For me, the trickiest thing about being a writer is being a writer. I am a cellist – or was – until a rare neurological disorder ended my career. The shadow my illness cast was long, and my confidence in trying something new was short.
Fast forward.
Two years have passed and I’ve met life’s challenges head on. My first novel, Abyss of Chaos, is a fun action/adventure supernatural thriller with mercurial wit. The story begins with cellist Maxwell Sinclair, and his aging archeologist godfather, Dr. Phineas Monroe vacationing in Aksum, Ethiopia. When caught in the crossfire of a terrorist attack on the Old Treasury Building (the supposed resting place of the Ark of the Covenant), the route to safety leads inside. There, the Guardian of the Ark of the Covenant presents Max and Phineas with a prophecy from the Book of the Glory of Kings connecting them to the Ark. Now, it’s a race against time and the forces of evil, which threaten no less than the very fabric of reality.
Fun stuff, except the “very fabric of reality” threatens to “very bury” my book’s visibility on the great plains of promotion. Enter Facebook, something I’d previously always resisted. After all, Facebook never helped me play more in tune. Nevertheless, I took a chance with the “add,” “friend,” and “like” buttons.
I’m glad I did.
Using a simple mass email to a thousand Facebook contacts landed my author page launch (http://davidbeem.wordpress.com) on Wordpress’ fastest growing blogs, proving it’s never too early to begin promoting your work. I was adding FB friends even while creating the first draft of Abyss – friends who are now my base readership as I take my first steps into a new and exciting industry. Better, if a newbie like me can do it – so can you!
- David Beem is the author of the forthcoming novel, Abyss of Chaos (to be released in September). For more information, check out his website: http://davidbeem.wordpress.com.
John's Comments: Finally a Facebook success story I can believe in - and act upon!
