Musings About 2013 And This Author's Hopes For 2014...

Well, 2013 was a rollercoaster of a year for me.  There were some great highs but an awful lot of lows that really made this a tough one for me.  

Losing my father-in-law was probably the hardest thing to go through.  I looked up to that man so much and he gave me such great advice and encouragement.  To watch him fight the good fight and then lose to something other than the cancer, was gut-wrenching.  However, to see my wife's family pull together and know I was a part of them, helped a lot.  As did this Christmas.  This was the first one without him and was going to be especially hard for my mother-in-law.  Helen (my wife) and I had her and my brother-in-law over here for the holiday where we decked out the place and managed to create a magical Christmas in which it felt like he was right there with us the whole time.  We all felt his presence, and that made me feel so much better. 

My debut novel "The Bridge" came out and 1477 copies were grabbed up.  Most of these were thanks to free e-book giveaways (about 1370) by my count.  Was it worth doing that?  I think so, because as a 1st time author I needed to get my product and my name out there.  I'm hoping this will translate to a large number of people willing to actually buy the second book when it comes out in March 2014.  Because I won't be doing free promo-giveaways again because in order to do that, I'd have to first release the book to Amazon only for 3 months.  That would leave all my Nook, Apple and Sony e-reader fans waiting on the sidelines.  I don't like that idea, it seems unfair to my audience and I cannot operate that way.  I care about the people that are interested in reading my work.

Foolish? Maybe.  Idealistic?  Certainly.  But that's couple of things that make me who I am.

For 2014 I'm hoping to put out at least 2 new books.  "The Ship" of course in March.  Then I'll be introducing a new set of characters and their first story in December.  "The Vampire Blogs" will be my first Christmas story.  My protagonist will be a blood-sucker with most, if not all, the usual powers and weaknesses and no sparkling.  He will also be a good-guy.  I have plans of starting a blog dedicated to events in his and the other characters lives before the book actually comes out to give the audience sneak preview into the workings of their minds and how life shapes their personalities.  Please let me know if you like this idea in the comments section below.  Most of what will be shown in the blog will probably not show up in the book, so these 'blog' entries will be an added treat for my readers. 

Depending on my schedule in the coming months, I might have a third book come out which will involve Alex, Veronica, Cassie and Julie once again and take up where both "The Bridge" and "The Ship" leave off.  Little hint for everyone about the final scene coming up in "The Ship".  Hee-hee...

I will be attending more classes at my local Community College starting in Feb., with the hopes of entering University in the Fall of 2014.  We'll see how everything goes and how life is treating me.  The amount of free time I have will have a definite impact on how much writing I get done.  So keep your fingers crossed for me.  I'm dedicated to getting "The Ship" and "The Vampire Blogs" out for certain.

Other goals and dreams for 2014 involve spending more time with my wife and hoping our financial situation improves so we can get out and try more things.  Kayaking, Parasailing, Ballroom Dance and other activities have long been on our list of what we'd like to try or do more of.  We'll see how things go.

So, as 2013 comes to a close, I pray the coming months are kind and treat you all even better than the last 12 have.  More writing tips will be coming soon so stay tuned.  In the meantime, if you must travel please be safe and stay well.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL... and keep writing.