New Books and Reviews

In about a month I'll be celebrating a new book out for readers. Small Town Girl is scheduled for release on July 1, but usually I get to enjoy that new book smell when I open up a box the UPS man brings to my door a few days before July. It's always exciting to actually hold that new book in my hands. That's the reward for about a year's worth of work on this particular story and a lifetime of work trying to write well enough to be published and find readers.

One of the exciting things about having a new book come out are the reviews. These days you can find reviews all over the internet. Everybody has an opinion and in the book business, a lot of them post those opinions out there somewhere for the world to read.

I just read my first review of Small Town Girl. My publisher sent me a review from Publishers' Weekly. I held my breath while I read it, hoping for good. It wasn't bad. No wow, that's the greatest story ever remarks, but all in all a favorable review. See what you think.

Gabhart continues the story of the Merritt family, first introduced in Angel Sister. Kate’s the middle sister—the sensible one, the fixer of other people’s problems. She encounters her own problems when older sister Evie marries their pastor, and his childhood friend, Jay Tanner, comes to Kentucky to stand as best man . On the surface, Jay and Kate have nothing in common. She’s a third generation Rosey Corner resident; he’s a drifter. Kate stands strong in tense situations; Jay is prone to pack up and leave when things get tough. She’s a woman of faith; he’s not sure what he believes. Still, the attraction is immediate. While the ending is predictable, Gabhart plants enough roadblocks to make the story interesting. In dealing with Jay’s spirituality, she raises legitimate issues of faith and shows understanding of those who do not easily accept a Christian religious message. And while Kate is the undisputed protagonist, young Lorena Birdsong, an abandoned child unofficially adopted by the Merritts, certainly has her share of scene-stealing moments. Agent: Wendy Lawton, Books and Such Literary Agency. (July)

Would any line in that review encourage or discourage you from reading the book? What blurb would you pull out to convince someone that they should give this story a try?

Back in 2005, when Scent of Lilacs first came out and was my first book in the internet age, I hunted down reviews for it and read them all. There weren't that many. I floated up in the air when reading the good reviews and then got knocked back to the ground when a reviewer had a complaint about the story. Thankfully there weren't many unfavorable reviews for that book early on. Too many bad reviews might have been too discouraging for me while I was trying to get started in this Christian fiction genre. 

By the way Scent of Lilacs has since been reissued and gotten lots of reviews. It's also been nominated for fiction book of the month on The Book Club Network. If you take part in the book fun on that site, I hope you'll consider voting for my book. Lots of great books were nominated this month, so I won't be discouraged if I don't win. I've learned not to let bad reviews discourage me. I might stew about them a little, but then I move on to the next story. Or I remember some of the kind comments you have made here. You're the readers I'm trying to keep happy.

Thanks for reading. I do so appreciate each and every one of you who follow my on-line journal. I'm planning a visit from Sue Harrison next week. You won't want to miss that!

Searching for the Elusive Ending

Still not quite there. Still haven't quite found those two important words to every writer. Maybe to any person with a job to do or a task to complete. The End. I need to be able to say I ended some housecleaning chores. But right now all I can say is it will have to wait until July. You know I think I should take July off, because there is no way I can ever get everything done I have said I am going to do in July. Now I've got two rooms and woodwork to paint. But right, you got it. Not until July. Then you think it will be too hot to paint? My daughter, sweet child that she is, says she could come home and help me, but she's busy redoing her own house. They have one of those beautiful old houses that you can really get deep into remodeling. They've done a lot of it already and it looks great. My new room looks great too, but the other rooms cry out for paint. Right. July.

Anyway I stayed home from Bible study to try to find those elusive two words and so I'm getting ready to go do some more hunting for the right words in my head to get there. And to inspire me and maybe you, I looked up some "end" quotes. They weren't exactly what I had in mind, but I love this first one from Oscar Wilde. It's talking about romance, I'm sure, but you know, I think it fits writers. When that story that has you totally in its grip ends, the weak writer might cry every time he or she gets that turn down. Ah, but the efficient one will find a new story to take off with, and the wise writer will already be thinking up that new idea before she writes "The End."

When a love comes to an end, weaklings cry, efficient ones instantly find another love, and the wise already have one in reserve. ... Oscar Wilde

And I just love almost any bit of wisdom Mark Twain comes up with. He has such a tongue-in-cheek way of thinking. Plus his quotes alway have that germ of truth that really gets his point across.

Man was made at the end of the week's work, when God was tired. ...Mark Twain

Here's another good one for writers. We need to have the thread of our story from the beginning to the end. I'm not one of those writers who knows the ending at the beginning, but I do hope that my endings fit my beginnings.

If you want to know the end, look at the beginning. ...African Proverb

And here's another great quote a writer can take to heart. Write the books you love. Enjoy the writing journey. Finish your moments and live your hours in your stories and in your life.

To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom. ...Ralph Waldo Emerson

How about this one? What do you think about it? Does this just fit for an artist? One thing sure just because I write the end doesn't mean I'm finished with this story. I need about two months to go back over it and make it better. But right now I'll settle for two weeks to at least begin to polish the story.

To finish a work? To finish a picture? What nonsense! To finish it means to be through with it, to kill it, to rid it of its soul, to give it its final blow, the coup de grace for the painter as well as for the picture. ...Pablo Picasso

There's a review of The Believer in Publisher's Weekly. Not great, but not bad. They liked most of my characters while disdaining my bad guy. But you won't have any doubt he's the bad guy if you decide to read the book. I'm looking forward to the book being out. And as soon as I find those two little necessary words I'm searching for in this new book, I'll do a newsletter (You can sign up for the newsletter from my website, http://annhgabhart.com/) and let you in on some chances to win an autographed copy of The Believer. The title of the new book that will be out in 2010 is The Seeker.

2010! Wow! That sounds futuristic. Guess it is. At least in the future.

Hope you all have a wonderful week. I'm supposed to babysit the twin baby boys on Friday. That'll keep me moving. They're crawling all over now.