The Rollercoaster

So, as you know, I’ve been absent.  A lot.  Couldn’t be helped really. The past couple months have been a rollercoaster of highs and lows.  First, my dad passed away less than two weeks ago.  With his health as poor as it was, his passing was a blessing of sorts, but that doesn’t make it any easier, especially since we didn’t have the greatest relationship near the end.  He was a very difficult man.  But he’s my dad; I love him regardless, and I’m gonna miss him.  A lot.

But the bad was tempered with a bit of good. A few months ago, I mentioned that my debut, The Mistaken, had been nominated for four, then finaled for three, 2014 eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards. Well, turns out, yesterday, it WON two of those awards—Best Thriller & Best Audiobook!  I found this out not ten minutes before I picked up my father’s ashes.  I’d like to think there was some magic at work there.

But I wasn’t the only winner.  While you can watch the video presentation of all the winners here, and I had many other friends in nearly every single category, I would like to give a special shout out to my Blogger buddies who won or were runners-up:

Lisa Regan - Aberration - "I've Been Shyamalaned" Award (tied for Best Twist)

Michael J. Infinito Jr. - In Blog We Trust - "I've Been Shyamalaned" Award (tied for Best Twist) & - 12:19  - Runner-up Best Horror

Carrie Butler - Strength - Best New Adult & Best Series (Mark of Nexus)

Alex J. Cavanaugh - CassaStorm - Best Science Fiction

Cassie Mae - Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend - Runner-up The Harvey Award  

Congrats to every one of you fabulous authors! 

And now to wrap it all up, I decided to play filmmaker last week.  I put together a little book trailer for my second novel, Leverage, book 2 in The Mistaken Series. Take a looksee, and give it a thumbs up if you like it.  Thanks!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!

IWSG - I'm BAAA-AAAACK!

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, time for
Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group!

Wow, it’s been so long, and I’ve missed you all SO much during my rather lengthy hiatus, but it was unavoidable and proved to be very valuable time spent.  The biggest news to come out of my prolonged absence?  

I published my second novel!

Now, this was no easy feat. Once I signed with a small press for my first title, The Mistaken, I was excited to get started on the sequel. Unfortunately, the stars don’t often align and I was disappointed when my publisher closed to all submissions due to the tough economy. That sidetracked me on many levels. I had to take up ALL the slack on promoting my first book while trying to focus on finishing the second, another dark romantic thriller called Leverage. And since it’s a sequel, trying to sell it to another publisher seemed unlikely, so I jumped into the indie pool and self-published Leverage. 

Of course, that’s no easy task when you’re a novice with no extra money. At least, as an editor myself, I knew that aspect was pretty much under control, though I did have an editor friend of mine give it a once over. But I had to do all the formatting myself. Now, for the paperback, it was no problem, but the ebook was something else altogether. I didn’t want to just put my baby through a grinder. I wanted it properly indexed and validated across all venues, so doing all that code stuff was a tad daunting.

Next, the cover! I had commissioned original artwork, but the timing didn’t work out, so I went the stock photo route and prayed Carrie Butler at Forward Authority Design Services could help me out, and boy did she ever! Just look at this puppy! Obviously, this is the paperback cover. The ebook consists of the front portion only.

Isn't it Purty?!!

I seriously couldn’t be happier. Carrie Butler produced exactly what I asked for and in record time, which was important because, while I had said I would launch May 20^th so it would coincide with my first blog tour, I needed to release on Amazon Kindle by May 1^st if I wanted to enter Kindle Book Review’s 2014 Best Kindle Book Awards. And WHEW, I made it!

While I do have to spend some time this week listing it on Kobo and Barnes & Noble, I feel pretty good. The early reviews are outstanding and, so far, I have a perfect 5-star rating on Amazon.  Even The Mistaken still rates 4.6 stars on 115 reviews. I’m doing okay and look forward to my first tour in a few weeks. And hey, if you’re interested in joining the tour, Book Plug Promotions has prepared this Google Doc for sign-ups. I hope it’s still open, but I’m not entirely sure. I do have another coming up August, so if you’re interested in that one, contact Nazarea Andrews at Inkslinger PR. 

Okay, you might be wondering what my point is here. Well, as I’ve lamented here before, I find all this publishing stuff, especially the marketing, immensely intimidating, but, with the help of my, many of whom I’ve met here, I’ve more than just muddled through. I still have a long way to go, but, geez, if I can do it, anyone can!