Category: Time Travel
So Now What?–Getting Over the Post Book Release Blues
So now what? That’s what I am asking myself.
My first ever novel is a fait accompli. Saturday, July 7th was the official release day for my romantic time travel adventure novel, Time Flash: Another Me.
(where to get a copy of Lana’s book)
Truth is, I should have known the answer.
I’ve had 9 poetry collections published to date–6 full-length and 3 chapbooks.
And each time, I was thrilled. And my friends were thrilled. And there was incredible buzz.
I gave readings and shook hands and sold a few books.
But then, there was this huge sense of deflation–the post book release blues.
This giant now what?
How could I keep the excitement for marketing my books alive after the first couple of weeks?
How could I keep telling people my poems are something they should care about?
Well, the first thing I needed to do was remind myself that the words I put together in those books arose out of my deep passion.
And that passion to create remains alive in the words.
And those passionate words are meant to be shared, to connect, to embrace, and hopefully inspire others to create as well.
So with the novel, as with the poetry books, I need to stay impassioned, stay positive, keep believing.
And I do believe in the magic and power of books.
Books by others have transported me and transformed me.
I need to believe my own words can do that too, for others.
(Yes, I truly believe my novel can bring delight!)
And I need to stop feeling like a failure because my book isn’t instantly flying off the shelves or getting hundreds of 5-star reviews.
Putting a book into the world is always a long haul.
The words will be there for others when they need or want them.
They just might not want them right now.
The marketing part of being a writer is the hardest for me.
I need to say in various and creative ways that my book may be a wonderful book for the reader.
And I may need to say it more than once for the reader to notice.
But I also need to keep to writing.
And keep believing the next story, the next poem, the next words matter too.
It can feel like an impossible balance–the marketing and the writing and the believing.
But living a creative life is such a gift.
Being able to metamorphose your imaginings into something that truly exists for others to experience in the world is wonderful, indeed.
As long as I remember that wonder, I can stop feeling disheartened, and keep on going, one word after another.
The Best Laid Plans…
My sweet husband decided that the publication of my very first novel deserved to be celebrated.
In grand style!
So my husband rented a small function room at our local golf course.
And we invited our neighbors and friends here in Tillamook to come share a delicious salmon dinner.
My hubby even had this nearly life-sized blow up of my book cover made up to decorate the room for the celebration.
It was going to be a wonderful celebration.
And for once, I wasn’t even nervous about having to be the center of attention–like I always am when I have to stand up in front of a room full of people.
When my first poetry collection came out, I seriously considered hiring a stunt double to give the readings for me.
(okay, I don’l look like Bowie or Tilda, but you get the idea)
But this time, I was genuinely excited and wanted to celebrate, even if I was going to read a snippet from the book.
I picked out a polka dot dress to wear because it seemed fun for the occasion without being too formal.
And a purple lace bolero to wear over it.
But you read the title of this post, so you know something went awry.
The party went off without a hitch. People had a lovely time. So what went wrong?
Well, only the fact that I couldn’t attend my own party!
Nope.
My body decided to betray me in the wee hours of the morning the day of my party
with excruciating pain.
I ended up in the hospital.
I’m doing better now, after a couple of days in the hospital getting test after test after test.
Diagnosed with an intestinal blockage, I’m recovering slowly.
I may need exploratory surgery if things don’t completely resolve on their own. Hope not.
But for now, I’m okay.
Except I’m completely, totally, thoroughly bummed
that I missed my own book celebration party.
My first thought was I didn’t deserve a celebration, anyway.
My second thought, too.
That’s my mother’s voice in my head talking. It’s nearly impossible to shut her up.
My next thought was The universe hates me.
The universe isn’t out to get me. That’s just silly.
I am just an insignificant speck in the scheme of things.
The Universe doesn’t care a whit about me.
So, here I am feeling pretty sorry for myself.
How lame is that?
What I should really be feeling is grateful.
Grateful to have people in my life who wanted to celebrate with me.
Grateful to be alive.
At all.
And I am.
I am grateful to be here, for however much more time I am granted.
Guess, I am just going to have to do something else worth celebrating.
Maybe write another book?
Or another half-dozen books?
I better get started, huh?
Wish me luck!
Book release day!
