Celebrating Sisterhood

I'm not doing many booksignings right now, but a couple of weeks ago, I was at the Celebrating Sisterhood event at the West Jordan Seagull Book & Tape. It was great to finally meet Nicole--a new fan of my books (I love how she styles her son's hair). We've emailed each other a few times, but it was nice that she made the extra effort to come to my booksigning.

Also, another lady, Michelle, came to meet me. It was fun to talk about our favorite books and other books we are reading.

Edits Are In

Part of the writing journey, is of course: Rewriting

Many new writers are surprised to learn that a book go through a number of drafts or revisions before it's even accepted for publication. Of course there's a point in time when you need to stop revising and start submitting.

Right now, I'm in the editing stages with my publisher. This is when the edits "really" count and a writer has to weigh each suggestion or correction with care. It's not the time to brush off a comment with "Sally from my critique group just doesn't get me . . . so I'll ignore her character motivation comment . . ."

My next book will be released in September, so that means it will likely go to press some time in June. Everything is now on a schedule.

Working on right now: Edits with my editor

Starting to formulate:
1. Contact the map designer and put together map locations to be incoporated in original map that will outline the geography.

2. Brainstorming possible endorsements

3. Working on dedication and acknowledgements

4. Tweaking author's bio

Coming up:
1. Once I get the jpeg of my cover, the marketing will begin.

2. Contacting reviewers to send ARC's to (Advanced Reader Copy)

Fortunately, I've been down this road before. With my first book, I was surprised to learn about half of this stuff and spent a great deal of time learning the ropes. Now it's just a matter of application.

Farworld is COMING

Just over a year ago, J. Scott Savage emailed the first 100 pages of FARWORLD to me. I've been a member of his critique group for about 6 years now. I've read almost everything he's written . . . but when I opened up the file I immeditately knew that J. Scott had found his ultimate niche. I love the way J. Scott writes--compelling, witty, and mixed with just the right amount of edgy fear of the unknown. So I was really excited when his Young Adult series, FARWORLD, was accepted by a publisher that has taken several fantasy books to the NY Times Bestseller list.

Now . . . we are weeks away from the ARC's being released and I can't wait to read the final version.

Even more cool, J. Scott is doing a massive blog tour called Find Your Magic and offering up to 200 bloggers free arcs from his publisher. The guidelines can be found here. TODAY is the first day you can sign up (so hurry).

September 1 2008 will be a great day, not only will it see the release of my new series, but the first volume of FARWORLD, Water Keep, will be released to the public. I feel privileged to have read the original draft and will definitely be reviewing it as soon as the ARC arrives in the mail.

Unofficial Official Title

My publisher has selected the official title for my new Book of Mormon series. It will be titled Prophets of the Promised Land. Volume One will be . . . you guessed it . . . Abinadi.

How many prophets are there in the Book of Mormon? I could be writing for a long time . . .

Historical Buffs

Recently I read Tristi Pinkston's new book, Season of Sacrifice.

From one history lover to another, it was great to dive into someone else's work of fiction and just RELAX. I wasn't the one doing the research. I wasn't the one checking the facts. I wasn't the one trying to make history and fiction blend.

You can read my review of Season of Sacrifice here.

This book is very near and dear to Tristi's heart--it's the story of her great-great-grandparents, Ben and Sarah Perkins. She tried to get it published with a traditional publisher, but some of the topics were too controversial. (That always entices me to purchase a book immediately.) Most of all, I was inspired. I have a few family stories that are fascinating--maybe not an entire novel's worth--but I loved reading how Tristi brought in her family history and turned it into an exciting historical novel. Her children and grandchildren will have a precious inheritance in the form of this book.

Autographed copies can be purchased on Tristi's website.

Happy reading!