Post-publishing post

Having released my novel, I turned a little attention to some EPP...

 

The days following a novel's release are full of.... Well, I'm still busy with books; I've spent recent mornings reading through Gracious Mysteries, the next installment in this series. I've also pondered what I want to write next, hehehe. I've done laundry, pottered in the garden, worked on some English paper piecing, also taken a lovely drive along Highway 101 not quite as far as Orick but close. I given great consideration to what it means having released another novel; I've been publishing books since 2011, eleven years of poking about with plots and characters, at times wondering why I feel compelled to share these slices of my gray matter as well as chunks of my heart and heaps of my soul. Yet here I am, still at it. Let me tell you why it matters....

Self-publishing is a misnomer; I'm deeply grateful for Smashwords, through which I distribute my stories. I've been blessed with great editors and those who have created beautiful book covers. My family, especially my beloved husband, have supported this effort throughout my writing career. But this career isn't what most would describe as such; maybe they would call it a hobby. Yet over the last fifteen years much of my free time has revolved around writing. My kids were teens when I began crafting fiction, now I have grandkids, ha ha. I love to make quilts and tend to plants, I adore spending time with my spouse, our family, and dear friends. But the need to tell stories never diminishes. I have SO MANY lists of things to do, however writing never falls on any of them. It's instinctive, therapeutic, at times a bit of a buttinski, yet if I had my rathers, I'd be sitting at a computer typing someone's wonders and woes.

I always wanted to be a writer, yes I am one of those people. That I'm still at it is a testament to remaining faithful, both to a dream and to where that goal leads. I try to do right by my characters to the best of my ability; to paraphrase NANOWRIMO founder Chris Baty, no one else can tell MY stories. Until I run out of ideas, stamina, or the ability to pound a keyboard, I imagine those tales will emerge as seems necessary. I might not always publish them, but I can't honestly ponder such a creative manner of self-expression disappearing from my wheelhouse.

That's my credo, mantra, whatever you wish to call it; I write novels because I can't not write them. And because I can publish them, I do. If you'd like to read my books, that would be AWESOME! Check out my newest release, The Possibility of What If, or peruse my back catalogue at Smashwords, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, Scribd, and Odilo.