Hey everyone. Today I wanted to share with you an experience I had at my last author event, what happened, and how I feel about it.

Almost two weeks ago, I had a multi-author event that I had a ton of anxiety over. A ton of self doubt. Leading up to the event, I kept feeling like I wasn't prepared enough, or that I was missing something. That feeling didn't go away. I was so worried about making sure I had everything ready. When I got there, I set up, and then I kept looking at my display wondering what I should change. I worried that people wouldn't be drawn to my table. I worried that my books looked bad.

Two hours into the event, I hadn’t sold a single book, while the romance authors around me were selling bunches.

I felt inadequate. Like I didn’t belong there. I've done several multi-author events, and ended up doing near 20 events last year. Even after doing so many events, writing and releasing so many books, this feeling, these worries... well, they still come around pretty often.

During this event, I even had one lady talk about “self” publishing in that way that many people still do, the way that tells you in their eyes, you’ll never measure up, even to those who are “traditionally published” under a small imprint or vanity press that still have to do all the work to sell their books.

But here’s the thing.

I ended up selling 18 books at that event. I sold 4 complete sets for Bound before the third book in the trilogy even technically released. I brought in over 400 dollars in the last 2 hours of that event. 

I left still feeling a little weird about how things had gone, but then I remembered something that helped me so much. I wrote these books. I put my soul into them, and I’m working hard to get them out in the world. I “self” publish because I want to choose what happens with my book, where it goes, what it looks like, and I don’t want all the money to go into someone else’s pockets. 

That’s my choice. It’s not because I couldn’t get an agent, or a publisher never wanted me. Truly, I've never submitted my work to a traditional or hybrid publisher, because I know what I want for my work. So I made my own path by founding AzureStar Press. 

You can too. Keep doing things the way you feel in your gut they need to be done. Trust yourself. Keep working at it, even if your efforts are made in small spurts. Put yourself out there. Keep trying. Every choice you make, every thing you try, is building toward something. Don’t let it slip, and please don't call it early. You never know how things might turn around if you keep going.

Your words matter. Your work matters. YOU matter.

I'll write again. Until then, stay awesome out there. 

I hear it a lot: "I'm so sick of reading about 17-year-olds who save the world."

And I get it. I do. As an adult especially, reading about a teenager going through all the things a teenager should be going through, then adding in the weight-of-the-world stakes that many of our YA protagonists take on can feel... a bit redundant, and unrealistic, as well. 

But here's the thing. I really do think that our world, our teens (and even our adults) still need this kind of hero. We still need to read the kinds of adventures that these teen protagonists go on, and here's why. 

Teens, young adults (and heck, even full-fledged adults with steady jobs and mortgages) go through a lot. Your teen years and early adulthood is full of change and turmoil. Add in hormones, finding first loves (and potentially losing them), and stepping out into the world on your own, and it can feel like you've got the world on your shoulders. Everything depends on you. Everything is your responsibility. And what happens if you don't succeed? Well, I think many of us out here shudder at the thought. 

But then we read about those seventeen-year-old protagonists who rise up against all odds. They often don't want the challenges and obstacles that are thrown their way, either. They face demons (often literally), walk through fire, and look armageddon in the face and say, "You're nothing."

All of a sudden, our own challenges, especially in our teenage years, don't seem so frightening. They don't feel so momentous. We find solace in the misery of the characters we relate to, because we have faith that they will overcome. In turn, I think that makes us in the real world actually more resilient. We become better problem solvers. We're able to compare our breakups to so-and-so's battle with a demigod.

We measure our successes up to those our characters achieve. 

Above all, these young, resilient characters, help us realize in times of rapid-fire change that we are not alone. That although we're reading fiction, it really could be worse. 

I think our world still needs these young fictional characters to show us the way. To show us that we can survive, and thrive, against all odds. That we can overcome, too.

Thank you for reading! I had this discussion with my husband today, and I felt inspired to write about it and share with you! If you like the image above, thank you! I drew it. It's a depiction of the main character in the Bound Trilogy, Lane, in one of the final battles. And yes, she is 17!

​Keep writing. Keep reading. Stay awesome, and I'll see you soon.

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing great. 

Today, I wanted to share a little bit about how the KickStarter for the Bound Trilogy Grand Finale Book Launch went, where I am with filling orders (and prepping for launch) and what else is in the works.

Last Tuesday, I went to bed pretty bummed out, and I was very much in backup-plan making mode. First, I wanted to figure out how to do all the things I planned to do (or at least the most important things I wanted to do) for Fated's book launch if the KickStarter was not successful. How was I going to thank the people who put their faith in the project if it didn't reach its goal?

