A published author. Now what . . .

I was in the publisher's warehouse last week on the day when the first copies of BEDLAM AT THE BRICKYARD arrived from the printer and I took a couple of copies for promotional purposes. When I opened the first copy I had, it was on a page of my story, "The Missing CD."

I have been a journalist for many, many years and have seen my name in print countless times. I even have copies of my by lined stories from The New York Times. But this was different. The Missing CD is my first piece of published fiction. And I was thrilled.

I could complain about some of the copy editing but I won't because it doesn't matter. And because, overall, the book and my story look great. It is exciting to see this project reach its next stage. It's produced and is being distributed to bookstores and now we are in a big publicity push.

In addition to the launch party on June 12, we have another signing at a bookstore in Fishers in July. The editors have been on one local television program, and I anticipate newspaper articles in Muncie, Mooresville, and in two small papers in Indianapolis. An editor at The Star has a hand-delivered copy for review and I am hoping that a friend from my days at the paper will cover the launch party. (She is a social columnist now.)

I have my free copy and autographed it and sent it to my mother, who is in California on vacation and won't be back before the launch party. Three days ago I helped write out the invitations for the party, which are now in the mail. So, things are moving along.

What remains and what I plan to work on this week is getting more signings, expanding some coverage to other Sisters in Crime chapters and helping, if necessary, with the book trailer video. A local band is writing a song to specifically perform for the video.

So, what's next on the author front? I am still seeking an agent for AN UNTIDY AFFAIR. I plan to keep up the pressure with that. Plus I will read through it once more this week and decide if there is anymore I can do with it and it not, move on to my next project, which currently is untitled.

I plan to keep moving forward with efforts at getting a novel published. But I am also savoring the feeling of being a published author. It feels good.

Have a good Memorial Day. Enjoy your summer and thanks for reading.