What's Next? Katie Lost and Found

First up, I have a confession to make. I've been busy. Too busy, obviously, to spend much time here. I know, everyone is busy. My excuse is that when the weather is as wonderful (and unusual) as this summer has been in Southeast Kansas, I can't stay out of the garden. Now you might call it work, watering and weeding and just poking around in the dirt, but I call it the best kind of living. So in the past weeks, when it should, according to years past, be too hot, too windy and too dry to get out and do more than turn on the sprinklers, I've enjoyed each and every minute I could. The results of this uncommon weather have been very gratifying, too. Take a look at my hibiscus!

So, that's part of the reason this blog has been so neglected. But there's another, even better reason--a new book. I have just passed the final draft of my newest novel, Katie Lost and Found, to my husband/editor.  I have a cover, a blurb (sort of) and a tentative release set for mid to late August.
Finishing a book is always a little bit of a surprise. I write, rewrite, read, re-read, rewrite some more and just when I think it may never happen, there's nothing more I can find to do with it. Now after my editor/husband gets started, we do find some things to tweak, but for the most part, a new book has been born and there's nothing to do but put it out there where readers will have the opportunity to tell me what they think.

I like this book. It was a little idea that grew and grew and led me on a merry chase, but I really like it. In the coming weeks, I'll be posting excerpts for anyone who wants a taste. I'd love to hear what you think.

Oh, and did I tell you this is the first in a new series? Welcome to Walnut Lodge, unlike the Miracle at Valley Rise series, will be made of up stand-alone novels, each featuring characters associated in some way with Walnut Lodge, an inn located in "middle-of-nowhere" Kansas. All of the characters from Katie Lost and Found will return, but each story will have its own beginning and end. I'm excited that that little idea has taken this turn and look forward to working on not one, but two series now.

And now, without further ado--the cover reveal of 

Katie Lost and Found

 

Garden Therapy

I remember my grandmother digging in her garden, turning red in the face and sweating profusely. I couldn't see where all that work changed things very much. The bulbs--iris and daffodils mainly--were beautiful but only bloomed for a short time. The forsythia barely lasted a week or two. The big flowering scrubs, whose names I'm ashamed to say I can't remember, bloomed profusely at various times during the summer. I do remember the fig bush and the succulent sweetness of the fruit eaten straight from the branches. But all that work for what--a few bursts of color each year? And yet it was obvious Nana loved her garden and the work. She said she needed to dig in the dirt now and then, that it helped "keep things in perspective." I guess I understood on some level that in her life, one of hard labor with little financial reward, one where the dinner table was laid with chipped china and homegrown fare, and excitement was rarely a good thing, digging in the dirt might actually provide some kind of comfort.

I was only in my twenties when I came to the realization that in my life, different from hers as it might be, digging in the dirt would be a necessity also. Wherever I've lived, in balcony apartments, homes with lawns large and small, no matter what the climate, I've made sure there was dirt for me to dig in. If not an actual garden, at least some potted plants, a little row of annuals by the door, even a window box. Dirt, best handled with bare hands so it works into the skin and under the fingernails, is my therapy. The results of my labor, green and flowering plants which become my children as I watch them grow through a season or more, reassure me that in a world of constant and often confusing change, some things remain constant. Soil, water, sunshine and seed combine to provide a solace unlike any other.

When we moved to this old house almost fifteen years ago, there was nothing but grass. Not a single sprig that could  be described as landscaping. I started small, claiming ground at one corner of the house where once a wraparound porch had stood. The soil was thick, black and sticky--the material sod houses were built of when this part of the country was settled. As I dug--increasing the size little by little each year--I fought crabgrass and good old-fashioned weeds of every obnoxious variety, working in peat moss and manure until eventually the soil stopped resisting and began to cooperate. Together, that plot of virgin soil and I brought forth an abundance of  color and scent, a place where hummingbirds visited in the spring and the Monarch butterflies tanked up for their flight south late each summer.

I was overly ambitious. Today the garden is almost too much for me to handle alone. I've moved away from annuals to perennials and bulbs, which require far less digging and will in time fill the space with colors and textures without so much help from me. And I've taken on a helper. It turns out my granddaughter likes digging too. It's quite possible that just as I did, she understands on some level that this communion with the soil is more than just dirty, sweaty work, and that the rewards are infinitely more than just a few bright blooms. If I could pass anything along to her, there's nothing I know of that will bring her more pleasure or provide her with a better way to "keep things in perspective."

