Saturday, November 5, 2016

The Writers in Us Resurfaced While Living Abroad

My husband and I have always been writers. In fact, it was writing that brought us together nearly 16 years ago when we were attending Valencia Community College in Orlando, FL. We met in a creative writing club and we've been pushing each other to write ever since.

Shortly before we moved to Argentina in 2012, we found a way to self-publish our novels through Lulu.com. Unfortunately, we were in a severe time crunch. We were extremely busy trying to downsize all of our personal belongings from the storage unit and later from our family's basement in New York.
As if moving abroad wasn't stressful enough, we also had to rush, rush, rush to get all of our ideas into a word document, customize it to meet the printing requirements of the publishing company, and actually publish it. There was virtually no time to edit. Even spell check missed quite a few things and glancing at hundreds of pages in the space of an hour was a bad idea.

It wasn't until we actually got to Argentina and had some time to relax that we realize the numerous mistakes in our work. Many of them were careless. Unfortunately, we weren't sure we'd be able to edit them and resubmit our work for publishing from abroad. Every single penny went into trying to survive here and our finances hemorrhaged with each passing month which eventually became years.

Jumping to the present... well, sort of.

Halfway through 2016, I realized that writing was my passion and I had allowed the severe depression caused by living abroad, and being unable to return home, get the best of me.

I've spent nearly three years paraphrasing ridiculous articles about Kim Kardashian, confessions of gold diggers, rich kids who love to flaunt their money on Instagram, different ways to have orgasms and countless other topics that aren't worth anyone's time for several sites like All Day, Life Buzz, and Gab Worthy. Worst of all, I wasn't even getting recognition for those articles. Someone else did. Granted, I would never want my name associated with those horrible topics, but you can see how frustrating it can be to ghost write and get paid very little, and never be seen.

I needed to return to my writing because there isn't just one book in me. There are countless stories I want to share with the world, but first, I had to go back and fix the mistakes of my past. So I started editing and essentially rewriting my Hunter's Vendetta book series. Along the way I received a lot of tips, hints, and suggestions from fellow writer Suzie Carr.

My husband's creative juices were reignited as well and he wrote his first novel in almost five years called "Welcome To Bore City," which is loosely based on his adventures in Cordoba and will take you on one hell of an emotional ride.

With a limited budget, I had to find a way to reduce the cost of publishing the novels. So I broke down two books into four novels, 164 pages each. This also allowed me to lower the selling cost to make it more enticing to potential readers.

The first novel in the series was published on October 2016 and is available on both Lulu.com and Amazon.com.

Now if you buy the novel through Lulu, I get more $$$. If you buy it through Amazon, I get considerably less cash. However, it's not about the money at this point. It's about exposing my stories to a broader audience.

Both novels are pocket book size so it's easier to take with you while you're on the bus, on the subway, or just sitting at home or laying in bed.
Getting the novels shipped to Argentina was a lot easier than I thought. We used FedEx and it got here in about two weeks. Admittedly, the novels did hit a bit of a snag on their way to Cordoba.
Customs temporarily held it in Buenos Aires under the pretense that the shipping information was incorrect, but they later rectified the problem and the books got here.

So here's a little intro on both of our novels along with the Lulu and Amazon links. You won't be disappointed. Also, feel free to share the info with your friends so they can buy the novels too. You can purchase them through Amazon, Amazon EU, and Amazon UK. If you're from any other part of the world and are having issues ordering from Amazon, you can buy the novels through Lulu.com. They'll ship anywhere.

Hunter's Vendetta: Silent Kill ($9.75)
The first book in the suspenseful Hunter's Vendetta series.
When Alex Westcrow left his tribe, and his lover, Kayden Hayes, he unknowingly left behind a dark family secret as well. Years later, his homecoming is marred by tragedy. Now he's the target of a silent killer, and the key to staying alive, rests in deciphering terrifying visions that foreshadow his death and those of everyone he holds dear.

Click here to order through Amazon.

Click here to order through Lulu.


Welcome To Bore City ($9.50)
Follow the life of a gay couple who moved from Manzana Grande City to Bore City. Experience every moment as if you were there. Meet Cinnamon, Hubby, and the iconic, Mr. Delicious. Sadness, satire, laughter, soft-core sex, friendships, humor, and poetic narratives await you in Bore City and there are some surprises along the way.

Click here to order through Amazon.

Click here to order through Lulu.

Meanwhile, read the 1st chapter of "Hunter's Vendetta: Silent Kill" for free HERE

4 comments:

  1. I've been really enjoying your blog and I think life in Argentine sounds pretty nice, but maybe a bit slower in Cordoba. I can't wait to hear about the home invasion! That sounds crazy!

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    1. Hi, thank you for your comment. Yes. Life in Cordoba is a lot slower, particularly if you visit the sierras, which is beautiful and perfect for nature lovers. I'm more of a city boy so I actually enjoy Buenos Aires and try to visit as often as possible.

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  2. Great blog, I'm Brazilian and I was really thinking about moving to Argentina, here in Brazil unfortunately even though gay marriage is legal here since 2013 homophobia is a very serious thing, also Brazil has a lot of religious fanatics and people just elected a homophobic evangelical priest as a mayor here in Rio, the situation for us gays here is really getting out of hands.

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    1. Hi! I'm glad you like the blog. I saw a documentary by actress Ellen Page called "Gaycation" and in one episode she went to Brazil. I had no idea that things were so bad for gays that some cops actually hunted and killed gays in Brazil. It broke my heart. I hope that one the world will become more accepting so that everyone can co-exist peacefully. Cordoba is not a huge gay mecca but you can be yourself. I would also recommend Buenos Aires. It's more expensive but they're even more accepting. Plus they hold Gay Pride Parades every year.

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