2020 and Beyond – Not A Write Off Year – an Author Perspective

It took me some time to discover that this truly was not a write-off year in my authoring world. I’m glad I looked back over this past twelve months. I honestly couldn’t believe what I’d accomplished - things I’d practically forgotten.

Pre-pandemic, in early January, I was looking forward to the launch of my third book, The Liars, in my historical fiction series – scheduled for April, the launch, the cluster signing weekend, and the multitude of signings that came with it. My favourite part would be meeting people at tables and listening to what they thought of my book. I’ve had some pretty neat conversations and encounters in the past.

I was also 20K words into a fourth and final in the series and was looking forward to writing four books in four years. I had set that milestone for myself. I’d have to complete it by November to make it possible for a 2021 Spring release. It was doable and I was excited as to where the characters would lead me next.

And then, there was COVID and The Liars was delayed.

So, with the shutdown, decisions had to be made about The Liars. It would be shipped and in St. John’s around the last of April – though this date was still a moving target. I was pestered by the questions: Should I hold on to it? Or should I Launch it? And what would that look like? Hundreds of people had been waiting for the book to come out and as an author, I struggled with the “is it about me or about readers” doubt.

Then again, we hadn’t had a pandemic in over 100 years, and if I wanted to turn a negative into a positive, how many people could say they launched a book in a pandemic? Probably nobody living. So I told the publishers at Flanker Press that I wanted to go for it.

I also decided to do online readings to stay connected with a readership and I scheduled eight between March and April. I spent an hour on Friday nights with a bunch of people and read from Being Mary Ro and The Promise. I had some regulars hang out with me, sometimes there’d be ten or fifteen people come along. There would be questions. I would get thank yous for bringing a bit of stress relief and normalcy in the craziness of those first weeks and months of shutdown. And I thought, I’m doing some good for others and for myself. I also recorded readings to be shared on the Flanker Press YouTube channel.

At the end of March, I released the full cover of The Liars and then a month later, the shipment of books arrived. I went to Flanker’s office on May 1^st and held The Liars for the first time. I signed about 600 copies. Book stores weren’t open nor were stores taking book orders so many people contacted Flanker and my goal was to ensure they got a signed copy.

May 6^th was Launch Day. My daughter Stacey was the camerawoman and we set up the house as if there were hundreds coming – decorations, flowers, wine, giveaways, the whole shebang. I dressed up for the first time in months and it felt good.

I joked with Stacey that she would be filming and I’d reach for a book, the chair would break, and I’d take a spill. The first COVID book launch in NL would go viral, not because of my book but because the host ended up in a pile on the floor. As soon as we sat and went on Facebook Live the chair creaked and Stacey laughed – we had a shaky camera start while she recovered. It was fun and felt good. Hundreds came – tuned in online.

Things got busy, I had to get a few boxes of books delivered to the house because a number of people wanted them for Mother’s Day – signed and personalized. I came up with a safe pickup routine. It was awesome.

Meanwhile, I had applied for a grant to add the three books in Audio format. The grant was denied but I decided to go ahead on my own – just a slower financial pace. I contracted a narrator and started on this new adventure with Being Mary Ro. Work was busy and doing quality assurance on this project was time-consuming but worth it. And what else was there to do? It came out in audiobook format in June.

Remember that novel I’d started, well, just about every week I’d take out the skeleton of the story, but I didn’t want to write. It wasn’t writer’s block, I don’t think. I just wasn’t interested or excited to be writing.

On July 4^th came a bit of almost normal. I travelled to Washed Ashore Antiques and did my first in person book signing. Masks, sanitizing, etc.. It was odd and pushed my comfort level, but it felt good and several people came from around Centerville/Trinity/Wareham to get their copy.

By now reviews began to come in from newspapers and online bloggers. They were all pretty good and that was satisfying. But the one thing that made me most proud, was my finding a forgotten and murdered woman in my research and doing something about it. I gave her a chapter and went about getting her name added to the Missing and Murdered list in NL. In August, Ruth Taktos, a young woman from Labrador who died at the hands of her husband, was pulled into the light from her forgotten grave. Her name will be spoken every year and I did that.

In September I submitted The Promise to audible for publication. This one didn’t go so well from a process perspective (election and COVID in the US) and it would be December before it came out. I started some writing classes to see if I could get back to my 20k but instead, started a new project that now has about 30k and I racked up another one waiting to be finished.

October I began the four Friday’s again and did readings from The Liars on Facebook Live. They were fairly well attended. I received a grant for two of the readings from the Writer’s Union of Canada.

In early November, I was featured in an interview with Kathryn Taylor for Rogers Television series, Let’s get Writing. I also accepted an invite to The Avalon Page Turners book club in Dildo. I met the club for Lunch at an Indian Restaurant in the area. We had a wonderful discussion on all three books over delicious cuisine.

December was fairly busy. I recorded and released Christmas readings from two books. I got an early Christmas Present when the grant for my audiobooks got second-round approval. I was so excited. The Promise was released in audio format on December 10^th and by the 15^th I had The Liars submitted for evaluation. Just before Christmas, I was invited to do a seven-minute piece on the Let’s Get Writing Christmas Special which aired December 23^rd.

With all the audio excitement over with, on December 26^th I pulled out the dormant and dusty 20k words and asked myself the question – do you want to write this book? I slept on it, well for about three hours. I woke with this aha moment and started writing furiously. On January 11^th, I finished the last line at 10:54 pm. The next morning, I had an offer to publish and it will be out in July. A few days later, The Liars was finalized and in audiobook format for sale.

On February 4^th, I was the first in a WANL series of “Ask Me Anything” where I had an interview with Michael Smith. It was a great night for the launch of that series.

I did Four Friday’s readings for The Liars in March. I learned I won the Arts and Letters Competition for a short story called The Glitch. I read that on Facebook live in April. Now, I have several short stories for which I’m looking for homes as well.

I worked on fine-tuning of The Stolen Ones which I finally titled with a name I loved. Beta Readers are heralding it so I look forward to a new fingers crossed – post-pandemic launch in late summer.

So as you can see, this past year was not a write-off, not in any way. I’m happy to have looked back to the year that was to find out what it really was. I launched a book, finished a novel, published three audiobooks, started another novel, wrote several short stories, and worked full time besides.

Now I’ve started this blog and want to see where that takes me.

I got my vaccine yesterday and this morning I woke more hopeful than I’ve been in a long time. I didn’t realize I needed to put a shine on my hopefulness, but I guess the faded luster crept up on me. Reflecting on blessing can keep it shined.

I’m happy to say I accomplished my goal of having four books published in four years.  I’ll have my fingers crossed for a successful next offering. I’ll roll with whatever comes. The Liars would have been mor successful without the pandemic. But so would the world. I’ll look for the positive. I’ll focus on the things within my control and when I’m ready to write – mentally and physically, I’ll do that.

My hope is recharged, my family, thankfully is well, and the sun shines on this day. Reflecting on the positive allows me to see it. And, as my grandson just reminded me, there is no bad time for ice cream or pizza. It’s as simple as that or as complicated as I allow it. I choose ice cream.

Thank you for reading.