I see that I've surpassed 2,000 tweets sent -- again. I got up to 2,000 once before, but then suddenly a bunch of them disappeared and I had to work my way up again. Really didn't break my heart.
At about the same time we reached 600 hits on my writer's website. I have a bad habit of not paying enough attention to stats like that, but I see 71 people now like my Mark R. Hunter Facebook fanpage, and 79 have liked the http://www.markrhunter/ website. This guarantees 70 people will buy Storm Chaser in June, right? Sure it does.
On a related note the Albion New Era, the newspaper where my column first appeared, has reprinted the interview I did on the website Romance Writers on the Journey, at http://romancewritersonthejourney.wor
It's a little intimidating, and I'm beginning to understand why some people fear success. Yesterday I had a little mini-breakdown along the lines of "Now everyone knows I've written a novel! I have to stand by my work! What if nobody likes it?" But then Emily slapped me around for awhile, and I'm okay now.
Anyway, I haven't been around much, and probably won't be around much in the immediate future, and here's why:
Some of you might recall me mentioning that I wanted to write a few short stories, set before the events of Storm Chaser but in the same universe. My plan was to post them on the website every few weeks, as a way to get people interested in the book when it comes out in June.
Well, I ran that idea by my publishers at Whiskey Creek Press. They liked the idea so much that they suggested putting a group of short stories out as an e-book anthology, a sort of companion piece to Storm Chaser. I'm hoping to still get one or two out for free before then, as an appetizer, but suddenly they've gone from a few fun little tales to another project all on their own! (I still need a title for the new book, by the way. Storm Chaser Shorts is what I've been calling it, but most of the stories don't involve actual storms.)
The problem is that even though it will be short, like any book project it needs to go through the editing and publishing process -- and at the time I brought the idea up I only had two of about ten stories completely finished. So for the last couple of weeks I've been spending every spare moment writing, and for the foreseeable future I'll be doing the same. In addition to that, I'd promised myself that I'd spend part of Emily's spring break helping her get the house straightened out, because we've been too busy to do much with it.
So please, if you mention me in a post or see something you think I might be interested in, drop me a note. I'll keep up as best I can, but between now and Storm Chaser's release date I have to accept the fact that I'm just not going to have time to comment much, and maybe not even read as much as I did. I just went through my LiveJournal back to February 28, but I can't keep that up. Still, I'll always be available by e-mail, and naturally I'll post myself, because a writer's gotta write. And, of course, I'll always answer comments, unless they get lost of the internet somewhere. Even if I become a famous author. No, I mean when. Yup.
I used to worry when I hit busy times like this that people who didn't hear from me for awhile would defriend me. But I've been thinking about that, and I've decided that anyone who'd clear me off their flist just because I don't show up every week doesn't want to be much of a friend and, on the other end of the spectrum, isn't interested enough in my writing to buy my fiction. Life's too short to be ruled by impatient people with short attention spans.
Now, I'm off to find someone to beta my short stories ... oh, and does anyone have suggestions for a title? They all take place in summer, mostly in the midwest, and there's a little bit of a weather theme that runs through them, but otherwise they're a pretty eclectic bunch. Since all the characters are heading toward an eventual meeting in the little town of Hurricane, Indiana, I was thinking of incorporating that, but "Hurricane Tales" again sounds too much like they're all chasing storms. Writing's hard. *whines*
At about the same time we reached 600 hits on my writer's website. I have a bad habit of not paying enough attention to stats like that, but I see 71 people now like my Mark R. Hunter Facebook fanpage, and 79 have liked the http://www.markrhunter/ website. This guarantees 70 people will buy Storm Chaser in June, right? Sure it does.
On a related note the Albion New Era, the newspaper where my column first appeared, has reprinted the interview I did on the website Romance Writers on the Journey, at http://romancewritersonthejourney.w
It's a little intimidating, and I'm beginning to understand why some people fear success. Yesterday I had a little mini-breakdown along the lines of "Now everyone knows I've written a novel! I have to stand by my work! What if nobody likes it?" But then Emily slapped me around for awhile, and I'm okay now.
