Purple

I dread having kids ask me to name my favorite novel but I’m always happy to share my favorite color: purple. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’ve now collaborated on *nine* books with Purple Wong! Based in Hong Kong, Purple has a whimsical style that perfectly captures the magic of THE ORACLE’S DOOR. I’ve had quite a few issues with the cover but my designer Deasy is hard at work and I should have something ready to share soon.

We’re stuck in a heatwave here in Chicago and after being outside for most of yesterday, I’m camping out in front of the air conditioner today. Summer isn’t my favorite season but I’ve decided to try some new activities—canoeing along the African American Heritage Water Trail yesterday. My cousin will be coming to visit next month and I’m hoping we can stop at one of the Amish villages in IN on our way back to Toronto. In August I’ll be in DC and that leaves plenty of time to (hopefully) finish a couple of novels.

I’ve been stressing about the prequel—I’ve self-published plenty of books but this is my first time buying advertisements and paying to send out a press release. Every week IBPA sends a new offer or tip on how indie authors can promote their books. I signed up for yet another webinar this week, though I often find they don’t contain much useful information. I’m not that active on social media but hopefully someone who is will help spread the word because I don’t have $15K to hire a publicist. I got a stunning illustration from my artist in Scotland but can’t yet afford to proceed with that book. Purple’s art is making me want to do another color picture book with her—maybe one for Halloween. I have too many manuscripts! It’ll be a relief to finish editing and designing the prequel; in a few weeks, it’ll be on NetGalley and won’t take up so much space in my mind…