Anna J. McIntyre's Blog, page 7

The Coulson Series – To the Proofer!!

When I was a little girl my Grandma Hilda would rattle off a couple of names—maybe my cousin’s, sister’s or mom’s—before getting to mine. She didn’t do this just with my name—it was something Grandma did with all her grandchildren.

When I started doing this I wasn’t overly concerned. Of course, I never wanted my daughter in earshot when I accidently called our dog by her name. I imagine Elizabeth would not be amused by my slip of tongue.

Unfortunately, this habit has invaded my writing. Just today a reviewer wrote of Coulson’s Wife “I would have given it 5 stars, but there were a lot of errors in book. Mostly being wrong names being written. Example the author kept putting Randall name instead of William.”

Damn. I wish I could say I was surprised, but another reviewer mentioned this problem on the last book in the Coulson Series. I’d intended to get that book re-proofed, but life got in the way, and I kept putting it on the back burner.

First, I want to say – I do use proofers and editors. I use beta readers. I would never, ever publish one of my books without putting it through the editing and proofing process. Obviously, I did not do a good enough job.

I’ve arranged with a proofer to go through all the Coulson Books—beginning with Coulson’s Wife—looking specifically for name issues.

It was kind of cute when Grandma Hilda switched our names around—but not so cute when I do it in my writing.

(Photo: Grandma Hilda with my sister Lynn (left) and me (right).)

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It’s not my book—but I want you to buy it!

I first “met” Brandon Hale a couple years ago when I started posting over at Amazon’s author forum. While books about vampires and werewolves really aren’t my thing, I started reading the preview of Brandon’s Day Soldiers and was hooked.

We became online friends and when Brandon and I bailed from Amazon’s KDP forum, we both landed in a private author’s group over on Facebook.

Brandon is a sweet, talented and funny guy. When he was diagnosed with cancer we understood it would be difficult for him to keep writing and marketing while battling cancer—and while his Day Soldiers series is popular, without regular promotion sales can drop, adversely affecting his income.

As a two time cancer survivor, I understand that the last thing you need to worry about when battling cancer is finances. Brandon’s fellow authors—the other members of that writing group I mentioned—wanted to do something to help, so we did what we do—we wrote a book.

The Bitten is a collection of short stories about vampires and werewolves. It’s a fun book—even for someone like me who isn’t a huge vampire and werewolf fan. But the most important thing, the proceeds from the book go to Brandon.

You can pickup The Bitten over at Amazon by clicking here.

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Coulson’s Wife – name that genre!

Things around my house have settled down a bit and I’ve gotten into a good routine. Yet most importantly, hubby is showing a marked improvement. Yesterday was our 38th Wedding Anniversary. We had hoped to spend a few days in the nearby mountains, but life got in the way. Instead, I took him to the doctors to have his staples removed, and then we stopped by our favorite restaurant and picked up takeout. Maybe not our ideal anniversary, but I’m just grateful he is getting better.

When not acting as home nurse, I’m able to get back to my work in progress—Haunting Danielle. I plan to reveal its cover in a few days.

In the meantime, I have a question for those who read Coulson’s Wife. While it is the first book in a family saga, it is still a standalone story and I’m having a problem nailing down its genre, which will help me better target its readers.

Is it historical romance, historical fiction, woman’s fiction or something else? Some reviewers have called it a haunting bittersweet love story – while others insist it is no romance.

What do you think?

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When life gets in the way…

Life has interrupted my current work in progress—Haunting Danielle. I was about half way through the rough draft when I had to rush my husband to the hospital. Last Friday he underwent emergency surgery, due to a severe infection near his artificial knee.

According to the doctors the knee itself was not the culprit, just where the infection settled. They opened him up, cleaned the area and replaced a plastic portion of the artificial knee.

We brought him home yesterday, but he has a long road ahead. For the next six weeks he is hooked up to an IV three times a day to receive antibiotics. The home nurse has trained me to administer the IV, and that takes about four hours of my time each day.

