The Birth of My Debut Novel The Magic Wakes is TODAY!!

Release Day Tour Stops

Liz Fichera—Why I Chose to Give Back via Unicorn Bell

I guest blog over at SavvyAuthors on Finding Strength in the Journey

Birth of a Novel

I can't believe it's finally here! All those years of dreaming, hoping, crying and WORKING have finally paid off. *sigh* Today I'm going to enjoy every minute of it and then tomorrow I'll get back to my every day life.

Here's a run down of the last few weeks.

My blog tour has been so much fun! So many wonderful blogger friends have hosted me. I hope they all know how much I appreciate them. They've interviewed, reviewed, posted blurbs, excerpts, trailers, and posts on writing and publishing. I've been floating through the two weeks on a cloud of joy. Reading comments about how your book sounds interesting, or thanks for sharing my experiences, has been a huge ego boost. If you missed any of the stops you can get direct links to them from the Blog Tour Info tab.

Reviews have started coming in on Goodreads and Amazon. So far they have been positive and some included some honest notes on what didn't work for the reader. I really appreciate these as it will help me improve the next part of the story.

Some of my favorite bits of reviews:

"It's easy to create a heroine who is strong. Or is weak and becomes strong. But to take a person who is shy, sensitive, a social outcast, and anxious, and make her a heroine is a gift. It makes Talia relatable. She's real. I kept waiting for Talia to have an " I'm superwoman" moment. But she never does. She is always her. She is always insecure. And she is still the heroine. I am forever endeared to Talia Zarin."

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"The characters are believable and complex, the world building is terrific, and I really enjoyed the way she blended two of my favorite genres: science fiction and urban fantasy."

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"This book should come with a warning label. Once you begin reading, you will be pulled into the world of Sendek and you will not want to put this book down."

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"With each page I turned, I found myself more and more excited, to discover what lay ahead for Talia and Landry. I also base a good book on my ability to dream about it at night, which may sound silly, but it helps me really understand the characters and their location. I wasn't disappointed, as I drifted off to sleep, I found myself in Sendek, surrounded by Dragumon, fighting for my life, although unlike Talia, I was unharmed when I woke."

Last night a box of books showed up at my door. It was the 5 free ones that I got with my contract. The kids gathered around and we opened them up. I should have taken a picture, but I was so excited to get them signed and in the envelopes I had waiting. Three people had already mailed me a check and I didn't want them to wait too long for the book.

Today I'm going to lunch with some friends and tonight we're ordering pizza.

And tomorrow?

Well, tomorrow I get serious about finishing the sequel. I've decided not to blog during the month of March and concentrate on finishing this draft. There are a few guest posts already scheduled, but for the most part things will be quiet around here. But I'll be back in April and blogging every day from A to Z.

I also wanted to take a moment today to tell all of you...

THANK YOU!!

You've all played an important role in my journey at one time or another. Comments, encouragement, laughs and tears. Thank you for sharing those moments with me.