Lana Voynich

Every Day a Bird Learns How to Fly by Frank V. Arcilesi


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I ordered this book because I thought the story sounded interesting. And, while the story still sounds interesting, the writing is subpar. I’m only on page 6 and I’m having a hard time convincing myself that I should keep reading.

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I’ve heard from several people that they wished Alaskan Healing was longer. I believe hope the people who stated that meant they wanted to keep reading about Shawn and Drake longer (and not that the story’s ending was unsatisfactory).

I’m taking it as a compliment. When I read a book that I enjoy, I’m sad when I get to the last page. I feel that I know the characters and don’t want to leave their world. (Not that my world is bad, it’s just reality and who doesn’t love a break from reality and want it to continue as long as possible?) And then I start looking for more books by that author.

That’s what I want people to feel when they get to the last page in my book. I want them to think “Dang it, there has to be more.” I love hearing what everyone thinks of Alaskan Healing, and to me, the best compliments (so far) were “I wish it was longer.”

So I ask you, did you feel let down when you got to the end of the book? Did it have a satisfactory ending? Did you enjoy it so much that you were sad to see the last page?

Or was it like the book I finished reading this morning? I closed it and said, “Ugh. I’m glad I don’t have to spend any more time with those people.”

What do you think?

Finishing the draft by the end of July – I have about 5000 words done towards this

Sell more books than last month – I’m doing really well on this. One week into the month and I’m only two books shy of how many I sold last month. If everyone who’s told me they’re sending a check for a book really does send it, I’ll have surpassed this goal and will have to set a new one for the rest of the month!

The thirty contacts – I have most of my material ready to send out to the various locations. I haven’t had any responses to the emails I sent out, so by the end of this week I’m going to send out the snail mail packets.

I think at some point, I’m going to have to set a goal to increase my blog readership, and to update my blog regularly.

I’ve added the option of ordering by mail for those people who prefer not to use PayPal.

I’ve also created some postcards and business cards to include in the orders I send out. I intend to finish designing some stuff to send to the bookstores, in hopes that they’ll be intrigued enough to check out my site (and order my book to stock in their stores). I have to get busy on that so I can include it in the mailings I hope to get out next week. I have 29 locations on my “To Contact” list.

I have another novel completely outlined and hope to finish the rough draft of it by the end of July. Well, I’d really like to finish it by the end of June, but let’s be realistic. I have a full-time job, a husband, a baby, two dogs and two cats. My goal is the end of July.

I also want to sell more books this month than last month. Probably not going to be much of a challenge since I really didn’t sell all that many last month, but hey a goal is a goal.

I want to contact thirty possible markets for Alaskan Healing this month. I currently have a list of 26 places to contact. I have my letter composed and ready to go. I emailed three seven independent bookstores and three gift shops this afternoon and will follow up with a letter in about a week to those who haven’t responded. Ten days after I mail the letter, I’ll follow up with a phone call to those who still haven’t responded.

It’s miserably hard for me to call someone and strike up a conversation on the phone, but I hope it’s even harder for them to say “No” when they’re talking to me.

Here’s to getting Alaskan Healing into some local stores!

I’ve been working on two different novels (as many of you know) and I keep bouncing between them, unsure of which one to focus my attention on. One is in the rough draft stage and the other is in the revision stage. But, I just submitted a proposal for each of them to my publisher. If she likes either and wants to publish it, I’ll focus on that one and you guys will have another novel from me to read soon.

Sales have been a bit slower this month than last month, but I just received an order for multiple books, so it’s getting close. I’d hoped to sell MORE books this month than last, but I really haven’t been applying myself. In June, my goal is to sell 20 books. (I’m not counting Amazon, Smashwords, Createspace, or Girlebooks sales in that goal, simply because I won’t be receiving my statement from them for June for a couple months.)

I intend to contact several independent bookstores in multiple areas (where I grew up, where I lived for the past 13 years, and where I live now) and convince them to carry my books. Hopefully, now that I’ve posted those goals on here I’ll be more inclined to follow through with them.

As you can see, I’ve updated my website. Please let me know if you find any links that aren’t working properly. I appreciate it.

I must have fans or something. Thank you to everyone who’s ordered a copy of my book. I’m still waiting for them to arrive from the printer. I hope they’ll be here within a few days.

Yesterday, I came up with some ideas for marketing. I spent a few hours researching different marketing strategies. There’s so much to do and it’s making my head spin (and hurt). So today, I’m going to take a break from marketing stuff.

I’ve been working on a story about a young widow for several years. Actually, not working on it so much as “several years ago, I wrote a rough draft” and I’ve been thinking about it off and on since then. Between then and now, I’ve tried to add two more stories to it as sub-plots but it never worked the way I wanted it to.

A few months ago, I finally sat down and ripped large sections of the three different stories out and made it into what seemed to me a much better story. I finished retyping it all into my computer (that’s what happens when you forget to back up your work) a couple weeks ago and now I’m eager to print it out, read it, and see how much more work I need to do. This one has to be better than Alaskan Healing, simply because I’ve improved as a writer (I hope!) since I finished Alaskan Healing. Going through the three proof copies of Alaskan Healing made me realize several issues that I have as a writer and I’m going to do my best to fix those issues.

Wish me luck!

Eesh! I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to update this recently. Here’s a quick update of what’s happened in my life since my last post. Another one of our dogs was diagnosed with cancer (osteosarcoma) and died. One of our cats died due to kidney and liver failure. We got a new puppy, November 1st. Then there was the holiday season and we had our first human baby in January. I went back to working full-time at the beginning of April.

In regards to my writing, my publisher, Laura of girlebooks decided to publish Alaskan Healing as a paperback. I agreed to it in the beginning of December and have proofed the novel three times. We’re finally live and the book is now available as a paperback from multiple sources online.

I’m currently in the process of researching small local bookstores and gift shops which may be interested in carrying a small number of my books. If anyone has any suggestions on locations that may be interested in carrying and selling Alaskan Healing, please let me know.

Along with proofing Alaskan Healing and researching markets for it, I’ve been revising a novel that I wrote about five years ago and expanding a new idea into a workable outline. In case anyone is curious, the novel I’m revising is about a young widow who struggles with addiction after reuniting with an old flame. I’ve struggled with this story for years but now feel that I have it moving in the direction it should move.

As for the new idea, all I have so far is a woman inherits an old farm from an unknown benefactor. As she searches for the benefactor’s identity, secrets of her family are revealed. I’m intrigued and curious where this story will take me. It’s a bit different from my normal writing but, most likely, will still fall under the romance category.

I’d love to hear what your initial reactions are to the two projects I’m working on.