Random Ramblings…

I have returned to land after my last submarine deployment for three years! It feels amazing and I was so excited to see my wife and two children. They were both a little shy when they saw me, but warmed right up to my unfamiliar visage after I was around them for an hour or so. Sophia is talking a lot more, saying more words clearly and starting to speak complete sentences. Declan has grown so much, acquiring numerous teeth and is almost walking around on his own now.

After the kids had been put to sleep for the night, I checked up on my work. “One Last Delivery” had received another 5 star review on Barnes and Noble, but that was the extent to it. It’s hard to be excited about your passion when nobody is reading it, sadly. Nothing, no new downloads, no new reviews, or anything for “SPIAR”, which I was hoping would have a couple random paragraphs written about it somewhere. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, but I am still carrying on, “SPIAR 2” is in the works, and is currently at 17,000 words. I didn’t write as much as I thought I would while I was out to sea, but I plan on catching up with where I want to be very soon.

I am intending on joining “Self Publisher’s Showcase” today in order to increase my visibility and to garner some new writing and reading friends. I’m hoping to get some good feedback on my writing this way. I seem to be getting a nice and steady download count for “One Last Delivery” on Barnes and Noble, which I find strange in some way. It’s only a short story, but I guess people are liking it very much. I have a couple more ideas for a few more short stories that will be titled “One Last…” I think that I am going to keep a series of them starting with that in the title, I think it has a nice attachment to it. My main focus right now, though, is my first novel’s sequel, and it’s hard enough to find the time to continue on with that.

The kids don’t nap anymore, which means that my only real opportunity to write is during the night time hours. After playing with the kids all day, and feeding them and changing diapers, my motivation is down in the gutter once the day is through. I need to regain my focus and charge on with my career, or else I won’t have anyone else to blame but myself for my work’s publicity.

Being back and about to transfer to a different command has me a little worried, I must admit. After serving on the USS Rhode Island for five years, I think that adjusting to a new CO, XO, and CMC will be hard. I know how things are run on the boat, who to talk to, and give advice to. I’m about to enter a whole new world in a couple months, but I guess I am somewhat excited as well.

That’s all for now, Sophia wants “Pizza! Pizza!”

Easy days and blissful nights,

V. E. Bystry

The Sequel To My First Novel

After a couple months of waiting and waiting for SPIAR to take off on all eBook retailers, I finally let it go. I have received two five star reviews on Amazon, but nothing anywhere else. I lowered the price of the novel last week and still have yet to see an increase in sales. At all. Everyone that has read the book sings my praises, but I don’t see an influx of support. I realize that I am an unknown independent author, but holy hell. 

I believe that the past few months have been due to my sense of fear ever since I clicked the “Publish” button on Smashwords and Amazon Kindle Direct. I had a few people tell me that this is my calling, that I should definitely be doing this for a living. Despite all the positive pushing, there are hardly any results. Again, I understand that I am an unknown independent author, but I thought that I would sell at least a few copies every few days. 

Within the first few days, SPIAR sold a handful of copies. I was ecstatic, my dream was coming true! Everyone that reads my novel is astounded and loves it! I am finally on the road to success. Or so I thought. I became obsessed with checking for reviews and feedback. A past co-worker and a nice young woman who agreed to do a review swap provided it. I have seen no other reviews or anything since. No other copies have sold since the first week I published. 

The past few months have been spent, for the most part, second guessing myself. Is everyone just being nice to me about this? Am I really not that great of a writer? What have I done wrong or what have I messed up? I am often asked at work how the book is doing, and it feels like they are cracking a joke. A stab of the proverbial knife to my stomach, if you will. 

But, no. I know that I can write. I’ve been told this ever since I was thirteen. Teachers would save my reports or short stories for last because they genuinely enjoyed reading them. When I was that young, I wasn’t really paying attention to their comments. It wasn’t until high school that I seriously noticed my so called talent. It became a hobby, and I even have an unfinished novel sitting in my desk drawer from those days. Maybe it will resurface, maybe not. 

When I have the chance to write, I have noticed that I am a happier person. Colleagues at work have noticed this as well. With a wife, two amazing children, and a military lifestyle, keeping up with my reading and writing is near impossible. Perhaps when the kids get a little bit older, I will be able to dig deep and slew words around like a pro. A guy can dream, right? 

Anyway, for those of you that care, I have officially started the sequel to SPIAR. All 150 words of it, haha. I felt a rush of inspiration when I acquired my new laptop computer, and just started typing for about sixty seconds. Regardless of how little progress I have made since the publication of SPIAR, another is on the way. I promise that this one is going to be bigger and badder than the last and I can’t wait to try and knock your socks clear off your feet. 

Easy days and blissful nights,

V. E. Bystry