A New Direction

It seems appropriate to reactivate my blog exactly one year from when I last posted anything here – and also somewhat significant since I am about to enter a new phase in my writing life.

Last year at this time, the audio version of my novel Changing the Future had just been released and the audio of Irish Inheritance was in preparation. My novels were selling steadily (not in millions but certainly in hundreds each month), and I was in the middle of writing my 4th novel set in the west of Ireland. That novel, Irish Deceptions, was released in March this year.

A month later, on April 12th, I received the devastating news that my publisher was closing due to ill-health. I’ve been with her for over 5 years, and she and her team have been the most supportive and friendly people any writer could ever wish to work with. What other publisher would receive a submission (of one of my Irish novels) at the beginning of February with my apology that I was submitting it far too late for it to be released in time for St. Patrick’s Day – and then fast-track it so that it was actually published 22 days later?

Of course I was now left with the question of what to do with my 9 novels once they were removed from online distributors at the end of August.

In a knee-jerk reaction, I sent two of my novels in mid-April to a ‘traditional’ British publisher. I must admit I was slightly put off when they made me feel like a newbie writer looking for a first acceptance, rather than an established author with thousands of sales over the past 5 years, but I accepted that I would have to wait ‘up to two months’ (as quoted by the submissions editor) for a decision. The two months passed, and then I heard that someone else had to wait over 5 months for a decision, and even longer for actual publication. At that point I came to a decision – there was no way I wanted to wait a year or more for each of my novels to be re-published (one a year = 9 years!), so I withdrew my novels from this publisher.

I then contacted Rebecca (my publisher) and asked for her advice. Remember what I said earlier about a supportive publisher? In the space of a couple of hours last Monday evening, she contacted another publisher – and came back to me with the response that they would be happy to take all my novels! Whatever you said to them, Rebecca – thank you!

I went to bed on Monday evening in part huge relief and part stunned amazement.

Since then, life has been a whirlwind of signing contracts with Fire Star Press, an imprint of Prairie Rose Publications, and providing my ideas for the new cover designs, since they want to publish my Irish books first (and all at the same time) as the ‘Mist Na Mara’ series. Those of you who have read the books will know exactly what Mist Na Mara is!

A year on from my last blog post here, my life is setting off in a new direction – and I’m really looking forward to working with Cheryl and Livia at Fire Star Press. I’ll let you know how it goes – so watch this space! J