As the July 1st
release day for Jillian of Banff XO creeps closer, the jitterbugs get
more active, and my house gets cleaner. When I worry, I clean. What if I didn’t
get Jillian right in this story? What if someone finds an error between the
pages? What if? What if? Clean. Clean. Clean. My knick-knacks cringe at the
site of me coming so I head outside to walk. The outdoors helps me refocus on
the seasonal changes and for a while I forget to worry about ‘what if?’
Initially, I never thought I would write a sequel to Summer of Lies but then What About Me? came to fruition. And then the need for yet another story, Jillian of Banff XO. Now it’s a series—something I never expected to happen when I wrote the first book.
Each novel takes Jillian through a stage of her teenage years and the turmoil life has in store for her. And it all takes place in Banff, Alberta where I grew up. The school’s hallways, a few favourite teachers and the places she walks past are so familiar to me.
I hope readers can relate to my characters and will cheer them on to The End. I also hope readers will tell friends and family to check the books out. I hope. I hope. I hope. Yes, I will be out walking shortly replacing ‘what if’ with ‘I hope’ and taking a different trail to see if the shooting stars are blooming yet.
As if the emotional
turmoil is not enough to deal with, I have to choose from a plethora of sales strategies
and prepare a series of social media posts to promote my new book. And then of
course, the dreaded - asking readers to leave a review. Ack. I get imposter
syndrome when my finger hits the post icon. It sounds like I’m boasting
… ‘look at me, look at me, I have a book release coming up.’
When I received the proof of the cover, I held my breath. It’s beautiful. One step closer to getting published. What if it becomes a best seller? My ego goes on a runaway for a few seconds, and then I chuckle because I’m right back at the beginning—what if? The whole process is overwhelming and frightening and exciting all mixed together and you can bet I will be logging in a lot of steps each day as July 1st approaches.
Canada Day and my release will happen on the same day – almost like I planned it. How cool is that?
If you would like a reminder when the link opens for pre-orders, send me a note at bbaker.write@gmail.com
All authors now that release fever. Congratulations on the upcoming release. It sounds promising. Wishing you the very best with it. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover! All will be well when there's talent like yours, Barbara. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteSuper cool cover! So exciting!
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