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!

Five Miles to Empty

13 Oct 2014 Leave a comment

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

One of the hazards of starting out in self-publishing (or any entrepreneurial endeavor) is the lack of funding. Most people don’t save up a nest egg from which they can procure any manner of needed services (e.g. editing, marketing, accounting) at whim. And, as I have mentioned countless times before, it takes time to build up a loyal fan base that will automatically buy hundreds and thousands of your books upon release.  So, it’s a lot of do-it-yourself (DIY).

The problem with DIY is exhaustion. If you treat your writing like a full-time job (minus the nice corporate benefits and a spot in the company cubicle farm–and especially due to a lack thereof), then you will be hustling from “sunup to midnight”, in the words of the late, great, Michael Jackson in his song “Workin’ Day and Night”:

Add to this the fact that the rest of your non-work life doesn’t stop, and you set yourself up for fatigue, exhaustion, and don’t-give-a-figness. I’m there right about now. I have a new book looming in a few weeks, and a short story surrounding this book, and I have not done a lick of marketing. None. Zero. It’s not difficult; all it takes is a quick Tweet, a few seconds to post on Facebook and Google Plus, perhaps some sort of Instagram photo. Preliminary PR is right at my fingertips, but I can’t bring myself to exert the energy to put it out there. Meanwhile, I have the energy to write this blog post and binge-watch past seasons of Grey’s Anatomy…go figure.

It could be mental exhaustion (because my non-writing life is commanding a lot of attention these days). It could be a crippling fear of failure (second book curse, and all that). It could be recovery from a punishing and long round of antibiotics (but I’m back to my 3-mile-a-day walks, so that’s good). It could be a lack of marketing inspiration (e.g., what can I say/do differently from the release of The Bastille Family Chronicles: Camille to get Blizzard: A Sebastian Scott Novel hyped to the masses) Whatever the reason, I need to get it together, and get it together soon. I can’t afford to slack off, because that would mean a lack of sales and as I’ve said before: if it don’t make money, it don’t make sense.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

On the Runs (Where I’ve Been)

22 Sep 2014 Leave a comment

by Tiffany M. Davis in Book Releases, Fiction, My Stuff, Suspense/Thriller/Mystery, The Craft, The Process Tags: , , , , , , ,

The past week and some change have been very challenging for me, medical-wise. What started as a routine screening procedure turned into a catalyst for a domino effect of illness that I am still working through. The illnesses are minor, thank God, but when piled up together, they loom large.  As a result of the antibiotics I’ve been taking (hence the title of this blog  post–they have necessitated my own Game of Thrones LOL), I’ve been sleeping a lot. I’ve also taken a social media break (the illness, plus the rash of craziness going on in the world, plus a very opinionated timeline deemed this necessary). This is the first time in a long time that I’ve been awake enough to blog, let alone write sufficiently.

Of course, I feel the November publication date of Sebastian’s novel swooping down upon me, and many miles to go before I sleep (again). My body obviously told me to stop burning candles at both ends, in the middle, around the side, and up the back (word to Fred Sanford), but still…I’m not used to not doing anything but resting. And while my improving health is testament that it was the right thing to do, I’m still a bit anxious at all that has fallen by the wayside while I was in the initial stages of recovery mode.

This phenomenon is not uncommon to entrepreneurs, creatives, and combinations thereof. We are our business, whatever that business may be. We believe in ourselves so much, and so fiercely (because a lot of times, others do not, so what choice do we have?), that we push ourselves to bring our talent to the masses–and get paid from it somehow. That requires a lot of late nights and early mornings (word to Marsha Ambrosius), but the downside of that is not taking care of ourselves properly sometimes. You’d best believe that if you don’t make a concerted effort to take care of you, the Universe/God/your preferred deities will conspire to make it happen. So do yourself a favor: eat right, exercise, meditate, get the proper medical checkups and treatments. Your gift and craft will thank you.

On a positive note: made a lot of progress today on Sebastian’s novel, and basketball season starts in October. 😀

Thanks for stopping by.