Taking this show on the road

It's nearly October which means I, with the help and support of the wonderful team at Tell-Tale Publishing, am gearing up for a massive blog tour to promote my newest book, Palmetto Moon, Born of Blood.

I'm not a publishing noob and this isn't my first rodeo, so why is my anxiety level rising as each day ticks off the calender? Because as fun and exciting as a book tour is, it's also a huge emotional drain. For a solid month I will be doing interviews, both print and radio, guest blogs, and navigating the minefield that is early reviews. It's basically a self-love fest. But after six days of talking about myself and my book nonstop, it gets taxing. I completely understand why some celebs refuse to do press junkets. Who wants to talk about themselves nonstop for weeks on end? By about the fifth interview I'm getting sick of myself. And as a relatively small name author, I feel like a total pretender to the throne. Why would anyone care what I do to find inspiration? Does anyone really care what I'm reading? Those are things people ask real authors. It is very hard to of myself that way, as a real author. I mean, I'm the girl who geeks out when Jeff Savage remembers my name. Last year I was signing books with James Dashner (whoever put our signing tables next to each other, you are my hero) and I kept sneaking pics of him with my cell phone. I'm a fangirl. The idea that I have fans of my own is just weird.

Yet I know I do.
When I got my first actual fan letter I geeked out for days. I get emails and letters sometimes from people who love my books and without exception I'm always so humbled and shocked. It's like I can't even wrap my mind around it.

And that's why I do the tours. Because people do love the books, and the more exposure we get for the book, the more people who pick them up. It's really not about sales, at least not for me, but it's about finding more people to share the story with. So I tread onward, blog after wonderful blog, in the hopes that one reader/listener will pick up my book and fall in love with it. Because at the end of the day, that's where I get my fulfillment as a writer.

So, that said, the Blog Tour will be beginning shortly with a kickoff party over on the Tell Tale blog. I'll list all the stops and dates here as soon as I have them so you can feel free to Tour stalk me. Until then, I'll be here, nervous and excited, waiting to hear what you all think of the new book!
XOXO
~Sherry