a full hour EARLY. Like I said, DST.
After all the confusion we managed to reschedule (bless
him!), and on that day I tested Skype minutes before the interview (Matt is my
hero!).
Don called, we chatted, I was prepared AF and feel like it
was one of the better interviews I’ve ever done. Talking about that book while
in the throes of NaNo reminded me I needed to open her up and take my own
advice for how to get through the challenge.
It worked!
I have so many chapters that will be cut when I edit but it
helped me better see the characters and where they were going. It also helped
me step away from caring if my novel was perfect. And, not gonna lie, it felt
great to rack up another NaNo win!
So, of course, because I didn’t have enough going on
already, in the midst of NaNo I also listed my latest, book 3, in the
California Dreamin’ Series, Makeup Your Mind for preorder on Amazon.
Click the title in that last paragraph, or right here to pick up your copy today!
My nail art at the beginning of this post is my nod to the
book cover:
And I’m soooooo excited to get this one out there. Cherry
Davis might be my favorite character I’ve written since Perth. She’s spunky,
sexy, and self-sufficient. She’s a young retail whore living and working in the
mid-nineties in coastal Cali.
I’m in love with her. Seriously. I might need to see a
therapist.
But, regardless, her story officially hits the digital
shelves tomorrow November 30, 2017 and I couldn’t be more excited!
It has been a fun, frustrating, but overall totally
satisfying career month.
I’d love (LOVE!!!!!) you forever if you’ve already read
either 30 Chapters or Makeup Your Mind
if you’d be so kind as to review them on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews don’t
really count for an author until there are at least 25 so please tell your
friends, share the book love, share your opinion (even if you hated them both,
I literally don’t care just review!).
Thanks!
And now, look out December, I’m coming in hot for a vacation.
After the month I’ve worked, it feels like I’ve earned a week off.
• • • • • • • • • • •
In addition to this drivel I also write books, both fiction and non-fiction.
Learn more on my author page.
No comments:
Post a Comment