She’s the main character (MC) of Twins. So that makes me sort of like her parent, which makes the guilt even worse.

I gave up on her! After my initial excitement at publishing Twins, and making huge progress on Book II, I allowed myself to get sidetracked. A year ago I fell prey to another Muse, a new novel with a completely different storyline. And I completely lost focus on Twins. I left Yolanda, Ming and Orion (tease) in the lurch. I stopped trying to share their story out in the world.

I don’t feel like a Hero of my own story right now. It felt too hard to have a day job, write a book, and keep up with all the demands of marketing, distribution and social media; I got lost in the huge list of tasks on the to-do list. So I gave up. I didn’t persist, didn’t hang in there. Finding an audience is half the job of a writer. Now I’m back at it again…with renewed vigor.

Don’t be like me! Keep the faith.

Have you ever lost sight of your own vision?

Thanks to Nicole Walker’s Bellingham, WA, BABES book group for hosting me! They all had such perceptive comments and questions. What an honor. They practically begged me for the next book, which is the very best response that an author can hope for. So I am all pumped to finish the manuscript of  Gift of the Gods, the next book in the series.

After writing 50,000 words in November, along came the holidays and WINTER. Time to hibernate, sleep in, sip tea, soak, dream, snuggle in a blanket and read (the Twilight series — I must be the last fantasy writer in the world who hasn’t read it yet. ) Winter is all about that. And not trying to push too hard. That’s how ideas flow…when we let ourselves rest and rebuild.

Like Yolanda, heroine of Twins, I try to listen to those deeper feelings, and so I took that time. Now I am excited to get back to work. I intend to complete the first draft by spring, and publish by early summer.

So how can you find out what happens next?

The first Preview is ready to send to you! But for a little incentive, I’m asking you to write and post a brief review of Twins. I’m working on getting some “official” reviews, but there’s nothing like a review by an Actual Reader (that’s you!) to help others feel good about picking up the book…or bookstores to host a reading…

* Please consider what you liked (or didn’t like- let’s be honest) about Twins. Be specific!
* Post your review on Amazon.com
* Send me an email at fans@twinsoftessar.com and I’ll send you Preview 1 of Gift of the Gods.

And many hugs to all who bought the book in December, to give to friends and family. I am so grateful for your help getting this book into the hands of readers (and if you’d like a preview, let me know. Amazon doesn’t reveal your names, so I depend on email for who to send it to.)

If you’re new to the book, you can download the first 3 chapters for Free!

And if you like it, please buy a copy ($10.99) at Amazon. The big sale date for Amazon is December 12. The more people buy the book on that date, the book’s rank will increase, which will help the book get promoted within Amazon.com. I’ll even send you a preview of the next book in the series if you buy that day!

If you are in the Western WA region, shoot me an email at fans at twinsoftessar dot com and we can get you a SIGNED copy with no shipping charges.

If you’ve read “Twins,” please visit the “Add a Review” page.

Post a review by December 15, and you’ll also get a sneak preview of Book 2! I wrote 50,000 words during the month of November for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Tentatively titled “Twins of Tessar: Gift of the Gods,” many characters from “Twins” are back, and a few more you’ll love to meet.

Finally, it took a while to get this site up: my own hero’s journey! Even though I am a website designer by day, I’m still an old dog that had to learn some new technical tricks: Word Press, custom themes, Amazon, Facebook and all the other cool technologies that cropped up like mushrooms as I was busy writing and publishing.

Check out my personal blog, too.