Today is my nine-year publishing anniversary! On December 20th, 2012 I took a deep breath and released a book called Way Off Plan into the world. Friends, I had NO idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I had a story I wanted to tell, so I found a stock photo for the cover, read some tutorials about how to publish on Amazon, and went for it. There was no "marketing strategy." Hell, there was no marketing at all! But somehow, readers found it and asked for more.
Nine years later, I'm still publishing books in the Firsts and Forever universe, and those characters feel like family. Honestly, I still feel like I barely know what I'm doing as far as the whole "business" of publishing goes! But writing has remained an absolute joy, and with every new book, I'm so excited to bring the characters to life and to tell their tale.
I've published 35 books so far and will feel so very fortunate if I get to publish another 35! Some of you have been a part of this journey from the very beginning. Others have only recently discovered my books. But whether you've been reading my books for nine years or nine minutes, I'm so grateful for you! My readers mean absolutely everything to me, so I say this from the bottom of my heart--thank you. <3
Here's a look at the way the cover of my first published book has evolved over the years. I did actually like that first stock photo, but it ended up on approximately elevendy billion MM books so it had to go. Plus, I realized at some point I absolutely loved portraits on my covers. When I went to freshen it up recently, I stuck with the same model because he'd become Jamie to me.
