That Lucky Old Sun Has Nothin' To Do Except Make the Rest of Us Miserable!

Whew and whew again! We're going on three weeks now where out temperatures have soared into the 100s every single day.

I don't know what we did to make the ole sun unhappy, but he's doing a pretty good job of making us miserable for it.  I live in the Inland Northwest where averages this time of year are in the very temperate 80s.  Not so this year.

All my good intentions of reviving this blog are on hiatus until things settle down.  My office is in our shop which is not air conditioned so I depend on what cool a fan can generate. I can tell you, it's not enough to stimulate creativity nor good humor nor staying power.

I try to spend a bit of time tending to business regardless of the heat but it's usually very short lived.  On top of that, this is summer in the west which means the entire region is on fire.  The wind is hot, the air acrid with smoke from the wildfires and my eyes itch like crazy. Not a good combination.  The only saving grace is I don't have to wear a mask!  That would be the last straw. 

Getting Tired of Politics Sometimes Leads to Politics!

 Sometimes I have to revert back to my former political self just to get it out of my system. Have a wonderful 4th everyone!

Books and More...

 Before 'Slime' was finished I had 'Sleuths' in my head.  I actually began writing it before 'Slime' was on the market.  My writing gurus assured me that the second book would help sales of the first book and I loved where the story was going and wanted to keep the story going.

That it helped sales for a time was true. However, I ran up against a brick wall with marketing efforts for both books because I hadn't figured the high cost into my budget. Some things you lean the hard way.  When folks were asking for $100 to review my book, I balked.  I did double down on social media, saturating Facebook and Instagram with Slobbers and his books.  I also set up a store on Etsy to sell Slobbers branded products but ran into some brick walls there, too.  I'll explain that aspect as we go along.

Shortly before 'Sleuths' was released I happened across a very popular Saint site on Facebook because the administrator of that site began sharing more and more of my posts on her several sites.  It was a huge boon. I also had set up a page for Slobbers and a group and people were getting on board.

A little back story here before I continue.  During this time a very good friend lost her Saint.  I had grown old with her Harley because we met just before we lost Bacchus, some 12 years earlier.  When chatting about our boys we laughed that perhaps in the next book Harley could be Slobbers' dad.  After all, Slobbers' had parents and it would be interesting to tell how he happened to become a shelter dog.

Back to my Facebook friend.  During this same time frame, she, too, lost her Saint. The iconic Brenda Lee. I was stunned for I had been thinking of asking if she could be Slobbers' mom.  After allowing my friend some time to grieve, I asked her what she thought. Maybe it was fine that all the dogs had crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Slobbers, after all, was the composite of all my Saints. Fortunately for me she was thrilled with the idea.  As with Harley, Brenda Lee would live on.

I began doing little stories on social media telling Harley and Brenda Lee's story and people liked them so much they began clamoring for them to become a book of their own. I asked my publishing gurus if I should do it and if I chose to, could it be a prequel. The answer was yes.

How all that went coming up...

We're Havin' A Heatwave!

It was over 100 in our backyard by 10 this morning.  I was watering our plants, hoping to keep them alive for the next week to ten days as temperatures are expected to soar into the 100s consistently. Whew!

Fortunately, even though not air conditioned, our office stays quite comfortable with a fan. What's lacking is a whole lot of motivation on my part. 

I think, though,  over the next several posts I'll meander on and tell you how I went from one book to three in very short order. 

I probably would have done a lot of things differently, hindsight being 20/20, if I had had more experience.  So how do you get experience?  I think pretty much the same way I do. Try it out.  If it doesn't work, try something else. 

All things considered, it's working out.  To take advantage of an overused term these days, I think I'm flattening the (learning) curve. Stick with me!

The Reason There is a Lag Between Books

 When last we talked I had finally gotten my first book published.  Then the hard part began.  Marketing. It's much different today than when I was actively working in the field.  So once again I listened to my managers at SPS.

Find my niche market and go for it.  I figured it was the Saint Bernard communities on social media.  I was partially correct. They've been wonderful to Slobbers, but they aren't enough.  Go for all the hashtags that apply to dog lovers of all ilks.

Then go for the outliers. Parents and grandparents, teachers, home schoolers, librarians, book stores.  I've had varying success with many of these and have been surprised where there was more lack of than support. Another learning curve. I studied the demographics to see who buys dog stories for kids, adventure/mystery stories for kids, and so on.

Parents, mostly mothers, from the mid-twenties to late thirties.  Those who would have youngsters in the appropriate age group of 7 to 12.  And grandparents, especially those who love dogs.

You can see from the illustration, there are now three books in the series.  Why is that considering all the difficulties, growing pains and less than spectacular return on investment? I'll get to it all plus the story behind what has become the prequel.

I did want to let you know if I disappear from time to time it's because real life gets in the way. I live in Slobbers world a lot, but every once in awhile my husband would like a tidied house, weeded flower beds and a day away every now and then now that we can do it again.

Hang with me.  The story is ongoing.