When I first decided to write and self-publish a novel, I thought that if I told the story well, a few likes from my Facebook friends, a few good reviews from some book sites and some impulse purchases from Amazon.com readers would allow me to sit back and focus on writing the next book. However, I have learned that the social media-connected world requires authors to have a blog in order to reach out and promote themselves to today’s readers. So here I am, opening myself to the world, ready to make a few observations. I hope I live up to the readers’ expectations.