On this day four years ago...

On this day four years ago... I self-published for the first time.

To mark this amazing anniversary, I thought I'd share the story behind how I came to try self-publishing for the first time... I wrote seven books before I sold one in 2007 and ended up doing three books with my first publisher, who wasn't interested in the other books I had written. They rejected most of my earlier books, including Treading Water, True North, Fatal Affair and Maid for Love. Fatal Affair later sold to Carina Press, and the Fatal Series has had a happy home with Carina and Harlequin since 2010. But I had all these other books already written and no one was interested in publishing them. I had readers asking for more of my books, and we were trying to sell them, but the rejections kept on coming. In the summer of 2010, I came close to selling True North to a big NY publisher. My agent and I really thought it was going to happen until we received the rejection that contained the nine words that changed my life: "No one wants to read about a super model." Um, okay then. By then I had received tons and tons and TONS of rejections, and I'd learned to roll with them. They didn't bother me anymore, but that one did. First I cried, then I got MAD--really, really MAD. My unlucky-in-love super model was someone regular women could relate to because she wanted what so many people want: love and family and a place to call home. I believed in her, and I believed in True North.

The True North rejection led me to investigate the new trend of self-publishing through Amazon's new Kindle Direct Publishing program. At that time, it was a risky proposition for an author who had books coming from two different publishers a few months later (the second Fatal book and my third and final book with my first publisher). Self-publishing was so new to the ebook space, that no one knew for sure if I could be sued for publishing on my own ahead of publisher releases. I told my husband I was going to do something that could get us sued. To his credit, he said, "Let me know how it works out."  However, I was under no contractual obligation that would stop me from venturing into the realm of self-publishing. So on Nov. 17, 2010, I self-published True North quietly and without any fanfare. A month later, I self-published The Fall. I sold about 50 copies of True North in the first month and maybe 150 of both books the next month. A free offering of an earlier book the following February, gave a boost to all my books, and my self-pub numbers really took off. I sold nearly 7,000 copies of both self-published books in February 2011. I self-published The Wreck in March, the first month in which I sold more than 10,000 books in a single month. Maid for Love was released in April, Fool for Love in May, Ready for Love in June, Georgia on My Mind in September, Treading Water in October, Marking Time in November and Starting Over in December. I ended 2011 with 650,000 self-published ebook sales and on the last day of 2011, I left the job I'd had for 16 years to write full time.

Fast forward to the end of 2014... Every book I've written is now on sale--all 37 of them (22 are self-published). I've sold more than 3 million copies of my books, mostly in the last three years. I have six of my good friends and my husband working with me. I've been on the New York Times bestseller list 11 times as of last week and I've been blessed with loyal dedicated readers who have made this amazing career possible.

Oh and about True North.... It has sold close to 75,000 copies in the four years it's been on sale, and the dedication now reads: "To the editor who famously said, 'No one wants to read about a super model,' thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. A MILLION times over, thank you."

Now you know the rest of my story. Thanks to my amazing, awesome readers for making all my dreams come true. xoxo

End of the Fifth Month

Five months of self-employment in the bank and what have I learned? Well, first I truly LOVE working for myself. As if that's any sort of news flash, right? I was talking to a friend who recently left my former company, and I was telling her it takes a while to de-program from the pace we used to keep. Our jobs were BUSY. We were on a constant merry-go-round of deadlines, publication schedules, editing, writing, designing. It was nonstop. We loved it, but it was a lot to manage. For me, it was doubly complicated by the thriving writing career that cropped up from something that started as a hobby and turned into something more than I ever could've imagined. As the fifth month ends, I think I've succeeded in deprogramming. I don't think about what I SHOULD be doing for the day job at this time of year anymore. I've stepped off the merry-go-round. I'm still a little dizzy because merry-go-rounds make me sick, but I'm better than I was.

I've learned that I'm not quite as disciplined as I thought I was. After working at home for 13 years, I figured, hey, I've got this covered! Turns out that when you don't have 27 co-workers and their needs framing your day, it's easy to forget that you are supposed to be WORKING right now. It's me vs. the computer and sometimes me loses. I've learned that's okay. You can't force the creative process. If it ain't happening, walk away and do something else for a while. The words will come back. I've learned that I need to compartmentalize. I'm fortunate to receive quite a lot of reader mail every day. I've learned that each email does not have to be answered the minute it is received. Now I save reader mail--the nicest part of my day--for the end of my day and that seems to be working out well. I can take an hour or two at night and veg in front of the TV and answer emails.

