As she brushed her hair back into a loose ponytail, she felt butterflies of excitement building.
“This is pathetic,” she said to her mirror reflection. “I’m worse than a kid. It’s only a trip into town.”
She had just put the finishing touches to her makeup when she heard a truck crunch over the gravel in front of the house. By the time she had made her way down the hallway to the front door, Jake was already on the porch. His long hair was still damp – signs of a recent shower- and he too seemed to have taken care with his wardrobe. Behind him in the driveway she could see a black Dodge Ram pickup truck parked under the tree.
“Your chariot awaits,” he declared theatrically.
“Hi, Jake,” she smiled, stepping out onto the porch, pausing to pull the door closed behind her.
“Hi,” he replied. “Are you still ok with this?”
“Of course! I’ve been looking forward to it,” she said. “And to seeing you,” she added silently to herself.
“Ok. Let’s go then. The local metropolis awaits you.”
Getting into the passenger seat of the truck proved to be a challenge, but Jake swept in and lifted her up into the seat. He slid her crutches in behind then handed her the strap of the seatbelt.
“I hope you’re impressed. I even cleaned out the truck for you,” he said proudly. “It’s not usually so tidy.”
“I’m honoured. Thank you.”
As Jake turned on the ignition, the stereo burst into life and the cab was suddenly filled with very loud hard rock music. He reached to switch it off, but Lori stopped him.
“No worries. It’s fine with me,” she assured. “Is this the kind of stuff your band plays?”
“Yeah,” said Jake reversing out into the narrow road
If you want to read more then check out the Silver Lake series today
Five sleeps to go until Long Shadows officially launches on Amazon.
Ok, the paperback version snuck out a few days early, but the kindle version lands on 14 February and, in this modern world, that’s the format that readers prefer. Sad in a way as there’s nothing like holding a real book in your hands. I may be ever so slightly biased here.
Yes, I know launching a romance novel on Valentine’s Day is a bit cheesy and it’s also a bit odd to launch one on a Sunday but the date ties in SO nicely with the storyline.
Already the “what ifs” are creeping in…..what if folk don’t like it? What if no one looks at the launch day activity on my author page on FB? What if no one, other than those wonderful souls who have pre-ordered, buys it?…. and so my mind races on and on.
I still find it really hard to believe that I’ve written a five book series. I find it surreal that I’ve written and published any books, if I’m being totally honest! I’ve said it before, but it really is a dream come true.
When I sat down on my doorstep on 8 May 2013 to begin to write the story that grew to become Stronger Within, I had no idea that it would run to five books. In my naïve innocence, I was just writing a story, which at that point I was scared to let anyone read.
That’s a fear that’s never really gone away. I guess it’s a bit like a performer getting stage fright right before they step out in front of an audience. I’d love to say that with each additional book the fear shrinks but it doesn’t really. My hands were trembling as I hit “approve” on the paperback proof recently and I know I’ll be a nervous wreck come launch day.
So, why do I put myself through it?
I guess part of it is that you can’t let your fears rule you.
The main reason though is that I love writing. It’s my escape from this crazy, cruel, fecked up world that we’re living in. In the fantasy world that I write about, there’s no virus threats, there’s no need for masks, folk can still hug each other and they can go to gigs and enjoy hanging out with their music family.
Writing this final part of the Silver Lake series was an emotional journey from start to finish. When I began the story, the world was normal, and we were all going about our daily lives quite happily…then 2020 happened… and the world went to shit. There were times in the latter half of last year that I almost put my pen down and stopped. My mantra is “Dreams get you started Discipline keeps you going” and it has taken every last ounce of self-discipline to bring this one to life.
I didn’t take the decision to end this series lightly. As an indie author, it’s getting harder and harder to win over new readers and to keep book bloggers engaged to review the books etc with each passing book in the series. Five books in any one series is more than enough in my humble opinion. Yes, there are several successful series that have run to more than five volumes but for me five was the magic number.
Without giving away any spoilers, Silver Lake will be back further down the line. Whether that’s in stand alone tales or another series remains to be seen. All I can promise you is that you’ve not heard the last of them…not yet.
For now though, all that’s left for me to do is to check over my launch day plans for the hundredth time and pray that you all love Long Shadows as much as I do when it lands on 14 February.
Long Shadows is now available to pre-order on Kindle worldwide
Jake and Lori return to Rehoboth Beach to pick up the threads of family life.
As they look forward to Jake’s first solo tour with Garrett, the album launch and the arrival of the new baby, life is looking good but then a cruel twist fate casts Long Shadows over the Silver Lake family.
Will life ever be the same?
Long Shadows is now available to pre-order on Kindle worldwide
Jake and Lori return to Rehoboth Beach to pick up the threads of family life.
As they look forward to Jake’s first solo tour with Garrett, the album launch and the arrival of the new baby, life is looking good but then a cruel twist fate casts Long Shadows over the Silver Lake family.
Will life ever be the same?
