Now that Chasing Tales is complete, I am moving it to Booksurge, where I can work more effectively with Amazon.com and distribution. We plan to release future titles annually through La Familia Publishing (because I might as well start a small press while I am at it, right?). It is a small operation, and I just love it.

The reason I have done all this is because I love to learn. Obsessively. I wrote Chasing Tales to learn what it would be like to write a book, and when it was finished, I realized I would never really feel complete unless I understood how to publish it as well. Some people make decisions based on money or time. I make decisions based on my desire to learn something new.

Is self-publishing harder then going the traditional route? I don’t have an answer to that. Harder or easier is relative. To me, sitting around waiting for others to get work done is much harder than just doing it myself. So I guess for me this is easier.

Would I recommend self-publishing to others? Most certainly; it is a wonderful opportunity to really understand the life that surrounds your book. I think it pushes you to be a better writer because you understand more about what you are doing and who you are trying to reach. Plus, if you can’t believe in yourself enough to put yourself out there, then why expect anyone else to believe in what you’re doing?

LA: There are a lot of characters in your book, and readers may recognize themselves in them. Are they based on people you know? How about Leanne? Is she you?

LRW: This is a fun game to play. A lot of people want to know the answer to this question. Truth is, they are all like me and yet none of them are me. Depending on the day or the hour, I relate to a different one more or less. I will say that Leanne isn’t the character most like me on most days.

LA: What preparation did you go through to get to a point where you felt you could publish your book? Did you seek out formal training? Work with an editor? What was your process? How long did it take, how many drafts?