Complete: First Round of Edits on my Amish Romance!

Each Step in the Publishing Process is a Revelation!

What a month!
The musical I directed and acted in, “Sister Amnesia’s Country Western Nunsense Jamboree,” closed a week ago after two full weekend’s and six shows. It was so much fun playing Sister Robert Anne again! But I can’t say I’m sorry to have my evenings back so I can focus on my writing.

Just as the show was closing, my editor from Barbour Publishing sent me the first round edits for my first book, “Ruth’s Ginger Snap Surprise,” which will release from Barbour on December 1! I had a week to complete those, and I made the deadline. It was a challenge at first, because I’m such a rookie. I had no idea how to use Track Changes in Word, for example.

Now I know a little bit more about this publishing journey. Each step is a new revelation. I’m waiting now to hear back from the editor to see if she needs me to make any more changes.

She made me feel great though, by telling me she loved my book and my characters! It was her first Amish romance, and I was pleased that she found herself caught up in Ruth and Jonas’s story.

I’ll be honest: I was secretly afraid she would send me a manuscript full of red ink indicating it was a hot mess! Okay, okay, I knew it wasn’t, but my brain wasn’t being logical. New writer’s terror, I guess!

I’m finishing up another project currently, an original Sherlock Holmes murder mystery I write every other year as part of a murder mystery weekend sponsored by my area VCB. I’ll direct it this fall, (and play Dr. Joan Watson!) and it will finish up right before “Ruth’s Ginger Snap Surprise” is released.

After I finish writing the play, I’ll have time to go through the second book in the “Heart of the Amish” series. I’m one of three authors writing for this series. We each have two books contracted so far. If the series is a success, we could be asked to write more! Fingers crossed on that.

The first draft of my second book in the series, “Mary’s Calico Hope,” is finished. I completed it at the end of February, and it’s been “cooking” on a back burner since then.

I’m about ready to dive in for a second look at the manuscript, to find all the things that made sense the first time through, but need to be tweaked now!

I’ll let you know when “Ruth’s Ginger Snap Surprise” is available for preorder in the Kindle edition.