Because they opened up his knee, he is facing the same rehab and physical therapy necessary when getting a new artificial knee. He must spend at least eight hours a day hooked up in a leg machine (forgot the proper name of the machine) that forces his knee to bend. They want him to spread the time throughout the day. I have to assist him in and out of the contraption.

He can’t stand on his own yet, or get out of bed on his own. Unfortunately the pain meds they gave him aren’t working, so this afternoon I have to take him to the doctors and see if he can get a new prescription. Not as easy as it sounds—getting him in and out of the car—and in this 100 plus degrees weather—makes me wish doctors still did house calls. I hate putting him through that.

Basically my time is scarce these days—and I’m not sure when I’ll get back to my new book. When I do find a few minutes to myself—like now—I don’t feel particularly creative, nor do I have the energy required to work on my manuscript.

My hubby will be off work for at least two months, and since he’s self-employed that means no sick pay. Therefore, if you like my books (and only if you sincerely like them) I would appreciate you recommend them to anyone you know who might share your taste in books. Frankly, I could use a little boost in book sales about now, considering all that is going on.

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Look for Sundered Hearts Tomorrow

If all goes as planned, tomorrow Sundered Hearts should be available at Smashwords, and hopefully by Friday (or sooner) it will be available at Amazon. It will probably take a little longer to show up on the other venues, such as Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Kobo.

Part of my Sensual Romance Series, Sundered Hearts is a complete, standalone story, yet it introduces a much younger Ella (While Snowbound), Lexi (Sugar Rush) and Kit (After Sundown).

I hope you enjoy the story.

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Coming soon – Sundered Hearts

Last night I sent my newest book – Sundered Hearts – off to the editor. It took me a while to decided on a title for this one. I even appealed to some of my author friends for ideas. Friend and fellow author Carol Newsome suggested Sundered Hearts, which fit the story beautifully.  Thanks Carol!!

Look for Sundered Hearts in the near future.

About Sundered Hearts :

Susan Thomas thought she had it all—a home, a husband she loved, and children in her future—until everything came crashing down one rainy afternoon, exposing her perfect world as a lie.

Determined to move on with her life, Susan recklessly drags Brandon Carpenter from the bar and into her bed. When she doesn’t see him again, Susan fears she is repeating her same old mistakes.

Seeking refuge at Shipley Mountain, the last person Susan expects to run into is Brandon. He has his own reasons for being on the mountain. Brandon and Susan must put aside their misunderstandings. A child’s life is at stake.

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The Coulson Series—It’s about the Women

Authors are often asked how we go about writing a book—do we have the story mapped out in our head—outlined on paper—or do we simply start with a blank page and see where our muse takes us. For many writers we do have the story mapped out, yet that doesn’t mean we always end up at the intended destination. It’s not uncommon for some unseen force to seize control and take us in an entirely different—yet deliberate—direction.

I didn’t fully realize The Coulson Series was really about the women—not until I completed the last book in the series, Coulson’s Reckoning. It became clear to me; it had always been about the women.

I’ve been asked by some readers if Coulson’s Reckoning is the final book in the series, to which I respond, we’ll see. Someday I’d like to tell the story of Sarah and Hannah, yet they have some growing up to do.

As for the women, we start with Mary Ellen from Coulson’s Wife. While the book has garnered favorable reviews, several reviewers questioned Mary Ellen’s actions—suggesting an independent woman of the 1920s would not have made her choices.

I strongly disagree with that assertion. Even in 2014 we hear too often of seemingly capable, independent and intelligent women trapped in abusive relationships. Therefore, if we go back almost a hundred years, in Mary Ellen’s time, how much power did a woman who had no friends, no family support and no money really have? Sure there were some independent women from the 1920s who dared to defy social conventions, notably flappers—which Mary Ellen was not.

In Randall’s defense, he was not an abusive husband—really no more demanding than other men from his era. One reviewer called him selfish, but considering the mindset from that time, it really was a man’s world. He cared for Mary Ellen, took care of his family and loved as best as he could. Perhaps we’d like to reinvent history and reality and believe a spunky woman could live whatever life she truly wanted—but even now that goal is often unattainable.

