Because. It's almost release day!

Great Caesar’s Ghost! Where has the time gone? Sept. 18 has snuck up on me, and I have a book releasing tomorrow! That’s right. SPIRITED AWAY — and Spider, Noah, Charlie, Abbott and Costello — will finally be unleashed upon the world! Bwahahahaha!

But wait — that’s not all! Oh, no, I have been amiss in multiple ways, because, you know what else? SOMETHING WICKED is currently in a special promotion, and you can buy it for a limited time for only $1.99 at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, iTunes and other e-retailers. It usually goes for $6.64, people. So $1.99 is a HUGE discount.

That’s the good news. And it is good news, people. Go buy these books. Not just because I want you to buy them, but because I feel pretty confidant they are good books. Why? Because. Go buy them.

Because now, the bad news.

I’m gonna get real for a second. It hasn’t been the best summer for me. It really, truly hasn’t. I won’t bore you with the details of the wreck I had with an uninsured driver back in June, or the layoffs at the day job (I squeaked by — whew!). Or my dad’s heart surgery. Or the multiple trips to the vet with my cat, Dusti. Or the fact I came thisclose to a free trip to Nashville and interviewing Reese Witherspoon, only to have circumstances yank that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity out from under me, or… REESE WITHERSPOON! I mean...come on, now.

So, you get the idea. Point is, I’ve been soldiering on the way Sam and Dean or Katniss would want me to, but I think it’s all catching up with me now and I just feel…defeated. Maybe discouraged is a better word. Yeah, I’m feeling discouraged.

For example, I have no idea if anyone will buy SPIRITED AWAY because I have had the devil of a time promoting it, and I really love this book. I suck at promotion. I really do. Not to mention, it’s tough to compete with all of the amazing other books now releasing. Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother.

True story.

Well, I bother because I do, and I will. It kind of sucks to be down in the dumps for a reason you can’t really describe on the day before your favorite book that you’ve written gets published. But there it is.

By the way, Wicked Little Pixie is running a series on its blog this month where authors get real and share their experiences with depression and other issues in observance of Mental Health Awareness. I’m not the only one feeling a little blue, and it’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of, or else I wouldn’t be sharing it with you. With all three of you who might actually read this.

Sorry. *swats away the negativity* I really don’t like negativity, so I’m not going to stay this way for long. Besides, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” releases soon (even though I am pretty sure that one is going to make me cry, so what?).

And also, Henry Cavill looks like this.

See? Things aren’t so bad after all.  

Soldier on, people. And check back Friday when I bring my Fun Friday Q&As back from the dead. It's going to be awesome!