So, A Thing Happened

Last weekend, I pulled a back muscle helping carry our lawnmower to our car to take to our daughter's house because hers was supposedly broken. It turns out that a small part wasn't working correctly, and when she figured it out, it started working fine.

I admit I was a little perturbed at this because had I not had to help her pick up our lawnmower and put it into our Escape, I wouldn't have pulled a muscle. But, then, had I not done that, I wouldn't have started reading some awesome murder mysteries that then piqued my interest to start my own, but with gardening in the mix. So, I started writing a few days ago and already have the first 6000 words down.

The series will begin with book A, Asters & Arsenic, and then go from there, in alphabetical order.

So, although I was in pain, hadn't been able to sleep very well, and hopped up on meds, heating pads, and ice packs, I came up with an idea for a series of books.

You see, many years ago, my father and I started a series called The Crystal Locket about 13-year-old twins (girl & boy) who find a locket in the mountains that then transports them to ancient Egypt. They have to find pieces of a missing disc that their parents, who worked for the government, had to split up and hide throughout time. It was to preserve and protect crucial information about the world that, in the wrong hands, could rewrite history and change the future, possibly destroying all of life.

There were to be 6 in all, with two zodiac symbols for each book. The first book takes place in ancient Thebes, Egypt, then back in America during the Revolutionary War; the second in Crete, Greece, and Atlantis; the third the Crystal City, a magical city underwater, and then ancient China, and so forth.

Anyway, we wrote the first three books and had two published by an independent publisher who swore he knew what he was doing and that our series would get the marketing & promotion it needed. He didn't know what he was doing, and our books weren't all that successful, so I peddled them myself.

I took to Facebook in 2008 and bought ads; I contacted our local newspaper (had connections from when I was a journalist) and even contacted bookstores to inquire about book signings. I believed in our books, but my father was too old to really do much marketing himself, plus he was an electrician and had no idea about such things.

I was a marketer, though, and thought if anyone could sell them, it would be me. So, I did get us traction, and we did get book signings. I even created a website for the books. Our books were finally getting exposure.

But I still wanted them to succeed. Months later, I stopped. We needed more money, and with raising three kids, I just didn't have it. Shortly after, my father moved across the country, so we couldn't finish the series. Plus, I was exhausted at this time, having had to peddle the books myself and trying to write the 4th one.

My point is that God works in mysterious ways. A new chapter has begun.

I'm still looking for work, but the clouds have lifted.

While waiting, I can do what I love to do: creative marketing. I didn't love it as much when it became less of a passion and more work, but I have renewed interest in doing it again.

My goal is to pique interest, so the first book will be entirely free, and I will upload a chapter every few days to increase exposure.

I will create a newsletter with a snippet of gardening advice that ties into each chapter I post. So, you will get gardening tips and a chapter from a riveting murder mystery.

Hey, beggars can't be choosers. This may spark a company's interest or even #publishers.

Ready to join the journey?

Let me know.