Happy Holidays!!

My Journey as an Author

Yesterday, I was invited to be the speaker for the International Women’s Club of Bermuda‘s December luncheon and general meeting. They had asked me to speak on “My Journey as an Author.” My talk was well received, and afterward many women came up to tell me that my story inspired them to be less hesitant about pursuing their goals. That was a wonderful validation. Below I’ve copied in my talk:

I have met many amazing women in the IWC who have done, and do, amazing things. And they all have stories to tell. So I feel a tad self-conscious standing here in front of you, talking about me, because I’m just an ordinary person who happens to have had the determination to achieve a goal I set for myself.

As you are aware, I recently published my first novel, and many of you have read it. It was suggested that people might be interested in hearing how I became a published author, so I agreed. This presentation will not be about my book, but rather, as the title suggests, about my journey toward becoming an author. And the message that I hope to leave you with is not how to become a published author, but that you can realize your dreams if you are determined and work hard enough to make them happen. That even if you think it’s too late, it is not.

I have always wanted to write and publish a book. When that actually happened this year, I was astonished, because life has presented many detours on my way to that goal and it is only now, at the age of 55, that I’ve achieved it. And because of that, I will spend a little bit of time today on a few of those forks in the road, so that you can have a sense of the whole journey.

In thinking about what I would tell you today, I started to ponder when I became a writer—and I distinguish being a “writer” from being an “author.” In my mind, everyone who writes anything, from journals to letters to emails, is a writer. An author is a writer who has had something they’ve written published.

So I’d have to say that I became a writer when I was a child. My love of writing has its source in my love of reading. And that developed in me at a young age.

When I was four, my mother emigrated from the Netherlands to Canada with me and my five siblings. We moved in with two aunts and an uncle who were unmarried siblings of my mother, and who had moved to Canada ten years previously.
   
This was 1961. In Holland in those days English was not taught in schools, and although my older sisters and brothers could read and write, they could not do so in English. I had barely started school, and could do neither in any language.

Within weeks of our arrival in Canada, my Aunt Helen took us in hand to the library down the street and introduced us to the librarian, Mrs. Mitchell. With her began my love of books.

Mrs. Mitchell took it upon herself to help these six Dutch children learn the English language, and from picture books such as Blueberry Sal, The Purple Crayon, and those by Dr. Seuss, to chapter books by Enid Blighton, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Lucy Maud Montgomery, I learned to speak, read and write English all in one fell swoop. And I learned it through the stories and adventures of characters that leaped from the page into my imagination.

Is it any wonder that my love of writing is intertwined with my love of reading?

As a child I wrote poems about my family and about the snow; I wrote stories about cats and filled school workbooks with short novels about orphan pioneer girls. In high school, my writing became more sophisticated, so much so that my grade thirteen English teacher suggested I send a story out for publication.

This brings me to my first pointer in realizing your dream:  

Listen to those who believe in you.

I did not listen to Mrs. Collette, because my 17-year-old self was busy pursuing a different dream: becoming a musician. I had begun piano lessons four years before and discovered I was good at it. I also found that playing the piano fed my soul. So I was determined to strive for a higher musical education in university the following year. However, Sister Johanna, my piano teacher didn’t think I had a chance of getting accepted into a program despite my talent because I had started playing the instrument so late, and she talked me out of even applying.

Pointer number 2 in realizing your dream: 

Don’t let anyone deter you from your aspirations.

I did let Sister Johanna deter me from my dream. So instead of music, I went to university for English and Psychology, hoping to become a schoolteacher, because my disappointment in not pursuing music briefly overshadowed my desire to write.

When I graduated there were few teaching jobs available, and so I moved to the big city of Toronto where I landed a job in an insurance company as a computer programmer. You heard right. The company hired me based on an aptitude test, put me through a thirteen-week training course, and voila, I was a computer programmer.

