It's out

The Hidden Auditorium was a hard novel to write. The research alone took months. The writing of it went through several phases, because of the choices and options that kept presenting themselves.

Now that the novel has passed all stages of production, which - as an indie author - I have had to plan, execute, and manage myself, I am exhausted. There is hardly energy left to promote its release.

I had magnificent, generous help in the creation of this new novel, my fourth. My partner in life and first reader was as ever insightful and brilliant, hacking out of my first poor efforts for story and plot a very interesting angle which evolved into a cogent and clever whole. Using that plan, I worked hard and tried a few new methods of creation. Some worked, others were discarded for old habits.

My handful of beta-readers were sharp, observant, and revealed how well they know my writing. Without them, The Hidden Auditorium would not be as nicely-detailed or free from the small flaws any author fails to see in their own work.

Gratitude and appreciation go to my editor Shane McCauley, who spent hours reading, thinking, and marking the manuscript. His wide cultural knowledge, love of music, and especially his grasp of the underlying premise of the novel, were invaluable. Nothing beats first-hand knowledge of locations, subject matter, and fundamental culture, so I feel my selection of editor succeeded on all these aspects. Then there is the matter of language usage ... no author can claim to know it all, which is where a good editor is needed. The Hidden Auditorium reads so well only because Shane had a hand in it.

So it's out, available ... there. What remains to be seen is how readers take it on. The first few reviews will tell.

If you are an author, please share the feelings that arise when you first release a new novel.

If you're a reader, have you ever paid mind to what might go through an author's mind when they publish a new book?