Thursday, September 20, 2012

Pre-Release Day Jitters


It’s T minus 6 days until the release of Nexus, the third and final book in my Supernova Saga; the blog tour is set to begin in 2 days; and the promoting for the release is well underway. Reviewers have had the tasty morsel for some time now, and they’re weighing in.

So, what am I doing? I’m chewing the inside of my cheek to bits. Only because I never chew on my nails.

I’ve said many times that writing is a form of therapy for me. It gives me the opportunity to purge my feelings onto the page, setting them free, and thereby hopefully relinquishing their hold on me. Right now, I’m feeling a healthy dose of anxiousness with a heaping side of the nerves. So many questions are bouncing around in my head like the old Atari Pong game, only much faster and with lots of breakable obstacles.

Will the book be well-received? Will it answer all the questions I’ve left dangling in the air over the course of the series? Will readers spend their hard-earned money on my words? Will it disappoint? Will it make or break my writing career? Does anyone even care?

I wonder if all authors feel like this when a book drops?

So, here I am . . . gearing up for the big release day while juggling a very busy season at my day job, trying to stay on top of writing the first book in my next series, plotting future books in that same series, doing all the things that go along with being a single mom, ordering promo gear and books for signings, and making sure everything is in place for ScareFest. Needless to say, my house is in serious need of a professional team of cleaners. I find myself wanting to get on my hands and knees. Not to take it good and proper like from behind, but to scrub my baseboards. Either way would be fine with me, but the baseboard thing would sort of kill two birds with one stone; keeping busy will exorcise the nerves while providing a sparkling clean . . . baseboard.

Yes, I’m obsessing over baseboards. And my face is breaking out. Damn, just how many gray hairs do I have anyway? Color my hair – yet another thing to add to the growing list of things to do. I wonder why I still refuse to include diet and exercise to that list. Oh, that’s right! Because I loathe both of them.

Want to know what my characters are doing? Well, Gabe has been on a shopping spree with my credit card like he’s actually going to be walking the red carpet. (I don’t have the heart to tell him the books haven’t been translated to film. Though you’d think he’d realize that to be in a movie, he’d have been required to make an actual appearance on a movie set to read lines. I think he’s in denial. I know my credit card company is.) The villains are chillin’, the heroes are eating hoagies (that’s mighty cannibalistic of them), and my secondaries are pulling their chairs up to the front row. It’s chaos, I tell you! And they have the audacity to look at me like I’m teetering over to the dark side of that fine line between brilliance and insanity. They might be right.

But through all of my crazy ramblings, I’m genuinely excited for you to read the ending of the saga. I’m unbelievably proud of Nexus. It’s my favorite in the series, even if it was the hardest one to write. Also, I’m told I need to warn you to have shamwows and tissues at the ready, so you might want to take note of that.

I’ll be around on release day, in case you feel the need to chat me up or just to hold my hand. Believe me, I’ll be needing it. Until then . . .

FLYAS!
~clp~

3 comments:

  1. Listen sexy lady, I believe that when the book is the hardest to write it turns into an authors best work. Second, who the hell cares about people's opinions if they are negative screw them all, you have a very dedicated fan base that love you and your work. And I know that we are all on the edge of our seats waiting to see what you do next. Next, being nervous is normal so roll with it use it take that nervous energy and throw it into ur work, ur house and what ever else u want to do on ur knees :P O and tell Gabe to knock his shit off, you need that money to buy a new dress for the Con in Feb in St Augustine, cause some of ur fans want ur ass there so we can meet u and give u the love in person u so truly deserve. Lastly my lovely CL, above all else u are selfless and so giving to your fans remember we love you and don't ever forget that no matter what u are living ur dream, roll with it bitch!!! #FLAYAS!!! Xoxo

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  2. Ooohhh, Gabe must know something we don't! Because, I KNOW these books will translate to the big screen very well! It's there, in your future, I'm telling you!

    And, Charity's right, you do need a new something to wear when we all meet in St. Augustine in Feb! So, knock it off for now, Gabe!

    FLYAS!

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  3. Wow CL, the first thing I want to say to you is take a deep breath! In....out.....In.....out....(oooh I just had dirty thoughts)Now with that being said, YOU MY DEAR ARE AMAZING!!!If you need me too I will come clean your house for you.(Don't be surprised if some of your panties go up on EBAY! Of course I WILL keep a pair for myself!) You have an amazing street team here to help in any and every way we can. Gabe needs to chill out with the credit card. If Dante needs something to do he can always come chill with me. I will return him to you when I am done.I am really looking forward to Scarefest so you can't be having a nervous breakdown. You got this!

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