A Road to Getting Published by Lynn Griffin #WWII #publish

MUSE MONDAY

I love stories of how a writer gets her book out into the world. You'll enjoy Lynn Griffin's post today.

They say your childhood shapes your life, but you choose which path you take.  

Pinch me now. I am a traditionally published author! It’s amazing I can say I am a published author. 

The thing is I have perpetual imposters syndrome, and therefore I’ve never had the confidence to submit my work. That was until one day, when a new friend, who turned out to be an editor in our critiquing group, suggested I should get my story out there before ‘I popped my clogs.’ Yes, she was that blunt! But she had a point. It became the push I needed. 

I have always written around the full-time paid job. My work took me to places that I never dreamed. I met people that were remarkable, honest, vulnerable, and wonderful. They shared their stories. They made me laugh in the face of adversity, and their stories brought tears to my eyes as they spoke of their love and devotion. Each of those wonderful people were survivors. They were my inspiration. They are my hero’s. 

My latest novels Secrets, Shame, and a Shoebox and its sequel The Twenty-One-Year Contract are standalones and based around WW11 which leads to 1960s. 

So, back to how publication all came about. When the invisible big bad wolf came knocking on everyone’s door in 2020, I was living and writing in Spain. When we returned to the UK my imaginary friends continued to keep me awake. Yammering away. Still telling me their stories.  Telling me what to write, what to say, and how important they were. I had to listen, after all, who am I to argue? Because my ‘little friends’ had so much to say, this particular book ended up being humongous! It weighed in way over 180,000 words. Of course, I knew I wouldn’t get away with that, but you can’t blame a girl for trying. 

Then the search for the perfect publisher began. This may sound obvious, but often writers fall into the pothole by not submitting to publishers that:

Are open to submissions.

And equally important, those who published work that fitted with my genre. 

Three months later, after ensuring the final product was polished, shiny and everything in between, I was offered a contract! I’m still stunned. 

Though it wasn’t as simple as that as you can well imagine.  The 180,000 words needed some cutting back which was hard, but necessary and became another huge learning curve. Then believe it or not, writing is hard enough, but once you have a contract, the real work begins. 

I put my fingers on the keyboard, listened to my editor and went for it. 

To my delight it resulted in my debut, Secrets, Shame, and a Shoebox being born, followed by The Twenty-One-Year Contract. 

Of course, there is more to this than I can share right here, but all I’m saying is if I can do it, and you are a writer with the dream, do it now. Try before it’s too late!  

One last word, or two: If you are a reader, or writer, thank you so much for taking the time to read my books. The reviews have been wonderful. They are important to any author, but I can’t thank you enough. I am still humbled, and always will be. All writers are encouraged to read, and I am naturally an avid reader. I don’t restrict myself to one genre, just check out my reviews on Goodreads or Ben Shepard and you will see for yourself.

Only a simple shoebox, but with life-changing secrets…

Blurb:

Fourteen-year-old Kathleen Gray— talented, a little wild, at times rebellious, but always popular—has a fun, easy life in rural Somerset, with a doting family. Suddenly, they are gone, she has only Uncle Jack. Try as he might, he cannot be father and mother to her. Kathleen takes a chance and becomes Kate Westfield, fending for herself in London, with a new life built on her hopes and dreams and new friends. She could hardly have imagined that one of those friends has a shoebox full of answers.

BOOK LINKS: 

mybook.to/twentyone

https://books2read.com/u/3JER1P

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Twenty-One-Year-Contract

https://www.amzn.com/1509239723

https://www.amzn.com/B09THQKFJS

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn1509239723

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Shame-Shoebox

https://wildrosepress.com

https://fb.watch/b3c2bZPyRF/

FIND LYNN HERE:

https://www.instagram.com/lynngriffinauthoruk 

https://www.Facebook.com/lynngriffinauthor/

https://www.twitter.com/lbgriffinauthor

https://www.wifeinthewest.com 

@LBGriffinAuthoruk

Saying No to a Major #Publisher by Judy Alter #Indie

FEARLESS FRIDAY

Please welcome Judy with a most fearless story in the publishing world!

