Happy Holidays, everyone! It's that time of year when we gather with family and friends to celebrate in whatever manner our shared traditions suggest. I wish you all joy and peace as you do so, and as we look ahead to another brand new year.
Many of our traditions involve the exchange of gifts. We enjoy the mystery of holding each colorful, wrapped item in our hands, and the thrill of discovery as we unwrap them. We enjoy the giving as much as the receiving, the thought we put into each other's happiness. This year, coincidentally from a timing perspective, I gave myself a gift: this website. And as with many gifts, after that initial pleasure of receipt, I'm now taking it out of the box, reading the instruction manual and figuring out how to use it. Bear with me here.
It's no exaggeration to say that I've found self-publishing and promoting my book to be far more daunting than actually writing it. Perhaps it will become easier with time and experience. I'm planning at least one in-person book reading/signing event on Launch Day (January 26th, details TBD), but with this website I now have four distinct online channels for connecting with you, my readers: this blog, the email newsletter, my Facebook author page, and my TikTok videos. I don't just want to duplicate content across channels, so I've been wrestling with what to focus on where. This is what I've come up with so far, all of course subject to change depending on you, my readers!
This blog will focus on the writing process itself. The sequel to Imprints of the Past has an outline, the skeleton of a plot, scenes and chapters that are more or less written, at least in my mind. Turning this into a first draft may interest some of you, and there will be times where I might solicit feedback: the name of a new character, perhaps, or the location of an event etc. Will it be engaging? I hope so.
The email newsletter - the first one of which I hope to create before Launch Day - will focus on major news and announcements, and will also include extra, original scenes exclusive to this channel. They may be scenes from D's perspective outside of the main narrative, or they may be glimpses of the world into which he and his friends are unwittingly stepping. There's a lot more going on than any of them know, except perhaps Jess. You'll have to read the book to find out what that means.
I've been using my Facebook author page as a sort of blog thus far, and it will likely include links to these posts. But I'll also share a broader perspective, especially the books and authors I have read and am reading, and this wider world of fantasy fiction I'm excited to be a part of at last.
Finally, there is TikTok. OMG TikTok! Of all these channels it's the one I'm least sure about, and that's both intimidating and fascinating. Short-form video, where seconds not minutes count, is like nothing I've tried before, and I don't know if I'm doing it halfway-decently yet. But I'll keep plugging away, and if you're reading this because you stumbled across one of my TikToks then it will have been worth it.
Thank you for reading this post, and I hope reading my book! I look forward to hearing from you.
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