How's it Going?

So we had a book release for The Unfading Lands on April 3rd. We are now almost three weeks in and much has continued to happen. So I thought I would update you on what is actually going on and some of the cool things that have happened thus far. :)

Kicking off on April 3rd, we had an incredible jump start! People from all over the world, literally... bought my book. As the numbers rolled in, it was amazing to see where people were located and where The Unfading Lands was most popular. I have to admit I was quite surprised. Turns out, people in the UK were pretty excited about it. haha. It was so amazing to see the book go global. For a small town East Texas girl, the idea of people in Europe, Australia, and even Africa reading my book seemed so out of reach... but come to find out it wasn't. Blows my mind a little bit and puts a small little giddy butterfly in my stomach just thinking about it. So thank you for that! 

By day four of the release, we had hit the Amazon Hot 100 New Releases for Epic Fantasy! HOT 100!!!! In ALL of Amazon!!! Are you kidding me?! I cannot tell you how I felt in that moment. I know I've done a blog post over it, but I fear words just cannot describe how excited I was to see this happening. Not only did it happen once. It continued to happen. Four times. #90. #76. #77. #97. From that, I received a huge boost in sales and ebook downloads, and again, it was amazing to see how many and where they were from. 

---

My first book promotional gig was to be Four Square Friday in Uvalde, Texas. I set up outside a cool clothing store called Huntston's Clothing Company and was able to meet and greet several people. The local newspaper had printed an article about me the day before, so most people recognized me from that, and that was a cool feeling. I have only lived in the South Texas area for about 2 1/2 years, so to branch out and do something locally here was a big step. I knew people wouldn't exactly know who I was, but with the newspaper and Four Square, I believe I'm getting there. My sister came down to help with the launch and it was fun. Our teamwork with the book, my words, her cover design... it was a cool moment for me for us to launch it together. 

After Four Square I continued working with online promotion, and for the next few days I continued to hit goals I had dreamed about but never really vocalized for fear of sounding outlandish. haha. That following Wednesday I packed up and headed to Galveston, Texas, with hopes of escaping the craziness a bit and for some quiet time to work on book 2 in the series. However, during the first week of my book release I was asked to be a part of an anthology of short stories (what I explained in last week's blog post). That deadline loomed before me faster than my deadline for book 2 of The Unfading Lands, so I decided it would be best for me to get started on that first. So I did. I completed that story, and it was approved and finalized this week for the anthology. If the Shoe Fits by Katharine E. Hamilton will be grouped with 26 other amazing stories, and the anthology is aimed to be released in December. :) That project in itself was a fun and new challenge for me as well. I finally felt like a real writer, contributing to such a project. ;) 

While in Galveston, I darted over to Houston on April 18th, for MenilFest at the Menil Collection museum in Montrose. I spent the day with fellow Indie Authors talking about our books and meeting new readers. It was fun. Plus, my bestie, Yvette, came out and joined me to help. Despite the dreary weather there was a great turn out and I was able to meet some pretty awesome people. I also was able to book my spot for the Texas Book Festival in the month of October... which I did not think I qualified to attend, but found out I actually could. So I will now be adding that to the calendar of events for the month of October. :)
After Houston, I came back home and have been resting from all the craziness. :) But I have not slowed down in regards to book promotion. This week, I hope you guys check me out on several websites. :)

www.nicolefaithhill.blogspot.com 
www.morgenbailey.wordpress.com
http://www.uvaldeleadernews.com/node/2621
http://books.txauthors.com/category-s/2181.htm
http://www.indieauthornews.com/2015/04/indie-author-interview-katharine-e-hamilton.html

As more happens, I will let you know. I am currently booking events for the remainder of this year and even next year already! So please let me know if there is an event you may have and might want me there! :)

---