Harking, my first work of Young Adult fiction and my first story outside of the Dyed In The Green fiction series about Canada’s national parks is now available to pre-order on Kindle and will be available in print in about 7 weeks! Get in early on the action and save by pre-ordering. Although classed asYoung Adult fiction Harking is a great adult read as well. Leave your reviews on Goodreads or Amazon or in the Comments section of this post.
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Pandemic Pivot and Pause
Understatement of the year … “things have changed drastically in the past seven months”.
No kidding.
I can’t even imagine how some folks are coping; with no work, children about to go back to school, and the threat of a second wave hanging in the air.
I feel for them.
As a relatively established self-published author, Covid 19 has forced me to face some realities as well – low to no print book sales, bookstores reducing inventories, publishers holding off on their next titles and not considering new submissions, and so on.
On the ebook side of things, sales have picked up slightly but I’ve also decided to give ebooks away, as my small contribution to helping people make it through self-isolation, quarantine, and the other isolating effects of the pandemic including cabin fever.
But while the bank account is dwindling and the path forward is still murky, “there is only do”.
Because The Rhino’s Horn, the fifth book in my Dyed In The Green series is set in Tanzania and Kenya, and because I want to get there first to be able to do justice to the story I want to write, Covid 19 travel restrictions and a desire to live longer have forced me to put Book 5 on the shelf and pivot my writing to focus on the next story, Harking.
Like everything else before it, Harking has been in the works for a while but this story is a little different from previous books, a little more geared to younger adults but still, I think, a great adult read.
I’ve shopped it around to traditional publishers (unsuccessfully so far) but I’ve also been pushing forward to once again self-publish this story, working with my cover designer and layout person to prepare the two files (cover and text) printers need to put a book out.
Now comes the hardest part – marketing.
And with everything that’s going on in the book industry right now including Indigo shuttering some of its smaller stores, independent bookstores struggling to stay afloat (with some closing permanently), as well as overall uncertainty about the future, I’m now forced to pause and consider my options.
I think every author will tell you they want their stories in the hands of readers.
We need the feedback to satisfy our efforts (and our egos) and we need it to grow as writers.
Pausing is not usually my way.
But pause I must.
As much as I like to write and get my stories out there, I can’t afford (financially) to get this wrong.
Yet I’m busting at the seams to move forward with the next great story (there’s that ego talking again).
Now if only Covid would go away!
Happy Easter
Harking UPDATE
RPTR
Chapter 2
“You understand the implications of a repeat offence?”
Tavon nodded. “I do.”
The young judge staring down at him scrolled through a list of charges, simultaneously projected onto the screen in front of Tavon.
“I’m surprised you’re still in the city,” said the judge, running a hand through his neatly coifed hair. “But then I see Minister Dresden has intervened on multiple occasions.” His voice dripped with acrimony as he said the older man’s name. “But I don’t see him here today,” he added as he looked around the courtroom.
Tavon lowered his head. “He’s busy.”
“Very well, let’s get this over with. As I see it, you’ve had multiple space violations. And you’ve been fairly warned about the consequences of any further offences. I have no choice but to evict you from the city.”
Tavon nodded but said nothing.
“Immediately,” added the judge.
“But Your Honour?”
The young judge looked surprised by the reaction. “No buts Mr. Dresden. You were fairly warned. Take him away.”
Tavon’s body stiffened but relinquished as the officer gripped his bicep. Until now, the ramifications of being evicted from the city had eluded Tavon. He’d been able to count on his father’s interventions and wrote off the seriousness of being an outcast. The wilderness was a foreign concept to him and he ignored the stories.
But as the officer led him out of the courthouse, the weight of his situation caused him to falter.
Looking around, the lack of a familiar face scared Tavon, but at the last moment he recognized the eyes, suspended under the black fedora hidden at the back of the packed courtroom.
“Father,” he called out.
Suddenly the fedora seemed to disappear, reemerging then vanishing again toward the courtroom’s main entrance.
“Father.” Tavon mouthed the word. For the first time in his life, a sense of panic overtook him and he felt his body go limp.
Thrusting his hand into Tavon’s armpit, the officer lifted him and pushed him along the corridor toward the waiting shuttle.