Crowd Control for Fictional Characters (Please Vote!)

Hello magical friends!

My Brain is Getting Crowded

I've been frantically busy preparing for markets and launching my holiday cozy book. I'm so excited for this new series in the Primrose Court World, and so are all the characters cooped up in my overactive imagination. It's starting to look like a "situation" in there—like at any moment a brawl could break out between characters from this series and the ones from other projects I'm moving off the back burner this month.

That's right, I'll be taking a brief break from the Mudpuddle/Primrose crew, but never fear—they'll all be back this Spring with another Primrose Tales story. In fact, I have several mapped out and I would love your help picking who goes first.

You'd be doing me such a favor if you voted. Think of it as crowd control, albeit fictional. It would be so much easier to tell Buffalo and Amrita to take a seat if I had data backing me up.

VOTE: Which Primrose Tale Should I Write Next?

A) Buffalo Westabrook and Amrita Berman getting lost in time together
B) Rosie's further adventures at the Dragon Academy
C) A brand new tale about the opening of a controversial tavern (existing + new characters)
D) Coriander and Barzilay's further adventures with lost spirits at the Lighthouse
E) I don't care as long as the squirrels are back

Just hit comment and let me know! Your votes are so appreciated. I have so many stories—I just don't know where to start!

Taking a Swing at Trad Publishing

Meanwhile, tomorrow I begin author coaching. I'm excited to work on something new that I can hopefully send to an agent. I've had a blast as an indie author and don't intend to give it up anytime soon, but I have a feeling some of the stories still inside me would be a better fit in the traditional publishing world. I won't rest easy until I give it a shot.

Putting yourself out there as an indie is tough. There's the writing and polishing, then finding the right editors, designers, and artists (or learning to do it yourself like me), then the marketing... Oh, the marketing! It's endless. And I haven't even mentioned running your own shop and doing the books. Fortunately, my experience as an entrepreneur has fortified me for this indie journey.

I don't have illusions about trad publishing life. (Funny to say it that way—sounds a bit like "trad wife," doesn't it?) I realize there's still a fair (possibly unfair) amount of the same editing, marketing, and business stuff that stays on trad authors' plates too. But I think it would be nice to be part of a team, at least on some projects.

We'll see. I'm cautiously optimistic. Hopefully my ego isn't too fragile! I've been humbled plenty over the course of my many careers, and while it does get easier, it's still not fun.

Personal & Market Updates

In personal news, my youngest son is making his final college application decisions this week. I'm in denial. I don't want to admit it's the end of an era.

This past weekend there was a magical book faire in San Juan Capistrano. It featured Kindle decorating stations, bookish vendors, live author readings, and more. I was so glad to have a booth there and thrilled to share that I sold out of the sprayed edge editions of the Natural Magic Series in only two hours. I only have a little video of what they looked like!  

I'm hoping to have more done and in the store for the holidays, as well as a few more copies reasy for two more markets this weekend.

There are also still a few Lit Lovers Series books with the cute sprayed edges left. Find them at:

• OC Book Fair this Saturday (OCRW booth)
• Pumpkins and Paperbacks in Lake Arrowhead on Sunday

Holiday Cheese and Capers is out tomorrow! Preorder it today or grab it tomorrow at the link below!

After all of these markets and launches, I'm taking a little break. I mean it this time!