We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Darin Miller. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Darin below.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

One of the most difficult parts of writing has very little to do with the act of writing itself. It has to do with branding and marketing yourself successfully, something I still struggle with every day. Most folks who pursue independent creative endeavors don’t find marketing themselves an easy task, and without the promotional resources of a traditional publishing house, it’s hard to get much notice. Amazon and Facebook Ads are constantly tweaking their algorithms, so the things that might work today may not tomorrow, and it can all get expensive pretty quickly. Most of us don’t have that sort of disposable income, so we try and find ways to attract notice with as little expense as possible.

One of the things I’ve been very vocal about is supporting my fellow indie authors. On my Facebook author page, I host a public facing “To Be Read” list that talks about what I’m currently reading as well as what is on my short list. It provides free exposure at any given time to five indie authors and one traditionally published author as their books work their way up my list, including a link to purchase in the comments for whichever title is my current read. I also provide high-quality, quotable reviews for any of those books that I can honestly rate at four stars or above, and I post those reviews to Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub, my own Facebook page, and several other Facebook group pages that support authors, all at no cost. To be clear, I don’t trade reviews. I won’t give a dishonest review if I don’t care for a book. If a title doesn’t rate four stars, I simply don’t review it, but it still gets that free exposure along the way. I’m not in the business of tearing anyone’s work apart. It may not be my cup of tea, but it could be someone else’s next favorite read. Word of mouth is possibly the most valuable tool in an indie author’s toolkit, and my support of other authors is unwavering.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My creative journey is a mission of posterity, especially the Dwayne Morrow series. Dwayne’s family is very much based on my own, not that we’ve gotten ourselves into the scrapes that Dwayne always seems to manage. When I started writing this series almost twenty-five years ago, I will admit that I was pretty lazy. I leaned into my own family structure because it made Dwayne’s backstory easier to remember. What I never anticipated was that in the years between when I started and when I finally published the books, I would lose both parents, my father in 2006 and my mother in 2015. I also lost my best childhood friend on Christmas Eve, 2020. He was the inspiration for both the victim in the first book, Reunion⎯and you’d better believe he had a strong opinion on THAT one⎯as well as a recurring character who is still in the series to this date. I discovered that these books were a way to keep the memories alive of the people I have loved and lost. Even with my unexpected job change in 2020, my writing gave me a means to work through many of the difficult issues that burdened me at the time. It’s been extremely cathartic.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is key to building an audience, no doubt about it. The problem with social media is that it is always evolving, and learning to be adaptable to new platforms can be a real challenge. I’m fairly proficient with Facebook but really struggle with Instagram and TikTok. Staying on the cutting edge isn’t something that comes easy when I’m still actively working on new projects. The only advice I would offer is to keep it upbeat and positive. No one wants to hear folks complain about everything that’s going wrong in their lives. Sure, there are lots of folks who thrive on drama on these social media feeds, but you should only put out as much as you’re willing to deal with, because those are the types of people you will attract if that’s the sort of thing you post. Getting smacked down by total strangers can become overwhelming and can eventually affect your work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.darin-miller.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darinmiller4628/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DwayneMorrowMysteries/
• Other: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20487089.Darin_Miller
  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/darin-miller