Abby’s Comments (group member since Aug 31, 2020)

Abby’s comments from the Self-Published Only Club group.

I hope you enjoyed learning about Joanie. Please give her a follow on IG and GR.

My IG handle is @joanielunsford and I welcome visits to check out my posts. There is
even one further detailing what led me to write the story.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Question 11 - Pick anyone, living or dead, that you'd just die if they read your book...lol

Answer - Lol. I have thought about that prior to you asking. Well not the part about me dying, but I
would say Lady Gaga. This may seem like an odd answer, but the reason is not. She
speaks up and out about mental health struggles and my compassion for this subject led
me to write The Gap.

Question 10 - Are you writing anything now? If so, what's it about?

Answer - Currently I have taken to reading and reviewing. It is a lot more fun than self-promoting. Although, I do have an idea for another book which would be a psychological thriller with some humor thrown in. I just want The Gap to gain some traction first and am working on ideas to help make that happen.

One of our authors reached out to me and is needing a BETA reader for his horror/thriller novel. Anyone available to give it a read?

Tristan Hutchinson

Xanxa wrote: "Thanks. There were several follow train threads and this one seemed to be the most recent, so that's where I replied. I'll try to find the main one and stick to posting there."

Now here's the weird part. When I found your comment above, and replied. The only comment visible was yours. It did not show the old comments from me. But when you replied back today, it showed me the old stuff. So weird.

Xanxa wrote: "Just checking ... Is this the correct place for getting involved in the follow trains on Instagram? My train seems to have gotten derailed and I posted on an extinct thread."

Yes, lol, this is the right place. 😜

Question 9 - What's your favorite thing about being an author?

Answer - I like being a storyteller, a position from which you have the potential to entertain and possibly make a difference.

Question 8 - Where is your favorite place to write?

Answer - This question had my imagination soaring to a private villa overlooking the ocean or a
luxury cabin in the mountains. But the reality is any comfortable place to set up where I
can get peace and quiet to lose myself in the story.

Question 7 - What made you decide to self-publish?

Answer - The whole query letter/manuscript process equating to hurry up and wait did not appeal
to me. I enjoyed visiting a local bookstore in Vermont that offered self-publishing
services. I loved that they gave back to the community which is why I utilized their
services.

Hey, I'm not sure how your post ended up here, but it wasn't on the Follow Train thread, so I never saw it. Sorry about that. We only had 4 people interested, and for it to be succesful, we really need 10. I'm going to try again, and I'll add you to the list.

As for time zone, one we set a date, we can try to pick a time that's convenient for everyone.

Don't forget to get those reviews posted!

Tristan wrote: "I've had several people follow me Abby. It's not just here Abby, a lot of groups seem to have less active people contributing."

That's crazy and so weird. Wonder why

Marcelle wrote: "happy to host again in a future month."

I may need you to host in this one. I've only had two people sign up this month lol

A little more insight into Joanie 😘

Question 6 - What's your favorite book/short story, etc. that you've written?

Answer - I was very proud of a short story I wrote back in my H.S. Literature class. The assignment
was to write a piece that captured the essence of snow. I used techniques I learned from
this class when writing The Gap, a book I am proud of as well, because of the subject and
a message I had hoped would resonate.

Question 5 - How many books have you published? And list them...

Answer - The Gap is the only book I have published. It took me from 2015 to 2018 to feel content
enough to pass it on to my editor.

Question 4 - Who's your favorite Self-published author, other than yourself lol?

Answer - Haha. Cannot say I have one, but what I can say is the residents of the indie author
community are chock full of talent. I have had the pleasure of reading authors from here
and Instagram. Speaking of authors from here, there are members whose stories have
recently piqued my interest and I am looking forward to reading them.

So I didn't hear back from any of these. So I'll open it up to anyone that wants to participate. We may need to move it to next weekend though so we have time to prepare. Maybe the 19th?

Marcelle wrote: "So what were your final thoughts?
[spoilers removed]

Here is the link to my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

It started off good for me but tapered off. I think it's 3 stars for me too

That should get you started on your journey in getting to know Joanie, and if you have time, pick up a copy of her book The Gap