I’ve played a lot of solitaire the past year and avoided
working on writing projects. I did start
my fourth book, but found it hard to write when I didn’t believe book three
would ever be published. Book three and
four are sequels to my first published work; They All Fall Down, (God’s
Grace will heal a wounded heart; but will he stop a war?) released seven years
ago.
On December 3, my publisher made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Book three, Return to Nineveh, will be
published and book four (yet to be titled) upon approval. What more could I ask for? 2015 Will see the return of the friends from
Helen’s Landing joined by new friends rescued from Java. The struggle to win control of North Africa
heats up as the United States joins the allied forces in the deserts and
ancient towns to push the Axis Army into the sea before freeing Sicily from the
German Boot of occupation.
Another bonus for me was a signing event for my first two
published novels at the church I attend when we are in Alabama during the
winter months (St. Paul’s Episcopal in Foley) the third Sunday of Advent. I look forward to meeting more of the church
members and talking about and selling both books. They will make a nice gift for a special
someone and give reading pleasure.
The message of this blog entry is: never give up. One never knows when the right opportunity
will come into one’s life. I feel
blessed and excited to be given this opportunity and look forward to the work
ahead. My editor will push me to make
the book the best it can be, even though it means going through the story in
depth and cutting and adding in the right places to bring the story to
life. (I have to say editing is the
hardest part for me; rereading—rewriting—and-rewriting!) I found it difficult to read the book for
about a year once it is released.
I think picking the cover is the most fun part of having a
book published. The folks that create
the choices have such great imaginations to put a stamp on the cover that gives
a haunting inner look at the story and draws the reader to it. This is very important to the author, because
the cover must be interesting enough to make a person pick up the book and read
the back-matter. These two items are the
strongest selling points for a book and, therefore; must be appealing to the
public in general.
There is, of course,
still the matter of selling, which my publisher, Tate Publishing, will help
design a selling strategy and lend support to help me into venues that give
optimum exposure. I look forward to the
newest strategies playing out not only for book three, but for all my novels in
2015 and beyond. Hope is restored and
the energy is rejuvenating, as this project moves forward.
