Finally, after the long, dismal winter that dropped more snow on Tennessee than we might expect in several years -- summer is here!  And so am I.  Me blogging!  How bizarre!  Not only am I trying to blog--I finally took the plunge and published one of my romance novels, Ready or Not. at Smashwords.  Others will follow soon.  I'm working on that now, but, first, I wanted to get this website up and running.  I am anxious to interact with my readers.  I am a publlished romance author--in print--no less!  And very proud of that fact.  However, getting there was a tough and taxing journey--and that was the easy part.  Staying there is so much harder than anyone can imagine. I was lucky enough to find a great publisher, wonderful people to work with, lovely cover artwork--the whole package.  The only down side was that the finished product was a hardback book that sold for $1 more than John Grisham, Sandra Brown, Norah Roberts, and all those other iconic authors.  The publisher did indeed have a sales plan, although that plan had limited scope and bookstores were not included as a part of it.  Even with no bookstores, I was fortunate enough to sell several books, and the experience was a postive one.  But I kept wondering how much better I might do with a less expensive product.  Don't get me wrong--I stand behind my work 100%!  But we all know the problems with the economy and that dreaded phrase "disposable income" (the thing most of us don't have much of.)  Smashwords is an inexpensive and very user-friendly way for readers to find authors, and for authors to find readers.  Book are available there in many different formats, compatible with almost every method and device for eletronic reading.  I hope you will take a minute and look over the information there about Ready or Not.  It happens to be one of my all-time favorite books that I have written.  I love the story!  I love the characters!  I love everything about it!  You might call me an old-school romance author.  I can't write suspense or vampires worth a flip--although I have writer friends who are some of the best ever in these areas.  I hope you will hop over to my Bookshelf page and look over the books listed there.  These are books I can highly recommend, having been involved with many of them through the commiserating-with-the-author angst stage--sometimes even suggesting a word here or there that might be more appropriate, through the critique process, and on to publication and the success they have each found.  Other books there are simply books I have enjoyed reading.  I don't plan to blog exclusively about writing, although I do enjoy every aspect of if immensely.  If you happen to read one of my books and have questions about the characters, I would love to answer those questions--and you might have trouble shutting me up.  I know all my characters as well as I know my own family.  They all possess back stories that never make their way into the books in actual words, but those bits of their history make them who they are.   That is the sort of information you will find in the Behind the Scenes section.  And if you would like even further clarification, I will be glad to answer almost any question you might think up to ask about any one of my characters.  Thanks for dropping in and I'll be back soon to talk with you again.  In the meantime, I would love to read your comments.

5/26/2011

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