Life After a Series

Self-publishing is a constantly changing animal.  When I first wrote Outcast and the Blackguard, it seemed easy to market.  But as I was writing the final books of The Blue Dragon's Geas, the marketing dynamic changed.  Tactics I was using to sell 400 books a day suddenly fell flat.  When you self-publish you have to both write and then sell the books.

When Fallen Tiers, the last book, was finished I set about marketing the series.  So far, I haven't found a new magic solution to put me back at 400 books a day but it is still relevant on Amazon.  I can get it to number one when I give it away but that kind of  defeats the purpose of selling your work.

I then turned my attention to a book on the journey of fighting cancer.  If I Told You, Would You Listen will be out soon.  It is written to not only cancer patients but also to family, caregivers and professionals.  It is my message of hope so that others can fight with a sense of peace, something I have learned on my way.  I am four years into my cancer journey and felt I had a lot to offer to those at the beginning of their fight.

Now my attention is returning to Death's Door.   It will be a spin-off of the series with more focus on Jon than Alador.  The premise is that souls are starting to turn away from Death's Door and the Goddess of Death has tasked Jon her High Priest,  to figure out why.  Of course with all my books, there are other plot lines and the typical twists to make it a Dragons' Geas novel.

The other project I have been working on and am just now completing is that I opened a life coach business.  CreateGoodLiving.com opened a couple of weeks ago.  As many of you know, I am trained first and foremost as a counselor with a specific focus in cognitive behavior therapy and addiction.  Since I prefer to write rather than punch a clock, I have found myself missing helping others find success in their own lives.  Life coaching is something I can do around chemo and writing making it the perfect business to round out my daily life.  When coaching others, I find myself reminded to do my own activities to keep inner peace and balance.  You learn best by teaching after all.

I believe that is everything I wanted to update you all on.  I know I fell silent there for a bit as I became hyper-focused on writing the cancer book and opening my business.  I also know many of you have contacted me about that spin-off novel. I promise you, I am still working on it.  Talk to you all soon, may fantasy fill your days and bring joy to your life.

Author Update - January 2016

I haven't written to you all recently so thought I would take a moment from frantic editing to do so.  2015 has been a very hard year.  I had planned to have book 4 - Pseudo-Dragon - out by summer.  My fight against cancer overrode that goal.

In the past year, I have finished first round of chemo, had a kidney removed and a full hysterectomy due to return of tumors.  In the midst of surgeries survived a wildfire that took most of our property. (not the house)  I have restarted chemo due to the metastasized cancer.  I have been in the hospital for a week due to side effect of said chemo.  Needless to say it has been a rough year.

Now for the good news, my last PET scan shows that the chemo has dissolved the tumors that were still left within me.  My doctor is reluctant to use the word remission due to the veracity of return that happened earlier this year.  Despite his reluctance, he did admit it looks like the chemo is working.

I did have some successes last year.  I put out one novel early in the year.  Pseudo-Dragon is the longest of the four and beta readers say it is by far the best of them as well.  I guess I will find out soon.  Pseudo-Dragon is up for pre-sale now and releases on February 1, 2016.  Needless to say, I am busy with last minute edits and polish.

My goals for 2016 are:  Write the final book in the series, put out the live write collection of fantasy short stories, and to get into shows and shops for book signings.  I am excited to be able to finally enjoy writing full time without the constant threat of stage 4 cancer.  I hope you will all continue to reach out and say hi!.  The support from all of you has been amazing and I can't wait to meet and speak with many of you.

Have a great 2016!
May Dragons ever inspire your thoughts, creativity, and balance.
Cheri

My First Author Interview

Today, I got my copy of my first online interview.  I didn't think I was nervous as I was typing back my answers but it definitely is very wooden.   I will have to realize that in an online interview, you have to let who you are show through and not just answer the questions.  It is currently posted with my book at:
http://www.indieauthorland.com/  

It is a great site for promoting independent author's that gives you a little more insight into the books than just the allowed descriptions on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  I will post you a teaser here, but you need to go to the site if you want the rest of the interview.  They took the time to post it up, lets support them in looking at a few books. 

I love you all and I appreciate the messages I get.  Yes, I am writing the sequel and am in Chapter 14.  No it will not be out next week. *smiles*  I am shooting for a June release by the time we are done editing.  If I am lucky, might be done in May but as many of you pointed out.  I need to proof it one more time.  

Interview Teaser:

Why you must read

Cheryl Matthynssens’ Outcast

Alador is a half breed caught between two cultures. It is the story of teenage angst at growing up. The rage of dealing with bullies. The criticism and judgments that many of mixed races face.

In Alador’s case, he is combating racial prejudice, magic and a cruel bully trying to fit in and win the love of his best friend. It is a lot to overcome for just one young man. Then we add to all that, the fantasy element of a dragon’s geas.

A dragon’s what?

I am often asked, what the heck is an geas. It can be either a magically imposed act that must be fulfilled or a prohibition. In Alador’s case, it is a imposed quest, a task that he is pressured by magic to complete.