Honored

So honored to have been included!

New Year, New Book!

What better way to start a new year than to publish a new book? Stepping into the Sky (Jump When Ready, Book 3) is now available on Amazon!

Here’s a link to Stepping into the Sky.

Thanks for making last year such a good one! Here’s to 2015. I hope you’re all off to a great start too!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays (and, yes, I really created this book banner – my apologies)!

Well, we’re closing in on the end of the year and it really has been a good one. It’s been exciting to have three books out and Jump When Ready, Book 3 will be published next month (working on the follow-up to Streetlights Like Fireworks too, as well as other ideas). But, more importantly, I wanted to thank all of you who’ve read my books this year, those who’ve left reviews (really, thank you so much!) as well as you guys who’ve subscribed to my newsletter (I’ve really enjoyed talking to you and I look forward to receiving emails from you in the future). Thank you for making it such a great year! I thought I’d pay you back by creating possibly the dorkiest book banner ever (notice the fine details on this masterpiece, once again suggesting that a little Photoshop knowledge can be a dangerous thing). Anyway, before I get totally distracted by family, friends, food, presents, food (and more food), I just wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope all of you have fantastic holiday season! See you soon and thanks again very much!

Hot New Release

Just realized I forgot to add this post to this blog. I have a new blog now but I do like to stop in here from time to time. Anyway, a few weeks back (well, like September), the second book in the Jump When Ready series, Memories From a Different Future, made the "Hot New Release" list on Amazon. Pretty cool! Here's a link to read that post.

But the way, I finished the draft of Jump When Ready #3. I'm in the process of editing and that one should be coming soon!

So, kind of a roundup of what’s been going on lately (some pretty cool stuff). Most of this is book-related but not all (I’m not entirely convinced a writer’s blog should only be about writing and I'd love to hear others’ thoughts on that).

First and foremost, the second part of the Jump When Ready series, Memories From a Different Future, is now published! Yes, I’m kind of excited about this as I am each time I’ve published a new book. So far, it’s not getting any less exciting for me. This one will be exclusive to Amazon for a while so my apologies to you Nook and Kobo readers. The book will be available in print, of course, so that’s always an option. Also, I’ll let you in a secret: those who subscribe to my newsletter have learned about other options in the past. If you subscribe, give me a shout and we can talk.

Another milestone this week for me: Streetlights Like Fireworks crossed the 50 reviews mark on Amazon (and so far it seems like people really like that book)! I know there are writers out there with hundreds, even thousands, of reviews but, for me, crossing the 50 line is a first. I’ve only been at this about a year, so I guess that’s not too shabby and reviews from readers make all the difference in helping books get noticed by other readers. So, thank you to all who have read and reviewed so far!

And there’s this bit of ridiculousness to share with you guys. I was peeking at Streetlight’s sub-categories last night and saw this. That’s right. My book next to George R. R, Martin’s. Now, to put this bit of algorithmic strangeness into perspective, Mr. Martin’s book is evidently not for sale yet. Still, how it bumped into mine in a subcategory is something of a mystery. Either way, I guess it’s something like Robert Downey Jr. driving past you on the highway. You might say, “Wow, I’m on the same road as Robert Downey Jr!” Which just means that Robert Downey Jr. drove past you and obviously you’re not going to end up at the same party. All the same, how could I resist grabbing a screen shot of that one?

Now, this really has nothing at all to do with writing but the new season of Doctor Who kicked off last weekend featuring Peter Capaldi in the role of the doctor for the first time. Why am I including this here? For no reason other than we’ve become geeked out Whovians over the last year or so, which means this event was on par with how some people feel about the Super Bowl. We had a family Doctor Who night and did not come away disappointed. In fact, we unanimously agreed that Peter Capaldi is going to make a fantastic and intriguing new doctor and we’re totally on board for another season of adventures in time and space.

Okay, well it’s Labor Day weekend for those of us in the US. Does anyone else feel that this is the lamest holiday of the year? I don’t know about you, but I don’t really get too excited at the prospect of the pools closing, the kids going back to school (well, that part does have its upside but I know they’re not happy about it) and the raking starting (we have tons of trees). Have I also mentioned that I love fireflies? Obviously, I love summer. Oh, well. Cold weather does make for more writing time so there’s that to look forward to. Anyway, have a great weekend everyone! 

Yep, Jump When Ready Part 2

Pssst. Just saying. This is happening soon. For those of you tuning in to this Jump When Ready blog...

To find out more and maybe score it for free, go here:

We Love What We Do

“Why don’t we approach literature like we approach music and the fine arts? Yes, there is a commitment when it comes to time and money. Yes, the chances of “making it” are slim. But with music, photography, and the fine arts, we “self produce” while we grow our audience and hone our craft. We work our way up, rather than break out. We love what we do, and we dream of making a living doing it, but it isn’t necessary.”

These words are from a recent blog post by Hugh Howey, which I just loved. One idea that struck me as a really cool and unique way of looking at things is the idea that, while people often ridicule indie writers as being unlikely to ever make any significant money publishing, Hugh Howey points out that 98% of those who pursue the traditional publishing route make no money at all. They never get the agent they spent years writing query letters to, they never see that big publishing deal they dreamed of, they never see any publishing deal at all. Finally, they quit and stop writing altogether. On the other hand, indie writers may make little money at first but they get to keep writing and reaching new readers. Eventually, the money may come but even if it doesn’t to the degree one might have hoped, that writer gets to keep on writing and no one is going to remove those books from the shelves. Writers who love what they do have no reason to stop doing it.

I really love indie publishing for many reasons. I’m thankful that so many opportunities exist that didn’t before—all those platforms where we can sell our books. Yes, I’m thankful for that big monster called Amazon for giving all writers an equal chance at finding an audience. This idea was unheard of just a few years ago and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. The fact is, I’m thrilled each time I sell a single book. I’m utterly elated each time one of my books receives a good review on Amazon or Goodreads. I agree with Hugh Howey’s point that publishing is a miracle and it’s magical that we can now write a book knowing it will be published, that no one can say “No, we’re not allowing that for you.”

I was one of those lucky few whose work actually was offered representation by a literary agent. Not once, but twice for two different books. I know I’ve mentioned that before on this blog but that’s not because I think I’m cool because of it. Just the opposite since both times, when I thought the world was about to turn on its axis, that a totally new day was about to dawn, nothing much happened at all (other than a great deal of back and forth regarding revisions). At the end of those two experiences, I was almost one of those who walked away from the whole deal. Thankfully, I came to my senses and, like so many authors are doing now (an ever increasing population as more authors choose indie publishing over traditional), I decided to go ahead and publish first Jump When Ready, and most recently, Streetlights Like Fireworks. This is wonderful new world of publishing these days and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. It’s just a great time for writers, in general, which is why many of us have been pulling together like never before as things keep changing rapidly around us.

There’s so much bickering going on lately, once again driving a wedge between those on the traditional side and on the indie side. Honestly, it’s getting tiresome (even though I do have some strong feelings about who the good guys really are in that particular fight). So, I appreciate that much more the point that Hugh Howey closes with: “Finally and most importantly, there shouldn’t be any animus between writers, however they publish. This is hard enough without trying to tear each other down. We are in this together. It’s our world that’s changing. In many ways, we should be standing together and demand that it change faster.”