Okay........where to begin.  Lots of new info regarding the release of my book and my new publicist.  I'll start with the bad news........actually, "disappointing" might be a better word, because I think what happened will ultimately be in my favor.

I was notified last last week by my editor that SPINNING FORWARD (the confirmed title) got pushed back 6 months for release (and I'm also told this is fairly common in this business)........so instead of coming out Spring 2009, it will be released November 2009.  I know....it sounds like a million years away, but........

My editor explained to me the reasoning on this............All of the "big guys" so to speak, the top authors that have already made a name for themself will be released in May.  As the new kid on the block, I would have gotten lost in the shuffle.  Lets be honest...........You walk into Barnes & Noble, you see Debbie Macomber's book, you see a new release by Terri DuLong........money is tight, you can't afford both books.  Which one would you be more likely to purchase?  If SPINNING FORWARD was released in May, it would have been even more difficult in this VERY difficult publishing business. 

So Kensington felt in order to give me the best opportunity possible to do well, my book will be released in November.  Actually, Kensington normally releases their November titles on the last Tuesday of the previous month, so that means it should hit the book stores on October 27 next year.  (sounding a little better already) 

So that's the latest update, folks.  Yeah, I won't lie.....of course I was disappointed, but then I kept thinking, HEY, you DO have a two-book contract, you ARE slotted for next November with all the details done.  Stop moaning, girl.  It could be a lot worse.  And.....I've gotten all the info for the release.  The title is now confirmed, SPINNING FORWARD (like a tv commercial, yes, I'm purposely repeating it in caps.  Advertising is everything.  More on that in a sec) It will be released in trade paper and will sell for $15.  I even have my ISBN already.  So except for proofing covers.........it's a go.

Now on to my good news.............I've hired my private publicist and I'm quite excited about this.  We had a wonderful conference call last Tuesday.  This agency is the best of the best in my opinion, handling many of the top best selling women's fiction/romance authors.  I was SO impressed with the ideas they had for marketing me (and that's what being a top author is all about.  It's a business, after all)  I took pages of notes on ideas they have in mind to get my name out there and generate those sales.  As these ideas become reality, they'll be shared here with you. 

The agency is now in the process of putting together a plan for me with various options of what we'll be doing.  In the meantime, I'll be working to finish up book #2 and book #3 is swirling in my head, so before long I'll be starting work on that.  I also have a lot I can be doing with my own marketing.  I have a pretty good size mailing list from all my previous book signings, so I need to be updating that, etc.

So there ya have it........great news concerning my private publicist and a tad disappointing news on the book release date, but all in all............life is pretty damn good and I'm continuing to enjoy those moments! 

I hope you are too and I'll see you here next time...........

I'm back from the Writers Conference in Augusta and it was great!  Augusta wasn't in full bloom due to the cold winter, but enough of the Dogwoods and Bradford Pears were in bloom to make that town even prettier than it normally is.  And also enough to raise havoc with allergies.  I never thought I had allergies, but I'm afraid I sneezed and had watery eyes the entire time I was there.

The Sandhills Writers Conference at the University is always great, but this year I enjoyed it even more because the Keynote speaker was Rick Bragg.

I met Rick the first time about five years ago at a conference at Birmingham Southern College.  For those of you not familiar with him.......He is a a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.  A native of Piedmont, Alabama, Rick has worked as a reporter for the Anniston Star, Birmingham News, the St. Petersburg Times, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.  Bragg was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1996 in feature writing for his "elegantly written stories about contemporary America." 

Rick has also written two best-selling memoirs, "All Over but the Shoutin" which recounts his days growing up poor in rural Alabama.  I bought that one when he was in Birmingham and was instantly mesmerized by his writing.  His other books include "Ava's Man" about his grandfather, which I bought this time and he autographed for me, "Somebody Told Me" and "I'm a Soldier Too; The Jessica Lynch Story."  His latest work will be released in May and is a memoir about his father.

Rick's writing is profound, humorous and deeply poignant.  But his speaking truly captures the listener.  His words are simple, yet eloquent.  I am so impressed that somebody with his writing fame can be so humble and so down-to-earth.  He's not only a dynamic speaker, Rick Bragg is a wonderful human being.  I admire his writing and respect his deep love for family and all the things that truly matter in this world. 

