A Little Housekeeping

I've been doing a little housekeeping on my blog. Moving some items around, adding a bit more. I recently discovered I could add stand alone pages so I've been working on that. I'm not the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to computer stuff, I used to know a thing or two,  but technology quickly passed me by and I was left scratching my head wondering what had happened.

If you look to your right you'll notice I've added a link to one of my free short stories on smashwords. I'll be adding more as they become available. These are stories that were previously published and whose rights have reverted back to me. I figured why not give them away as a means to introduce new readers to my work.

I've also added a works in progress tab at the top that I will update as changes occur with my writing. I'm trying to balance my writing with my marketing efforts and I hope this blog will help.

When I started out I thought writing was hard. It still is, at times I honestly believe droplets of blood form on my brow while I'm staring at the blank page waiting for the words to form. Usually at this point I'm reminded of the writing machine in TOMMYKNOCKERS. Be nice to have one of those when the words become stubborn.

But marketing deserves it own special little corner of hell. In my day to day working life I'm your typical extrovert, outgoing and open with everyone I meet, I'm in retail so it's all part of the job. But for some reason when it comes to hawking my own work I feel like a beggar on a street corner holding up a sign that reads Will Write For Food.

That's not to say I don't have any confidence in my work. I do, and in my mind at least Colleen at Horror Fiction Review has...(the word's right on the tip of my tongue but I can't spit it out) vindicated (there it is) my writing ability with her review. As have several other reviewers. These aren't friends and family reviewing my work, but total strangers, so that for me is indication enough that I can write a coherent tale. Yet I still feel like a cheap hustler every time I write a post to buy my book.