New Directions….

I’ve finally done it. I’ve given notice at my day job. I work only 3 days a week, but it feels like 9. The chaos, thus the stress level is off the chart and it takes sooo much “thinking” time away from  writing. I read somewhere once that responsible people don’t leave jobs because they hate the job; they leave because they are unhappy with the management. Enough said.

To be sure, there is motivation beyond that. Number One is realizing that at the moment, I’m  making $3 an hour more than I was when I went there to work 9 years ago and no policy in sight to be paid much more. The past two years, my raises have amounted to 20-cents an hour. I will always wonder just exactly how much having that job cost me.

So, when I thought about the stress level compared to the pay, I just couldn’t find a reason to do it anymore.

Now I’ll be able to concentrate more of my time and energy on writing and I’ll be able to revive this blog. I had given it up because it was just too much to add to trying to write books and do a little marketing. WordPress has made changes since I blogged last and I’ve had to spend a couple of days re-learning enough about WordPress to actually write and send the blog.

I have several projects underway or on the back burner. So here’s my writing plan:

#1 project is to finish THE HORSEMAN, Book #3 of my Sons of Texas trilogy. I’ve blogged here about it before. It will present a romance for Troy Rattigan, horse whisperer and Bill Lockhart, Jr.’s bastard son. It will also complete the arc that began in Book #1, THE TYCOON, and solve the riddle of who is threatening and harassing the Lockhart family and the Double-Barrel Ranch. My books usually are between 25 and 30 chapters. I’m up to 15 chapters now on THE HORSEMAN, so I don’t have too far to go.

#2 project is work on MAN OF THE WEST, sequel to LONE STAR WOMAN and Book #2 of the Strayhorn trilogy, a book that has already been written and traditionally published as a mass market paperback by Sadie Callahan. I FINALLY have the rights back. I’m going to revise it a little and re-release it as an Anna Jeffrey book.

#3 is CLAIMED, the 2^nd book of Miranda’s Chronicles. The first book, DESIRED, is a 40,000-word erotic novella. CLAIMED will be a full novel. I want to complete this duet because I really liked writing in first person and I liked the 2 main characters in this story. When I wrote DESIRED, I believed I had created one of my strongest, therefore best, heroines in Miranda.

#5 is to write Book #3 of The Strayhorn trilogy. This will be Cable Strayhorn’s story. I haven’t settled on a title yet, but I’m toying with MAN OF THE HIGH PLAINS. I’m also thinking about THE PRODIGAL and or THE PRODIGAL OF THE PLAINS, because it will be the story of a Strayhorn heir who leaves the fold for a different life, then returns after personal tragedy. I know—soap opera. 😊 I don’t yet have a cover. I have to settle on a title before I can choose a cover. ….. What do you think about the 3 titles? Would love to hear your comments.

Woven between all of these is a new Dixie Cash zany adventure for the Domestic Equalizers. I’ve got the title: WHEN I SAID YOU’RE THE BOMB, I DIDN’T DREAM IT WAS TRUE. I’ve also got the basic plot idea formed in my head and am doing research. So far, I have only 3 chapters on paper, but the more research I do, the funnier the concept seems to me. The title is a clue to the story. 😉 ….. This will be the biggest challenge of all of all my writing projects because I no longer have my sister as a partner and she is the funny one. I don’t have that “Saturday Night Live” sense of humor that she does. She has too much going on in her life to fool with it.

Also woven among and in between all of this is an attempt to narrate my own audio books. The fees for narrators makes them too expensive to do very many and unless a ton of books sell, it takes too long for the ROI. If I can do a decent job on my own narration, I’ll be releasing more audio books. Doing it myself is relatively inexpensive compared to hiring a narrator.

As you can see, just because I’ve quit my day job doesn’t mean I won’t be busy. 😟 I only hope to live long enough to complete all of these projects. Wish me luck!

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COMING SOON!! …

RELEASE DATE FOR “DESIRED” IS AUGUST 4TH.

BUT IT’S STILL AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME AT AMAZON AS A PRE-ORDER FOR 99-CENTS!

Release date is only a week away, fellow readers. I’ll be blog-touring to celebrate it, so I hope you’ll surf by and leave comments. I’ll also be giving away prizes. In case you haven’t read the blurb, here it is:

“Miranda March wears her extraordinary beauty like a mask to conceal her emotional vulnerability. A successful small businesswoman, she might appear to be in control of her universe, but ever in the back of her mind is the one thing that can yank the rug out from under her at any moment: Her mother who suffers from mental illness.

Enter handsome, sensual—and rich—Harvey (Tack) Tackett, a friend of a friend, in town overnight on business. The instant they meet, Miranda feels a connection that stirs her to break one of the rules she lives by—no foolish flings with men passing in the night. After a night of passionate lovemaking like she’s never known, profound emotions emerge. She believes the feeling is mutual. But Tack leaves town without so much as a call and she hears no more from him. As she struggles to overcome her disappointment, she learns her mother has sunk into a depression that calls for immediate attention. Miranda has no choice but to move Mom in to live with her. Her life will never be the same.

