IWSG: Many Thanks and a Fear Spiral

Many thanks to the fearless Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh and his co-hosts for IWSG!!! And for those who run the website and the facebook page, many thanks to you as well!

And many, super, huge thanks to DL and the Blitz Team! You rocked my blog yesterday, and I don't think there are enough words to express how thankful I am!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!

 

However I still have a fear this month: I'm a terrible marketer. My friends and family must be tired of the tweets, facebook posts, blog posts, and even, yes, e-mails, about my second novel, Champion in Flight.

And yet, I received a message last week from a distant friend.

"I'm so excited for you getting your first book published!"

Um, wait. She didn't know I published my first book last year? Even after I tweeted, posted, blogged, e-mailed, felt like an uber-obnoxious-salesperson?

So, I'm not a good book marketer. Some people have heard it to their eyeballs, and some haven't heard any of it.

And three days into my newest book release, the crickets are chirping.

 Seriously, crickets and frogs have a concert outside my house every night . . . and in addition to that, the books aren't selling. By not selling, I mean hold up both your hands, and then hide one behind your back. You are holding up more fingers than books that have sold.

And that's where the fear starts spiraling into a horrible attitude like this:

Maybe it's just the wrong book. Maybe even the reviews for the first one were just "nice" and not real. Maybe no one likes openly Christian fantasy. Maybe I should have written about vampires at war with zombies with a star-crossed undead lovers twist? Maybe I'm just a terrible writer. I don't know.

Ugh. Shudder. Shake it off. Focus.

I am still going to keep writing, keep marketing (obnoxious or not), and keep celebrating the awesome encouragement I have received.

And yes, I'm going to plug my book for just a moment, along with a few others that I know about:

Reborn (The Fate Challenges #1)
by Cherie ReichTo save a kingdom, a prophetess must challenge Fate.

Seventeen-year-old Phoenix Prophetess Yssa is cursed instead of blessed, and her duties at the Temple of Apenth prove it. Yet her boring temple life screeches to a halt when visions of her parents’ murders consume her. Yssa races across an ocean to stop the future. If she can’t change Fate, she’ll refuse to be the Phoenix Prophetess any longer. Fate, however, has other plans for her and the kingdom. Yssa must either accept her destiny or fight against Fate.

Now Available in Print and Ebook!
Print: Amazon /Barnes and Noble / Book Depository / Createspace

Broken Branch Falls
Gabe is an average fifteen-year-old goblin. He’s in the marching band, breezes through calculus, and gets picked on daily by the other kids at school, especially the ogres. Gabe’s closest friends are goblins like him, but Gabe is tired of being a goblin – he’d like to try other things. And he has his eye on the new ogress at school. It’s against all beastly rules, but there’s just something about her.

Coming on June 24th by Tara Tyler!

As part of a global, cross-industry promotional project for audiomachine’s upcoming public release, PHENOMENA—by celebrated composer, Paul Dinletir—we’re introducing a groundbreaking campaign to encourage the next generation of authors, artists & musicians! With each download of the upcoming FREE PHENOMENA companion ebook, audiomachine will make a donation to the LA Youth Orchestra.

Available today or tomorrow!

Put together by Samantha Redstreak Geary and featuring many bloggers we know!

Rachel Schiefelbien's Don't Fall

In this contemporary retelling of Rapunzel, seventeen-year-old Anya leads a secluded life in a house on the edge of town with her adopted mother. She doesn't go to public school, doesn't even have a best friend. But Anya doesn't seem to mind. She has her books, her photography, and her daydreams and would do anything to please her mom.

Annalisa Crawford's Our Beautiful Child

People end up in this town almost by accident. Ella is running away from her nightmares, Sally is running away from the memories of previous boyfriends and Rona is running away from university. Each of them seek sanctuary in the 18th century pub, The Boathouse; but in fact, that’s where their troubles begin.

Jack Lewis Baillot's cover reveal for A Test of Loyalty!

Upon learning he is one of the sons of the now dead king, Prince Lachlan is forced to leave the only home he has ever known. Fleeing for his life, his step-brothers a step behind, Lachlan finds safety and friendship with a young seamstress named Magda, a hermit, an Elf, and two Dwarf brothers. Determined to keep the young prince alive, Magda and the others seek out help in the surrounding Nations.




In Short Stories:
Milo James Fowler has several awesome stories out, but the latest two that I know about and have read and loved are: "Drawn from a World of Hurt" at Fiction Vortex and "Captain Quasar and the Fastest Thumbs on Zeta Colony Four" at Comets and Criminals.

And, Christine Rains has an excellent story out at Luna Station Quarterly. Check out "Ladgarda" - it's a great read.

Champion in Flight

A year after she won the battle for Septily, Clara feels trapped in Skycliff by the Allied Council. As the last pieces of information about the Healing Caves fall into place, Clara is attacked by an assassin. Covert Drinaii mercenaries and the Council aren’t going to stop Clara from her quest to heal her broken blade. As Champion of Aramatir, she must act.

 

Meanwhile, in the joint kingdoms of Rrysorria and Wylandria, the youngest and still cursed swan prince despairs of ever being whole again. In a moment of anger and desperation, Liam discovers a blood link between him and a dark sorceress.

 

Clara won the battle for Septily, but her battle isn’t over.

Smashwords
Amazon
Goodreads


What do you think is the best way to market your writing? Have you ever been blitzed? Isn't it awesome?
And . . . if you could choose a favorite way to fly, what would be your choice and why? Griffin? Dragon? Millennium Falcon? Enterprise? Cessna?

And do you have news to share? I'm planning on starting a monthly (I can't keep up otherwise) feature on my blog for blog/author news so I can showcase everyone's accomplishments. If you have news to share, please e-mail me at tyreantigger@gmail.com

And if you are a blitzer - THANK YOU!!!

Hiatus on Hold, and Write Club!

I'm putting my hiatus on hold. That sounds odd, but there it is.

However, I will take one in late July - a long, long one. I'll say more about that when I get closer to it.

Something I've been meaning to talk about:

1st RULE: You MUST talk about WRiTE CLUB - Spread the word far and wide so we can involve as many writers as possible. Display the WRiTE CLUB banner prominently on your own blog. Write a post about it. Tweet it. Mention it on Facebook. Heck, send up smoke signals if you can.
So, I'm talking about it. I'm joining in on the fun this year. Last time I voted, but didn't know fi I was supposed to since I wasn't signed up. I've seen Write Club several years now, and I've thought it looked really cool, so this year, I entered and I'm voting.

2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about WRiTE CLUB – Once the competition begins you are not allowed to solicit votes. All of the writing entries are anonymous, and we want it to stay that way. This is not a popularity contest!
I'm excited to read the entries. Every year, I've been impressed. I don't think I would feel comfortable soliciting votes, and I think this second rule is just plain fair, and I'm thankful that it's part of the contest.

In fact, I'm just thankful for the way that DL brings out the best writing, the best comments, and the best in people around the blogsphere. He's a great guy.

Have you joined Write Club? Know DL? A visit to his site is always worthwhile and thought-provoking.

And now, I'm going to go visit. Somehow, I am going to catch up in the next few days . . . I hope.