The Mary Ellen at the end of Coulson’s Wife is a very different woman from the obedient daughter who agreed to marry Randall Coulson. Perhaps she didn’t achieve the degree of liberation some readers wanted—I sincerely believe her choices were realistic for her time and circumstance.

In my opinion someone who sincerely believes it is more plausible that a woman from 1920 would defy social convention to achieve personal happiness doesn’t have a grasp on reality—or historical accuracy.

Yes, we’ve come a long way baby, but we haven’t quite got there, and neither have the women from The Coulson Series. However, they are evolving, with each generation facing their own challenges and each finding her own unique voice.

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Order of The Coulson Series

According to the search terms used to find this site, a number of our visitors wanted to know the order of the books in The Coulson Series. I hope they found the answers they were looking for – but just in case future visitors come looking for that information I’ve added numbers to the book covers in the above photo to illustrate the order. Or, they can simply read the rest of this blog post.

The chronological order of the books are as follows:

1. Coulson’s Wife

2. Coulson’s Crucible

3. Coulson’s Lessons

4. Coulson’s Secret

5. Coulson’s Reckoning

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Authors Misbehaving or Karma comes a calling…

Many independently published authors (aka indies) dream of being approached by a respectable trade publisher and offered a deal. I don’t fall in that category–but that has more to do with where I am in life than the dream itself. I simply want to continue earning an income doing what I love–broadening my reader base without demands of a publisher who requires tours, book signings and gets into my business. But that’s just me. Of course, if some publisher wanted to dump buckets of money in my lap, I’d listen to what they had to say—it’s just not something I dream about.

A number of my author friends have been approached by publishers—a few have been offered life altering and lucrative deals, and I am extremely happy for them. Not just happy—proud.

After one of my writer friends was recently approached by a notable trade publisher, I got to thinking of the changes in publishing—and in social media.

Most indies and online book reviewers are familiar with the term “authors misbehaving” – a label given to authors who some believe have stepped out of line. Often the term is applied unjustly. I know some remarkable authors—both talented and nice—who’ve been unfairly labeled.

Some of the most rabid labelers are themselves aspiring authors—writers who are quick to accuse others of what they themselves are doing.

So, what is the point of this post? Where am I going?

Well. . . not only publishing has changed—the dissemination of information has evolved and morphed—what with Twitter, Facebook, forums and other online venues. Today employers regularly check out such sites as Facebook when reviewing potential job applicants. Therefore, it only stands to reason that an agent or publisher would first check out an author’s online behavior before approaching him or her with a deal.

If they discover the author is obnoxious, spiteful and doesn’t play well with others—it might be enough to tip the scales, resulting in the agent or publisher backing away. After all, there are lots of talented authors out there waiting to be discovered; why bother with someone who is a major pain in the ass? I’m not saying “nice” will get someone a trade deal—but total jerk might kill the deal before it’s offered.

Amazon has its own publishing label—and they are in a unique position because they host the KDP forum and they also own Goodreads—both sites where bad behaving authors frequent. Because of this, I assume it would be relatively easy for them to figure out who is behind the veil. Those folks posting nasty on the KDP forum under an alias from their publisher accounts might be hiding their identity from the public—yet not from Amazon. I’d be surprised if Amazon didn’t first check out an author’s behavior on the forum before pursuing a publishing deal.

My point—if you are one of the aspiring authors who dream of a trade publisher approaching you—and you get a perverse kick out of tormenting your fellow writers and reviewers—you might want to clean up your online behavior (if it isn’t too late) or the only thing that might come a calling is Karma.

And you know what they say. Karma can be a bitch.

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I’ve committed…or is it…I should be committed?

I suppose either works, but in this case I’ve committed to my current manuscript – another book in my Sensual Romance Series. This week I jumped deep into the story, and there is no turning back. I still don’t have a title—or a cover – but I will figure that out.

In this story I go back in time and tell the love story of Kit (After Sundown) Landon’s younger brother, Brandon – and how he met his wife, Susan.

The story will take readers back up to Shipley Mountain, where they will meet a much younger Lexi (Sugar Rush) and Ella (While Snowbound).

Kit will be there too, and little Sarah.

Now, if I could only settle on a title!

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