How Not to Write a Love Story

 

Love stories are sometimes tricky things. Oh, they all have more or less the same elements. Boy meets Girl, Boy falls for Girl, or Girl falls for Boy, or sometimes they do the falling simultaneously. Something--parents, social standing, dark histories, hidden angst, the list is infinite--brings about conflict in the relationship. In the end, Love wins, resulting in the expected Happily Ever After. Or Not. That's where the tricky part comes in.

SHANNON'S DAUGHTER is one of those tricky love stories. You might say it was written in reverse. The ending had already been revealed in another book, so there was no going back. To help the reader understand certain things about the story of Peg Shannon and Kendall Gregg, I wrote a Foreword, hoping to ward off the outrage of those who demand the typical fade-to-black-as-the-string-music-rises ending. Unfortunately, it seems a fair number of readers just click right past the Foreword, thus missing my carefully thought out introduction. 

SHANNON'S DAUGHTER will be FREE for Kindle October 1-5. Please help yourself to a copy, but be sure to read the Foreword! (I've even included it here!)Then you can't say you weren't forewarned that this is not your typical love story, not your typical happy-ever-after ending, and sit back and  enjoy the story of two exceptional people falling in love. 

      When I first met Peg Shannon, in the early pages of Hearts Unfold, I had no idea she would become more than a reference to the older woman in Stani Moss’s romantic past.  It’s fair to say she insinuated herself into the plot, becoming a central secondary character who just would not go away.  I thought briefly about turning her into a source of conflict, but that didn’t seem to fit.  Peg, despite her questionable history with Stani, was not a “bad” woman.  Her heart was invariably in the right place, although her methods were often unorthodox.  To put it simply, Peg intrigued me from the beginning and I was curious as to what she might do next.

By the end of the fourth book in what became the Miracle at Valley Rise series, my curiosity demanded answers.  I knew I wanted to explore Peg’s history, her back story.  I wanted to discover who and what had influenced her.  I knew there had to be more to Peg than met the eye, more than a wealthy, independent woman who played life by her own rules. 

I had some boundaries, facts already established, and a timeline to follow.  I couldn’t rewrite Peg’s past.  It had to mesh with what we already knew from the series.  Challenged by this and the fact that Peg’s story would not fit into the same inspirational genre as the Miracle at Valley Rise books, I had my work cut out for me. 

My saving grace was a name, Kendall Gregg.  All we knew about Kendall was that he was a man in Peg’s past, a love affair.  Their relationship had ended before she met Stani, but they had remained friends.  Not much to go on.  That is, until I “met” Kendall.  As is true with many of my characters, Kendall walked into the room, introduced himself and led me on a merry and at times breathless chase.  He turned out to be the source for everything I wanted to know about Peg, so I let him tell the story from his perspective.  The result is Shannon's Daughter, a traditionally romantic tale with a nontraditional but ultimately happy ending.

 

The Power of One

One on one. There's no denying the special connection that results when two individuals meet face to face. As a private person and introvert by nature, I tend to prefer one on one--be it lunch with a friend, shopping trips, or just hanging out--to group outings. I feel the same when it comes to sales of my books.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I love lots of sales, which translates to lots of readers. Those months when the numbers on my Kindle Direct sales report page just keep jumping upward are exciting, no doubt about it. But there's real satisfaction in the slow months, too. Each time a book sells, I envision a reader--most likely a woman past the first bloom of youth in a well-loved home with pictures of kids and maybe grandkids on the walls--opening her Kindle and settling back with a cup of something warm and comforting to read. Now that's what I call exciting!
One on one, we share the story I had the audacity to write and she had the curiosity to download. She meets my characters, who have become my family and friends through the course of telling their stories. She sees the farmhouse and the little mountain town through Emily's eyes, the Manhattan apartment and the concert halls through Stani's, just as I did. Together, we learn back-stories and witness struggles, fall in love and overcome doubts, laugh and cry and dance, right along with them.
Some readers tell me they appreciate the musical element in these books, some say they can "see" the scenes depicted. One reader told me she'd love to sit down in the farmhouse kitchen with Emily and share a ham sandwich. Another told me about her excitement at walking into a concert hall and discovering a poster of a violinist who "was" Stani Moss. Knowing that these characters and their stories are as real to the reader as they are to me is incomparably rewarding. Money can't buy that kind of connection.
In the beginning, I set out simply to write the kind of book I wanted to read, just for myself. I had no expectation of being published. I had no grand scheme to sell thousands of books. In fact, I had no desire for anyone else to read what I was writing. I wrote because the story was there--had been there for forty years in some form or other--and I wanted to see what it might become. Writing had been on my to-do list all my life, and time was running out. That my books have now gone to live in thousands of Kindles, that several hundred readers have let me know they've been read and enjoyed, is so far from my original mission it continually boggles my mind.
But when all is said and done, it's the vision of one reader and one book that means the most to me. I've often said I'd love to follow each book home and spend a minute or two getting to know the reader. I get excited over each new review, every Facebook message and comment. An email from a reader gives me chills. I've even made "reader friends" in places I'll probably never get to see, including New Zealand.
One by one, the story of Emily and Stani and the Miracle of Valley Rise has been passed from me to you. That in itself feels like a miracle to me!

