What an unbelievable, indescribable milestone! Wheel of Fate is officially finished. The website has been updated to accommodate the Dragonwolf trilogy as a whole. My full first series has been written, finalized, designed, and published, and I have updated social media, Goodreads, and my website.
Rundown:
- Today, I finished editing the Wheel of Fate audiobook and uploaded it to a drive file for downloads.
- I added the Dragonwolf trilogy character list to the Wheel of Fate page. This was initially included in the back of the book, but it amounted to 13 printed pages, and including it in the book would have increased the print price by seven dollars. I pulled it and put it on the website for viewing and download.
- I added the Family Green download to the Wheel of Fate page. This is a free, downloadable game based on the game that is played in Wheel of Fate.
- I updated the Goodreads page with the cover art and ISBNs.
- I updated the website to accommodate multiple series.
- Bookmarks have been designed and ordered.
- Last week, I went to my tattoo artist, and he added Mara to my Ambergrove tattoo, which I started upon publication of Ranger’s Odyssey. The main character’s name will be added to it upon publication of the final book in each series. Adding Mara to the tattoo is a milestone I get to look at every day.
- Friday, the design of Wheel of Fate was finalized and approved for publication.
- Yesterday, I took out an ad for the first time—for the book launch.
What’s next?
- LOTS of waiting.
- An author talk and book launch is scheduled at Morgenstern’s, Indiana’s largest independent bookstore, for June 23. I have a Facebook event with all necessary information.
- I’ve ordered lots of things for the launch. At this time, the books are expected to arrive the week of, so that’s unnerving, but they are guaranteed to arrive no later than June 21. As I receive materials for the launch, I’ll be reviewing and approving them.
- I am assisting a friend with her own publishing endeavor, and I expect to be working on that weekly for the next few months.
- I am working on Ember in the Forge, and I expect to have the first draft completed in September or October. I have until June 2023 to publish Ember in the Forge with the current publisher without restricting the publication of later books due to missed deadlines. Once Ember in the Forge is complete, I plan to spend six months trying to get it published with Tor (the publisher of most of my favorite books growing up). If I am not accepted, Ember in the Forge should be published around June 2023, and Ember on the Anvil and Ember on the Flame will follow suit by the end of 2023. If all goes to plan (besides publication with Tor).
- Determination for the Indiana Authors Awards is up this September.
- I’ll be attending an author fair in central Indiana in October.
I have so many feelings right now. From age eight, I’ve wanted to be an author. The older I got, the further down on my list it was. It was impractical to say I wanted to grow up to be an author, so I focused on a “real job” instead. When I went to Scotland in my teens, this fire began to burn again—enough, at least, for me to draft the worldmap. Then, I graduated high school and went to pursue my higher education for my “real job,” and back to the back burner it went.
A few years later, my husband convinced me to take it up again, and I began to casually work on Ranger’s Odyssey. About six months later, I quit my “real job” to become an editor. A year after that, Ranger’s Odyssey was published. The following year, Realm of Chaos was published. Next month, Wheel of Fate will be published.
Eight-year-old me would be so happy if she could see me now.
I’m happy to see me now. Now that the first series is finished, I have a solo author event coming up, and I’m doing more to prioritize my writing, I now see myself as an author. My job is as an editor, and that’s what pays the bills. But my heart’s real job is as an author, and I will be publishing my second series next year. I’m doing it. Eight-year-old me thought it was impossible. Twenty-five-year-old me thought it was impossible. It’s not impossible now.
It would not have been possible without so many readers who love Ambergrove so dearly. It would not have been possible without a husband who loves and supports me unwaveringly. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities that got me to this moment, as the published author of a full book series. My heart soars to imagine what new adventures the next few years—and even the next few decades—will bring. It’s phenomenal. Unbelievable.
I don’t have the words to describe my own feelings other than to say that it’s my most far-fetched dream come true. I hope everyone has the chance to follow their dreams, even if it takes some grounding before that rainbow appears on the horizon again. Before the thirst for adventure calls too loudly to ignore.
Until next time, adventurers. Keep your gear packed.
Tales of Ambergrove 