From out of the blue, Tack reappears. But it’s too late. Miranda is committed to her duty to her mother. Trying to have a romantic relationship with Tack or any man would be as hard as mixing oil and water. She has already tried and failed at that. Can she solve the conundrum and find a happy-ever-after with Tack?”

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What else have I been doing? Working and working. I still have my day job. And at the same time, I’m working fast and furiously on THE HORSEMEN, Book #3 of the Sons of Texas trilogy and the new Dixie Cash epic, YOU CAN HAVE MY HEART, BUT LEAVE MY DOG ALONE.

I’m about 100 pages in the Dixie Cash book. It’s another zany story of love and conflict. The object of conflict:  a golden mixed breed dog. Adding his colorful opinions along the way is a potty-mouthed parrot named Jake and the usual craziness from Edwina and Debbie Sue.

Here’s a thumbnail synopsis: The heroine, Sandi, who happens to be Edwina’s niece, owns and prepares homemade dog and cat food in her gourmet bakery for pets. She’s also a foster parent to abandoned animals.  After being abandoned twice herself, she’s empathetic and has decided to devote her affections to animals rather than men. She has collected a menagerie that’s she’s trying to take care of in a small backyard and a small house in town.  She wonders if something is wrong with her because a parrot appears to be her best friend and confidante.

Then comes along the hero, Nick, a good-looking single ranch manager in Salt Lick, who has simply lost his dog. Sandi has unwittingly found it, fallen in love with it and and adopted it. And the fight is on. When Edwina discovers what is going on between her niece and Nick, she can’t resist applying her matchmaking skills. And Debbie Sue can’t resist helping her. Even Jake gets into the act. A wild ride ensues.

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I’ve received the cover for THE HORSEMAN, though I haven’t finished the book yet. The cover, designed by Kim Killion, is beautiful, as usual. I’ve loved every cover she has designed. Here’s a preview:

In THE HORSEMAN, I’m attempting to tie up all the loose ends that have been flying around in the first two books of the trilogy, so you’ll have to read all 3 books to get the whole story of the Lockhart family. But mainly, THE HORSEMAN is about Troy, Bill Junior’s bastard son, finding romance.

All I need is about 36 hours in a day.

Let me know what you think of the cover. Do you think there needs to be less of her and more of him?

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YIKES! IT’S HERE AGAIN…

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday, fellow readers. Hope you had a hale and healthy year and are looking forward to another one.

What better time for good wishes than Christmas Eve? I cannot believe how fast this past year has gone. I’m hoping Santa put ointment and Band-Aids under the tree for all of the cuts and bruises the past year has visited on me.

Still, DH and I have been lucky. No major health issues. When you get down to basics, that is the most important part of our lives. From what I’ve seen of life in general, without good health, nothing else is much good either.

One major event for us this past year was an automobile upgrade. My 10-year-old car was badly battered after years of sitting in the parking lot where I work at my real job. DH’s old pickup had gone beyond reasonable repair. So we donated the pickup to charity and traded the car in on an SUV. Now we’re a one-car outfit. Silly me, I thought scaling back to one vehicle would save money on insurance. Wrong. The insurance premium on the new rig is higher than it was on both older vehicles. <Sigh>

I released Book #2 of the “Sons of Texas” trilogy, THE CATTLEMAN. It’s now for sale at all of the online retailers as an e-book. If you would prefer a print copy, one is available from Amazon.

I did a blog tour to kick it off and raffled a new Kindle Fire for people who visited the various blogs. I was unfamiliar with any of the book blogs where I was a guest. I had no idea there were so many. I felt like I had been living under a rock!

The ever-changing publishing landscape is just that—ever-changing. Amazon sort of yanked the rug from under self-publishing authors with its new subscription service. It’s like Netflix for books. Good deal for readers, not quite as good for authors. I don’t know how many readers have joined, but authors are grumbling and some are starting to bail. Hopefully, it will sort itself out soon.

I put only one book into it, mostly as an experiment. Given the experience I’m having, I’m glad one book is all that’s there. When its term expires, I’ll be taking it out. So if you’ve joined Kindle Unlimited, it’s part of their monthly package. Or if you are not a member of KU and want to read three of my Anna Jeffrey books for a discounted price, check out THE CALLISTER BOOKS. It’s a bundle that includes THE LOVE OF A COWBOY, THE LOVE OF A STRANGER and THE LOVE OF A LAWMAN….

The bundle is $6.99 at Amazon. That’s $2.33 per book. After its term in KU expires, I’ll be putting it for sale with other online retailers as well.

I have a steamy novella underway. MIRANDA’S MAN.  I hope to be releasing it within the next few months. Here’s the cover. Let me know what you think.

And I will soon be starting Book #3 of the “Sons of Texas” trilogy, THE HORSEMAN. No cover yet. This book will be about Troy and the woman who finally captures his heart, Chloe. I will also wind up the Lockhart family story. I have the last chapter in my head, but I haven’t come up with the first chapters yet. Oh, well. I suppose backward is good as long as you come out at the right place in the end.