So maybe you can understand how excited I am that Rick Bragg has agreed to give me a blurb for my book jacket!  I asked him (not really confident that he would say yes) and explained what my novel was about and he said, "I'll definitely give you a blurb.  Send me the entire manuscript.  I want to be able to do it justice."  I didn't jump up and down in front of him, but trust me I'm back up on that Cloud Nine once again.  Rick is now a Professor of Writing at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.  So I've printed out my manuscript and it's on its way to him. 

While I was in Augusta, I also got together with an old friend I'd met a few years ago.  Karin met me for a drink and we had fun talking about the writing business.  Her first three novels were the Bottom Dollar Series and her fourth novel, Earthly Pleasures, was just recently released by Simon & Schuster.  Karin wrote her first novels under her maiden name, Karin Gillespie, but she married a few years ago and wrote the current novel as Karen Neches.  I bought a few copies of her current release and here we are as Karin autographs the books for me.

And if I wasn't already excited enough with Rick's offer of a blurb, Karin has also graciously agreed to give me a blurb for my book cover.  Needless to say, it was a very beneficial conference for me! 

And now I'm playing "catch-up" since I got back.  So much to do and never enough hours in my day.  Join me here next time when I'll share both writing and other things with you.

MAKES FOR A VERY DULL PERSON . . .

I spent the entire weekend either pounding the keyboard working on my manuscript or involved in business-related stuff for my writing.  But I'm pleased to say the manuscript now has 126 pages completed.

However, I played hooky yesterday and Ray and I attended a very nice luncheon at the Island Room.  It was a benefit for the Children's Summer Program at the Arts Center.  The food was yummy, the socializing enjoyable and it was good to chill out a bit.

Today and tomorrow I'm back to work, but I'll be taking Thursday off.  The Women's Club of Cedar Key is having a luncheon and fashion show.  I think it'll be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to that.

I wanted to mention for those of you that volunteered to be judges for the Florida Writers Royal Palm Literary Award.......only a few entries have come in so far.  But the contest is open until August 1, so I'm sure it won't be long till you find some of the entries in your mailbox.

And to answer the question of a recent commenter........Yes, my character of Sydney in my novel is age fifty-two and yes, I agree.......We do need more characters in that age group written both for fiction and for film.

And for the second part of the question......."Who would you wish to play her in a movie?"  Actually, while writing the novel, Sydney was a bit blurry in my mind physically.   I could "see" her hairstyle and her facial expressions, but I seemed to "see" inside of her more than I saw her outside, if that makes sense.  I was so easily able to get inside her head, so to speak.  So I knew her very well emotionally, yet her physical appearance seemed to be generic to me. 

But as I came to the end of the story, all of a sudden I saw Sally Field as my Sydney.  Her mannerisms, her expressions, those kind of things seemed to be my character.  So if the novel was to ever make it to film, I'd probably see Sally Field in my mind.  But of course.......it wouldn't matter at all, I don't think, because I tend to doubt that authors are consulted for casting.  But since this question was brought up, with more thought, I've also come up with the following actresses who would be a very good Sydney.......Marlo Thomas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Diane Lane and of course Meryl Streep.

Most of you have never read the original manuscript, but my character of Sybile Bowden (Sydney's biological mother) is larger-than-life and from the moment I created her, I only saw one person in my mind that was Sybile..........Shirley MacLaine.  My Sybile is crusty, bold, outspoken, selfish and a woman who lives life on her own terms.  I never once saw anybody but Shirley MacLaine in my head as I created her and watched her grow throughout the novel. 

Interestingly enough, Book #2 is a sequel to the first one, and I have the character of Monica firmly in my head.......I see Naomi Judd.  Monica is Sydney's daughter and Book #2 is her story and from her point of view. 

So there ya have it........any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section.  Eventually I will answer them as time permits.  See you here next time............

Yeah....what's that saying about the best laid plans?  Well, I'm afraid mine fell apart and despite much excitement, I didn't get to Orlando to see Menopause the Musical after all.

