Hey, look! It didn't take me nine months to update you guys!
But I still have loads to update you on, so buckle up. We've got a lot to cover.
Saving Hope is officially published. Actually, it's been live since April 1, and my social media accounts have known about it since April 19th. If you count cover reveal, April 18th. So I've been a published author of an actual book for a whole month now, a little over six weeks if you want to get technical. (Story for another time.)
What have I been doing this whole time? Both a lot and nothing at all. Project Green–Future is with alpha readers (or beta readers, whatever you call it) still. I've been working on Project Blue–Wings but it's been a lot of starting and stopping. My first major task is to get to Chapter Five. It's where my two main characters meet for the first time. All I have to do to get there is finish Chapter Four, but I've been stuck here for several weeks now. Who knew I'd be busier after I published a book? I did, but knowing something and experiencing it for the first time is a bit different. I've about gotten into a groove with Saving Hope so *fingers crossed* I should be able to reach Chapter Five this week. If not, I'm going to need to add tissues to the grocery list.
During this last month, the brunt of my efforts has been on Saving Hope, but work at the bookstore has also been pretty crazy with Mother's Day and Graduation. Whenever I wasn't at the store I would be crafting reels, posts, and stories for all my social media accounts. It's exhausting. I also organized a book signing for Saving Hope, donated copies to three different libraries, updated this website and hosted a giveaway. As of the time you are reading this, I have also updated my blog. Huzzah!
As a side note, I am now a Goodreads author. YAY! You would not believe how difficult it was to complete that simple task. (The system did not like my form answers and was positive I didn't actually write my own books.) But that's water under the bridge now.
Now that all this is done I've about reached the point where I can turn most of my focus back to projects green and blue. At least, I hope so. If books are like children, it's time for Saving Hope to spread her wings and strike out on her own. Sure she can come back for weekends and holidays, but it's time for her brothers to get some attention.
What have I learned through all of this? Writing is a lot more fun than marketing.
I'll keep this update pretty short and leave it here. I've got a lot more stories behind the making of Saving Hope but I'm not quite ready to share them.
See you on the next page! – S.J.
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