I started this blog to share the process of a writer’s life. That includes the triumphant moments as well as the missteps and my-bad moments. My last post, on offering The Light Never Lies for a 99 cent sale on Amazon.com, turned out to be one of the less-than-stellar moments.

I made a quick decision to try the sale option because the book was about to come out of the Amazon Select program. Decide in haste, regret at leisure, as the old saying states. I didn’t plan for success by making effective use of social media networks. This was partially because I thought something would go wrong. Perhaps that was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I anxiously checked the Amazon.com site at 8:00 a.m. (PST) on the day of the sale to see if the book was listed for 99 cents. It was not. I checked often and at no time during the 16 hours that The Light Never Lies was supposed to be on sale did I see that it was. Because I couldn’t see the sale price advertised, I didn’t promote through my own social media network.

The best that can be said of the whole situation is that it was nothing lost, nothing gained. I’m still not sure what went wrong as the help staff over at Amazon have chalked the whole thing up to a network latency issue which delayed the start of the promotion. Apparently these latency issues happen. (Like do-do, perhaps?)

The lesson learned is that I need to read the fine print more finely. Things probably didn’t work because the end of my 90 days in the Amazon select program was so close and I tried to rush my way into a sale, no doubt inviting latency.

Anyway – The Light Never Lies is now out of the Amazon Select program and I have just completed the process of putting it up on Kobo. The Kobo self-publishing site is fairly streamlined and user-friendly. My epub file and my cover went up in no time. I had a problem entering my bank information but the front-line helpers were quick to give me instructions to solve that issue. I am working on loading up to Nook and it is proving a bit more of a challenge. I ran into problems every time I reached the part where I declare I am not a US citizen. For some reason, Canada is not an option when it comes to living outside of the US. Maybe I should move to the UK. I’ve always wanted to see London and travel in Scotland.

My time with my granddaughters is flying by in an enjoyable whirl. Brit, the nearly three-year-old is very independent these days. She is often heard to say, “I do it all be self.” Kindergarten Emma broke her arm two weeks ago. It was due to an odd landing from a fall off of a very small play structure. When I think of the heart attacks I’ve nearly had as she scrambled to the top of heights much higher, I’m glad I didn’t witness the event. The cast came off today but her poor little arm is still sore.

Before I finish, I must mention how sad I felt yesterday when I heard that one of Canada’s best known writers, Farley Mowatt had died. I can remember reading his book, Owls in the Family, to both my kids when they were little. He was 92 and that is a long life. He has left us with the wonderful legacy of his stories but the world seems a bit less bright without him.

There you have it, folks – a writer’s process for another day. I have three more stops on the blog tour to share in the next couple of weeks and then I’ll have the fun of wading through all the comments to see who the lucky two winners of the softcover copies of The Light Never Lies, will be.