Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Julie Compton on March 7, 2010 at 9:20am

Thanks Meg, for suggesting this thread!
My second novel, Rescuing Olivia, just released on February 2 from St. Martin's Minotaur. It will also be published in the UK this May by Pan Macmillan and in the Netherlands by Unieboek. It's the story of a Florida biker who goes on a quest to find his missing girlfriend after she mysteriously disappears from the hospital following a motorcycle accident. His journey takes him from Florida to Connecticut to Africa, and along the way, he's forced to confront a few of his own demons before he can rescue Olivia from hers. Kirkus called it a cross between a modern-day fairy tale and a contemporary thriller, and I think that's a very apt description!

My first novel, Tell No Lies, is a legal thriller/family drama. It's the story of an assistant prosecutor who compromises his values, both professionally and personally, while pursuing his ambition to be DA. When the object of his obsession becomes the suspect in the murder of a client, he must decide whether to save her by speaking out, or save his marriage and career by keeping silent. Kirkus gave Tell No Lies a starred review. :-)

Permalink Reply by Meg Waite Clayton on March 8, 2010 at 11:16am

congrats, Julie!

Permalink Reply by Julie Compton on March 10, 2010 at 10:21pm

Thanks Meg!

Permalink Reply by Kelly Klein on March 9, 2010 at 8:35am

Congratulations, Julie! Both books sound great!

Permalink Reply by Julie Compton on March 10, 2010 at 10:21pm

Thanks Kelly!

Permalink Reply by Trina L. Talma on March 9, 2010 at 10:12am

I've self-published a series of five fantasy novels (yeah, I know, self-publishing doesn't count, but I got tired of hunting for a publisher and/or agent and wanted to find my readers instead!). The series consists of Silver and Blood, River's End, The Throne of the Sun, Return to Dawn and Dreams of Darkness. They deal with the adventures of a young woman, Zania Corthinn, as she learns unexpected secrets about her world and herself. I published with Lulu, so all the books are available on their website as well as on Amazon and other online retailers.

Permalink Reply by Carolyn Haley on March 11, 2010 at 4:58am

You wrote: "I know, self-publishing doesn't count."

That statement disturbs me. Why do you feel that self-publishing doesn't count?

Permalink Reply by Trina L. Talma on March 11, 2010 at 10:03am

It's just that most people in every writer's group/community I've ever been in have this attitude; I've come to expect it. Agents, publishers and especially book reviewers feel the same way.

Permalink Reply by Carolyn Haley on March 11, 2010 at 11:22am

I've encountered this attitude, too. Much of it arises from people not understanding the difference between self-publishing and vanity publishing.

There's a SheWrites group I just joined called Small Publishers and Independent Authors that supports self-publishing; and Michael N. Marcus is a huge advocate of true self-publishing and has written extensively about it. Check out his page on SheWrites as well as one of his websites, www.independentselfpublishers.org

Permalink Reply by Trina L. Talma on March 12, 2010 at 1:18pm

At least I can hope that more readers & reviewers will come to accept self-publishing as valid. Though I read a long rant on a published writer's blog the other day; his stance was that since he's read a lot of self-published books and only found one good one, they're all garbage. He also maintained that if a writer can't find a publisher or agent to take on his/her books, that must mean the books aren't any good. Sadly I've seen that viewpoint over and over again.

I haven't actually read a lot of self-published books, and the ones I have read varied widely in quality. A friend of mine self-published one of the most brilliant fantasy novels I've ever read (and I've read a LOT of them) and she was the one who convinced me to try self-publishing. I've read others that could have been just as good but for lack of an editor. However I know I'll never change the attitude my family has toward my self-publishing, which is that it doesn't count!

Permalink Reply by Carolyn Haley on March 12, 2010 at 3:56pm

Well, here's a counterpoint:

"...his stance was that since he's read a lot of self-published books and only found one good one, they're all garbage"

I've read a lot of regularly published books and found a whole bunch that were garbage!

"...if a writer can't find a publisher or agent to take on his/her books, that must mean "the books aren't any good."

If you read enough agent blogs and interviews, you'll see a lot of industry pros citing reasons why they turn down many wonderful books, all the time.

"I haven't actually read a lot of self-published books, and the ones I have read varied widely in quality."

I HAVE read thousands of regularly published books, and they have varied widely in quality.

"I've read others that could have been just as good but for lack of an editor."

(Some edited ones are pretty crummy, too!) What people are unaware of these days is how many editors have been dropped from publishing-house (and magazine, newspaper, etc.) payrolls for economic reasons, and therefore how many typos are now seeing print, how many big-name books are now poorly edited, and how many small-name books are given almost no quality control. Granted, self-publishers are not all knowledgeable enough or well-heeled enough to pay for editing services, which allows a higher percentage of sloppy books to get into circulation. But branding them all with that iron is unrealistic and unfair.

Permalink Reply by marie milling on March 9, 2010 at 12:35pm

so I do have a novel published - in Swedish in Sweden ... but I tell about it here anyway, maybe some day someone will find it worthwhile publishing in English

It is 2005 and Lana's life falls apart. instinctively she runs to the old family homestead in the north of Sweden, where her sister Zofia lives. There she is confronted with herself, her shadow, that which she did not want to see.

These two sisters do not know each other at all, their lives have been extremely different from one another. they are very far apart, but start, reluctantly, to change from their budding relationship, so that both of them will have to reevaluate what they have done with their lives.

this novel is based on the ancient (4000 year old) sumerian hymns of Inanna - among them the wellknown 'descent of the goddess' myth of Inanna,s rite of passage visiting her sister in the underworld - the goddess of death Ereshkigal.

if anyone reads Swedish I can send it as pdf-file and I can upload the cover

Attachments:

• omslag t vulkan - maja.pdf, 1.4 MB

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