Enjoy the holiday, everyone.

Seems like it takes forever…

Today, I’m celebrating the  release of my newest book, THE CATTLEMAN. And I’m happy to report it has one 5-star review! Yay!

This book is #2 in the “Sons of Texas” series and a sequel to last year’s release, THE TYCOON. You don’t have to read THE TYCOON, but the story arc over three books is a family saga, so you might like to read it to get the total picture.  🙂 The third book in the series will be THE HORSEMAN, which will be Troy’s story. If I write really fast, I might get it done within the next 6 months.

So far, THE CATTLEMAN is available only at Amazon, but I’ll be loading it onto other sites this week.  I hope to have the print edition available by the end of the month. Following are the cover and the blurb.

     Ever since a disastrous marriage and divorce at a young age, Pickett Lockhart has kept his emotions under control. He’s preoccupied anyway with learning to be the general manager of the vast Double-Barrel Ranch outside of Drinkwell, Texas. Still, his older brother’s marriage and looming fatherhood have aroused an envy within him to have a wife, kids and home of his own. But he can’t get married, even to a woman he loves who also loves him. His divorce cost him and his family a bundle, leaving him with an overwhelming fear of stepping into another financial trap.

     Amanda Breckenridge, winning swim team coach and English teacher in Drinkwell High School, has been in love with Pic for as long as she can remember. They were high school sweethearts. After he eloped with someone he met in college, Amanda left Drinkwell. Her father’s illness brought her back to town and a revived relationship with Pic. But Pic’s mother has never thought Amanda was good enough for him. She intends to destroy their relationship by sending a friend’s beautiful daughter to the ranch to tempt Pic. Can Amanda and Pic’s bond survive his mother’s meddling schemes? Or the unexpected career opportunity that falls into Amanda’s lap?

I don’t know about other authors, but the release of a new book is an anxious time for me. I’ve never felt so naked and vulnerable as I do when a book goes on the market for the first time. I can’t explain it. I just know that I won’t relax until after it’s out there and those who are going to praise it have had an opportunity to do so and those who are going to pan it have also had the opportunity.

Since my books are a little different from most typical romance novels, I’ve gotten a lot of criticism over the years. Probably a lot more than I would get if I followed the more conventional path.

In any event, it’s packaged and gone.

If you haven’t read my Anna Jeffrey books and like a love story with a little different twist, you might give it a try. And drop me a note and let me know what you think. Or post a review on Amazon or GoodReads. I can’t express enough how important reader reviews are.

REFLECTIONS ON PRICES…..

I’ve posted a few times on how expensive everything has gotten, and that includes books.

Last week I wrote about the revolution in reading. But the changes don’t begin or end with reading. Every facet of publishing, bookselling and writing is being affected by consumers’ discovery of digital readers that they soon grow to love.

Just last night, I took advantage of one change myself. Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend who recommended a new author to me, someone I hadn’t read. This author is published by one of the major New York houses. So I came home from lunch with the idea that I would order one of her books to read on my new Vizio tablet.

I found all of her books on Amazon all right, but her publisher had priced all of her e-books at at least $7.99.  …..  So what did I do? Cheapskate that I am, I searched through blurbs on Amazon’s $2.99 e-books until I found one that sounded like a good read. It was written by an indie author I had never read or even heard of. And that’s the one I bought. If I get into it and don’t like it, I haven’t lost a lot if I don’t finish it. I’ll just delete it from my reader.  …..  I would still like to read the author recommended by my friend. But not at $7.99.

Traditional publishing doesn’t yet get it. Nor do e-publishers. Authors are empowered. They no longer need to be hamstrung by a publisher arbitrarily pricing their books at numbers that will inhibit sales. They no longer need a blessing bestowed on them from the ivory towers in New York. They no longer have to accept 8% royalty and hope the publisher is generous enough to buy them some space in a bookstore or do something else to help a reader find their work. On their own, authors can literally reach hundreds of millions of people in a global marketplace.

Amazon now lists well over a million e-books for sale. Cyberspace is full of pretty damn good books for under $5.00, a fact that is helping readers find many new authors whose books would have never seen the light of day without the Internet and digital reading. And what’s happening now is only the beginning. The debate still rages over the ideal price for an e-book, but it’s my own opinion that it must be less than $5.00 to compete.

There was a time when I was willing to pay $20, or more, for a book by an author I liked. Or $5.99 or $6.99 for a paperback. If I wanted to read fiction and couldn’t make it to a library, I had little other choice. That’s no longer true. I still might like the same author, but I don’t feel such an urgency to read him or her that I’m willing to pay $20 for entertainment that I could get for $2.99 or even 99-cents. And unless something changes, I’m definitely not willing to pay $7.99 for an e-book.

I suspect there are many readers like me out there in the ether. Are you one of them?

 

 

Related articles

• The writer who made millions by self-publishing online (guardian.co.uk)
• Has Amazon turned ebooks into commodities? (teleread.com)
• E-book prices: The lower, the better? (natashamcneely.wordpress.com)