I am pleased and excited to announce that I have signed a contract for the publication of The Shadow of Tiamat with
Crescent Moon Press. This is home to
many fine writers, including my friends
Lynn Rush and
Ciara Knight. And I've met
new friends there already as well. I'm looking forward to working with them, and they are as excited about my book as I am.
Friends, this has been a long road. A long, long, long road...and it is far from over. I started writing the first book in this series in November of 2009. I began it as a passing amusement, indulging in my long lost childhood dreams of being an author. Once I began, I found I could not stop. And I never will so long as I can breathe and type.
I've met a lot of fine people along the way. I've made many new friends, and even lost a few. I've learned, as I have many times in the past but failed to listen, that sometimes the people telling you what you want to hear are the ones you should listen to the least. I've earned a lot of
fans on Facebook, and a lot of people interested in my daily thought
bubbles on Twitter. And now, finally, after all this time, a small but respected publisher has chosen to take a chance on an urban fantasy novel, set in Joplin, written by--of all things--a former social service worker and academically trained criminologist. I am humbled and honored.
But the most important thing I can say right now is this: THANK YOU.
This happened because of you. ALL of you. Yes, I wrote the books. Yes, I dealt with the stress and strain of rejection, waiting and hoping, lingering by the phone, checking emails everyday hoping for some sign of progress. But I never could have done this without your help. Without every single one of you listening to me, tolerating me, encouraging me, entertaining me, amusing me, humbling me, disciplining me, and strengthening me, I'd have surrendered long ago. Nothing I have done would have been possible without your help. I am no island. This, what has happened here, what happens from here on with this publisher or any other, is as much your achievement as it is mine.
So where now? It isn't over yet. No, it's just beginning! The book will be in print and I'll be touring and promoting. I've made it into an exclusive club now, being a published writer. It's an honor few receive, and I have no idea what the future holds. But you've been with me up to now, and I hope you'll be with me the rest of the way as I detail my journey. But books must be sold, and to be sold they must be promoted. I'll be calling upon you all again, many times in the future, to help me along the way. Buying copies of the book, recommending me to your friends and family, posting reviews on Amazon and other bookseller sites, tweeting and retweeting updates, promoting my book tours, and even sometimes giving me a place to sleep between book signings. I can never reward you what you deserve for this, all you've done for me and all that you may do for me, but I can promise this: it will never be forgotten. And, in one way or another, it will be repaid. I promise.
Thank you all. And this is for all of you. Praise Tiamat!
-Sean T. Poindexter
P.S. What do you think of the new blog layout?
This first one is my friend and fellow Crescent Moon Press author Lynn Rush. She's guest blogging at Writer's Digest about cross-gender POV. And be sure to check out her awesome new book Wasteland
!
And finally: Randy Turner is a fellow Joplin author and educator. He co-authored 5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado
, which is on my to-read list and, if you're interested in the devastation many of us lived through, should be on yours as well.
