Publication Date Set: "Rain" is coming out!

Late Sunday night I looked at my to-do list for Rain, looked at the calendar, and made the following post to my author Facebook Page: S.E. Hudnall.

We’ve set the date, the cast of “Rain” and I.
 
Gerry was a little disappointed when I had to tell him Valentine’s Day wasn’t going to work. Impatient man. I have to give him kudos though; he’s been bugging me since the story began. Cheryl beamed. Spring, rather than late winter February, pleased her to no end. I kind of knew she’d bring him around. Valarie squealed with excitement. Tom sighed, shook his head, and mumbled something like “at last”, while his wife, Linda, gave him one of her Mona Lisa smiles. What Marilyn said I can’t repeat, but she laughed as she said it. I won’t go into the other characters’ responses, though I could easily enough.
 
“Rain” will be out on May 15th.

Surely that has to be one of the scariest postings I've ever done. It's real. It's coming out. No turning back. No more postponing. Baring a totally unexpected problem or the whim of a cruel universe, the story I have been writing and working on since 1994 will be in the hands of readers. I hope they like it. I hope you like it.

There's still a lot of work to be done. I'm not kidding myself about that and there are a lot of
"feels" to be dealt with.

The Word for 2016

I probably should have written this on January 1^st , or maybe the 7^th. The more traditional time for New Year’s resolutions or goal setting. It simply wasn’t in me this year. Oh, I had one. I still have one.

Rain will be published this year.

That’s it. The one and only goal–a goal perhaps twenty-two years in the making. I have to laugh at myself. So far I have managed to outdo any attempts by writing friends to moan about how long they’ve been working on a particular piece.

“Five years? Ten years? That’s nothing. Try over twenty.”

A strange satisfaction, to be sure. A satisfaction not unlike a parent who has a child still at home. Grade school and high school are finished. The rebellious stages of adolescence done and learned from. A parent knows their child isn’t perfect, but they’ve done their best. And they will always love them. Perhaps out there in the big, open world someone else will love them, too.

I’ll sniffle later and privately.

 

Any other goals for this year? What’s on my writing list? I used to post lists. Some projects remain there, some changed, and still others appeared out of the blue.

I’m not publishing them–not any more.

Someone in one of my writing groups posted something which appealed to me more than any list of writing resolutions for the coming year–taking just one word and applying it to the coming year. I loved it.  Simple. Flexible. Capable of being applied to every level, not just writing.

This is my word for 2016

 

 

I may not be glowing at the end of the year, or blinding others with my brilliance, but that’s O.K. I only want to shine.

What would be your word?

Blogging the Promotional Posts

Earlier this month, I made the big announcement I was making my publication debut in the anthology Anything Goes, Volume 2. Of course I'm super excited! The book has gone live on Amazon.

So every Saturday I will be posting something from it: a teaser, a banner, a short video. Nor just my own stories, but from others as well. We also have a launch party coming up, but more on that later when I get the details.

Today:

When reluctant partners are thrown together, it’s not just about four legs good, two legs better. It’s about who is actually smarter…

 

 



Michael has created a very unique dystopian world , and an intriguing (yet charming) detective pair. It reminds me in many ways of old 'gumshoe' novels, like Mike Hammer with a strange, future twist. You'll have to read it to understand where I'm coming from.

Electrifying. . .Terrifying: The Road to Indie Publishing

I'm scared. . .almost to the point of pure terror. How's that for a confession? I emailed a PDF file I formatted and designed of Rain to two people, both who have been super supportive and helpful (weak word) of me and the book. It was a very personal edition as I did it strictly for them, even designed the front and back covers myself. As yet I don't know what they thought of it. I wrote that I was not expecting any critique or feedback from them on the current edited copy I used. But knowing the ways of one of them I believe I will get some there.

You see I've decided to publish Rain independently and electronically. I don't know how long it is going to take me. There is a lot I need to figure out. My personal goal? I'd like to have it out within the next fourteen days, a purely arbitrary deadline as I have no idea what I'm doing.

Dozens of sites are out there loaded with advice and how-to's but a simple checklist is hard to find. Something simple like this (which is far from inclusive or even in the correct order) :

1. Finish editing.
2. Send to copyright office
3. Get IBSN number
4. Find cover artist.
5. Format for electronic upload by doing the following (step by step instructions which are no more than two sentences long)

I'm finding most of the "lists" and "advice" overwhelming right now when I want all I want is a simple list I can check off as I go. Details I can go back for.

Maybe this is a case of "if you want it, you should write it." The idea does get me thinking. Not all of us process information in the same way. Perhaps I will journal my experience (away from this blog) and comeback with a list of my own.

Every journey begins with a single step.

 

Yeah, nice platitude, Shelia. And what if you're standing on a drop-off, huh?

Oh, my. . . the "Rain" Revision is done? It's done!

Somebody needs to pinch me or dance with me. I really can't decide which right now. But, oh my, my revision of Rain is complete. I thought I had three days, maybe even a week, before I would or could make that statement. But it's done. The first revision is done.

Over the next few days, while I continue to work on the first draft of Snow, I will be checking the formatting. Just the formatting. Some would tell me I should put the whole thing away for awhile then go back over it again. I have little doubt that if I did that I would find more things to change but what I don't know is if those changes would be absolutely necessary. Nothing one does is perfect and , sooner or later, it must be finished. Sooner or later, the work has to go out.

Rain has been in process for twenty years.  Like a child you've raised, it's time for it to leave the house. You've tried to do the best you could and now it is time to see how it makes it on its own. The house swarms with other children and, frankly speaking, you need the room. There will be some things left behind in the attic or the basement. Perhaps those things will be asked for later. Who knows? Some of the other children might claim them---to wear or play with. Hand-me-downs are not a bad thing.

So I will send Rain out next month and , to my total amazement, meet my self-imposed deadline. I wonder how often it will come back to me with bumps, scratches, and bruises. That's OK. One can't protect them forever either. I will need bandages, peroxide, and maternal antiseptic. Treat its hurts and send it back into the world. I can do that.