The Defiance has had an amazing launch week. It reached a high of #292 on the overall Amazon Kindle store list, and it continues to remain under the 1,000 mark in the overall rankings. The reviews coming in are largely positive and enthusiastic. I couldn’t be happier . . . and you, my tribe, made it happen.

I haven’t had time to reflect much on the utopYA conference where I was a panelist in June, because I had to hit the ground running with final revisions of The Defiance as soon as I got home. The conference was attended by a large number of authors (and fans, too, but I’d say it was mostly authors.) One thing that really resonated with me was a remark that Janet Wallace, the awesome, hilarious organizer of the conference, made:

“Find your tribe.”

She was giving us the sage advice to work hard to find and focus on our audience – the people who really GET our writing and our books. Call it what you will – our readers, our fan base – but personally I like the idea of having a tribe. It feels more like I’m part of the group then, an active member. But I’m not the chief. Maybe the resident storyteller? There can be other storytellers in the tribe, too. It’s highly unlikely I’m the only author any of you like and support. As authors we share our tribes, but the important thing is that we find them, like Janet said. In fact, I think we ALL should find our tribes. Those people who support what we do, what we’re passionate about. The ones who have our backs.

You, yes, you – the one reading this post because you signed up to follow my blog, visited my website, or who found their way from my Facebook page or on Twitter – you are my tribe. You’ve welcomed me in to whisper stories around the campfires of your imaginations. You’ve encouraged me, cheered me on, financially supported me so I can continue to write new stories.

In an industry where we tend to hear a whole lot of no, my tribe has offered me an energetic yes. And I’m so grateful.