With the wide variety of writing I’ve done over the last three decades, one thing has remained constant: I’m always drawn to write about relationships, romance, and striving for a happy ending in life and on the page. That’s why I’m very excited to be the editor of a new relationship blog for LoveaHappyEnding.com This is a wonderful website that helps promote new authors. It also enables readers to interact with them and assist them in getting the word out about their books. The featured authors, editors, and featured and associate readers I’ve met there are warm, talented, supportive, and a joy to have as colleagues. Here’s a great video by Multi-Tech Productions Inc that will tell you more about us.
My column, In Search of a Happy Ending, begins today, and on a monthly basis I’ll be offering my unique take on a wide scope of personal issues that I think most everyone will be able to relate to. I’ll also be resurrecting my life as an advice columnist, and will be taking questions from all who care to get a fresh perspective on the problems that may be plaguing them in their personal relationships.
This isn’t the first time I’ve dispensed advice. As many of you know, and as I’ve outlined here on my website, I previously wrote an advice column for the Chippendales website, writing under the pseudonym Ask Andy. I’ve posted some of the questions and answers in order to give you an idea of what to expect. I think you’ll agree that I have a bit of a knack for it, and I’m very much looking forward to connecting with people this way again. If you’d like to submit your question, please contact me at loveahappyending.com@gmail.com.
As if that weren’t exciting enough, in just a few days, on December 20, Love a Happy Ending will be re-launching my book Wedlocked: A Novel on their site. Some of my very generous colleagues have offered up their blogs and will be featuring me. Here’s a list:
WEDLOCKED Re-launch Guest Blogs:
On December 20 go to Love a Happy Ending for my launch blog!!
Go right now to Kaira Rouda’s ‘real you’ blog to meet the real me!
On December 18-14, Richard Holmes will host.
On December 20, Melanie Robertson-King will host.
On December 21, Patricia Sands will host.
On December 24 Stephanie Keyes will host.
But please check out my first contribution to In Search of a Happy Ending today, and feel free to email me to let me know your thoughts! Happy Holidays to all!
Although I don’t consider myself a religious person, I am quite spiritual and do believe in higher beings of love that listen to us when we pray. That’s why before going to sleep at night, after a long day of work, I take a few minutes to connect and show gratitude. I generally begin by thanking God for all the gifts in my life. The health, happiness, safety and longevity of my family, friends and pets come first. Then I pray for all the suffering in the world to end, from abused children and animals to war-torn communities to starving people around the globe. I ask God to please help enlighten the people who use religion as an excuse to hate instead of love, and to rip people apart instead of bringing them together. I also thank my loved ones who have passed, for I believe they have a hand in many of the good things that have come my way. And of course, if anyone I know is sick or in emotional distress or crisis, I say special prayers for them, too.
I’ve repeated this bedtime practice for many years, but I’ll never forget the night, when just after uttering my prayers, something wild and completely unexpected happened—someone answered! It was just a brief few words that I heard—a question actually—but it stunned me nonetheless. In my head, after once again directing my prayers at others, I heard a loving voice say, What about you, Bonnie?
I recall my eyes shooting open wide, wondering where it came from. It wasn’t my roommate, who was the only other occupant of the house, of that I was sure. So was it an angel? A passed loved one? My own evolved spirit? One thing was for sure, I knew it was not coming from my own thoughts. You see, I always thought prayer should be about others and about trying to better the world. I thought it was too selfish to pray for things I may have wanted, since unlike so many others, I had most of the things I needed. So where did this comment come from? There was only one answer that made sense to me. Some higher being was letting me know it was okay to wish for even more abundance.
From then on, I’ve added to my prayers things that would even more greatly enhance my life: a truly fulfilling job; a loving man to share my life with; true contentment and love—all of which have been answered. And when I was laid off from that fulfilling job a few years ago, I had a surprisingly good outlook. Probably because I felt it was God’s little kick in the side that I needed to finally finish the book I’d been writing sporadically for years. I did. In June of this year, Wedlocked: A Novel was finally published and I had no qualms about praying for its success. Amazingly, after four months of hard marketing, it actually hit Amazon’s bestseller lists, and as an added bonus, Wedlocked became an Award-Winning Finalist in its category for USA Book News’ “BEST BOOKS OF 2011”.
