The Big Day

Today is the day.

The official day that my book, Drowning in the Dark, becomes available on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Smashwords in an e-book format.

And I have to say, it’s pretty damn exciting. This is my debut book, and it’s a wonderful feeling to see it online, available to the reading masses like that. Not to mention, the feeling of just writing and finishing a book. That’s pretty special too.

I never thought I would get to write and publish something like this so soon. I'm 23 years old, and I had always thought you could never really become a writer until you became older and more established. I always thought you had to slave away for years and years in far-flung corners of the publishing industry, and maybe if you were lucky, the earliest you could publish something would be in your 30’s.

But this whole new e-reader wave has really broken down those old and outdated industry standards. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be writing what I want to write at my age. And of course, to have the opportunity to have it published! That last part is pretty major. Because I’m pretty sure that if I went through the normal query route, my book would not have been be published, or if it did, it wouldn’t be ready for another two years or maybe more. And by then, it wouldn’t be cutting-edge anymore.

So what I’m saying is that I’m so extremely pleased to be apart of this new wave of e-reading. I truly do believe it’s the future, and I’m so thrilled to be apart of it, and have the chance to mainline my book directly to the readers.

On a side note, I’d really like to thank all the fine folks at You Come Too Publishing. I couldn’t have done it without their valuable insight and help.

So with that, I’m going to leave you with a description of the book below. Here you go:

There's a demon walking the streets of Freeport. And only teenager Samantha Carver can stop it.
It's hard to outrun your past. But that's what Sam thought she could do. After moving to a sleepy town on the Oregon coast to live with relatives, she thought she was safe. She thought she could be someone different. She thought she could be a normal teenage girl.

However, the quiet coastal town of Freeport is no refuge. After a girl at the high school is brutally murdered, the police believe Samantha's cousin and best friend, Terry, is responsible.

But Samantha knows what her friends, teachers, and the police don't. The murderer isn't human. Samantha has seen this before. Too many times. She has witnessed the dead rise from their graves and do unspeakable things. She carries the scars on her skin and the sorrow in her soul to prove it.

The evil that she thought she had left behind in the rotting graveyards of her past is still stalking her.

Will Samantha be able to save Terry, Freeport, and herself from the malevolent power that threatens to rip her world apart? Or will she succumb under a surging tide of evil and drown in the growing darkness that surrounds her?

In the tradition of Amanda Hocking and Charlaine Harris comes a paranormal romantic thriller with more chills than a cold and windblown night on the Oregon coast.

...Not Just Another Drop in the Ocean

So it's Sunday night. Feeling those same old familiar Sunday night shakes when I think about all the things I have to do tomorrow. Pay bills. Go to work. Obligations. And tonight, I can't stop listening to Summertime Rolls by Jane's Addiction.

Yep. It's definitely Sunday night. Dreading Monday, dreaming of quitting my job as a reporter and becoming a beach bum in Hawaii and learning how to surf. So it goes.

But hey, I've got February to look forward to. Because February is when I'm publishing my first horror book as an e-book. It's a zombie young adult paranormal romance book that I hope will make a killing (excuse the bad pun.) I'm not expecting success immediately. But I'm doing what I love, and I hope that success won't be too far behind.

I know I'm a little late to the blog game. A little late with all of that social media. I think I was close to the first wave of people who started using Facebook and Twitter. But lately, I've become disillusioned with all of it. I get sick of hearing about other people talking endlessly about their own lives -- hearing them complain constantly. It's just the nature of it, so I've taken a step back. Seeing if I can live without checking my Facebook account everyday (we'll see how that goes...)

So on that hypocritical note, I've decided to start a blog. A blog tracking the writers process. A diary of a working girl moving on up in the world. Hopefully moving on up to a a little beach side shack in Maui -- that's what I dream of. You know the movie, Islands in the Stream? You probably don't -- it's a little obscure (I spend a lot of time in the obscure.) It's an old one from the 70's that takes place in the Caribbean during World War II, starring George C. Scott (one of my very favorites) and David Hemmings and based on a Hemingway novel. The main character, Thomas Hudson, is an artist who lives on a beach in the Caribbean. He works making metal artwork, and sells in over on the mainland. My goal is to be Thomas Hudson, minus the complicated family issues and the raging war and metal sculptures. But to live on a tropical island and spend the days dedicated to writing. Maybe travel a bit. That's what I want. And that's what I'm determined to get.

So now that I've told you my dream, I hope you'll stay tuned for the journey. What I believe is that with persistence, you can live the life you always dreamed of. And I hope that I can be an example of that here.

So here I go. On the open road of the blogosphere. I hope we'll pass each other sometime. Thanks for stopping by, and hope to see you often!