Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Two down (or up?), seven to go!

Paula’s novels are being re-released – gradually!

Last April, I received the shock news that my publisher, Rebecca J. Vickery, was closing down due to ill-health. Of course I understood why she had (very reluctantly) made this decision but I was still devastated. I’ve been with her for over 5 years, and she and her team have been the most supportive and friendly people any writer could ever wish to work with.

My major problem, of course, was what to do with my books. Several people encouraged me to self-publish them, but for various reasons I didn’t want to do that. My first reaction was to try a British publisher and I sent two books to them. However, when I discovered it could take up to a year for each one to be re-published, I withdrew them. No way was I going to wait for up to nine years for all my books to go online again!

To cut a long story short (including three months of uncertainty - and despair at times), I was over the moon when, with Rebecca’s help, I linked up with a new publisher. It was still a sad day when all my books were taken down from Amazon on July 19th, prior to being transferred to their new home with Fire Star Press, an imprint of Prairie Rose Publications, but I received a wonderful welcome from Cheryl, Livia, and Kaye.

They decided to re-publish my Irish novels first, as the ‘Mist Na Mara’ series. Anyone who has read the novels will know exactly what Mist Na Mara is! A flurry of activity followed, and I’m thrilled to report that the first two books in the series went back up online yesterday, with stunning new covers designed by Livia.


The cover of the third in the series is already done, and the fourth will follow. My other five books will be phased in after this – and at least it has given me the opportunity to do some re-editing – I can never resist tweaking and tightening, although without changing any of the actual stories.

So I am entering a new chapter in my writing life. I will always be grateful to Rebecca, who became a friend as well as a publisher (and we’ve both said we will continue to keep in contact) – and I look forward now to working with Cheryl, Livia, and Kaye.

My books are currently featured on the Fire Star Press blog https://firestarpress.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/new-release-irish-inheritance-and-irish.html (please pop in and leave a comment for me!)

and if you find my photo on the Prairie Rose website and click on the Q&A, you’ll see my answers to Livia’s interesting questions: http://prairierosepublications.com/

8 comments:

  1. So excited for you, Paula! I know it was a rough road, but there's something to be said about breathing new life into 'old' books! It's like a whole new beginning!

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    1. You're right, Deb - it does feel like a new beginning - and having to start again with promo etc!

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  2. They look fantastic and I love how they're tied together. So happy for you!

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    1. Thanks, Jen. I like the 'series' look about the covers too.

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  3. It's so exciting to see new covers that highlight the Mist Na Mara series.
    You went through an emotional wringer but this bummer turned into a blessing!

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    1. I'm loving the new covers - and am now waiting to see if sales will pick up from where they were when the books were taken offline last month!

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  4. Hi Paula! I am so sorry that your publisher had to close down. If that happened to me, I probably would self-publish. I wish you all the best with the re-launch of all of your books, and I'm glad your publisher was able to help you get a new one. That was awesome of her to do. :)

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  5. You know I hope this all works out for you. You deserve it. x

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