When I first began writing I envisioned publishing my book and going on signing tours around the country. Granted this was nearly 12 years ago, when such a thing was a common occurrence. But as technology has evolved, so has the concept of publicity, and subsequently book tours. Thus my first tour is virtual.

It is a strange experience as I go from blogger site to blogger site to leave comments and replies to people’s posts as oppose to thanking them in person. Once more, the comments are mostly about how nice the cover looks. I doubt many, if any, will even bother to pick up a copy (be it physical or electronic).

I honestly don’t blame them though. There is far too many options out there for them to take the time to look at samples. I doubt even the bloggers themselves have bothered to look at the content. I am slightly peeved at those who don’t even put the excerpts of the book on their sites or use the teasers my team so diligently made (They are quite spectacular after all). I mean, come on! Could be bother to add a couple of paragraphs?

I guess my biggest complaint is the more I see the words “great cover” the less I feel people actually give a damn. Just as I feel less inclined to say “Thanks” simply because it feels less authentic to me and I care about authenticity. Perhaps the fault does lie with me and my innocent beliefs.

In any case, I will continue to travel the blog sites thanking those who I feel mean it and hoping that I might connect with some “authentic” people along the way. Without being able to look them in the eye, that is the most I can hope for.

Yet another stark realization along this road called self-publication.

For those who are interested, you can find the excerpt to Clarity here. And stick around to see what else the site has to offer. You might be impressed.