I've learned to not let my accounting and bookkeeping slide. I update my business accounts every day rather than twice a month. Of course I hate that part of self-employment, but it is a necessary evil. Luckily, I have an accountant who does the true heavy lifting, so all I have to do is provide the info. That sounds easier than it is, especially if I let it slide. I'm trying to be more disciplined about that. What's funny is my mother was a bookkeeper by trade. She would've taken care of the accounting books before the other books, you know, the ones that MAKE the money? :-)

I've learned that it's okay to take a day off every now and then, and I've learned it's fun to take a day off just because I can. I recently worked 12 straight hours getting Season for Love ready to go to the copy editor. That night I was making dinner and it occurred to me that I could take the next day off if I wanted to. The day after that, too. So I did. And I loved every minute of my two days off, even though I worked for a portion of both days. "Work" these days doesn't feel like at all like work.

Finally, I've learned that it's okay to exhale. Eighteen months after I self-published my first book, my business is booming, I'm writing a lot, I've got plans for books that will take me well into next year and things are good. Breathe... For the first time in YEARS, I feel like I can breathe...

I'm thankful every day to the readers who continue to make my lovely new life possible. You are among the true blessings in my life, and I am grateful for every one of you.

Now for some book news:
Reminder that Fool for Love, book 2 in the McCarthys of Gansett Island Series is on sale for 99 cents for a brief time. Get it while it's cheap! You will enjoy it more if you read book 1, Maid for Love, first.


Joe Cantrell, owner of the Gansett Island Ferry Company, has been in love with Janey McCarthy for as long as he can remember. At the same time, Janey has been dating or engaged to doctor-in-training David Lawrence. When things go horribly wrong between David and Janey, she calls her “fifth brother” Joe, one of the few people in her close circle who lives on the mainland. Janey decides a few days with Joe is just what she needs before she goes home to the island to face her parents and family with the news of her broken engagement. It was bad enough for Joe loving Janey from afar, but having her in his house is pure torture. Will he take advantage of this opportunity to show her what they could have together? And what will Joe’s best friend and Janey’s protective older brother Mac have to say about it?Get Fool for Love here:
Kindle: amzn.to/KYoYWO
Nook: http://bit.ly/KaIXGA


Apple: http://bit.ly/MWm0qH 


Kobo: http://bit.ly/KcnHQW

Dear Diary: Best Laid Plans

The furniture I ordered on the Internet arrived yesterday in five boxes so heavy we couldn't budge them when they were placed in our dining room. We had put Brandy on the back deck for the delivery since she would've been totally underfoot greeting the delivery men if we'd let her run free. So now we have five stupendously heavy boxes blocking the sliding door. Dog is trapped, quickly figures that out and begins to panic! Thirteen-year-old son to the rescue! Jake devised a plan to bring her in through one of the windows that face the back porch. Success! Brandy was none to keen about being hauled through a window, however. The Brandy rescue was the good news. The bad news was that the dresser and part of the bed arrived damaged. Of course we discovered this just as the California-based retailer was closing for the evening. Hoping to get resolution—quickly—today since Dan and I are cellar-dwellers until our new bedroom furniture is set up. Jake said last night that he's tired of all this house stuff. I'm with you there, buddy! This is what happens when you put it off for years and then decide to do it all at once!

I totally forgot to mention that I hit the gym on Monday. Now why is this a big deal, you ask? Well, let me tell you... It's the first time I've gone on my own without a date with the trainer. I see her on Wednesdays and Fridays. Adding the third day on my own has been the goal, so this week I started adding that extra day. Of course after lugging furniture around last night, I'm sore as hell, but I'm still going today. Damn it. LOL

Yesterday I mentioned the very fun groups we've formed on Facebook and membership exploded, especially in Marie Force Book Talk. It's great to have so many new members hanging out over there, and I hope more of you will come join the fun! We're also having some great chats on the Falling for Love group about important topics, such as whether David Lawrence, who cheated on Janey McCarthy in Fool for Love and does something downright heroic in Falling for Love, deserves a HEA in a future book. Hmm, what do you think?

The writing of Hoping for Love continues to go well with the word count almost to 43,000. I can "see" the finish line in my mind, and I'm looking forward to writing the last half of the book. I'm having fun, as always, with the Gansett Island crew! I also want to say thank you to everyone who gave Falling for Love such a terrific launch week. I've been so excited by the reader response to book 4. Thank you all so much!

