Sunday, November 18, 2012

so
I am on vacation in New Orleans.  I love this city, we come here every year, although I'm not sure I could ever live here.  Today is Sunday; Game day.  Game days around here are like a religion.  We got up and went to church this morning and saw a few people dressed in Saints gear, at church, and they weren't just young people.  A white haired old lady sat in front of me and sported her Saints championship shirt.  Driving down the road after church people wear garbed in Saints.  It's something impressive to see.  My husband spent a good portion of his life in Biloxi Mississippi, being a military brat, we consider that where he is from so we pull for the Saints all the way.  His parents now live outside of New Orleans so it makes it even more so.  Anywho, after church we went back to the hotel and changed into our own Saints attire and went to my in-laws to watch the game.  Football, beer and pizza.  What else could you ask for on a beautiful Sunday like today? Oh yeah, a Saints win:)

Thursday, November 15, 2012

New Direction

When I first started the writing process two years ago I had no clue what to do.  I read books and searched the Internet for help.  Once my first novel, Protector, was complete I published it on my own as an indie writer because frankly, the traditional route is nearly impossible.  I put my book on Smashwords.com for electronic copies because they had the best % on royalties and I published on amazon through createspace.com for physical copies.  The book was out, that was the easy part.  I didn't really know what to do next.  I talked about it on facebook and told everyone I knew, but it wasn't enough.
One day a girl I went to high school with messaged me on facebook asking me about my book.  I told her what it was about and she immediately downloaded it, so she thought.  Turned out she bought the second book in the series instead of the first.  Kindly, I e-mailed her a copy of the first book so she wouldn't have to buy it, after all, readers are important.  The following day she called me so excited and in awe.  She loved my books.  Soon there after she started telling me about different things I could do to get myself out there because she thought I was too good for people not to know about me.  I took her advice and 6 months later I was a little step up from where I was.  I became more known in my area and started a small following with 3 books under my belt and 2 more written.  But it wasn't enough.  I needed to break away from the tiny bubble I was in and expand my horizon, but I didn't think I could do that with her.  Tension started to flare between the girl and I because I didn't like certain things that I will not discuss here nor the direction I was going in.  So much so that I stayed completely stressed out.  So a few days ago I "broke up" with her.  I say that because that is what it felt like, a break up.  I hated to do it because she is a good person and she did help me start to get my name out there more, but I did what I had to do for my career.
Here recently I have been talking to a lady who, like me, is a local writer, although she is far more known then I.  She was like me once upon a time, clueless and trying to find her way.  She has been sharing so much advice with me.  Advice about things I never even thought of.  "Paying it forward," she says.  I love that.  I've been asked so many times how to get started and how to publish and I am always willing to help.  Paying it forward.  I am so appreciative of the people who have helped me and I will continue to pay it forward as well. 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

I grew up in a very small town in Eastern North Carolina called Reelsboro in a coastal county called Pamlico. Being from a small town where there was nothing for teens to do, allowed me to develop a huge imagination. I found solace in writing poetry and songs
Before I entered college I was able to leave my “small town” and discover other parts of this huge country. Seeing and experiencing all these amazing places was fun and exciting, however, as exciting as traveling was and as much fun as I was having experiencing all these amazing new places this was also a very sad and lonely time. It is true when they say that you can’t run away from your problems/feelings. I was full of so many emotions that I had to process, so I started to put it all down on paper. That became the start of my first novel that I have yet to complete. Writing my first complete novel in the young adult genre a few years later“Protector” was such a wonderful and daunting process. Finally, my dream came true. I was holding a complete published novel written entirely by me. To say I was happy would have been an understatement. Then I finished and published “Protect Me” which is the sequel to “Protector” as well as a murder/mystery “Too close to Home” which is set entirely in Pamlico County. Currently I am awaiting to release the third book in the “Protector” series, "Protect Us" as well as a drama entitled "This I Promise You" which should be released in the beginning of 2013.
Writing is such a passion of mine and I will continue to do so. I may not be on the New York Times Bestseller List yet, but I have succeeded in becoming a writer, anything more is just an added bonus.
So, I truly hope that you will enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoyed writing them. On a more personal note I would like to add that I appreciate the support that I have received from my family and friends and especially my readers! Thank you so much for helping make my dream come true! Please feel welcome to let me know what you think of my writing. To write a comment or a review of the first two books in the “Protector” series and "Too Close To Home", go to Amazon.com or goodreads.com. Also please feel free to leave questions or comments on my Facebook Fan Page.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Hi all, this is my very first blog post.  I'm feeling a little giddy from figuring it out