Hi there!
My name is Joy Demers and I am so excited to finally release my book into the world, Awakening, the prequel to the Darkness in the Midst series. Believe it or not, this has been almost seven years in the making! Really, I started writing this series back in 2012.
It started as a NaNoWriMo project, but mostly it started as a desire for me to get back to writing creatively. You see, I had been writing nothing but essays and research papers for years while I studied history in university. Then, after I graduated in 2010, and like many former students, was jobless, I began to think back on how much I used to love making up stories when I was in high school. Slowly, I got back into it. And yes, I wrote fan fiction for about year before I turned to more original stuff.
Then I got a job. It was horrible and writing this brand new story all my own was a great escape. I eventually left that job, and was unemployed again, but for only a few months. I got another job and continued to write. And the story began to grow and change and I kept on writing.
The story that is being published in January of 2019 is quite different from what I started out with. The core of it remains the same, but after several revisions and darling killings, I thought it was time to put it out into the world. First, I joined a critique group. They ripped it apart and tore it to pieces. It hurt but in the end it was helpful. As I continued to write and revise and continue the story into several other books, I decided I would try my hand at querying.
I read all the blogs. I read all the writing advice. I was ready. The queries were sent out a few at a time. Form rejections waited for me in my inbox most of the time, but twice, that's two times, I received requests for fulls. Sadly, both agents eventually passed on me.
Well, I grew tired of querying, though I admit I probably only sent about a dozen, maybe a baker's dozen out, it just wasn't helping me or my confidence. I have struggled with depression and anxiety in the past. So I decided to just go for it. To not let my years of work sit on a hard drive, being read by no one. I took the leap into self-publishing.
Maybe this is a bad idea, maybe it's not worth the trouble. But I am ready for this journey and I am more than ready to share my writing with the world, even if no one ends up reading any of it.
I will be releasing more details in the upcoming days about publication dates and such. I look forward to hearing from anyone and let's just say, there's no better feeling than holding a book you wrote in your hands.
Until next time,
Joy.
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