Long Shadows is now available to pre-order on Kindle worldwide
This week I’d like to introduce you to fellow indie author, Sarah M Reed. I first came across Sarah’s work when I read If I Fell In Love last summer and I’ll be honest I fell just a tiny bit in love with Ray in that book.
The lady herself has a new novel, The Boyfriend Pact, out today- yes, today! (The link to purchase it is below.)
So without further ado, here’s how my recent virtual interview with Sarah went :-
Tell me a bit about yourself. Have you always wanted to be a writer?
When I was seven years old, my first-grade teacher did a unit with our class on how books are created. We all wrote our own story and made it into a book. My book was entered into a schoolwide contest and won a blue ribbon for first place. I have been writing ever since!
Your latest book The Boyfriend Pact is due to be released on 21 Jan 2021. What can you tell me about it without giving away any spoilers?
“The Boyfriend Pact” is a best friends to lovers story that has a little steam and a whole lot of feels. It actually started as a novella that I wrote in high school twenty years ago, but when I dusted it off and set about trying to expand it into a full-length novel, it became something completely different. I love the way it turned out.
Which of your characters do you like most? Why?
Lauren, from my first book, “If I Fell in Love,” is my favorite because she is the most like me. However, Michael, the main character of “The Boyfriend Pact”, is the best book boyfriend a girl could have, so…
Is there one particular person who inspired you to write?
There have been many – starting with that first-grade teacher and on through the years. Recently, I’ve been inspired by the community of other female indie authors who have welcomed me and accompanied me along this journey.
A cruel question, but what’s your favourite book/who’s your favourite author?
Just one?? I am a big fan of rom-coms, so I love Jennifer Crusie, Jill Shalvis and Jo Watson. I’ve read pretty much all of their books. “Faking It” by Crusie and “Nobody but You” by Shalvis are the two books that I could (and have) read over and over again and never tire of.
Tell me a bit about your approach to your writing. Are you a meticulous planner or do you tend towards letting your characters go with the flow?
I am a go with the flow type of writer. I have the characters in mind ahead of time, and a general idea of where the book is heading, but sometimes the characters have their own ideas about things and I have learned to go with them. Their ideas are often better than mine…
I love to write outdoors. Where’s your favourite place to write?
Since I have two little kids to keep an eye on, I do most of my writing at the kitchen table. Keeps me right in the middle of the action!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
In terms of life? Be today who you want to be tomorrow. In terms of writing? Just get it on the page and then clean it up later.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
I have found that usually writer’s block happens when I am trying to make the story go in a direction it doesn’t want to go. If I take a step back, think it through, let me imagination go… oftentimes the right path will come to me.
So, what’s next creatively? Are you working on anything else just now?
I am writing a love story for two of the side characters from my previous books: Lexi from “The Boyfriend Pact” and Simon from “If I Fell in Love”. Then I have a romantic suspense I’d like to write, which will be similar in style to my second novel, “In Pursuit of Happily Ever After.” After that, I don’t know.
Let’s finish with a few of Sarah’s favourite things…
Favourite food – ice cream
Favourite drink – just water (boring, I know)
Favourite band – the Beatles
Favourite holiday destination – Disneyland. Seriously. Disneyland at Christmastime is magical.
If you want to catch up with Sarah, here’s the links to her social media:-
I was lucky enough to be given an ARC copy of The Boyfriend Pact a couple of weeks ago. I was curious right from the start about where this storyline was headed. Within a few pages I felt totally invested in these characters’ lives. This is one of these books you can hear in your head as you’re reading it. More importantly, its one you can feel too. I’m not about to give any spoilers away here but this tale is filled with love- the kind of love you find in friendships, family and in relationships. I love how Sarah captures the quaintness of Winston Prairie. I could also hear the buzz and smell the cooking in the scenes involving Michael’s family. Great read. Don’t believe me then check it out for yourself.
Last week the proof copy of Book Baby 6 aka Long Shadows arrived. Look isn’t it pretty?
Now I’m scrutinising it for errors- inverted commas that are the wrong way round, spacing errors in the text, spacing errors in chapter headings, spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes, continuity errors…. and, of course, those evil commas that move around pages when your back is turned!
The list goes on and on…..
These last few weeks before the launch of a new book baby into the world are the most stressful part of the whole process.
Writing it is the easy part!
Then comes the next challenge- promoting it and marketing it. I’m going to be brutally honest – I suck at that part!
I’ve tried Facebook ad campaigns. I’ve tried Amazon ad campaigns. I’ve self-promoted on numerous book promotion sites. I’ve updated my GoodReads page and my BookBub page. I’ve self-promoted on my own author Facebook page. I’ve shared it on Instagram and Twitter. I’ve shared it on this blog page. Several wonderful friends have helped by sharing my posts on their social media.
I feel like I’ve sold my soul and there’s still over a month till its release date!
So, if you want to take pity on the poor wee stressed out indie author and want to pre-order a copy of Long Shadows, here’s the links:
Coral McCallum 