Bound to Finish

I released my first novel Crystal Bound on 10/10/10.

I liked the way the date sounded.

While it was an easy date to remember, there was an issue. It didn’t leave me much room for contests or book events. In less than two months, my book was already considered last-year’s model.

Because I’d finished a rough draft of the sequel, I did the unthinkable. I placed a note on the last page to look for Crystal Bound 2 in November of 2011.

Twelve years later, it’s still not published.

There are many reasons why. I hand-sold Crystal Bound 1 to about 300 people over the first year and it sold one and two at a time on Amazon.

It was hard, often depressing work. I lost faith in the story.

At the same time, other stories demanded attention.

I wrote about a woman who discovers her husband is cheating minutes before winning the largest prize in the history of her beloved theme park. Another about a woman struggling to get her life back on track when a dragon follows her home. And a third about a woman fighting for the top crime reporter job while hiding the fact when she’s nervous, she spouts spontaneous song lyrics—and she can’t carry a tune.

But still, my Crystal Bound 1 protagonist Julie, wanted the rest of her story told.

I took an honest look at the first book and realized three things.

I still liked the story. But the cover didn’t work. And although I’d worked as a journalist for years (and used spell check). it was in serious need of proofreading. (That Oxford comma that was considered optional in journalism, was required in novels).

So, I’ve let Julie back in. I want to release the sequel, but I couldn’t let the first book stand as is. I made a plan to update the original novel.

I hired a proofreader who found hundreds of missing commas.

I hired a cover designer who understands that the tiny thumbnail photo on Amazon is often the only picture of a book cover a reader will see.

I hired a book designer who will format the inside pages correctly.

As soon as the cover and formatting are complete, a refreshed version of the first book will replace the old one on Amazon, without fanfare.

And the sequel?

I’ve learned my lesson. There’s no way I’m going to announce a date until after it’s gone through my set of readers and proofreading. I will say that I’m working on the second draft and hope to have it to my first readers in a few weeks.

If you’ve read the original book and would like to be a reader for the sequel, message me on the Contact & About page.