At the Point Where I Can Tell You

-

 I sent my next book to the copy editor a few days ago, which for me is a major turning point. It's a commitment of sorts; the book that for a looooonnnnngggg time has been only mine is close to being offered to others. I've certainly talked about it at length to friends and family, but no one has read it except my first-draft beta reader, my content editor, and me (many, many times). And yes, I do pay three different people to critique a manuscript before I inflict it on the public.

Sending a book to the copy editor indicates that it's in its final narrative form, so now it's her job to find the silly stuff that would take away from readers' enjoyment: spelling errors, extra commas, etc. Once that's done, it will be formatted and prepared for print, e-book, and audio offerings.

In other words, I'm saying I don't intend to make substantial changes anymore, and that's really hard for me. Any time I look at past work I think, "I could have done this differently." It's really, really painful to say, "I'm done. This is what they get."

So what is this book about? It's not a mystery, though it has mysterious elements. Not social commentary, though it explores relationships, both family (the sisters in the title) and general attitudes we adopt as we move through society. I'm not a literary fiction type, so that leaves women's fiction as the category closest to accurately describing it.

The premise: Three sisters, close in their youth, have grown apart as adults, due to the way their lives evolved. When events push them back together, they face their differences and make choices that will change their relationship forever.

One is a murderer. One is unsure about her future after her long-time marriage falls apart. And one might well be the next First Lady of the United States.

Here are some possible versions of the cover. Comments?








Comments

  1. ShuvcatOctober 24, 2021 at 5:54 AM

    The second cover's font is easier to read. I like the colors. Looking forward to buying it!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A First-World Issue, Funny...Maybe

-
Image
 I have really short little fingers. I mean, I know that "little finger" should alert one to the fact that it won't be much, but mine are way shorter than the others, barely passing the middle joint of Finger #4. Why is this a problem? Because my new keyboard, which is ergonomic and supposedly hand-healthy, requires a strong push to work the keys on the top row. I learned typing in a real class, where every day we set our hands on the Home Row and learned to keep them there. That means that my right-hand little finger should operate the "Back" key without much change in hand position. Sadly, it isn't up to the task, and it really slows my typing when it takes two or even three tries to erase a mistake. Will this bring about the end of Western Civilization? No. Could I buy a more compact keyboard? Probably. I just thought it was kind of funny that as the world rages and ruins around me, something so small can be so irritating .
Read more

Book Clubs Take Note: Discussion Guide: Sister Saint, Sister Sinner

-
Image
  When I sent Sister Saint, Sister Sinner to my editor, she was (as usual) helpful about pointing out areas that needed more development, parts that repeated information already given, and places where the logic  temporarily failed. At the end, she made a comment that stuck with me: "People are going to be talking about the things you deal with in this book." To me, that meant the story was destined for book clubs. Having visited a few in my years of writing, I knew that they often begin with a list of discussion topics. Now, they often don't stay focused on them, and that's okay. Sometimes it's the wine. Sometimes it's a natural progression. But discussion leaders like having questions that can get the conversation back on track when it strays too far from the story. Every person who reads a book gets something out of it that no one else does. I had the experience once of visiting a book group where one reader didn't like the book and kept bringing up her
Read more

30 Days of Christmas Day 21: IndieBrag Blog-Hop & Giveaway

-
Image
Santa & Maggie Pill Santa was trying to get ready for Christmas, but things weren’t going well, and his droll little mouth pursed in frustration. He couldn’t find the fur-trimmed hat that went with his red suit. He needed a clean hanky to wipe away the ashes and soot after each trip through a chimney. And one of his boots had gone missing. Those were things his wife usually took care of, but she was nowhere to be found. Rubbing his little round belly, he looked in the kitchen to see if she was baking. Visions of sugar-plums danced in his head, but no. She wasn’t there. Was she in the laundry room, washing tiny elf socks and underwear? Scratching his snow-white beard, the jolly old elf peered into the small room at the back of the house. Nope. She wasn’t in the den taking a long winter’s nap, nor in the pantry sorting canned goods. When he finally found her, Mrs. Claus was in the den, curled up on the couch, reading a book on her Kindle. “What’s so interesting, dear?”
Read more