BLIZZARD: A SEBASTIAN SCOTT NOVEL IS HERE!

10 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Book Releases, Fiction, Indie Authors, Indie Publishers, Marketing and PR, My Stuff, Self-Publishing, Suspense/Thriller/Mystery, The Craft, The Writing Biz Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We interrupt the postings about NaNoWriMo/NaBloPoMo to bring you this important message:

 

Blizzard_Cover_for_Kindle

My new book, Blizzard, drops today! *hits my Nae Nae* Since it’s a different genre, I’ve written it under a pen name, Tee Emdee (I have an author page for that pen name on Amazon and everything!).

I’ve been working on this before and during NaNoWriMo/NaBloPoMo, and it’s finally out to the masses…just in time for some holiday reading (Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving…it also makes a nice Christmas or Hanukkah gift! 😀 )

For those of you who’ve read The Bastille Family Chronicles: Camille (informally known as The Camille Chronicles), I introduce DEA Special Agent Sebastian Scott as a character who ends up playing  a crucial part in the resolution of the story. However, Blizzard takes place about five years prior to the events in The Camille Chronicles, when he was stationed in San Francisco.

From the blurb on the back:

MEET THE FAMILY.

Fresh on the heels of a major drug bust of the designer drug Blizzard, Special Agent Sebastian Scott of the Drug Enforcement Administration takes a long overdue trip home to Brooklyn, New York for a family reunion. What starts out as a pleasant gathering of his large, tightly knit Trinidadian family takes a dark turn as Nigel Pierre, Sebastian’s least favorite cousin, is arrested for possessing some Blizzard of his own. Out of his jurisdiction and with limited time and without his usual resources, a reluctant Sebastian must navigate family dynamics while he finds a creative way to clear his cousin’s name–without his family driving him crazy in the process.

I had a lot of fun revisiting this book. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Available in paperback, Kindle, and Nook.

Want to try Sebastian Scott with little commitment? Check out the short story Undercover: A Sebastian Scott story. Only 99 cents!

Tell a friend or three. And thanks for stopping by!

Now The Real Fun Begins…

04 Aug 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Brain Droppings, My Stuff, The Craft, The Process Tags: , , , , , ,

I’ve had a (successful) pre-release of The Bastille Family Chronicles: Camille (informally known as The Camille Chronicles). My official release was today (yay!). I’ve gotten overall positive initial feedback.

Now the real work begins: waiting.

Pre-release offers that were purchased will be winging their ways to their purchasers within the next week. The word about my book is making its way through the general public on a larger scale now. It takes a few days for purchases to show up on my royalty statements, so I’m not sure how many books have been sold yet in the world. And, of course, no one has posted reviews of my book, so I don’t know how people have received it.

And so I wait.

Waiting is the hardest part. There is an old saying that, “An idle mind is the devil’s playground.” I’m not cooking up assassination plots or anything, but my mind thinks of more insidious things. Like never selling a book. Or that no one will like it. Or that I am a legend in my own mind. Or I will end up in the bargain bin, or Better Book World, or one of the free e-books available on Kindle or Nook.

greater artist greater doubt

Self-doubt is part of being a writer. Indeed, it’s part of any creative person. Our work is so subjective, and is so much more likely to be chewed up and spit out by the mouth of public opinion. As a writer, our egos are paradoxically sensitive and tough; sensitive to criticism, yet tough enough to keep taking it, rejection after rejection. Like throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping it will stick.

I sit here and wait, and hope that my strand of spaghetti sticks against the “read this book” wall. And try not to freak out while working on the next book (which entails pushing back the thoughts of, “Are you sure that people will want to read another book by you?”).

Thanks for stopping by.

Dress You Up In My Love: The Appearance of Your Self-Published Book

31 Jul 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Book Releases, Indie Publishers, My Stuff, Self-Publishing, The Writing Biz Tags: , , , , , , ,

While I’m technically not releasing my book until Monday, August 4, it is actually listed for sale on Amazon/CreateSpace, Kindle, and Nook (shhhh…). Some of my friends did their own searches and found the links, and purchased the book (both versions, in some cases) anyway. Gotta love proactivity! I and my royalty statements thank them. 😀

