April 9, 2018

This is What My Brain Looks Like

When Wildwood came out last year, a promise rested in the back pages for a 'sequel' and since then, The Ghost of Iris Carver has been creeping along at a snail's pace. Because I intended it to be a short novella, I let it drift a little, not giving it the attention it deserved until I slipped away with one of my Writer's Jam girls for a writing retreat getaway in January. The story fell out of me as I sat in front of the fire in that Inverhuron cottage. It was quick and clumsy, but I left there with a draft—which I whipped into something semi-complete and sent it out to a handful of beta-readers who returned rich, insightful comments and suggestions to help me bring it to its full potential.

Late Friday night, my sister sent me a link to a Facebook post from someone looking for a few more vendors at their annual craft show. I followed through, contacted the organizer, and secured myself a spot.

For May 5.

I'd be foolish if I didn't use that as a launch platform for Iris Carver.

I'd had a rough idea for a release date. I thought end of May/beginning of June was an okay goal. Because it's not a novel, I didn't feel the need for all the fuss (and by fuss I mean the incredible experience) of a full launch party, so I wasn't working towards a big end... more of a la-di-da, I'll get to it when I get to it.

But now...



I have a definite release date and the pressure is on.

Because of the recent stat holidays (since I work for a church I got both Friday AND Monday - yay!) I received the gift of long, uninterrupted hours of focused attention on my manuscript—so much so, in fact, that at one point my whole body started to vibrate because I WAS STARVING! I was so tuned in to what I was doing that it was almost 3pm before I realized I'd put nothing in my belly but that half pot of coffee early in the morning. That is poor self-care! Don't do that!

I am nothing if I'm not a hero under pressure. I love a deadline and realize that's what was missing from my Iris Carver journey before now. 

Now she's the ghost who keeps me up at night. (See what I did there?)

I'm three drafts deep after working through all the feedback from my beta-readers, and I feel like it's shaping into something really beautiful. My desk may look like a mess, but trust me, this is progress. Worry about me when my work space isn't chaotic—that's when we really have a problem!

If you want to give me a little bump of encouragement, you can pre-order your print copy of The Ghost of Iris Carver right here and I'll send a signed copy to you the week of May 7. If Kindle is your thing, you can pre-order through Amazon for just 99¢ and it will arrive on your device promptly on May 5! I know, it's a steal!! The price will go up on release day, so grab it while it's hot!


THE GHOST OF IRIS CARVER
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If you need some convincing, Kingston author, Geraldine Mac Donald has said:

If there were ever any doubt in my mind about Alanna Rusnak's extraordinary talent, she has fully eradicated any uncertainty with her latest novella, 'The Ghost of Iris Carver'. Not only was she able to create deeply engaging characters and bring them fully to life on the page, but she was equally capable of expertly placing them into a conceptual labyrinth and conceal them just behind the venerable, sacred, fourth wall.

My advice to you, the reader, would be: buy, borrow, or steal* a copy of The Church in the Wildwood and familiarize yourself with the small town world of Fallmoore and the tragic (yet lovable) character of Iris.

I'm looking forward to launching another title into the world, and I really hope you'll be there to celebrate with me!




*Please don't steal.
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