So this year, like every year, I’m thankful for all the usual things I cherish. But I’m also grateful that I listened to the little voice that startled me out of my prayers all those years ago. Until then, I had felt unworthy of such a wonderful dream—but now I realize somebody up there doesn’t think so, and just wanted to let me know!
The last few weeks have proved one heck of a wild ride! Having just come off the huge launch of Melissa Foster’s third novel Come Back to Me at WoMen’s Lit Cafe (which included Wedlocked and 34 other great books in a 99cent promotion) I’m exhausted, overwhelmed and thrilled with the results! We launched on Nov. 1, and Wedlocked quickly ascended the ranks at Amazon, astonishing and delighting me (not to mention my husband!) with incredible sales figures. When the promotion ended on Nov. 3, I expected my numbers to return to “normal” but they didn’t. Instead, they continued to steadily climb and by Saturday night, Nov. 5, Wedlocked was a bonafide bestseller, reaching #43 on the top 100 bestsellers in literary fiction at Amazon. It even made it onto the charts of the top 100 in all literature.
Needless to say, my head has been reeling ever since. The main thought that goes through an author’s mind at a time like this is: What exactly is making this happen? This past week I had the distinct honor of becoming an Award-Winning Finalist in USA Book News’ “BEST BOOKS OF 2011.” That probably helped. And for the last several weeks, I’ve been a rabid Facebook poster, a Twittering madwoman, an assiduous website hound and much more. I’m sure a good deal of this busywork also played a part in helping to boost me, but I know there was one crucial, unmistakable thing responsible for making my dream come true. It was my fortuitous association with this group of WoMen’s Lit Cafe authors and our relentless cross promotion that catapulted Wedlocked into the stratosphere.
It is truly amazing what a team of diligent authors working together can accomplish. Our immense support for each other’s books, and more importantly for EACH OTHER made all the difference. I not only found a professional network, I unexpectedly found a supportive and generous literary family whom I welcomed with open arms. I truly believe it is this give and take among authors that is becoming the model for success in the indie literary world. It brought out my most selfless self, and along the way, I found my greatest success.
Anyone who has actually gone through the painstaking and awesome process of writing, publishing and marketing a book knows how irritating it can be when your accountant, your hairdresser or your doctor tells you, “Yeah, I have a good story. One day I’m going to write a book, too. It’s as if they think anyone who’s had some mildly interesting experiences in life should have no problem penning a book people besides their mother would actually want to read. Sure, I think to myself. I’ve had a few bad headaches. One day I think I’ll perform brain surgery.
What they don’t know is that it took ten years of arduous thinking, writing, editing and more editing to bring my debut novel to fruition. Wedlocked, is a romantic comedy based on my first brief, disastrous marriage that occurred back in 1999. After a couple of years furiously scrawling in my journal while recuperating from the unfortunate event, I began the actual writing of the book. This took place during the scant free time I had while working a full time job as Copy Chief and Senior Writer for Book-of-the-Month Club. Needless to say, after reading hundreds of books and writing as many reviews, it wasn’t often I had the energy to work on my own book evenings and weekends, but I managed to make some headway for a few years. Then, when I lost my job in a corporate takeover, I devoted myself full time to finishing Wedlocked. Within a year it was done, and a few months after that, much to my glee, an agent decided to represent it. This was despite her caveat that First Fiction is practically impossible to sell these days.
