Hi Friend!

Fall is in its full glory here in West Michigan. The temperature has been so lovely, the leaves are changing color and yesterday morning, a full double rainbow crossed the sky. Despite everything going on in the world, it's pretty beautiful time of year to be alive.

It's Spooky Season

I don't love Halloween. I grew up in a family where we turned off all the lights and hid in the basement watching basketball games on Halloween night. I don't like to be jump-scared. I'm not a fan of gore or creepy things.

When it comes to books, I generally steer away from the Horror section.

But every now and then, I do enjoy a creepy book. This month, I am very excited to jump into a book called Winterset Hollow by Jonathon Edward Durham.

I am very excited about this book for a few reasons.

1) The author is a fabulous presence on the socials. He's funny, irreverent and entertaining. And I really appreciate that.

2) The journey of this book is inspiring to me. He first self-published this book with Credo House, the same publishers I used. And a few copies went out into the world. Someone wrote an astonishing review of it on a very popular reddit (or the like) and it suddenly became a best seller. The author was contacted by a traditional publisher who wanted to publish it through the traditional market...and here it sits in my hand. (This is my absolute dream scenario).

3) It's my spooky season book for the year.

4) Imagine that you loved the book Watershed Down and knew it was a fictional story--except you went to the countryside where it was set and discovered that it was not, in fact, fiction. That's the premise of this book and I LOVE IT!!

I'll let you know what I think.

Do you ever challenge yourself to read outside your preferred genres? What do you push yourself to read (every now and then)?

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A Gentle Reminder

Did you know I've got a published book out in the world? Have you read it yet?

Well, you can learn more about it here: The Unfortunate Life of Genevieve Ryder and you can purchase your own copy on my website or on Amazon.

Buy a paperback on my website

Purchase a paperback on Amazon

Purchase an E-book on Amazon

If you have read it and you enjoyed it, would you tell a friend about it? Pass on your copy? Buy one for them? Talk about it in your book club? Leave a review on Goodreads? Any of these things would be most welcome.

On the Road to a Writing Career

This has been a busy month as I continue on the path to have a viable career in writing someday. (Let's be honest, is there really a career where you don't have to do some learning and growing before you're ready for it to be your profession? Writing is definitely that way.)

I've been doing a lot:

On the Marketing front, I've updated my website (Sammybeuker.com) (and been posting a ton on the socials). It's really pretty now. Take a look and let me know what you think. (I'm thinking of re-launching the blog, would you enjoy reading more from me?)

On the Writing front, I've hired a developmental editor for a final go-through of my middle grade manuscript, currently called Rules of Survival. I'm excited (and nervous) to hear what she has to say and to do the final touches to make it all sparkly and ready for submission. I'm making my list of agents to submit to and polishing my query letter. I still haven't decided how many rejections to go for this time around. For the Unfortunate Life of Genevieve Ryder, I settled on 40 rejections. Should I shoot for more on this one? (As an author I admire always says, "It just takes one yes." It's just a question of how many "nos" I want to put up with.)

Visit Sammy's Website

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Thanks for taking the time to read (or skim) my newsletter. Your life and inbox are full. I do not take for granted your time or being my friend.

Blessings,

S

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