Your Friday TidBit -- Reality Check

 Hello! We have made it to yet another Friday! Happy Friday everyone! I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you, with room for relaxing and just being. Today is also St. Patrick's Day -- And I know some people have traditions they follow for today so have fun and enjoy whatever it is you have planned! 

I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to write today, so we'll just see where this takes us. I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but I do need to promote my writing. I am very easy to find on Amazon (www.amazon.com/author/embrooks), on Facebook, Instagram, Substack, and Blogspot. 

You can also find me on the Goodreads app (or goodreads.com) You can support your favorite authors many many ways that don't cost a dime, including liking posts, commenting on posts, sharing posts, giving the books a rating on Amazon or Goodreads, and telling your other friends who are die-hard readers about them. And yes, I'd be more than happy to sign any books you may have that you want signed. 

Right now, all of my nine published novels are available on Kindle and paperback with three of them being enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. I have several ads running right now on Amazon as well that will show up on keyword searches. I have been getting people on Kindle Unlimited that way. (Thanks a bunch everyone!!)

I am always appreciative of being seen and being shared by all of you and if I could add a thousand 💖 and 🤗 to all of those shares I would. The book world is a slow moving creature, kind of like a big ol' cold iguana that just wants to lay in the sun and not move. At least that's how I picture it. It takes time to build a reader base, it takes time to convince other people to read your book, and it takes time for people to read the books once they've picked it up because life happens, and these days life is so busy, so packed, and everything is screaming at you for attention. I get that. (In fact, I'm avoiding doing chores I've been putting off for a warm, sunny day, like today is....And don't even get me started on the DST change this past week....) 

Some folks look at writing as a 'hobby' but I'm a bit beyond that. Thanks to you all, I am a paid writer, however I am a self-published writer, so I'm everything -- author, main editor, promotor, advertising and sales, and everything else that includes. But that's what being a self-published author is about and I understood that going into it. It's something I enjoy doing and would be doing regardless of whether I published anything or not. But when I'm researching my marketing aspect of everything, I can't help but see what else is out there, what other authors are doing, and how they are doing it. 

Doubt plagues you and frustration often sinks in as I wonder: Am I doing the right thing? Am I cut out to be an author? 

Then I think of my characters, Brian Ridley in particular, and I think about his 'Reality Checks.' 

So I brush myself off, get off those other authors, and start writing again. If I really need the added kick in the pants, my go to is Carol Tuttle and I read through some of her "Remembering Wholeness" book and see what resonates within me. Then I move on and get to creating. 

Because, dang it, I AM an author. 

Which brings us to our next teaser installment of Could've Been Something -- A collection of short stories, musings, and writings which I hope to have out to you by this summer.

"The Uninvited Guest" is a short read about a guy who finally has some time off, plans a romantic getaway with his girlfriend, and then trouble waltzes in.

"One Hell of a Best Seller" is the first of the longer reads. It'll be less than 100 pages. It's about a small town, self-published successful murder-mystery writer who, for the sake of sales and getting into the top 10, decides to write a novel in the genre that is selling best -- Smut Romance. What could go wrong? 

So, there you have it. I think I managed quite well, having not known what I was going to write when I began. So far I have introduced you to six of the short stories I have in store for you in my collection, Could've Been Something. Which one are you most interested in reading? 

On that note, I'll let you get about your day! Thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it! I hope you have an amazing weekend and enjoy the sunshine. 💕

Find all of my books in one, easy and very convenient place at www.amazon.com/author/embrooks