Monday, February 27, 2012

New Amish Book Just Released


I’ve had some busy long days working on editing my book and designing a cover. As soon as I knew the book was in print, I posted on websites to announce the book’s release. I have a list of buyers that like to know first. Some have emailed me several times wondering how soon I’d have the book done. I don’t like to put all the buyers names together and email one message so I email them one at a time. Gives me a chance to personalize the messages. These are buyers that have come to know me through my writing and other interests. We have struck up a Internet friendship.
This book is fourth in the Nurse Hal Among The Amish Series titled As Her Name Is So Is Redbird. One of the buyers said she finds my Nurse Hal to be the most realistic convert to Amish she has met. I think there is a compliment in that statement. I’ve succeeded in writing such descriptive characters that this reader feels as if she knows them. Each book does get easier to write since I already have the characters developed but coming up with new story lines is the challenge.
Now this book is for sale in Amazon in paperback ISBN 0982459548 and as soon as I can get to it on my bookstore website http.//www.booksbyfaybookstore.weebly.com. For ebooks look in Kindle, nook and smashwords. Also, the paperback is on ebay for a month and maybe longer if sales are good.
Here is the back of the book:
If spring is a season of rebirth and love, Hallie Lapp’s farm, at first glance, seems to be the place to be. What she didn’t see coming after the birth of her daughter, Redbird, was an abandoned baby dropped off in her buggy as part of the Safe Haven law. She couldn’t imagine a runaway girl, Annie Hosteller, showing up on her doorstep, either. Once Nurse Hal is forced to meet the scary men from the Hosteller compound life isn’t the same for the Amish community for months to come. In the middle of the night, Joseph Hosteller sends his sons to search for his daughter and her newborn infant. They beat up Amish farmers, cut off their beard and their wives hair. More violence is threatened if Joseph Hosteller’s daughter and baby aren’t returned to him. Bishop Bontrager warns everyone to stay home and protect themselves from home invasions in the middle of the night. Nurse Hal fears what will happen when the Hostellers find Joseph’s daughter, Annie, and her baby are at the Lapp farm. What harm will come to Nurse Hal and her family when the Hostellers invade their home?
It again looks closer to spring out my windows. The snow has almost melted away. I sowed my bedding plants last week in pots and have a few tomatoes peeking through. I’m ready to plant garden as soon as I can. This book is done, and now I have to work on the next one before I wind up in my own birthing clinic, our barn.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Is It a Robin Or a Chicken

I'm sitting at the computer by the dining room window. In hindsight putting the computer there may have been a mistake. With most of the lawn showing, I keep glancing out to see if I might spot a robin or at least a rabbit. I know it's too early by the calendar, but I can hope. The dense fog makes it hard to see, but I think the only animals prowling in my yard are not rabbits but cats and the birds not robins but chickens. All this window gazing makes it hard to concentrate on business. The Amish book I'm working on is coming along but slower than I'd like, and that is mostly my fault.

Have you ever gotten wrapped up in a book's characters until you feel as if you know them especially in a series where you read about the same ones again and again? I hear comments like that all the time from my readers about the characters in my books. Somehow, when I'm writing a book I feel like I'm in the characters heads as the story flows. Except with this one, I outlined the story to have a sad ending for one of the characters. I for one am not fond of sad endings like the ones that Nicholas Sparks uses. However, his endings are very effective and a surprising shock. Having said that, I'm a fan of Mr. Sparks works and pay close attention to how he writes his books to see why his writing style makes him popular.

Now I'm starting the sad part near the end of the book and watching for a robin/rabbit in procrastination. I wound up rooting for one of the characters, wishing she could keep her new way of life with a future ahead of her, and all the time I knew what I had to do. As the author, her fate is in my hands. So I compromised with myself. I will write the sad chapter, and after that write one more chapter with a funny feel better outlook to show that life does go on no matter what. My hope is to leave the readers laughing instead of sad at the end of the book and again wanting another book. In a recent email from one reader, she writes she hopes I keep writing my Nurse Hal Among The Amish series until Nurse Hal has grandchildren. That might take awhile. Nurse Hal just had her first baby in this book which is the fourth in the series. It won't be long until I'm ready to publish then I'll wait to find out how the readers liked this story titled "As Her Name Is So Is Redbird".

My twitter follower count has picked up over the last few months. I stock pile the twitter emails for a week or two and answer them all at once with follows and messages. That brings me more followers. It certainly is a good way for me to advertise my Amish and Mystery series. My challenge is trying to get in titles and sales places with the limited amount of characters. I'm getting followers in England now. Amazon opened up Kindle to England last year and several other countries since then. My books are selling in the UK. Maybe that's why they hunt for me on twitter. MyEnter.Net follows me on twitter. If anyone else wants to follow me my address is
http://www.twitter.com/booksbyfay

I'm still working on my author site at http://www.writersownwords.com/booksbyfay
I see that Google search is picking up some of my entries from the writersownwords site. I didn't think it would hurt if I take my time entering summaries for the book list. That way I'm stringing the advertising out. Take a look at my picture if you have time on the home page. It's actually two pictures I put together and did a little painting in Photo shop to blend the two. One is southern Missouri north of Cabool, Missouri in a fall rain, and the other with the Amish buggy is in southern Iowa on highway 63.

Okay now I best get back to work before I actually do see a robin. That might be a good excuse to take the rest of the day off and celebrate spring way ahead of everyone else. Enjoy this wonderful winter and have a Happy Valentine Day.