Starting Over

…is hard as heck, even when you get a little help from your friends. I recently had the rights to the novel I released this time last year, SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT, reverted to me. I won’t dwell on the particulars any further than to say that support (in the form of exposure that I, as a brand new unknown, was not able to procure on my own) was not forthcoming. The book made it to zero bookstore shelves and exactly two libraries (and if I had a dollar for every time I was asked what store or library a reader could find it in I probably could use that money to pay for my son’s school books and car repairs).
As it was, it never really stood a chance. I’m reminded of something my
mother used to say time and time again over the years: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I also like the way C. S. Lewis put it, “Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn.”

So I’ve decided to revamp and re-release. It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make, nor was it done spur-of-the-moment. But, considering the circumstances, I do believe it was, for me, the best choice. The book is somewhat different now: the cover (I’m satisfied, as it is as true a reflection of what goes on in this book as the previous one), the content (a bit more upbeat), and the cost (most folks, myself included, like/need to get the most they can for their money. They’re not too keen on shelling out eight, nine, ten, or more dollars on a book by a brand new, unproven writer. Too many risks involved). My ebooks will be available on Kindle, NOOK (High Rise is already there) and whatever forms made available through Smashwords.
The novella (High Rise) and the novelette (The Big Uneasy) will be ebooks only. SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT will come out as an ebook first. Later in September it will be also be available as a paperback. As I’m scheduled to be a part of the Non-Traditionally Published Author’s Panel at the 2011 Louisiana Book Fair in Baton Rouge on October 29, I’ma need some physical hold-in-your-hand-and-turn-the-crisp-white-pages books on hand to sign. And I’m “fixin'” to read up on this Kindlegraph thing too :-).

So that’s it in a nutshell. And now that they have pre- and post-Katrina behind them, my characters are eager to move forward into this new decade. How do I know this? ‘Cause they TOLD me…how else?

🙂