I’m a writer. And an author. A reluctantly published author. I’m disappointed with myself in that way. If I wasn’t reluctant to publish, I’d do it more. If I wasn’t reluctant to publish, I’d shout to the world that I love to write stores. If I wasn’t reluctant to publish, I’d share my stories far and wide. Continue reading
indie publishing
You’re Not Going to Believe This
In Section II, Fun Family Drama
No, you may not believe that I – a writer, an author, a consummate reader – rarely (as in hardly ever) read the reviews of my books. How gauche. How extremely weird. Or, you may say, how cowardly.
But when I wrote Flashes of Life (my latest, now a little over a year old) it was nearest and dearest to my writing heart because it’s …. memoir. Fortunately for my readers, it’s flash memoir, which means you can sit outside on the front porch in your rocking chair, and within five sips of your iced tea (or Diet Coke, or lemonade, or beer if it’s almost sunset) you’ll have finished one of my stories in this flash(y) compilation of my life’s anecdotes. 
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You Asked for It!
You asked for it.
I finally delivered.
The highly-reviewed book, The Right Wrong Man, is now available in paperback.
I’ve interviewed the person most affected by our book’s evolution, Meredith, a more interesting character than I, so to speak, who plays a pivotal role in the journey from e-book to paper.
First, as an introduction for those who have never met you, are you a hot person, or a cold one?
Oh, what a trick question! My boyfriend says I’m very hot (giggle), but if you’re talking about the weather and are familiar with my recent escapades to the Caribbean, I admit that despite the soft sultry warmth of those islands, I prefer the four wild unpredictable seasons of New England.
Wild and unpredictable New England weather.
Speaking of wild and unpredictable, how’s your story been received by the critics, as well as your friends and family?
Wow, that was quite a segue. My story, developed by PS Wight as The Right Wrong Man, ended up being researched, studied, and then 
committee-ed by the F.B.I, the C.I.A., and the D.E.A. since its publication in January, 2013. I’m amazed that my actions regarding my kidnapping and ultimate discovery of illegal drug running have caused so much reaction.
Really? Surprised? Your role in the case was pivotal in…
Excuse me, I mean I’m amazed at the readers’ reaction to the book. So many people who don’t know me (or my author) bought the e-book in droves, and the reviews of my story have been rewarding, to say it mildly. My family hasn’t exactly liked the way some of their secrets have been revealed, and my boyfriend is a bit worried about how the authorities have reacted, but overall, it’s been rewardingly successful.
Speaking of “your author,” as you have several times, what’s your take on her latest big news about your book?
The Kindle Edition.
OMG, PS Wight is just not technologically proficient, know what I mean? I wanted to jump out of the pages and help the poor woman. But I give her credit. So many of her friends and blog followers have begged her to publish The Right Wrong Man as a paperback for those who are not into e-reading. Personally, I agree with them (though I never share my thoughts with Wight– she has spent too many hours formatting and screaming obscenities – for a sweet woman, I was shocked at some of the words she used) and praying that she wouldn’t succeed when she attempted to throw her computer out of her window into the nearby waters of the SF Bay. What passion!
Are you happy to be in paper now ?
Ecstatic! I felt a bit ethereal, you know, with my story squished into the Kindle. Now I’m a white and black character full of print and potency. I can sit on your desk and be visible day and night! Although I’m certain some departments of the D.E. A. will try to confiscate any paperback editions hanging around their offices, I think this book will sell even faster than the e-book did. The story is a nail-biter (I’ve read it five times, and even though it’s about ME, I still hold my breath during every chapter).
Now available in softback!
Thanks for stopping by at Roughwighting, Meredith.
Oh, thanks for having me. Here is my question to your readers. Can you guess what TRMFY means?
To get the answer, and to enjoy Meredith’s wild and unpredictable adventure from Boston to the Caribbean, from one wrong man to the next, while helping discover a dangerous drug ring, hit the link here and visit The Right Wrong Man‘s Amazon page. Available now in softback, as well as e-book.
A Brave New World
O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t.
—William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act V, Scene I, ll. 203–205
Dare I quote Shakespeare while in the same sentence mention Indie Publishing, e-publishing, independent authors, self-published writers, Kindles, Nooks, I-pads, and more?
Darn right I dare.
Shakespeare was a daring writer, pushing convention, taunting enemies and hypocrites, creating love poems between lovers who should never ever be together.
Aldous Huxley used Shakespeare’s quote for his famous 1932 novel A Brave New World. Huxley was inspired by the novels of H.G. Wells (believe it or not, my favorite author when I was in middle school!) and Wells’ imaginings of the future, which tended to be positively gleeful of what was to come. Remember The Time Machine…? War of the Worlds…? The Invisible Man…? Fabulous books for a young girl with an immense imagination.
Okay, yes, somehow I’m connecting the dots between Shakespeare, H.G. Wells, Aldous Huxley, and Pamela Wight, self-publisher. See my rueful smile here?
But at this moment in time, we are living in a Brave New World. A century from now, readers and writers and publishers (if there still are any) will cite the beginning of the 21st century as a landmark time of changes in the way we read. In the choices of how and who we read.
As of 3:03 the afternoon of Tuesday, January 8, I became a published writer.
I didn’t use an agent. Nor a publisher.
I created my own publishing company – Near. Perfect. Press.
The company is very NEAR, in my own computer;
The idea of creating and sharing with the world in my own time and my own space is PERFECT;
And when I PRESS the keyboard, I can create words and characters and worlds and then, press, send it out to you and to you and to you.
A Brave New World
That’s not to say it’s easy, self-publishing, pushing the boundaries of the way things always have been, always were ‘meant to be.’
I toiled for years on my just-published book, The Right Wrong Man. My main character Meredith developed over the page (with the scribbling of a pen and the tapping of computer keys) through verbs and nouns and metaphors; through research on the police station in St. Thomas and the biting habits of the tarantula; through reading endless newspaper and magazine articles about drug cartels and the illegal trafficking of meth. Oh, and through draft 2 and draft 22.
And now I’m ready to share my novel, my work of inspiration and imagination, my years-long affair with Meredith and Parker and Gregory, and the story of The Right Wrong Man.
Please join me in my
brave
new
world,
which has such wondrous and beauteous people in it.
roughwighting 