Anyway, I haven't been around much, and probably won't be around much in the immediate future, and here's why:
Some of you might recall me mentioning that I wanted to write a few short stories, set before the events of Storm Chaser but in the same universe. My plan was to post them on the website every few weeks, as a way to get people interested in the book when it comes out in June.
Well, I ran that idea by my publishers at Whiskey Creek Press. They liked the idea so much that they suggested putting a group of short stories out as an e-book anthology, a sort of companion piece to Storm Chaser. I'm hoping to still get one or two out for free before then, as an appetizer, but suddenly they've gone from a few fun little tales to another project all on their own! (I still need a title for the new book, by the way. Storm Chaser Shorts is what I've been calling it, but most of the stories don't involve actual storms.)
The problem is that even though it will be short, like any book project it needs to go through the editing and publishing process -- and at the time I brought the idea up I only had two of about ten stories completely finished. So for the last couple of weeks I've been spending every spare moment writing, and for the foreseeable future I'll be doing the same. In addition to that, I'd promised myself that I'd spend part of Emily's spring break helping her get the house straightened out, because we've been too busy to do much with it.
So please, if you mention me in a post or see something you think I might be interested in, drop me a note. I'll keep up as best I can, but between now and Storm Chaser's release date I have to accept the fact that I'm just not going to have time to comment much, and maybe not even read as much as I did. I just went through my LiveJournal back to February 28, but I can't keep that up. Still, I'll always be available by e-mail, and naturally I'll post myself, because a writer's gotta write. And, of course, I'll always answer comments, unless they get lost of the internet somewhere. Even if I become a famous author. No, I mean when. Yup.
I used to worry when I hit busy times like this that people who didn't hear from me for awhile would defriend me. But I've been thinking about that, and I've decided that anyone who'd clear me off their flist just because I don't show up every week doesn't want to be much of a friend and, on the other end of the spectrum, isn't interested enough in my writing to buy my fiction. Life's too short to be ruled by impatient people with short attention spans.
Now, I'm off to find someone to beta my short stories ... oh, and does anyone have suggestions for a title? They all take place in summer, mostly in the midwest, and there's a little bit of a weather theme that runs through them, but otherwise they're a pretty eclectic bunch. Since all the characters are heading toward an eventual meeting in the little town of Hurricane, Indiana, I was thinking of incorporating that, but "Hurricane Tales" again sounds too much like they're all chasing storms. Writing's hard. *whines*
The title Summer Daze popped into my mind, but I don't know if that conjures up the right feel for your stories. I'm off to like your fan page;)!
ReplyDeleteI'd have to read them before I could suggest a name for them. Maybe that means you have to make them available for the general public to read... hmm... ;)
ReplyDeleteI haven't 'liked' your Facebook page yet, but I definitely plan to buy your book.
Thanks, Maria! I think you're both right: I can't get help naming the anthology from people who just haven't read anything from that universe yet.
ReplyDeleteSo ... would either of you like to read one or more of the stories?
You fail at reading between the lines, Mark. =Þ "General public" = ME. and maybe other people.
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely love to read them. Are you planning on posting them on your blog, or do you not want to go public with them yet?
Also, where is your fan page? I can't find it.
ReplyDeleteI knew you meant you -- but I had to mess with you a bit! I was originally planning to post the first few, but now Whiskey Creek has them as an e-book and I have to wait for them to decide whether they want that or not. I think most likely I'll end up posting a couple, at most, and the rest will be for sale as an e-book anthology.
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested, I could e-mail them to you when I've got them finished (not much longer, I hope). There are only 8-9 stories, each around 1,500 - 2,500 words, and I could surely use a first reader to help tell if they make sense separate from the main story.
Are you talking about my facebook fanpage? It's at: http://www.facebook.com/update_security_info.php?wizard=1#!/pages/Mark-R-Hunter/130018377017326