In other news from yesterday, I've agreed to be the President-Elect of the Romance Writers of America's (RWA) Published Author Special Interest Chapter. Gulp. This is my first leadership position within RWA, and it's something I felt I could take on now that I no longer have the day job to contend with. I'm looking forward to getting more involved with PASIC!

So what are you up to this week? Anything fun or crazy?

Next Up on Book Club: The McCarthys of Gansett Island

Okay, well, this is "mad awk" as my teenage daughter would say. Translation: mad awkward. Usually I do a promo on Saturdays of the next book up for book club, and this week it's three of my own books. Yes, I'm hijacking book club on Thursday to talk about my own books. See what I mean about mad awk?

On Thursday, July 21, we'll be boarding the ferry and setting sail for Gansett Island to talk about Mac, Maddie, Joe, Janey, Luke, Sydney, Big Mac, Linda, Ned, Francine, and what's ahead for the Gansett Island gang in future books. Here's some info about each of the three books:

Maid for Love


The McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 1

Maddie Chester is determined to leave her hometown of Gansett Island, a place that has brought her only bad memories and ugly rumors. Then she’s knocked off her bike on the way to her housekeeping job at McCarthy’s Resort Hotel by Gansett’s “favorite son,” Mac McCarthy. He’s back in town to help his father with preparations to sell the family resort and has no intention of staying long. When Mac accidentally sends Maddie flying over the handlebars, badly injuring her, he moves in to nurse her back to health and help care for her young son. He soon realizes his plans for a hit-and-run visit to the island are in serious jeopardy, and he just may be “maid” for love.

Fool for Love
The McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 2

Joe Cantrell, owner of the Gansett Island Ferry Company, has been in love with Janey McCarthy for as long as he can remember. At the same time, Janey has been dating or engaged to doctor-in-training David Lawrence. When things go horribly wrong between David and Janey, she calls her “fifth brother” Joe, one of the few people in her close circle who lives on the mainland. Janey decides a few days with Joe is just what she needs before she goes home to the island to face her parents and family with the news of her broken engagement. It was bad enough for Joe loving Janey from afar, but having her in his house is pure torture. Will he take advantage of this opportunity to show her what they could have together? And what will Joe’s best friend and Janey’s protective older brother Mac have to say about it?

Ready for Love
The McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 3

For four of the best summers of his young life, Luke Harris was in love with Sydney Donovan, a wealthy seasonal visitor to Gansett Island. Then Sydney went off to college and never came back. She married another man and had two children while Luke remained on the island, working at McCarthy's Gansett Marina and wondering what had gone wrong between him and the only woman he ever loved. Fifteen months after Sydney suffers the tragic loss of her husband and children, she's returned to Gansett to figure out what's next, and that may very well be a rekindled love affair with the one man from her past she’s never forgotten. But is she ready for a second chance at love?

Hope you can make the trip to Gansett with us. It promises to be a fun time! AND, I'll give away two books from my backlist to two different commenters on Thursday. Talk to you then!

Get Ready for The McCarthys!

I'm so excited for the debut of my McCarthys of Gansett Island Trilogy, starting this weekend when I will post the first book, MAID FOR LOVE. I want to share the Author's Note I included in the first book:

My favorite place in the world is Block Island, located twelve miles off the southern coast of Rhode Island. A tiny slip of land with a Great Salt Pond in the middle, Block Island is the place time forgot. You won’t find a stop light on the island or a hospital. Internet connections are sketchy at best, and good luck finding a hotel room in the summer if you haven’t planned months in advance. What you will find is peace and quiet and beaches and bluffs and quaint shops and a laidback atmosphere that soothes the soul.

The island has played an important role in my life from the time I was a small child arriving on my parents’ boat, through a college romance and now as a favorite family vacation spot each summer. I’ve never been anywhere that inspires me more. Block Island pops up often in my books, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I made up my own version of the island and set a series there. Thus Gansett Island and the McCarthy Family were born. “Gansett” is a tip of the hat to Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, one of my favorite places to spend a summer day.

MAID FOR LOVE is the first book, FOOL FOR LOVE will come next June 1, 2011 and READY FOR LOVE will be out in July 1, 2011. Will there be a second trilogy featuring Grant, Adam and Evan McCarthy? That’s up to you, the readers, to let me know if you want more of the McCarthy Family.

I love to hear from readers! Contact me at marie@marieforce.com.

