Don’t you just love that sense of relief you get when you’ve finally made a big decision? Even if it means you’re facing a lot of hard work, and even if it leads you into an unknown, uncertain place, at least it’s a decision.

For me, limbo is akin to Sisyphus, eternally damned to roll a boulder uphill in Hades, only to watch the boulder descend and having to start all over. Once I come to a decision about something, that boulder can go to hell (see what I did there?) and stay put wherever it lands. Because at that point, I’ve given the middle finger to the gods of the underworld and departed for a place of hope and action.

All that is to lead to an announcement. I’ve made a decision.

I’m going the self-publishing route.

After much self-reflection, I’ve concluded that I am maybe, just maybe, a bit of a control freak. Those of you who know me undoubtedly find yourselves with your mouths hanging open in shock at that revelation, but there you have it. And as a control freak, the thought of traditional publishing ramps up my anxiety to unsustainable levels. 

Yes, I admit it: I want what I want when I want it. I’m excited to choose my own cover design. I love the knowledge that I can work with the professional editor of my choice (the aforementioned Lisa Mathews of www.KillYourDarlingsEdit.com). And I’m thrilled at the prospect of controlling my own timeline. I’m not getting any younger, you know. The prospect of the years it takes to get published traditionally have hovered above me like the blade of a guillotine 

(Side note: I said something to my husband the other night about being middle aged. “Honey,” he said. “We’re fifty-eight years old. Middle aged means we’d live to be a hundred and sixteen.” So, I suppose the “middle aged” ship has sailed. 

The fear of the journey, of course, comes because this is something I’ve never done before. It’s the equivalent of setting out in a covered wagon for the untamed West. (Except, of course, I’m at home in a comfortable chair and air conditioning.) Still, I’m staring into uncharted territory—for me, at least.

Luckily, I am surrounded by giants upon whose shoulders I can stand. Many people have tackled the self-publishing world before me, and help abounds. (Thank you Nicki Huntsman Smith and Erika Yeagy Biddix, for starters.) Now, it’s just a matter of plunging forward, knowing I’ll make some wrong turns along the route, but safe in the knowledge that my mentors have GPS, and I can give them a call on my cell phone. This is, after all, a modern version of Western migration.

My plan is to publish Suitable for Framing, the first book in my Callie Cassidy Cozy Mystery series, around Thanksgiving. The second book, Double Exposure, should follow sometime in the spring. And from there, we’ll see how it goes. 

Thank you for following me on my journey. I can’t wait for you to see my new cover—coming by Oct. 1!