Fiery Pen

Every book release is different. For Savages, I had a new baby and a toddler. Followers came in the aftermath of COVID. Red Walls, my sixth and newest book, comes at a time of personal turmoil (and honestly, global turmoil but we’ll keep this blog in the microcosm).

The past few months have been an onslaught of traumas and complications. There’s no need to make a laundry list for sympathy. Suffice it to say, it has been enough. The Red Walls release, which I was very excited for after a few years and so much work, landed between tragedy and major stressor. Its joy was nearly eclipsed by the shadows.

I went through all the release motions. The posts, the newsletters, the giveaway. However, I didn’t get to experience and enjoy them as much as I normally would. I would have preferred to give them full attention and indulgence. But survival made demands.

Red Walls is the most beautiful physical copy of all my books, with gorgeous art, an alternate cover on the back, bloody graphics on the pages, and a hardback design. It seriously dazzled me when I finally got to hold it. That elation was a flare in the darkness before being smothered again.

I think Red Walls has also been my most successful release so far. I saw engagement and preorders and post sharing. I was able to secure a good number of ARC reviewers. I saw it out there in the world beyond me. It felt like more of the loft I have always been chasing.

And the reviews… They say to never read your own reviews, but they have been so good. People really like it! And that’s always the dream. More than sales or shares or whatever. The dream is true reader enjoyment. There is no way to gracefully articulate that feeling when a reader really sees your work and it hits with them just as intended. Bliss. Author crack. The dream.

These are all good things. These are AMAZING things. These are things I have been chasing for most of my author career. I just wish my life around me wasn’t drowning out these coveted things.

I want to focus on it; I want to wallow in it. Perhaps the clouds will clear soon enough to shine enough blazing light down to truly focus on it. If nothing else, this release will be memorable. For many reasons.

Christina Bergling

https://linktr.ee/chrstnabergling

Like my writing? Check out my books!

• Red Walls – When Talia’s parents go after the monsters who hurt her, they never expected real monsters.
• Followers – You never know who is on the other side of the screen. Followers is a mystery and thriller that blends women’s fiction with horror.
• The Rest Will Come – Online dating would drive anyone to murder, especially Emma.
• Savages – Two survivors search the ruins for the last strain of humanity. Until the discovery of a baby changes everything.
• The Waning – Locked in a cage, Beatrix must survive to escape or be broken completely.
• Screechers – Mutant monsters and humans collide in the apocalyptic fallout of a burned world. Co-authored with Kevin J. Kennedy.
• Horror Anthologies