About

You clicked the “about” page? Really?

I wasn’t sure anyone would actually do that. Hm. I better write something so you don’t feel you wasted your time.

Official-sounding bio stuff:

I’ve been a lifeguard, a fast-food-flinger, a network administrator, and a soldier in the U.S. Army. From 2004 to 2011, I made a living as a blogger and affiliate marketer. I worked from home and made my own hours, so in many ways it was a dream job, but I’d always wanted to tell stories (instructing people on how to select a home security system or which gym equipment to buy wasn’t quite as fun as you’d think). Back in 2009 or so, I decided to “get serious” about finishing up some novels. I had a number of half-written manuscripts I could have focused on, but the characters I’d known longest were the Emperor’s Edge crew, and I also enjoyed spending time with them (seriously, who wouldn’t want to spend time with Maldynado? :D).

I finished Emperor’s Edge…and then let it sit on my hard drive for a year. I wasn’t sure it was good enough to send off to an agent (nor was I excited by the idea of querying ten bazillion agents). And there wasn’t much point in starting EE2 if I hadn’t sold EE1. So, I went on to write Encrypted, thinking that would be easier to sell because it was a stand-alone story and I had more experience as a writer by then. But… what started out as high-fantasy in a steam-age world ended up having this strange science-fiction bent in the end, and I wasn’t sure how to “sell” it to agents. Cross-genre? Steampunk? High fantasy? It wasn’t really any of the above, and, either way, I didn’t see many agents looking for those things (in fact, I saw more of them saying, “under no circumstances send us that secondary-world-fantasy crapola” — it’s possible I’m paraphrasing).

About that time (fall of 2010), I got my first Kindle and stumbled across JA Konrath’s blog on self-publishing. Within weeks, I’d decided I wanted to go that route. Since I had a background in blogging, search engine optimization, internet marketing, etc., I wasn’t intimidated by the idea of online book promotion (though, as it turns out, my background helped less than you’d think, and I had a lot to learn!).

In late 2011, I e-published my fourth novel, and, thanks to your support, I’ve been able to leave the old day job and make this author thing a full-time gig. I’m not making what I used to make, but it’s my dream job, and that’s what matters most to me.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Amaranthe and Sicarius ever hook up?

Oh, yeah, like I’d answer that here and spoil things. 😉

Will you ever publish traditionally?

Maybe someday. There are times when doing everything gets a little overwhelming, but nobody’s made me an offer I couldn’t refuse yet. (I’ve been approached by a couple of small presses and even one of the new Amazon Publishing Imprints.)

I’ll definitely finish the Emperor’s Edge series on my own. After that, we’ll see. I’m not a huge seller by the standards of some indie authors, but I’m doing fine on my own, and I’m delighted by how many readers visit the blog, Facebook page, Twitter stream, etc. on a regular basis. We’re well over 1,000 newsletter subscribers too! A part of me likes the idea of seeing how far I can go on my own.

Can you review my book?

Sorry, no, I don’t have the time. I’m trying to write two novels and some shorter ebooks every year so that I can keep my name out there (and keep those readers satisfied!). I also maintain this blog as a resource for others thinking of self-publishing, usually posting 2-3 (long!) posts a week. When I do get time to read, I choose to catch up with my favorite authors. That said, I wish you the best of luck with your new release!

Guest Posting Policy

I’m not looking for guest posts at this time. I’ve hosted them in the past, and might again one day, but I have too much going on to worry about scheduling posts to fit into people’s blog tours and such. I don’t even schedule my own posts. 😉

Thanks for reading!

~Lindsay