Unfortunately she was right. Despite wonderful feedback, the big publishers she dealt with did not bite and a year later I was still banging my head against the wall in frustration. It was then that I finally started listening to my husband, a very bright entrepreneur known for thinking outside the box. He had been egging me into self-publishing despite my reluctance. Cavorting with the literati at Book-of-the-Month had not exactly left me thinking good things about self-published books. The stigma had been ingrained in me and it took a lot of open-minded thinking and internet research to finally change my mind. The publishing industry is not what it used to be ever since the advent of the internet, and neither is self-publishing. The ebook generation had arrived and took root right under my nose and a revolution in publishing was beginning to ensue. My husband explained to me that I would be getting in on the ground floor of this new model. Although it was daunting prospect, the opportunities it afforded me, including business and creative control of my book, dangled like a juicy carrot before my eyes. It was time to change the way I thought about publishing.
I hired iUniverse because they were one of the biggest and most reputable self-publishing companies. They also have a program where they reward special benefits to books they deem to be superior. My book became an editor’s pick and was chosen for their Rising Star Program which was very exciting. But I learned that no one, not even the publisher who’s getting a percentage, was going to make my book a big seller. That was up to me.
I brought on a social marketing expert to train me, as well as a virtual book tour company. Both helped explode my name and my book onto the literary internet scene. Through the tour, I garnered many wonderful book reviews for Wedlocked. I also had the opportunity to write several guest blogs and do interviews for sites geared to my target audience. And best of all, I learned how I can do this for myself with help from Facebook and Twitter.
Marketing yourself as an author is a slow and steady process. It takes years of hard work and effort. I look at it as a new business. I don’t expect to strike it rich right away. In a new business, you make investments and hope that within a year or two they will pay off. It’s the same thing with self-publishing. And the more books you put out, the more they will build on themselves and hopefully create a mushroom effect. And that’s where this blog finds me, working long hours marketing, continuing to write as much as I can, and doing everything to make Wedlocked a success!
Three weeks after the release of Wedlocked: A Novel, this author finds herself reeling from the whirlwind: overseeing book sellers, prodding prospective retailers, social networking, blogging, and a variety of other marketing tasks. It has become an obsessive, full time job that often takes me cruising through the day and long into the night, only tearing myself away from my computer to stretch my tight muscles, feed the cats, walk through a leg cramp, or finally get some much needed sleep.
Now I find myself wondering how I will find time to do much of anything else. It’s easy to forget that I have two other books waiting for my final touches. That I have household chores awaiting my attention. Or that it is summertime and I should be enjoying some fun in the sun! But this is all new territory requiring a lot of effort, creative improvisation and the ability to wade through the gushing flood. I’ve waited many long years for this moment and I’m going to make the most of it. It’s a different kind of stress than I’m used to—stress tinged with excitement. That makes it easier to take in some ways, but more nerve-wracking in others. After all, ultimately I’m the one most responsible for what becomes of my book and my career. Others can help, but no one has quite the same vested interest.
There’s a controlled panic holding me down in this chair, keeping my fingers glued to the keys of my laptop. Maybe because now is the time for obsessive working, late hours and muscle cramps if ever there was one. The flood gates have opened—and I’m in training for the 1500 meter freestyle!
After twenty-five years of writing everything from screenplays to news features and magazine articles; from children’s books and videos to advice columns and book reviews, I can finally pronounce today that I am a published author! My debut book, Wedlocked: A Novel, has just gone live and is available for purchase:
Today, an awesome thought has been revolving through my mind: People I’ll never even meet will now be experiencing my heart, soul and guts as translated onto the written page. Many authors feel that way, but it’s especially true when it’s a story inspired by true events and told by the person who lived them. That’s the case with Wedlocked, which was inspired by my impulsive first marriage and its disastrous aftermath. It took a few years before I could make it funny; I’m glad I waited. It made the story so much more enjoyable to write and to read.
With so many glowing responses from such a wide variety of people I can tell you this—nothing makes you feel quite as good as knowing your creative work is enjoyed and appreciated—that you can make people laugh, tear up, and want more.
So now, I leave the safe seclusion of my home and enter the world to market my wares. I’m going to share my experiences with you via this blog. I have a feeling we’ll all learn a lot and hopefully enjoy the journey!
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