While on this detour from my goals, I met Richard; we married, and a couple of years later began a family. This new career of motherhood, as many of you know, was all encompassing, but in the middle of diapers and carpools and hockey practices and PTA, I revived my two dreams: one, to pursue a musical education; and two, to write.

At the age of 36, with three children between the ages of 6 and 9, I returned to university full-time to follow advanced studies in music. In addition, I intended to journal my back-to-school experience and eventually turn it into a book.

The advanced music studies were successful. The journaling was not. How could I have expected it be, with three children, a full-time course load, practicing piano, and, by the way, I had also begun teaching piano lessons.

I obtained my Bachelor of Music, and then pursued graduate studies in Music Theory. After six years of schooling I secured a teaching position at one of the local universities, and felt extreme satisfaction in having realized one of my lifelong dreams. I so wanted to visit Sister Johanna and say to her, “See? I knew I could do it!”

Pointer number 3 in realizing your dream: 

Never give up trying.

“But what about the writing?” you ask. Although journaling during my adult school career did not materialize, in the midst of all this LIFE, I did write: long letters to my sister who lived overseas, essays, the occasional short story, and with email becoming a part of our lives, I sent lengthy missives over the internet. Once I had graduated and was working, I took creative writing courses and I read, read, read.

But I wrote for fun, because it fulfilled something within me, and I never expected that I would ever publish a book. My career was music.

Six years ago, my life was uprooted. I had to leave my great gig at the university and I found myself living in the United States with no work permit and nothing to do.

In a magazine for new residents, a listing for the Virginia Writers Club jumped out at me, and I thought, “Could I do this?”

It took me a few days to pluck up the courage to actually phone them, because I didn’t really consider myself a writer since I merely dabbled with words. I essentially had to talk myself into believing that I would fit in with writers who took their craft seriously enough to send their work out. Would they, as a collective, accept me as a member? 

Pointer number 4 in realizing your dream: 

Believe in yourself.

Of course they accepted me—the group is all-inclusive and its membership is comprised not just of published authors, but amateur writers including triflers like I believed I was.

In that club, I bonded with four other writers and we formed a critique group. With them, my journey to authorship finally began.

My critique group helped me to believe that I could write a novel. I was hesitant about even starting one because, not counting my childish workbook novelettes, I had only ever written short stories. The group’s encouragement and constructive criticism spurred me on and made me find the discipline I needed to finish writing my novel.

There was another person in Virginia who guided me on the path to authorship. Jenn Stanley, who lived down the street from us, was a published cozy mystery author. When we met, I was a bit of a groupy because I was in awe of the fact that she had actually published books. We became friends, and when I finished writing my novel, she encouraged me to send it out. But first she gave me advice on how to make it an even better book and offered pointers on writing my query letters.

Pointer number 5 in realizing your dream:
LISTEN to constructive criticism.

And then Richard and I moved away, back to Canada.

But despite the chaos of the move, I hung on to my determination and sent out queries to literary agents. After about a dozen “no thank you’s” I received an email from an agent, Dawn, who was just starting the Blue Ridge Literary Agency. She had read my query and synopsis, and was very interested in reading the manuscript. I sent it to her and within less than a week she offered to represent me. She did qualify her offer, telling me she was new to the business, was just starting to make contacts, and I needed to be aware of her inexperience before signing with her.

My response to her was, “Well I’m new to this too; let us learn together.”

Pointer number 6 in realizing your dreams: 

Take risks.

Something else happened while I was shopping out my novel.

Remember my friend Jenn from Virginia, the cozy mystery author? While I was on a visit to Virginia, for fun we brainstormed an idea for a cozy mystery series. Jenn pitched it to her agent, who loved it and asked us to put together something she could submit to publishers. So with Jenn in Virginia and me in Ontario, we signed an agreement for co-authoring the series, wrote a proposal and the first three chapters, and sent it off.

And then Richard and I moved again, this time to Bermuda. During our first months here, I was slightly distracted from settling in by several phone calls from Jenn and her agent about the cozy mystery series. Berkley Prime Crime (a division of Penguin Books), wanted to contract a three book series with us based on our proposal.

