Conversations With Joy Ward (My Latest Interview on "Marked Territory")

Way back when I first started this blog I warned folks that I'd occasionally just talk about something that's going on in my career, or with one of my new releases. This is one of those weeks. And given that I'm currently attempting to get several flocks of ducks into parade formation, and an interview I've been waiting to drop for a while finally went up, I wanted to share this with all my readers out there!

For folks who aren't in the know, Eric Flint's Ring of Fire Press published my last novel Marked Territory, and this is an interview I did a few months ago talking about what I was up to, what was coming out, and where things were likely to go from here concerning my output. And while at the time of the interview I was only about 56k into the sequel (whose name shall go unspoken for now), I can tell you that it is currently complete!

And, as always, if you haven't subscribed to my weekly newsletter yet, consider doing that so you don't miss any updates!

For Folks Who Want To See More

There is one other thing I wanted to address this week, since this is my Business of Writing installment. Because we all know that the best way to support an author is to buy their books (and the second best way is to go to their Patreon and pledge, which you can do at The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page if you feel so inclined). However, when we're talking about individuals who are writing a series, and when that series is going through a more traditional publisher, this becomes even more important.

Publishers, like any business, want to make money. So while quality of the book is always going to be a consideration, there are lots of well-written, imaginative, interesting, insightful books out there that just don't move copies. And if you want to write a sequel to a book that underperformed, that's going to be a very tough sell to your editors since they're obligated to keep at least one eye on the company's bottom line.

It sold how many copies last quarter? Eeeeeeh...

I say this because I really like Leo as a character, and I'd like to write at least a few more of his adventures. And minor spoiler, I introduced a really fun character in the sequel that I think I could get some spin-offs out of if folks are really behind it... but I won't be able to make that a reality unless I've got the sales numbers on my side.

That's where you come in.

If you like novels about cats, noir mysteries, or both, go buy yourself a copy of Marked Territory. If you already have a copy, leave a rating and a review on any site you can (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, I'm not picky!). If you can't afford a copy, or it's not your jam but you still want to help, share a link on your social media. Recommend it to your friends, toss it onto Twitter, let your aunt with the two Maine coon cats know this should be something she should take a look at.

There's only so many times I can share links to my own work (without getting kicked out of Facebook groups and banned from subreddits, anyway), so I sort of depend on readers like you to help me spread the word. And if you're really looking for something fun and different to ride out the pandemic with until it's time to get your shot, I think you could do a lot worse than walking down Leo's alley and following him on his debut novel.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!