SWEET ASYLUM (Book 4) and some reflection

Another book of mine, SWEET ASYLUM, my fourth, has hit the virtual shelves.

About a month ago I was fortunate enough to be part of another launch for an anthology, Fish or Cut Bait, put together by Sisters In Crime International.

In that anthology I have a short story titled "Easy Prey" which is only my second short story set in modern times. With both of these launches and the necessary work leading up to them I've hardly had much time to come up for air. Now that I am on the other side of things I have a bit of time to reflect and think about my writing career so far.

When I set out to self-publish I wrote up a business plan, which included a rough budget and necessary steps I would need to tackle. I made a commitment to self-publishing 4 full-length novels knowing that success would be achieved over a number of works, not just one. By setting a four book goal I began with a focus on a career not just a single book.

CHORUS OF THE DEAD was published in July 2012. DEAD SILENT was available May 2013. The DEAD AMONG US was ready May 2014 and now SWEET ASYLUM has gone out into the world (June 2015). For those keeping track, it took me three years since hitting 'publish' in 2012 to hitting publish on my fourth book.

In those three years I also had three short stories published in various anthologies, each one reaching a new, unique audience and hopefully beckoning new readers to my series.

So, four books in. I did what I said I was going to do, so... now what?

I keep writing. The success of Peter Ainsley has been so encouraging. I am continually amazed by the number of people who contact me saying they love my books. I am surprised that a fan base could be grown for such a small self-publisher like myself. The first year was not encouraging at all and my second book made only a small impact. It's only been in the last year that my series had gained some traction. My income is not supplementary any more. It's a bona fide income and it grows with each new addition to the series. All in all, it's been encouraging and I'm happy I took the leap into self publishing.

3, 2, 1...LAUNCH

I attended a launch party on Thursday evening for THE WHOLE SHE-BANG, a Sisters In Crime mystery anthology.

My story, A Ring For Jenny, can be found on page 107. That page number will be forever ingrained in my memory since I completely embarrassed myself in front of all in attendance. As part of the festivities, each writer in the anthology was allotted 3 minutes to read from their submission. Everyone else seemed prepared with either a copy of the book or printed sheets of computer paper. I had none of these and was caught off guard somewhat when someone told me I was expected to read.

Luckily someone lent me a copy of the book when my name was called and I fumbled through pages trying to find my entry. Eyes stared. My cheeks burned crimson. Days seemed to pass as I struggled until someone finally said "107". Of course.

It was my first public reading and despite my nerves, I enjoyed it. Afterwards numerous people asked me to sign their copies and I was beyond thrilled. To think this is how authors start out. Writing words with the unknown reader a distant thought in their mind until one day when writer and reader meet.

I have an audience.

Of course I have an audience. Nameless, faceless buyers of books on Amazon and Kobo. The sales numbers increase and I smile, sometimes broadly. But this, meeting people face to face, being handed a pen and a copy of the story, MY STORY, with eager anticipation, is beyond description. This is amazing.

The Whole She-Bang is available on Amazon Kindle, and Smashwords for other e-reading formats. Print copies can be purchased from Lulu.

Half of all proceeds will be donated to the Children's Book Bank, a non-profit organization in Toronto that puts books in the hands of children. Stay tuned for a future post on this AMAZING charity.