Believe it or not, I hesitated. I had never written a cozy mystery and I would be co-authoring it, not writing it alone, and under a nom de plume. Still, publishers were rejecting my own novel and here was an opportunity to get published! How could I not take it?

After a few weeks of back and forth phone calls, negotiating the terms of the contract and the content of the book, Jenn and I signed, and I became half of Lucy Arlington, writing A Novel Idea Mystery Series.

Exciting, yes? I could now legitimately call myself an author! We began working diligently on the first book.

But the novel of my heart, The Unraveling of Abby Settel, was not getting published. And Sylvia May was not getting published.

The contract I had signed with my agent Dawn for the book was valid for one year. In that year, she sent it out to many publishers, who rejected it. There were many positive and kind rejections—such as, “a beautifully written book but we have no need for it at this time”—but rejections nonetheless.

I was getting discouraged.

As the end of the contract approached, I started to consider the idea of not renewing it and withdrawing the book from the market.

I had given it a good try.
I had written a novel.
Perhaps I should just be satisfied with that, write as half of Lucy Arlington, and go snorkeling.

Literally the day after voicing these thoughts to my husband, my agent Dawn phoned me with an offer from a small publisher in Kentucky, Turquoise Morning Press. They wanted to publish The Unraveling of Abby Settel.

Woo hoo!!

Some negotiations followed, but less than a week after I considered giving up on my dream of getting my novel published, I had signed the contract and Abby was on her way to the bookshelves.

Remember pointer number 3 in realizing your dream? 

Never give up trying.

It has been quite an adventure since then. I’ve had the unique opportunity of working with both a large publisher and a small independent one—choosing covers, dealing with issues over titles, release dates, multiple edits, deadlines.

In my experience, the small independent publisher is much more flexible and personal in the decision-making, involving the author in almost every step of the way. With the big publishing house, at least for the Cozy Mystery genre, the book seems to be simply a commodity and the author is merely the producer of that commodity. Once the publisher has the manuscript, the author almost doesn’t matter.

There are other differences:
The large publishing house contracted for three books on the basis of a proposal and three chapters. My co-author and I received a small advance before we’d even finished writing one book.

The small publishing house offered a contract on a completed manuscript, with no advance, only future royalty payments.

The manuscript for the first book of the mystery series was due to the publisher on February 1st of this year. We submitted it well before the deadline; however, our editor did not contact us about changes until August, seven months later. And the book will be released in February of 2012, almost two years from the signing of the contract. We’ve completed and submitted the second book, have begun writing the third, and the first one is not even out yet.

With The Unraveling of Abby Settel, the release date was negotiated in the contract, and three months before that date, I was contacted by the editor about minor editorial changes. The book was released on the original scheduled date of August 22nd of this year, nine months after the contract was signed.

From Berkley, I received a cover flat when the cover was finalized and three weeks ago I received ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) to be sent out to reviewers so that the book can be reviewed before release, increasing its anticipation.

From Turquoise Morning Press, there was nothing produced in advance. I received copies of the book when it was released.

As a new unknown author, promotion of the book is left solely to me. With today’s social media, the reach is amazing, but I spend at least an hour every day, and often more, on the computer accessing readers on FaceBook, Yahoo groups, blogs, etc.

I’ve paid to print bookmarks, to have the book listed in a library catalogue, and to have it advertised on Goodreads.com.

Will the income generated by the sales of The Unraveling of Abby Settel cover these costs? I hope so but possibly not. Yet exposure is everything, and if my first novel doesn’t make money but gets my name out there so that my second one will have a following, it is worth investing a little bit in promotion.

And I am in the fortunate position of earning some income from the Lucy Arlington contract to help support the costs of promoting the novel that I hope will make Sylvia May known as an author.

Writing The Unraveling of Abby Settel took me about a year. It required discipline to sit at my desk almost every day and work at it. I had to approach it like a job, using critique meetings as deadlines, working at the same time every day, setting daily objectives.

