Tag: novel
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Getting closer by the day
As I started writing this post, I realized how childlike I can be at times like this—downright giddy—while of course, maintaining my adult sense of calm & clearheaded perspective on my self-publishing journey. (Cue the laugh track.) Yes, dear reader, another milestone approaches. This one has to do with navigating the marketing shoals looming ahead.…
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Good question
The other day somebody asked me out of the blue why I write. My answer, as usual, is extremely simple—that’s a damn good question. Of course, on occasion I do challenge myself to justify spending hours hovering over pen & paper or keyboard & screen—especially on a beautiful spring morning—instead of going for a longer…
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Hero of the day
My take on the prevalence of hero worship throughout history & across many cultures usually borders on the hypercritical. But don’t be concerned, dear reader, I’m not about to launch into an ill-conceived tirade reflecting my personal beliefs on the subject. Instead, I’ll freely admit to having a new hero figure of my own—fickle as…
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Just wanting to write
Some days I really don’t mind working on the business side of this self-publishing adventure of mine—all right, to be clear, it’s more like I don’t resent it as much as I do most of the time. It’s just not something that draws me in, know what I mean? If you’re a puzzler or chess…
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Spinning yarns
Growing up in a family with storytelling as the coin of the realm was wonderful but perplexing. I just assumed it held sway in every other family too, so the first few times I sat through dinner at a friend’s house with only a few niceties being traded I was stunned. My friends were even…
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A blank canvas
Writing a rough draft like I did for this post is the closest I get to understanding what a visual artist might feel starting a painting, sculpture, clay pot, tapestry, piece of furniture, or any other medium. I almost always enjoy the sense of wonder at where the newest piece might wind up when it’s…
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On my own terms
Just a bit ago, I took a break from my morning writing routine to take stock of my independent author’s journey thus far. I have to admit, I couldn’t help but laugh at some of my stumbling in the dark through this maze of options & decision points with almost no background knowledge to help…
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Undaunted
I’m not really sure why getting another positive review this morning impacted me so much. It might be due to fact that Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown has so far only received a handful of reviews in total, both positive & otherwise (six on Goodreads & two on Amazon). As I’ve already mentioned, I’m…
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What’s next?
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts—possibly once or twice too often—figuring out an endgame strategy for this phase of promoting Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown has proven to be a blend of challenges, frustrations, realizations, & laughs. (Trust me, I’ve been leaning heavily on my quirky sense of humor at almost every turn.) See,…
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Reframing Part 2
In my previous post, I made a connection between solving mental puzzles & my current venture into the world of self-publishing. I also mentioned being surprised by the overall positive response to Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown on Goodreads especially—4.0 with 11 ratings, 5 reviews—when I already knew firsthand that some readers find Pearl’s…
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Reframing Part 1
At times I wonder why I’m drawn to solving mental puzzles of my own design like plotlines & character arcs. Maybe it has to with spending untold hours in days gone by sprawling on the living room floor, organizing thousands of puzzle pieces into piles by patterns & shadings, then meticulously nudging them together clump…
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A clearheaded morning
After a week playing host to some sort of virus or other, I woke yesterday morning & noticed my clarity index was picking itself up off the floor. I’m happy to report that as of this morning that trend continues. I like to think I’ve been fairly accepting of the usual dinginess that accompanies being…
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A day late & a dollar short
Maybe if I’d followed my own advice in my last post about relaxing a few days before I actually did so, I might’ve avoided this head cold that feels like somebody’s pumping bilge water into my sinuses. You know it’s bad when you lean forward to get a closer look at your laptop screen but…
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Listening to my inner boss
Whenever I find myself looking up the meaning of words that happen to resonate at any particular moment, I know it’s time to pause & reassess my situation. For example, I was wondering about the origin of relax. Etymology Middle English, from Latin relaxare, from re- + laxare to loosen, from laxus loose — more at SLACK Yeah, you guessed it—I’m at that…
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A delicate balance
Another few days rattling around the independent author world, another batch of obstacles to overcome or avoid. At times I feel like I’m on a meandering hike through strange, divergent landscapes; at other times, like I’m taking a deep dive into gardening with all the forecasting, scheduling, replanting, weeding, & tending to do. But at…
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A Welcome Update
Thanks for visiting my website. A shout-out to those of you finding this through my first Facebook post on my new author page I boosted yesterday. And another shout-out to the Goodreads community for your thoughtful ratings & reviews (see image/link above). As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m still exploring my options as an…
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A celebration is in order
Dear Reader, Last Sunday the 22nd I posted a shout-out to all those who entered my Goodreads Giveaway that ended late the previous night. Since I’m still amazed by how many signed up for it, I decided to celebrate by setting up a two-day free book promotion on the Kindle Store. So if you weren’t…
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Proving Gram right
“If anything’s too damn easy to do, there’s more than likely no fun in doing it.” Nothing like having snippets of my gram’s philosophy swimming around in my head. Of course she would’ve been right when it comes to my independent author journey. Every step of the way the decisions to make could be mind-boggling,…
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Proving Gram right
“If anything’s too damn easy to do, there’s more than likely no fun in doing it.” Nothing like having snippets of my gram’s philosophy swimming around in my head. Of course she would’ve been right when it comes to my independent author journey. Every step of the way the decisions to make could be mind-boggling,…