Ten years ago, when I first turned my attention to writing mysteries, I was bewildered by the publication process. I had written extensively for young adults on a variety of subjects as well as several historical novels for adults about women in the American West. I thought I knew the ropes, but I soon discovered the mystery world is a territory unto itself.

Take the search for an agent: it can last years, and I heard horror stories of authors who’d been rejected over a hundred times. My agent for westerns had died several years earlier. I did query others, but I knew that a writer’s relationship with an agent is like a marriage, so you better get it right the first time (and boy, did I get it wrong at least once). I never found an agent with whom I clicked. Besides, I was pushing seventy and did not have years to spend looking for an agent. I had stories to tell, and, like every author, I wanted instant publication. I’d paid my newbie dues years earlier.

When I was active in Western Writers of America, Inc. (I’m a past president), I met several agents, and I knew one was with Kensington, a major publisher for mysteries. I wrote him about my first mystery, thinking he might suggest a mystery editor. He replied that he was now editing cozy mysteries. I should have been leery, because his letter indicated he considered this a demotion. But he agreed to read my work. As we’re advised, the proposal also included a brief synopsis of my planned second in the series.

This unnamed editor wrote back that he liked the manuscript I sent him, but he really liked the idea of the second novel better. He wanted me to revise so that the second novel became the first in the series. I took a deep breath and considered.

Here it was—an “almost” offer from one of the important houses. Most beginners would jump at the opportunity to at least negotiate with the editor. I didn’t. I said “Thanks but no thanks.” The back story was built into the first book, and I liked the way it flowed and introduced the main characters. Instinct told me it was good. The editor lost interest in the first book, and I ended publishing with a small press that went out of business after I’d done six mysteries with them. Today I am an indie author.

Do I regret it? Not a bit. If I’d signed with Kensington, I’d have been subject to the pressure that goes with working with a major publisher—produce so many books a year and maintain certain sales goals. As it is, the novel, Skeleton in a Dead Space, was the first of a series that will, come October and publication of Contract for Chaos, have eight titles and will keep on going. In addition, I write the Blue Plate Café Series (four culinary titles) and the Oak Grove Mysteries (two academic titles). And I write at my own pace, without pressure (except my own) to meet sales goals.

So that fearless step I took almost ten years ago turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’m for listening to instinct every time.

Blurb

Dallas developer Silas Fletcher sees endless real estate opportunities in Wheeler, Texas if only he can “grow” the town. Blue Plate Café owner Kate Chambers likes her hometown just the way it is, thank you very much, without big box and chain stores. When Fletcher tries to capitalize on a thirty-year-old unsolved murder, Kate know she must fight for her town, and she uses historic preservation of the old bus depot as one of her weapons. A suspicious death and a new murder make her also fight for her own life.

Links for Judy: 

http://www.judyalter.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Judy-Alter-Author/366948676705857?fref=ts 

Or

https://www.facebook.com/judy.alter

Judy’s Stew http://www.judys-stew.blogspot.com 

Twitter @judyalter 

Amazon buy link for Murder at the Bus Depot:  https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Bus-Depot-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B078WFDJPR

Also available from Kobo, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and other platforms.

PUBLISH THE STORY by C. Marie Bowen

MUSE MONDAY

Please welcome my guest, C. Marie Bowen, to Discover Yourself. Be sure to leave a comment and you'll be entered in a drawing for a free eBook of Passage! You have until Thursday to leave a comment and the winner will be chosen on Friday.

 

Hello, Brenda, and thank you for having me as a guest. I’m excited to be here on Muse Monday.

I’m currently working on an edge of your seat, paranormal trilogy. Mix up a near-death experience with a past life, flavor with epic romance, and then stir in a few mouthwatering cowboys, add a dash hostile conflict, and you’ll have Passage—book one in The Soul of the Witch trilogy.

