As Time Goes By

As Time Goes By

11/14/2013 10:17PM

Time has a habit of leaving no trace. Once a moment, minute, hour or day disappears, what we have left is memory – faulty in almost all respects. My debut novel, Wait a Lonely Lifetime, published in April 2012 – one of the last books to be published by Avalon Books – is now a Montlake publication as paperback and ebook (October 2012) and a little over a year old.  

06/21/2024 9:15PM

Even as I write, time is running well ahead of my words.  In 2010, I was a novice in the world of publishing fiction. I was no novice to writing fiction. I'd been writing stories from the age of ten, telling stories since I could talk. 

My roll-top desk drawers are stacked high with manuscripts, notes, notebooks, ideas, rejection letters.

Before that first publication, I had edited three collections of women's autobiographical essays:

On My Life, Parachutes & Petticoats, Iancs, Conshis a Spam – which were published by Honno The Welsh Women's Press  of which I was a founding member. My years with Honno gave me the publishing experience I was later able to employ when, after the publication of Wait a Lonely Lifetime, I decided time was passing and I had less patience to wait for publishers' editors to receive, read, accept or reject my work.

A Few Words ...

 …Can make a difference.

After working for days on the next book in my In Maine project, I returned to Pavane for Miss Marcher to make a Dramatis Personae to remind me of all the characters that may turn up as I write That Kentucky Boy.

In that prcess, I reread the entire novel and, seeing and unabashedly enjoying the story, I found errors and omissions that needed attention.

That led to the necessity of a 3^rd edition of the novel in print and digital.

This edition is available now in digital format at: Amazon as well as the many Amazon sites worldwide; KOBO; Barnes&Noble; and in print on: amazon.com/ and amazon.co.uk.

And now on Smashwords and its many retail partners, including iBookstore and libraries. 

Ask your librarian to order Pavane for Miss Marcher, 3^rd Edition as an ebook through a library distributor such as Library Direct, Baker & Taylor's Axis360, Gardners, OverDrive, Bibliotheca, Odilo, and The Palace Project.

An Invitation

If you follow this blog or publishing news in general, you know that Avalon Books was bought out by Amazon and Avalon books have been re-released - the romances by Montlake, mysteries by Thomas & Mercer, westerns by Encore. So, though we still maintain the friendships and ties we formed over the years, we can't really call ourselves Avalon Authors any more.

We're moving on and we invite you to join us at our new blog: Classic and Cozy.

Here's the link: http://www.classicandcozy.com/

Classic and Cozy will feature the kind of books readers have come to expect from Avalon Authors: sweet romances, cozy mysteries and clssic westerns. While Classic and Cozy is still a work in progress, we're kind of proud of it.

Please come visit us in our new home and let us know what you think. Feel free to leave a comment.

Avalon Authors will still be here and past articles will remain.

The Night Before Christmas Eve

For the past twelve months, I have been writing a 6-part novel by installment: Nights Before. The final story, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Eve, was released on December 17th, the anniversary of the publication of Charles Dickens's,  A Christmas Carol.

I began this novel in 2012 with 'Twas the Night Before New Year – a romantic comedy about a young woman, Jocelyn Tavers, whose boyfriend leaves her alone on New Year's Eve to take a skiing trip. Jocelyn determines she will not face another New Year's Eve party without a date and on that first night before the New Year, she meets three eligible hopefuls, the unwise princes.

Through a process of natural selection, self-inflicted disqualification and ultimate ineligibility, Jocelyn finds the love of her life and dreams, in time to secure a date for the last party night of the year. Through the year, she learns more about love and comes to understand what she really wants. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Eve and its five forerunners are all available on the iBookstore, Amazon, All Romance Ebooks and other major online retailers.

On this day before Christmas Eve, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!



 

Thank You, Montlake Press

It's been about a year and a half since Amazon acquired Avalon Books, my former publisher. To be honest, I hadn't expected that those five books would see the light of day again. Boy! Was I wrong about that.
  As you can imagine, it's been a huge undertaking for Amazon's Montlake division (romance) to get a handle on all those books. As one of their many authors, I requested that they consider creating new covers for my books.
  Just today, Montlake has completed the new designs and uploaded them to the Amazon sales pages. They've done a great job in branding my books so they're recognizable as being from the same author. Great job, Montlake.
   My worst cover - hands down - was for my last book with Avalon: The Gift. It actually came in second in a contest for worst covers ever! Here's the new cover they designed. So attractive... and it's actually a scene from the book. I've always liked this story; it takes place just north of where I live now, on a large lake in Central British Columbia known all over North America for houseboating.
  If you'd like to check it out, here's the link on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Gift-ebook/dp/B00A9TOWJC/