EARRINGS WINNER

And it looks like Shalanna has won the earrings! One final appearance:

So congratulations, Shalanna! Now, if you'll email me your info at cherylbdale@hotmail.com, I'll have them shipped to you ASAP.

And for those who didn't win, we have a different pair for November. These pearl beauties are similar to the ones Steve wore  (THE MAN IN THE BOAT) for the premiere unveiling of Mark's colossal sculpture.

Same rules. Comment on here (as often as you like) during November using the word earrings. Winner will be announced in my first December blog.

For anyone interested, here's the link to the Etsy store where they're featured:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/104751621/pink-pearl-perfection-earrings

WAS INSTEAD OF WERE

I'm excited. Kind of.

THE MAN IN THE BOAT is now available in the MuseItUp bookstore - www.MuseItUp.com - and also on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Boat-ebook/dp/B007JW8L94/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331912514&sr=1-1 but it isn't out yet at Barnes and Noble or from Apple. They sometimes take longer to get books up.

Why I'm not excited? I got an advance copy and read it night before last. Not out of vanity. Mainly to make sure the formatting was okay. And it was. Except about 30-40 pages in, I read a sentence and stopped, horrified. Reread it to be sure. Yep. There was a 'was' where a 'were' should have been.

In the beginning, a line editor read the entire manuscript, sent it back to me with changes, I accepted or defended, sent back; she accepted, disputed, sent back; I accepted/refused/defended, sent back. We finally agreed on the 6th or so version which I reread and approved.

The copy editor got it next. Same procedures. Six or seven times through, I reread one last time and approved.

Publisher got it, sent me final galleys. I went through, reread, made a few last corrections, sent back.

So how the heck did that 'was' sneak in instead of the 'were' that should have been there?

I'm hardened to people disapproving of sex scenes. But this! I'm mortified!

Glad I don't have to worry about my old English teachers reading romance.

RELEASE DATE

I finally got the release date for my romantic mystery, THE MAN IN THE BOAT. Looks like it'll be available in MuseItUp's bookstore -- link is: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=338&category_id=69&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 -- on March 16th, and probably Amazon soon after that.

Muse rearranged the schedule to push up a release from one of our authors who's battling cancer. The historical romance, GARNET GALE GETS HER MAN, was due out in June but they moved it up to last week so that she could see it pubbed.

So if anyone likes romantic mysteries, my book's out this week; anyone who likes historical romance, Nan D. Arnold's book is already out on Amazon and at Muse!

BLOG VISIT

So today, Penny Ehrenkranz kindly invited me to be interviewed on her blog and give an excerpt of THE MAN IN THE BOAT coming out this month from MuseItUp. I hope. Not got a final date yet, but as far as I know it's still on.

Anyway, I was surprised and pleased at several people turning up to comment. The link, in case you want to go see it later, is: http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com/

For a confirmed introvert like me, it wasn't bad at all. No talking face to face, no nervous giggling or dumbfounded silence, no bunch of strange faces staring at me. I rather liked it. Hope they're all that easy.

COVER for THE MAN IN THE BOAT

I'm very excited because I got my cover for the book coming out in March from MuseItUp Publishing. Suzannah Safi did a great job, I think, showing the stunned heroine confronting a wounded man who runs his boat up on the bank beside her.

FINAL GALLEYS

So I got the final galleys for THE MAN IN THE BOAT this past week. As I'm going through them with a fine tooth comb since this is the very last chance to correct typos or other simple mistakes (e.g., the hero was working in clay, then marble, then clay again for the same piece), I notice awkward phrases, unnecessary words, and other stuff I'm always telling other people not to do.

How can this happen? I ask myself. I had a copy editor and a line editor. They went through it, sent me corrections, I sent it back, they went through it again, sent it back to me, I sent it back to them... Altogether the three of us went through the blooming manuscript eight or more times!

I guess the truth is, there are always things we could do better. Anyway, the galley corrections are now in. I'm still waiting on my cover art though. I'm anxious to see what it looks like!

MUSEITUP PUBLISHING

I have good news. MuseItUp has offered for my romantic suspense, THE MAN IN THE BOAT. It'll be coming out next March if everything goes all right.

The story's about a woman who's retreated to a lakeside cottage to decide what to do about her crumbling marriage. A boat slams into the bank next to where she's sunning, its driver wounded. When she runs for help, he and the boat disappear.

Afterward, people break in on her at the lake, and later at her house.

Then she finds her husband knows more about what's going on that he lets on.

Kind of a woman in jeopardy, with the heroine chased by the bad guys as she wonders whether she can trust her husband or not. Started out as a mystery but quickly turned into romance. Some sex (letting you know ahead of time, Shannon!) for those who prefer it sweet.

MuseItUp is a fairly new epublisher, but from what I can see, they do a good job on edits. That, to me, is most important. I try to turn in clean manuscripts, but everyone needs a good editor. Writers owe it to readers to put out the best products they can. The most wonderful story in the world suffers if the writing's bad.

So I'm off to drink a glass of whatever. Or maybe just to eat chocolate. Yum.