In Virginia and Ontario that was not difficult, because I focused my life there on that project.

Here in Bermuda, however, I find it more of a challenge to be a working author. There are so many distractions—the sun, the water, the beach, golf tournaments, Mah Jong, luncheons, volunteering, snorkeling, scuba diving, badminton, scootering—I could go on and on.

But if I want to stay on this author’s path—and I do—then I know that I must sometimes ignore those distractions and dig deep for that discipline to work hard and stick to task.

Pointer number 7 in realizing your dream: 

Work very hard.

The way I look at it, even though I’ve been a writer for most of my life, my journey as an author has only just begun.

My book has been out for only three and a half months and there’s still a big market to tap. I’m working on my second novel, and have about two-thirds of it completed. Where I will send it once it’s finished I haven’t yet decided. I would like to be more than a one-book author, so I am determined to get that second one published. And since I’ve been told that tenacity is my middle name, I am convinced it will be.

I truly believe that if you have your heart set on accomplishing something, you can. No matter how old you are. No matter where you are in life. You just have to work hard, set your goal, believe in yourself, and never give up.

On the Air

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being interviewed on the radio about my book, The Unraveling of Abby Settel. Nikita Robinson of HOTT 107.5 Bermuda invited me on her Book Club Hour to talk about the book as a prelude to her announcement that it is December’s choice for the Book Club. (Woo hoo!!)

When the interview date was arranged a month ago, I had asked Nikita if she had questions for which I could prepare answers. Her reply was no, she preferred to do it on the fly and let my responses be spontaneous. This gave me a moment’s pause, but I shrugged off any apprehension this might have generated. I mean, I know my topic.

In the week leading up to the interview, I was hit with a very bad virus–sinusitis, fever, chesty cough. I became anxious that I would not recover in time for the interview. Who wants to listen to someone on the radio coughing and croaking? Happily, I awoke yesterday morning feeling lively and energetic, with only the occasional hacking. Before leaving for the radio station, I took a swig of Robitussin and was good to go!

Nikita had a knack for putting me at ease. Although I hadn’t been nervous up to that point, once I sat in the studio while waiting for my turn, listening to her speak into the microphone, seeing all the electronic equipment, I was suddenly hit with the jitters. But Nikita chatted with me while the music was playing and soon I was comfortable in the environment.

I took my place in front of a big microphone, Nikita brought me a glass of water (thank goodness, because just before we started I had a coughing fit!), and we were off. I was there for the whole “Book Club Hour,” and Nikita and I would talk about the book between song sets and promo ads. I warmed to my topic, expanded my answers, and all in all, had a great time. It was heartening to talk about Abby, and what writing the book meant to me, and why it would appeal to readers.

Soon I will receive a recording of the interview and when I do, I will post it on my website, so if you missed it, you’ll be able to listen in.

I’m thrilled that my book is the radio’s book club choice for November, and doing the interview was a blast. I didn’t expect to ever be on a radio show. Thank you Nikita, for this wonderful opportunity.

Have you ever been a part of something you never imagined?

Watercolours and Words

In the past year, I have been learning how to paint with watercolours. It has been both a challenging and enjoyable endeavour. There are so many skills to acquire–how to hold your brush, mixing colours, various wet and dry brush techniques. I have learned to be patient, because if you don’t wait for a colour to dry then it will bleed into the next one you apply. Watercolours are unforgiving–you can’t paint over a mistake. I’ve produced results that are only good for tearing up and throwing in the bin. But the more I paint the better I get, and with increased frequency I’m actually liking my paintings.

An important lesson I’ve learned is to not overfill the page with paint. Watercolours have a transparency that lets light through a painting, and if the paint is too dense then the unique essence of the medium is lost. I’ve been told more than once to “use the white of the paper.” The spaces you don’t paint are as important as those that you do.