The story takes hold from the first chapter and heads straight into a soul splitting journey. I am in the last stage of editing book two, Prophecy, and cannot wait to have it released so I can latch onto the final piece of the story in book three, Paradox. My goal is to submit Paradox, to my publisher by the end of this year.

Soul of the Witch first began to take shape back in 1980. I had given birth to my oldest son and taken an extended maternity leave from work. Although the story had been fighting to get out of my head for years, this was the first time I put pen to paper. Literally. Back then, I used a pen and spiral notebooks labeled #1, #2, etc. I still have those spiral notebooks.

When I returned to work, I put the notebooks in the closet and let them sit for another nine years. In 1989, I gave birth to my second son, and again, my internal muse sparked. I pulled out the old notebooks, and with the help of a friend from work, put my handwritten words into a WANG word-processor. Of course, back then, there were no PC’s or word processing applications, and no way to preserve the digital work. But I finally had a printed copy of my story. Back into the closet it went, and life moved on.

Fast forward to August, 2012. Both boys had grown, finished college and moved on to pursue their lives. I found myself extremely unhappy at work. A large corporation had purchased the company I worked for and many of my long-time co-workers and friends had left or were let go. The new management wanted their own processes and people. The times, they were a-changing, and the pressure began to affect me physically. My hair began to fall out. I developed stress related nerve pain. I didn’t know what I was going to do.

Out of the blue, my wonderful husband suggested I take some time off and regroup. I couldn’t resign fast enough. After that, I made a list of everything I wanted to accomplish during my break from work; clean out the closets, paint the hallway, and rework the flowerbeds. In my closet, I found the box with my typed story, along with a bag of spiral notebooks. I quickly added another item to my TO-DO list. Publish the story.

The first order of business was to put the book into an actual Word document. As I began typing the story, my imagination took flight. The story took over and I was filled with enthusiasm. I became a different person, happier, with all my remembered friends from the closet arguing inside my head. But I knew I needed structure and direction. I joined RWA and enrolled in editing and writing classes. I eventually ran into a few like-minded writers who also worked on their first books and we formed a critique group. I discovered my fabulous, passionate epic had to be edited with extreme prejudice. I had written each precious character with their own point of view, and included all their character-building back stories. The original work was well over 150,000 words. Yikes!

During the long edit/re-edit process, I read about an open submission at a small publishing company, Prairie Rose Publications. They were asking for Western Halloween short stories for an anthology. I had a western character and paranormal was right up my alley. I retrieved one of the “cut” back-stories, reworked it into a short story, and submitted Hunter and Lily Graham to PRP. When the acceptance email came from the acquiring Editor, I had to have my husband read it again just to be sure I understood what the email said. They loved my story and my characters and wanted to include my short story in their Halloween anthology.

Since then, I have written two more short stories for PRP anthologies. All my tales have a paranormal twist, suspense and romance. I finally submitted Soul of the Witch, Book 1, Passage, to PRP at the end of last year, and it was accepted for publication. Passage, Soul of the Witch, Book 1 published on March 12, 2015. 

I was thrilled to put a big CHECK beside Publish the story, although I have yet to paint the hallway. 

Passage - blurb:

After a car accident, Courtney Veau has a “near death” experience, and returns to her past-life in the post-Civil War west. When she wakes in a present-day hospital, Courtney realizes she’s returned to her own hollow existence. Heartbroken, she knows she left behind not only a family she loves, but life with the man who shares her soul, a man she’ll love forever, Merril Shilo.

A carriage accident nearly takes beautiful Nichole Harris’s life, stealing her memories completely. Plagued by amnesia, she is confused by flashes of memory that are out of time with the world around her, and seem to belong to someone else. Only Nichole's own strong emotions remain to guide her—and as others try to take control of her life, she fights a desperate battle to survive. Merril Shilo is someone she should know, and though her memories fail her, she is stunned by her passion for him—and the remembered agony of a broken heart.

