It's Here! Cover Reveal and Pre-Order Link

And at last I've been given the go-ahead to reveal the cover of my forthcoming novel about the Shelton Laurel Massacre during the Civil War here in western North Carolina. The cover uses a woodcut by the very talented Nancy Darrell of Shelton Laurel (you can find galleries of her work online.) I'm very happy with the way it turned out -- thank you, Nancy, and thanks to Regal House Publishing and Lafayette and Greene for the cover design.

And I received an ARC (advance reading copy) of the book. What fun, after so very long, to hold it in my hands! (And read through it very carefully in search of errors - not so much fun but necessary.) 

But wait, there's more!  Though Crows won't be on sale till October 16, there is now a page for it on the publisher's website where you can pre-order. And on this page is the option to order the standard trade paperback or a hardback special edition-not available anywhere else.

 It would be great if a bunch of folks went ahead and pre-ordered. Of course I hope to be doing events, reading and such here and there after the book is out, but in these uncertain times, I'd love to see my book get some early support. 

You can Pre-order HERE from the publisher (where hardcover is also available.} Or from INDIEBOUND and benefit a local bookstore. And you would have my heartfelt gratitude.

This Is the Part I Hate . . .

And the Crows Took Their Eyes is getting closer to publication (pub date is October 16, 2020,) and I've just finished yet another read-through of the typeset proof.

It's kinda amazing how many errors crop up in the typesetting -- not to mention my own errors I'd overlooked in previous readings.  I was so happy to correct a particularly bad mistake I made--on one page I have Polly shut and bar the door and a few paragraphs later, a man runs into the house. All it took was a quick removal of bar the door, thank goodness!

Most of the confusion occurred with letters and quoted Bible verses and songs where extra indenting and line spaces are called for. I wanted all that stuff in italics but the publisher's house style doesn't like italics except in small doses. 

Two days of intensive proof reading and back and forth with the editor and all that got straightened out. Now I'm faced with the cringe-inducing task of asking for blurbs.

Early blurbs will go on the advance reading copies (ARCs) that are sent out to the big reviewers and a positive notice from a well-known author increases the chances that one of these big reviewers will even open the ARC.

So I'm gritting my teeth, girding my loins, squaring my shoulders, and doing whatever I must to solicit blurbs. I have three folks already who say they'll take a look at an ARC, for which I am really grateful. But there are a few more out there from whom I'd really love a stamp of approval.

Like I say, this is the part I hate.

Here's My Exciting News!

My Civil War novel has found a home! After wandering in the wilderness for way too long, it will be published in the fall of 2020 by Regal House Publishing -- a small traditional press out of Raleigh, NC! I am impressed with what I've learned about Regal and believe that they will give this child of my heart their best attention.

At the moment, the title is undecided. My working tile was THE WAY OF IT, but I have never really been satisfied with it. So some brainstorming is going on with the editorial staff.

I have been installed on Regal House's Website with a bio and a photo. (I would have loved to send in an old one but since my last decent photo is about ten years old and my hair is different now, I felt obliged to face up to the current me.)

"Well, at least you look like a serious author," John said in regard to the glasses and my inability to smile for a camera.

Thanks to all of you who have helped and encouraged me over the years since I began this project. Thanks for not asking too often when the book would ever be published. And major thanks to the folks who helped me with research -- Drew and Louise Langsner, Susan Moore, Dr. James Allen, Priscilla Hope, Dan Slagle, Kimberly Shelton, and especially Patricia Wallin and her family who took me to see the graves of the massacre victims. 

You can follow the link HERE to my author's page at Regal House.

Still Searching . . .

So. Here’s my New Year’s news. Just before Christmas my agent told me that, as her health is bad and energy low, she’s cutting back and making plans to retire. And she’s bowing out on pitching the Civil War novel any more. She’s tried 30 different big and medium sized publishers and gotten rejections – some very nice with positive things to say about the novel, the characters, the writing, but – and this is (literally) the bottom line – always with the reservation that they don’t think the novel will be a financial success. The novel was one of ten semifinalists out of over a hundred for the Lee Smith Novel prize but . . . that and five dollars will get you a Starbucks coffee.

I understand. It’s no longer to an agent’s advantage to work for 15% of a possible very small advance and iffy future prospects. It's a business, after all. I will always appreciate what she did by finding a home at Bantam Dell for the Elizabeth Goodweather books and I wish her all the best. 

Where does this leave me and the novel? Still searching. 

There's no point looking for another agent with a novel that's already been rejected by the big boys. So my next step is seeking out small presses – the sort that don’t give much of an advance. Fortunately, they also don’t require agented submissions.

This month I’ll start researching and submitting to small presses (will have to craft a query letter and ready a marketing plan etc.)

I will also begin to look into self-publishing, starting by putting together the Birdie stories from the blog with a view to publishing them as an e book. Kind of a trial run.

How do I feel about all this?

At first, bummed but certainly not devastated. And then, actually, amazingly okay – now the ball is in my court and I can stop giving the agent a few more months to accomplish something. 

In a way I feel freed.  First I will try submitting to every press that seems appropriate, all the while preparing to do the self-publishing route. I know a lot of folks would like to read this book – and I am ready to see it in the world

Onward.

Feeling Moderately Excited . . .

Eleven chapters to go! Eleven out of fifty! That's in the long-running Work in Progress about the Shelton Laurel Massacre.

The past several days have been too hot to do much in the garden and, aside from picking some greens and broccoli, I've stayed inside, pecking away at the remaining chapters. 

Now, that doesn't mean there'll be a book in bookstores or on the internet any time soon. It doesn't work that way. 

After I write THE END, there will be several weeks of careful proofreading and chasing down some loose bits of research. Then, when the whole thing is in reasonable shape (I really, really hope this will be by September,) I'll send it to my long-suffering agent. She will read it and, perhaps, suggest changes to make it more salable. (Or throw up her hands and quit me.)

If she doesn't absolutely hate it, eventually she'll try to find a home for it -- a publisher who will offer to buy it.

This could take quite a while -- it took three months before Bantam Dell bought SIGNS IN THE BLOOD. This one may be harder to place. It's a character driven historical novel about a little known incident in the Civil War (though some recent novels have referenced it, notably Ron Rash's THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT.

Should the book be bought, it would be at least a year before it hit the shelves. Because that's the way mainstream publishing works.

Yes, I know about self-publishing and how quick it is. But that's an option of last resort for me. For various reasons.

All of which is to say, there's a ways to go yet. But I'm feeling chuffed by getting near the end of the first step.