For my writing, I’ve only ever envisioned providing the type of story that I love to drop into. I imagined establishing myself as part of a relatively small world called fantasy fiction. Many who enjoy my books are not fantasy readers. They need only love getting lost in a story with compelling characters and enticing settings, with a complex enough plot and a sense of learning new things, encountering unique, surprising elements. Magical stitchery and weaving, mind powers that heal or transport, in a context with characters they believe in, can become acceptable and even thrilling for any reader. For those who already love fantasy, I enjoy bringing some familiar, well-loved tropes into a world of my own making.

When I set out to write to this topic, I reflected on doubts that can plague an indie-writer. Last night I wrote about a therapist-dream group leader who challenged me, “Why don’t you get your work edited and publish it traditionally?” I didn’t want to defend to her that I hold my work to very high editing standards. I didn’t fancy explaining to her that I grew tired of playing the game of gatekeepers, trying to get an agent, and turned my energy to making good books.

This morning, the image you see above appeared in Facebook and I said to myself, “There’s my answer!” What I love most about self-publishing is taking part in my indie-author community and, most of all, creating worlds others can step into and relish. I don’t suggest that people throw their work onto the market before they hone their craft. That’s sad not only for the world but for the inner qualities they’ll miss developing along the way, through writing groups or whatever boot camps push them to do their finest work. It took me ten years to finish the first two books in my Braided Dimensions series, only a little over one to write the third, which is about to come out.