Daryl Leonardo's Blog - Posts Tagged "selfpublished"

I JUST finished writing my second novel.
I could cry. I'm so happy.

Please excuse me. That is all.

This weekend marks the first year anniversary of my debut novel, drown. The kindle ebook went live on December 3, 2020 and the paperback became available on December 4, 2020.

It’s crazy to think that it’s already been a year since I put this story out there at an “official” capacity. And to see how well it’s done and has been doing has been quite the ride. Especially considering the fact that I am self published and have been struggling to build an audience for myself for years.

You know, I didn’t set out to become a writer. I was just a would-be actor who couldn’t land an audition, much less book a book a job, and I was hoping to create an opportunity for myself. I had a story I wanted to tell that I put a lot of myself into and writing it into a book seemed to be the most accessible way to get it out there. And I’m so glad that I did.

Since putting out drown, I’ve had a number of people reach out to me through social media to tell me how much the story resonated with them. I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with people — writers and readers alike — who’ve become friends to me via online messaging. I’ve even been able to pay down a credit card — which I promptly spent — using royalties. Like, that’s crazy.

So, with all that being said, I just want to say thank you. For years, I felt it in my bones that this story would be the thing that would finally help me launch some sort of career, and in a way, it did. I may not be a “Best Seller” and I don’t make a whole lot of money from the book, but I have people reading my work and looking forward what I put out next. People are paying attention and for that, I will forever be grateful.

It's called 'silver boy'
It comes out March 11, 2022
Kindle Pre-orders are available on Amazon.
Paperback Pre-orders are available on Barnes & Noble's website.

I wanted to make a more fun announcement about it on here rather than just having it pop without word. I just wish I knew how the heck to do html formatting on this thing because it would've been so cool to post a picture! Oh well. That's what social media's for, I suppose.