WANTED: Beta Readers

Beta readers are people, usually friends who can be relied on for honesty and not flattery, who read a writer’s work while it is still in progress. I already have one beta reader – my good friend Brianne. Brianne read every chapter of Family Secrets as soon as they were written. Her input was invaluable and, on a couple of occasions, helped shape the direction of the story.

Having reader input along the way was so valuable that I’d like to recruit three or four more beta readers. As work progresses on the Deceptions, the second Charlee Hudson story, I will upload portions of it to my website. My beta readers will log in, read a few pages and then send me their comments.

I’ll post more information on this as I get closer to implementing the beta reader section of the website. Anyone who thinks this sounds interesting should consider giving it a try. Future posts will provide instructions on how to become a beta reader.

The Check . . . er . . . Book Is In The Mail

I’m so happy to be able to fill the first few orders! Copies of Family Secrets will go out in the mail today to those who ordered them over the weekend. It’s very exciting for me!

I’m also preparing a mailer to go out to independent booksellers across the country. Maybe I’ll be able to drum up a little interest on that front, too.

In the meantime, I’m happy to have the project finished and out there. It gives me energy and motivation to move forward on other projects – like the second book in the Charlee Hudson series.

Deceptions and Daydreams

Deceptions is the title I’ve chosen for the second book in the Charlee Hudson series. I’ve spent quite a bit of time already working the story out in my head. That’s where the daydreams come in. This, by the way, is the coolest thing about being a writer – you get to spend lots of time daydreaming! It’s productive daydreaming, though. I started out with one idea and, over the course of several daydreaming sessions it evolved into something way cooler. As usual, though, there are pieces missing. I am off to a good start and I have a pretty good idea about the action in the last half. Building up to the action is the tricky part. I’m getting there, though. In fact, I need to sign off the blog for today and start writing down some of the daydreams before I lose those ideas and have to start over.