June, 2024
Even though I know this Solstice marks the shortening of daylight, there’s so much of summer left to enjoy!
My book launch was wonderful. About 60 friends, almost all from within a 15-mile radius, came to enjoy wine and cheese and chat on a not-too-chilly Spring Equinox at my local coffee shop, Crossroads in Cross Plains. All I had to do was sign books and bask in smiles!
After an event like that you feel so accomplished ‘cos you’ve just completed a (four year) project successfully. Phew! You know your friends and family are going to read the book. Most will enjoy it, for it’s a good story with a satisfying ending. Some might even wonder if there’s going to be a sequel to Finding Isobel too. But as for me, I have left these characters behind and am itching to get going on my new idea.
Unfortunately, my job right now is to market this novel. It’s a challenge because inside me is another story begging to be told. Besides, I know nothing about marketing. Having said that, marketing is a great excuse to avoid the hard work of creating a new story. So, I tend to push it aside, and instead organize book events at local bookstores, libraries, and book festivals. Fortunately, I have someone to help me with that, the wonderful Valerie Biel of Lost Lake Press.
After the book launch, the first of these marketing events was an interview with Doug Moe, a local legend in the literary scene in Madison, at a favorite bookstore, Mystery To Me. Half the audience were old friends, many of whom had worked with me at the School of Veterinary Medicine. That evening was the ultimate high, and I will treasure it forever.
A couple of weeks later I drove to Viroqua, a town an hour or so northwest of Madison (fabled for its organic food) to attend a weekend book fair. I was at the very last table of book sellers, close to the toilets and the coffee station, neither of which were much of a lure. It was a very quiet place, interrupted only by parents with small children needing to relieve themselves. By the end of the day I had sold the grand total of four books! Still, I met some lovely people. Maybe that’s what it’s all about – meeting like-minded writers who do this for love, joy, anguish, necessity, relief… and any other emotion you care to imagine. This is my tribe.
The next day, the following two e-mails popped up.
“From the first pages to the last, I was attached to Maggie, Isobel, Vic, and of course Oliver. The language, setting, and storyline were magnetic, thought provoking, and real. I can’t wait for the sequel to Finding Isobel as I know there is so much more to her life in the cabin.”
“I've just completed Finding Isobel. It was wonderful. And every time the story had the chance to take a cheesy or a Hallmark turn, it didn't. I truly loved that. It was so interesting to read a book written by someone whom I know. You were writing about your house and our lovely south-central Wisconsin. I could see your prairie areas, the long driveway, the bookshelves that Vic helped move out of the guest house, your kitchen…”
Comments like these are what sustains writers. The knowledge that someone enjoyed my story, my characters, my creation...it’s an amazing feeling.
I’m attaching a link to the interview I mentioned above with Doug Moe. Doug’s thoughtful questions allowed me to talk about how I started to write, and then to write more seriously. He finished the interview by asking about my next book. So, if you are interested in hearing what I am currently working on, click on this link.
Finally, if you read Finding Isobel and enjoyed it, I’d really appreciate it if you would leave a review on Amazon. You don’t need to buy anything from them, or even write a sentence — clicking on stars is sufficient. Getting multiple reviews on Amazon helps enormously when it comes to selling a book by an “unknown” author.
With gratitude,
~ Mary
Even though I know this Solstice marks the shortening of daylight, there’s so much of summer left to enjoy!
My book launch was wonderful. About 60 friends, almost all from within a 15-mile radius, came to enjoy wine and cheese and chat on a not-too-chilly Spring Equinox at my local coffee shop, Crossroads in Cross Plains. All I had to do was sign books and bask in smiles!
After an event like that you feel so accomplished ‘cos you’ve just completed a (four year) project successfully. Phew! You know your friends and family are going to read the book. Most will enjoy it, for it’s a good story with a satisfying ending. Some might even wonder if there’s going to be a sequel to Finding Isobel too. But as for me, I have left these characters behind and am itching to get going on my new idea.
Unfortunately, my job right now is to market this novel. It’s a challenge because inside me is another story begging to be told. Besides, I know nothing about marketing. Having said that, marketing is a great excuse to avoid the hard work of creating a new story. So, I tend to push it aside, and instead organize book events at local bookstores, libraries, and book festivals. Fortunately, I have someone to help me with that, the wonderful Valerie Biel of Lost Lake Press.
After the book launch, the first of these marketing events was an interview with Doug Moe, a local legend in the literary scene in Madison, at a favorite bookstore, Mystery To Me. Half the audience were old friends, many of whom had worked with me at the School of Veterinary Medicine. That evening was the ultimate high, and I will treasure it forever.
A couple of weeks later I drove to Viroqua, a town an hour or so northwest of Madison (fabled for its organic food) to attend a weekend book fair. I was at the very last table of book sellers, close to the toilets and the coffee station, neither of which were much of a lure. It was a very quiet place, interrupted only by parents with small children needing to relieve themselves. By the end of the day I had sold the grand total of four books! Still, I met some lovely people. Maybe that’s what it’s all about – meeting like-minded writers who do this for love, joy, anguish, necessity, relief… and any other emotion you care to imagine. This is my tribe.
The next day, the following two e-mails popped up.
“From the first pages to the last, I was attached to Maggie, Isobel, Vic, and of course Oliver. The language, setting, and storyline were magnetic, thought provoking, and real. I can’t wait for the sequel to Finding Isobel as I know there is so much more to her life in the cabin.”
“I've just completed Finding Isobel. It was wonderful. And every time the story had the chance to take a cheesy or a Hallmark turn, it didn't. I truly loved that. It was so interesting to read a book written by someone whom I know. You were writing about your house and our lovely south-central Wisconsin. I could see your prairie areas, the long driveway, the bookshelves that Vic helped move out of the guest house, your kitchen…”
Comments like these are what sustains writers. The knowledge that someone enjoyed my story, my characters, my creation...it’s an amazing feeling.
I’m attaching a link to the interview I mentioned above with Doug Moe. Doug’s thoughtful questions allowed me to talk about how I started to write, and then to write more seriously. He finished the interview by asking about my next book. So, if you are interested in hearing what I am currently working on, click on this link.
Finally, if you read Finding Isobel and enjoyed it, I’d really appreciate it if you would leave a review on Amazon. You don’t need to buy anything from them, or even write a sentence — clicking on stars is sufficient. Getting multiple reviews on Amazon helps enormously when it comes to selling a book by an “unknown” author.
With gratitude,
~ Mary
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