Wow, it’s been a long time since my last Coffee Talk.

If you’re new here, Coffee Talks is a new-ish series for just sitting down to chat. I don’t usually ramble on this blog, so this series is a chance to just tell you what’s on my mind.

Usually how this works is that I “set the scene”; help you imagine a cozy atmosphere to get us in the mood to share our thoughts…

Okay, so imagine we’re sitting in some trendy, exclusive coffee shop in a high level of a city building. Windows take up most of the walls, allowing customers to view the scenery and let sunlight in. Business is slow this early evening, so things are quiet. Just soft murmuring conversations and calming jazz playing. We have a spot near the window, a couple of comfy leather armchairs that squeak when you move. And it’s raining a bit, just a soft pattering against the window, enough to lull anyone to sleep. Our ceramic mugs of coffee warm our hands and fill the air with the earthy scent.

Take a slow, deep breath.

Calm? Good. 😉

Boy am I realizing how hard indie publishing is… I’m hoping to publish my superhero novel Embers (learn more about it here) in 2021. I’ve been researching A TON, creating a publishing plan, marketing and social media content plans, and a list of resources and services for when I’m ready to start the process. There’s so much work involved and I feel an intense admiration for the indies rocking their business.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how important Christian storytellers are to this world. Some may think that writing doesn’t really matter, that it doesn’t really make a huge impact. But I think that it does. Stories have a magical and powerful way to change someone. And God’s given us a passion for writing for a reason. I think writing does truly matter to this world. You truly matter. Maybe I’ll do a blog post on that. 😉

You know, there are a lot of things that can take away the joy of writing. I’ve been studying a lot about the business-side of writing, and it’s fascinating. But to be completely honest, sometimes all of that platform-building, email list-growing, productivity-managing stuff can make me forget why I write. I write because I love it and I can’t NOT do it. I write because God has given me a love for telling stories and a mission to impact people with it. There will be days when you don’t feel like writing, when you feel discouraged or unmotivated. Sometimes clearing away the clutter by remembering your WHY is all you need to get you going again. Even with my new series about learning how to treat writing like a business and building your platform before you get a book published, it’s so important to remember the foundation of what we do.

I want to do something a bit different for future Coffee Talks. I think it’d be fun to answer a few questions from you all. Doesn’t have to be writing or reading related, so just drop your random questions below and I will answer them in the next part of the series. 🙂 Depending on how many there are, I’m not sure if I can answer them all. But we’ll see…

Well… *sips coffee* I guess that’s it for now, folks. I think future Coffee Talks will be a bit longer, but I hope you enjoyed this. Thanks for joining me at this trendy city coffee shop. 😉 Feel free to share your thoughts with me! Have a lovely day, friends!

Okay, so what random questions do you have for me?

Also, what topics do you want to see me write posts about?