Welcome to Gansett Island! I so hope you enjoy Mac and Maddie’s story. Stay tuned at the end for a sneak peek at Joe and Janey’s story, Fool for Love.
xoxo
Marie

Here's a sneak peek at each book:


Maid for Love (May 1, 2011)
The McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 1
Maddie Chester is determined to leave her hometown of Gansett Island, a place that has brought her only bad memories and ugly rumors. Then she’s knocked off her bike on the way to her housekeeping job at McCarthy’s Resort Hotel by Gansett’s “favorite son,” Mac McCarthy. He’s back in town to help his father with preparations to sell the family resort and has no intention of staying long. When Mac accidentally sends Maddie flying over the handlebars, badly injuring her, he moves in to nurse her back to health and help care for her young son. He soon realizes his plans for a hit-and-run visit to the island are in serious jeopardy, and he just may be “maid” for love.

Read an excerpt from Maid for Love.

Fool for Love (June 1, 2011)
The McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 2
Joe Cantrell, owner of the Gansett Island Ferry Company, has been in love with Janey McCarthy for as long as he can remember. At the same time, Janey has been dating or engaged to doctor-in-training David Lawrence. When things go horribly wrong between David and Janey, she calls her “fifth brother” Joe, one of the few people in her close circle who lives on the mainland. Janey decides a few days with Joe is just what she needs before she goes home to the island to face her parents and family with the news of her broken engagement. It was bad enough for Joe loving Janey from afar, but having her in his house is pure torture. Will he take advantage of this opportunity to show her what they could have together? And what will Joe’s best friend and Janey’s protective older brother Mac have to say about it?

Ready for Love
The McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 3
For four of the best summers of his young life, Luke Harris was in love with Sydney Donovan, a wealthy seasonal visitor to Gansett Island. Then Sydney went off to college and never came back. She married another man and had two children while Luke remained on the island, working at McCarthy's Gansett Marina and wondering what had gone wrong between him and the only woman he ever loved. Fifteen months after Sydney suffers the tragic loss of her husband and children, she's returned to Gansett to figure out what's next, and that may very well be a rekindled love affair with the one man from her past she’s never forgotten. But is she ready for a second chance at love?

I'll be posting excerpts from FOOL and READY as their launch dates draw closer.

These are my favorite kind of books to read and write, fun contemporaries that focus on a family with all its many facets, set in a place we'd all like to live (well, at least I would!) I so hope you enjoy reading them as much as I've enjoyed writing them.

Home Stretch and Other Musings

I'm closing in on the finish of my latest work in progress, Fool for Love, which is the sequel to Maid for Love, now on submission. Some question the wisdom of writing book 2 before book 1 has sold. Well, for me, it's a matter of maintaining my already fragile sanity. With a full-time job, two busy kids and a writing career to tend to every day, I'd rather write a book that might not sell that have to write one with a gun to my head. So far I've dodged the nightmare known as writing to deadline, and I'm okay with that. I'm sure my day is coming, but for now, I'm living off my reserves.

I mentioned on Facebook that I've just been through a brutal judging cycle, during which I rated 8 Rita books (RWA's best published contest) and 8 Golden Heart entries (RWA's unpublished contest) as well as the Between the Sheets contest (love scenes) and two critiques for my local chapter. While I love to judge and critique, this was WAY more than I can handle. It kept me from any meaningful output on my work in progress for a couple of weeks. I've discovered that I can't fight the "not-in-the-mood-to-write" moods that strike every now and then. I used to freak out because I worried that my muse had left me, but now I know she takes a vacation every now and then, but she always comes back. Today, for the first time in a while, I feel charged to write. So back I go to Fool for Love and the sprint to the finish.

Who is watching American Idol? The judges go through an awful lot to get to the final 24 but I think they're a pretty mundane lot this year. No real standouts like there were last year. I like Crystal, the girl with the dreads, and the guy Kara is lusting after. Otherwise, not all that interested.

Speaking of not interested, who cares about the Bachelor finale? Not me. I grow to dislike him more with every passing week. Don't really care for either of the remaining girls, but I howled when one of the other girls said Tenley probably dreams in Disney moves and shits rainbows. That was SO funny (and so TRUE!) Vienna just comes across as an opportunist and kinda skanky. If he picks her, he deserves her. Reality Steve gave away the ending weeks ago, and so far he's been spot on. I guess we'll find out Monday. Yawn. I am looking forward to Jason and Molly's wedding. I've always liked her and he's grown on me over time, even after his disastrous handling of his finale.

Looking forward to the figure skating finale tonight! How can we not all root for the Canadian skater who lost her mother? What a trooper! What's been your favorite part of the Olympics? For me, it's sitting on the sofa watching skiers fly through the air while telling my family, "What's the big deal? I could do that!" :-)