2018.
I can’t believe it’s here already. It seems the older I get, the faster the years fly by.
Most folks welcome the new year with a list of resolutions. But I prefer to call it my list of goals, and the first one is to get back to writing.
I have several projects I’m working on, one of which is a young adult fantasy that I hope to publish this spring.
And with Watcher and Runner behind me, I can now focus on the next book in the series—Seeker: Book III of The Chosen.
I actually wrote a scene in Seeker for a workshop last year. In that scene, Sunny meets someone who she believes will assist her in her journey. But not all is as Sunny first perceives, and as friend becomes foe, Sunny comes face to face with an old enemy as well.
My recent trip to Romania will provide part of the setting for this book.
I’m excited to embark on these next chapters in Sunny’s life, meet new characters, and get re-acquainted with old. As Sunny ventures deeper into The Chosen world, the lessons she learned from Colin will be instrumental in keeping her alive. I’m looking forward to discovering the challenges she’ll be facing along with the choices she’ll be forced to make to survive.
Besides working on Seeker, I have a few challenges of my own to face:
- Marketing and promotion – now that there are four stories published in the series (The Last Trace and The Games Monsters Play are related novellas), I feel it’s time to do some serious marketing. My biggest challenge will be learning the ins and outs of Amazon and Facebook ads. Publicist Beverly Bambury is helping me with blog appearances and Instagram, and I’m planning to have a more frequent presence on Twitter. All of this takes time, so I will be looking for folks who can help me with this vital part of the writing business.
- Website overhaul – Bob Perea of The Creative Bees has been building a new website which will fully integrate social media, SEO, and all the bells and whistles to help bring me into the modern age. There will be a bit of a learning curve as I assume maintenance of the site, but Bob’s promised to help me in the transition. I’m looking forward to utilizing the site to flesh out The Chosen world for readers who want to know more about it beyond the books.
- Newsletter—I’m developing a quarterly newsletter which will contain project updates and excerpts from works in progress. The first one will go out by the end of January.
- Speculative Fiction Writers – I belong to a writers’ cooperative that is dedicated to promoting speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and horror). We feature columns on writing craft, marketing, publishing, and promoting speculative fiction, and will be opening up the site this year for short story submissions. Our challenge is to develop a site that will draw both readers and writers, and our co-op members bring a variety of talents to help make that possible.
- Yosemite Romance Writers – the YRW monthly meetings in Fresno feature speakers on a variety of topics from finding an agent to writing craft to self-publishing. This year I’m sharing the responsibility of lining up those speakers, and I’m looking forward to helping coordinate their appearances (both in-person and online) at this year’s meetings.
That’s it for now. Hopefully you’ll read my next post on the new website!
Happy New Year to all!
~RM~