On Wednesday, thanks to a few of my wonderful, supportive family members spreading the word like it was their job, we met our funding goal, and then some. I cannot express how grateful I am for these amazing people who took the project from 62% funded to 108% funded in 24 hours. I will write a post in the near future breaking down what I did for this KickStarter, what was helpful, and what was not, but for now, my focus is on getting ready for launch, and getting rewards out to those who paid for them.

Through this KickStarter, folks ordered a total of 57 books (and Fated doesn't come out until the 30th!). I've got orders for 30 ebooks and 27 physical books. I'm so happy about this! 

So here's what's happened since Wednesday last week.

1. We met our funding goal! Yay!
2. I made a BookFunnel account to distribute ebooks to those who ordered them.
3. Rewards have been sifted through and organized so I can keep track of what all needs to be made (and who it will go to).
4. Bookmarks and stickers have been ordered!
5. All art has been printed.
6. Backer survey was sent to gather item preferences and shipping info.
7. Bound Trilogy puzzles were ordered.
8. Ebook design for Fated is about 70% complete. I'm hoping to finish it today, then I'll go back and make some tweaks to Bound and Severed's ebooks so they're all the same.
9. I added Fated to my website and made some graphics that I'll print for my table setups that allow people to sign up for my email list via QR code and see the pricing for the art I've made.
10. I've been working on my outline for my next book. Very slowly. But still working on it.

Next, I will be...

• Ordering more books to fulfill the orders.
• Tweaking my measurements for the book box sets just a little bit and getting those started. 
• Spraying page edges (once books arrive). 
• Finishing my outline (hopefully this week) so I can start drafting my next book by June 1st. 
• Contacting all the bookstores I've made a connection with this last year to let them know the new book is almost out (and hopefully setting up an event with them). 
• Attending the 4 events I have scheduled between now and May 31st. 

Thank you all for being with me on this wild journey. If you have any ideas for how to make the book launch for the FINAL book in the Bound Trilogy even better, please comment or send me an email! I'd love to hear your ideas. 

For now, keep writing. Keep reading. Stay awesome. I'll write again soon. 

One thing that I always struggle with as an author is "selling" myself. I've always struggled with asking people to invest in my work, and therefore, in me. It's awkward. It's uncomfortable. 

But as my writing has taken off and my books have gotten better and better, I realize... if I don't try and put myself out there, I'll stay invisible. So here I go, trying. 

As many of you who follow this blog know, I'm currently running a KickStarter to help launch the final book in the Bound Trilogy. I'm so excited for this last book to come out, and I'm unspeakably grateful to everyone who has supported the project so far. I've been surprised again and again by the amazing people who support my writing dreams. 

Now here we are, at the final 24 hours of the KickStarter campaign. If you don't know, KickStarters are all-or-nothing. This is great for backers, because it means that if the project doesn't reach its funding goal, zero dollars leave your bank account for the project. However, it also means that zero funding will go toward the production of the project. 

We have done an awesome job raising over 60% of our $2,500 funding goal. We're in the home stretch now, with a bit more to cover. 

So here I am, doing the awkward thing as best I can. Because while it's uncomfortable for me to talk about myself, to sell myself, I truly believe in these books, and I want so badly to give readers more.

So here are 10 reasons you should back the Bound Trilogy Grand Finale KickStarter Campaign. 
1. The Bound Trilogy has exponentially improved my writing, my motivation, and my valuable connections with readers and other writers.

2. Everything in the Bound Trilogy is human made (no generative AI here, folks).

3. Items listed within the Bound Trilogy are hand-crafted or author-designed. (With the exception of things I have to order out to be printed, everything will be hand-crafted by yours truly).

4. This trilogy has a world that expands (and maps that expand with it) across books.

5. This trilogy has magic, action, romance (clean, fade-to), darkness, creatures, family, and stakes that raise with each book.

6. These books are written, formatted and designed by me (even the cover art and graphics). 

7. These books explore themes of loss, love, fate vs freewill, light vs darkness, responsibility, freedom, and family.

8. I created a dice gambling game to go with the books (the same game that the characters play within the books), and you can get this game for yourself with instructions for how to play through the KickStarter Campaign.

9. You can get digital or physical products ranging in price.

10. You can get art, books, the Fates dice game, a puzzle, posters, and book box sets.

If you found any of these reasons of interest to you, I implore you, check out the campaign. Back the project. It closes tomorrow (Wednesday, May 6th) at 8:48 PM. 

Thank you to everyone who has gotten me, and this project, this far. I appreciate you more than you'll probably ever know.