Exposed... Launched February 27th!

Available at Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords to name a few

I don't know if there is anything quite as exhilarating or as emotionally exhausting as the launch of a first book. The leap into the depths of this pool was a hesitant, wobbly, flailing mess if I am honest. I wanted to have someone see it, I wanted to be brave and just sling it out there, but I feared the rebuke, I loathed the perceived rejection, I hesitated to accept criticism...

Isn't that the juxtaposition of a new author? That overwhelming desire to tell a story and then the reluctance to have that part of the mind exposed for all to see? (Snort! What a time for a pun...) While I wanted to launch my novel out into the universe, I also wanted to hide it away, get one more friendly set of eyes on it, assure myself with one more platitude that it was "good," "well written," "a fun read."

In the end, what sent me into the open air of the internet was, of all things, a rejection letter. Yes... That's right. A rejection letter, a year after submission, made me brave enough to say, "What the hell have I got to lose?" To be fair, it was the nicest rejection I have received to date and it was from one of the most influential women in the industry I thought I was writing in. Here... Look for yourself:

Dear (Sterling),​Thank you very much for submitting your book Exposed to Ellora's Cave last year. I am terribly sorry it has taken so long for anyone to reply. 

First off, let me say that Exposed is an excellent story, well-written with interesting, three-dimensional characters, and a strong, emotional plot. Presley's journey from tightly controlled narcissist to emotionally connected and caring woman is a fascinating and unique one. 

It is not, I'm sorry to say, an Ellora's Cave book. Our books either have a strong romance story line, or in our Exotica line, focus on a more sexual story line. Presley's story doesn't fit into either one of those categories, and I suspect our readers wouldn't quite know what to do with it. I'm going to have to pass. 

I wish you all the best with your writing and publishing endeavors. I do hope you'll send us something else in the future. I'd like to read more of your writing.

Thanks again,
Elisabeth R. NelsonManaging EditorEllora's Cave Publishing Inc.

While I might have reacted in defeat, my instant response was to be enlightened and encouraged. I don't fit into a traditional type of writing format. It explains the reasons why I have struggled to find a spot in the traditional publisher's game, but it doesn't mean that I am a bad writer! Pretty awesome indeed.

I have thought long and hard about what this means, and I am still working through that... But in the meantime, I have a book out there in the wide, wonderful world and that counts for something!

Feel free to download a copy from your preferred vendor below:

Smashwords
Amazon
Apple
Barnes and Noble

Thank you for your time... I value it above all other things you give.
Sterling