Sick of Me ... by Liz Flaherty

Well, I've done it. 

It happens with every single book when it gets close to publication time. I am so excited...let me ramp that up a bit...SO EXCITED...that I get busy and kind of creative and really have a good time with promotion. I like making graphics like this one. 

I love doing guest posts on other people's blogs like this one. I share links to cool interviews like this one. I love sitting and staring at my cover. I like contacting websites for reviews, offering up ARCs to friends (want one in exchange for a review? send me a message.) I keep lists and calendar pages with the hope I don't screw up and forget something. (Even knowing I will. It comes with both age and personality and I have both.)

So what is this thing that I've done? I doubt you'll be surprised, because if you're a writer, you've probably done it, too. If you're a reader, you've likely rolled your eyes and said, "Didn't she just say that on a blog yesterday?"

Yeah, what I've done is gotten so sick of myself I think I can't face me another minute. 

This then is the hardest part--for me--of how publishing has changed. I'm not going to do a circle chart--I don't know how--but the percentage of time used actually writing a book has dropped a bunch. Even if you are traditionally published, you spend an inordinate number of hours on production and promotion.

It's not the work I mind. I like the work. What makes it hard for me is the heavy concentration on myself. While I enjoy attention more than I care to admit, I don't like actively drawing that attention. Back in the day, I was a bleacher mom, taking goodies for the team in the back door and watching whatever the activity of the day was. I was, from baseball to choir to academics, the audience. While I may have gotten tired of being at the school a lot, I never got tired of watching kids. Their enthusiasm is both fun and heartening.

Nowadays, I'm the one on the game floor, the stage, at the front of the room for whatever reason. Make no mistake--I have a good time with it. Nevertheless, I've done it. I've gotten sick of seeing me. 

With that being said, I hope you pre-order Pieces of Blue and that you enjoy it when it releases--or that you enjoy the ARC so much you go ahead and buy the book! (Okay, am I pushing too hard? You can tell me.) I loved writing it and I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate you reading it. I hope you'll consider leaving an honest review anywhere you'd like. 

Pre-order at books2read: https://books2read.com/FlahertyBlue

Or at Amazon: https://a.co/d/9ilqTGT