And so it is with writing. The words you don’t use are as important as the ones you do. Too much flowery description, gratuitous dialogue, or excessive vocabulary can muddy the clarity of what you’re trying to say.

In the same way that I improve with painting, the more I write the better I become. I have learned that by giving careful thought to the words I pen, I produce a more effective sentence or paragraph and avoid extraneous prose. I don’t need to explain or describe everything, only key elements. With carefully chosen words, the reader will understand and interpret my meaning. I have learned to respect the reader.

As I’ve had to do with watercolours, I have developed patience with my writing. Sometimes what I write just doesn’t seem to work, no matter how much I play with the language. If I’m patient and leave it for a while, when I come back to it, the best way to express what I want to say flows out.

But thank goodness for word processing! Unlike watercolours, using a computer to write is forgiving. Mistakes are easy to repair. I can cut-and-paste, move whole chunks of text around, check facts or a thesaurus online, even mark up areas that need to be addressed. Just as long as I remember to save.

I am intrigued by the idea that what I am learning through watercolour painting is inherently applied to my writing, and vice versa. I realize that if we venture into new pursuits, we enrich our palette of skills and become better at everything we do.

Have you tried anything new lately?

My first book event

 

Back in August, when my friend Jill heard that my book was being released, one of the first things she said was, “I want to host a book event for you!” Jill is a combination of Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, and her own special kind of hostess, so I was thrilled and honoured. We pulled out our calendars and set a date.

Last night, October 13th, our planning and preparation culminated in a wonderful evening. The refreshment table overflowed with goodies–white sangria, cider, crudites, cheeses, blue cheese crisps, sweets, fruit. Friends and supporters arrived, eager to enjoy the camaraderie and treats, to hear about the book and to get their copies signed by me, the author.

It was a strange feeling to be the person they all came to hear– a good feeling, but strange. I mean, I’m just ordinary me. 

The guests were primarily ex-pats living in Bermuda who have experienced similar circumstances to Abby, the book’s protagonist, uprooted from their familiar homes to relocate to a foreign environment. They could identify with Abby. The overwhelming response to the book was emotional and enthusiastic, and appreciation for having the pluck to write and publish Abby’s story. I was deeply affected by their support and praise.

In my presentation, I spoke about the inspiration for The Unraveling of Abby Settel, and answered questions about aspects of the book and how it was published. The excerpt I chose to read hit home to many of the women listening and generated discussion. Afterward, they all brought their books to me to sign.

It is gratifying to know that the message in my book hit the mark. Indeed, more than one person thanked me for writing it, for getting the story out there, of how difficult it is to leave behind the well-known to begin somewhere new and unfamiliar.

In response, I say thank you, the readers of my book. When you give me feedback, or write to me with your reactions and stories, you make it all worthwhile.

Oh, and thank you Jill, for hosting a wonderful book event.

Thinking About Writing

I love to write. I just do it and don’t often think about why I write. But last week when I was interviewed for the Emerging Novelists website, I was asked some questions that made me think about it.

I realized that writing is my way to process my experiences and thoughts. Through writing I can wrestle with questions and isssues by having my fictional characters struggle through crises. Certainly, I derive pleasure in playing with words, but writing is my way of sorting out life.

In case you missed it, here is the interview conducted by Michael Murphy:

Sylvia. You were born in the Netherlands, have lived in Canada, the U.S. and now Bermuda.  How has all this impacted your writing?
I believe that having diverse cultural experiences broadens one’s outlook on life. I think that my characters, settings, and stories are influenced and enriched by my exposure to different societies and countries, even at a subconscious level. My family emigrated from the Netherlands when I was a  young child and I’ve lived in Canada most of my life. As a child and teenager I wrote many stories about pioneers settling in new lands or orphans without roots. It didn’t occur to me until you asked the question, Michael, but perhaps those themes were unconsciously influenced by the impact of my family’s immigration. However, it was my relocation to the U.S. six years ago that inspired my novel, The Unraveling of Abby Settel. After living for almost twenty years in the same town, I found myself in a city where I knew no one, was not allowed to work, and had to develop a new life, much like my character Abby. The emotional impact of this caught me by surprise, even more so when I discovered that many women in the same situation were affected the same way. I decided that this was a story that needed to be told, and Abby was born.