Anyway, I asked one of my friends how the actual book looked, since my copies won’t arrive until next week. She told me that overall, it was a very solid, professional-looking book (and as an avid reader, she would know), and pointed out some things that, while not glaringly obvious, that she noticed. One of those things she mentioned irritated me because it would have occurred on the production end of CreateSpace, being that the proof looked just fine on my end. Grrrrr…

Which goes to show that the (free) digital proofing system isn’t always foolproof. One can always order a copy of a physical proof (for a small fee), but I would suggest this if you only have minor changes to make and have plenty of time before your publication date.  One of the things I love about today’s self-publishing technology is the ability to do everything online. But in light of my friend’s comments, I’m thinking that for the next book, I may go for the physical proof to see how it really looks and feels in the hands. Which means that I will need to finish the book (including rewrites, extra eyes on it by my pre-publication reading group, cover design, etc) way before I plan to release it.

Technology is both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes, it’s best to go analog in a digital world.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

It’s Almost Here! The Camille Chronicles Pre-Release

28 Jul 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Book Releases, Brain Droppings, Fiction, My Stuff, Romance, Self-Publishing Tags: , , , , ,

Hi all,

It’s almost here! The release of The Bastille Family Chronicles: Camille (informally known as The Camille Chronicles ) occurs on August 4, 2014

 

Camille ebook cover

I’m excited, nervous, and glad. It’s been a long time coming…fourteen years, to be exact. The print copy will be available via CreateSpace/Amazon, and the e-book versions will be available in Kindle and NOOK.

In honor of this momentous occasion, I’m giving my readers the opportunity to get a FREE autographed copy of The Camille Chronicles. You just pay shipping, and I will send it to you as soon as the book arrives to me from the printer.

On the day of release, the regular price will be $14.95, no autographs. Or $16.96 plus s/h, if you want it autographed.

Free…$14.95…no-brainer! 🙂

If you’d like your FREE autographed copy (you just pay shipping), you can order securely here. Please make sure that you specify the proper shipping address, and how you’d like your name spelled. Please understand that this offer will ship after the August 4 release date.

You have six (6) days to take advantage of this offer!

Offer expires Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. EST

**the listed shipping price is for USA orders only. If you are ordering from another country, please send me an email so that your shipping costs will be calculated accurately.

Thank you all for following my brain droppings over the past couple of months and, as always, thanks for stopping by.

Overload: The Devil’s in the Details

02 Jul 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Brain Droppings, Self-Publishing, The Craft, The Process Tags: , , , , , , ,

I was checking my spam folder when I came across an email from a POD publisher I’d once considered. I re-read the pitch, the benefits, the ratings, etc. Then I thought about the various things they offered versus the price, and all of that versus what I needed to do (Ingram distribution? Production file ownership? Amazon and Nook? What about Kobo, Sony, Etc? Smashwords?) And how am I going to start my PR stuff for maximum exposure? Will my graphic designer get what I need done in time?

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Make_It_Stop

This mental mash-up reminded me of a similar state of mind last night, when I agonized over the date of a scene setting. It had to be correct, and I did calculations to make sure it was. I was so obsessed with this one small detail (and since it was only the first draft, I had plenty of time to correct it down the road), that I almost missed a deadline.

Self-publishing, while rewarding in the end, is a hard road. Unlike traditional publishing where you sign a contract, deliver your manuscript, and more or less keep it moving until time for the first author event, a self-publisher has to do EVERYTHING–and often on a less-than-shoestring budget.

Then there’s the fact that, as I mentioned in a previous post, your book needs to be good enough to encourage someone to not only buy this book, but future books. It’s imperative to bring your A+ game, especially if you’re a first-time (solo) author, as I am.

I know all this. I’ve researched various self-publishing options for the past year. Upon further inspection of the POD publisher’s package, I realized how the fees broke down and how I could achieve the same results without killing myself.

In short, there was no reason for me to freak out.

Except my publishing date draws nearer every day, and that is a scary yet exhilarating feeling. As the day draws closer for me to put my baby out there for all to see, criticize, ridicule, and hopefully enjoy, it’s easy to find something–anything–upon which to vent my anxiety. Whether it be a small plot detail or the price needed to make a decent profit, freaking out is becoming more the rule than the exception.

I have to keep reminding myself that everything will work out, that I’ve planned for this, and I am doing what needs to be done. I got this. Easier said than done, but infinitely preferable to curling up in a fetal position in the corner.

Thanks for stopping by.