Moving into the 21st century

So...I self published a couple of books. You can see them over there ->  Third one on the way now.  One thing that is practically mandatory these days is to have a blog for shameless self promotion. Create a buzz.  Get people snooping around on the web to be intrigued enough to click on the link and buy a book.  Well, this is my form of shameless self promotion. And it's the hardest thing I've ever done! This part, creating a blog to promote and get people interested is a big step into this century and the world of self-publishing.  It also gives me a chance to do something I enjoy very much, which is writing about just about anything and everything. If you know me, you know I'm a rambler from way back. In writing, that is. I'm not so chatty in person and that's the biggest surprise for people who meet me in person who've previously only known me online.  Enough about me, let's get to what is important here!

It seemed so easy when I was writing it all.  Developing characters, setting story scenes, getting a plot that would hold a readers interest while surreptitiously leading them to a hook in the story, one that would be an "a-ha!" moment as an element of surprise.  Here in my noisy little head, it seemed so right and good and...simple.  Now, I'm like an expectant parent.  Pacing. Waiting for my baby to show itself. How will that baby be accepted by the world? Fashionably entrenched among the cool kids, popular, happy and carefree? Or...the worst...outcasted, not accepted, unloved by peers. I'm waiting for the readers to respond in some way.  Positive? Negative? Lukewarm? I don't know and it's like that damn cat...the curiosity is killing me!  On the one hand (pick a hand, any hand) I do want to know what the reader thinks.  On the whichever hand that's left, I'm fearful of the comments.  Writing is so subjective.  My poetry writings and short stories have been published all over the world mostly with favorable reviews, and that environment is much different than the literary arena of novels.  I have three novels finished, two more partially written that still need some attention.   I write them all with all the cliche' terms of description.  Heart, soul, character, objectivity, form and fashion.  The who, what, where, when, why and how that is taught in basic creative writing courses.  Ultimately, what I think of the story isn't the main attraction...it's the reader, and that has become painfully close to my heart now.  As I release "Random Encounters" on Amazon and at my own website for the entire world to read, I'm trembling like a virgin on her wedding night.  It's wrenching! Will it live up to the expectation? Will the actual act itself be as satisfying as the anticipation? Or, will it lose it's erection and disappoint?  The anxiety of the not knowing is giving me chest pain!

I give you "Random Encounters". My heartfelt story of a privileged woman who is a bit confused about her place in the world, how her promiscuous behavior leads her on a journey to find peace within herself, which allows her to make peace with her family as well.  It's a poignant sweet story of finding a path in life that we all know exists somewhere.  That every step we take, no matter how painful or misled, brings us to the exact place we are within our lives at this moment and that's the heart of the story.  No matter where those steps have led us, nor how much regret we have about those missteps, they all brought us to this very moment and what we are doing right now. I hope you enjoy and will review.

Randomly yours,


~ K