I’ve been pretty busy lately– mostly with revisions on A Real Husband. Edits will begin soon and I’m trying to trim it first.  It was a little too long.  But I think the trimming is a good thing.  I’ve cut about 40 pages and the story seems to move along more quickly.  I think my editor will be happy with it.  And if she likes it better, so will readers. 

Oh, I was given some exciting news the other day.  How Faerie Dust Is Made will eventually be available in print.  Yay!  The Wild Rose Press will begin printing their Rosebud books soon.  Rosebuds are novella length – longer than a short story, but not as long as a regular novel. 

I don’t have release dates on either book yet.  A Real Husband is listed as Coming Fall 2007 on Enspiren’s site, though!  WooHoo!  How Faerie Dust Is Made is also listed on the coming soon page for the Faery Rose line.

Both books will be released in ebook format first.  Printing takes a lot longer, but I’m really excited that both with be available in print.

Nita

It’s official! I’ve signed a contract with Enspiren Press for my historical novel, A Real Husband. 

Enspiren Press is owned by Grace Publishing, the publishers of Novel Writer Magazine.  Anne Whitfield will be my editor, and I’m really excited to be working with her.  Read a couple of her books and you’ll see why.    This is a great opportunity for me to learn more about the craft of writing from a talented author. 

Again, it’s much too soon for release dates and such.  We haven’t even begun the editing process yet, but I’ll keep you posted. 

I’m doing a little happy dance.  LOL  I’ve signed with two great publishers! Woohoo!

Nita 

It’s official!  I’m a Faery Rose author.   

This is the paranomormal line of The Wild Rose Press. 

 

Of course, it’s too soon for release dates and such.  I’ll be sure and let everyone know when that happens.

I’m so excited to be working with Wild Rose.  I hear nothing but good things about them.  They have great books of all lengths – short stories, novellas, and novels.  And their authors are happy.  That says a lot about any publisher. 

Of course, if paranormal is not your style, they have other lines.  Like the Catcus Rose!  LOL  That’s historical westerns.  I’m thinking my current work-in-progress might fit well there.  We’ll see.  They’ve got contemporaries, historicals, inspirationals, and erotica, too.  There’s something for everyone. 

I’m so excited!    As soon as the contract is official for A Real Husband, I’ll make that announcement, too. 

Nita

I’m still a little dizzy after yesterday.  But in a good way.

The big news?  I seriously need a drumroll here…

I received offers on both of my manuscripts!

The contracts aren’t signed and official yet, so I’ll wait to announce the publishers.  I don’t want to jinx anything.  LOL 

I think I’ll really be happy with the home of both of my books.  With A Real Husband, my editor will be a woman I’ve long admired.  I’m so excited about working with her.  How Faerie Dust is Made will have a home with several other books about faeries, elves, and other magical, mythical beings.

In truth, I had two offers to choose from for both manuscripts.  I believe I’ve made the best choice for each of them and I’m VERY pleased, to say the least. 

Look for the official announcements soon!

Nita     

I still haven’t heard from the publisher who’s had a full manuscript of A Real Husband for over 2 months.  This particular publisher lists 12 weeks as their usual response time.  It’s been a little over 13 weeks, so I’ve got to believe I’ll be hearing something from them soon.  Then again, you never know.  They could keep it for twice that long and decide they don’t want it.  So when the 12 weeks was up, I submitted to another publisher who’d requested a partial.  This second publisher is quite a bit bigger and response time from them is listed as 6 months. 

I received an email from an editor last Thursday about How Faerie Dust is Made.  She said she had begun her review and I should know something by Monday.  That’s TODAY!  Sheesh.  I’m biting my nails and I have butterflies.  Serious pins and needles here folks!

While I’ve been waiting, I’ve been working diligently on my western novel.  Yes, I did say novel.  I had originally intended it to be a short story, about 15,000 words or about 50 or 60 pages.  Once I started writing, the characters grew and the plot details became more clear. When I passed the 15k mark, I figured it would be a novella instead with about 30,000 words. 

Well, it’s currently 37,500 words (about 135 pages.)  And with the newly expanded outline, I can easily see another 20k.  On the one hand, I’m thinking “This is not what I intended.”  On the other, “I should have known.”  LOL  My characters always have this tendency to take over the story once I start writing. And most of the time, I’m as surprised by what happens as the reader. 

So I’ve been staying busy with my writing, trying to keep my mind off the submissions.  But it’s hard to do that today since the editor specifically said she’d have an answer for me by Monday. Keep your fingers crossed for me!  I’m hoping for good news from both publishers for both of my manuscripts.  Any – day – now.

Nita