Cover Story--Part II

Just a little over a year ago, I wrote a post here about the evolution of my books' covers aptly titled Cover Story. Well, lately I've been thinking it might be time to evolve a bit further. That's the beauty of this self-publishing gig--want to make a change? Just do it, upload it to KDP and viola--out with the old and in with the new!
My son, who doubles as my cover designer, is here for a visit / reno blitz. What better time to con him into doing a little light cover work as well? So in between pulling down plaster ceilings and refinishing hardwood floors, we brainstormed on how to make the covers more. I love the images of the existing covers, but I felt they could use a little more. You know-- punch, pop, style. MORE!
After hours of give and take, with me doing the giving, you understand, my brilliant offspring came up with what I think is a definite improvement. We did have to sacrifice the background for Book Three, Heart of My Own Heart, but I found something I really love to replace it.
So, without further ado--introducing the new and MORE versions of all four of the MIRACLE AT VALLEY RISE covers.

A Violin--Really?

One man, one woman, one story. So many possibilities. What do they look like? Where have they come from? Where are they going? What do they do? Parents? Siblings? Friends? Enemies? How do I decide? Honestly, I don't.
Now before you decide I'm just saying that to protect the mystical sources leaving messages on my computer, or emmitting subliminal impulses only I can hear, let me assure you it's much simpler than that. I just listen to my characters.
Oh, I  have a clue as to where things need to go. I have parameters in place, lines I won't cross, subjects I'm not qualified to write about. But I admit it, I'm a "pantser." I don't outline. I write a brief synopsis which I refer to as I'm writing, but it's definitely subject to change as the story progresses, or rather, as the characters tell their story. 
Case in point, when I started my first novel, HEARTS UNFOLD, I knew the protagonist, Stani Moss was famous. He could have been a rock star, an actor, even the CEO of a major corporation or royalty, but he had the audacity to tell me he was a musical prodigy, the premier talent of his generation, a violinist. Period. No room for negotiation. Okaaaaay, the violin? Well, it's easier to carry around than a piano. You can whip it out and play a little tune (or major concerto) at the drop of a hat. Its reputation and repertoire are by and large romantic, and who can resist a man in white tie and tails? Certainly not the soon-to-be love of his life, farm girl Emily Haynes.
Once Stani informed me of his claim to fame and fortune, it led to a tie-in with Emily's background, the conflicts between their very different worlds, and all kinds of potential plot lines. Soon other details piled on. Hair color (Red? Really?). Height (Only 5'7? Not your typical tall, dark and handsome!). And background--Stani is British, raised by a Hungarian couple, befriended by a British policeman-turned-bodyguard, and a New York socialite. And on and on. That's the way the story unfolds for me. Character breeds plot. At the heart of Stani's character lies his phenomenal gift, and that gift dictates his career and his lifestyle. Thus, it's fair to say the violin is the driving force behind what has become a four-volume series.

In case you'd like to know more, here's your chance. You can download a FREE copy of HEARTS UNFOLD--Miracle at Valley Rise Book 1  May 11-15. Get to know my little red-haired violinist, meet Emily, the earthy and ethereal farm girl who wins his heart, and join their merry band of cohorts as they travel the world.

Latest Addition--The Bundle

I've always been a big fan of boxed sets. Many years ago, when I worked in the now extinct wonderland of a mall bookstore, the arrival of the first boxed sets in advance of the holiday shopping season set all of us clerks atwitter. Mom would love James Herriot and Winnie the Pooh would be perfect for the soon-to-arrive niece or nephew's nursery, etcetera, etcetera. It's a wonder we had anything to sell the paying customers once we put our choices aside in anticipation of overtime paychecks after Black Friday!
All that said, it was inevitable that at some point I would decide to put all four of the Valley Rise books in one file and make them available in "bundle" form for Kindle. Right now I'm also experimenting with the latest means of promotion offered by Kindle Direct Publishing--the Kindle Countdown Deal. Not exactly setting the sales report on fire, but a few bundles have been taken off the virtual shelf at the lower prices, and any sale is a good sale!
So here it is, the Miracle at Valley Rise bundle. Click the link to get the current price and check out the little countdown clock. Cute, huh?

Miracle at Valley Rise--Books 1-4