Maggie Shayne's Blog: Maggie's Coffee House Blog, page 18

Pre-Release Jitters? Me?

Pre-Order Here

This book, TWILIGHT GUARDIANS has suddenly become real.

I think it hit me when the pre-order button went live on Amazon. All of a sudden, I was unable to share it. I put it off for hours, thinking, well, we have a lot going on this week. Maybe I should wait a few days. Maybe the pre-order page is looking sparse without the print version yet up there, so maybe I’ll share the link once that goes up.

Then I stopped myself and took a clear look inside my head. Why would I hesitate? When had I ever, in 22 years, had exciting book news and not shared it immediately? And I realized that I was nervous. More nervous about this release than any release ever. I didn’t know enough about the business to be nervous about my first book. I was just glad it was being published. But for this one, which is number 59, not counting nearly 30 novellas and anthologies? I am a wreck.

The reason is pretty clear to me. I’m publishing this one on my own. I chose the cover art, the model (my daughter,) the photographer, the pose, the outfit (those boots are my own!) the background. I’ve got no big publisher behind me this time, and it feels like flying without a net. Jumping without a ‘chute. Leaping without a bridge. You pick the cliché, it’s that times ten.

Even re-publishing my own backlist books wasn’t this scary, because they had already passed muster. They had been given the stamp of approval by a New York publisher.

This is very different. No one has told me this book is worthy. You would think that after writing this many novels, I’d be a bit more confident than that. It’s been ages since my editor has changed more than a few extra commas, caught an inconsistency or two, or asked for further clarification on a line here and there. Why am I so nervous? It’s illogical to be.

But, logical or not, I am. This is a whole new world for me. I guess I’m supposed to be nervous. We didn’t even have time to send it out to reviewers yet. I’m still polishing for one more week. So we have no idea what the response will be.

So that’s where I am today. Taking a break before re-starting my final pass through the book, and being nervous, while trying to talk myself down.

The pre-order price at Amazon is $2.99, which is considerably less than the regular price will be starting on 9/1.

And we will be putting pre-order links up anywhere else they allow it, but most outlets do not. Regardless of price or pre-order buttons or my own nervous breakdown, TWILIGHT GUARDIANS, Book 1 of the NEW Wings in the Night: Reborn, goes on sale at all outlets, worldwide, on September 1st.

And if my nerves continue to build up until that date, I’m going to need blood pressure meds or something!

 

Step by Step: Changing Bad Health

I write all the time about the theories and energies behind this thing we call life, what it is and what it isn't, and how it works and why it works that way, and how we ultimately have a lot more control than we think. I write about creating our own experience. 

Today I thought I'd take a stab at showing you how. How to, step by step, change a reality in your life that you do not like.

First,

Why Do You Get Sick?

No matter how high your vibration, from time to time, you're probably going to experience a health issue. I had one yesterday. Fever, chills, violent shaking, aches all over, pounding head, throat too sore to swallow, all of it. BAM! Hit me like a two-by-four. 

When we get sick, there can be any number of causes, all of them vibrational. We might have been feeling put-upon lately, overworked,

Easter and the Promise of Spring

Regardless of what we call them, the holidays of springtime are all about the same thing; the promise that life is eternal and survives behind and beneath even that thing we call death.

We see it in Nature. During winter, life is hushed, dormant, buried, often beneath mountains of snow. But in spring, we see that life didn't end. It only slowed and rested, and now it's busting out all over

Exploring Gratitude: The Little Things

Whenever I start talking about gratitude, and focusing on what I'm grateful for, the same things come to the top of my mind. My family. My home. My pets. My talent and the ability to make a living using it (which is what I consider one of life's greatest gifts. But that's another post.)

When I do a gratitude post on Facebook and ask others to list what they're grateful for in the comments, I

Do You Know What You Are?

I got most of this sitting in a lawn chair by the pond experiencing the world around me after a very stressful week last fall. And suddenly I was laughing at how much fun it all was. In that moment I was Spirit. And this is what came through me so fast I had to rush indoors to write it down.



You deserve to live in a palace! All of you. Oh, if you only knew what you are. 



You are Source,

Seriously, Here it Comes!

Outside my house today! 42 degrees!

You're Welcome!

Ask and it is Given: A Closer Look

I was meditating today, and this is what I received.

"So you know this Ask and it is Given thing?  You do realize it's not just Spirit that you should be asking, right? It applies to other humans too. It applies to everything. As above, so below. Remember?"

I got to thinking on that. Lately, I've been asking for some pretty amazing things. Not just the Universe, but other people. My

Three Ways to Be More Spiritual in 2014

Spirituality means different things to different people. To me, it means a personal relationship with my Source. I don’t equate spirituality with the practices associated with any particular faith. That’s religion, whether it’s Christian, Buddhist, Wiccan, or any one of the world’s roughly 4200 different religious traditions.


To me, spirituality is personal. It’s what’s going on inside me.