A little bit of news

And it's news about my writing.

First, I have run out of patience. I'm hoping to have some news about a publishing date for Heart's Magic before too long. The publisher is going to have to either publish the book, or give me the rights back. They can't sit on it any more. I am going to find a way to publish this book, one way or another.

Second, I'm looking seriously into getting into the self-publishing arena myself, not with backlist books--I don't have that many, and don't have my rights back on most of them. But I do have a fair number of books that I have actually never submitted for one reason or another--some because the "big boys" don't really like books about hockey players unless you're Diedre Martin or Rachel Gibson, others because--well, I did submit, but never, ever, ever heard back.

There's one I submitted that went all the way to the wire--they almost bought it...and then bought someone else's book. At the time, I was depressed, but given how things turned out later (the someone else, I consider a friend--or at least friendly acquaintance), I think maybe it was for the best. Anyway, I want to get that book up too, sometime. But later.

There's a different book I want to start with. It's a contemporary romance. No paranormal/fantasy elements whatsoever. (I started out in contemporary romance, if y'all didn't know. My first two books were series romance for Silhouette Desire. I still like to read it.)

I started writing this book without having done ANY research into one of the areas the book was about. I did do the research as I was writing, but that means I need to revise the first part of it. Actually, there are some revisions needed through the whole thing, because I wrote it long enough ago that cell phones weren't as ubiquitous as they are now. (How's that for a $5 word? Look it up. I had to when I read a Phillip K. Dick novel years ago, (which I still don't quite get) and now I can use it. :) )

I may need to do some tweaking here and there on the whole story--shade the emotions a little more carefully, that sort of thing--but when I read it, I laughed at the funny parts, sighed at the tender parts, and just enjoyed the heck out of it. And I wrote it. So hopefully other people will enjoy it too.

So, I am not taking the plunge into self-publishing, but I am sticking my toe in it. I'm a real wuss when it comes to swimming at the beach or a lake. I've been spoiled by Texas--the water needs to be about 80F or so, and if the air is over 90F, all the better. I want it warm, baby, WARM. If not hot. Here's hoping the self-publishing water is just right.

More as the adventure continues.