After a few months where I wrote very little and marketed a lot, I have found a better balance. Although I still make time for social media, ongoing promotions, and administrative tasks, my focus is back to writing. 
 
The highlights:
~ Over 100 positive reviews 
~ Listening to my audiobook, which released in January, and hearing my characters come alive
~ Watching my book soar to the #1 new release spot in Children’s Coming of Age Fantasy in September
~ Having the book selected for the 2018 SCBWI Recommended Reading List, targeted at librarians and educators
~ Placing 3rd in the 2018 International Digital Awards
~ Selected as a Semi-Finalist for the 2019 Chanticler Paranormal Book Awards (Finalists will be selected next month) 
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I am well underway with the sequel to Dickensen Academy and hope to get it to my editor within six months (hopefully much earlier.). The working title is called Dickensen Secrets. I’m also very busy with my critique groups and partners.
 
Two new activities have been added to my writing life: editing and school visits. To learn more about each, click on my website’s newest tabs. I am very excited to talk to about 1,100 students (5th- 8th graders) over the next five weeks at three separate events.
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If you haven’t had a chance to read Dickensen Academy, here is more information about it.
 
Category/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Fantasy, appropriate for age 10 and up
Amazon Rating: 4.7-star rating based on 75 reviews  
 
Blurb:
Dickensen Academy isn’t a typical boarding school. The faculty is hiding an unbelievable secret within their fine arts program. When Autumn Mattison receives an invitation to attend the high school, she yearns to escape her overbearing father yet remains reluctant to leave her mother and brother. Her doubts fade away when a vivid dream convinces her she belongs there.
 
Away from home, Autumn discovers a unique school environment that awakens her creative potential, and her new friends become like a second family. However, as she uncovers more about the dark side of the school and struggles with its curriculum, she questions whether Dickensen Academy is truly where she belongs. 
 
When tragedy strikes, Autumn must learn to believe in her own power and stand up to her greatest fear or risk having her memories destroyed to protect the school’s secrets. Caught between secrets and dreams, can she find her true self?
 
Book Trailer:
https://youtu.be/sgjRes7zPLQ
 
Where to Buy:
The paperback, eBook, and audiobook are available on many online sites, including Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dickensen-academy-map-success/dp/B07G71747S

Join me to celebrate the release of my debut novel. I will give a short presentation about the book and my road to publication. Bring your questions for a Q&A session. There will be light snacks, prizes, and giveaways.

For more details or to register for the event, click here: REGISTER

​My book release coincides perfectly with this year's Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. On Friday night, I will be signing my books along with dozens of other northwest authors. Scary, but exciting.

The signing event is open to the public, and it's free. I'd love it if you stopped by to support me. Plus, you will have a chance to meet many other authors. 

Let me know if you plan to attend, so I can look for you. 

Now that Dickensen Academy has finished with the big edits, I have shifted much of my time to creating and implementing a marketing plan.

It's a whole new world as I learn about the hundreds of ways I can promote my book. Some free and some with a huge price tag. Of course, I can't do everything, so I'm trying to prioritize as well as spend some time each week editing my work in process and re-reading Dickensen Academy now in a PDF version to make make sure it looks good they way it is laid out on the pages. Until this point it has been in Word.

Back to updating my website. And then time to take Ruby for a walk.