Happy Birthday to The Healer’s Rune!

Happy Birthday to The Healer’s Rune!

One year ago today, The Healer’s Rune was officially released for publication.

And what a year it’s been! I’ve learned about marketing, done some reading, done lots of writing, and had some great experiences along the way.

The better part of this year has been devoted to learning: how to build a platform; how to market a book; how to set up and then host a book signing; how to get the most out of attending a writer’s conference; how to put my book out there despite my natural inclination to avoid drawing attention…  I had no idea how much time needs to be devoted to the “published” part of being a published author! For those of you who are still seeking publication, get started on your marketing platform NOW! Seriously, it’s never too soon. Check out “When Should Authors Start Working on Their Platforms?” on my Writing How-to: Marketing board on Pinterest.

According to my GoodReads list, I managed to read 23 books this year, including The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, The Novice and The Inquisition by Taran Matharu, and The Firethorn Crown and The Midsummer Captives by Lea Doue. I started reading The Shadow of What Was Lost, by James Islington, just after Christmas, but didn’t finish it until after the new year, so that one doesn’t technically count for 2016, but is seriously an amazing book. If you’re in the mood for a good read, any one of these books will fit the bill. You can also find out more about my reading habits and the books I’ve reviewed on my GoodReads page.

Just before I went back to school for the spring semester, I finished the first draft of The Guardian Prince, which is the working title for the sequel to The Healer’s Rune. I took a week off to give me a fresh perspective, and now I’ve begun the first of the revisions. If you’re interested in keeping up with my progress, check out the progress bar in the right-hand margin of my web page.

Speaking of plans for the future, here are a few writing-related things I hope to accomplish this year:

  • Design some bling for the Ceryn Roh saga. (I’m thinking maybe some charms with the runes for the Morning Star, the Wereden, and each of the races… What do you think? What kind of book bling are you interested in? Leave suggestions in the comments below. If your suggestion is chosen, I’ll send it to you once it’s available.)
  • Enter The Healer’s Rune into a few award competitions
  • Finish revisions of The Guardian Prince by the end of June and submit it to my agent
  • Attend the fifth annual Realm Maker’s conference this July in Reno, NV where Ted Dekker will be the keynote speaker
  • Start the first draft of The Blind Queen (the third book in The Ceryn Roh saga) this fall

I don’t really make resolutions… I figure if there’s something I need to change or work on, then I should do it now, not just because the year is changing. However, around the turn of the year I decided to try two new things: bullet journaling and consistent blogging. I’m really not very good with agendas and reminders on paper. Once I write them down, I forget to ever look at them again, so if there’s an appointment, birthday, or whatever that I need to remember, I use the calendar and reminder service on my phone. However, I am seriously drawn to the idea of bullet journaling, so I’m going to try it with a more writer-oriented twist. As for blogging… I would love to engage more with you guys! I plan to blog twice per month: once about life in general, and once about writing. However, I’d love to know what you guys want to see. Please feel free to leave questions or ideas in the comments section below.

I want to thank all of you for taking a chance on a new author and reading The Healer’s Rune. Because of you, it has been an amazing year. I can’t wait for you to see what’s in store for Sabine in The Guardian Prince, and I’m looking forward to interacting with you over the next year.

May your 2017 be amazing!

Author Interview

Author Interview

This week I am thrilled to be hosted on 2 Me From Him, a blog written by Norma Gail, a Christian blogger and a Bookvana Award winning author. Stop by to discover how my students respond to having a published author as a teacher and whether I think it’s more important to write in order to teach or to entertain. You can also enter a Rafflecopter giveaway to win a print copy of The Healer’s Rune. Please note the giveaway is only open from January 6 until January 12, 2017.