Orphaned!

No, my elderly mother has not passed away.  She is still living at home and is as onery as ever.  In fact, I just returned from taking care of her to give my sister a break.  What I am really writing about is being orphaned by my publisher, L & L Dreamspell, due to the tragic death of Linda Houle, one of the partners, who succumbed to cancer today.  In this e-publishing world, I never met Linda in person but communed with her often by e-mail.  She asked for suggestions on the covers of my books and actually read my novels, sending notes that she had enjoyed them.  Bet that doesn't happen often in the world of the big presses.  Who wouldn't miss a publisher like that?  Lisa Smith, the other L, is shutting down the business in a classy way.  We have already gotten a form to fill in for our reversion rights so we can attempt to find new publishers, and in time our final royalties will be paid.  She even opened doors for us at a couple of other publishers.

Still it seems as if with six books published and about to blink out of existance, I must start my writing career from scratch again, no easy thing.  I admit I am envious of those writers who have agents who would seek out new publishers for them, maybe even get a better deal though I doubt it.  As I said in another blog, it's all on me, this time to find a new home for old books and those caught in publishing limbo right now.  I had hoped to announce in this blog that Trashy Affair was out.  It lacked only a cover before being printed, was completely edited and formatted when the press shut down.  At least, I have a track record and have proven I can both write and sell a steady stream of books.  I do pity those authors whose first novel was similarly nipped in the bud.

I also wanted to tell fans of the Sinners sports novels that I'd finished writing Love Letter for a Sinner and expected it to be out next spring.  In it, Joe Dean Billodeaux reaches the end of his career, Nell fears her cancer has returned, they complete their predicted family, and help another Sinner find his match.  This last is not an easy task since Joe's replacement, a self-professed Christian virgin, wants only a pure young woman, and Joe really doesn't know of any.  Not sure when or if it will be published now, but I will step through some of those doors Lisa opened and hope for the best.

When I read the interviews in RWR, I realize being orphaned happens to nearly every writer some time or another.  Guess I will survive this, too.  But, I do wonder if I will ever find a press I like as much as L & L Dreamspell.