My New Release GONE!

GONE, my newest release, became available yesterday. I’m super excited to say my book shares a birthday with Baby Sussex, Harry and Meghan’s bundle of joy. Who else thinks they should name their baby Spencer after Princess Diana? Wouldn’t that be great?

Releasing a book into the world is always fun, but very terrifying. However, early readers are saying nice things so I’m calming down. A bit. There’s nothing more terrifying that hearing someone say, “I read your book.” Gulp. So much is invested in those pages. It’s not only about the story. Your books showcase your sense of craft. Your view of the world. And not everyone is going to like what you have to say , or how you say it.

Now that GONE is out in the world, it doesn’t only belong to me. When a reader purchases a copy, it is theirs to interrupt how they wish. I remember when my daughter was small and I was concerned about her eating habits. In other words, I was stressing out because she wouldn’t do what I wanted her to do. There was a definite power struggle going on in our house and eating was the currency being used to manipulate each other. My daughter has special needs and at the time in a program that provided a psychologist. I went to her for advice on getting my daughter to eat. What I was really asking was how do I get her to eat what I wanted her to eat. Her advice has stayed with me to this day and I have applied it to many things. She said I was responsible for what was served and how it was presented, and my daughter was responsible for how much she ate and if she ate at all.

That sums up my philosophy towards launching books into the world. I’m offering a book I’ve worked hard to craft with a story I care about. Readers can decide to read it or not, and if they read it whether they like it or not.

Having said that, I’m overjoyed when readers connect with my stories!