Monday Moment - Live Like Gus

Announcing my debut novel! Available in September 2017!

Publishing a novel has been a dream of mine since reading Trixie Belden stories at age eight.  So hot-diggety, this feels good!

What's Come Back about? 
Vi Masters comes back to the hometown she fled ten years before - not because she wants to, but because she's worried about Sadie, more mother than aunt. Vi's father Ben and stepmother Tammy are worried too, and afraid Vi's visit will disrupt what each holds most dear.  And when she finds out that Nate Barlow moved back to town, Vi wonders if she can survive the unruly hope he inspires.     Four voices tell the story of Vi's three-day visit and how it changes each of their lives.

How long did it take to write?
Are we talking the first draft? That took about six years - in between jobs that paid taxes and put food on the table. And then it took another four or five years to edit, revise, and revise again. It's been a long birthing process! And now I'm (almost) ready to show off the baby! Just one more proof and you'll be able to find it on Amazon. Imagine!

What's next?
Now I have to learn all the ins and outs of promoting, marketing, and selling a work of fiction. One potential I'm exploring is a give-away contest. Stay tuned to see how that develops. And if you can tell everyone you know about Come Back, I'll be eternally grateful!

Meanwhile, I'm already at work on my second novel, Home Place. In this one, I'm attempting to re-write history and keep the home and farm my great-great grandfather's homestead in our family. Sort of. The place is real, but the characters are not at all autobiographical.  Here's hoping this one won't take ten years to finish - and I don't think it will.

But the fall 2017 semester begins next week, and most of my writing time will be devoted to teaching instead. I take the slow and steady turtle as my mentor and hope I'll be able to make another new novel announcement in 2018.  Fingers crossed!