Tell us about your new novel, The Unraveling of Abbey Settel.
The novel is an account of one woman’s journey as she faces challenges that force her to question who she is and what is important to her happiness. Abby Settel has a full and satisfying life as a wife, mother, and university professor. But it slowly begins to fall apart. Her son’s behaviour becomes worrisome, her aging parents are deteriorating, and her husband loses his job. His new position compels them to move hundreds of miles away, where Abby, forced to leave her children, parents, friends, and identity, is plagued by guilt and loneliness. When she discovers a group of women facing the similar challenges, she explores what “home” really means to her, and learns valuable lessons about herself and those she loves. It is a story of mid-life reinvention, letting go to embrace the present, and the importance of friends.

What has been the most challenging aspect of becoming a novelist?
At the risk of sounding cliché, I would have to say that my biggest challenge is the commitment required to write every day. I am normally very self-disciplined and organized, but for some reason, when it comes to writing, I have become an expert task-avoider. And that puzzles me because I love to write. The distractions are numerous. Now that my novel is published, there are a myriad of tasks involved with the promotion of it, most of them carried out on the computer, and it is amazing how many hours get eaten up that way. I “task avoid” at other times, too. When my characters are at an impasse and I’m not sure where to take them, or I’ve finished a scene and am uncertain how to start the next, it seems more desirable to clean the house or bake cookies than struggle with those quandaries. Sometimes the way the story is progressing excites me so much that the adrenaline makes me edgy and I can’t just sit quietly at the computer and type, so I do something active instead. And, of course, living in Bermuda, there are far too many diversions, like snorkelling, scuba diving, golf, riding my scooter…

What do you enjoy most about being a writer?
As a writer, I can express opinions and explore issues through the lives of fictitious characters, and answer questions like “what if?” or “why not?” Everyone has something to say about life, and writing fiction is a special way to say my piece. I’ve always been an avid reader, and love to immerse myself in a fictional character’s dilemma. Being a writer is an extension of that. Imagine how empowering it feels to create a setting exactly the way you envisage it, then placing in it a person or two and forcing a crisis upon them. I can make them do whatever I want, living vicariously through them as they behave in ways I would never do myself. I take great delight in that. But what I most enjoy is when the story I’m writing takes a turn that I didn’t expect. Really, it has happened to me! Then I begin to wonder who is really in charge.

What authors have inspired you the most?
That is a tough question. Every book that has moved me, has inspired me in some way, and I’ve read so many different authors and different genres, that my list would be very long. To narrow it a great deal, I would have to say that the authors whom I most want to emulate are those who take ordinary people in ordinary circumstances and write a story around them that is compelling and emotionally charged. On that list I would include Alice Munro, Carol Shields, Elizabeth Berg, Isabel Huggan, Jacqueline Mitchard, and Elizabeth Strout. I’ve certainly left some out.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m about three-quarters of the way through my second novel, which is the story of a woman who questions the path her life has taken and makes some dubious choices to change it. The book’s setting plays a large part in the story and is inspired by Jekyll Island, GA, a place I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several times. I’m also deep into a project that involves co-authoring a mystery series with a friend and fellow author under the pseudonym Lucy Arlington. We have a three book contract with Berkley Prime Crime for the series and the first book, Buried in a Book, is scheduled for release in February 2012.

