Hauppauge Author Releases Her Third Novel

A Hauppauge Starbucks' barista is taking a break from her day job to live her dream as a self-published author. 

Hauppauge author Sandy Lo is debuting her third novel Breaking The Moon, the sequel to  with a signing event at the Hauppauge  on Tuesday through 7 p.m.

The 417-page novel picks up on the lives of main characters, Haley and Jordan, beginning with the main character, Haley, ready to graduate from college when she receives unexpected news: she’s pregnant. Her boyfriend, Jordan, is confronted with emotional issues from his past, as the couple struggles to come to grips with the unexpected situation.

“I wanted to show you can be a good person, doing everything right and still sometimes have a slip up,” Lo said, discussing why she chose the emotional subject matter.

The touchy subject has been vetted on readers’ feedback, as devoted fans were able to get a sneak preview of Breaking The Moon.

“I did a contest to help promote 'Dream Catchers.' If you posted a review on Amazon of the book, those who posted were able to read the first 10 chapters,” Lo said.

The self-published author has used a variety of social networking methods to build a small but dedicated fanbase, selling more than 500 books. Lo regularly uses her Twitter account, @AuthorSandyLo, to tweet as her main characters and had the song “Haley’s Letter” recorded as the fictional group Tortured, Jordan’s band in "Dream Catchers." It is  available for purchase on iTunes.

“I’m trying to use innovative ways of promoting my work,” Lo said. “I want to be interactive with my readers and want them to be able to talk to me about my book.”

The author said she is not actively pursuing any contracts with larger book publishing companies. There are no plans for a third book  in the series, according to Lo.

“In this day and age, the new wave of publishing is almost like how music is released. Writers are self-publishing like bands record demos,” she said.

Readers can purchase Breaking the Moon by attending the signing, or online through lulu.com and amazon.com. It is available both in paperback and E-book for the Kindle.