One Year Since The Release Of Lips On My Heart

Wowsers! I can't believe that one year ago today on March 28th, 2020, I hit the publish button on my first book, Lips on my Heart, releasing it into the wilderness of Amazon self-publication. That instant was in the top five most stressful moments in my life.

Why was it stressful? Every author knows that criticism is around every corner, which can be pretty traumatic if you don’t have thick skin.

But what if the readers’ responses were positive? That question was why I finally grew the spine to release my work to the public.

Honestly, I had no clue how my book was going to be received by the masses. I knew my close family and friends would support me, but what about others? Would readers enjoy it? Would romance enthusiasts fall in love with Josephine and Maceo the way I did? All I could hope for was readers taking a chance on a new author, being open-minded, and giving me honest reviews.

What I didn’t expect was starting a small following of dedicated readers/authors who supported my writing, eager to read the next book in the Mercy Ravens MC series. I’ll never forget the first reader to reach out to me only two days after releasing, proclaiming how much she enjoyed the book (I’m talking about you, Fanney). I let out a small sigh of relief, thankful I wasn’t the only one who liked my novel.

It’s amazing that anyone even found my book on Amazon because I had no clue how to advertise it—marketing still being the bane of my existence. Boggled, it astonished me how many people will take a chance on a newbie author writing instalove, protective-biker romances. And thank God you all did.

The weeks and months following the release of book one were filled with several other readers reaching out to me with their comments of support and encouragement. I cannot express how much those comments and private messages meant to me—they were the little boost of confidence I needed to carry on with completing the next two books in the series.

Some readers have only reached out once, some multiple times, and some daily—and I love it all. Hearing your comments and answering your questions is my favorite part about being an author outside of writing my novels. I have created several relationships/friendships with several readers because of this: swapping book recommendations, music suggestions for the future book playlist, input on future book covers, sites to promote my books, pimping my work to other readers/authors, and even gaining a beta reader (my guuurl, Janice).

Today is a celebration in more days than one. When I released LOMH, it was my grandmother’s 90th birthday—today we celebrate not only LOMH’s one-year anniversary but my grandma’s 91st birthday. That is why it seemed fitting to dedicate my third book to the woman who has supported my writing since day one.

Self-publishing has been a journey, but I’m grateful for all of you to come along on the adventure with me. I couldn’t do this without your words of encouragement, your willingness to buy and read my novels, and your wonderful reviews on Amazon. You guys are my rock. I thank you sincerely for taking a chance on a woman who had an idea and created it into a series. Three books later and I’m still going strong. On to book four…