Off in a new direction!

As you may have noticed I've renamed the blog. The (new) Croixside Gazette will be more focused on writing and indie publishing as I have decided to make the leap and self-publish.  There's just too much new and exciting happening in the reading world to keep flogging away with queries and slush piles.

In the coming months I'll be releasing several books that I've written, edited, re-edited, re-re-edited, queried, had rejected, had sample chaps submitted of, had sample manuscripts submitted of, and ultimately have gone nowhere in regards to the big time publishers.

First up will be Ferris' Bluff. One of my babies. It's been an interesting journey.

I completed the rough draft a couple of years ago. It made it to #16 on Authonomy before I abandoned the site for a number of reasons. I kept making revisions and tweaking it and began submitting it to literary agents.

In 2009.

At the low ebb of the financial mess here in America.

I got very little joy from that excercise--a couple of comments that if things were rosier in Pub-Land the agent would look at taking it on, but first time authors and plague carriers were riding the same rail car at the time, it seems.

I put it away and started working on a YA novel last winter (you'll be seeing that one in the future, no doubt about it!). At the same time I kept reading all sorts of interesting articles, many of them posted on Facebook by Pete Morin (bless his sharky lawyer heart). The Kindle and the Nook and the i-Pad were, as reading platforms, kicking paper's ass, and the shame and stigma of being a self published writer was disappearing faster than a cold beer on a hot afternoon in the bass boat!

As I write this, the fine folks at 52 Novels are putting the finishing touches on the Kindle and E-pub reformatting (I don't do code--hell, I can hardly speel!). I'll be Kindling and Nooking and Smashwording in no time, and yes, you'll hear about it when it happens. I'm even going for the dead tree book option with Create Space.

I may have wholly embraced the e-book, but I want to hold one in my hands, too.

So check back often. As the journey continues I'll be writing about the trials and tribulations of indie publishing and keeping you all up to date on other projects.

It's a great time to be a writer!