Drum Roll, Please

And here’s ……. my blog! Ta da!!! (Insert sound of crickets here).

After much internal debate, I decided to launch a blog. I recently attended the Muse Online Conference and joined up with a virtual book tour group with people from the conference. I had been toying with the idea of creating a blog, although I was a little afraid that it would take too much of my writing time away. But from what I’ve learned about the business end of writing, nobody is going to take an interest in you or your books if they don’t know about you. Also, it’s been a long road to publication. I think that I’ve learned a lot and I think that I have something to say. I hope you’ll agree. The last thing I want is for this to be a waste of time for the both of us.

I spent the majority of my time in the Muse Conference in the promotional forums and joined the virtual book tour group afterwards. The blogs and websites of the other members of the group are listed on the right side of my blog. I’ll be hosting other members and conducting interviews and they will be doing the same for me as well, all in an effort to get the word out about ourselves and our books. My first book, “The Sister Exchange”, should be out early in 2009, although I don’t know the exact release date yet.
The release date is dependent on the availability of the illustrator.

My picture books are being published by Guardian Angel Publishing. They are a fast growing publisher based in St. Louis. I found Guardian Angel through last year’s Muse Conference and sent them a manuscript called “The Soggy Town of Hilltop”. Much to my delight, I received an acceptance email about a month after I submitted the story. I submitted other stories to them that were also accepted, one is a counting book titled “Lightning Strikes”, another is a new baby picture book called “What Is That Thing?, and “The Sister Exchange” which is a sibling rivalry story. I was given a choice about which book I wanted to be published first, and I chose “The Sister Exchange”. I had read the manuscript during a school visit and it was a hit with the kids. One mother even requested the book even though it’s not out yet. I took that as a good sign and chose that one as my debut book. Hopefully, my instincts will prove correct and the book will get a good reception. I’ve got my fingers crossed.