Have you caught Olympic fever? I have, and a mighty bad case of it too. I can't resist watching these athletes and their magnificent performances. And the US has so many outstanding athletes - in swimming, gymnastics, and track and field, to name just a few - that I find myself glued to the TV every night and checking results on my phone throughout the day, often to the detriment of my to do list.
One item on that list was to publish my epic swim novel Swim Season in Spring 2016 and heavily market and promote it during these Olympics. I've been working on the book for almost five years, and its progress has been interrupted repeatedly by my repetitive strain injuries and more recently a family medical crisis. I was in the final editing stages and working on a production schedule when that erupted, and once again I came to a full stop and had to shelve my plans. Sadly I realized I would not meet my goal.
As the crisis passed and life became more manageable, I revisited my project and realized the book was almost done. And the Olympics were on their way. Not all was lost. I could launch the book during the Games with Amazon Kindle preorders and promote it while the world was focused on the toughest, most competitive swimming races in the sport.
It's not the launch I planned, but it seemed foolish to let this opportunity pass when I was so close.
So, Swim Season is now available for preorder on Amazon Kindle. The official release date is November 1st. I'm experimenting with Kindle Select the first 3-6 months, so publishing on other digital platforms - iBooks, Kobo, and Nook - will be on hold until the results are in. I'm not in favor of limiting myself to just one platform but I'm curious to see if being Kindle exclusive and in Kindle Unlimited has any benefits. I'll be sure to tell you how it all works out and if/when the book will be available on other platforms. I'll publish the paperback version sometime between now and then. And an audiobook will be forthcoming in 2017.
Swim Season is a Young Adult (YA) novel suitable for ages 12 and up. It's a Clean Indie Read (CR4U) free of sexual content, profanity, and violence. Perfect for family reading.
You can read the first two chapters here.
To preorder Swim Season please visit its Amazon page.
Books and their authors do not become successful on their own. It takes a ton of dedicated fans and friends to move them along. You can support me and this book by joining my street team. Members help promote the book on social media and through personal contacts. Each member will receive a free copy - digital or paperback - and other assorted swag when available. To sign up send me an email at mariannesciucco@gmail.com with your mailing address so I can send you an official Swim Season bookmark as a thank you. And follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Retweet, repost and share my news. Remember to tag me so I can thank you properly.
Reviews on launch day are like gold. Request an advance copy and be one of the first to post a review. Simply drop me a line at mariannesciucco@gmail.com and I'll send you a digital copy to read on your PC, laptop, tablet, or phone. Comments, especially the constructive, critical kind, are welcome. We all make mistakes and if you spot a typo, grammar issue, or structural problem please let me know.
And thanks for following me on this journey. So many times I wanted to give up, but my love for the sport and the voices of Aerin and her teammates on the Two Rivers Trailblazers swim and dive team would not let me quit. They've got a terrific story that will resonate with swimmers and swim fans and with sports lovers as well. Who doesn't love a great race?
So happy to finally start the next chapter of Swim Season!
Why did I write a novel about girls varsity swimming? Here's the interview. Disclaimer: this video was produced in 2014 and some aspects of the story discussed (i.e. 1979 was changed to 1989) and part of my marketing plans have changed (see above.)
