Book-a-Mania

 In June, when author Donna Fletcher Crow visited Straight From Hel, she talked about her book, A Very Private Grave, an ecclesiastical thriller. It debuted in the UK first, then three months later in the US. I asked her at that time to stop by again and tell us how it went and what her experiences were.

She’s back again today – and she has a lot to tell us about what has happened since June. Donna is a multi-published author. She’s written over 35 books, mostly novels of British history, and is still writing more. The award-winning epic Glastonbury, is her best-known work, an Arthurian grail search covering 15 centuries of English history.

For her, the last three months have been about more than just the one book. Or even two. Or three.

Please welcome Donna Fletcher Crow.

Still Schizophrenic

Hi again, Helen, a lot of water has rolled across the Atlantic since I was with you last June talking about my experience working for two publishers on opposite sides of the Atlantic: “Swimming the Pond” so I’m delighted to be back to share an update.

Funny, isn’t it, how life is so much like the rules for writing good fiction. Like the one about when your heroine is stuck in a tight spot— throw in more complications. So, a week after my ecclesiastical thriller A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE, #1, The Monastery Murders, came out in England, my romantic intrigue THE SHADOW OF REALITY, #1, The Elizabeth and Richard mysteries, my tribute to Dorothy L Sayers, launched as an Ebook.

 SHADOW OF REALITY is with a new, young publisher who is “all about embracing technology” so the Epublication is the primary one, to be followed later by a print book after an electronic reader base has been established. It’s all a bit of an experiment, but isn’t everything right now in our volatile market. So far it seems to be working rather well. For one glorious moment, THE SHADOW OF REALITY was listed as #9 for British mysteries in the Kindle store. But that, too is a volatile market, so I had to look quick.

My summer included doing an Ebook push on Amazon (trying to get all my friends to buy on one day to get the ratings up). I think I made it to #28 in my category that day. And my husband continued to fill out more forms for Her Majesty’s Inland Revenue to convince them that I am an American taxpayer so they don’t need to withhold tax for A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE. Last week I received a glorious cheque in Pounds Sterling for which I had to open a new bank account to handle international exchange. It wasn’t all that much money, you understand, but I loved the idea of participating in international banking.

And now, A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE has had its official North American launch, so I have the full blessing of my American publisher for a full steam ahead virtual tour (schedule listed on my website: www.DonnaFletcherCrow.com), doing what I can to help push the Sam’s Club promotion and scheduling booksigning parties. Appropriately enough for a book that comes from both England and America, my first launch party will be in Calgary, Canada, at The Owl’s Nest on October 9. Then I’ll participate in a Book Extravaganza here in the Boise Valley when I get back.

Beyond that, publishers for both series have said they are ready to go ahead with the second book. That means A DARKLY HIDDEN TRUTH, #2, for Monastery Murders, and A MIDSUMMER EVE’S NIGHTMARE, #2 for Elizabeth and Richard, my fling with the Bard. Which, yes, I should be working on right now.

If this all sounds somewhat confusing to you, let me assure you, you’re in good company. The best example was yesterday when a reader said on Facebook that she had downloaded A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE to her Kindle. Well, I had understood that my very traditional English publisher wasn’t doing Ebooks, so you can imagine the excited post I put on Facebook with lots of exclamation marks. Then I realized, no, my reader was confused. She has THE SHADOW OF REALITY on her Kindle and is waiting for Amazon to fill her pre-order for A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE. I just hope Amazon isn’t confused, too.

Well, I said in June that I’d come back and tell you how it’s all working out. The bottom line answer is that I don’t really know, but I’m having a lot of fun. Why have just one personality when you can have two or three?

I often think of the greeting card I saw years ago when, at that time I was overwhelmed with four young children, “Lord, give me strength to endure my blessings.”

Thank you Donna!

If you’d like to see the book video, to order A Very Private Grave, or to see pictures from Donna’s research trips, go to http://www.DonnaFletcherCrow.com

And if you’d like to say hi or ask questions, head to the Comments section.