What other facet of your life impacts your writing process?
One aspect that I unexpectedly enjoy about being an author is the editing process. I used to be intimidated by the idea that after working for months to write a manuscript, I’d still have to rework it and change sections that I initially believed were complete and wonderful. I thought that by the time I’d finished writing it, I’d be ready to be done with it. Put it away, so to speak. Not so. In many ways I find it more rewarding to go into a written passage and play with its sentence structure, replace words, or alter the sequence of events. Having the initial idea down, the “wordsmithing” really happens in the editing process. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. I’m a pianist, and the process of learning and perfecting a piece of music is not dissimilar. Once it’s in my head and fingers, I tweak certain sections to perfect it, until I can play it exactly the way I envision. That’s one of the challenges I enjoy about playing the piano. So, too, with writing. Striving to say something in just the right way is what makes writing a craft.

The Thrill of Holding MY BOOK in my Hand

As you may recall from an earlier post, I had arranged to have the print copies of my book sent to my daughter’s address in Ontario, since shipping them to Bermuda was costly. Last week we flew to Ontario, and of course it was wonderful to walk through the door of our daughter’s house and give her and our son-in-law big hugs.

But then I made a beeline for the box I saw sitting in the kitchen waiting for me. We all gathered round as I slit through the tape and opened the box. What a thrill to see my books. I picked one up, stroked the cover, fanned through the pages, looked inside for details. It was beautiful!

I have always wanted to be a writer. As a grade-schooler, I filled many school notebooks with “novels” about orphan pioneer girls; when I was a teenager I wrote poetry and short stories. And then, as an adult, I pursued other careers (Computer Programmer, Piano Teacher, Music Theorist), married, and became a mother. My writing was pushed aside.

But in the back of my mind, I still hoped to one day be a published author. When we moved to the States a few years ago, I was not allowed to work and in essence became “retired” at the young age of 50. As I tried to fill my days, it suddenly occurred to me that if I was ever to write a novel, that was the time. Either I do it, or stop dreaming about doing it.

And now I can hold my book in my hands. It is the realization of a life-long dream. There is nothing to compare to what I felt in seeing the culmination of what began as an idea in my head, then became a Word document on my computer, and now is an actual book.

Can you imagine? What is your life-long dream and how will you make it happen?

Visit my website to find out more about the book, watch the trailer, or buy it on Amazon.

It’s Here!!!

I woke up very early this morning. Very early.

Today’s the day! My book is out in the world. Today you can buy it from Amazon or directly from the publisher, Turquoise Morning Press. Soon you’ll also be able to purchase it from Barnes&Noble, Kobo, or even order it from a bookstore. Be sure to check out my website to find out all about The Unraveling of Abby Settel.

Am I excited? You bet I am.

But, if I’m completely honest, the excitement of the release has been slightly dampened by the fact that I don’t have a copy of the book in my hands yet. Well, that’s not entirely true. I do have a digital version on my iPad and it looks amazing. But there’s nothing like the cracking open of a real book, reading the words I wrote, feeling and seeing the cover…at least, I imagine there’s nothing like it. After all, this is my debut novel. But I experience that feeling all the time when I get a new book written by someone else, so I expect my reaction will be hundred-fold to that with The Unraveling of Abby Settel.

So I’m thinking of this as release week. Because by the end of it, I hope to be actually turning the pages in my first Sylvia May novel. Will you?

The Day Before Release

Tomorrow is the big day. My book will be released to the world!

It’s been quite a week. I’ve been prepping for a big send-out as soon as the book is “live” — compiling email lists, setting up author pages, updating my website…

I’ve received thrilling emails from my publisher, Kim, about the book going to print, about e-book files, preparing for release date. As she put it, we’ve birthed a book.

Tomorrow you’ll be able to order your copy — as a trade paperback or digitally for a variety of e-readers. Personally, I can’t wait to hold it in my hand. There’s a box of advance copies en route to my daughter’s house in Canada. We’re traveling there next week, and should arrive on the same day as the books (if the shipping arrival estimate is to be believed). How exciting it will be, to open that box with my family.

And I am wired. All week my brain has been whirring with lists, interfering with my sleep. Yet I don’t need coffee to keep me energized. The anticipation keeps the adrenaline running through me.

One more sleep! Except that I probably won’t. 🙂