June, 2020 Update
My latest series, Revolutionary Women, is finally ready for the public, and just in time for Independence Day. The first, A British Heiress in America, releases June 25. The second in the series, A British Courtesan in America, will be released in November, and A British Governess in America, will release next January. These are just a sampling of the women who helped in America's Revolutionary War effort. I hope to expand on this series in the years to come, since I love this period in America's past.
Amidst all the sad and disheartening pandemic news, some friends and I got together and wrote short stories that will uplift your spirits. Love In The Time of Corona, Vol. 2, features seven different authors, each putting their own spin on the times we're currently living in, and providing some respite from the weary news cycle we're all living through. My own story is what's called a "seasoned romance," meaning it features an older heroine. I love this segment of the genre. No dewy-eyed ingenues here. I may decide to take a break from the Revolutionary War and tiptoe into the 21st century more often.
March, 2020 Update
If you are a fan of the Broadway musical, Hamilton, you're going to love my new Revolutionary War series, the first of which will be published in June. It's tentatively titled A British Heiress in America, and is about a young woman who escapes her arranged marriage by stowing away on a ship bound for the colonies just as the Revolutionary War is beginning. There's lots of action, lots of romance, a Son of Liberty or two involved, and a darling young daughter. The second book, which I am calling A British Courtesan in America, features a woman running from her past life. It's scheduled for a November release. Book three in the series, A British Governess in America, is being penned now. I am really enjoying writing in this time period and it has made me appreciate how forward-thinking our founding fathers were. Stay tuned. I'll let you know as soon as I do when you can place your orders.
April, 2019 Update
I have finally regained the rights to the final two books which were published by Simon & Schuster. Now, what to do with them? My little novella about Charlotte and George Fitzpatrick and how they met is a really good beginning to the Cotillion Ball series and I may offer it as a giveaway of some kind to spark interest in the series, all of which will be re-released this year, in Kindle Unlimited, ebook and paperback form. But that means wading back into the self-publishing arena, and that needs more thought. The other book, Winning Violet, is the first book of the Flower Girl series, which is being considered by another publishing house. I'll have to see where that goes.
On another note, Gambling on Forever, which released last March, is up for a RONE award, handed out by Ind'Tale Magazine. In order to get up for the award the book needs to have been reviewed by Ind'Tale, and had to received a rating of 4.5 or 5. Voting will begin April 29, so look for my tweets, facebook pleas and this blog asking for votes.
September, 2018 Update
Having regained the rights to the first four books in the Cotillion Ball Series, I have contracted with Prairie Rose Publications to republish them. Through August and September, they have been reformatted, new covers created and are now available for the first time to Kindle Unlimited readers. In October, I hope to regain the rights to the other six books in the series and will republish them as soon as possible. Having the books available in Kindle Unlimited is a great boon to the series, since readers don't need to buy the book in order to read it, as long as they are members of Kindle Unlimited.
As for the Flower Girl Regency series, my agent and I have decided to wait until I can regain the rights to Winning Violet (probably next March) before proceeding with publication. But that doesn't mean I'm not working on the books. Losing Lily needs some more work, but Remembering Iris is nearly complete. Keeping Poppy has not yet been started, but she's become such a character within the pages of the first three books, she will be a pleasure to write. Stay tuned.
April, 2018 Update
Gambling On Forever, an interracial western, released on March 1 and quickly became #2 on a Goodreads Listopia for Historical Interracial Romance. This book also garnered a 4-1/2 star review and a Crowned Heart award from Ind'Tale magazine.
In March, Simon & Schuster elected to close the Crimson Romance line. This affects the entire Cotillion Ball series as well as Winning Violet. I am in the process now of regaining the rights to these books, but it will take more than a year to get them back. They will continue to be available on Amazon and other outlets during the transition.
On a happy note, Tara Gelsomino, former executive editor of Crimson Romance, has decided to open her new business as a literary agent, and asked if she could represent me with my future books. We're working on the second book in the Regency series, Losing Lily, which follows Winning Violet, and I'm deep into edits on a mail order bride book, tentatively called The Angelica Train.
November, 2017 Update
It's official! Sweet Caroline has been released, as of November 15. This second Lobster Cove book features the cousin of Abbey and Penny from my first Lobster Cove book, Love's In The Cards.
Winning Violet follows quickly on its heels, with a release date of Christmas Day. I'll be blogging about it in December and January in a variety of locations. This is my first release from Simon & Schuster, who purchased Crimson Romance over a year ago. They've been quite active with the promotion of my backlist, but this series of four books signals a new beginning for me, working with a Big Five publisher. The second book, Losing Lily, will come out mid-year 2018. More news later about this lively family who help their father run a nursery and landscaping business in Regency England.
September, 2017 Update:
It's been a fairly quiet year, publishing-speaking, anyway. My second Lobster Cove book, Sweet Caroline, has been in the editing phase all year, and will hopefully be published before the end of the year.
My Regency book, now entitled Winning Violet, is under consideration by one of my favorite publishers. We'll see how it goes. This is the first book in a series of four books about the sisters, and I hope it will become as popular as the Cotillion Ball series has been.
Dance With Destiny, my American historical set in Ohio at the start of the Civil War, continues to sell well. I just contracted with this publisher for a new book, also featuring one of the Lafontaine family who are half Ojibwa, half French-Canadian. This one stars Elise, the only girl in the family and the youngest in the family. It's tentatively titled Gambling On Forever, and takes place on a riverboat heading down the Mississippi from St. Louis to New Orleans. At least until I pitch my hero and heroine overboard. I don't know yet when it will be published, but I'd love to have it happen before the end of the year.
On another note, I am honored to be part of a panel discussion scheduled for February, 2018 as part of the Cuyahoga County library system. Here's the link for further information: http://cuyahogalibrary.evanced.info/eventsignup.asp?ID=134964
February, 2017 Update:
We're deep into winter here in Ohio. Normally, February is the cruelest month of the year, weather-wise, but so far this year, so good. More rain than snow, which is the way I prefer it. And I prefer to stay busy, which is also happening.
The big news since December is the Crimson Romance line has been purchased by Simon & Schuster. All books in the Crimson line are on sale this month for $1.99 each. My bundle of all the Cotillion Books plus the novella have been marked down even further, to 99 cents, but only until February 12. The last book in this series, The Forgotten Debutante, will be included in a bundle called Love In Wartime, which will be released in April.
I finished the first draft of my Regency, the first in my potential series about four sisters and their father, who are in charge of a landscaping and nursery business in England. Each sister is named for a flower, and each has very specific duties in the business. The first book, Seeds Of Change, about Violet, is going to be used in the workshop with Lori Wilde. After she gets finished red-penning it, I'll begin to solicit an agent for the series.
My second Lobster Cove book is coming this spring or summer. Second edits are due back to me by the end of February. Sweet Caroline features a cousin of the two sisters who own the greeting card store featured in Love's In The Cards. She returns to Lobster Cove after a 16-year absence to be a bridesmaid in her cousin's wedding, and is paired up with the man who broke her heart when they were teenagers. Grant, the man in question, is my favorite hero. But then I say that about all my heroes, while I'm working on them.
December, 2016 Update:
It's hard to believe another year is almost gone. I thought the year would be easy, since I had no contracts to honor or deadlines to adhere to. I decided to give myself the year to experiment with my writing. So what happened? Here's what:
April–The final book in the Cotillion Ball series, was released. The Forgotten Debutante was a darker story line than the others in the series, since it was about The Federal Reburial Program, which took place after the Civil War. The project involved going to the battlefields and digging up the bodies of Union soldiers and brining them home to be reburied. It's a program not many know even existed, and it was very moving to write about it.
August–I'd read a few of the books set in Wild Rose's fictional town of Lobster Cove, and decided I wanted to write one. It was a real learning experience, since I only had a basic knowledge of the town and its inhabitants. They offered me a contract, and sent me a map of the town and the various businesses, which I had to weave into the story. Love's In The Cards was released December 7, and features the town's greeting card shop and its owners, Penny and Abbie Beedle.
August–In conversation with one of my publishers, it was thrown out there that I might want to write a Regency. Never one to back down from a challenge, I decided to go small, but yes, to go for it. A Regency Yuletide was finished too late to get into the publisher's Christmas lineup, so I self-published it in October.
December–Another historical romance, Dance With Destiny, was released December 15. This story is taken from my family history, and gives my idea of how we could have an Indian in our family tree when DNA testing says otherwise. Obviously, it's very close to my heart.
Coming up in 2017: Hopefully, I'll have another book set in Lobster Cove. I'm going to rework my middle-grade book and make it a YA American historical, since I know that market better. And I'm going to start a new series, set in Regency England. Stay tuned!
May, 2016 Update:
The Forgotten Debutante, the final book in the Cotillion Ball Series, was released in April, and will be included in the bundle of books 7-9, which will release in a few weeks. I truly enjoyed this series, which taught me what it was like to work with a great publisher (Crimson Romance), how to focus and most importantly, how to create a brand. The series may be at an end, but my love of history continues, taking me in new and different directions. I've just signed a contract with a different publisher for a Civil War era book, and am hard at work on a YA historical that takes place during the Revolutionary War.
I've also used my personal experience of working at a greeting card company to put together a sweet Christmas novella which has been accepted by Wild Rose Press for their popular Lobster Cover series. It will hopefully be published later this year.
I've got a few other things up my sleeve for later this year, too. It's been nice to have this break from the Cotillion Ball series to try out different things, different genres, different eras and different characters. What's next? A cozy mystery?
Quite possibly...
October, 2015 Update:
A Widow's Salvation was released on September 7, and I've been busily making the rounds of guest posts. This was the hardest one yet for me to write, since my heroine had been a happily married woman and, by the time the Civil War began, she had two children and a third on the way. I had to find her strength underneath her gentle nature. When I did, the words flowed easily. But it was an early struggle. I hope you enjoy the final product. I think the cover is the best one yet, and the book is one of my favorites. (But I say that about each book I write!)
In other news, Crimson is planning to release a bundle of books 4-6 during the week after Christmas. The first bundle sold well, and I hope the trend continues. Book 9 is the final book in the Cotillion Ball Series. It's the story of Saffron, The Forgotten Debutante. She's missed out on all the normal events associated with growing up as a privileged member of New York's society. But she has other adventures that are even better. I'm taking a research trip to Washington, DC later this month, since most of the book takes place in DC and on the battlefield at Chancellorsville, VA.
And, cross your fingers, I may have found a home for my contemporary. More news on that to come.
This just in: I have a special guest appearance at the Cascade of Authors event at the Elyria Public Library, in Elyria, OH, on November 7. I'll be speaking for about 15 minutes and then signing books, which you can buy on-site. Look forward to seeing each of you there.
April, 2015 Update:
Pepper's story, A Widow's Salvation, is nearing the end of the first round of revisions. My plan is to have it to Crimson by June 1. The little novella I wrote, about how the Fitzpatrick family got started with the courtship of Charlotte and George, will be released June 9, along with a bundle of the first three books in the series.
I hope to get back to work on the other historical I'm working on, as well as finding a home for my contemporary, which is the first in a three-book series. My hip surgery and recovery are limiting my mobility, but that leaves me time to sit at the computer and go to other places in my head. Not at all a bad thing.
March, 2015 Update:
Expressly Yours, Samantha was released mid-month, and I have decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from the sales of this book to a charity called the Last Chance Corral. They're located in Athens, OH and do some tremendous work. Check out their Facebook page to see what they're up to. I thought this was an appropriate charity since the ponies used on the Pony Express route were terribly abused, since getting the mail through was the most important thing.
I decided about a year ago to write a novella about Charlotte and George Fitzpatrick. As the parents of the large Fitzpatrick brood, they had to have a tender love story about when they met. The story was picked up by Crimson Romance, and will be coming out in June. Pepper's story is still in the first draft stage, but coming along. And I'm writing another story about one of Joseph's brothers from the first book in the Cotillion Ball series. It's not part of the series, but Raoul is a very special character and his story has been keeping me up at night, so I had to get started on it.
Speaking of our chapter, NEORWA, we are truly rocking. Two years ago, we had two winners of the Golden Heart award, RWA's contest for unpublished authors. This year, we have two finalists in the RITA contest for published work. Such inspiration!
February, 2015 Update:
Expressly Yours, Samantha is scheduled for release March 16, 2015. This is the 7th book in the Cotillion Ball Series, and takes place in Missouri and Kansas, as the Pony Express comes into existence. Valerian is the youngest son of George and Charlotte Fitzpatrick, and has had a love affair with horses his entire life. I'm busy writing guest blogs and lining up reviews at this time.
Book 8, A Widow's Salvation, is up next. Eldest daughter, Pepper, has lost her husband in the early days of the Civil War. After a year of mourning, she begins to volunteer at an Army hospital, where she meets Elijah Williams, who suffers from PTSD, although it wasn't referred to as an illness at that time. Plans are to release it in the fall.
My agent is in the process of editing my revised manuscript, Barnswallow Summer. We'll see what happens.
November, 2014 Update:
Book 7 in the Cotillion Ball Series is finished and was sent to Crimson Romance a week ago. I also received a contract for my novella about the romance of the parents of the large Fitzpatrick family. An Unconventional Courtship is scheduled for release next summer. So, if you've ever wondered how Charlotte and George met, you'll now get the answers.
I'm starting to work on the second novel in the Barn Swallow contemporary series. This one's about Helen, who lost her husband nine months earlier, and it's her first Christmas without him. The man who shows up on her doorstep during a wicked New York Nor'easter is none other than her first love. We'll see how things play out.
September, 2014 Update:
I'm pleased to announce I signed with Blue Ridge Literary Agency this week. Dawn Dowdle already represents several of my author friends, and I'm happy to have been added to her roster.
My sixth book in the Cotillion Ball Series is the featured book of the week over at the Crimson Romance bookstore, and you can buy it for 50% off by using the code TDD50 at checkout. So, check it out!
Update: August 2014 Countdown Commences!
There are a lot of reasons to count down the last days of August. The sixth book in my Cotillion Ball
Later in September, my sister and I will be traveling to the Finger Lakes of New York, for a brief getaway. My contemporary series takes place in this region, and I want to be certain I capture the right mood. So--road trip!
And the last part of the month, my younger brother and sister, who are twins, will both be in town at the same time for a high school reunion. As part of the weekend-long celebration of having all my siblings in the same place at the same time, we are going to a Cleveland Indians baseball game. My first one of the season. So I get to stare at men in tight little uniforms for a couple of hours. No complaining here.
The Conference was great, and I have a couple of requests for my contemporary work, so I really need to get that ready to send out. And, work has begun on the seventh book in the Cotillion Ball Series. Valerian, the last boy in the family, becomes a rider for the Pony Express.
And, lastly, the Time After Time bundle is still selling for only 99 cents. Sales have been good, and if you haven't already downloaded these ten books for only 99 pennies, please consider doing so now. I have no idea how much longer this deal will last.
July, 2014
It's been a busy year so far, and the best is yet to come, I think. Starting on July 7, my first historical romance, The Reluctant Debutante, will be part of a bundled set of Crimson historical romances. Ten complete e-books for only 99 cents! How cool is that?
Speaking of Crimson Romance, the company just celebrated its second year in business by opening its own bookstore. (www.adamsmediastore.com/crimson-romance) And not only are they open for sales, by daily offering six books for the price of five, on top of that, they're offering a special discount from now until the end of August. Simply type in the promotional code FFSAVE on the lower left side of the checkout page for an additional 10% discount.
As part of their anniversary and the launch of their new bookstore, they also redesigned their website and posted their 25 all-time best-sellers. I'm pleased to announce The Reluctant Debutante is on that list.
As part of their anniversary and the launch of their new bookstore, they also redesigned their website and posted their 25 all-time best-sellers. I'm pleased to announce The Reluctant Debutante is on that list.
I made PAN (Professional Author Network) status early this year, so I just had to sign up for the RWA National Conference in San Antonio this summer. I can't wait to sit in on the PAN Retreat with other professional authors and be the recipient of great sessions designed to provide information on the profession of author. I'm also on the board of the Contemporary RWA chapter, who will host a dessert bar and panel discussion on Thursday night during the Conference. Should be great fun, and yummy desserts. I want one of everything on the menu!
I'm sure I'll have a lot more to talk about upon my return from San Antonio. Until then, I'm breaking in new shoes and getting my wardrobe together. One of our NEORWA chapter mates is a Golden Heart finalist, so we'll be there to cheer her on. Good luck, Abbie Roads!
No comments:
Post a Comment