May Newsletter

I crossed a huge publishing milestone last week when I signed off on what are known as the second pages for my book “The Campaign,” the final installment in The Council Trilogy. This is when the manuscript has been proofread and formatted to become the interior of the printed novel. Our heroine, Olivia, is running a campaign to elect a woman president of the United States, and her quest will threaten the balance of good and evil in the universe. (That is just another day on the job for the folks at The Council.) Special advance copies for reviewers should be ready in a few weeks, and then we are off to the races on publicity ahead of its September publication.

Like so many things connected with my writing, completing that task was simultaneously momentous and anticlimactic. Momentous because the book is finished and ready for the world. But now the book is finished, and so is the trilogy. My favorite part of writing is the newness of the effort when the story and its characters are just beginning. I always feel a little let down when I’m finished and it's time to say goodbye to a group of people I have come to know so well.

Then there is the marketing of the book. I work in PR for a living, so you would think that promoting my books would be easy. But you would be mistaken. My publicists tell me the kinds of hard truths that I tell my clients for a living, like the fact that the middle book—and maybe even the third book—in most trilogies are nothing-burgers as far as the world of book marketing is concerned.

Generating publicity through traditional media pitches is difficult in today’s publishing marketplace, so I partly rely on a so-called street team, a group of literary influencers across the US and abroad who volunteer to read and review my books. If you want to join the team, please email me at evette.davis@gmail.com. Luckily, good news has been rolling in despite the sticky middle gear we find ourselves in.

I’m pleased to report that “The Gift” won First Place in the prestigious Shelley Chanticleer International Book Awards for Paranormal Fiction. “The Others” won the 2024 Best Book Awards Winner for Fantasy Fiction and the 2024 International Book Awards Winner in Fantasy Fiction. Fingers crossed, “The Campaign” will garner similar awards. It would be nice to refer to the three books as an “award-winning” trilogy. Things are trending in a positive direction. “The Campaign’s” first review came in at five stars recently, which is encouraging.

Now, as we enter the fifth month of this strange year, we move on to something that is not so encouraging. Every institution is under attack. Things we have come to rely on have been erased or diminished. The Visigoths have sacked our capital city. And like the Romans in 400 CE, our lives will never be the same.

It's been difficult for me to write since the inauguration. Every fantastical thing I’ve conjured in the last decade feels like non-fiction. An old friend from high school who is reading my Substack version of “48 States” recently asked if I’m making predictions for Vegas. It took me five years to write my dystopian novel about a maniacal CEO who tries to overturn the government. Trump’s first term was fodder for character development, but then I turned it up a notch for storytelling purposes. Now, the novel reads like the front page of the New York Times every day. In “The Campaign”, Christian nationalists run amok, interfering in national elections. I swear it was all fiction when I started! The real challenge is maintaining our humanity and creativity in the face of such unmitigated cruelty and stupidity. My antidote is looking for opportunities to be kind to others. My North Star is Tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase meaning repair or heal the world. We all have a responsibility to improve the world; I intend to do it through empathy and friendship.

Speaking of friendship, it would mean a great deal to me if everyone who follows my writing and reads my books would take the time to rate or review them on Amazon and Goodreads. It makes a big difference, so thank you in advance for taking the time. Finally, if you haven’t signed up for my Substack, please do. Currently, I’m publishing chapters of “48 States” in serial form every Sunday. When that is finished, I may use the newsletter to try other forms of serialized fiction. I’m thinking of dipping my toe into romance novels. As I mentioned, the anticipation surrounding what to write next is one of my favorite things.