Fiction Friday: Time For Some Honesty

In a few weeks my second novel comes out. And I feel like I can be gut honest with all of you who have been sticking with me here at my blog over the years. The question hanging in the air is, will this novel be as successful as the first one? Or-- dare I say it??-- more successful?? Do I even dream that big?

I want this second novel to do well. I really, really do. My career's (still sounds so weird to say that for a stay at home mom) success hangs largely on whether I build on what I started with The Mailbox. Mailbox didn't blow the industry out of the water by any stretch, but it did well enough for a first time author. With this new novel comes truth time. Do I have the chops to sell well again?

And here's more truth: She Makes It Look Easy is an entirely different novel. It isn't a love story and it doesn't involve the beach. It's about women's relationships and the complications that can ensue when we're not honest with each other. It's about the fact that all is never as it seems, with any of us. I used much of what I have learned in women's ministry over the past 15 years. I had to dig deeper with this novel, stretch my writing muscles further (farther?) than I ever have. I wanted to quit many times on this one. I begged my husband to just let me give the advance back to my publisher and call it good. He said no, finish the work and then see if you still feel that way.

Obviously his little strategy worked and I persevered.

Which leads us to now... and you. What do you have to do with it? Here's the honesty part: everything. I need you to buy this book. I need you to pre-order it at Amazon. I need you to buy it the week it comes out. Or both. I need you to download it on your Kindle or Nook or iPad.

Don't read fiction? Try reading just this one story. Or buy the book for a friend who does read fiction. Even better, buy one for you and one for a friend! Challenge several friends to read it, then set a time and all of you meet over a potluck dessert night or something fun like that and discuss the book. There are discussion questions in the back for just such a purpose.

The week the book comes out I will be running a post about other things you can do but for now, I just wanted to plant this seed and take a moment for a shameless plug: If each of you bought this book it would be off to a great start. Do it because you like this blog. Do it because you want to support a stay at home mom whose kid is starting college in the fall. Do it because you know from reading my blog that I rarely push my products here so I must really need the support.

The first week the book launches, I will be talking about it a lot here. Bear with me. That's part of this industry-- shameless self-promotion, something I shy away from but must occasionally play along with if I am to get my book in front of buyers. And yes, I write for the sake of writing. But I won't be able to keep writing if the books don't sell.

All of this to say, please consider buying the book. You might just be glad you did.