“When what to my wondering eyes did appear…”

M-o-m, what? My Ben, age 11

This is my Ben, and when he sees this photo he’ll be rolling his eyes. And saying, “M-o-m,” as only a grown son can. This selfie was taken with his first digital camera. At age eleven, boys don’t care what they look like. That stupefied pose is deliberate.

Thing is, his expression mirrors how I’ve felt all week. When Darcy By Any Other Name was released on Kindle last Saturday, I could not wrap my brain around it. I’d been peering at the screen since 4:00 a.m, hunting for any last lingering typos in the manuscript, the kind spellcheckers cannot find. And reading instructions and filling in detailed information. Tax stuff and bank account numbers and prices–the kind of work that requires thinking.

You know when your eyes are strained to the dried-cement stage? Yeah, that. After twelve hours of fearful work–click the wrong thing and die! –I pushed the “Save and Publish” button, and my quiet world exploded.

There was my ebook–my own indie-published ebook–on Amazon. I’ve had three books traditionally published, but this was different. Everything is up to me! So I put up an almost laughable post at Facebook with the cover and a text link. Nothing swank or professional or even polished. Almost immediately people began buying.

People began BUYING my book!  Paying money for it, and then reading it. I know because reviews began to appear. Amazing reviews, thoughtful and well-written, from intelligent women. Tackling this book is no small feat (662 paper pages), even for a lightning reader like me.

How are people hearing about it? My social media friends. I have been too busy with a frantic school schedule to compose ads or tweets or anything. Facebook friends and Beyond Austen followers and lovers of Austen fiction have come to my rescue. Chautona’s blog review appeared Sunday night. Just Jane 1813’s review came up this morning. People I don’t even know are expressing excitement and are sharing my announcement post.

Ebooks continue to fly off the shelf. Here, I’ll show you.

The downward trend represents today’s numbers–so far. That line continues to rise.

It’s crazy. Money is coming IN instead of going out–a glorious change in this household. People say that Facebook is impersonal, but I have not found it so. One day the sales wave will crest and flatten out. But thanks to my social media friends, today is not that day.

Hey, there’s an ebook giveaway running at Just Jane 1813. To enter, post a reply before midnight, May 29, 2016.

And if you’d rather not wait? Here’s the link to Amazon. Because the experts say I’m supposed to ask for the sale.

Hat tip to A visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore