Shoeless Joe, the Colonial South, Writing & More: A New Author Interview

There's a new author interview with me today over at Jim Lomas's very funny and very cool cycling, music, and more blog, "Fables of the Deconstruction."

Full disclosure: Jimmy has been a friend of my husband's since they were kids. I had a great time talking with him, mostly because he's a history buff, so well-read, and funny as heck. The interview was one of the smartest and most detailed anyone's done with me, so it was a joy.

I hope you'll check it out, and his blog in general--which, especially if you're a music buff, cyclist, and/or parent, is a must-follow--here.

Big Promotion Day for Keowee Valley - Deals, Free Stuff, & More!

It’s a big day for Keowee Valley and me!

First, I’m doing a blog tour!

This means I, and Keowee Valley, will be featured on several different blogs–each of them different (and all the things I talk about different, too).

Check them out:



Keowee Valley Blog Tour:
Blog 1: Bell Bridge Books – “Writing as a Mom”
Blog 2: Riding With the Top Down – “The Beauty of Book Clubs” 
Blog 3: Michelle Ziegler Author - “Fun Fact Friday: Katherine Scott Crawford & Her Path to Publication”
Blog 4: Goodreads - "Mining for Gold"

Second, Keowee Valley is available for a special promotion price of only $1.99, today (Mar. 22) through Monday (Mar. 25) at the Amazon Kindle Store and Apple.

Third, today ONLY, I’m doing an Author Q & A on Goodreads. At my Goodreads Author Page, I’ll be answering any questions Goodreads readers, writers, and bloggers may have about my novel, history, literary agents, publishing, the writing life–basically anything and everything under the sun! I do hope you’ll take part. (If you haven’t signed up for Goodreads, it’s FREE and fun.) In addition, Goodreads is offering a free book giveaway to lucky folks who participate!

I figure this is a fun way to get through your Friday, and to get ready for the weekend. I hope to see you somewhere on “the Web” today!

Live from Asheville, it's...

As most of you know, my debut historical novel, Keowee Valley, will be published by Bell Bridge Books in August 2012 (HOO-rah). This Thursday, I'm going to get a chance to talk about the novel (and other things) live and on-the-air.

Here are the details:

On Thursday, Oct. 13 from 11 a.m. to noon, my teacher-writer colleague, Jennifer McGaha, and I will be live with Asheville, N.C. radio station 103.5 FM, in a segment called "Asheville and the Arts" with host Carol Anders. We'll be talking about writing, publishing, our current projects, and reading from our work. If you're in the Asheville area, please tune in! But if you're not, you can catch the program streaming live from the station web site: http://www.main-fm.org/. (Click the "listen" button at the upper left-hand corner of the page.)

(On a side note, my college students were simply disconsolate at the news that they won't have to come to English class that morning. I just don't know what they'll do.)

A Sale, a Start

Good things DO come to those who wait. (And persevere. And pray. But that's another story.)

I'm pleased to announce that I've sold my novel, KEOWEE VALLEY. A mainstream historical adventure and romance, it will be published in Fall 2012 by Bell Bridge Books. Set in the Revolutionary-era Carolinas and in the Cherokee Country, it's part the story of an independent young woman making a new life for herself against all odds, and part the story of an incredibly beautiful and dangerous country--and a mysterious, powerful people on the verge of life-altering change.

Whew. It's difficult to describe a 450+ page novel, particularly your own. I plan to get better at this as the year moves forward. The Publisher's Marketplace announcement does a much better job.

I couldn't be happier with my publisher(s). Bell Bridge Books is an imprint of Belle Books, a small to mid-sized (depending on whom you ask) press based in Memphis, T.N., which was founded and is run by smart, savvy women--most of them prolific authors. I had a chance to meet three of them in Asheville, N.C. a couple of weeks ago, and I walked away sure of my choice and hopeful for the future of my novel and my career. (I think I floated down the street. I wonder if anyone noticed?)

Going with a smaller press has many advantages, one of them being the opportunity to formulate and enact my own marketing plan in addition to the publishers'. So, while editing on the novel won't start until after the new year, I'm going to take the Fall to build a web site and to develop other opportunities for social media, etc. I've got some great guys helping me--my husband, and two of my best friends from high school--who are all experts in their fields (marketing and public relations).

This is going to be fun!

More about the process to come in the following weeks and months....