Publication

I woke this morning early, and since the cats think that the opening of my eyes heralds gooshie food, I fed them. Then, just to check things out, I logged onto Amazon.com. (When I downloaded the book yesterday, I was informed that it would take at least 24 hours for the book to be available). Surprisingly, Blood Wager was there and waiting. I shamelessly downloaded the first copy for myself.

Penultimatum

Today was the day--the last day--that I'd set aside to do the multitude of things necessary to publish Blood Wager as an e-book and have it available for purchase on July first.. It makes me think of an old commercial that an oil company ran years ago: "If you don't have an oil well, get one!" Only my slogan would be, "If you don't have an e-book, make one!" I made one, now I have to wait and see if I did everything right to get it onto Amazon's website. I'll keep you posted.

Tunnel. Vision.

Soon. Blood Wager will be uploaded on Amazon. Soon. This process I travel through to get the book ready (or as ready as I can make it) makes me think of my first visit to Yosemite.  We drove there from Fresno, where my youngest sister lives. It is a grueling trek through steep mountain roads, some with curves so tight you double back often while watching other vehicles directly below, traveling the same stretch you just covered.  You see nothing except those hairpin turns, thick stands of pines and the occasional redwood that rises to seemingly endless heights.  And then comes the tunnel.  Dim and lengthy it is, and you are required to turn on headlights before entering. The journey through that tunnel seems endless, and you may expect to find more steep mountain, more curves and more trees on the other side.  Instead, the moment you come away from the tunnel, you see it.  What all the fuss is about.  Why all the tourists come.  It is magnificent, that vista.  A wide valley stands before you, with El Capitan in the distance, all of it so grandly glorious you feel compelled to reach out a hand to touch.

While editing and making corrections on Blood Wager, I have the same sensation as traveling the tunnel into Yosemite.  Writing the book was the journey through the mountain, with editing being the tunnel at the end.  I only hope the view on the other side will be even a fraction as satisfying as my first glimpse of Yosemite.

Crossroads

Lately I have been reading anything that comes my way on self-publishing, hoping to prepare myself for that fateful day when I take the leap, putting Blood Wager up for sale on Amazon. The spin on self-publishing has become a vortex, since the publishing industry is experiencing a metamorphosis. While many articles offer hope for the self-pubbing, some are downright discouraging. As if I needed another excuse to doubt myself and my work. The truth is, I can't stop writing. If I'm not sitting at my desk typing away,then the story is in the back of my mind and at times my husband or my friends catch me staring off into space (I'm not ignoring you on purpose, I promise) while I plot out What Happens Next. So, if I fail to garner the readers I dream about, while being spitted by authors who were fortunate enough to snag agents and publishers, so be it. I suppose I'll have to live with that. Just don't expect me to stop writing.

Pitfall Navigation

Currently I am proofing Blood Wager, (for perhaps the fiftieth time) and working on cover art.  Fangs, tombstones and dark, frightening streetscapes seem a little overdone, so I'll try to come up with something different.  We'll see how that turns out--cs