Sprinter and a Forgotten Book

I have watched and read way too much news this week. Every time I do that I get depressed. I'm begging off everything serious for at least a couple weeks. I'll only be reading and watching things that make me smile or laugh or at least not want to hide under a rock until all the bad issues get resolved. I'd be there forever anyway, huh?

I've also spent the week in a state of "frozen." My son plays baseball and we're at the beginning part of the season that we call Sprinter. The worst thing about Sprinter is the wind. Of course, the cold isn't much fun either. I can't wait until it's so hot that chafing becomes a real possibility.

I got a surprise in Monday's mail. It was a check from iUniverse, the place I self-published a children's chapter book back in 2008. It wasn't a big check but enough to buy lunch for me and the Mr.

Honestly, I had totally forgotten about the book. Thank you to those who've purchased it. I was going to write a blog post about my experience with self-publishing, but it still hasn't happened. And self-publishing is nothing like it was when I took the plunge. I remember trying to find a company who could create an ebook for me. I had a hard time finding one, and when I did they wanted to charge me $1000. It didn't happen. Now, almost all self-published books are ebooks that didn't cost a dime to create. Even though I don't expect to sell many books, my next step with CHEWY MOON is to create an ebook and put it up on Amazon myself. I'm not sure when I'll get to that task, but it will happen. I'll get it pulled off iUniverse soon.

We're hearing lots of self-publishing success stories. I wish I had some words of wisdom to offer, but all I really know is (and my intent isn't to be a buzz kill) that no matter how you publish, success isn't easy. It's a combination of a compelling story, hard work, timing and good luck. I'm sending you the good luck right now.

I didn't read anything this week that I absolutely LOVED, so I thought I'd share two of my favorite mystery series. Disclaimer: I've gotten to "know" one of these authors and I look forward to meeting her in person at the Malice convention at the end of this month. But if I didn't love her books, I wouldn't even mention her or them. I don't know the other author at all. In fact, it didn't even occur to me to send her a Facebook friend request until I was writing this post. Hope she accepts.

The author I "know" is Wendy Lyn Watson. She has two books published: I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM and SCOOP TO KILL. Her third, A PARFAIT MURDER, publishes in June. There's something delightful and smart about Wendy's writing. I'm looking forward to June. Really, take a look at her books.

The author I don't know and hope to get a 'friend request accepted' from is Casey Daniels. Her Pepper Martin series is clever and I find the stories . . . satisfying. I know, that's not a very flashy word, but I do enjoy the books. I just got the most recent, A HARD DAY'S FRIGHT, and I can't wait to dig into it.

Hope you have a great week!

Paige