Revelations of an Indie Author

This week I read Salvation by my good friend Aeon Igni. It’s a short sci-fi romance that came out in 2013 about a girl who posses as a boy in order to get a job aboard a spaceship… and falls in love with the smoking hot captain. Aeon and I work together in a critique group, (which is an absolute blast), but this is the first time I’ve gotten to read a “final” product of all her hard work. I was blown away! Here I am working with someone day in and day out, and they have this incredible story just sitting there, waiting for me to read.

Maybe I should’ve realized this a long time ago, but there’s a lot I can learn from reading other indie authors. So far, I’ve been so focused on reading all the “greats” in my favorite genres, and foolishly missing out on all these unique voices just waiting to be explored.

This inspired me, for the first time, to really make an effort to reach out to other authors who write in my genre on Facebook. Already, I’ve met some amazing people and put together a list of their books that caught my interest. What’s more, I’m increasing my “support system” from a small pool to maybe a little lake. It might not sound like a lot, but as much as authors might want to be solitary creatures, the majority of people will need help from others to really find success in such a challenging career.

To sum it up, I highly recommend:

• Reading the work of other indie authors in your genre
• Reaching out to other authors through social media
• Expanding your support system, even if it means going out of your comfort zone

Alright, this was a nice break, but I’m going back to finishing the third short story in my Tales of Tarak series!

Oh, and if you’re interested, here’s a link and the blurb to Salvation:

Samantha Simmons knows she’s out of time. Her bleak and solitary existence in an underground sewer is about to be compromised by a gang of thugs whose leader wants her for his own nefarious purposes. Driven past the point of desperation, Samantha does what any self-respecting woman would do: she poses as a young man to get a job aboard a cargo ship with an all-male crew.

But will life in space turn out to be the salvation she seeks? Between learning how to perform her duties on the spaceship and avoiding assault or certain death at the hands of the unsavory characters she meets, Samantha spends her time guarding her secret identity and fighting her growing feelings for the handsome and scrupulously honorable Captain Morse.

All too soon, she has to make the ultimate choice: will she tell him her secret and face his wrath, or will she leave and protect her honor?