It seems that writing my fantasy novel, Generation “Z” Birth of the Zompire, although extremely time consuming, was the easiest part of the process.  Getting to (self) publication (IE. formatting, proof reading/editing, cover art uploading etc.) is a lot harder.  Marketing (Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Video Trailer, You Tube Video Trailers, Author signings, etc. etc.) is a daunting task in itself, and looms in the near future; however, on limited (none, really) budget, can’t afford Marketers/Distributors who demand thousands.  Is all the work involved worth it?  I think so, or at least it will be once completed.  None of this seems impossible, and I love writing, and so want others to read what I have to say.  Of course, then the process begins all over again for the next novel, Heaven’s Conflict, The Rise and Fall of Angels, hopefully by Christmas (unlikely); so, maybe by Easter next year.  Stay tuned; we’re close to publication on Generation, hopefully by Halloween so the Zompire can take its place alongside the Vampires/Zombies/other “monster” books that might be published then.

It’s been a long time since I visited this blog.  I got caught up with publication of Generation, then preparing our cottage in Old Lyme for Superstorm Sandy, digging out the area and all our goods that were stored in our now-non-existant storage shed and the front porch that was destroyed by a tree thrown through it by the wind/waves, fighting both the our insurance company (responsive, but no action to date, and it seems no one assigned to us knows what’s going on, or what to do!!!) and the town (they wouldn’t let us repair the porch because we had done a large dormer project, the cost of which when added to the porch, exceeded one half the total value (town determined) cost of the structure, and if exceeded we had to raise cottage (30-40 Thousand) etc. etc. etc.  Now that 2012 is ending, I pledge to post to this blog much more frequently (?daily) as to progress of marketing and writing/editing next novel due out in Spring.  Hope you want to take the ride with me.  At least early reviews (see Amazon and my site) are good! Happy New Year!

1/1/2013 Starting the year right with a page on Ask David ( http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/vampires-and-zombies/3472 ).  Hopefully, the marketing will produce some sales. Going to 2 book signings in February (NH & VA) (more about them later).  Shelton (Plumb) and Old Lyme (Noyes) libraries carring my book.  I’ve volunteered for a lecture this quarter at Plumb (they schedule by quarters).  Bookstore visits/phone calls to see if more will carry my book on consignment.  Meanwhile, I’m editing my next novel, then will send to my editors for final editing before submitting for publication (after approving cover art).  Read recently 2 seemingly discouraging reports: most self-published novels sell less than 500 copies (I also read 300), and that it usually takes 4 years of marketing/selling to become “successful” as the author (Of course, I believe also that you MUST have a good product (in this case a novel with action, suspense, believable/likeable characters), no plot holes, etc) first.  Hopefully I am presenting such a product.  On the more positive side, I also read the best way to sell novels is to write/publish more novels so your reader base expands.  I should be able to do this since I have 4 novels (written before I started publishing them myself),  all completed that only need tight editing and attractive covers to publish.  I plan two a year with hopes of attracting more and more by my two genres: fantasy and mysteries.

8/19/2013 It’s been a long time since my last post. Over the winter, we had the task of getting approval and arranging carpenters to repair and improve our home that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy. We lost a three season porch, almost all the contents of the place, and decided we might as well change our second story from it’s tiny footage to two full dormers. It proved a much larger task than we expected, but is worth it. But it kept me from this blog and took much time away from writing. I have today finished my editing of Heaven’s Conflict, and have sent it to editors. I plan to release it on October 1, 2013, and then will work on my Political Thriller/Murder Mystery, Not Privileged to Know, as well as a mid-grade fantasy I started in January. I will also try to continue my blogs. Thanks for understanding.