Friday May 8th I will be doing my second book signing event at the Ancaster Chapters from 5:00pm - 8:30 pm. The area in Ancaster is commonly known as Meadowlands for those familiar with the large shopping complex.

It took a lot to get to this point in my new career as an author. First, I had to believe that what I had written was good enough to even consider being published - and even then, I thought it would be a family thing - copies for each of my girls and copies to sit on my mantel so I could say, "Hey, I wrote a couple of novels!" Then, when I got  positive feedback from my editor, I made the decision to pursue more than the family mantel. I was going for it!

Online promotion consumed me at first as I learned about Facebook, Twitter and a plethora of other avenues I could pursue. However, I quickly determined that I could spend 24 hours a day in front of the computer and still not have enough time to cover all aspects of online promotion. So, which ones did I choose? Facebook and Twitter were good starts. Then I did giveaways on goodreads.com (in fact I have one going until this Saturday for books 1 & 2). The goal was to get reviews. Out of the 10 copies I gave away, I had one lovely person write a review for me. I was actually shocked at the amount of money I spent to mail out those giveaways, as 9 out of the 10 went to the States. The giveaway I am currently running is only for Canadians since I'm running out of promotional money!

Local media came next. My daughter, Diana, decided to become my PR person and she arranged for a local paper to write an article on myself and my other daughter, Laura, who drew the artwork for the covers of my books. She also lined up 2 television appearances for me on 2 different tv stations. I was amazed at how well they all went despite my nerves.

The library came next. I work for them, but I followed the guidelines and entered my novel, just like any other author would - and they bought it! They are about to buy the second novel in the Anandrian Series, too.

Next, I wanted more face time with real people. I went to Indigo and Chapters at the beginning of December, thinking they might want to have someone come in before Christmas and do a book signing. I hung around for AGES in each store waiting for a clerk to become free so I could inquire about the possibility of me showing up for an event. It seemed like every time I went to approach a clerk, another customer walked up to them to ask for help. I nearly walked out, until a clerk approached me from behind and asked if she could help me. YES! I took a deep breath and started with, "I'm a local author..."

Both Indigo and Chapters were very positive about taking me on - BUT NOT AT CHRISTMAS. Apparently this is their BUSY time and they don't hold any events during the holiday season - so I was told to check back after the holidays. The holidays came and went, and when I appeared again, they told me it would be several weeks to a month before they had an opening. So, looking ahead at the calendar, I asked if I could do one the Friday before the March Break, and the next one, the Friday before Mother's Day. I figured it would be great to tie the event to another event thus generating more sales.

Maybe it's time to contact the media again...

It is really tough to get your work noticed, and you often wonder if people will like what your imagination has contrived. You have to throw caution to the wind and step out in the big bad world to see if your product will sell. If you never try, you'll never know. I'm trying, and I have to admit, I am pleasantly surprised at how well my novels are being received.

My secret wish?

To be noticed by a big film producer (maybe one of the ones who did Harry Potter, or The Avengers, or Star Trek...) SIGH! One can dream - AND GO FOR IT!

By the way, I just entered Destiny Calls in the Book Pipeline Competition - which introduces novels to film and television producers.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Okay, you'd think physically writing a book, no big deal. Right? Wrong!

I took a week's vacation off in February to try to finish up my third book in the Anandrian Series, Destiny Fulfilled. The Friday before I was to start my vacation, I fell UP the stairs - yes, up the stairs as I ran to catch a phone call, and caught my toe on a step, which made me land on my hands. It hurt, but I thought, Shake it off. Well, a few days later I was in the urgent care centre getting my right wrist x-rayed. I was sure it was broken there was so much pain. Fortunately it wasn't broken, but the swelling in my right wrist (dominant hand) was bad enough that my fingers curled in and I felt excruciating pain at the slightest touch. There went my vacation and my writing time. The vacation ended, and I had to take another week off work! Still no writing unless I typed with my left hand - tried that and it was SLOW. Third week in, and the swelling had lessened, BUT every time I held a pen and began to write, my hand cramped up - and I had a book signing event to go to the following week.

My manager at work gave me the name of a wonderful physiotherapist who specializes in hand injuries. Well, he got my hand functioning so that I could sign on the very day the event took place - I swear, the night before, the cramping was so bad I could have maybe done one book. As it was, I signed 14 copies of my 2 books - even personalizing them.

So now, I figure I'm in the clear... Yeah right!

We began a fitness challenge at work, and one of the challenges is to eat 5-9 fruits and veggies/day. No problem! I decided to chop up a bunch of lovely carrots, celery and cucumbers to use as my munchies at night. Well, don't I go and take a chunk off the end of my right thumb while cutting them! Several nights later, it has finally stopped throbbing. I am now catching up on sleep and letting it breath a bit from beneath the bandages. BUT, every once-in-a-while, I bang it and just about go through the roof. I have also discovered, I automatically space with my right thumb when I type. Type this... a-g-o-n-y.

They say things come in 3 - I'm wondering what more I can do to my right hand to prolong my drought in writing. This has been a most frustrating period for me.

Well, I finally did it... Book Pipeline started an annual competition for writers. They are interested in looking a novels that might be appropriate for the big screen or for TV. I was tempted to enter back in the fall, but due to a lack of confidence on my part, I put it off and missed their very first competition. Now, months later, after receiving a lot of  positive feedback from people who have read my novels, I took the plunge and entered Destiny Calls.

Who knows? Maybe one day my stories will be up on the big screen! I mean, after all, what's not to like? Good vs. Evil. Adventure, romance, magic, dragons, gargoyles, a demon, dwarfs, fairies... Between Earth and Anandria the story has it all!

Keep your fingers crossed. It's not until March 2016 that the winner is announced. However, there is more to the process. I had to send in the first 3 chapters, or up to 5,000 words (I sent 4997 words). If this passes the first round, they will be asking for the whole novel.