Dangers of Tryptophan

Most of America celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday. As I had done Thanksgiving early, I had the pleasure of eating some really great turkey soup instead of the traditional full-blown meal. However, the outcome was the same. I watched the Macy's parade, snoozed through a couple football games, and had another bowl of soup. The lack of energy was palpable. Even Mary, my little dog, only wanted to snuggle and sleep.


My list of things to accomplish during the week stayed static for a day. I had managed to get some writing done before I hit the soup, but not much got marked off after noon. Rather than beat myself up for not getting enough done, I decided to give myself a break. After all, some of my best ideas come when I'm not expecting them. A little down time may be just what my story needs.

Next week, I'll begin again with a new list of items to take care of during the week. Things I didn't think I'd ever do, like get a passport, buy a new suitcase and get my nephew moved from one coast to the other. But the unexpected is what makes life exciting. I hope the remainder of your year is filled with all the excitement and joy of the season. We're in the home stretch.

Ready For Launch

Anyone who has a book for sale knows that getting the book published is only the first step in a very long, winding, ever-changing and sometimes costly, road. Marketing of your book is something you don't really think about when you're writing it and trying to find a publisher. But it's a vital part of any author's duties, regardless of whether you're an independent publisher, with a small press, or with one of the big boys.

My eighth historical in my series comes out on September 7. By now, I've learned a few things about what works and what doesn't. One of the things I'm cutting back on is the guest blogs. They all take time to write and post, and it's time that could be better spent. I'll appear on a handful, but I will no longer appear on three a day during release week, as I've done in the past. It's hard to tell what works and what doesn't in the best of circumstances, but if you start muddying the waters with multiple blog posts, you'll never know where those sales are coming from.

In addition to blog sites, there are review sites. I've got my favorites, those who have reviewed me in the past and were complimentary, so I go back to them each time. But review sites are a constantly evolving business, so I always try to find one or two new ones to solicit.

My checklist is pretty well in order for the upcoming release. My guest posts are written, my Advance Review Copies (ARCs) are out there now, being devoured (hopefully) by my reviewers, my website is being updated, I've started putting out announcements on Facebook about A Widow's Salvation now being available for pre-orders. I'm still contemplating doing some advertising specific to readers of historical fiction, so there's work yet to do. But especially when money is involved, I prefer to take my time.

In between doing all this, I can start to obsess over my numbers on Amazon. And work on Book 9, The Forgotten Debutante. A writer's work is never done, regardless of where you're at in the journey or how high you are in the charts.

So I'll keep my nose to the grindstone and see what happens this go-round. Happy Release Day!