Date Error

Oops, I see I made a mistake in the message below.  The publication date for TRIUMPH IN ARMS should read February 2010.

Jennifer

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Challenge to Honor, 2005
Dawn Encounter, 2006
Rogue's Salute, 2007
Guarded Heart, 2008
Gallant Match, 2009
Triumph in Arms, 2010

February Newsletter

Greetings to all:

Today's the Day!  February 1 is the "pub date", official date of publication, for my latest book, GALLANT MATCH, book 5 in the Masters at Arms series.  This is the "on sale" date, the date stenciled on the shipping boxes; the official day of the month when bookstores are supposed to shelve the book and on-line retailers to ship it.  My basic feeling on this news is: Well, finally!  That's because GALLANT MATCH was completed in June of 2007, so it seems to have taken forever for its release.  And the same will hold true for the final book in the series, of course.  TRIUMPH IN ARMs, you may remember, was completed in June 2008, but won't be out until February 2009.  Sigh.

            Meanwhile, I'm foraging ahead with the Three Graces trilogy set in 1486 England.  The research continues on a daily basis, but I've reached the half-way point on the rough draft.  This first draft is best done as quickly as possible—what I like to call a "white-hot heat"—because it's easier to keep all the details in mind if there are no breaks, plus the story flow seems better.  Revision, lots of it, will have to be done later, but that's all right.  You can add all manner of nuances to a story page once it's completed, but first you have to construct something to revise.

            One reason I'm making such good progress is that I've changed my writing place.  As an experiment, my husband set up our motor home as an office for me.  No ringing phones, no barking dogs (as much as I love the two we own), no visitors, no need to disturb my train of thought with conversation while I eat a quick lunch—nothing except peace and quiet.  It's fantastic, and vastly productive.  Wonder how fast I can finish this trilogy….

            During the past month, I signed a new agreement with E-Reads.com to continue producing my out of print books in e-format.  An additional 7 or 8 titles were added to those already in the system, bringing the total available, both in electronic and print-on-demand versions, to 25.  I've had no worries about Google's recent attempt to scan and resale thousands of out of print titles without compensation to the authors, since mine have been under contract at a nice royalty rate since 2000.  Sometimes, things just work out right.

            Blogs are interesting things.  I've had one on my web site for a while, but have neglected it, in part because I've never quite decided what direction to go with it.  Lately, however, I've been blogging (under my legal name of Patricia Maxwell) on the web site for the North Louisiana Branch of Romance Writers of America.  This is a group effort, with daily postings on the many aspects of writing.  If you have nothing else to do, check it out at: http://www.nolastars.com

            A quick reminder: I'll be giving the keynote luncheon speech at the March 5-6 Conference for NOLA, plus doing a workshop on how to avoid plagiarism while using research sources.  The reputation for this conference is stellar; writers usually come away "jazzed" and ready to get to work.  You'll find more information for it at the web site given above.

Warmest wishes for love and joy in this month of romance,

Jennifer

 

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