When I announced that I would be add to my journey as an
author the experience of indie publishing, one of my author friends commented
that when you indie publish, you are alone.
Alone.
Honestly, there were many reasons I did not consider indie
publishing: do people respect indie writers the way they respect indie
musicians, did I want to take on all of the responsibility of producing a book,
how do you put together a book J,
and of course…as she said, I would be alone.
Or, am I. In
the world of publishing, what I’ve discovered is that author connections can be
powerful. Networking with other
authors through conferences, meeting readers through the internet, bumping into
readers or authors in the local bookstore…it doesn’t matter where you meet
them, or if you buy services to promote/edit/format/design cover art for your book, the result is that you end up making the
necessary connections, learning, and promoting your work.
Now, I’m not saying you’ll become an Amazon or USA Today
Bestseller, but what I am saying is that you will add one more avenue to your
wheelhouse for distributing your work in its purest form. Whatever that might be.
But, no…you’re never alone.
Here’s a little about my latest self-published work, Beale Street Blues.
Blurb: Darling
Crawford lost the man she loved to another woman. Returning to her parents was
bad enough, but returning broke, divorced, and jobless is awful. Right about
now she just needs to have fun.
A man with a sexy southern drawl. A strong drink. A night of dancing. What happens on Beale Street stays on Beale Street, right?
A man with a sexy southern drawl. A strong drink. A night of dancing. What happens on Beale Street stays on Beale Street, right?
Excerpt:
Seated in her normal spot, Darling squeezed her eyes shut to
close out the corny flirtations of the velvet-clad singer, and let the sad
lyrics of the down-home Delta blues slink across her body and mind. The singer
longed for the return of his lover, as she’d wished so many nights for hers. It
was stupid, she knew it. He’d abandoned her.
The beat of the music dragged her body with it. Slowly, her
feet tapped and her shoulders swayed. As the singer sang to his mystery lover,
she remembered the touch of her own. His mouth against hers. The sensation of
his hands to her breasts. The feel of his fingers as he dragged them along the
length of her legs.
How could I still want someone who didn’t want a damn
thing to do with me?
She stepped onto the dance floor and allowed the vocalist to
sing only to her. Her body followed the baseline of the music. She didn’t care
what the people watching her thought.
Her eyes sprang open at the feel of a hand on her arm. Eyes
the color of the deepest emeralds asked her permission, wordlessly. She placed
her hand on his waist allowing him to pull her closer. A mixture of amber and
persimmon filled her senses as he tightened his hold. One hand rested on the
small of her back, while the other lay on her hip, guiding her to his rhythm.
Too much time had passed since she’d felt the warmth and
strength of a man, especially a man like this one. She glanced up to find him
watching.
His eyes locked on hers and he smiled.
The confidence in his smile and the warmth of his touch
sparked a flame inside her. She couldn’t resist reaching up to rake her fingers
through the salt and pepper curls at his temple.
He closed his eyes at the touch of her hand. When he opened
them, his gaze was too intense to hold.
She allowed herself to be lost in the fantasy of the man and
the music. But when the music ended, regretfully, they would go to their
separate corners.
For more from Beale
Street Blues, check it out on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Beale-Street-Blues-Angela-Austin-ebook/dp/B00RZU6FTS.
It’s also available for Kobo, Nook, iBooks, and on All
Romance eBooks. And it will be
available soon in paperback.
Angela Kay Austin has always loved expressing herself
creatively. An infatuation with
music led to years playing several instruments, some better than others. A love for acting put her in
front of a camera or two for her thirty seconds of fame before giving way to a
degree and career in communications.
After completing a second degree in marketing, Angela found herself
combining her love for all things creative and worked in promotions and events
for many years.
Today, Angela lives in her hometown in Tennessee with her
really really really old dog, Midnight.
