Discounting Notes from Oblivion, I have recently had a poem published for the first time. My poem about whales, May They Forever Frolic, appears in the Special Summer 2023 Edition of the journal put out by The Van Isle Poetry Collective. It received an honorable mention.

It can be viewed online  www.vanislepoetrycollective.com/current-publications

This is the image that accompanies May They Forever Frolic, poem #22 in Notes from Oblivion. Watermarks do not appear in the the book. The main thing here is capturing the grandeur of Vancouver Island.

     I have completed most of the basic steps required of a self-published author. I have actually published a small book of my poetry, which is cool. I have purchased and received both a hardcover and paperback edition and I am thoroughly pleased with the looks of them. I have seen that being available at all online booksellers means nothing. I have seen that getting listed on Goodreads and having an Author Page there means nothing. I have repeatedly contacted BC Bookworld, informing them of the publication of my collection and have received no response. And, most disconcerting, I have had only a very few visitors to this website and not a single comment.
      Months ago, in my chronicle of this adventure, I disparaged the idea of paid reviews as "loathsome". Well, my high horse is now long gone, and later this month I will purchase one from Self-Publishing Review. For around two hundred bucks you get a short review and it is distributed widely. I hope this will help. They also have a lot of interesting modules for sale to help promote a book. As a huge bonus, I will finally get some kind of verdict on my poems.