Merril Shilo is the love of Courtney’s life—no matter when that life might be. The memories and emotions of her life as ranch heiress Nichole Harris consume Courtney’s mind—and her heart. Courtney soon finds her desire for Merril threatens her sanity, as he beckons from a past she can no longer reach. She would give her life to return to her soul-mate, if she could only find the passage back to him.

Excerpt from Passage:

The long shadows faded into twilight. She'd found what she came for—proof this house existed. There was no longer a reason to stay; and yet, just the possibility she might hear his voice again kept her waiting one more day.

Outside the window, night took final possession of the day. A few porch lights came on down the block. Headlights swung around the corner as a car turned onto the street and illuminated the pavement. The headlights winked off and a car door slammed.

Behind her, the room took on a familiar chill. She turned from the window and pressed her back against the heavy drapes as the echo of boots pounded up the back stairs. She gasped when he raced into the room, vaguely luminescent in the darkness. He was dressed in denim trousers and cotton shirt, with a silk scarf tied loosely around his neck. Where's his hat? Had he lost it in the dash up the stairs? That wide-brimmed cowboy hat was such a part of him he seemed naked without it. His hair had come loose from its binding, and he shoved it out of his face with a familiar motion. She stood close enough to read the emotion play across his face, a mixture of fear and bewilderment. His breath was labored, and his anxiety tangible as he stopped and looked right at her. Her mouth fell open in surprise and her heart tightened in her chest. Does he see me?

He took a hesitant step toward her. “Nichole?” His voice filled with horror, he whispered her name from another life.

“Yes! Merril, it's me.” Courtney stepped toward the specter.

His head turned. His attention called away from her open arms. “Oh, sweet Jesus.” Merril fell to his knees and reached for something no longer there. “Nicki, please don't go. Stay with me.”

“Merril, I'm here.” Her heart ached for him and for herself, but her plea went unheard.

Sobs shook his wide shoulders.

Her heart clenched to witness his despair. She longed to comfort him, to assure him she was there, but could not. In defeat, she sank to her knees beside the grieving apparition.

“Nicki, don't leave me. Look at me—” His hushed voice, choked and broken.

“I'm right here, my love,” she whispered, but the room grew warm and Merril Shilo faded back into the past. Courtney hung her head in the darkness and fought back tears. One question was answered, at least for now.

LINKS:

Amazon: Kindle Buy Link

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CMarieBowen

Connect with C. Marie here: Website: www.cmariebowen.com

Work Like Mad, Now Wait

MUSE MONDAY
When it comes to publishing a book through a publisher, it seems I'm either working like mad to get a deadline met or biding my time waiting. It goes something like this:

Send in the novel to see if they will accept it - wait
They accept but want revisions - work like mad to reread and revise
Send in the revisions - wait
They send back for edits - reread and work like mad
Send in the yet again revised novel - wait
Get the pre-galley - work like mad to reread again for corrections
Send back the corrections - wait
Get the final galley - work like mad to reread again for corrections
Send back the okay to go - wait to get the release date

I'm in the final waiting stage right now. With this publisher, from galley they have a year to publish the book. A YEAR! It might not necessarily take that long, but it could. Angst. So I wait. In the meantime, I previously posted the official excerpt. Thought I would share the opening paragraphs with you:

Lacy quickened her pace.

The footsteps behind her did the same.

As fast as her feet touched the bricks, her heart beat twice that speed. If only she could clear the narrow alley, step onto the lit sidewalk...

Like a magnet, the street light pulled her forward and she lunged out of the darkness. Her hand slammed to her chest. After a hard intake of breath and a fast exhale, she cast a furtive glance over her shoulder. With her head down and the strap of her purse in a tight fist against her breast, she whirled around to cover the last block at a trot…

And jarred with the collision as if she’d hit a cement wall. She careened off balance, but hands grabbed her shoulders keeping her upright.

This is the first book in my Love and Murder Series. Waiting for that release date...