Last fall I left my publisher in order to self-publish. The last book in my Seattle Lumberjacks football series came out in November 2014. It killed me to walk away from the series of my heart, but there are times when a person has to make the painful choices in order to further their career. There are many reasons why I chose to self-publish, the biggest of all being control–absolute, complete control over my destiny, my books, and my career. I had come to realize I could do this publishing thing better than any publisher I’d had to date. In fact, not only was I savvier than most of my former publishers, but no one would care about my books as much as me, the author, would. That sounded a bit like something for the Football wish list, except for the fact that it had no connection for football.
I have not regretted my decision for even one tiny second. Going indie is tons of work with lots of rewards and some bumps along the way, but they’re bumps of my creation, not my publisher’s. One year ago, my indie Game On in Seattle series debuted with a hockey romance, Skating on Thin Ice, followed by four other hockey romances. I introduced a set of three estranged brothers who play professional sports, one hockey, baseball, and football in Melting Ice, the story of the oldest brother to be followed by stories of the other two brothers.
While I’ve come to love my Sockeyes, Football still holds the number one spot in my heart, and I couldn’t wait to introduce the world to my new football team, the Seattle Steelheads. You might wonder why I chose to set a second football team in Seattle. Two reasons, really, One: I’m a life-long resident of Washington state, and I LOVE Seattle, and TWO: I work a full-time job in addition to my writing so the more I can cut down on my research time, the better. Placing my team in a new town would have required a ton of research and less time to write. So the Steelheads were born.
Soon to follow will be the Seattle Skookums baseball team. Two weeks ago, Tanner Wolfe in Blindsided became my new quarterback as I rolled out my first Steelhead football romance. While Tyler Harris from the old series will always hold a special place in my heart, Tanner has his own set of unique issues, including being the middle brother of the triad mentioned above. I will continue to write what I love, which is sports romances with damaged bad boys and the strong women who heal them. I hope you’ll join me as I continue my publishing journey. Follow your dreams and take chances. I did, and I’m happy I did.