Here’s a link to all the places you can purchase Time Flash: Another Me — an enchanting, romantic time travel adventure novel:
Time Flash Another Me — all the buy links
“Do you really want to write a beach book?”
“Do you really want to write a beach book?”
was the question posed to me by an international best-selling crime fiction novelist in her writing workshop where participants read a few pages of their works in progress.
Her tone was accusatory.
Honestly, I felt like I’d just been slapped.
Hard. On both cheeks.
I’ve no doubt my face colored.
I was crestfallen. Every writer hopes for approval from authors they admire. Or at least, constructive criticism.
I felt judged as lacking.
I felt publicly shamed.
I don’t even know if I answered her.
I was just doing everything in my power to keep from bursting into tears.
I tried very hard to hear what she was saying as meaningful feedback.
But she wasn’t critiquing my writing, but the content of my writing.
What I hadn’t realized at the time, was I was running into the great divide, previously unknown to me–
Literary versus Genre Fiction.
And genre fiction, like my romantic time travel adventure novel, according to her was not worthy of wasting time writing.
(And isn’t crime fiction, genre fiction too? Well, not hers I guess.)
I’ve been writing poetry since I could hold a crayon. But that was okay, because poetry is considered literary?
Call me naive, but I didn’t realize there was such animosity between literary writers and genre writers.
To me, good writing is good writing.
And I’ve always read both literary and genre fiction without placing any value judgment on the worthiness of either.
I like what I like. And I like a good story.
I like books that transport me to other worlds, other lives, other experiences than my own.
Books that make me think, and feel, and understand something new.
Books that take me out of my own mental anguish and bring joy.
Both literary and genre fiction can do those things.
So why decide one type of writing is better or more worthy than the other?
Why is only “literary” worthy or merit
and
who defines what is literary and what isn’t?
I wish I had stood up to that author.
I wish I had said, “All writing matters.”
I wish I could go back in time, and say to that author who shamed me,
“Yes, I really want to write a beach book.”
And now I have.
I wrote the book I needed and wanted to write.
And I’m glad I did. Hopefully, some readers will be too.
Why I Love Time Travel
Growing up, we were a one TV household.
And believe it or not, until 1980 or so, that TV only had a black & white picture.
When my parents weren’t home or weren’t watching, my older brother was in charge of the TV.
He loved science fiction. So I learned to love it too.
Saturday mornings meant
Godzilla movies
and space adventures like
Forbidden Planet
But of all the movies my brother and I watched,
this one fully captivated my imagination–
The 1960 film version of H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine.
From that moment on, I was hooked on Time Travel.
I borrowed the book from the library and devoured it.
And of course, my brother and I watched science fiction TV shows too!
Like
&
&
And you can probably guess my favorite episode–
City on the Edge of Forever —
a time travel episode where Kirk must chose between love and saving history.
So why do I love time travel so much?
Because time travel is an opportunity to
learn from the past
and
maybe even to right wrongs,
as in my favorite time travel movie so far
Back to the Future!
Marty makes life better for his entire family–
after almost screwing it up that is.
Time Travel lets you see possible futures
and
visit history.
And time travel can help a person learn to become his or her best self,
as in my new favorite time travel book,
11/22/63 by Stephen King
(and the book is way, way better than the show–give it a read!)
Time travel, for me though, is mostly about regret.
The choices we regret making
and the chances we didn’t take.
That’s why in my time travel novel, Time Flash: Another Me
Sara Rodríguez Bloom García gets lots more chances to make things right.
But like most heroines, she’ll make things lots worse before they get better.
Hopefully readers will enjoy the adventure of it all.
And feel happy when they read how the story ends.
Time Flash: Another Me–Cover Reveal!
My romantic,
time travel
adventure novel—
Time Flash: Another Me
coming July 7th
in paperback & ebook!
I’ll be blogging more about this,
but for now,
here’s the beautiful cover—
Cover art–Cat Nap by Marie Fox
Time Travel Coming Soon!
Some of you know that I’m a huge time travel enthusiast–reading about it, watching movies, delving into the scientific possibilities.
And I’ve always wanted to write a time travel novel.
Well now I finally have!
It’s a romantic adventure called Time Flash: Another Me.
There are no DeLoreans, but there is a wacky scientist.
And a possibly-magical cat.
I’ll be releasing my novel soon.
Stay tuned for more details!