It’s been a long time in the making, but I’m happy/relieved to announce that the official launch of Core Haven on the Kindle Store earlier today (7-31-25) was met with a flurry of full-throated fanfare. I’m telling you, those two crows jabbered on and on as I sat on the back porch stunned by the fact that I’d actually pulled off a book launch without performing my own rendition of a meltdown.

Anyway, in case you haven’t seen one of my earlier posts or promotions, the eBook version of my new release has been available to preorder over the past month with the paperback version going live today as well.

Now that I’m standing at a crossroads on my publishing journey, so to speak, I’m hoping to take time off to let my new situation soak in properly while I tinker with promos a bit here and there.

Meanwhile, I’m dealing with simultaneously being energized by the process and exhausted by the sheer amount of work required to get here, not to mention what’s coming down the pike. The early mornings, extended work sessions, and various promos continue taking their collective toll.

But the exhilaration of committing to such a challenge, figuring out how best to achieve it, developing new skills, crossing the finish line, and taking pride in the outcome have combined to balance the scales quite nicely for me.

Over the last few years, I’ve sketched out, written, revised, rewritten, proofread, formatted, and published two novels. My own novels, no one else’s. No AI, no collaborator, no agent, no publicist, no publishing house, no editor, no one to answer to but myself.

The previous paragraph might strike fear into the hearts of some writers and readers (or at least provoke a bad case of chills). But for me, I love having the first and last say in the whole damn dance, start to finish.

Besides, I followed the same solo route this time as I did with Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown, a novel that the prolific reviewer Lee Hall included on his short list of titles that “in particular have been memorable for me.”

So would my new release now be stylistically “better” if I’d had a qualified editor onboard? Maybe, but that’s a moot point since that option has never been realistic for a variety of reasons, including financial.

As a result, I write the way I want, when I want, and in a manner befitting my life’s circumstances. I’m proud of my independence, determination, and quite frankly, storytelling chops.

Ironically, before I started nudging Core Haven into a serialized novel for its brief, well-received run on Kindle Vella, I would’ve scoffed at the idea of publishing a companion novel two years after breaking the ice with Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown. For as long I could remember, I’d only been drawn to standalone stories as both a reader and a writer.

But hell, a second novel set in the same world with a major crossover character like Pearl/Sunny waiting in the wings for her cue?

Now, that’s a whole different story.

Keep you posted.

Drew

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BookFunnel Promo LINK

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I invite you to check out Lee Hall’s excellent video review, especially the first book he includes on his short list of memorable indie reads—uh-huh, that would be Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown.

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