I had been fighting a flu since last Sunday and thought Tuesday evening I felt good enough to go the next morning.  I suppose I could have pushed myself, but I normally don't do that.  I usually "listen" when it's time to slow down and stay balanced.  So that's what I did.  Yeah, I was terribly disappointed to miss it but felt it more important to stay put, rest and get better.  Not to mention, I sure didn't want to pass it on to the other women.  And I'm now feeling much better and back to normal.

You probably saw on the news that Florida got hit pretty bad with rain, gusty winds, tornados, etc.  I could NOT believe the rain!  Cedar Key got six inches.  I seriously debated if we'd have to start building some arks.  Although most of the dangerous weather was just north of us, we were okay here on the island.

Despite feeling pooky, I still managed to have a very busy week doing "stuff" in this process of my book being published next spring.

I've been working on getting blurbs from other authors for the book jacket.  Kensington said they'll be getting some for me also, but for me to try as well.  So all those years of attending writers conferences, networking, etc. is beginning to pay off!  I managed to secure commitments this past week from 3 well-known authors and I'm quite thrilled about that.  I have about 5 more that I'll be contacting.

I also have given some serious consideration to hiring an independent publicist.  Yes......Kensington has a PR department and will be setting up some promotion.  However, one must be realistic.  They can only do so much.  I really want to give this book as much of a chance as possible.  I'm motivated and ready to do a lot of the footwork, but.......I need some help.  I've been in touch with a top publicist and was enthused by what they offer, etc.  I'll be signing a contract with them probably around August after we have a book cover.  They'll be instrumental in setting up book tours, media, contacting book sellers, etc. for me.  And all of that leaves me more precious time to keep writing.

I'm also in the process of getting a graphic designer to revamp my author website.  All of the above is very time-comsuming, but don't think I'm complaining.  I'm feeling very blessed to finally have the opportunity to get all these things in motion.

A lot of my week was also spent doing what I love so much.........writing.  I've managed to now complete 113 pages of Book #2 for a first draft.  The story is moving along well and I'm pleased with it.

I've also touched base with some other authors, one of which is also on board with Kensington.  And I'll be talking more about her and others on future blog entries.  But I have to say, all of them have been so kind giving me advice, explaining the publishing process to me a little bit better.  And I'm really proud to be connected with such talented and kind women.

That's it for this time.  I have a busy week ahead with some community events squeezed into my writing chores.  I hope all is well with you and I'll see you here next time when I'll answer a commenter question about "Who would you wish to play Sydney in a movie?"

Yes......my contract from Kensington arrived yesterday......all 17 pages of it.

I may have misunderstood my editor, but I thought she said it would be about four weeks until it arrived.  So needless to say, it was a very welcome surprise. 

And I've been very busy working on my current manuscript, novel #2. 

I wanted to address a few comments that had been left here the other day........the first one was about me sharing my work to the public and the commenter mentioned a contest I had entered where I shared my first chapter.  Yes....very true.  But sharing the chapter for a contest is a little different than putting excerpts on your blog or website.  And don't forget.....when that chapter was entered into the contest, I did not have a signed contract with my publisher.

The other item I wanted to address here was in reference to a comment about agents........First let me say, that I feel very strongly that when it comes to the profession of writing, we're all very individual.  (In such a multitude of ways, that would take a separate blog entry)  But I'm referring to the fact that some authors have agents and some don't.  Like most things in life, I feel "whatever works for you." 

But the commenter stated "Agents are also good because they handle movie rights, foreign rights, audio rights, those kinds of things that they know in and out and are confusing to just the average person.  They have lawyers in house.........."

This is all very true.  However, I wanted to clarify that all of the above is possible with a publisher without an agent.  Those words are all in my contract, about world rights, movies, etc. should this occur.  And publishing houses also have attorney's in house to handle the legality of such things.

Some of you that visit here are new writers, and I didn't want to have you confused based on the comment.  But of course, no matter if you have an agent or you don't.......the bottom line is (as with any legal document) you, as the one signing it, have the obligation to read it well and understand what you're signing.

Well, I'm taking a break tomorrow......you may recall that the Cedar Key Red Hatters are going to Orlando to see Menopause, the Musical.  Tomorrow's the day and I'm really looking forward to it.

Join me here next time and I'll tell you how it went............