Diane Chamberlain's Blog - Posts Tagged "fire-and-rain"
To E or not to E! That is the Question
I need your opinions, whether you read e-books or not. I have seven books that have long been out of print and I’ve now made four of them (Secret Lives, Reflection, Brass Ring and The Escape Artist) available as e-books. Very soon, I’ll have a fifth book up (Fire and Rain). Now I’m trying to decide whether or not to make my first two novels, Private Relations and Lovers and Strangers, also available, and that’s where I can use your honest thoughts.
The reason for my hesitation is that they are quite different from my other books. Although they’re not what you’d think of as traditional romances, they have much stronger romantic elements than my other books–particularly Private Relations, which won the RITA award (from Romance Writers of America) for the Best Single Title Contemporary Novel of. . . gulp. . . 1989. I was so young and such a green writer! I am extremely proud of that book as well as of Lovers and Strangers because I know I put my heart and soul into them, but as I said, they are different. Starting with my third novel, Secret Lives, I think my books grew into deeper stories with richer characters and stronger elements of mystery and suspense.
What do you think I should do? Make these two early books available for e-readers or let them stay as the impossible-to-find little paperbacks they’ve been for many years? I’d love to hear your opinions. I know you have them, so bring ‘em on!
The reason for my hesitation is that they are quite different from my other books. Although they’re not what you’d think of as traditional romances, they have much stronger romantic elements than my other books–particularly Private Relations, which won the RITA award (from Romance Writers of America) for the Best Single Title Contemporary Novel of. . . gulp. . . 1989. I was so young and such a green writer! I am extremely proud of that book as well as of Lovers and Strangers because I know I put my heart and soul into them, but as I said, they are different. Starting with my third novel, Secret Lives, I think my books grew into deeper stories with richer characters and stronger elements of mystery and suspense.
What do you think I should do? Make these two early books available for e-readers or let them stay as the impossible-to-find little paperbacks they’ve been for many years? I’d love to hear your opinions. I know you have them, so bring ‘em on!
Fire and Rain is now an e-book!
Fire and Rain is now available for your Kindle through Amazon or your Nook through Barnes and Noble, as well as in any other e-reading format through Smashwords.com (though it’s probably not yet in the Apple Bookstore. That takes a little longer). I nixed all the cover ideas I’d been considering in favor of one designed by Patricia Ryan. I originally wanted a person on the cover in keeping with my other recent cover art, but Patricia and I couldn’t find the right model for the story. When we saw the adorable adobe cottage that fits the story perfectly, we decided it had all the personality the cover needed.
Fire and Rain is set in San Diego County, where I lived for twelve years. I received my MSW from San Diego State and worked as a social worker in a counseling agency and then in a hospital, which is when I started writing. I had moved to Virginia by the time I wrote Fire and Rain and was feeling homesick for the west coast, so the setting of the book was a way to ‘go back’.
Fire and Rain is the story of Valle Rosa, a town crumbling under a life-threatening drought. A stranger shows up promising to make it rain, but he will only work his “magic” if no one asks him questions about himself. He plans to do his work and move on, but he doesn’t count on falling in love. . . with both the town of Valle Rosa and one special young woman with secrets of her own.
I hope you enjoy the story! Happy e-reading!
Fire and Rain is set in San Diego County, where I lived for twelve years. I received my MSW from San Diego State and worked as a social worker in a counseling agency and then in a hospital, which is when I started writing. I had moved to Virginia by the time I wrote Fire and Rain and was feeling homesick for the west coast, so the setting of the book was a way to ‘go back’.
Fire and Rain is the story of Valle Rosa, a town crumbling under a life-threatening drought. A stranger shows up promising to make it rain, but he will only work his “magic” if no one asks him questions about himself. He plans to do his work and move on, but he doesn’t count on falling in love. . . with both the town of Valle Rosa and one special young woman with secrets of her own.
I hope you enjoy the story! Happy e-reading!
