Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Summer Must End - eBook Available November 11, 2020







 This is a terrible thing to admit to. I don't care for eBooks. I like the feel of a good, old-fashioned book in my hands, the look of it, the crispness of new pages, especially the smell of it. But folks these days like the convenience of an eBook. So I've produced one, especially for them. And please don't think that the process is easy. The atmosphere around here was decidedly blue a lot of the time as I battled with it.

It's not available until November 11, around the same time as the print version, so it's your choice. 

Preorder eBook Summer Must End

I love this story. Of course, a writer would say that, but this has a timely significance to it. I lived in the area where this book is set, and it's a lovely place. I left there just over ten years ago, and I miss it still. With my family scattered globally, I move around a lot. Just trying to explain why I'm still not living in Canada. It's Australia's turn.

I'm a little lost now that both versions of this book have been finalized, so it's time to set up the print format of 'Hafan Deg' (not 'Place of Dreams' as one agent wanted it titled). Hafan Deg is Welsh for Safe Harbor, and is set in Anglesey. That's one of the most beautiful places in the world. Hope I do it justice.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Latest Book, "Summer Must End", Available Soon.

I'm a terrible blogger. Sometimes I'm here. Sometimes I'm not. If you're still following me, thank you. You are truly patient and I never forget about you, even when I don't post a blog.

Thing is, when I'm either painting or writing, plus doing all the other day-to-day stuff needed around the house, there is so little time. You know that. You probably goof off from things that need your attention, too. But I always say I will to do better, and I mean it at the time. This fiction writing business is very time-consuming, and it's not just the sitting down at your computer and pouring your soul out. I mean the "business" side of things -- the marketing, promotion, email lists, BookBub, Booksprout, AllAuthor, Bookbrush, Booksweeps, bookfunnel, StoryOrigin, BookTuber, SilverDagger-BookTours-- and these are just the few that Victoria Jayne recently suggested. I have another list of my own in development.

The reason I'm blogging today is because my novel, "Summer Must End", will be available soon, finally released to the general fiction-reading public world-wide, through the usual outlets. Sounds like a best-seller, doesn't it, introducing it that way? But you all know how hard it is to find readers. I'm still waiting for them to find the other two books that were published a few years ago. A few reviews, or a couple of hearts, would be delightful. I'm not getting any younger...just saying.

It's a nice, suspenseful story, aimed at women who no longer consider themselves chicks--a lot of us out there, of course. I've included a link to the first chapter, just enough to whet your appetite. Just click First Chapter


Jacket Blurb (Still working on it)

Melanie Dwyer has had serious disappointments to deal with lately—she’s lost her job and her lover moved out. Over the hill, is she? Buying an old house, miles from nowhere, with the idea of running a bed and breakfast, might be considered an impulsive decision, but she is undaunted, figuring this is her last chance to prove her true calling: Taking care of people.

Along with the usual country education—raising chickens, adopting barn cats, getting a dog, plus a sheep called Marilyn, she makes friends with people who have far more interesting stories to tell than most city folk she’s known. And she discovers that it’s not too late for sex, even love. 

There is unexpected violence, too, something she is familiar with herself, but it won’t shape this new life. No one messes with Mel—not now that she’s found herself.  And who said country life was boring?




Before I close, I want to share a lovely poem written by a dear English relative, Sheila Richards. It's a  nice way to close, gentle and inspiring as it is. She's another (like me) painter/writer and the illustration is her own. Thank you, Sheila. You've poshed up my blog.






Until  next time. Should be able to point you to the  novel's actual availability.



Quotes to Consider

"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, Either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing." ~Benjamin Franklin

"Well behaved women rarely make history."~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”~William G.T. Shedd (1820-1894), theologian, teacher, pastor

"It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." ~Franklin D Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd U.S. president

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), essayist, poet, philosopher


"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
~ Wayne Gretzky