Saturday, January 25, 2014

The Wright person for the job

One of the most enjoyable things about producing novels is enlisting the help of others on jobs that, frankly, should be left to others. And few jobs, of course, are more important than creating the cover.

Last month I sought and received assistance from Indiana designer Laura Wright LaRoche. In a matter of a few days, she was able to create a cover that captured the spirit of a book about nineteen-year-old identical twin sisters who travel in time to 1964.

I would recommend Laura to any author in need of a cover illustrator. Examples of her work can be found on her LLPix Photography & Design web site.

Work continues on The Mirror. I expect to publish the fifth and final book in the Northwest Passage series by early March.

Monday, January 6, 2014

New goals for a new year

An author friend recently asked me if I had any writing goals for 2014. I thought it was an odd question at first. Most authors have at least one goal. They want to write more books!

The more I thought about the question, though, the more I realized that I do have goals that go beyond simply producing another novel. Some are bigger than others, but all involve putting my works in the hands of more readers.

I will see one longstanding goal reach fruition this Friday with the release of The Mine audio book on Amazon.com and Audible.com. Until now, all four of my published novels have been available only in e-book format. Though I have no immediate plans to turn to print, I will not rule out that option.

I also plan to start a new series following the March release of The Mirror, the fifth and final book of the Northwest Passage series. The new series will be much like the first and offer a blend of time travel, history, humor, adventure, and romance. I hope to publish the first installment by August 31.

As in past years, I will also do what I can to promote existing books, whether through reviews, interviews, contests, or advertising. Like many indie authors, I've learned that marketing a novel is just as important as writing it.

Here's hoping that your 2014 is a productive one!