"I'm a writer," she said.

"What do you do?" asked the woman behind the counter after overhearing a conversation I was having about book sales.
"I'm a writer," I answered.
"O-o-o-h, how interesting. What do you write?"
"Romance novels."
"O-o-o-h, what kind?"
"Not that kind."

Some facsimile of this conversation has taken place many, many times. I thank Fifty Shades of Gray for the final question. Whenever I say "romance," erotica comes to mind. I don't write erotica. To put it plainly, I often say my books are five shades, if that. The frank statement elicits a head nod and a little smile. 

I'm a writer, and I also . . . is fast becoming, I'm a writer. Not quite fast enough for the woman who helps promote my books, however. The important part is I'm writing. Every day. I may take days off here and there, but I am committed to writing every day. After less than a week, I'm 20 percent into the next book in the Crested Butte series. There will be hiccups, and edit stages, and time to let it sit before it is released, but it's well on its way. 

I've gone from frustration to elation with my book sales. So many people I know who read my books, told me they "loved" them. Enough that I didn't think they were just being nice. In a conversation with my book promoter, I said, "I just wish more people would read them." Every author's wish, right?

Suddenly they're being read. I know this because of my Kindle Unlimited numbers, and reviews people are posting. Kindle Unlimited only shows up if a certain percentage of the book is read. 

With the sales surge this month, not just with the new release, but with all the books, I am convinced writing more books, continuing on this journey, is worthwhile. I don't think the methodology I'm using would work for everyone. I think it works for people who are prolific writers.

At our annual Christmas party, I got into a conversation with a couple who are following my journey as a writer. The husband had suggestions for people I should follow on Twitter, and one particular tweeter whose blog I might find interesting. The more he talked about this guy's insight and suggestions for self-publishing, the more I nodded my head. "I'm doing all that," I thought to myself, but didn't interrupt.

The wife who has read one of my books, and was part way through the second, asked questions about why I write what I write. I went into a lengthy explanation on how the Crested Butte Cowboy series came to be. And then I said, "My plan is to have a minimum of three books in one series, and at least two books in another series." The idea was to build readership, I had to prove I was worth investing in as an author. 

When FLY, the fourth book in the CBC series came out, I had a little bump in sales, but when  LINGER TWO came out (second book, second series), my sales really took off. Based on sales numbers, people who have read all four of the CBC books are now reading the LINGER series. I don't have proof of that, but it's a logical assumption. Thus, theory proven, or plan validated. 

I want to get one more CBC book out, finish out the LINGER series, and then introduce the third series of books I'm planning. As with anything, that plan is subject to change, on a daily or even hourly basis.