StellaMarie Alden: Ramblings of an Almost Published Author

Know what’s great about watercolor painting? It’s one of the few arts that you can’t agonize over and go back and fix. You either get it right on the first wash, or it’s wrong. Throw it out and try again. There’s something wonderfully freeing about that. I’m not a great illustrator, but I can make the paint run in a pleasing manner that makes people want to buy my scenes of the ocean.

Writing, however, is not like that. My God. I just finished my final edits for my first book, and already, in my head, I am screaming, “Wait. Wait. Give it back. That’s not quite right. I could’ve said that better. Damn. The better I get, the more I want to change it up.

Someone asked, why I didn’t wait for a bigger publisher, or self-publish? Why? Because I needed an external deadline. Someone to help me say, okay, you’re done. Fini. No more. Stop. Could it be better? No doubt. But it’s time to put it out there and start the next phase.

So now I wait. My editor will do my final edits and on May 6th, I will be a published author. Will anyone buy it? Will I feel any different? Or will my baby sit somewhere below 375,600 in the Amazon rankings?

But, in the way that only over-zealous overachievers will understand, I have studied marketing to the point I almost know too much. As soon as I have an ARC (advance review copy), I have a list of at least fifty review sites that I will submit to.
I have written and rewritten my blurb. I did yet another attempt this morning. But… is it good enough? Maybe I’ll rewrite it again tonight. Thanks for sharing in my angst.

About How to Train Your Knight
In 1276, in the hours just before dawn, blasphemous curses echo throughout a stone manor. A knife clatters to the floor and a feisty young widow is bound and blindfolded. The king could not possibly have sanctioned this farce of a marriage, could he? After all, she alone has transformed a few mud huts and starving serfs into a flourishing town. Abandon her beloved people to be ruled by an ignorant Templar knight? “Never,” she vows.

Winner of RWA’s “The Molly” and “Show Me the Spark” contests, this Medieval Romance will appeal not only to the historical buffs, but for anyone looking for an exciting voice with a new twist on an old tale.
Find me at www.stellamariealden.com

About StellaMarie Alden
Stella Marie Alden loves Zumba, yoga, watercolor painting, and all genres of romances,

Her first book won Romance Writers of America coveted Molly and Show me the Sparks Contests, and placed in the top three in four others. Truly remarkable, considering she’s only been writing for three years.

Growing up in Vermont, she loved to make up stories. Crayons fought each other over size and placement in their cardboard box and imaginary friends crowded the house. Her brother often complained. “Tell her no one’s here, Mother.”.

Her career paths have varied. She’s been a librarian, a classical clarinetist wanna-be, recording studio engineer, broadcast electronics repairman, and now she architects software programs. She lives in Bergen County, NJ with her life-long hero and their two cats. Her two girls are grown but ever supportive. You go Mom!