A WEEK OF FIRSTS

As some of you may or may not know, it's been a banner week for me.  I released my first novel, BLAME IT ON THE FAME, on both Amazon and Smashwords.  I've been through so much with this book - working on it on-and-off for several years, having to continuously make tweaks to keep the book current, querying agents, trying to decide how to get the book out to the public when I was told by everyone in the industry that the Chick Lit market was "closed" and this type of novel could no longer be sold.  I could have given up in defeat, buried my manuscript in some folder on my hard drive, and tried to forget about it, and believe me, I was sorely tempted.  But in the end, BLAME IT ON THE FAME meant too much to me to just let it go. 

So, I dipped my toe into the indie publishing waters, just to see what all the fuss was about.  Was this really a viable option for me?  Could I handle all that was involved?  I was nervous, skeptical, wondering if this was the right path.  That's when I joined Twitter and met the most fabulous group of authors, readers, and bloggers, all of whom loved Chick Lit as much as I did!  I was no longer alone in my quest to see this wonderful genre embraced and appreciated once again.  With the encouragement of these new friends (along with the unwavering support of the family members and friends who'd always believed in my writing talent), I took the plunge and joined the digital revolution! 

Last week, when I uploaded my book to Amazon and Smashwords (and yes, there were some glitches and a couple of meltdowns along the way), I had such a feeling of accomplishment!  This was it!  Finally, after years of dreaming of it and working hard to achieve this goal, I was a published author!  People would be reading my book.  It was so exciting!  I had always imagined that the biggest thrill I would ever have as a writer would be to hold a printed copy of my first published novel in my hands.  It's a sign of the changing times that that defining moment ended up happening in a very different, but nonetheless special, way when I opened up my e-reader and was greeted by the sight of BLAME IT ON THE FAME's colorful cover right there on my carousel next to books written by best-selling authors Erin Morgenstern, Lauren Willig, and Sophie Kinsella.  I had arrived!

Now, I begin the daunting task of getting the word out about my book and to that end I will be doing a blog tour over the next couple of months.  My first stop was at Michelle Betham's site, where I did a fun interview about my book, movies, the Oscars, and much more.  If you haven't already read the interview, I invite you to check it out here:

Meet the Author

Thank you, Michelle, for having me on your blog!  I loved doing the interview and appreciate your support and enthusiasm for BLAME IT ON THE FAME.

If you'd like to purchase BLAME IT ON THE FAME, please visit Amazon or Smashwords where my novel is currently available for $1.99.  I look forward to hearing what you all think of the book!

Amazon

Smashwords